Another Forgotten Notable of Husky Rowing

Lucy Pocock before becoming the first Husky Women's Coach and bringing brother George to Seattle

In my enthusiasm for Husky rowing, and the forgotten legacy of Coach Ky Ebright, I lost sight of another, perhaps even more momentous influence. In this case, the influencer was the sister of George Pocock; Husky Hall of Fame boat builder and US National Hall of Fame Member.

This second forgotten Husky (actually a Sun Dodger considering the period), was the very first coach of women's rowing at the University of Washington. Her name was Lucy Pocock. Later, she became Lucy Pocock Stillwell. While Lucy advocated for the UW women's crew, with the support of legendary Hall of Fame coach Hiram Conibear, her reign in 1914 was 50 years before women's crew at the UW became firmly re-established, having been stomped out by UW authorities as inappropriate. Lucy is also missing from the Husky Rowing Hall of Fame.

Hiram Conibear with UW Women's Crew

Lucy wasn't totally forgotten. She married the contractor that created the Montlake Cut. Many years later, she was memorialized by a racing shell named after her. It was dedicated by her granddaughter.

Dedication of the "Lucy Pocock" by Heidi Danilchik, Lucy's Granddaughter

Today, Lucy would probably whisper to the ladies that they could go faster! 

Forgotten Greatest of Husky Men's Rowing

He was a graduate of Broadway High School in Seattle, and a coxswain of the 1917 Husky Crew. After being a flying instructor during WW1, he became an assistant coach of the Husky Crew until 1923, the year of the first boat that was inducted into the Husky Hall of fame. While his Husky credentials were not mentioned in the movie (unlike the book), "The Boys in the Boat," he was a major supporting character in it and, what's more, donated the critical final money needed to send the Husky crew to Berlin.

The book of the same name gives him a nod, noting that George Pocock (a hall of fame member), recommended him as a head coach. George's recommendation was on the mark, considering he went on to become the only man to coach THREE Olympic gold medal-winning eight-oared crews, including the 1948 winner  The 1948 crew from the UW is in the Husky hall of fame while HIS crew is in the NATIONAL rowing hall of fame. In 1948, his crew beat Britain on the Henley by ten seconds.

In addition, this man coached six IRA National Title Championships. Amazingly, he was also present as an assistant Husky coach when the UW changed its mascot from "Sun Dodgers" to "Huskies" in 1922. Why was he not a Husky Hall of Fame member? Well, in 1923, he became the coach of the University of California at Berkeley Golden Bears at the recommendation of George Pocock and upon the assurance of the alumni that he could have his old job back if it didn't work out well. The alumni were afraid that if Cal's crew folded, that the Huskies would have no West Coast competition to row against.

During the time period of the movie, two of his rowers included Robert McNamara and Gregory Peck. Upon his passing, Gregory Peck donated $25,000 to the rowing crew in his honor. His name? Ky Ebright, the forgotten greatest of Husky Men's Rowing.

Ky Ebright, from Wikipedia

The OTHER Side of "Undiscovery Day" in Grays Harbor

I've seen local groups celebrating "Undiscovery Day" where George Vancouver's missing of Gray's Harbor is celebrated. However, less well known is that though Robert Gray was the first to mark the harbor after Vancouver missed it, the actual NAME was given by Vancouver (the same one of "undiscovery fame") as noted here. Undiscovery indeed if you think we live at Bulfinch Harbor...

From the source about the name, we have added information about where we live...

People of Gray's Harbor Gone With the Wind

Location 1 is the Minard Site. As in this reference

In my last post, I opined about the Westport Museum's "convenient as opposed to real" history about the so-called "hostile indians." Today, I have a little more about these people. Mostly, they have vanished off the earth, and no longer exist as the Lower Chehalis Tribe. There is a local (as in Ocean Shores) connection. As it turns out, an archeological site existed on the North Beach. The location is shown in the image at the top of this post. While reports suggest the site was discovered by a farmer plowing in the 1920's, "official" records date back to 1947 when Richard Daugherty reported the site. There may have been dozens of native graves; probably of the Lower Chehalis Tribe. Certainly, the site dates back to about 1000AD, and at least 11 individuals were buried there. See here and here for more details.

Sadly, there is no marker to note this site anywhere near Ocean Shores, and, since the Lower Chehalis Tribe no longer exists, the remains were eventually transferred to the Chehalis Reservation (mostly Upper Chehalis Tribe). Most Lower Chehalis people either were assimilated, or moved to either the Quinault or Shoalwater reservations. While the Consolidated Chehalis Reservation was intended to house both upper and lower tribes, the two tribes spoke different languages and the Lower Chehalis tended to migrate mostly to the Quinault Reservation once they realized there was no longer a place for them in their own homeland. There is more here, including the information that Hoquiam was originally a Lower Chehalis village.

As for Robert Gray, who was credited with discovering Gray's Harbor after George Vancouver missed the entrance - well, he was at least 1,000 years late...

Shoalwater Bay by Edmond Curtis in 1913, from here