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Some longtime Youngstown residents remember the village centennial celebration in the late summer of 1954 that ended before the main event could begin. Florence Chadwick, 35, a world-famous swimmer from California, was under contract with the Canadian National Exhibition to swim the 32 miles across Lake Ontario from Youngstown to Toronto. To complete the challenge, she was offered a $10,000 prize: $2,500 for just trying and $7,500 upon reaching the Toronto Harbor.
Strong winds and a forecast of 10-foot waves on Sept. 6 forced postponement of the start of the marquee event. When it was reset for Sept.
8, I headed to the U.S. Coast Guard Station where the Niagara River flows into the lake.
I was a high school student then eyeing a journalism career and a chance to watch a big story breaking. The focus was on Chadwick as she slathered herself in grease for the arduous journey. Unnoticed on the dock that night was Marilyn Bell, 16, a 5-foot, 1-inch blonde with an infectious smile.
A student at Loretto School, Toronto, she was on a summer break. She had not been invited to participate and the CNE never intended the swim to be open to the public. She also was irked by newspaper accounts that rubbed in the fact that no Canadian had been offered the opportunity to win the prize.
A reporter asked her, “Why are you doing this? Florence Chadwick is one of the best swimmers in the world!” In a soft voice, Bell replied, “I’m doing it for the glory of Canada.” After a quick check of her goggles, she waved to a few friends and plunged into the dark inky currents. It was 11:04 p.
m., about a minute after Chadwick departed. Media from both sides of the border swung into action.
In one 30-foot yacht reporters and photographers scrambled for a good vantage point. Close by, officials in a smaller vessel monitored adherence to marathon rules. Fast forward: Chadwick had covered nine miles when she experienced severe stomach pains.
She struggled to stop vomiting. Her coach and crew decided she should pull out. Bell wanted to continue, nourished with a mixture of pablum, corn syrup and lemon juice fed through a tube.
(No physical touch allowed.) Records showed that she was still going strong, keeping her powerful pace at 70 strokes per minute. Her guide boat crew and coach Gus Ryder provided vital support.
Lamprey eels attacked her legs and arms. Ryder insisted that she not give up, reminding her that many sick children in a nearby hospital were listening to radio updates and cheering for her to finish. The fierce competition between the Toronto Star and Toronto Telegram heated up.
Both had chartered boats to rush their copy to shore for “extra” editions. I was glued to CFRB, a Toronto radio station for updates. A cousin in that city kept me abreast of the media frenzy.
Authorities estimated that 250,000 people were waiting along the shoreline. When Bell touched the Toronto harbor marker, she had set a lake crossing record of 20 hours and 58 minutes. She was greeted with deafening cheers, waterfront whistles and a steady boom of fireworks.
The media battle was not over. The Toronto Star had reportedly promised a hefty advance to Bell for an “exclusive” interview. Meanwhile, the Telegram assigned a reporter — posing as a nurse — to whisk the young swimmer away in an ambulance to a nearby hotel for a closed-door interview.
The Star reporters waited for Bell to recover while the Telegram went to press with a first-person story — one she had not written — with her byline. Later, a Telegram editor was quoted by several staffers in the newsroom, “The Star claimed an exclusive, but the ‘Tely’ had the girl.” Today, Marilyn Bell DiLascio resides in a New Paltz, N.
Y., nursing home. Chadwick died in 1995 at age 76.
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