We were back again at Fort Turmbull last week with NL's third graders. Over three days we brought another six classes to visit both fort and museum.  Above, students ponder Bob Landry's model of Race Rock Light. Above right, Carolyn Leuze tells the story of Navy families evacuating Panama following the bombing of Pearl Harbor -- she was there and in the first grade!
 
What's Up at the Custom House  - June 17, 2018
New London Maritime Society - telling the stories of New London's waterfront & preserving four historic maritime sites.
Discover the enormous effect the maritime world has on our daily lives at the Custom House Maritime Museum.  Please keep us afloat.
 It's a tough time for nonprofits. Although grants fund specific educational programs & preservation efforts, there is little support to pay for heat, lights. insurance, overhead, and our one staff member. It's up to you. Please DONATE. Your gift can make all the difference.
  >>>>>i<<<<<<  
Your donation of $5,000 will sponsor NLMS for one month!
 
Why not give Susan a call: 860-447-2501, or 203-444-2884  
New London Maritime Society thanks our Friends & Sponsors
Robinson + Cole  
     Docko      Cross Sound Ferry 
John Steffian, Jr.,   the  Chester Kitchings Family Foundation, Matt Lynch Water Transit  the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, Veolia Water, CDBG
 
this Tuesday, June 19
 
JIBBOOM CLUB #1  meets on the 3rd Tuesdays
June 19, doors open at 1, the program commences at 2.
Come to the Jibboom Club for a speaker's program, good conversation & coffee.  
This month, a
rt historian Ann Marenakos talks about National Academy artist Reynolds Beal (1866-1951), who was born in nearby Noank. Anne will discuss a Beale painting in the museum collection and Beal's original sketches of New London.
 
below, a Beale sketch of a tugboat at work on the Hudson River has been loaned to the museum for the presentation. 
 
 
The Jibboom Club is sponsored by the Maco Family Fund. 
and now for something completely different  
  
MAKE MUSIC DAY  -- join us for music, wine & nibbles, and it's free   
Thursday, June 21, 2 to 4 PM, at the Custom House  
that's THURSDAY!  (not Wednesday, as previously listed)  
   
 
3:00 - 4:00 pm - Patina , left, a string duo bringing antique tunes to life by welding together the sounds of lively bluegrass and classical elegance.
 
Launched in 1982 in France as the Fête de la Musique,  
Make Music Day  is now held on the same day in more t
han 800 cities in 120 countries. Completely different from a typical music festival, Make Music is open to anyone who wants to take part. Every kind of musician - young and old, amateur and professional, of every musical persuasion - pours onto streets, parks, plazas, and porches to share their music with friends, neighbors, and strangers. All of it is free and open to the public. Join us! 
Friday, July 6
 
  
An Evening of Song (and Desserts) with MUSTARD'S RETREAT 
July 6th Concert & Fundraiser to Benefit New London Maritime Society
  Friday, July 6, 7 PM, beneath the Custom House Tent
   
Mustard's Retreat will be featuring songs from their new CD 'Make Your Own Luck', to be released in late June. Concert tickets are $35 each and are available online 24/7 at brownpapertickets.com/event/3499462 or by calling 860-447-2501. Space is limited. (Remaining tickets will be sold at the door.)

The Michigan-based singer/songwriter trio Mustard's Retreat has been delighting audiences for 40 years. They are witty, insightful, fun, and profound, as well as accomplished songwriters and musicians (guitars, dulcimer, electric bass, mandolin, harmonica, pennywhistle). The group: David Tamulevich, Michael Hough, and Libby Glover, is well known in the area to Mystic Sea Music Festival fans and Custom House museum friends. They previously have performed at the Custom House and at Friday Night Folk, and were the opening act for folk legend Peter Yarrow's performance for NLMS, in 2016. Following their performance on July 6, Mustard's Retreat will be seen at The New Bedford Folk Festival, New Bedford, MA. Hear them HERE. 

fresh, vital, relevant  -  Robert Reid, Waterloo Record, ON  
 
Enjoy the music beneath our beautiful blue tent. Desserts, wine, and coffee will be served.
 
exhibition extended through August 5

Victorian Woolies: Sailors' Stitchery and Other Pastimes
 
The Charles B. Moss Sr. & Paula Moss Collection 
    
'Victorian Woolies: Sailors Stitchery and Other Pastimes' celebrates a recent gift of 22 'woolies', or Victorian sailor embroideries,  from
Charles B. Moss, Jr.  The exhibition has been a great hit since it opened in April.  
A prominent collector of Victorian sailor embroideries brought in four fabulous pieces from his private collection!  They are now on loan to the Custom House -- so we've extended the show through August 5. Here, above, is one of those pieces - a rare signed woolie. 
 
