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       Let me extend Petula Dvorak’s thanks to Capt. Howard Gasaway Sr. to the Gasaway family’s historic contribution to Anacostia water sports [“Thanks, Captain Gasaway, for cleaning up the Anacostia,” July 7, Metro].

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       Peter and Elizabeth Gasaway were among the original purchasers of one-acre lots in Barry Farm (later Hillsdale) under the Reconstruction Act of 1867. They owned Lot 14 on Elvans Road. Their descendant Howard Gasaway Sr. was commodore of the oldest African American yacht club in the country, named the Seafarers Yacht Club, founded in 1945, thanks to the assistance of Mary McLeod Bethune.

       African Americans swam in the Anacostia River until public pools were integrated. Because they were barred from public pools, many African American children never learned to swim. Between 1945 and 1948, 29 of 37 school-age boys who drowned in the city were Black. Integration of the Anacostia public swimming pool in June 1949 sparked race riots.

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       Later, the Gasaways ran an integrated public pool on Morris Avenue, teaching Black children to float, swim and dive.

       The Seafarers Yacht Club has contributed a variety of activities for the community over the years, such as boat rides for youths and senior citizens. It is committed to assisting people on special holidays, giving baskets on Thanksgiving to needy families.

       Trish Brown Savage, Washington

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