4

The Osterville Record

A Century at Sail… Winter 2013

Wednesday, August 20th The public is welcome to attend.

The meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Village Library.

Guest speaker: Dick Flavin –poet laureate &

goodwill ambassador of the Boston Red Sox.

OVA Annual Meeting

Banner Artwork by Taylor Brown.

3221

A P u b l i cati o n o f th e O s ter v i l l e V i l l ag e As s o ci ati o n S u m m er 2 0 1 4

21

In the summer of 1914, the foxtrot was all the rage, and the Boston Red Sox debuted Babe Ruth as their rookie pitcher. Here in Osterville’s West Bay, fourteen boats launched a fleet that would further solidify the Crosby boat building legacy. In the early 1900s, the families that flocked to Osterville in the summer were instrumental in the formation of the clubs that soon opened: the Wianno Club, Oyster Harbors, and Seapuit. All of them were known for their fine dining, golf, bathing beaches, and sailing. These summer residents—some magnates of industry at the time including DuPonts and Mellons—commissioned the Crosbys to build a new one-design class of racing boats—the Wianno Seniors. By this time, Osterville’s own Crosby family had gained a reputation for their boat building excellence. Crosby catboats filled the waters of Nantucket sound. H. Manley Crosby’s “new” gaf-rigged, centerboard sloops enabled sailors to have evenly matched competitions. The 25’ Wianno Seniors, with 600 pound cast iron ballasts in the keels and 366 square feet of sail area, were built to handle the choppy waters of Nantucket Sound and the 25 knot southwest winds. In total over 200 Wianno Seniors have been built. The Wianno Seniors with hull numbers up to 173 were wooden. Today, the Wianno Senior Class Association is an active group dedicated to continuing the fleet. The Crosbys remain America’s oldest, currently active, wooden boat building family. For more on the Wianno Senior centennial and Crosby boat building, visit the Osterville Historical Museum’s 2014 exhibit Sail into the Past: 100 Years of the Wianno Senior. .

1

Courtesy of Osterville Historical Museum archives.

Above: The Wianno Senior Class Association flag waves on the village flagpole. Thank you to Leonard Insurance for generously donating to the OVA flag fund.

2

Continued on Page 2. 1

In His Own Words…

Osterville’s WWII “Jumpin’ Jim:” General James M. Gavin

There are many reasons to be proud of Osterville. But one of the best is that the Village was the adopted home of General James M. Gavin, best known as the commander of the famed 82nd Airborne Division during World War II. A monument honoring Gavin can be found at Veterans Memorial Square in Osterville. Gavin grew up poor and his childhood was harsh. Born on March 22, 1907, he was an orphan who was adopted as a toddler by Martin and Mary Gavin from Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania. They named him James Maurice Gavin. His adoptive father, Martin, was a coal miner who could barely support the family. As a result, James Gavin dropped out of school in the 8th grade and went to work at the age of 12 soaping miners’ beards in a barbershop, delivering boots for a shoemaker, and working in a filling station. At 17 he ran away to New York for fear that he too would end up in the mines. While there he enlisted in the United States Army lying about his age to the recruiter and claiming that as an orphan he had no parents who could sign his enlistment papers. In the Army, Gavin was sent to Panama. While serving as an enlisted man he learned that as such, he could apply for admission to West Point without a congressional appointment. He enrolled in a local private school to catch up on the basic education that he had missed by dropping out of school. Eventually he took the

test for admission to the U.S. Military Academy and was admitted. While at West Point he worked hard generally rising early to put in extra study time. In 1929, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. Showing promise as an officer, Gavin was selected early on to attend the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he studied under then Colonels George Marshall and Joseph Stillwell. After assignments to Fort Sill in Oklahoma and the Philippines, Gavin volunteered for parachute training in 1941. Having studied German blitzkrieg tactics, he became a strong believer in the future of airborne warfare. The Army assigned him to train and lead an experimental airborne unit, the 503rd Parachute Infantry Battalion. Gavin authored an instruction manual on airborne tactics. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Army converted the 82nd Infantry Division into America’s first airborne unit. Gavin, now a major, commanded the 505th Parachute Regiment and at 35 was promoted to Colonel.

