History of the
Southern Yacht Club
By Robert J. Smith
Update and Edited by Carl J. Miller
The southern Shore Yacht Club has grown from just a dream of eleven
Had those eleven founders been a little less determined or a little less stubborn,
the club wouldn’t be in existence today.
From the very beginning, they had more than their share of trouble and
met disappointment at almost every turn.
Today, the large Cape Cod clubhouse in the inner harbor at Jackson Park on Chicago‘s
South Side annually plays host to visiting yachtsmen from all ports of Lake Michigan.
The inner Harbor is widely recognized as one of the safest and most beautiful harbors
on the lake’s southern shore.
But it wasn’t like that back in 1912
when the late George Schaeffer, Bus Bovik, D.H.Webb, the Ware brothers and others
decided they were going to form a yacht club of their own. It wasn’t only that
they wanted a private club; they felt they actually had to have it to save the
sport of power boating on
In those early days of yachting, the only club in
As the “stink potters” found themselves left pretty much to their own, they formed
a little group and began to discuss ways to improve their lot. ‘They needed a
place to tie up their dinghies, a place where they could get together and talk
over their boating experiences.
Everybody agreed; so they promptly organized the South Shore
Power Boat Club and elected D.J Webb of the cruiser “Thelma” as commodore. That
was in the early summer of 1912 when automobiles had not yet come into general
use. There was no gasoline tank in the outer harbor and fuel naturally, was
difficult to obtain. About the only way a skipper could fill his boat’s tank was
to lug the gas in five gallon cans across the park from
But the founders of the new club got busy right away. They persuaded a gasoline dealer to bring a tank wagon down to the outer harbor every Saturday afternoon. That helped quite a bit, and; incidentally, got the club several new members. When nonmembers attempted to buy gas from the wagon driver, they found they needed applications. And the only one who had the applications was the secretary of the SSPBC. They got the gas chits if they joined the club. They joined.
Meetings were held irregularly that year aboard the old
Commodore Webb and his committees worked hard during the winter of 1912-1913
enticing other motor boat owners into the new club. And their efforts had paid
off by the spring of 1913, the club was really going places anion April 12 it
was granted a charter by the Secretary of the State.
Now a new problem confronted the club. Its membership had outgrown the
The anxious skippers finally found what they wanted moored on
Chances are that if William. Lydon, the president of the great Lakes Dredge and
Dock Company, hadn’t come to the club’s aid; the old boat would be there yet.
Lydon, an enthusiastic yachtsman, hauled out the craft ant refitted her free of
cost. The negotiations ant refitting took most of the summer of 1913 ant it was
late in the season when the work was completed.
The entire SSPBC fleet turned out to tow the new clubhouse down the
But the troubles of the new South Shore Power Boat Club were just the beginning. Late in November, a northeaster kicked up the lake and bounced the old tub against the harbor’s rocky bottom. That was more than the aging hull could stand and when the members came down the next day, they found their prize clubhouse half underwater. Out went an immediate SOS to the other members and in no time the houseboat was hauled onto shore where it was safe from the water.
But it wasn’t safe from thieves. Someone broke into it and stole everything of
any value.
By this time, the members had decided the only place to have the club was in the
unused inner harbor. At first the Park District thought otherwise and promptly
vetoed the plan. But, remember, those charter members were determined. The Park
Board learned this before long and granted them permission to moor the
houseboat on the western shore of the inner harbor on May 26, 1914. The present
club house occupies the same site.
Once again the entire membership turned out to tow the club house to its new
location. It was just a simple journey from the outer to the inner lagoon. But,
unlike the earlier journey from the
Everything went along fine until they tried to tow the houseboat under the bridge
spanning the channel which separates the two harbors. The boat was just too
high and the bridge too low. Since the bridge couldn’t be raised; the
resourceful SSPBC members lowered the boat. They flooded the clubhouse enough
to permit it to pass safely under the span.
The houseboat was hardly anchored in place when the members found another need for
resourcefulness. In granting the club the privilege of using the inner harbor,
the Park Board had specified that the clubhouse must be kept afloat at all
times. But the old houseboat apparently hadn’t heard of the Board’s decree. As
time went on, it became increasingly difficult to keep the old hull tight. Additions
had been built onto the superstructure ant it was not impossible to tale the
boat back under the bridge to a shipyard for needed repairs.
Something had to be done, and it was. For the third time an urgent call for
help went out and the members responded one hundred percent. Working secretly,
they installed blocking under the old hull. Now it couldn’t sink no matter what
happened. But no one wanted the club to float off the blocks when the water
rose, so they bored a few holes in the bottom and their problem was solved.
To all outward appearances, the club was floating peacefully anchored to the bottom. The Park Board never knew of the change. The club was well established now and for several years things rolled along without interruption.
Then in 1921, the Park Board began charging for moorings. The fees ranged from
$7.50 for boats under twenty feet to $40 for those up to sixty feet. The SSRBC
members protested and even took their case to court. After a lengthy legal
battle, the court ruled that although the Park District owned the land under
the water, it did not act actually own the water. Therefore, the court decided
the Park Board did not have right to charge mooring fees.
But the victory was short lived. The
boat owners decided it would be cheaper to pay the Park Board than to furnish
their own moorings.
Again it was smooth sailing for the next few years. But suddenly in 1925 and
1926, the sailing ceased being smooth, at least in the harbor. The lagoon
needed deepening badly and several boats went aground right at their moorings. The
Park Board bore the club no ill will from its legal fight and came to its aid. Dredging operations were begun and took most
of the summer of 1926.
