Remembering Jimmy

by Gerry Davidson


    James R. Irwin, Jr. will be remembered as Jimmy to his many fiends in Antique Boating circles across the country. Friends and associates loved being Jimmy's pal, quoting him, telling others about buying boats from him, repeating his funny stories and enjoying his vast knowledge of a bygone era. Just remembering him makes you smile.

    Jimmy played an important part in creating the local chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society in the early seventies. He knew before many, that antique boating would capture the interest of a large group of people. But then, Jimmy was always a promoter of new ideas. Ideas that were perfectly obvious to him but had yet to catch on with the rest. He knew that preserving old boats would be a good idea and that in time the public would embrace it as they have. Jimmy knew all this in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Whenever he was with others and he saw a wooden boat he'd say, "you, you, you, know we ought to get people to take better care of those boats, we ought to bring them together for a show, maybe have a newsletter and keep some records from the original manufacturers. We ought to just promote the whole idea of antique boating." And he did.

    Jimmy was a "behind the scenes" kind of guy. Oh he'd be the Master of Ceremonies at a gala event but for the most part, he quietly gave a push here, a phone call there, a commitment extracted from someone and above all, boundless optimism and encouragement. When Jimmy and his pal Vincent Callahan decided to do a boat show at Weirs Beach, NH in the early seventies, they did it all quietly, planning over a few lunches (and smiles) as Jimmy would say.

 

1982
Jim Irwin and Vin Callahan
Antique and Classic Boat Show
Weirs Beach, Lake Winnipesaukee
 

A week before the show, there would be little work done other than the promotion of the show. Mailings, posters and lots of newspaper articles. Jimmy had a real flair for promoting ideas to the public. On the night before the show, there would be virtually no registrations for boats for the next day. But as though by magic, the boats would come, mostly from the Lake Winnipesaukee area but a few from upstate New York and Michigan. The public came too, in droves and so each annual boat show was a little better than the previous one. After a few years, Jimmy and Vince turned the operation of the Weirs show over to the ACBS to run. They were both concerned that we should somehow screw it up but with their continued help we didn't. It has become one of the premier antique boat shows in the country.

    As many know, Jimmy was a wealth of first hand knowledge of an era past. He knew everyone in the Lakes region it seemed. He knew the boats they owned, where they lived and what business they were in. Jimmy was also well known in boating circles across the country for his father was one of the earliest Chris Craft dealers. Jimmy and his brother Jack maintained their relationship with Chris Craft as long as they were leaders in the boating industry. If you ever asked Jimmy about a particular Chris Craft you had, you had to reserve a fair amount of time for the answer because once Jimmy got started, he could go for hours and never repeat himself. He would regale you with one tale after another about the boats, the people and the times mixing in one snippet of humor after another. Listening to Jimmy was like living sixty years ago, like being a part of it. His recollection of detail was phenomenal. When asked about an old Chris Craft, he'd tell you the options that came on that particular serial number, when it was delivered, who bought it, and what ultimately happened to it decades later. A wealth of knowledge sadly lost to us except by those who knew Jimmy and remember him well.

    Remembering Jimmy will not be hard, it will be fun. We'll do it often and we'll do it with a smile, as he did.


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