“There is a school of thought that the general can best take care of his troops and look out for their interests by controlling the battle from his Command Post well to the rear. I find this particularly disturbing because today, with small computers and modern information processing systems, individuals can find many more reasons to rationalize their presence in the Command Post rather than with the troops. There can be no question that the place for the general in battle is where he can see the battle and get the odor of it in his nostrils. …If he is able to do this, he is in a position to know firsthand the conditions under which his troops are fighting, to see to it that they are adequately supplied and taken care of, and to be sure that the missions given to them are realistic in terms of their capabilities. Furthermore, by his example, he can instill considerable confidence in the troops and elicit from them a desire to perform better. There is no substitute for the general being seen.” ~ James M. Gavin, On To Berlin, Viking Press 1978

3

2

r. Charles Haskell Named 34th Blount Cane Holder

Ultimately General Gavin led his 82nd Airborne Division into Germany and then into an occupation role. After the war he was instrumental in developing the doctrine of maintaining battlefield mobility and advocated for use of the helicopter, a doctrine that became central to the Army’s tactics in Vietnam. Eventually, General Gavin became an outspoken critic of Army doctrine that favored reliance upon nuclear deterrence over conventional forces and was critical of using the Joint Chiefs of Staff as war planners. His feelings were so strong that in 1958 on the eve of his promotion to four stars he resigned. He would not sacrifice principal for promotion. Later he was appointed by President Kennedy to serve as Ambassador to France. When sent to Vietnam in 1967 to assess the situation, Gavin foresaw tragedy and recommended that the U.S. seek an early truce. Eventually he joined the consulting firm, Arthur D. Little and became its chairman. General Gavin died on Feb. 23, 1990. Gavin was the ultimate combat leader. Whenever the 82nd was in action he was in the thick of it often engaged at the platoon level in firefights with the enemy. He wore the standard G.I. uniform and except for the two stars on his collar tabs that could be seen only by those in close proximity, he looked like any other dogface. He fought with the M-1 Garand, the standard issue weapon for all U.S. Infantry. General Gavin believed that a leader should be hands on and that to lead effectively a general had to be up front to see the action and not safe at the rear getting information secondhand. Jumping Jim’s lessons of leadership are his greatest legacy. They apply as much at West Point as they do at Harvard Business School. General Gavin’s life is an American metaphor. He rose from abject poverty to great success. More importantly, he was there for America in its darkest hour. We can wonder whether if there had been no James M. Gavin would the American landing at Sicily have succeeded. Would the allies have maintained their foothold at Normandy? Would the Germans have been stopped at the Bulge? Perhaps. But without him the road to Berlin would have been much longer.

~ Chuck Sabatt

Colonel Gavin led the 505th in the Army’s first airborne combat landing when the regiment jumped off into Sicily in high winds and complete darkness scattering paratroopers miles from their objectives. Going for nearly three days without sleep, Gavin fought in the front lines and organized disparate bands of troopers into cohesive units that ultimately thwarted a German armored counterattack thereby securing the American landings on Sicily’s beaches. He had proven his mettle as a soldier and his decisiveness as a leader. In England preparing for Operation Overlord, General Matthew Ridgeway in command of the 82nd Airborne Division named Gavin its assistant commander. Promoted to Major General at the same time, Gavin now 37 years old became the youngest U.S. Army general in World War II and later when he took command of the 82nd, the Army’s youngest division commander since the Civil War. By this time he had earned the sobriquets “the boy general” and “Jumpin’ Jim Gavin.” General Gavin jumped with his paratroopers into Normandy on June 6, 1944. Fighting alongside his men (many were as young as 18), he again proved relentless in combat. Urging on recalcitrant units and constantly maneuvering throughout the battlefield, Gavin saw to it that the 82nd captured and held the important crossroads at St. Mere Eglise and crucial bridges over the Merderet River. He could be unforgiving, oftentimes relieving on the spot any officer that he suspected of lacking aggressiveness. During Ridgeway’s absence at Christmastime 1944, Gavin was in temporary command of the XVIII Airborne Corps when the Germans counterattacked through the Ardennes Forest starting what would be known as the Battle of the Bulge. In response, General Gavin ordered the 101st Airborne Division to Bastogne and his own 82nd further north to St. Vith where he joined them upon Ridgeway’s return. Both units were crucial in turning the tide and ultimately pushing the enemy back into Germany. In his memoirs Gavin recounted that the fighting at St. Vith was as brutal as that seen at Bastogne and he chafed somewhat that all of the glory had gone to the 101st.

