Fete for Gertrude Ederle

Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel in 1926, was feted at Bahrs Restaurant on August 4th 1956. Trudy spent her summers in Highlands where she trained in the challenging currents beneath the Highlands bridge. She swam 35 miles from Cape Griz Nez, France, to the south coast of England in 14 hours and 31 minutes. The event celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the Channel Swim and was covered in the society magazine Spotlight and in the local papers.The menu for the event featured Baked Mixed Seafood in Clam Shell and Bisque Tortoni for dessert. The 30th celebration committee presented a gold chain bracelet inscribed “To Trudy 1926-1956â€. Before the celebration ended Mrs. Ederle said “I will always cherish the beautiful memory of tonightâ€.

Trudy with Mayor Guiney, Peg and Bud Bahrs

More Spotlight Photos of the Event

Highlands Hails Trudy

Below is the text from an article about the event in the Red Bank Register Aug. 9th 1956

Gertrude Ederle Honored

By

200 at

Dinner Tuesday

HIGHLANDS — “We’re all so

proud, of her.â€

That statement best described

the feeling of the more than 200

persons who attended the Ger-

trude Ederle 30th anniversary

celebration Tuesday night at

Bahrs’

restaurant here.

Miss Ederle is the home-town

girl who made good by becoming

tho first woman ever to swim the

English channel. She made the

crossing Aug. 6, 1926.

The celebration committee pre-

sented a bond and gold charm

bracelet to Miss Ederle. The

bracelet was inscribed, “To Trudy,

1926-1956.â€

Highlands Mayor Cornelius J.

Guiney Jr., originated the Idea

for the banquet.

•The Greatest’

‘I was trying to think of some-

thing we could do to help High-

lands and remembered that this

was the 30th anniversary of Miss

Ederle’s channel

s\\m,â€

he said,

adding, “She’s the greatest thing

that ever happened to Highlands.â€

The crowd which attended the

celebration watched movies of

Miss Ederle’s victory over the

channel. She swam 35 miles from

Cape Griz Nez, Prance, to the

south coast of England in 14

hours and 31 minutes, faster than

anyone had ever made the cross-

Ing before.’

Movies of ‘the triumphant wel-

come given her on her return to

New York and Highlands also

were shown. Many of her friends

who helped to make the flr3t cele-

bration “Highlands greatest dayâ€

were on hand to congratulate Miss

Ederle Tuesday night.

Mayor Wagner Wires

.

Mayor Guiney road telegrams

for Miss Ederle which were re-

ceived from many friends.

“New York city will never for-

gel that wonderful day,†said a

telegram from Mayor Robert P.

Wagner.

A telegram from New York

columnist Westbrook Pegler said:

“You are still the greatest athlete

of our time.â€

A letter from Kathleen M.

Graham, acting consul general of

Great Britain also praised Miss

Ederlo.

“Your feat should long bo

remembered as a sign of your

great courage and powers of en-

durance,†the letter said.

The movies of the 1026 celebra-

tion and the speakers brought

back many memories to the peo-

ple.

William Lee told the gather-

ing that at the 1926 welcome, all

the signs with the word celebra-

tion in them were spelled incor-

rectly.

Among guests Introduced were

Miss Ederle’s sisters, Mrs. Mar-

garet Deuschle and Mrs. Helen

Hutchlnson and her husband; her

two brothers, Henry and George

Ederle and their wives; Mr. and

Mrs.

Henry Zwipf of the Twin

Lights clbb; Mr. and Mrs. Jack

Jennings of the Women’s Swim-

ming association, and two nieces,

Trudy Morrison and Joan Hutch-

inson.

Annual Ederle Award

Outside the dining room was a

glittering display of the many

medals and trophies which Miss

Ederle won. Tho’ largest trophy,

the William Randolph Hearst

trophy, was given to Miss Edorle

when she was voted the “most

popular personage of her timeâ€

in a nationwide poll.

Mayor Guiney announced that

an annual Gertrude Ederle award

will be started at Banner lodge,

Moodus, Conn., Aug. 20.

“We are all very pleased that

now there will be a yearly recog-

nition of your great contribution

to American sportsmanship,†the

mayor told Miss Ederle.

‘

The crowd heard one of the

original records of the “Trudy

Trot,†especially written for Miss

Ederle and played by Paul White-

man In honor of her historic

achievement.

Before the celebration ended,

Miss Ederle told tho gathering:

“I will,always cherish the beauti-

ful memory of tonight.’

Other members of tho celebra-

tion committee were John A.

Bahrs,

John J. Flemm, Mrs. Est-

her Bolster, former Mayor Frank

J. Hall, Timothy Lynch, Mrs.

Dorothy Johnson and Joseph Bol-

ger.

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