A HISTORY OF SOUTH SHORE YACHT CLUB
In July of 1954 several boat owners, led by T. Benton Morris, discussed the possibility of forming a yacht club on the Weymouth side of the Back River, on property owned by Francis Coleman. This property, the present site of South Shore Yacht Club, was an operating boat yard named the “South Shore Marine and Supply Company.” Mr. Coleman was to furnish and erect, on the spit attached to his property, a building that had been a bathhouse on property on Otis Hill in Hingham, and to build a walkway to the building. The erected building and the walkway were to be the property of the Club. These arrangements were dependent upon raising the money by having twenty-five interested boat owners put up $150 each to cover three year’s dues in advance to finance the endeavor and establish a Club Treasury. To obtain publicity, Weymouth, Quincy, and Hingham newspapers announced the proposed formation of the Club, while the founders solicited boatmen in the area. In 1954, raising $150 for three year’s dues for a non-existent yacht club was not easy but the end of 1954 achieved the result.
On February 16, 1955, seventeen boat owners met at the Hingham home of Richard R. Brett, to form a corporation establishing a club called the South Shore Yacht Club and to conduct business under that name with Mr. Coleman. The following officers of the corporation were elected at this meeting: T. Benton Morris, President; John Osterman, Clerk; Richard Brett, Treasurer. A board of six directors was elected. This Board of Directors and Officers signed the Corporation papers and compiled information to establish bylaws. This document still stands as guidance in the operation of the Club today. The Corporation papers were filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth on February 18, 1955.
The By-laws covered the process for election of Flag Officers. Ben Morris became the first Commodore (and subsequently re-elected to five one-year terms). Other officers serving that first year were: Thomas Alcock, Vice Commodore; Richard Brett, Rear Commodore; and Robert Tibbetts, Fleet Captain.
The Club signed a twenty-five-year lease from Francis Coleman with a rent of $300 per year. This lease ran with the land in order to protect the Club. This point proved important as in 1958 the South Shore Marine & Supply Company went out of business and the John M. Cashman Company bought the land. The South Shore Yacht Club still held a lease on the land, and still had a home.
Fortunately, the early Club membership consisted mainly of blue-collar workers, since large amount of construction was required to make the clubhouse usable. Many times, the work parties ran until midnight. To add to the treasury, the ladies of the Club put on cake sales.
The first five years the Club was in its infancy, with all the attendant problems. The next forty-five years would see the Club become what it is today: a yacht club well recognized and respected for its efforts in the community. Members contributed sweat equity in lieu of extravagant dues or initiation fees and this concept provided ‘‘non-yachtsmen” an outlet to the water. The Clubhouse served as a base of operations for local police and fire departments during operations on the Back River. A Junior Sailing program has proven popular with residents.
Three suspicious fires beset the Club in the 1960’s, but thanks to the tenaciousness of the Club’s members they rebuilt after each fire and carried on with their boating. The first fire occurred on June 28, 1962 and took firefighters more than an hour to confine the blaze. The second and
third fires were in 1964 and 1968 respectively and arson was suspected. In an interview with the Patriot Ledger the Commodore said, “We plan to go into something fireproof this time”.
At the March 15, 1968, Board of Directors’ meeting it was voted to immediately re-build, this time with a steel-framed sheet metal building. This prefabricated building remained our home for 27 years, until 1995.
In the fall of 1972 talk began about moving the Club to Stoddard’s Neck, for two reasons. Our lease expired in 1980, and the Board learned, almost by accident that the Cashman property was now held in a trust, the Lyne Realty Trust, with Jay Cashman, Trustee.
The MDC had recently acquired Stoddard’s Neck. The Club sent a letter to the MDC requesting our desire to move there. The first refusal came from the Commissioner in September 22, 1972, with no apparent reason noted.
A petition drive in the spring of 1976 by the Club resulted in over 3500 signatures being sent to the MDC seeking permission to move to Stoddard’s Neck. Several prominent legislators were backing our cause (House Bill 1455), and the outlook was optimistic. After wrangling between Beacon Hill and the Hingham Selectman, our efforts to move were rejected at a Special Town Meeting in Hingham in 1977. However, this Special Town Meeting created the Back River Study Committee, and the Club was offered representation on the Committee.
A Junior Sailing Program was initiated in the summer of 1975 for the children of members, with meetings on Sunday mornings. This successful program became popular and in 1982, the first Club Regatta was held, followed by a cookout and trophies being awarded. The Club joined the Quincy Bay Race Week Association in 1984. The Junior Sailing Program became a community sailing program and opened to the public in 1986.
A notice from our landlord in 1985 indicated that the land would be sold, thus forcing the Club to move. Eventually the MDC took the Cashman property by eminent domain on April 9, 1987, for $1,000,000, and issued the Club an occupancy permit by in June 1989.
