THE WINDS OF CHANGE to Princeton and was the first coach of women’s crew there until his retirement in 1973.”2708 Emory Clark: “To the casual observer, Jim’s time spent on the water with his crews was spent teaching the technique of rowing. To those of us who spent endless hours out on the water, we realize after some reflection that what we were really learning from Jim was life’s values. “The confidence to be ourselves, to believe that we can achieve our goals, to persevere, to press on regardless! “But it was his character as a man that made you want to pull your heart out while you were in the boat and not want to do anything small, anything unworthy around Jim when you were out of it. “Jim did not demand or command. He simply got you believing in yourself, caused you to find your own strength.”2709 Don Beer (1935-1997) Charlie Grimes and Don Beer had been great friends since their days together at the Groton School. Don captained the 1954 Yale Freshmen and rowed 4-seat in the 1955 Yale Varsity. Grimes: “Donald was a dreamer and an inventor. His mother was a truly remarkable person, the head of the American Mining Congress. “Donald had a brilliant mind and an enormous capacity for work, just enormous.”2710 He was once quoted as saying, “Always remember, there’s more to life than rowing – but not much.”2711 2708 The New York Times, Obituary, August 28, 1992 2709 Clark, Rath, p. 3 2710 Grimes, personal conversation, 2006 2711 Halberstam, p. 16 Don Beer, captain of the 1957 Yale Crew, tragically died of a brain tumor in 1997. He is greatly missed by his family, teammates and the entire rowing community. Rusty Wailes (1936-2002) As will be described in Chapter 83, Rusty went on to row in the 1960 Olympic Champion Lake Washington Rowing Club Coxless-Four. The son and brother of University of Washington oarsmen, Rusty became Yale’s most celebrated Olympic rower ever. Prior to the crew’s 45th Reunion in 2001, Rusty wrote down his memories of the year leading up to the Olympics. He planned to cover the Games themselves at the 50th Reunion, but that was not to be. The Daily Herald, Everett, Washington: “On a sunny fall morning, October 11, 2002, the kind that Rusty Wailes lived for, the 66- year-old retiree did what he did best. He got in a boat with friends all around and rowed. He pulled the oars through deep water as if it were almost half a century ago, as if he were at the Olympics, and another Gold Medal was on the line. “Then Wailes did something uncharacteristic. He stopped rowing. “Sensing that something was wrong, another rower turned to look at him. Wailes let out a big grin, then fell backward. “By the time his boat made it back to the dock, he was dead.”2712 In his own words written in 2001, this was Rusty’s legacy: “Today, after almost a half century of reflection, you understand better the lessons that Jim was offering. “First, that it is better to have strived in the attempt – and failed – than to have never tried at all. Second, to achieve great success 2712 Scott M. Johnson, Perfect oarsman, www.heraldnet.com, August 9, 2004 743
