___________________________________

HISTORY of the WASHINGTON IRVING BOAT CLUB

It all began at an informal meeting held at Toby Mosiello’s garage in the spring of 1951.  

A handful of men who wanted to be able to enjoy boating on the Hudson River - Joe Reis, Dominick Cerbone, Andrew Nemeth, Mike Kooney and Toby Mosiello - invited friends sharing their interest to attend. About twenty-five men showed up and all agreed that they would like to form a boat club.

At this initial meeting Dominick Cerbone was elected Commodore; Toby Mosiello, Vice Commodore; Andrew Nemeth, Treasurer and Mike Galgano, Secretary.

The initiation fee was $5.00. Dues were set at fifty cents a month - eight months of the year. The only available site along the Hudson was a basin adjacent to and directly south of the Tarrytown Boat Club. This basin had been used by the Village of Tarrytown to dump refuse during the annual spring and fall cleanups - not a promising location.

However, the members pitched in and proceeded to make the area more attractive. In the basin each boat had a stake to which it could be tied and “row boats” were used to get to the members’ boats - all runabouts with outboard motors.

Club membership grew rapidly and at the close of the first season WIBC had fifty active members, most of whom owned a boat. In the fall of 1951, the next election of officers took place. Toby Mosiello was named Commodore; Joe Reis, Vice Commodore; Andy Nemeth, Treasurer and Mike Galgano, Secretary.

Club members continued to improve this basin until Dec. 15, 1955 when the Tappan Zee Bridge spanning the Hudson was officially opened for traffic. Merritt, Chapman & Scott, Inc., builders of the bridge had erected a Quonset hut on the last available piece of Tarrytown river frontage to serve as headquarters during construction of the bridge. Adjacent to and west of the hut a 40’ x 40’ concrete slab had been poured on which the bridge builders carried on the necessary welding of parts. In addition, five docks had been constructed alongside the south shore line.

At the time, the bridge builders had a written agreement with the Village of Tarrytown stating that the builders would dismantle and remove the Quonset hut, tear up and cart away the concrete slab and remove the docks. Seeing the possibilities of these improvements WIBC officers Mosiello, Nemeth, Reis and Leone arranged to meet with the Tarrytown Waterfront Commission. Acting as spokesman, Joe Reis pointed out to the commission that, with seventy-five members WIBC was now a financially responsible organization in a logical position to take over the hut, slab and docks. Each member, he added, was pledged to put in twenty hours of work per season. This would improve the appearance of the grounds and assure residents of Tarrytown a boat club, consisting of runabouts, for all to enjoy.

The Waterfront Commission agreed to permit WIBC to lease the plot of ground and notified Merritt, Chapman & Scott to leave the hut the slab and the docks. Now at last the club had a suitable basin in which to moor boats together with a club house in which to meet. All boats were moved from the northern basin to that adjoining the docks. The village trustees granted the club a one-year lease, based upon a maximum membership of 125, and renewable the following Year provided the grounds were cleaned up and boating affairs conducted in a gentlemanly manner.

At this time the Quonset hut had no heat, electricity or running water. A “pot-belly” stove was installed and necessary piping was installed for running water and toilets. A roof was erected over the concrete slab, providing an ideal place for members and their families to visit socially. A gasoline-operated generator provided electricity for the first year but later on, in 1961, Jack Schenck secured permission from the Chief Engineer of the New York Central railroad to run electric feeder lines over the tracks and into our clubhouse thereby solving our electricity problem.

Next, wood sheeting, and asbestos shingles were installed on the outside of the hut to weatherproof it. Later, sheet rock plus insulation and a dropped ceiling helped to make the interior more comfortable and attractive. Indirect heating was installed, plus a small kitchen so that members and guests could buy beer, soft drinks, hamburgers and hot dogs.

It was apparent, however that the boat basin urgently needed a breakwater to provide protection from storms. At a cost of some $17,000 a 300’ bulkhead was installed on the west and south side of the basin Financing was handled by having each member purchase a $100 bond hearing 3% interest, payable in five years, all of which were paid off within the five year period. Within a few weeks after completion of the bulkhead, Hurricane Donna struck the area. The bulkhead sustained serious damage, but held and no boats were destroyed, so that it has proved to be an excellent investment.

