 |
|
What's Up at the Custom House - September 23, 2018
|
New London Maritime Society
- Local Friendly Authentic
Telling the stories of New London's waterfront & preserving four historic maritime sites
|
Now on view at the Custom House
Bully for Woolies: Victorian Sailors Stitchery
The Charles B. Moss Sr. & Paula Moss Collection
'Victorian Woolies: Sailors Stitchery and Other Pastimes', now on view at the Custom House Maritime Museum, celebrates a recent gift of 22 'woolies', or Victorian sailor embroideries, from
Charles B. Moss, Jr.
Above, detail from a woolie from
The Charles B. Moss Sr. & Paula Moss Collection, New London Maritime Society. photo: Isabelle Muller.
This exhibition celebrates a donation of tugboat models and paintings to NLMS from collector Steve Martin. Artists also contributing to the exhibition include Reynolds Beal, Tim Cook, Steve Cryan, Paul Farrell, Hardie Gramatky, Dana Jensen, Marek Sarba, and Sean Elliot.
There is a related exhibition of archival materials, news clippings and tugboat books in the museum's Frank L. McGuire Maritime research Library. Left, an original watercolor illustration by Hardie Gramatky for the children's book Little Toot.
|
Saturday, September 29, 4:00 PM
McGuire Library 2oth Anniversary
This Saturday we celebrate the 20th year of the
Frank L. McGuire Maritime Library, named for the Society's first attorney and one of its founders.
Above, NLMS librarians Brian Rogers and Laurie Deredita, and paper conservator Eugene MacMullan.
Please join us for a reception
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 at 4:00 at the Custom House.
Librarian Brian Rogers will give a short demonstration of the Library's online exhibit series that highlights local maritime topics with illustrations from the collections. Let us know if you will attend by leaving a message at (860) 572-0291 or an email at
bdrog@conncoll.edu.
FREE.
Tugboat Captain Bill Borek photographed the boats in New York and New Haven harbors over many decades. This week, he dedicated his collection to the NLMS McGuire Library. Thank you, Captain!
New Online Exhibit
Visit the Maritime Society website's 'Library' section to check out two new online exhibits about local maritime history. '
Old Ironsides - New London', prepared by Rebecca Palmer, describes the famous ship's connections with our city and
'New London and the First Steam-Powered Atlantic Crossing' tells the story of the two New London sea captains, Moses and Stevens Rogers, who sailed the S.S. Savannah to Europe and back in 1819.
|
What's Up in October?
Something's happening in Boo London...
Saturday October 6, 13
Seeking Spirits: Researching the Paranormal
Traci Boiselle and Cody DesBiens,
right, have been investigating for
The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS) for 10 years and 5 years respectively. Traci has been the Lead Investigator for the TAPS Home Team since 2010.
TAPS was founded in 1990 by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson to help clients throughout New England that believed they may be experiencing paranormal activity in their homes or businesses. The group was made famous, in 2004, by the SyFy series Ghost Hunters. During the show's 12-year production run, TAPS Home Team investigators remained behind carrying out the groups original mission: ensuring that those that needed it, received confidential and free of charge assistance.
Above, Traci, Cody, and Ashley lead the Paranormal tour on Ledge Lighthouse.
Seeking Spirits Part I
Saturday Oct 6, 2018 6:00 PM, $15, 2 hours
Explore the basics of Paranormal Research. Start with Learning the history of the field. Its origins are bound to surprise you! This first portion of Seeking Spirits will also cover the v
arious types of hauntings and what possible causes are theorized for each.
Seeking Spirits Part II
Saturday Oct 13, 2018 6:00 PM, $15, 2 hours
Sign up at
brownpapertickets.com/event/3615124.
While learning the TAPS methodology and philosophies on investigation, you will become familiar with the equipment used to document possible evidence of paranormal activity.
________________________________________________________________________________
October 31, 2018m 2 PM
& on Halloween, itself, take a
'Spirit Walk' with Roger Ryley
Looking for something a bit out of the ordinary? Might spirits still prowl the olde lost paths of Nameaug Village, c. 1649? Are echoes of John Winthrop, Jr.'s alchemies yet heard on Hempstead Street? Do the dead rest easy in "Ye Ancient Burying Ground" nearby?
On October 31st, at 2 PM (carpool from the Custom House), dowser Roger Ryley will lead his third walking tour, this time around our Post Hill Historic District.
|
We've got fun-sized boat trips (just six passengers) to visit
inside Ledge Lighthouse into October!
Friday's tour to Ledge,
right.
Tours
inside Ledge Lighthouse run Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
|
Please help support the NL Maritime Society.
Right now, your gift will be doubled (or tripled!)
1.) our Ben Martin operating-funds challenge will double your gift,
2.) or you also may help to build our endowment
~ & If you are a Charter Oak member, Charter Oak will double both the challenge and/or the endowment donations.