Visit inside Ledge Lighthouse
trips begin June 25 -- (our captain is racing in Bermuda!)
We're taking a small boat out from City Pier, New London 
This summer we're trying something new!  
Trips for up-to six passengers, only, leaving daily from downtown. (We also do charters.) 
S ign up for tours at: brownpapertickets.com/event/3466901   
Please be patient. We'll be scheduling trips most afternoons, times TBD weekly.  Our schedule is dictated by the tides & weather.  (We cannot land at low tide.)   
Questions? 203-444-2884.  
Matt Lynch, of Water Transit Services, with whom we've worked  for 6 years on our Sunset and Full-Moon Lighthouse Tours, is the captain for these 90-minute excursions. $60, $50 NLMS members & youth ages  7-18. 
Our evening Sunset & Full-Moon boat tours take place June 26, 27, & 28, that's next Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday 
It's the Full Strawberry Moon 
Please register at least 8 hours in advance of your trip. 
 
Sunset Lighthouse Boat Tours - July 26, 27, 28 
See three of New London's lighthouses as the sun goes down. 
Twilight is a magical time to be on the water. Explore the harbor's lighthouses: Avery Point, Ledge, & Harbor, with the one who knows them best.  
Local, Personable, Authentic. Just six passengers, max.   
    
Full-Moon Lighthouse Boat Tours  
July 26, 27, 28 
Explore the region's lighthouses  with the one who knows them best.  
Charter a New London Lighthouse Tour  - call 203-444-2884 to arrange. 

Thursday,  June 28
 
Untold Tides: the Surprising Influence of the Tides in Human Affairs, with Mark Borton
Thursday, June  28, 6-7 PM

Tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun, and affect everything on earth, not just the oceans.
NLMS member Mark Borton has been researching the influence of the tides for a decade and will present two illustrated talks on the causes and consequences of the tides.  

In his 2nd talk, on June 28, Mark will reveal some of the hidden influences of the tides on love, war, money, and more.

Thursday early evening -- 6-7 PM. Talk, wine & cheese, then we suggest you go have dinner in downtown New London! Tickets for youth ages 8-18 $8, NLMS members $10, $12.

Mark sold out his first lecture. Space is limited. Register today 24/7 at brownpapertickets.com/event/3382689.
 
Work continues to replace the interior gutters in the Custom House attic.  
 
The photo, left, shows where the corner gutters pass from the roof top through inside the attic, and then out again into an exterior gutter.  
Inside the attic the gutters are surrounded by several inches of brick and concrete.  
    
 
 
Last week work began to open up the brick and mortar which has encased the interior gutters since 1833. What we discovered is that long-blocked gutters had allowed ice to form and split open the original gutter seam, left, allowing water to leak throughout the Custom House.  
 
This week,   Patricio Montenegro began to replace the interior gutters with new custom copper tubing.  He and his crew worked both inside the attic an up on the roof.
 
 
 
 
 
This is the same corner, two floors beneath the attic on the main-floor. The plaster in this gallery corner was so water damaged that it was removed, decades ago.   
 

Hooray for the new copper gutter! 
 
We thank the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund for sponsoring this important preservation effort at the Custom House.  
Last week, we learned we also will receive $4,050 in CDBG funding to help replace the interior gutters and repair the plaster ceilings.   
 
We are working towards replacing the entire museum roof over the next years.  
SUMMER Classes for Kids! 
 
YOKAI MASK Workshops 
 
Artist Albert Sussler is teaching a two-session Yokai Mask workshop in July !  Yokai are Japanese spirits ~ monsters that personify forces of nature.

Two Saturday mornings, July 21 and 28th, 10 AM to 12 noon. $25.  Ages 10 and up. Register 24/7 at brownpapertickets.com/event/3470717.  
 
