On Christmas Day, Seattle will see itself on the massive display screen when “The Boys within the Boat” opens in theaters. It’s the movie adaptation of Daniel James Brown’s bestseller concerning the collective effort that led 9 boys and the Seattle neighborhood to attain its golden dream on the 1936 Summer season Olympics.
George Clooney’s film concerning the College of Washington crew crew gives not only a proud story about our previous, however an essential message for our future. It’s a message concerning the function of neighborhood that we should always heed as we glance towards 2024.
The 9 boys who discovered their swing on the frigid waters of Lake Washington have been all sons of the Nice Despair. Most have been poor and missed. All have been inexperienced. However they shared a hidden energy and tenacity that earned them a coveted spot on the Husky crew crew.
Seattle on the time was an formidable work in progress interrupted by hardship and wrestle. As you watch the film, take note of the scene with the Smith Tower, on the time the tallest constructing on the West Coast, seen within the distance from Hooverville, a shantytown on the tidal flats close to our waterfront.
And spot how, regardless of adversity, our neighborhood got here collectively.
When the crew first dropped their oars into Lake Washington, nobody anticipated a victory on the U.S. Olympic Trials. Their conquer extra skilled and higher financed East Coast crews didn’t assure a visit to Berlin for the 1936 Summer season Olympics. The crew confronted a major monetary hurdle: They wanted to boost $5,000 (equal to $110,000 right now) to pay their manner. An unimaginable quantity, particularly in an financial downturn, with simply days to tug it collectively.
That’s when The Seattle Occasions sounded the alarm and our neighborhood rallied. Faculty youngsters contributed nickels and dimes. Native companies stepped up. Volunteers knocked on doorways and requested for donations. And very quickly, the crew had what it took to symbolize the nation.
With out this extraordinary neighborhood effort, there would have been no ebook to write down or film to make.
The era of Seattleites that despatched our crew to Olympic glory continued to construct on this spirit. Boeing and its workers designed and constructed the planes that helped win World Warfare II. Native enterprise leaders designed a House Needle that grew to become the centerpiece of the 1962 World’s Truthful and a long-lasting icon for Seattle’s function on the earth. And two floating bridges throughout Lake Washington made it potential for a automobile to maneuver throughout a deep stretch of water sooner than an Olympic crew crew.
Ambition met creativeness, and other people got here collectively to construct a greater future.
The neighborhood of our personal time has adopted in these footsteps. Over the past decade, we changed the world’s longest floating bridge, tore down a harmful viaduct on Alaskan Method and burrowed a colossal tunnel to make manner for a 20-acre public park. Every venture has been each grand and tough, however just like the light-rail system that in the end will cross Lake Washington, they’re including to the crown jewels of our area.
As we watch the inspiring successes in “The Boys within the Boat,” let’s once more name on this neighborhood spirit.
Our era can construct new civic treasures. A park that can redefine our waterfront. Excessive-speed rail that can assist unfold development and join us with Vancouver and Portland. And airport capability that can assist pace our journey past.
And to this checklist, we’ll add the shell home on the Montlake Minimize that was the unique dwelling for the 1936 crew crew. Microsoft and Problem Seattle have joined others as main donors to renovate the construction and create a brand new centerpiece on the College of Washington.
A spot the place college students, residents and vacationers can be taught from the lasting story concerning the boys and their boat. A spot the place teams in our neighborhood can meet, discover inspiration and chart their very own formidable future.
The 12 months forward presents many alternatives to seek out our stride. As a area, we’ve spent the previous two years climbing out of a pandemic, and its lingering results have taken a toll. Now’s the time for extra work to reinvigorate and reinvest in downtown Seattle, deal with homelessness and public security collectively, and proceed our pursuit of inexpensive housing and expanded schooling.
The spirit of the 1936 crew crew is a legacy of a crew’s success. It gives inspiration for what people and a neighborhood can accomplish when it pulls collectively.
It’s our boat now. Let’s take advantage of it.