News at the Masonic Villages

Rowing Royalty

Rowing Royalty Residents of the Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill might not know there is royalty among them... rowing royalty, that is.

Ruth Robinhold is one of four women who organized the Philadelphia Girls' Rowing Club (PGRC) on May 4, 1938, one of the many accomplishments that gave her "royalty" status in Philadelphia's Boathouse Row.

During a time when rowing was predominantly a male sport, Mrs. Robinhold was determined for women rowers to have a place to call their own. She and three other women, whom she met while rowing on the Schuylkill River, placed their photograph in a local newspaper (see photo above) advertising for women to attend a meeting to form a women's rowing club.

Almost 100 girls attended the first meeting, but that number dwindled down to 17 soon after the girls discovered that there would be a $5 monthly fee. Those 17 women, including Mrs. Robinhold and the other three organizers, became the founding members of the PGRC.

"Rowing is a wonderful sport," Mrs. Robinhold said. "It teaches girls camaraderie and gets them physically in shape. That's why we started the club. Young girls used to come and watch the boys row along the river. We gave the girls an opportunity to row."

A year after organizing the rowing club, Mrs. Robinhold met her future husband, William Robinhold, to whom she was married for 64 years before he passed away in 2003. He was a 75-year member of Undine Barge Club, which neighbored the PGRC. Bro. Robinhold was a 50+ year member of University Lodge No. 610, which merged with Lodge No. 51.

Together, they became known as "rowing royalty" in the community. In 1940, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a story on their engagement, titled "ROWmance."

The Robinholds both were active in the sport. Bro. Robinhold was a commodore of the Schuylkill Navy, the governing body for the 10 clubs on Boathouse Row, and a national champion rower. Mrs. Robinhold won more than a dozen medals and trophies.

Because of her many accomplishments with PGRC, it is not hard to understand why Mrs. Robinhold is a legend at the club, where early photos of her adorn the walls. Many of the 180 members love to hear stories from her rowing days, including the time she rowed with Jack Kelly, Jr. during a mixed quad in the 1940s. "Meeting him was a thrill," she said. "He said to me before the race began, 'Don't forget, I steal the start.' I wasn't nervous until that point, but we won anyway."

Four quads (a boat for four rowers) have been named in Mrs. Robinhold's honor. "I guess they named them after me for all the good things I've done for the club and for recognition," she said.

One of the boats was sold to a boathouse in Richmond, Va. "The boathouse didn't want to change the name of the boat, because they said it was named for 'one of the mamas who organized women's rowing,'" she said.

Fifteen years ago, PGRC planted a Scarlet Oak tree in Mrs. Robinhold's honor, and she broke ground for the special event (see photograph above).

Mrs. Robinhold is the only continuous club member since 1938. "I go to every meeting," she proudly boasts. "We meet the first Thursday of every month."

When she was 84, she did her last row on the river. And although she misses participating in the sport, she is active in rowing in other ways. "You don't miss rowing if you watch the present champion rowers," she said.

Mrs. Robinhold presents medals at various rowing events. In fact, two of the trophies she presents are named after her and her husband. She presents the Ruth Robinhold Trophy to the winning girls quad in the Stotesbury Cup Regatta every May and the William Robinhold Trophy to the winner of the Independence Day Regatta. "It's a nice honor," she added.

Mrs. Robinhold loves to reminisce about her rowing days, but she is just as eager to discuss life at Masonic Village, where she has resided since September 2004. "I love it here," she said.

An avid gardener who is a 30-year member of the Philadelphia Rhododendron Society, Mrs. Robinhold plans to become a member of the Garden Club at Masonic Village. She also is a member of the Montgomery County Garden Club and the Zion Lutheran Church Women.

She regularly exercises at the community's wellness center, participates in chair exercises three times a week and knits shawls for those in need on Tuesday nights. And, of course, Mrs. Robinhold will continue to have plans the first Thursday of every month.

Ruth Robinhold (second from right) and three other organizers of the Philadelphia Girls Rowing Club pose for this photograph, which was printed in a local newspaper in 1938 advertising for club members. In 1989, this photograph appeared in Yankee Magazine.

Ruth proudly displays a rowing mug and a trophy her quad received for winning first place at the Middle States Regatta in Baltimore in 1938.