Ohio Valley Rowing Club celebrates 50th anniversary

PARKERSBURG - Members and supporters of the Ohio Valley Rowing Club gathered Thursday to celebrate the club's 50th anniversary and unveil its new top-of-the-line racing shell.

The eight-man Resolute Intrepid racing shell was dedicated to Babs Brundage Chapin, the daughter of Dr. Oliver Brundage, who brought the sport of rowing to the Mid-Ohio Valley in 1960 and founded the Ohio Valley Rowing Club in 1962. Chapin traveled from Tennessee to attend the celebration Thursday evening.

"I can't believe it's been 50 years," Chapin said. "We've come a long way from our humble beginnings at the Happy Valley boathouse to this magnificent building."

Brundage moved to Parkersburg in 1960 from Philadelphia, considered the rowing capital of the world at the time. His love of rowing followed him to Parkersburg, where he purchased land on the Little Kanawha River and built a small boathouse.

"I remember the day my dad took our family to Happy Valley in the middle of nowhere," Chapin said. "He had a vision of a boathouse, a concrete boat ramp and L-shaped docks."

Brundage convinced Parkersburg Catholic High School to start a rowing team in 1961, and it became the first crew team in West Virginia. Parkersburg High School began its own rowing team a couple years later.

Brundage died in 1973, but his legacy has lived on.

"My dad would be very proud to see the rowing club now," Chapin said.

In 1993, the club moved from Happy Valley to its current location on Keever Street on the Ohio River. With the support of former Parkersburg Mayor Helen Albright, who also attended the celebration Thursday, the club was able to lease the former water treatment building for a dollar a year.

The club presented Albright with a custom-made oar plaque.

The OVRC transformed the building into a rowing center, complete with a boathouse, conditioning and workout room, locker rooms and showers.

"The goal of this club has not changed through the years. It is to provide a quality rowing program to the youth of this community and reinforce the values of teamwork and integrity," Chapin said.

The racing shell, purchased with donations, was unveiled Thursday by Les Pritchard, chairman of the youth rowing program.

"Babs has been a great cheerleader and enthusiast for the sport of rowing in our community. This type of boat is considered to be the number one racing shell in the country, and it now has her name running along the side of it," Pritchard said.

"Fifty years is really an amazing accomplishment because there are not many local organizations that have been around that long. We've had thousands of rowers come through here, and many people have carried the torch. Supporters like Babs have kept the sport strong in the Mid-Ohio Valley," he said.

The club recently purchased two racing shells from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh that were damaged in an accident. The club bought both boats, with a value of more than $30,000, for $500 and worked to repair and restore them.

Pritchard said the OVRC's next goal is to purchase and install indoor rowing tanks for conditioning.

"We believe there is enough public support for this project. There are no indoor rowing tanks in this area," Pritchard said. "They would be open for our club members and members of the high school and college teams. We hope to get the best equipment to help rowing flourish in this area."