By Jana Brown

Jimmy Crumpacker '98 came to St. Paul's as a tennis player. But blessed with the height of a rower, he decided to give crew a try. Frustrated with his personal progress at one point in his first season as an oarsman, Crumpacker pondered his rowing future as he kicked a rock all the way back from the boathouse to the gym.

"After contemplating a switch back to tennis, I decided that instead of being an okay tennis player on a good tennis team I wanted an opportunity to row for exceptional coaches and one of the best crews in the world," said Crumpacker.

Clutching a water bottle with that same rock taped to it, Crumpacker stood before alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and many fellow rowers as he delivered a speech marking the dedication of the Crumpacker Boathouse, a 4,314-square-foot addition connecting the renovated Halcyon and Shattuck boathouses through a scenic breezeway underneath a second-floor "great room" that pays homage to the tradition of SPS crew excellence.

Inspired by the lead gift of the Crumpacker family, more than 130 other families and individuals donated to the boathouse construction and renovation project. The project also includes a second addition of 1,878 square feet off the Halcyon bay for added boat storage. Underneath that second addition is a 40,000-gallon cistern of water for fire protection. Overall, the addition to the facility includes two coaches' rooms, boys' and girls' bathrooms, an elevator, and custodial room, as well as the great room displaying SPS crew lore.

Crumpacker was one of five speakers to offer remarks at the June 2 dedication ceremony. Others included Rector Bill Matthews '61, current crew coach Chip Morgan, former longtime crew coach Richard Davis, and former Olympic rower Juliet Thompson Hochman '85.

It was Crumpacker who originally approached the School with the idea of creating a safe, functional, and inspiring space for the crew program—one to host current crews and their equipment, to welcome visitors, and to celebrate the tradition of SPS crew excellence. Through the generosity of the Crumpacker family, that idea soon became a plan.

"SPS has a multitude of extraordinarily talented students," said Crumpacker. "The School has thrived on academic success, yet one of the cornerstones of the School is extracurricular activities. These programs boast state-of-the-art facilities. However, one of the most storied extracurricular teams, the rowing program, had been rowing out of boathouses nearly a century old. The School and its architects have done an amazing job combining the original Long Pond boathouses with the modern additions to make a beautiful structure."

Crumpacker also praised his SPS crew coaches, including Davis, Morgan, and Mike Hirschfeld '85 as the "true champions" of the program for their ability to mold the character of the rowers in their charge. In their own remarks, Morgan and Davis spoke fondly of their memories of the early days of their tenures, including cold showers in the old boathouse and limited space for hanging pond-soaked crew clothing. Matthews thanked the Crumpacker family, including Jimmy, his parents Jim and Anne, and sister Cate '94, for realizing their dream of improving the crew facility.

"This building will provide programmatic functional support for the sport and a place to acknowledge its history," said Matthews. "And it will also add beauty to the School."

Hochman Thompson, a member of the 1988 U.S. Women's Olympic Crew, shared her memories of learning to row on Turkey Pond. She offered what she called "All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in a Boathouse."

"The foundation of pretty much everything I have ever accomplished in life started in a boathouse," she said. "These lessons started at St. Paul's and continued in college and beyond. Thank you to the Crumpackers and to all the other donors who inspired the creation of this new boathouse. I hope, and trust, that it will offer generations of young rowers strength and sanctuary, as well as many fast boats for years to come."

The Reverend Richard Greenleaf, dean of chapel, presided over the dedication ceremony, reading the lesson from 1 Corinthians 9:22 B-27 and offering a prayer of blessing. Matthews joined the Crumpackers in the official ribbon-cutting, declaring the boathouse officially open for the alumni crew races between the Halcyon and Shattuck crews.

"It is much more than I expected," said the senior Jim Crumpacker. "We are very happy."

Added his son, "Hopefully this boathouse will inspire and create a historical context for generations of rowers. If this boathouse is able to attract just one more tennis player to Turkey Pond, it will be a success in my eyes."