Hometown heroes

Last Saturday we went to the Sequim Museum and Art Center. The museum is now located in a new facility that opened last July. It was a quick visit but I’ll share highlights. I’ll show photos of the facility in another post later.

In addition to information about local industries and other general Sequim history, the museum highlights a couple of our local heroes. One is Joe Rantz, shown in the center, above, with other members of his University of Washington crew team. Joe, a Sequim resident, was extensively profiled in The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Joe’s team, comprised of a group of gritty working class students, excelled against all odds to win a berth at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Then they won an Olympic gold medal. The museum has an interesting exhibit and information about Joe and his team, including a video showing their extraordinary victory. A rowing shell by the famous builder George Pocock is also on display. (Whether or not you’re interested in rowing The Boys in the Boat is well worth reading.)

Matt Dryke, a skeet shooter, is another Sequim resident with Olympic gold to his name (1984). He also has numerous golds and silvers from many championship competitions. A list next to Matt’s photos lists 20 competitions from 1979 to 1992 with top honors, including world records and a three trips to the Olympics. Matt and his family operate the local Sunnydell shooting range. Matt is honored locally by a bronze bust at Carrie Blake Park. I posted a photo in 2013 here.

I’ll share a unique piece of Sequim history from the museum tomorrow. Then I’ll get back to some of my November travels.