Members were still mooring boats to poles and using “row boats” for access. In 1963 a series of floats and finger floats were constructed and installed so that each boat could be moored either to the bulkhead or the finger floats. Over the years, the five docks were reinforced with concrete donated by Cooney Bros., Inc. An overlay of asphalt was placed over the launching ramp and much of the area alongside the docks. Meanwhile Pat Galgano and several other members planted a lawn and flower borders around the buildings to beautify the area and a chain-link fence was erected for security.

Incorporated in 1956 as a non-profit corporation, the Washington Irving Boat Club stands today as a monument to the foresight of its officers and members. Literally thousands of hours of personal work time were put in by members each according to his own skill. Now, some fifteen years after the club was founded, we have an attractive clubhouse with a roofed outdoor pavilion for the use and pleasure of members, guests and their families.  Opening Day at their club, together with the annual Clam Bake are the outstanding social events sponsored by WIBC. Mike Kooney has always been chairman of these events and each year does a wonderful job.

In recent years the Predicted Time Log Race, chairmaned by Donald Acker, has become an increasingly popular event for many members.

Every member can be justly proud of WIBC, which today represents an investment in monies and labor of over $200,000. Keystone of its success lies in the fact that the club has always been served by capable officers and that its members have willingly labored long and hard in building and maintaining its facilities. Well worth noting is that Andy Nemeth, one of the original founders, has been treasurer each year except during 1961and 1962 - always seeing to it that the club had “money in the bank” - no mean achievement. Andy now serves as Commodore. From the beginning to the present each of the club’s Commodores, namely Cerbone, Mosiello, Suter, Fiala and Nemeth together with their officers and Board of Directors have unselfishly devoted countless hours for the betterment of the club.

FROM JOHN O SPEIGHT JR., PAST COMMODORE
(This is a brief synopsis of some of the club’s history during the 1980’s.  Thoughts are not in order of there happenings.)

In the early sixties, to have a boat moored on the bulkhead, you had to be a member for 5 years.  At the time of the change there were only 5 boats on the bulkhead.  The B Membership was born on a trial basis and five Members will be taken in.  The 5 year bylaw was rescinded for A members. The Board of Governors Meetings was held in the room which you now call your tool room.  In about 1970 a house trailer was purchased and was used as an office and Board of Gov. meeting room.  In those days at was common to have regular meetings go for three hours, all expenditures had to be read and voted on, one at a time.  In the early 1970’s , the Club was run with an iron hand by the old guard, younger members were coming in and getting involved.  I ran for Commodore in 1975 and re-elected in 1976.

At the first Annual Dinner Dance, which was held at the Log Cabin, Emil DeMicco had a conversation with the Commodore of Seaweed Yacht Club about the Clubs joining forces, like the Clubs had done up river (Mohawk Assoc.).  I thought it was a good idea so we called a meeting at the Club and the rest is history.

To set the record straight, Emil was the key.  The Club should also be aware that the emblem of the Hudson River Assoc. was designed by Mike Smacchia.  Rod Suter was elected as the first President of the Assoc.  For many years, Ralph Zimmerman was our Representative.

During my Tenure 1980 thru 1989, the Membership took on projects that I believe the Membership could not do today.  Jim McStay and his crew built every main float, jumper float, finger float and gas dock.  Mike Smacchia and Henry Crepeault designed dock number 1, Jim’s crew built it.  There wasn’t any dock 3 so Mike and Henry designed one and Jim did it again.  Big Ben Scappaticci got all the Greenheart Piles for the dock and loads of flat steel at no cost to the Club.  The finger floats on the bulkhead came about the same way. 

Electricity was added to the bulkhead, as was water.  On 6/16/85 it passed electrical
inspection.  We also added water and electricity on Dock 3.  The cable going out to the bulkhead was researched and purchased by Bill Petrovich.  These projects could never have been done without the cooperation of the majority of the Membership (take note not full).

