Perhaps it was this reality, specifically the problem of alimony for a second divorce, that tempted Grover into Massachusetts' stormy Bay on July 27 last summer.
Goggled and greased, wearing Swimming: His means of expression tan-and-white bathing trunks and a white bathing cap, with K-rations strapped to his body and a compass strapped to his wrist, he jaunted down Carson's Beach, in South Boston, and plunged into the unusually rough waters of Pleasure Bay at 11:10 a.m. on an unusually raw Wednesday, boasting the intention of reaching Provincetown, 45 miles distant.
No Boat for Him
The date was two days after his second wife and mother of his third child had given the deputy sheriff divorce papers to serve on him, charging cruel and abusive treatment (she reported him missing since June 30).
Water so rough that the regular Wilson Line Boston-to-Provincetown steamer wasn't sailing didn't deter the man. For Grover wasn't going to have a boat follow along with him. "No one has ever swum a distance like that without a boat," he informed a life guard.
The open stretch of Massachusetts Bay is about 45 miles of tricky, often impossible water. The English Channel at its narrowest is 20 miles wide, though more swimmers often cover 25 miles when caught in the strong currents.
But Grover was undaunted, even though no one paid his boasting much heed since the venture was so obviously impossible. No one, that is, except the local Boston press. Headlines announced, "Ex-HARVARD STAR BEGINS HUB-PROVINCETOWN SWIM," and glorious Grover took off.
Suit Brought
After a short while in the rough sea, he was reported lost by the Boston papers, but the Coast Guard refused to search the Bay for him unless one of his family first reported him missing. Meanwhile, his brother-in-law, Stephen A. Thomas, brought suit against Grover for threatening him, and a warrant was sworn out.
Safe? Missing? Arrested?
But Grover, without telling the press, came ashore at Minot's Light, North Scituate, only half a mile from his starting point. When his mother finally reported him safe just as his wife reported him missing, the police picked him up on his brother-in-law's charge and secured $100 bail.
Grover pleaded innocent when arranged on Sept. 20 and was released on personal recognizance, to appear before Judge Thomas J. Spring today. His only other statement at the time was that he had placed third in the Montreal 40-mile swim on Sept. 3.
Whether he did or not, the Boston press will probably continue to glorify Grover today, and this recognition will continue to be unique. The University apparently doesn't recognize him at all, for there is no record of him in any Yearbook nor in the files of the Alumni Association.