Like many non-profits, New London Maritime Society is having some financial difficulties.
A group of friends has come together to issue a
$15,000 Challenge, in honor of past-NLMS president Ben Martin.
In August, some friends of New London Maritime Society donated $15,000 for us to match. The challenge is to help us meet our operating expenses this fall.
The good news is that we already have raised about half that match sum!
If you donate to the Challenge your donation will apply to the match and double it's worth.
Right, NLMS librarian Bran Rogers with Ben Martin, NLMS past-president and the architect of the NLMS Frank L. McGuire Library.
If you are a Charter Oak Credit Union member, you
may again double your donation through their
You Donate, We Match program! Click on the bar below.
or mail you donation today to:
New London Maritime Society Ben Martin Challenge
150 Bank Street, New London, CT 06320
|
At the same time, we feel it is important to start rebuilding our endowment!
L
ocal.
Friendly.
Authentic.
We are
your community maritime museum.
Thirty-five years ago, New London preservationists established the New London Maritime Society to create a home for local maritime history at the Custom House. NLMS now operates the Custom House Maritime Museum & Library, educates New London's 300 third graders with a year-long local history program, and preserves the three major lighthouses leading into this historic port.
In 2018, New London's US Custom House turns 185 years old. We are working to establish an endowment so that we can continue telling the stories of our waterfront for generations to come.
We need & appreciate every gift; but in honor of the custom house's 185th birthday, the first 100 people to donate $185 or more to our Endowment Fund will receive this denim bag as a symbol of New London Maritime Society and its role in the community.
Linda Roselund our volunteer coordinator, above, is the latest NLMS donor to receive our denim tote! Won't you join her?
Are you a member of Charter Oak?
>>>>>i<<<<<<
Questions about donating? Why not g
ive Susan a call: 860-447-2501, or 203-444-2884
New London Maritime Society, 150 Bank Street, New London, CT 06320
|
|
|
Library Book of the Month
Eric Jay Dolin
BLACK FLAGS, BLUE WATERS
The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates
New York, Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2018
We welcomed Eric Dolin back to the Museum on September 16th, the day before his new book was published. As with his visit two years ago to discuss
Brilliant Beacons, a history of lighthouses, he gave a well illustrated talk followed by an entertaining Q&A. The new book focuses on piracy's so-called "Golden Age," from the late 17th to the early 18th centuries, and features famous pirates such as Blackbeard and Captain Kidd as well as lesser known figures. It also describes the efforts of colonial leaders, among them New London founder John Winthrop the Younger's father, and young Benjamin Franklin, to fight and eliminate the scourge of piracy. A good read. --Brian Rogers, Librarian
Read more about Eric Dolin's talk in (click here>)
The Day.
Pirate book author: rum and plundering, but no plank walk.
Published September 16. 2018 8:25PM |
Updated September 17. 2018 6:32PM
By
Benjamin Kail Day staff writer
New London - Caroline Driscoll spent summers with her family in Waterwitch, N.J., not far from a massive bluff where legend had it that
Capt. William Kidd buried a treasure chest. But the steps leading to the hill where Kidd hid his loot were covered in poison ivy.
"I was direly allergic," said Driscoll, of New London. "Other than that, I would have found the treasure."
Author
Eric Jay Dolin, giving a talk on the bloody, rum-ridden history of American piracy at the Custom House Maritime Museum on Sunday, told Driscoll her childhood legend was likely all wet.
Kidd "did sail past New Jersey, but I doubt the treasure is there," said Dolin, whose 13th book, "Black Flags, Blue Waters," storms into stores on Tuesday - a day before
International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Dolin said buried treasure stories - and notions that pirates growled "Argh!" and forced people to walk the plank - are little more than the fluff of literature and Hollywood.
But that hasn't stopped hunters from digging along the East Coast and in Canada, Dolin said, noting potential buried treasure remains a tourist attraction in Nova Scotia.
Dolin also told the curious crowd of the Marble family, who spent decades in the middle of the 19th century digging at Dungeon Rock in Lynn, Mass., seeking treasure allegedly left by a pirate in the 1650s.
"They went bankrupt," Dolin said. "They were digging through solid rock. How dumb can you be? They lost their marbles."
Dolin said he couldn't blame people for their fascination with pirates and the lust for riches.
"I love 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies, but it's important not to get your real history from Hollywood," he said.
Dolin, who's previously written about whaling, lighthouses and the fur trade, researched pirate history by spending a week and a half poring over the National Archives in England and reading primary source material at the Massachusetts Historical Society and Harvard Library.
But he also told a "dirty little secret" about nonfiction research.
"Every single letter that a colonial official wrote back to the Board of Trade or Parliament or the Crown has been digitized," he said. "I was able to read hundreds of letters from 1680, 1690, so most of my research was done in my humble little office, a converted garage."