At the same time, looking at purchasing a schoolhouse from the Tarrytown School Board.  We agreed that we would make an offer of $1500 and agree to disconnect all services and redo the grounds.  We attended the School Board meeting.  At this meeting, the Fire Dept. was also there looking to make a bid.  They didn’t, as they thought I said $15,000 instead of $1500.  On April 13, 1979, we attempted to move the three separate sections that we separated, we failed.  The next weekend, after developing another plan, we manually jacked up the sections one at a time, slid the trailer under and then lowered it down. The trailer was loaned to us and so was the truck, which was driven by its owner, Billy Dellasorte (non-member).

At the time of the schoolhouse in 1979, I was Rod Suter’s Vice Commodore and was made Chairman of the New Building Committee, with Dan Mastropietro and Mike Smacchia Co-Chair People.  Mike designed the building and Danny was in charge of building it.  Now, where do we get the money, we ran tag sales, run by members and their lady friends, about $3000 was taken in.  Non-interest bonds were sold to the Membership. 

The foundation of cement block was laid in 102 degree heat.  The cement mason was Danny’s brother and the laborers were Members, all volunteers.  That day, Members including myself, violated a Club rule, we jumped in and swam in the Basin.  No one reported us, I wonder why.  Danny was responsible for getting us the trailer and truck for moving the sections.  From the beginning to the day we officially opened the building, over 6000 man hours were put in, all hours were volunteered, no hours worked were work detail hours.  Mike Smacchia made all the tables, room dividers, flower boxes and overhead lights.  Steve McStay chaired the Plumbing Committee and Billy Petrovich chaired the Electrical Committee.  The Grand Opening of the Club was July 4, 1981.

During all this, we decided to purchase a Travel lift.  Many hours were spent traveling to different sites.  We finally agreed to purchase a 15 Ton lift from Willow Cove Marina for $20,000.  We had to dismantle it, John Puff transported it to the Club, and the Membership re-assembled it.  Bill Reilly negotiated with Kirk and White on the design and price of the pit. Bill Degioia ordered the German made rails.  John Puff laid the concrete blocks in place with Members doing the labor work and later on dug out the pit.  The block laying started early Saturday and didn’t get done until after 11.00pm (all volunteers).  The money for the travel lift was borrowed from the bank, Cliff Barrett, Bill Reilly and I put our houses up for collateral. 

Take note:  the concrete blocks was thought up by Mike Kooney, and John went to Peekskill to pick them up, the cost to the Club was $800, the tongs used to lift the blocks were supplied by Member Bert Vaz.  The first boat that was lifted and put in the water was Ralph Zimmermann’s, and I had the pleasure of operating the lift.  The first year we started taking in winter storage, revenue came in the range of $40,000. Larger boats could now be handled safely and more timely.  Jack stands were also purchased, Members purchased their own stands.  With the increase of new founded revenue we sent Bill DiGioia on a mission to look for a fork truck with a negative lift.  A Broker was used and we purchased the lift.  Upon delivery it came with the front forks off and they had to be re-assembled.  We had the forks made longer.

For years we worried about the Basin filling in, we used an electrical pump, to no avail, to move the sludge.  We heard of a system that they were using in Texas, a boat with a plow.  The three Bills, Reilly, DoGioia and Petrovich and I go to Orange, Texas to talk to the Manufacturer of the work boat, and then we proceed to Galveston to see the plow.  We bring all the information with photos back to the Membership, and with their approval, we make the purchase.  Under my watch we had great success with the boat and cleared many spots.  From 2 feet of water to 6 feet in a matter of minutes, we developed a grid system as a format for success in getting the best results.

Much must be said of Mike Kooney and his crew.  They enclosed the pavilion. Now it’s the Work Shop and Fleet Captain’s Office.  He also constructed the concrete bulkhead in front of the Restaurant, the foundation for the Office and the cold box, the concrete driveway behind the work shop and he also built the shower stalls.  His helper was Mike Trunko.  Mike was always cooking lunch for the boys.  He was also known for the Clambakes and St. Patrick’s parties.  If a job had to be done, you could count on Mike Kooney.

Going back to 1975, Pat Galgano and Chester Usiak laid all the concrete in front of docks 1, 2, and 3, including the Gas Shack area. Andy Nemeth, Johnny Patten and John Morabito started the concrete work on the bulkhead from dock 1 to the main entrance.