As the years rolled by, new members joined the club and old pals dropped out. Boats were bought and sold although not as frequently
as they are now, and the membership had new faces every year. This, coupled
with the driving .spirit of the charter members still active made the
organization grow. ‘The South Shore Power Boat Club, which was changed to
Southern Shore Yacht C1ub in 1930, was rapidly becoming one of the
Then came 1934 — the Century of Progress, the depression, and disaster to the club.
The year got off to a promising start and no one could fore told gloom with
which it was to end. Nineteen thirty-four, you’ll remember, was the
day of the WPA. The harbor again needed
dredging and the Park District decided to spend a portion of the available government
funds to get it done. The entire lagoon was drained dry before the season opened.
A few members watched the dredging proceedings with keen interest. They hoped
to recover some prized possession lost overboard the summer before. But, of
course, they were disappointed. All that
was found was an empty old safe which had been dumped into the harbor by some
burglars, and a rusted lamp post, a remnant of the 1890 World’s Fair.
After the dredging, the boating season of 1934 followed the usual pattern, everyone their share of joys and troubles. And everyone had their share of adventure with which to bore their fellow boatmen..
Most of the boats had already been put in dry dock when the blow came. It struck
without warning on the night of October 10. Just a small spark first, then
flames, roaring flames and the old houseboat was completely gutted.
For a while it looked like the end of the South Shore Power Boat Club. That was
in 1934, remember, ant most of the members were badly bent if not virtually
broke. The club treasury couldn‘t stand the
expense of a new building. One might never have been built had it not been for
the complete and whole hearted: cooperation and determination of the entire membership.
For some members, the burning of the old houseboat appeared to be a blessing in disguise. The boat had been
entirely inadequate as a club for the expanding membership and many had
campaigned: avidly for a new building. They viewed the fire as an incentive to
get what they wanted. And they got it —
with the help of the rest of the members.
Now, however, the situation was worse that ever before. The club had no meeting place and: practically no money to build a new one. Besides, winter was approaching. Dr. E. W. Zagers, who was then commodore, had been one of the principal agitators for a new club and: now he spearheaded construction of the new building.
One of the members, an architect, drew up plans for the new club/louse and they
were approved by the new members. John Swanson, one of the eleven founders, was
chosen “general contractor” and Doc Zagers became labor boss
.
Swanson, a building contractor, had many business connections and saved the
club a good deal of money. He obtained
most of the wood use for studding, rafters and: beams from the old Deering
plant which, conveniently, was being dismantled about that time. A few of the
clubmen later frowned at this deal as not being worth the effort. They were the
ones who tried to drive nails into the hard timbers, during the erection of the
present club.
Maurice Blumberg, chairman of the building committee, put everyone to work they
did it without complaint. Jason Smith, George Schaeffer, Vern Kuhn, Ralph
Green, Tom Wilson, all did more that their share. There were others too, of
course, who worked just as hard. The club house couldn‘t have been built
without their help.
For instance, from Tom Wilson and John Swanson put that compass rose in the floor. The red wood in that rose is rosewood Tom did a beautiful job on that, something to be proud of. The flooring of the main club room is a special wood that John Swanson got for us from a man who had just enough for the job. It is specially treated on all sides — waxed under pressure. It is all nailed down, except at the ends of each board. These are plugged.
Ralph Green made the doors for the fireplace and you’ll notice that they are
all bolted together. He also carved the name over the front door. The portholes
in the clubhouse — which incidentally have ¾ inch plate glass in them, were
purchased for $2.50 each. They came from the Pirates Cove at the World’s Fair
and we picked them up cheap.
Luckily, a North Slide crib was being torn down about that time and timbers
were often found floating in the lake off the Jackson Park Harbors. But they
were floating there long. Each time a club member’s boat returned to the harbor
couple of these huge timbers would be trailing along behind. After a few days, most of the beams which had
floated south were stacked neatly alongside the remnants of the old clubhouse.
Some of the timbers of the old houseboat were used in the construction of the
present building. The wood which wasn‘t
used was burned to keep tire workers warm during the cold months of building. The old piano, which always seemed to be out
of tune, no matter who was playing it, was burned with proper ceremony. It’s
now part of the fill under the basement.
One day, shortly after work began dismantling the old houseboat, Doc Zagers
discovered a gold mine. Well at least it seemed 1ike a gold mine to the hard
pressed club. An old brick home on
It wasn’t long before Doc had brought several automobile loads down to the
harbor. Everyone was highly impressed with his “shopping“. And Doc was very
pleased with himself until one day Jason Smith brought a guest, the late Mrs.
Florence Ffrench (cz) to the club site. Doc proudly told her where he had “found”
the bricks and learned to his dismay, that she was their owner.
Doc was a bit flustered for a few moments, but the tension was relieved when
Mrs. Ffrench told him he could have all the brick he needed. Needless to say, a fair share of Mrs. Ffrench‘s
former home now forms most of the club house foundation.
With Doc Zagers spark-plugging the work the smart looking
new
As the years passel b more and more Chicagoans became interested in power boating.
Every year virtually every mooring in the
harbor was in use. In order to ease the mooring shortage, the Park District in
1947 constructed several steel slips along the harbor’s western shore,
eliminating one of the three beautiful islands, hut making room for many more
yachts.
