Hail Fellow Well Met
(Toasting cheer at Columbia Yacht Club, circa 1892)
by Ginny Chandler
Relaxing after a satisfying meal in the well appointed dining room of Columbia Yacht Club, we are far removed from Columbia’s early days when a lone crude table, a few wooden chairs and a galley buffet board constituted the entire collection of the club’s furniture. From the humble surroundings of the one-room clubhouse built atop the 18 by 35-foot scow in 1892 to the spacious accommodations aboard the Abby today, Columbia is steeped in a hearty blend of history—some savory, some sweet and some spiced with a dash of vinegar and bitters.
With such a sparsely furnished clubhouse during the early years, members enjoyed most club meals offsite. Island gatherings, impromptu picnics and annual clambakes became legendary. In 1892, an anonymous author journalized one such event as an “exceptionally fine, most merry picnic, with a wild fantastic dance as not often seen.” The dance culminated with the appointed captain leading the crew to a keg where “they drank deep libations.” During these times, the galley was by necessity portable. Aboard their boats, members transported the cooking implements and equipment for preparing their wilderness feasts. Gala celebrations of a more dignified order, such as the Annual Winners Dinner” were hosted in elegant, area hotel dining rooms.
In the spring of 1893, the small scow sustained extensive damage when it sank at its mooring. With a resilient spirit, members raised the clubhouse, repairing it to a condition that served them well for the next three years. By 1896, the club outgrew its first home and purchased a 30 by 90-foot barge, upon which members erected a one deck structure with a veranda. This spacious facility boasted of a complete galley, dining room and bar, which gave rise to a host of gala events and other activities. However, even this structure quickly proved inadequate to accommodate the ever expanding membership roster. In 1901, having been financed through bond sales to members, an elaborate two story clubhouse built atop pilings was completed.
Columbia gained a fine reputation for serving satisfying meals throughout the year and for hosting frequent dances, complete with orchestral music and sumptuous dinners. Among the most notable of these soirees was the October18, 1901 feting of Sir Thomas Lipton, who was installed as an Honorary Life Member. Members gathered at the clubhouse, where Sir Thomas Lipton toasted the assembly with bountiful glasses of Shamrock Punch, “that wonderful and terrible concoction.” After imbibing liberally, 50 members progressed to the U.S.S. Dorothea where they supped on a fine buffet.
Not all affairs included such world renowned guests, but all were treated royally at the many galas and dances celebrated at Columbia. The Libonati Orchestra often provided rousing marching and soothing waltzing music for members’ merriment. Members enjoyed such celebrations along with hearty sustenance season after season until World War I, when financial difficulties besieged the club. When the clubhouse was forfeited by foreclosure, the bank turned the facility over to the U.S. Navy for use until the war’s end. Denied access to the clubhouse, members met periodically and conducted the club’s business at local restaurants.
After the war, the then badly deteriorated clubhouse was not recovered. It wasn’t until December 16, 1922 during the annual get together at the Aviation Club on North Clark Street that members decided upon a bond sale to finance new club quarters. By 1925, members had raised sufficient funds to purchase the Pere Marquette, a former Lake Michigan excursion ship retired from service. Having had her engines and other mechanical systems disabled and removed, this
193-foot wood and iron-plated steamboat was towed from Sturgeon Bay to her Chicago mooring, where the first on-board meeting was held May 13, 1925.
By 1930, Columbia’s reputation for having one of the finest dining rooms on the Great Lakes had been widely touted. A fulltime chef was hired, daily dinner specials were offered and special parties were celebrated in the newly refurbished dining room. Until prohibition ended, members were not legally treated to spirited libations during those parties. Discrete members, however, enjoyed such wicked accompaniments through the courtesy of one member (who will remain unnamed), who journeyed to Cuba each winter and returned with ample quantities of smuggled rum to keep members smiling while sipping Cuba Libras all summer. Rumor also has it that a certain North Clark Street restaurant confused spirits with tea in the heavy china cups served to Columbia’s members. Officially, the club complied with Prohibition’s dry policy even during the famous Old Timers dinners, when founding members enjoyed Hank Davies Mulligan Stew washed down with only apple cider.
Public praise of Columbia’s excellent fare served aboard the “most unique meeting place for tired and hungry yachtsmen” appeared in a 1933 edition of Chicago Yachting News and attracted many who visited the Century of Progress Exposition. The finest steaks, chops and cold meats available were served in an attractive bar and grill in the ship’s lower hold. A nautical ambiance was achieved with richly varnished oak beams and bulkheads. Pictures, lighting fixtures and other accouterments of a maritime theme complemented the attractive nautical design. In addition to the refurbished main deck lounge with a regulation 27-foot bar, the club also sated thirsty members in Davy Jones’ Locker, a small bar admitting only those donning sailing attire. Unless accompanied by male escorts, women were restricted to the ladies bar tucked behind the card room.