So where does genuine pirate history meet the likes of Johnny Depp's Captain
Jack Sparrow?
Dolin said pirates enjoyed "sticking their noses to sartorial restrictions," wrapping themselves in stolen silk and "brilliant sashes and colorful tricorn hats."
Another thing that Hollywood gets right is pirates' thirst for rum, wine and cutthroat tactics.
"There was nothing romantic about them," Dolin said.
He noted the notorious English pirate
Edward Low fed victims their own sliced-off ears or lips, apologizing to the audience for sharing the grisly image before dinnertime.
Colonial and British officials dealt with pirates just as harshly, Dolin said, with torture and hangings.
Captain Kidd, for instance, was executed for piracy in 1701, his body covered in tar and locked in an iron cage hung over the Thames River to warn pirates what could become of them.
Mystic resident Kit Hartford came to see Dolin speak because she's "always had a place" in her heart for pirates, having "lived in the Florida Keys for a while."
"They weren't good people," she said, agreeing with Dolin that it was clever that pirate crews evenly disbursed their spoils, or else they'd end up tussling with each other.
In the 1600s, colonists in New York often welcomed pirates because they created ways to sidestep the fierce trade restrictions of Great Britain, Dolin said.
But between 1715 and 1726, more than 4,000 swashbucklers sailed along the East Coast and Caribbean ruthlessly attacking American and English ships, he said. Eventually, pirates "rarely had to resort to force since intimidation, courtesy of the black flag, worked so well."
|
CELEBRATE AUTUMN with a SALE at the MUSEUM SHOP!
September 22 through 30
Save 20% on all purchases. NLMS members save 30%!
We're open Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 PM.
Our MUSEUM SHOP offers all kinds of unique gifts. Everybody is welcome, you don't need a museum ticket to get in.
Our gifts have an extra feel good factor: when you shop with us, all your purchases go towards supporting the museum exhibitions & educational programs.
|
The intimate Archibald Chester Ship Model Gallery is a unique setting for a party, conference, or retreat.
|
Sign up to receive this weekly email blast.
Registering to vote in Connecticut is usually as easy as a few clicks. Register online
During the 2018 series Musings on Museums, the Friends of Fort Trumbull have focused on the roles museums play in preserving the historic memory of mankind. On September 27, at 7 p.m., in a new twist on "museums", they will explore the concept of Graveyards and gravestones as a type of an "Outdoor" Museum. The Friends will welcome to the Fort, Ruth Shapleigh-Brown, the founder and Director of the Association for Gravestone Network. The public is welcome to attend this free presentation at the Fort Trumbull Conference Center.
Facebook New London Maritime Society to learn about issues related to our mission of preservation & conservation
. We also post community and conservation / preservation news.
Left, our friend ship pilot Capt. Joe Maco introduced tugboat Capt. Bill Borek to the Custom House.
The Custom House MUSEUM SHOP offers all kinds of unique gifts, and through September 30 everything is on SALE.
Everyone 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.
Right, Our favorite Oystercatchers in the SHOP.
We thank Frank Bohlen for a fascinating overview of his sail in the Azores at Tuesday's JIBBOOM CLUB meeting, left.
Faceboo
k New London Ledge Light reports the latest n
ews about the lighthouse at the center of our harbor. This is where we post the latest info about our fun-sized lighthouse tours. Tours inside Ledge Light continue Friday, Saturday & Sunday.
We thank our friends at
The Atlantic Paranormal Society (TAPS),
right, for raising $1,000+ for us this weekend with their
Paranormal Tour Inside Ledge Lighthouse.
Facebook
New Lon
don Harbor Light
reports the latest on NL Harbor 'Pequot' Light and about American lighthouse preservation. Our ZBA case was presented to the judge two weeks ago. She now has 120 days in which to make a decision about our non-conforming pee-existent rights.
We continue our work to re-establish public access to New London Harbor Light, a beloved local historic landmark.
Facebook
Race Rock Lighthouse
posts news concerning Race
Rock Light
and international lighthouse tou
rism and preservation efforts.
We had over 20 visitors for Smithsonian MUSEUM DAY on Saturday. Here a group takes the tour with head docent Bill LaRoue, above right.
Find your lighthouse
is a facebook page for world-wide lighthouse events & news.
Left
,
Capt. Joe McGuinness, owner Sea Tow Eastern CT, and.Capt. Wendy Sears, communications director of
Sea Tow Eastern CT, are new partners of New London Maritime Society. We will be working with Sea Tow to encourage boaters to wear life preservers in the same way drivers wear seat belts!
Below, Flowerpot at the Custom House
.
Your membership provides annual operating funds for our Museum & Lighthouses.
Thank you for your support of New London Maritime Society!
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
