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Bridge Named for Olympic Medalist Alice Bridges Roche

October 30, 2006...The year was 1936. Twenty year old Uxbridge swimmer Alice Bridges waited with other Olympic athletes to enter the coliseum in Berlin, Germany where she would later win a medal in the Women’s 100 meter backstroke. A few feet away stood the fearsome German Chancellor Adolf Hitler about to open the games.

The 1936 Olympics is generally remembered as the time that African American track and field star Jesse Owens won four gold medals, much to the displeasure of Hitler who was promoting supremacy of the German race. Despite Hitler’s embarrassment over Owens achievements, Germany did achieve the most medals (89) and the most gold (33), while the United States placed second with 56 medals, 24 gold. Press reports noted that some athletes and judges were intimidated by German authorities at the time.

“I was surprised to see how short he (Hitler) really was,” Alice Bridges - Roche noted, as she recalled her Olympic experience recently at the Uxbridge Town Hall, surrounded by members of her family, friends and officials. Now residing in Carlyle, Pennsylvania, she was in Uxbridge for the dedication of a bridge in celebration of her Olympic achievement.

The event that resulted in a bronze medal for Uxbridge’s Alice Bridges was not without some controversy. Some observers believed that the American swimmer actually deserved the Silver Medal and, perhaps even, the Gold. The times of all three medal winners, measured without the accuracy of today’s computerized timers and photo instant replay were all within a half second.

In that race, Nida Senff of the Netherlands was declared first with a time of 1:18.9, followed for fellow Netherlander Rie Mastenbroek in second at 1:19.2. Alice Bridges was clocked, according to Olympic officials, at 1:19.4. “It really did seem like all three of us touched the edge of the pool at the same time,” she remembered. 

The disputed time now a distant memory after the passage of seventy years, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the people of Uxbridge decided to remember and celebrate her Olympic success with the dedication of the Route 16 (Mendon Street) bridge next to Capron Park as the “1936 Olympic Medalist Alice Bridges Bridge.”

“I’m really very honored,” she said. “This is a wonderful gesture,” she added as she thanked Senator Richard T. Moore (D-Uxbridge) who, along with Representatives Paul Kujawski (D-Webster) and Jennifer Callahan (D-Sutton), sponsored the legislation that led became Chapter 162 of the Acts of 2006 naming the bridge in her honor. 

In his remarks, Senator Moore noted that, when Alice Bridges attended Uxbridge schools there were no girls sports teams. He explained that it has mostly been since the passage of the federal Title IX law for equal support for girls as well as boys athletics in schools and colleges, that women have come into their own. However, he explained, some women, such as Alice Bridges, stood out long before any such laws were passed.

In fact, Ms. Bridges was the holder of numerous national records in several swimming styles in 1934 and 1935 before her Olympic experience. She said that she wouldn’t have had much time for school sports or other activities because of the demands of training at the Whitin Community Center and Uxbridge’s Pout Pond. Charles Thompson, Director of the Whitin Community Center, noted that Alice Bridges legacy continued at the Community Center since every new member and visitor is told of the fact that an Olympic swimmer once trained in the Center’s original pool, which is still in use along with a new larger pool.

During the bridge dedication ceremony, Senator Moore presented Mrs. Roche with a smaller version of the bridge dedication sign as well as a signed copy of the act that officially designates the bridge in her honor.

The 1936 Bronze Medal for Alice Bridges performance in the 100 meter backstroke was on display at the bridge dedication ceremony. Several Uxbridge High women’s sports team captains were on hand to meet the Olympian and admire the much-prized medal. In addition, the students joined Uxbridge Superintendent of Schools Daniel Stefanilo and Athletic Director Mark Donahue in awarding Mrs. Roche an Uxbridge High Varsity Letter, along with a Spartans T-Shirt and a collection of press articles detailing her swimming accomplishments. In return, Mrs. Roche presented Senator Moore and school officials with Olympic Plaques commemorating her accomplishments that had been prepared by the U. S. Olympic Committee for her 90th birthday last July.

Among Alice Bridges Roche’s family members in attendance for the dedication were: Peggy Price and Joseph Roche, the Olympian’s daughter and son; niece Judy Bridges and her daughter Tasia; niece Elizabeth Locke; niece Carol McDonough of Uxbridge and her daughter Laurie Mann with her children Garrett and Victoria; nephew Jack Lynch, his wife Christine, and daughter Jaqueline, a former Uxbridge High cheerleader and current Worcester State College sophomore; Chris Lynch, wife of nephew William Lynch, along with their daughter Kate and her husband, Jim Quinn and their daughter Madison; and great nephew Timothy McDonough with his wife Tricia.

Town officials present were Town Clerk Holly Gallerani, Public Works Director Lawrence Bombara, and Historian Mae Wrona. Representative Jennifer Callahan was represented by her aide, Jennifer Warren. Joanne Moore and Diane Bednarz served as hostesses for the refreshments. After the ceremonies, a luncheon was held at the Whitin Community Center.

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