The warmth of Columbia’s hospitality aboard the Pere Marquette continued uninterrupted until a cold January day in 1937 when the ship was towed six miles into Lake Michigan, set ablaze and sunk under a barrage of Coast Guard shell fire. Bidding farewell to the retired Pere Marquette, members moved operations to the 213-foot S.S. Florida, a former side-wheel excursion steamer which had been purchased two years earlier.
In their new quarters, members cooked up dozens of ideas for parties and feasts: the Christmas party was first hosted in 1939; “Sundays at Columbia,” a weekly party of games and good food began in 1943; an annual Beachcombers Ball, complete with seaside costumes began in 1944; the first autumn laying-up party attracted a dungaree clad group in 1945; and the annual Old Timers Dinner, complete with Hank Davies Stew, continued without interruption. With World War II, the customary high times at Columbia became laced with the sadness of losing members and war time austerity. Members gathered for dinner parties before Columbia men and women went off to war; members toasted the honor of those who fought; members raised one final glass together in memory of those who died; and members rejoiced together which lavish banquets when peace returned.
By 1950, the “baby boom” had exploded and Columbia responded to the times with family Sunday dinners priced at $1.50. A typical menu included soup, salad, buttered peas, home baked rolls, mashed potatoes, turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce and dessert. A new drink, the “Air Banas Special” was introduced at the 1950 Beachcombers Ball. Served in a coconut shell, this bold blend of rum, papaya juice, more rum, fresh pineapple, even more rum, lime juice, and still more rum was recommended for only the truly daring.
These were the days when the bar and grill were operated as concessions, legally separate from the club’s other engagements. Although this arrangement served efficiently for some time, by the early 1950s serious problems boiled among which was the publicized scandal of inferior products substituting for premium liquors. The Chief of the Alcohol Tax Unit raided the club, confiscating 18 bottles of substandard spirits disguised as Johnny Walker and other brands that sophisticated palates preferred once they discovered the ruse.
The most devastating event was the infamous fire of Friday, May 13, 1955. Started in a galley grease chute, the fire rapidly spread out of control while 1,000s of people watched the ominous black smoke billow across the Loop. The Chicago Fire Department, Navy personnel and 70 firemen aboard the Joseph A. Medill valiantly fought the blaze but were unable to contain it. After two hours of the fire raging wildly, the Florida listed and sank in the 15-foot waters at her mooring.
With the same spirit of resiliency demonstrated by the members who raised the scow in 1893 and with substantially greater financial expense, Columbia members rallied to restore the Florida under the leadership of Commodore Fran Byrne. The hull was salvaged, a new super structure was built, and by 1957 the club was again in full operation. But things had changed. The concession operation was permanently cancelled, and the bar and grill came under direct supervision of the Board of Directors, the General Manager and the Bar and Grill Committee. Credit arrangements were formalized with members required to deposit $50.00 as surety for their charges which were payable net-on-receipt of monthly billings. Members not electing to establish credit were compelled to purchase coupon booklets, negating the necessity of further cash transactions.
Of course life at Columbia didn’t always simmer with such serious business matters. The parties, dinner and camaraderie flourished with the new facility. On weekend evenings, members danced to the lively tunes of the Byron Barbou Trio; in 1958, women were finally welcomed at the annual Winners Dinner; in this same year the Club sponsored its first Veterans of Foreign Wars Cruise; and in 1959, members watched the awe inspiring fireworks extravaganza and boat parade of Chicago’s first Venetian Festival while dining at Columbia.
Members welcomed the 1960s with another renovation to the dining room, galley and bar. The galley nearly doubled in size, the main bar was designed to curve around the windows, and walls were dressed with attractive mahogany panels. A measured liquor dispensing system was installed in the bar, serving Martinis and Manhattans, the most popular drinks at Columbia in the mid 1960s. In 1966, the then new Bar and Grill Committee Chair, Gabe Spataro introduced an expanded menu, an extensive wine list and the still in use system of signing first for bar and grill purchases.
By the late 1970s, the clubship once again cried for renovations. Columbia called upon the expertise of one of the highest regarded designers—the illustrious Brent Cornwell, who had also designed the award winning Breakers in Palm Beach. In the refurbished facility, Columbia entertained prospective members at parties where the galley served nearly 300 hotdogs, 30 pounds of potato salad, 10 gallons of wine and two kegs of beer. Bookbinder Soup, still a tasty menu favorite, was introduced in 1978, and by 1981 “The Galley Gourmet” had become a regular Binnacle feature for sharing recipes and entertaining ideas. Club sponsored parties flourished, annual events perpetuated and new events began, including October Fest, featuring sauerbraten, Bavarian music and barrels upon barrels of beer.
