Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Greendale family shares connection to 'The Boys in the Boat'

 

GREENDALE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- In the simplest terms, "The Boys in the Boat" tells the story of the 1936 U.S. rowing team and their quest for gold at the Olympics. It's told around the main character, Joe Rantz.

The movie, directed by George Clooney, comes out on Christmas day.

This international tale has a hometown connection right here in Greendale.

This is my oldest brother, Fred, and my sister, Judy," Jennarose Murdaugh said, pointing out her siblings and parents in a photo.

Murdaugh grew up the youngest of five kids.

Her dad was the center of the family.

"He was a wonderful man. He loved family. He loved us," she said. 

Murdaugh's son, Matthew, remembers his grandpa coming to speak to his class as a kid.

"I thought it was cool, really cool," he said with a big smile.

Because, while Joe Rantz was a family man, he had quite a story to tell.

"My dad never lost a race," Murdaugh said.

He competed on the world-renowned University of Washington rowing team that won gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, under the Nazi regime.

"The chapters go back and forth between what was going on politically, to hide the Nazis' assassination of the Jews or genocide. It hid that," Murdaugh said.

The true story is captured in the book, The Boys in the Boat.

It's also a big-budget movie being released on Christmas day.

Murdaugh is pretty sure her dad would approve.

"I'm not sure how he would take it. I think he would think it's ok," she said with a small laugh. 

The story centers on Rantz.

"It's about my grandpa! He's the main character," Matthew exclaimed.

It highlights his struggles during the depression, trying to get an education.

"They showed how he was abandoned several times and had to learn to be on his own," Jennarose said. 

It also focuses on the story of the team of eight, and she said that's truly what Rantz would have wanted.

"That feeling of, it was the boat. The guys all together, that was something special. They had to learn how to trust," she said.

The family has photos, newspaper articles and scrapbooks dedicated to that time.

"This is from the when they landed in Berlin," Jennarose said, showing a photo of a crowded train station, her father's face visible near the train.

The gold medal sits in a case at the University of Washington now. But Matthew remembers it was lost for decades.

"It got lost in the house, and they were doing some remodeling and they finally found it, up in the attic, in a squirrel's nest," he said.

She and Matthew tell their family's story whenever they can.

"It is read every year in Greendale public schools," she said.

Murdaugh herself grew up in Washington and came to Milwaukee for her job at 28.

"I interned at Milwaukee County Mental Health Center. I'm a music therapist," she said. 

She stayed and raised her family here. But her pride in her dad's accomplishments in Washington and on the world stage are clear.

"Everybody loved him. He was charismatic and humble at the same time," she said.

Joe Rantz died in 2007 at the age of 93. He didn't live to see the movie, or the book.

But for Murdaugh, his story is a piece of history and family pride.

"We always knew the story should be written because it's so inspiring," she said.

If you'd like to nominate an Everyday Hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected]