P/C Frank H. Foster, III – 2006
The following recollection was written by Commodore Frank H. Foster, III for inclusion in the BLYC Centennial History Book. It details the history of the negotiations with Mrs. Alice Rosebraugh for the purchase of the property.
Under your subtitle “Later Projects in the 1980s”, fourth paragraph, you talk about acquisition of the Rosebraugh property. I remember that because I was the principal negotiator with her and remember sitting several times talking to her in her kitchen and then periodically reporting back to the Board on the state of the negotiations. It took months. We also asked a few other long time members who knew and were on good terms with her to talk to her from time to time because negotiations went slowly and we didn’t want to anger Alice Rosebraugh.
The entrance to the parking lot was the driveway between the older two story house, where she lived, and the garage that are both there now. Every member at that time will well remember that, before we purchased the property, there was always a tin can hanging on a nail protruding from the garage where everyone was to put 50 cents to pay for parking. If you didn’t pay, perhaps because you didn’t have the change, many times Alice would come walking out of her house into the lot to tell you that you were supposed to pay. She would also complain to the governors about those who didn’t pay. And it often happened that, after you put your quarter in the can, if you looked in the rear view mirror as you proceeded into the parking lot, you would see Alice walking out to get the money.
She was a very nice older lady. There was never any question that she would sell the property to the yacht club. She intended that because of its location and the long historical relationship with BLYC. The only question was the price, fair to her heirs and fair to BLYC. When we closed the purchase, with great legal assistance from Commodore George Fisher, the can immediately came down and disappeared into history.