The MDC dedicated Abigail Adams Park on June 30, 1989. Work began on the park in 2002, and was completed in early summer of 2003. The Park was formally dedicated on June 14, 2003. The members of the Yacht Club help maintain the look of the park during their semi-annual work parties.
In 1994 the Trustees voted to remodel the clubhouse. With permits and permission in hand, work got underway. True to its blue-collar roots, Club members completed ninety percent of the work in a continuing effort to keep boating affordable in the local community.
This history encompasses the first fifty years of South Shore Yacht Club. It is a history of hard work and selfless dedication by many individuals. The founders would be proud of the Club today, especially as it honors the original articles put forth in the charter to create a place for social gatherings and the encouragement of athletic exercises and yachting.
The mid-90’s and into the turn of the new century saw some of the veteran leadership who built the current club house move on to other adventures and many downsized their boats or went from sail to power. An influx of new members quickly became part of the leadership as the club headed into the 21st century. They served in a variety of offices and committees becoming Flag Officers, Corporate Officers, Committee Chairpersons, and they got involved with Bert’s Boat Yard.
Sons and Daughters outgrew the Junior membership class and became General Members and brought their own children into the Junior membership ranks. Junior sailing saw an increased number of students in the program and classes were full for both sessions. Recent years saw SSYC sailors placing in the top 3 in the N10 and 420 classes and for several years in a row, and several SSYC junior sailors won a QBRWA scholarship.
The club membership was also aging, and it was essential that this young blood take on some of the more laborious tasks from pulling chain on the floats and in the mooring field, building new docks, to handling basic repairs around the clubhouse.
Mixing the younger and older members both seasoned and newly joined, and some outside help yielded impressive results. A new roof was put on around 2013 – 2014. The walkway to the club from the parking lot was replaced in 2018 - 2019 and the walkway to the ramp was raised up a bit. A Tiki Hut was built in 2017 – 2018. A new method of float construction started in 2018 using Ipe for decking. This was a result of our normal lumber yard closing, allowing for thinking outside the norm. Increased life expectancy, reduced labor requirements and a better return on investment were the goals.
The fifteen years between the 50th and 65th anniversaries saw a continuation of the yearly invasion between SSYC and Salem Willows Yacht Club. The events featured more food and lively entertainment and drew a good crowd. Visits to SWYC always included a trip into the park for American Chop Suey and a fried Devil Dog. SSYC visits included plenty of games and contests of skill and themes from Western Night to Survivor kept the costumes festive and included a clam and lobster bake.
This time frame also saw the club move away from printed materials such as event flyers which required stamps and mailing, relying more and more on email, Contact blasts and the club’s web page for communication. The printed roster was still in demand as many found the pocket-sized to be a great resource and easy to carry.
The 2020 season was impacted by Covid-19 in many ways. The Opening Dinner Dance was canceled and Opening Day was a muted affair. That year saw a decreased use of the clubhouse and the addition of a handwashing station on the main floats.
Members stayed on their boats for the much of the time as large gatherings down at the tent were frowned upon.
As the Club moved into its 66th year, it shed the COVID-19 restrictions that dampened the 2020 season socially. Major improvements were started in terms of the float extension and the slip fingers. The fingers became narrower and used brackets for attaching. The main floats were replaced with a slightly different size and construction material. The three-year project was the largest capital improvement in the club’s history and future plans for 2025 include a newly designed and built dinghy dock. A fish cleaning station was established courtesy of the VC Fishing Tournament. Other improvements heading into the club’s 70th season include work under the club to protect the supporting pilings and improvements to the water and electrical system on the dock.
Operationally, new methods were tried and seem successful. Unused older floats were given away to reduce the need for breaking them up before putting the debris into dumpsters, while the fingers were removed and returned via crane barge that placed them on the float extension for winter storage.
The fourth generation of members was shaping up. Almost 50% of the membership was new since 2017. It remains to be seen what their legacy will be. The 2024 season had the first legacy flag officers step forward into leadership positions. The past 20 years has since great efforts and stewardship of the South Shore Yacht Club in expectation that this next group of leaders will continue to take charge and have success.
