row2k Features
Wayback Wednesday
Ergs Through the Ages
June 3, 2020
Adam Bruce, row2k.com

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1925 Central High School rowing class, 3/25/25. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress.

1925 Central High School rowing class, 3/25/25. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. - Click for full-size image!
January 1937 Rep. Albert Thomas of Tex. on the rowing machine at the House gym. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. - Click for full-size image!
James A. Shanley, D. of New Haven, Conn. on rowing machine at the House gym ca. 1937. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. - Click for full-size image!
Between 1922 and 1935 Elizabeth R. Allan, of Charlotte, North Carolina, a freshman at Smith College, Northampton, Mass., working out on a rowing machine. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress - Click for full-size image!
Rowing Squad, Columbia.  Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. - Click for full-size image!
April 1920 Representative Anderson of Minn. enjoys a brisk row in the rowing machine.  Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. - Click for full-size image!
Columbia Squad at rowing machines ca. 1910 and ca. 1915. Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress. - Click for full-size image!
1981 Dick Dreissigacker and Jon Williams. Peter and Dick Dreissigacker create a winter training device for rowers. They nail an old bike to the floor of the barn and pull on the chain. Courtesy of C2. - Click for full-size image!
1982 C.R.A.S.H. -B Judy Geer (2nd from left), Bari (Lane) Dreissigacker on right. On Model As. Photo courtesy of Concept2. - Click for full-size image!
C.R.A.S.H. -B using Model Bs.  Late 80s. Photo courtesy of Concept2. - Click for full-size image!


The world is starting to open back up to a degree. We have even seen some small boats out on the water in a few cities! Despite this, most of us still need to resort to training on land for the time being. For this week's Wayback Wednesday we are looking at ergs through the ages.

Searching through the Library of Congress archives however we discovered numerous examples of teams training on land over the last century. This week's photos feature a rowing simulator at Central High School in 1925, US Senators using a rowing machine at the House gym in the 20's and 30's, and more.

To round out our Wayback Wednesday photos this week, Concept2 was kind enough to send photos from the early days of the "Erg." In early 1981 Peter and Dick Dreissigacker decide to create a winter training device for rowers. Peter nailed his old bicycle to the floor of the barn and pulled on the free end of the chain, and the Concept 2 indoor rower was born.

If you have any old school rowing images we should check out and are allowed to share, please send them to us.

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Comments

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Peter Paine III
06/09/2020  12:17:08 AM
Need to find a pic of a Gamut. I spent way too much time on those torture devices...



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