❖ Rowing Through the San Juan Islands for Fifty Years ❖ (1902-1952) ❖

A. O. McCormick or his   
brother James A. McCormick,

Vendovi Island, San Juan Archipelago, 
inscribed with date of 1914.

Photo postcard from the archives of the S.P.H.S©

Making Fiftieth Rowing Cruise, August 1952

"A. O. McCormick, Seattle, was in town [Friday Harbor] last week making his usual yearly stop while rowing through the San Juan Islands, as he has done for the past fifty years.
      Mr. McCormick, who is 78 years old, rents a rowboat from a LaConner resident and this year started on 11 August. He expects to complete the cruise by 31 August.
      He carries a sheep herder's tent, a comfortable cot, and cooks his meals over an open fire. He never has to camp in he same spot, he says, as there are so many fine camping places available.
      When asked if he didn't find rowing difficult, he replied that he found he found the hardest work in setting up and breaking camp. It was rest to row the boat.
      A. O. McCormick says that this is the last trip of this type he plans to make, as it climaxes a record of 50 years enjoying a "rowboat cruise" among the San Juans.
      He is a brother of the late J. A. McCormick, photographer, who for many resided in Friday Harbor."
Friday Harbor Journal, 28 August 1952.
      If you have any data or photos connected to the life and work of this gentleman, we are archiving a file on his brother J. A. McCormick, professional photographer and part time resident of San Juan County and King County. Thank you.