Early in the history of the Schuylkill Navy, it was customary to hold each year, usually in conjunction with the Annual Regatta what was known as the "Navy Review", the first being in the Fall of 1858. On these occasions all the Clubs turned out in holiday attire, going through the various maneuvers in fine style, swinging corners, changing partners, etc. There was an inspection by the Commodore. After going through the various evolutions the various boats lines up across the River below Girard Avenue, for the Scrub Race, for which the Commodore usually awarded a Trophy. Four crews, in six-oared barges, did their prettiest to win the coveted prize. The finish of the race was generally at Turtle Rock, just above the slip at Undine Barge Club. Every year this event was hotly contested and was the occasion for a display of keen rivalry upon the part of the different Clubs.
Probably the largest and most spectacular event of its kind was the "Rowing Pageant" which was held Sunday, June 2, 1935, in the Basin below Girard Avenue Bridge, which proved to the thousands of thrilled spectators, massed on both banks of the River, that Philadelphia was the rowing centre of the world.
Seventy-one boats, ranging from Singles to Eights, and manned by oarsmen of the late Nineties as well as present stars, were the flotilla that executed a spectacular series of maneuvers climaxed by the Olympic salute, in which a riverful of oarsmen lifted their right arms in unison.
The demonstration started with the parade of Singles, followed by Doubles, Fours, Sixes and Eights. A triple sculling combination and an Octuple Scull crew were novelties. The University barge Club presented a remembrance of a quarter century ago, when Barge Parties at up-river houses were in vogue, by a gaily decorated barge filed with men and women.
Sharing the glory of the great display was the renowned Vesper Senior Eight which was the first to attract world-wide attention to Philadelphia rowing prowess by its victory in the Olympiad at Paris, France, in 1900. Six of the crew were in their original seats and showed that, while somewhat less active on the recovery, they had not forgotten how to row.
The Commodore, John B. Kelly, with the Hon. George H. Earle, Governor of Pennsylvania, reviewed the Pageant from the "Avenue of the Statues" on East River Drive (now Kelly Drive), below Girard Avenue Bridge. The Governor called it a demonstration of the best in American life. It demonstrated convincingly the strength of the Clubs, the extent of their equipment and the fine character of their membership.
It must have been a vastly different spectacle from the first "Parade" held in the Fall of 1858, yet its purpose, that of promoting the sport of rowing, remained the same.
Perhaps the Schuylkill Navy was the more picturesque in the early years when its members appeared on fete days, for in the records of the Clubs there is registry of the garbs they wore - white Navy blouses with wide turned-down collars, big flapping sailor pants of white canvas, blue pea jackets with brass buttons, fancy colored waistcoats or gay belts of satin or silk, broad-brimmed sailor hats with fluttering ribbons showing the Club's colors, and their dress attire complete, even down to the highly polished pumps.
But what the Navy may have lost in picturesqueness, it has gained in effectiveness. The Schuylkill Navy is Philadelphia's unique rowing organization which presents, instead of floating fortresses and bristling guns, a peaceful scene of sparkling water and hundreds of men, young and old, manning boats with powerful oars. Here boat races were founded and many records established. It is an Institution of which the City of Philadelphia may well feel proud and the community can gain much by encouraging in every way a fondness among your young men for this active, healthful outdoor sport.
In a symposium on "The Most Healthful of Sports", held some time ago by a newspaper, the Crew Tutor of one of our great Colleges picked rowing first and had the following to say about it: "It's the best because all the major muscles and most of the minor ones are called into sue and because rowing, with the longest season of all sports, keeps the competitor out in the fresh air for fully seven months of the year. We all know the importance of fresh air during exercise and the benefit of the sun's rays when they come in direct contact with the skin. I can point to scores of boys who, when they began practice at the sport, were anemic and undeveloped, but who, after two seasons, became splendid specimens of Physical manhood."
Rowing, a real man's sport, has existed for many years and will continue to do so, on its own merits. Being purely amateur, rowing is maintained in Philadelphia by organized Clubs consisting of those who have known the thrill of the sliding seat, the rhythm and swing of bodies of well-trained crews, the leap and run of the frail craft at each stroke as every muscle is exerted to win the race; and also of those who realize the benefits derived from crew training as a most healthful exercise.
"Once an oarsman, always a fan," has proved the rule for generations, and today the most enthusiastic followers of this sport are those who faced the starting line in the 80's and '90s.
The past of the Schuylkill Navy of Philadelphia is creditable and inspiring. It is enjoying a prosperous present. It looks confidently to the future with the belief that when it celebrates its One Hundredth Anniversary in 1958, it will be occupying then, as it does now, and always has, an enviable place among the Rowing Organizations of the World.
On November 11, 1872, fourteen boats from the various Clubs composed an escort in the funeral solemnities of General George W. Meade.
In 1876, in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition, an International Regatta, under the auspices of the Schuylkill Navy, took place on the Schuylkill River. It was the largest event of its kind ever held. Twenty-five organizations from all over the United States and a number of foreign countries participated.
On April 27, 1878, at the request of the Commissioners of Fairmount Park, the Schuylkill Navy staged a demonstration in honor of a visit to Philadelphia of Hon. Rutherford B. Hayes, President of the United States.
An Open Regatta was conducted by the Schuylkill Navy, in 1882, in conjunction with the Bi-Centennial Celebration.
An Inner-City Regatta, under the auspices of the Schuylkill Navy, was a feature of the celebration of Founder's Week, October, 1908.
As part of the program arranged by the City of Philadelphia for the entertainment of the Delegates to the Democratic National Convention in June 1936, the Schuylkill Navy staged an imposing demonstration, known as "The Schuylkill Navy on Parade", which was attended by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Mayor of the City of Philadelphia, Judges and many citizens in the business and professional life of the Municipality.
Sunday, June 27, 1937, the Schuylkill Navy presented a huge Water Pageant as part of the Constitution Celebration, before an audience estimated at two hundred thousand. One of the attractions was a Float depicting the signing of the Constitution of the United States one hundred and fifty years ago, at Independence Hall. It was all, including a reproduction of Independence Hall, portrayed with a spot-lighted barge as a stage.
The People's Regatta, which is held every Fourth of July (and now called the Independence Day Regatta), as a part of the City's celebration of Independence Day, has always, at the request of the City, been managed by the Schuylkill Navy.