 
CARTOONING Classes are back!
 
Kids' book illustrator - cartoonist Jon Buller presents a four-session workshop on how to create a cartoon.  For ages 8 and up - adults are welcome! 
 
Four Saturdays July 21, 28, August 4, & 11.  10:45 - 12 noon. $60.  
Register online 24/7 at
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Clink on underlined words - hot links - to learn more
   
 
 
One word: paella.
BasqueFest -  Get your tickets HERE. 
   
 
   
 
 
Our neighbors at Studio 33 -- Sarah and Maureen -- have started a fundraiser to benefit both NL  Landmarks and NL Maritime Society. Pick up a blank postcard at either Studio 33 or the Custom House, create a cover design, then mail it back. All cards will be exhibited at the gallery, auctioned off, and the proceeds spit between the two nonprofits.   
   

 
 
 
Left, Mark Borton condensed 2,000+ years of science and theology into an engaging 40-minute talk about what actually does cause the tides. He had a full house. 

 
Make History! Rent the Custom House for your special event.  Call Susan  860-447-2501 to find out more. 

Facebook New London Maritime Society to learn about issues related to our mission of preservation & conservation . We also post community news and conservation / preservation articles.  This week we've got photos from the Fort Trumbull 3rd-grade field trips, new of Monticello, Sally Hemings, and oystercatchers. 
 
Custom House Maritime Museum   is on Facebook. 'Like' us to keep up with our events, as well as with news of interest about museums.     
 
 Custom House MUSEUM SHOP  offers all kinds of unique gifts.
Everybody is welcome in the shop, you don't need a  museum ticket to come in. MUSEUM SHOP gifts have an extra feel good factor: when you shop with us, all your purchases go towards supporting the museum, exhibitions, & educational programs.    
 
 
Faceboo k  New London Ledge Light  reports the latest news about the lighthouse at the center of our harbor. Last weekend, the Ledge Light Foundation brought out window installers to replace the last of the old windows on the first and second floors at the lighthouse. Putting in these nine windows was the completion of a five-year project led by the Gipsteins. Good work, LLF!  
 
Facebook New London Harbor Light   reports the latest on NL Harbor 'Pequot' Light and about American lighthouse preservation. It is sad to realize that another year has gone by when we have not been allowed to bring New London's third graders -- nor anyone else --to visit the lighthouse.       

  We continue our work to re-establish public access  
to New London Harbor Light, a beloved local historic landmark.

From left, NLMS president Ed Cubanski,'A Chance to Meet' organizer Kevin Blacker, and NLMS vice-president Andrew Blacker at 'A Chance to Meet' last week. 
 
F acebook Race Rock Lighthouse posts news concerning Race Rock Light and international lighthouse tou rism and preservation efforts. 
 
Facebook Lighthouse Inn, New London, Connecticut to keep up with the Inn's restoration.  
   
Facebook  Lighthouses of Long Island Sound Gateway
  to learn news of other area  lighthouses.   
 
From left, Eleanor Mariani, NLMS trustee Barbara Dixon, and Isabelle Muller in the NLMS McGuire Library last week.
 
Find your lighthouse is a facebook page for world-wide lighthouse events & news.    
   
 
 
Steve Cryan, creator of the painting at left, visited the Custom House with trustee Ted Webb on Thursday. We're developing an Art of the Tugboat show -- to open in early August -- and Steve will be contributing some of his paintings, photos, and models. He also has will be giving a talk -- watch for that date... 
 
Facebook Sentinels on the Sound posts special events, boat tours, and dates to watch. This week we posted the return of our popular Sunset and Full-Moon lighthouse boat tours. They start on June 26th.
      
Below, Winthrop students spy their school's bright blue roof from the ramparts at F T.
 
Enjoy the longest days, the shortest nights,
& a Happy Fathers Day. 
 
Thank you for your support of New London Maritime Society!
Your membership provides annual operating funds for our Museum & Lighthouses.  

Your membership matters! Join NLMS today.
New London Maritime Society | 150 Bank Street, New London, CT 06320 | 860-447-2501
nl maritimesociety.org
The Custom House Maritime Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 PM, or by appointment | 860-447-2501