The Restaurant foundation is called a floating foundation, we paid the Cooney Bros. concrete drivers for leftover concrete, there is over 750 yards of material under that building.  Three phase electricity was brought in (no cost to the club), completed May 1981.  The system had to be started at Tarrytown Boat Club and brought in to the pole outside the Quonset hut and later on, to the Restaurant (at our cost).  In 1988 we added an office in the rear of the building, we needed more space to conduct the growing paper trail and an area for the new computer, that Henry Crepeault researched and purchased for the Club.  Setting up the system took months, Rod Suter, Linda Petrovich and Henry spent many hours of trial and error to get a system that would work for the Club Events to Remember:

1972 - Commodore Frank Weeks passed $40,000 Expenditure for the extensive repairs to the bulkhead.  To finance this project, interest bearing bonds were purchased by the Membership

1975 - Danny Mastropietro and Rocky Minella, on different occasions, held Pizza nights, and Dan had a Fish night.  Mike Kooney held Spaghetti nights.  There were no paid Bartenders.  The place used to rock.   

1975 - All floats were put in and taken out of the water by rolling the floats down the ramp on metal pipes.  Needless to say, major damage used to occur on a regular basis.    

1975 - Opened all Board of Governors Meetings to the entire Membership. It was a great way for Members to see the operations of the Club.

1976 - Commodore John Speight had the honor of dedicating our new Flag Pole in remembrance of Past Commodore James Weeks.  The flag pole, as it stands today, was constructed by Vice Commodore George Odell.  The brick work and base done by Danny Mastropietro and his brother Joe.  The stones were purchased by the Club and the inscriptions and plaque by Mike Smacchia.

1976 - Augie Balassi and James Mulcahy, with their financial backgrounds, set up the Bookkeeping Procedures for the Club

1982 - A plaque was placed on the front of the fireplace that Tony Presutti and his father built.  The plaque was dedicated to the Members whose many hours made WIBC what it is today. 

1986 - Mike Smacchia made and set up the Historical Board in the meeting room.  It is currently being updated.  We had parties for our lady friends in appreciation for their service to WIBC.  On their night, the Members served them and hired a male stripper to
entertain them.  Some of them still talk about the events. Tom McDonald was the first one to notice the potentiality of the Point, out back of the Gas Shack.  He asked for $100 to buy some material to work on a project that he had in mind.  Everyday he was out there cutting weeds and removing garbage.  This was in the middle of the summer and on one occasion; Tom was overcome from heat exhaustion.

In no time, Members were out there enjoying the Park that Tom built. When we were trying to raise money for the new building, Tom had a hot dog wagon that he built for his patio, he brought it down to the Club and he sold hot dogs and soda to the Members, all proceeds went to the Club.  He also supplied hand made signs to the Club, such as the one hanging over the Gas Shack, the ones that used to be at the Entrance and the ones that used to be on the work boat, The Suter.

At our Annual Dinners, Members would be in suspense as to who was going to be given the Mud Hook Award or the Harpoon Award.  Many members were recognized by receiving the Commodore’s Award.

Bill Reilly spent many hours on securing the mooring rights in front of the Restaurant and the same amount of time dealing on many occasions with Kirk and White.

John “Bushy” Lipsky always with a movie camera in hand, so often Members questioned if he had film in the camera.  Well he did, and his films go back to the middle 1950’s.

Joe Todd using his expertise on woodworking and upholstery benefited the Club in many ways.  When we needed a small truck, Chester Usiak or Johnny Marabito came to the rescue, when a large one was needed, Billy Login came to our aid.

When we needed parts for our aging equipment, Bert Vaz was contacted. Who could forget:

1964 - When I became a Member, one of the first people to extend their hand to myself and my family and put my children on her knee, was Helen Suter.  We became fast friends, over the years I watched her do this over and over again.  I called her the Washington Irving Goodwill Ambassador.   

June 25, 1985 - Blacktopped parking lot in front of Restaurant.  

July 2, 1985 - First problem with sewer system, backing up into parking lot.  Found out later by blacktopping the parking lot,  we stopped the natural perking of the Septic Fields (you know the rest).