By 1982, the Florida had served Columbia for nearly half a century and had reached her 100th birthday since being christened in 1882. With fond memories, members decided the time had come to retire the Florida and they purchased our current clubship, the Quadruple Screw Motor Vessel (QSMV) Abegweit, the former Canadian, 371-foot ice cutter. With a crew of nearly 40 club members, the Abby was brought under her own power from Nova Scotia to Chicago during the spring of 1983. Because of heavy storms that sent green water crashing as high as the Bridge, the voyage was not without incident. Rumor has it that at one desperate point, galley crew rushed to the aid of the engine crew with what they hoped would substitute for the sorely needed engine lubricant—bacon grease. Fortunately for the engines, the remaining supply of authentic lubricants was sufficient to bring the Abby into Chicago. Among tales of other near mishaps was the episode of preparing clam chowder that was nearly seasoned with paint chips falling from a vent over the stove. Happily, a watchful chef limited seasonings to more traditional flavors through the quick action of a well fitted pot lid. At the Abby’s arrival, most members were on hand to applaud the crew’s triumph over the adversities of the voyage.
When first commissioned in 1947, the Abby was outfitted with then state of the art galley and dining room equipment. Three horseshoe counters surrounded by bolted stools furnished the dining salon where as many as 100 hungry passengers could be fed in 30 minutes. By the time Columbia took possession, the salon had been converted to a cafeteria style mess with seating at long, narrow tables. Renovating the dining room and bar to their current tasteful décor required much dedication by member volunteers who labored tirelessly. Their work continues as an on-going project to which members contribute their experts under the guidance of the House Committee Chair each January when the club is officially closed.
Even with much work to be done on the Abby, members began enjoying the facility almost immediately. By September 1983, the annual October Fest was celebrated; on February 17, 1984 the Soft Opening Party was conducted with more than 160 people enjoying a delicious meal and music; and on April 17, 1984, the Abby’s first anniversary party attracted hungry members to the St. Lawrence Buffet which featured Steamship Round of Beef, Ten-Penny Shrimp, 47 ½ Degree Rolls and assorted side dishes along with movies and memorabilia.
Only nine years in Columbia’s new home, in 1992, members celebrated the club’s first centennial with a lavish banquet: smoked fillet of book trout with horseradish sauce, orange cranberry sorbet, loin of veal stuffed with goose livers, perigueux sauce, sautéed potatoes a la provencale, vegetables, salad and Columbia Yacht Club flambé. Dancing, reminiscing about older days, marveling at progress and envisioning Columbia’s future topped off this most momentous occasion.
Only five years later, members again gathered to honor an important milestone—this time, the Abby’s 50th birthday since first being launched in 1947. Coincidentally, 1997 also marked the opening of Confederation Bridge between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, where Abby had served so faithfully before becoming Columbia’s home. With many PEI residents sharing fond memories, they joined us in the celebration via telephone connections and cheered loudly when they too heard the Abby’s horn blare her own “Hail Fellow Well Met” greeting. Following the ceremony, which included an official Proclamation from the City of Chicago recognizing Columbia’s contributions and a formal Fleet Review, members and guests enjoyed champagne toasts on both the aft and upper decks.
Seemingly, the parties came quicker and grander as the new millennium approached, and no party before or since as seemed as grand as Columbia Yacht Club’s Millennium gala aboard an elegantly decorated Abby, midnight fireworks viewed from the rail deck and dancing till morning, when members enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast before fully packing off Father Time.
Simmering, then coming to a full boil in the new millennium, ideas for even more parties and dinners were cooking. The first ever Pirates’ Ball and other themed parties quickly established themselves as greatly anticipated annual events and some long standing events like the Christmas party have been updated. Menus too have changed, focusing more and more on the subtleties of pairings, blendings, and presentations, with diners anticipating their plates as if at the unveiling of a creative canvas, with the chef’s emphasis on exciting flavors and sustainable sources.
Most notable in the first decade of this millennia is the influence of women. By 2010, Columbia could boast of having had its first female manager, its first female chef and, yes, its first female commodore—a long way from the 1930s when unless accompanied by male escorts, women were restricted to the ladies bar tucked behind the card room.
Changing menus, changing clubships, changing chefs and changing commodores—we mark the various events, noting what we ate, drank and who arranged it all. While this morphs from time to time, throughout it all, from generation to generation, we hold dear in our hearts and proclaim gladly across our lips “Hail Fellow Well Met” as we salute one another and our club in the same spirit as those first members in 1892. |