The Ghost of Jack Kelly

After a morning at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, we walked and biked north along the Schuykill River on what is known as Kelly Drive. The road is named after John (Jack) B. Kelly, who won 3 Olympic Gold Medals in single and double sculling in 1920 and 1924. He is considered one of the most accomplished American oarsmen in the history of the sport of rowing. He was also the father of the late, Grace Kelly, actress and Princess of Monaco.

An Irish immigrant who began as a bricklayer, he started a brickwork contracting company in Philadelphia and went on to become quite wealthy. "Kelly developed a technique to ensure payment for his brickwork from less-than-trustworthy real estate developers. Kelly's crews would mortar a single pane of glass into each chimney they built. When new home owners would complain to realtors about smoke backing into their houses from the fireplaces, and the developers would then complain to Kelly, he would reply "I'll take care of it when your check clears." Once paid, Kelly would send crews out to drop a brick down each chimney they'd constructed, smashing the glass panes and solving the problem” (wikipedia)

I saw this older man who seemed to be channeling his inner Jack Kelly as he moved quite quickly through the water. I followed his progress and took a number of shots. This was the best of the lot. The harsh midday sun caused me problems.