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History of the Harbor Boating Club
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THE BEGINNING
- FIRST MOVE
-
NEXT MOVE - THE
25th -
1974-1999 -
50th |
The Harbor Boating Club
celebrated its 50th anniversary on March 27,1999.
The following brief history of the club has been prepared
for this event.
THE BEGINNING – MARCH 1949
Launch:
The first Advisory Board meeting was held on March 25,1949.
Purpose: To create a small boat club for
residents of Huntington.
Operation: There will be a full membership meeting
every month.
A Board of Governors will conduct necessary business and will
elect the club officers from the board members.
Original Name
The original name was The Huntington Outboard Club. It was soon
changed to The Huntington Boating Club, because a number of
people with
inboard and sailboats expressed interest in joining the club.
When the club
was incorporated in 1950 the name was changed to the Harbor
Boating Club
at the state’s request to avoid confusion with the Huntington
Yacht Club.
Meeting Place: Gardener’s Cottage in Heckscher Park,
Huntington.
Dues: $5.00 per family per year
Activities: Boating, picnics, dinner dances,
films on boating and
outboard races. |
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FIRST MOVE TO THE HARBOR – 1950
Location: An abandoned, run down 20 foot
strip along side the LILCO transformer station in Halesite,
with mud flats in front of a broken and decayed bulkhead. It
was town property and was rented to the club for $5.00 per
year
plus cleaning up of area and restoration of the bulkhead.
The club negotiated
with LILCO for use of an additional 18 feet.
Facilities: Members cleaned up the area,
repaired the bulkhead and
graded fill (road scrapings) supplied by the town. For a
clubhouse, members
took apart, moved on a borrowed truck and reassembled a
former service
station building being replaced by a member (The town is
still using this
building, which is by the northeast corner of the Halesite
Marina). For a dock,
ramp and float, a member in the land clearing business
arranged with other members to cut down trees for piles and
to trade with a saw mill for necessary lumber. The members
assisted a local pile driver in setting the piles and built
the dock, ramp and float.
Direction: The Following pattern was set at this
time. Dollar costs would
be kept to an absolute minimum and the club would stay out
of debt, so that
any family who cared to work for the club could afford to be
members. This
was a family boating club for residents of Huntington. All
members contributed time and labor for all work necessary to
build and maintain the physical plant and
provide other necessary services. Dues of $5.00 per year
were increased to $10.00 per family per year about 1952.
There was no other income.
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MOVE TO WEST SHORE ROAD - 1960
Reason: The town was moving to claim the entire
area for other waterfront uses such as the Halesite Marina. Also
the club had the opportunity to purchase about three acres with
about a 150-foot of waterfront on West Shore Road.
This property could provide a clubhouse, marina area and parking
site if a
variance could be obtained.
About
75 members approved the move. Each member signed an agreement
purchase a proportionate undivided share of club
property,
which would be repurchased when he left. Arrangements were made
with the
Bank of Huntington to loan individual members this amount if
necessary
(for most members it was necessary).
Marina: A five-year lease was negotiated with
the Town for $200 per
year. All necessary permits were obtained for bulkhead
construction, dredging and building slips. A contract was let
for the heavy work involved in the construction. Members
obtained used telephone poles for piles, built floats and ramps
from used lumber when possible and built the original retaining
wall. The members
refurbished the interior of the house, cleaned up the grounds,
built parking
areas and provided all the necessary labor for numerous other
tasks. |
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The 25th ANNIVERSARY
The
following titled “Today” was written for the 25th
Anniversary Party:
The
Harbor Boating Club of Huntington, Inc. is a cooperative,
community,
family boating club with membership restricted to Town of
Huntington
residents. Membership is presently set at 90 families as a
practical measure
to fit the capacity of our present facilities. Each member owns a proportionate undivided share of club property.
Each and every family provides all necessary labor for all
maintenance, guard duty, etc. The property is maintained so as
to
be an asset to the area. There is also a very
active
Woman’s Auxiliary, which was formed in 1961.
The
Harbor Boating Club of Huntington Inc. has come a long way in 25
years.
Let us hope we can continue to work together for another 25
years. |
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THE SECOND 25 YEARS 1974 –1999
House expansion – 1974 A major expansion of the
ground floor was undertaken by the members to better meet the
needs for meetings and club
social events. Guided by some very knowledgeable members, a
large area,
free of walls and columns, was added to the clubhouse. The money
was
raised by assessing the members a small amount.
Marina Expansion – 1992 Approximately two years time
was spent
obtaining the proper permits for marina expansion. The marina
was expanded about 40 feet toward the channel. This increased
the capacity to
approximately 105 boats. This was completely paid for from
the club’s
general funds.
Marina Dredging – 1995 Two years were spent
obtaining permits for
marina dredging. The marina was completely dredged to a minimum
low tide
depth of 5 feet. The upset to the marina grounds during dredging
led to a
complete renovation of the lower bulkhead area, including a new
concrete
block wall. The extent of these tasks required most of the work
be performed
by private contractors.
The
Ladies Auxiliary added the finishing touch to this project with
the donation of gazebo in the corner of the parking lot. The
fishing club donated the weather
vane mounted on the gazebo.
Organization The membership of the club was
eventually changed from
two types of membership (share holder or non share holder) to a
single type membership with all members having equal privileges.
It remains that way to
this day.
The
Ladies Auxiliary was formed in 1961 and has been a very active
group
within the club. They have sponsored social events, contributed
many items to
the club and provided an organization the ladies can enjoy.
The Fishing Club is another group within the club, and it has
been very
successful in providing interesting activities for all members.
It probably
would have been better named “The Fishing and Eating Club”,
referring to
its two main activities. A Captains Club was established for
long time
members who were no longer boating, but wished to maintain their
association with the club. They could retain non-voting
privileges for a nominal fee and stay somewhat active. |
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THE 50TH YEAR- 1999
The
Harbor Boating Club of Huntington, Inc. is a cooperative boating
club with membership restricted to the Town of Huntington
residents. Membership is presently set at 100 members which is
the maximum agreed to in the
variance application of 1960. Each member owns a proportionate
undivided
share of club property. Each and every member provides all
necessary labor
for maintenance, guard duty, etc. The property is maintained so
as to be an
asset to the area.
There
is a very active Ladies’ Auxiliary, a successful Fishing Club
and the
Captains Club generally has about 25 members.
There
are still two active members who joined the club in 1954. They
are:
Tony Barker
Herb Hagstrom
The
Harbor Boating Club of Huntington Inc. has come a long way in 50
years.
Let us hope that it will continue for another 50 years. |
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