1986 - Installed new fiberglass, double walled 4000 gallon gas tank that met all state and federal standards.  Barrier Oil was main contractor, sub contractor was Jack Sousa. Entire procedure was video taped.  Job was inspected after completion.    

1975, 1976, 1980 thru 1989  Synopsis:  During those years, we  planned things to help the Membership maintain low costs, we were known as the Poor Man’s Club.  Owning a boat over 25 feet was a rarity.  The rule was Club first, boating second.  We were the envy of most clubs, as we climbed the ladder to greater heights.

Who could forget the Ford Boom Truck, Power Wagon, Weapons Carrier, the old hand crank welder and the Crane.  They are what made WIBC today.  I knew Billy Petrovich will not!!!!!  If he wasn’t inside one, he was underneath one.

Dock One, was built to offset raising costs, the same analogy was used when we extended it another 140 feet.  The same thought process was used in designing Dock Three.

The Little Red Schoolhouse was to be used as a Club House.  We served lunches, dinner was served only on weekends, so not to interfere with the Membership, we were private, with a Club License, our rent to the Village was less than $500 a year, our relationship with the Village was outstanding.  We started doing private parties and weddings, the first wedding was my daughter Judy’s.  We also rented out the Quonset hut for private parties and monthly union meetings.  One year our Club function revenue approached over $40,000 profit. 

There was something going on every weekend.  The Big Room was given out, at no charge, to organizations such as Tarrytowners and proud of it, Democratic and Republican Parties.
The Membership was willing and able to tackle any job, and they conquered all that they took on.  We looked at many ways to increase our revenue, to stay in line with future expenditures on capital improvements and we met those goals. Our success was the human element, the Membership.

Final thought, in 1982 while sitting on the deck enjoying the view, two older ladies were sitting at the next table.  One said to the other, “This would be a wonderful spot if that ugly bridge wasn’t there”.  BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER!!!

Editor’s Note
Jack deserves a lot of credit for the way he was able to encourage the members to give their time and energy and to make them see what our club could be.  He always complemented and recognized what each of them did and it made them want to do even more.  So hundreds of volunteered hours were put in until the new clubhouse was completed.  After Jack retired to Florida in 1989, thanks to Jack’s earlier inspiration, the club continued to progress under the leadership of Cliff Barrett, followed by Vinny DeOrio.  Cliff Barrett became Commodore again in 1993.  He encouraged and inspired the members to make the club even better.  One of his achievements was to bring in a professional restauranteur which helped to increase our bar business.  With the extra money we were able to make all the necessary improvements and beatification to the club and grounds you see today.  Cliff passed away during his 2nd term as commodore and we missed him a great deal.  He continued working bravely for the club during his grave illness.  His term was completed by Bill DiGioia.

He was followed by Clark DeWaters as commodore, also a man who continued to work hard and encourage the membership.  Clark did a great job handling the legal problems we ran into when we modernized the kitchen and bar.  He and the committee he formed chose a new restauranteur to take over when we decided we needed a better restaurant on our premises.  The men who we selected, John and Tommy have done a wonderful job with the restaurant and called it “Sunset Cove”.  It has been a booming business for both the bar and the restaurant.

Bill Krajeski became commodore after Clark.  He also continued to carry on with the ideas and diligence of the previous commodores.  All our past commodores, some of them already mentioned, such as Dominic Cerbone, Toby Mosiello, Pete Fiala, Rod Suter, Frank Skipper Weeks, Andy Nemeth, Jim Weeks, Charlie Hetterick, Emil DeMicco, Bill DiGioia, Vinny DeOrio and Buddy Papp also deserve a great deal of credit.  Howie Hendrickson who is our commodore today on our 50th anniversary, continues to head the membership and club, making improvements and maintaining what we’ve all worked so hard to achieve through the years.

We mustn’t forget to mention that the members and officers have worked very hard  from the very first day the club was started, to make the Washington Irving Boat Club the very best on the Hudson River, today.

Mike Smacchia, Past Secretary, 1970-1992                

[ Home ]

Please send comments, technical or computer questions to Robin Irvine at (914) 645-2400 - email: robin@irbb.net 

Website last modified: February 07, 2008 04:39:44 PM