Irwin Marine has long and colorful history

LACONIA — Irwin Marine, which is the largest marine dealer in the state of New Hampshire, is a family-owned and operated business which was founded in 1919 by Jim Irwin Sr., who grew up in South Boston and dropped out of school at the age of 13 to become a runner in the city's financial district on Milk Street, where he carried orders and receipts from offices to exchanges and from offices to banks.

An aspiring trumpet player who would go on to form his own band in Boston, Irwin first came to the Lakes Region by train in 1914 and, following service in the Navy in World War I, bought the Music Hall at the Weirs in 1921 and was selling and renting boats from what had been the Weirs Boat Livery, which had been started at the Weirs by Herb Buffum in 1908. In March of 1921 he authored an article for a national boating magazine about the business which was headlined, ''The largest motor garage in the world.'' He even arranged for the first ever ski train which came to the Weirs from Boston in 1922.

In November of 1924 a fire destroyed the Music Hall, along with the New Hotel Weirs but by he following Memorial Day, Irwin had built the Winnipesaukee Gardens dance hall atop the big boat shed and continued his boating business by becoming the New Hampshire dealer for Chris Craft boats, the mahogany boats which became the most popular and well-know boat brand in the country.

The Winnipesaukee Gardens became the center of attention during the Big Band area with as many as 2,500 people a night showing up to dance to the music of the likes of Duke Ellington, Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra, Lionel Hampton and Les Brown and his Band of Renown.

When another fire in December of 1939 destroyed the steamship Mount Washington, Irwin played a key role in helping buy the Chateguay in Lake Champiain and have it cut part and shipped by rail to Lakeport where it was reassembled and became the M/S Mt. Washington.

When World War II closed the Gardens ''for the duration'', Irwin built a central kitchen near Laconia High School which delivered meals to the two Scott and Willams locations in the city, which were running three shifts a day, seven days a week as part of the war effort.

It was also during that time that he laid the groundwork for moving Irwin Marine to its current location in Lakeport by making a deal with the Boston and Maine railroad to acquire more than an acre of property next to Paugus Bay in Lakeport where he would build a 700 foot long building for the marine business.

''He talked the railroad into selling him the land by guaranteeing them that after the war all of the Chris Craft boats he bought would be delivered by the Boston and Maine all the way from Michigan,'' says Jack Irwin, who along with his late brother Jim Irwin Jr., took over management of Irwin Marine following their father's death in 1966.

Constriction started in 1944 and by the time the war ended Irwin Marine was able to move to its present location, just as the postwar period arrived.

The following 20 years were among the best ever experienced by both Irwin Marine and the Winnipesaukee Gardens, where a fleet of Chris Crafts offered daily summer boat rides and the Gardens were filled with crowds drawn from all over New England by the most popular big bands in the country.

With the onset of rock and roll, some of the favorite visitors were the Beach Boys, Gary Puckett and the Kingsmen of "Louie, Louie" fame. The era ended in the spring of 1976 when the Gardens was sold.

''We started to get smaller crowds because there wasn't enough parking at the Weirs, especially when the Mount Washington held night cruises,'' Irwin recalls.

There was also a problem with Chris Craft, which underwent bankruptcy in the late 1970s and led to Irwin starting to sell the Sea Ray line of boats.

''In the early 1980s, Sea Ray was the number one boat. I visited their manufacturing plant at Lake Geneva, Illinois and ordered a couple of truckloads. Within two years we were selling more Sea Rays than Chris Crafts,'' says Irwin.

Today Irwin Marine offers several boat lines, including Meridian Yachts, Monterrey Boats, three lines of pontoon boats, Premier, Palm Beach and Berkshire as well as Alumacraft, Old Town canoes and kayaks and several varieties of personal watercraft, including Sea-Doo and Yamaha.

In addition to its Lakeport location, Irwin Marine also operates from locations in Hudson, Alton and Alton Bay and has management teams at Mountain View Yacht Club, and South Down Shores.

The current management team consists of Jack's sons, John and Bill Irwin, and Bruce Wright.

''We continue to focus on providing a safe and rewarding workplace for our employees and delivering the best product available and exceptional service to the boating community'' says Irwin.

CAPTION:

Bill Irwin, vice president of sales and marketing; Jack Irwin, president and John J. Irwin, vice president and parts director, head up the management team at Irwin Marine. (Courtesy photo)