ORIGINAL CHARTER MEMBERS
T. Benton Morris, President
J. Richard Brett, Treasurer
John M. Osterman, Secretary
William S. Crowell
Joseph M. Dworkin
William E. Hines
Rockwell Kent III
Millard P. Koopman
Frederick H. Krause
Alton J. Larson
Robert L. O’Brien
Arthur D. Porter
Joseph J. Sturgis
Robert L. Tibbetts
Joseph A. Tweed
Edward L. Willard
John W. Wright
In July of 1954 several boat owners, led by T. Benton Morris, discussed the possibility of forming a yacht club on the Weymouth side of the Back River, on property owned by Francis Coleman. This property, the present site of South Shore Yacht Club, was an operating boat yard named the “South Shore Marine and Supply Company.” Mr. Coleman was to furnish and erect, on the spit attached to his property, a building that had been a bathhouse on property on Otis Hill in Hingham, and to build a walkway to the building. The erected building and the walkway were to be the property of the Club. These arrangements were dependent upon raising the money by having twenty-five interested boat owners put up $150 each to cover three year’s dues in advance to finance the endeavor and establish a Club Treasury. To obtain publicity, Weymouth, Quincy, and Hingham newspapers announced the proposed formation of the Club, while the founders solicited boatmen in the area. In 1954, raising $150 for three year’s dues for a non-existent yacht club was not easy but the end of 1954 achieved the result.
On February 16, 1955, seventeen boat owners met at the Hingham home of Richard R. Brett, to form a corporation establishing a club called the South Shore Yacht Club and to conduct business under that name with Mr. Coleman. The following officers of the corporation were elected at this meeting: T. Benton Morris, President; John Osterman, Clerk; Richard Brett, Treasurer. A board of six directors was elected. This Board of Directors and Officers signed the Corporation papers and compiled information to establish bylaws. This document still stands as guidance in the operation of the Club today. The Corporation papers were filed with the Secretary of the Commonwealth on February 18, 1955.
The By-laws covered the process for election of Flag Officers. Ben Morris became the first Commodore (and subsequently re-elected to five one-year terms). Other officers serving that first year were: Thomas Alcock, Vice Commodore; Richard Brett, Rear Commodore; and Robert Tibbetts, Fleet Captain.
The Club signed a twenty-five-year lease from Francis Coleman with a rent of $300 per year. This lease ran with the land in order to protect the Club. This point proved important as in 1958 the South Shore Marine & Supply Company went out of business and the John M. Cashman Company bought the land. The South Shore Yacht Club still held a lease on the land, and still had a home.
Fortunately, the early Club membership consisted mainly of blue-collar workers, since large amount of construction was required to make the clubhouse usable. Many times, the work parties ran until midnight. To add to the treasury, the ladies of the Club put on cake sales.
The first five years the Club was in its infancy, with all the attendant problems. The next forty-five years would see the Club become what it is today: a yacht club well recognized and respected for its efforts in the community. Members contributed sweat equity in lieu of extravagant dues or initiation fees and this concept provided ‘‘non-yachtsmen” an outlet to the water. The Clubhouse served as a base of operations for local police and fire departments during operations on the Back River. A Junior Sailing program has proven popular with residents.
Three suspicious fires beset the Club in the 1960’s, but thanks to the tenaciousness of the Club’s members they rebuilt after each fire and carried on with their boating. The first fire occurred on June 28, 1962 and took firefighters more than an hour to confine the blaze. The second and
third fires were in 1964 and 1968 respectively and arson was suspected. In an interview with the Patriot Ledger the Commodore said, “We plan to go into something fireproof this time”.
At the March 15, 1968, Board of Directors’ meeting it was voted to immediately re-build, this time with a steel-framed sheet metal building. This prefabricated building remained our home for 27 years, until 1995.
In the fall of 1972 talk began about moving the Club to Stoddard’s Neck, for two reasons. Our lease expired in 1980, and the Board learned, almost by accident that the Cashman property was now held in a trust, the Lyne Realty Trust, with Jay Cashman, Trustee.
The MDC had recently acquired Stoddard’s Neck. The Club sent a letter to the MDC requesting our desire to move there. The first refusal came from the Commissioner in September 22, 1972, with no apparent reason noted.
A petition drive in the spring of 1976 by the Club resulted in over 3500 signatures being sent to the MDC seeking permission to move to Stoddard’s Neck. Several prominent legislators were backing our cause (House Bill 1455), and the outlook was optimistic. After wrangling between Beacon Hill and the Hingham Selectman, our efforts to move were rejected at a Special Town Meeting in Hingham in 1977. However, this Special Town Meeting created the Back River Study Committee, and the Club was offered representation on the Committee.
A Junior Sailing Program was initiated in the summer of 1975 for the children of members, with meetings on Sunday mornings. This successful program became popular and in 1982, the first Club Regatta was held, followed by a cookout and trophies being awarded. The Club joined the Quincy Bay Race Week Association in 1984. The Junior Sailing Program became a community sailing program and opened to the public in 1986.
A notice from our landlord in 1985 indicated that the land would be sold, thus forcing the Club to move. Eventually the MDC took the Cashman property by eminent domain on April 9, 1987, for $1,000,000, and issued the Club an occupancy permit by in June 1989.
