Written January 28, 2014
My father loved sailing. He loved anything about boats, really. His
line of the family can be traced through the Hudson Valley all the way
back to Dutch New Amsterdam so you could say it's in our blood. After he
was discharged from the Navy in 1945 he became involved with the now
defunct Sea Scouts - the maritime equivalent of the Boy Scouts. I remember
him taking me down to the Hudson back in the 70s and issuing stern
warnings that I wasn't to go anywhere near the water. I'm sure the
concern was that I may fall in, get swept away and drown but also what
I'd be exposed to should I simply fall in and not get swept away and
drown. The river was essentially an open sewer back then.
Years
before I was even a thought - some time in 1969, Dad and one of his
brothers brought my oldest brother, then 11 years old, down to the
Alpine Boat Basin. They caught word that some people built a replica of
an 19th century Dutch Sloop and were looking to get people out on the
river. It was right up their alley!! However what could have been a
great collaboration between people who wanted to reclaim the river was
dashed when my dad and uncle found the man behind the operation to be
Pete Seeger. Pete was a communist in their eyes so they turned tail and
never looked back. Thank you, Senator McCarthy.
Flash
forward 30 years...I'm working my first job in advertising sales at The
Record having just moved back home from a brief stint in Massachusetts. I
get a call one afternoon from a woman wanting to put together an ad
schedule for a music festival on the Hudson River. As we go through
figures and creative options I come to find out that it's been an annual
event. For the past 30 years. It's the main fundraising event for an
environmental organization founded by Pete Seeger!! Long story short
(sort of), I got the ad schedule and made my way to the Clearwater
Revival that summer. On Father's Day weekend.
That
was 1999. In the 15 years since I've volunteered at the festival as
well as on board the Clearwater as an educator in their environmental
outreach program. I've crossed paths with Pete several times but out of
respect I always kept a polite distance. I'm sure he wouldn't have
objected to a brief greeting but that was all the more reason why I
wanted to give him his space. He was always being approached by people. I
felt bad jumping on the pile.
I last saw Pete in 2010,
the last time I sailed on board the Clearwater. We were docked in
Beacon. He was down at the Beacon Sloop Club doing yard work. Days later
we sailed up to Poughkeepsie where he happened to be performing on the
waterfront. 91 years young and still committed to the cause.
When
his wife Toshi passed last year I suspected it wouldn't be long before
he joined her so I suppose I've been coming to terms with this
probability over the past 6 months. It doesn't make it any less
heartbreaking though. Pete was a treasure, a National one at that. I
don't kid myself that if Dad were still here he'd soften up on his
political views and find some degree of appreciation for the work Pete
has done to restore the Hudson, but I am forever grateful for myself and
on his behalf.
Thank you, Pete.
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