Bridesburg OutBoard Club Installation Dinner

Let me premise this with an apology To B.O.C. as it is way late in being posted

Mary & I were honored to be invited to B.O.C. Installation Dinner on February 21. We were greeted by Vice Commodore Tom Flannagan and Activity Director Joe Szarek and made to feel right at home. Once inside we were greeted by Harbor Master Ray Shuster Jr. and other members who again made us feel at ease and very welcome. Ray Jr. and other members have been hitting clubs up and down river the last couple years and are always a pleasure to hang out with. We shared a very enjoyable evening with close to 200 others who showed up to see Commodore McGrath and his Officers of B.O.C. be introduced and given center stage. They paid homage to longtime member Bucky Nogowski for his efforts for the good of the club, and when Commodore McGrath stated that next time this year we will have OUR clubhouse that statement was met with loud cheers and applause. After the short ceremony, the dance floor became packed very quickly. While some danced, some ate. While some ate, some mingled. While some mingled, some chatted. BUT - while all this was going on EVERYONE WAS HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME. The food, drink, and conversation was GREAT !! What made the evening very special for Mary & I is that we sat with old friends from Snug Harbor B.C. ( Ed & Sharon Schaffer and their lovely daughter Sammie ) who are now members of B.O.C. Ed, who was an Officer of Snug Harbor B.C. is now an Officer with B.O.C. I also had the pleasure to sit down and speak to a very nice gentleman ( Steve Bradley ) who is a longtime member of Bridesburg O.C. While we were discussing the very unfortunate deaths of Phila. Police Officers Pawlowski & Simpson, he told me he was a retired Phila. Police Officer I started mentioning names and found out he knew my Uncle who was a retired Hi-way Patrolman - truly a small world. Bridesburg O.C. seems to be packed with many great people & members and I am sure Ed & Sharon are a great addition to this fine club. B.O.C. has come a long way in a short time and has one of, if not THE MOST nicest looking bulkheads on the river and down the bay.

Here are some pictures from the event.

                              Tom Flanigan & Joe Szarek                                                       DRYL President & B.O.C. Commodore McGrath

The Officers & Board Members

The Party People Of B.O.C.

Mary and my first B.O.C. Event The B.O.C. Crab Feast

Blue Woos leaves S.H.B.C. and hits the river - 1^st club on the river to drink the elixir of the Gods besides S.H.B.C. is B.O.C.

Mary & I attended a Crab Feast at B.O.C. back in early 90s with about a dozen others from S.H.B.C. We all made plans to take our boats to F.S.A. to spend the night. We would all then jump into one boat and head to B.O.C. for the Crab Feast and when it was over, back to F.S.A for a night cap and some sleep. If was a great trip to B.O.C. from F.S.A. with 5 gallons of Blue Woos on board. The woos were flowing and I had a nice seat in the back of the boat. We get to B.O.C. and the crabs, beer & Woos were just going down all so easy and QUICKLY so easy, not only did the Woos run out but the crabs did as well. Well, needless to say B.O.C. ordered more crabs and I was given the keys to a B.O.C. members truck with directions to the local State Store where I purchased the ingredients to make yet another 5 gallons of the now infamous elixir. By the time I got back and mixed another batch, the crabs were again being handed out, perfect timing. What a great day!! It was all topped off with a nice ride back from B.O.C. to F.S.A where we partied a little more. Let me quickly mention that when we initially left F.S.A by boat to B.O.C., we had about 12 people and I had a nice seat in the back of the boat on the ride back from B.O.C. to F.S.A. we had over 20 people and me another lucky guy had to stand on the swim platform holding on to the stern rail with our feet in the water - LOL - ??? not sure where all these people came from or where they slept for that matter. Like I said, it was a GREAT DAY which turned into a GREAT WEEKEND !

A little history of B.O.C.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with B.O.C., it is a club that had a clubhouse and nice grounds on the river and leased it from Rohm & Hass. Then one day back in the early 90s they were given notice that Rohm & Haas was evicting them. After many meetings between B.O.C. and R&H, R&H did the right thing and gave them the property where they are now which is on the other side of R&H from where their old clubhouse and grounds were. The property was nothing more than a pile of dirt, bushes and weeds. In this short period they have now taken that pile of dirt, bushes and weeds and turned it into their new home,a place that they should be very, very proud of. As I mentioned earlier the bulkhead is stunning - park benches, pavilion, lighted path / walkway are just a work of art that was done by THEIR MEMBERS. I now hear that the work has started on their new 70x40 clubhouse that will over look the river. B.O.C. is a small club with members that have HUGE dreams and ambitions and are making those dreams come true. - Juice