The MDC dedicated Abigail Adams Park on June 30, 1989. Work began on the park in 2002, and was completed in early summer of 2003. The Park was formally dedicated on June 14, 2003. The members of the Yacht Club help maintain the look of the park during their semi-annual work parties.
In 1994 the Trustees voted to remodel the clubhouse. With permits and permission in hand, work got underway. True to its blue-collar roots, Club members completed ninety percent of the work in a continuing effort to keep boating affordable in the local community.
This history encompasses the first fifty years of South Shore Yacht Club. It is a history of hard work and selfless dedication by many individuals. The founders would be proud of the Club today, especially as it honors the original articles put forth in the charter to create a place for social gatherings and the encouragement of athletic exercises and yachting.
The mid-90’s and into the turn of the new century saw some of the veteran leadership who built the current club house move on to other adventures and many downsized their boats or went from sail to power. An influx of new members quickly became part of the leadership as the club headed into the 21st century. They served in a variety of offices and committees becoming Flag Officers, Corporate Officers, Committee Chairpersons, and they got involved with Bert’s Boat Yard.
Sons and Daughters outgrew the Junior membership class and became General Members and brought their own children into the Junior membership ranks. Junior sailing saw an increased number of students in the program and classes were full for both sessions. Recent years saw SSYC sailors placing in the top 3 in the N10 and 420 classes and for several years in a row, and several SSYC junior sailors won a QBRWA scholarship.
The club membership was also aging, and it was essential that this young blood take on some of the more laborious tasks from pulling chain on the floats and in the mooring field, building new docks, to handling basic repairs around the clubhouse.
Mixing the younger and older members both seasoned and newly joined, and some outside help yielded impressive results. A new roof was put on around 2013 – 2014. The walkway to the club from the parking lot was replaced in 2018 - 2019 and the walkway to the ramp was raised up a bit. A Tiki Hut was built in 2017 – 2018. A new method of float construction started in 2018 using Ipe for decking. This was a result of our normal lumber yard closing, allowing for thinking outside the norm. Increased life expectancy, reduced labor requirements and a better return on investment were the goals.
The fifteen years between the 50th and 65th anniversaries saw a continuation of the yearly invasion between SSYC and Salem Willows Yacht Club. The events featured more food and lively entertainment and drew a good crowd. Visits to SWYC always included a trip into the park for American Chop Suey and a fried Devil Dog. SSYC visits included plenty of games and contests of skill and themes from Western Night to Survivor kept the costumes festive and included a clam and lobster bake.
This time frame also saw the club move away from printed materials such as event flyers which required stamps and mailing, relying more and more on email, Contact blasts and the club’s web page for communication. The printed roster was still in demand as many found the pocket-sized to be a great resource and easy to carry.
The 2020 season was impacted by Covid-19 in many ways. The Opening Dinner Dance was canceled and Opening Day was a muted affair. That year saw a decreased use of the clubhouse and the addition of a handwashing station on the main floats.
Members stayed on their boats for the much of the time as large gatherings down at the tent were frowned upon.
As the Club moved into its 66th year, it shed the COVID-19 restrictions that dampened the 2020 season socially. Major improvements were started in terms of the float extension and the slip fingers. The fingers became narrower and used brackets for attaching. The main floats were replaced with a slightly different size and construction material. The three-year project was the largest capital improvement in the club’s history and future plans for 2025 include a newly designed and built dinghy dock. A fish cleaning station was established courtesy of the VC Fishing Tournament. Other improvements heading into the club’s 70th season include work under the club to protect the supporting pilings and improvements to the water and electrical system on the dock.
Operationally, new methods were tried and seem successful. Unused older floats were given away to reduce the need for breaking them up before putting the debris into dumpsters, while the fingers were removed and returned via crane barge that placed them on the float extension for winter storage.
The fourth generation of members was shaping up. Almost 50% of the membership was new since 2017. It remains to be seen what their legacy will be. The 2024 season had the first legacy flag officers step forward into leadership positions. The past 20 years has since great efforts and stewardship of the South Shore Yacht Club in expectation that this next group of leaders will continue to take charge and have success.
ORIGINAL CHARTER MEMBERS
T. Benton Morris, President
J. Richard Brett, Treasurer
John M. Osterman, Secretary
William S. Crowell
Joseph M. Dworkin
William E. Hines
Rockwell Kent III
Millard P. Koopman
Frederick H. Krause
Alton J. Larson
Robert L. O’Brien
Arthur D. Porter
Joseph J. Sturgis
Robert L. Tibbetts
Joseph A. Tweed
Edward L. Willard
John W. Wright