This Would Solve The Dartmouth Crew Question

WITH the Connecticut River not practical for crew races, the solution to the crew situation at Hanover seems solved by this photograph. The general desire for a crew and the number of possibilities that a crew would bring may probably lead to some action in the not too distant future. This photograph shows Mascoma Lake at Enfield. The old Shaker "bridge" on the road from East Enfield to Enfield is the only obstacle to the development of a good racing course. And this obstacle may not be serious if the towns involved, Lebanon and Enfield, desire to have a good course at their back doors.

Lake Mascoma is reached these days from Hanover in less than half an hour. A bus service could convey teams each afternoon in spring. The ice went out of the lake this year about April 1, leaving everything in readiness for boating. With a boat house on this lake and all accessories on the spot the time of preparation each day would not be long. And the crews would sweep out into a course from three and one-half to four miles long. The possibilities are enormous,—eight-oared crews, four-oared crews, class crews and recreational- activity crews. To these might be added the high school crews of Lebanon and Enfield if such a course were once established.

And it would be a great outlet for new activity. The old Shaker settlement has long since passed away and in its place is a flourishing boys' school which would certainly benefit. There would be some sentiment certainly on the part of those persons who hated to see the old bridge destroyed; it is in fact the only Shaker bridge left in America, perhaps in the world. Traffic would be diverted around the lower end of the lake.

Regattas, class days, rowing carnivals, would probably bring the same crowds of people in the spring that now visit Hanover only during the football season. The railroad lies about 100 yards behind the ice house shown on the shore in this picture. The Enfield station is not far away, but even closer along to the left is the Mascoma station now but little used.

The taking out of the old Shaker bridge would devolve upon the towns immediately involved and perhaps upon the state. At any rate a solution could be easily reached and would make spring in the north country as pleasant as the football season or Carnival. It is the one thing that outdoor life at Hanover needs.

THE REMOVAL OF THIS BRIDGE WOULD ENSURE A 4-MILE COURSE