4

Osterville Village Association 2013/2014 Board

President: John Crow Vice President: Chuck Sabatt

Secretary: Karen Smith Treasurer: Al Makkay

Directors: Mark Clifford

Richard Colman Jim Crocker Bill Cutcliffe Mark Curley Jim Germani Peter Hansen

Bruce Harding Tom Leckstrom Colleen Lotuff

Gail Nightingale, President O.B.P.A. Diane Richardson Jennifer Williams

Directors Emeritus: Warren Hansen

David Richardson OVA@OstervilleVillage.org

Sed tincidunt nisl a elit

21

D

Where’s Your Paddle? Osterville, We Hope! Wednesday, July 23 is Family Paddle Day to benefit Three Bays Preservation, Inc. Join in the fun from 5

to 8 p.m. at Dowses Beach. It’s a day to join with family & friends and learn kayaking and stand up

paddle-boarding. Equipment will be available on site or bring your own. The fee is $10 for adults, $5 for

kids (8-12), and 8 and under are free. Tickets and more details are available on-line at www.3bays.org.

All proceeds benefit Three Bays Preservation—Osterville’s own non-profit environmental group.

The Osterville Record PO Box 520 Osterville, MA 02655

• THE OBPA WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1977!

• In 1935 the ìWest Bay Innî burned to the ground. This was a summer hotel with 65 rooms!

Osterville Village Association

Little Pieces of Osterville History...

BOARD OF

DIRECTORS President: Chuck Sabatt Vice President: John Crow Secretary: Karen Smith Treasurer: Jim Germani

DIRECTORS

Richard Colman Joan Connolly Mark Curley Bill Cutcliffe James Crocker Peter Hansen Bruce Harding Tom Leckstrom Colleen Lotuff Gail Nightingale Richard Sheehy Tiffany Swan

www.ostervillevillageassociation.com

Fall 2009

OSTERVILLE VILLAGE RE-

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Fall Festival Saturday, October 17,

2009

• 40th Annual Christ-mas Open House and

Stroll Friday, December 11,

2009

• Chocolate Festival Saturday, February 6,

2010

BOARD NEWS NEW BOARD MEMBERS (photo above)

Tom Leckstrom, Richard Colman and Colleen Lotuff

We are pleased to announce that David Richardson has been elected as a Lifetime Director of the OVA

Board

THANK YOU to Mary Jane Savage, Arthur Marney and in memory of Cliff Dow for their years of ser-

vice on the Board

"Fall Festival"

to be held on Saturday, October 17th.

Many events will be held throughout the Village of Os-terville from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with a Barnstable Police K-9 Demonstration on the Library Lawn at 11:00 a.m., a Dog Parade from the Library Lawn at 1:00 p.m.,

Free Horse-drawn Carriage Rides from 11:00 to 2:00 p.m., music, children's activities, bounce house, COMM Fire Dept.

display, Raffles, Book signings, and a luncheon by "TDBank" on Friday, Oct. 16th at noon.

STD US Postage PAID Osterville, MA Permit #15