An early women's regatta trophy tells a story bigger than sport
Back when there was just 1 women’s regatta race per year, Mildred Turnbull blazed a trail across the pond
Women have ruled the Royal St. John's Regatta for years now, with women's crews outnumbering men's crews three to one. So it's hard to imagine that North America's oldest annual sporting event didn't allow women at all before 1949. And until 1979, the regatta held just a single women's "exhibition race" each year.
Into these rough waters rowed Mildred Turnbull in 1955, a woman described as a "fearless individual" who led the Fort Pepperrell ladies crew. The trophy Turnbull took home is a rare and fascinating piece of regatta history, but the story it tells is about more than sports.
In Part 4 of our "Inside the Vault" series, curator Maureen Peters shares the story of Mildred Turnbull and the trail she blazed across the pond. Click the video above to watch.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
