We thank our 19 USCG cadets, who gave up their Sunday to help out at the museum.
 

The projects the cadets took on were finicky -- they required attention to detail and some consideration -- after all, most of the projects are in the middle of museum exhibitions.

Two spaces on the museum's 2nd floor were scraped and prepared for painting in one case, and re-plastering in another.

One of the hardest jobs was digging out the area along the side of the museum. Working between cloudbursts, several cadets managed to clear what they could. It will be some kind of a garden come summer.

We lost our tent in a cloudburst last fall -- and Sunday other cadets  worked with NLMS trustee John Desjardins to remove the old tent frame, trim the shrubbery, remove the rotted whale base, and generally clean up the back courtyard at the Custom House last Sunday . I don't know how this ever would have gotten done with out their help.

NLMS sends our thanks to all the cadets, and John, for their good work last Sunday at the Custom House.

We thank Susan at Capt. Scott's Lobster Dock -- yes, they're open --  for providing the delicious chowders and clam cakes for everyone. 

 
We need a relatively new computer to run our PortVision program .
If you have a computer that works with WiFi that you've recenty replaced, please send it over to the Custom House.
 

The Custom House Maritime Museum is open 
Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. 
What's Up at the Custom House  -  April 7, 2019
New London Maritime Society - Local  Friendly  Authentic
Telling the stories of New London's waterfront & preserving four historic maritime sites

We thank Connecticut Explored for donating the design of this Hot Spot ad, above, for the magazine's summer issue (& our free use).
   
Call to set up a custom tour of Harbor Light: 860-447-2501, or sign up online; we offer tours most Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
Children must be age 8 or older.

New London Maritime Society thanks our Friends & Sponsors
 
 
 




John Steffian, Jr., The Maco  Family Fund, Matt Lynch Water Transit
Frank Loomis Palmer Fund,   Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut  
Veolia Water,   Bodenwein Foundation, The Atlantic Paranormal Society,  & CDBG

  New London Maritime Society - your local, independent, community museum.
April 16, Tuesday

Jibboom is Back
April 16, Tuesday, 1:30 PM
Doors open at 1.
When Guantanamo was just a Naval Base 
Norman Brouwer discusses his Navy experiences on Cuba at the time of the revolution in the late 1950s; he also presents a brief history of the Noank-built and New London-owned schooner  CHARLES H. KLINCK . 
Join us for coffee, treats & a talk. Sponsored by the Maco Family Fund. Please come and bring a friend. FREE
April Book of the Month from the McGuire Library 
M. Léonce Reynaud
MEMOIR OF THE ILLUMINATION AND
BEACONAGE OF THE COAST OF FRANCE
Washington, Government Printing Office, 1876
 
This month's selection is a large, rare volume containing an essay by Augustin Fresnel detailing investigations that led to the invention of the illuminating apparatus famously bearing his name.   Engraved images of several Fresnel lenses offer a vivid impression of the ingenuity of his invention, and its beauty.  The binding and plates of our copy were showing their age, after 143 years, and have now been repaired by conservator Eugene MacMullan.   Why would the American government translate and distribute a treatise on French lighthouse technology and buoy management, which had first appeared in Paris twelve years before? Because the French were leading the way -- although the British were active as well. The Reynaud treatise was seen as a particularly valuable resource by the Light-House Board of the United States, charged as it was with the never-ending responsibility to improve safety for the American shipping industry.  
 
--Brian Rogers, Librarian
You have two great opportunities to support your local lighthouses!
   
1.) We are working to fund an architectural survey of  Race Rock  Lighthouse.
We've selected our architect -  Walter Sedovic Architects -  who worked on Block Island Southeast Light, Block Island North Light,  Faulkner's Island Lighthouse off Guilford, CT, and on the plan for Stepping Stones off of Great Neck, NY.
  We still need to raise $4,000; 
 
   ________________________________________________

We also have a new campaign.

2.) Now that our lighthouse tours have started, we'd like to be good neighbors and landscape Harbor Lighthouse.  We're looking for design help as well as financial support. 

Please donate today.


New London Maritime Society appreciates the support of our
Lighthouse Logos League businesses  
Please click on the logos to learn more.
 
 
 
 
                    
 
           
 
 
 
    
                   
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
Our Lighthouse Logo League is a way for local businesses to reach the 1,100+ shoreline readers per week who reliably read this blast, while supporting NLMS.   Want to join? Email Susan at nlmaritimedirector.com.
We all should work together and   SHOP LOCAL! 
l
The Challenge, part I
  
This grassy strip alongside the custom house has long been a problem. Several years ago, we tried planting ground cedar, but of the dozen plants put in only one survived. 
When the cadets dug up the soil last Sunday, our worst fears were realized -- the gritty soil was mostly  gravel and large stones.
It should not have been such a surprise.  This area was once a channel leading to the Thames and was built of fill.  Here's the channel, below , ca. 1880.


Make History
The Custom House is available for  private rentals. 
   
Meetings, weddings, birthdays, retreats. We've got a full kitchen.
    
Call 860.447.2501
____________________________________________________

Explore the World with the Museum Travel Alliance
  
New London Maritime Society is now part of the  Museum Travel Alliance (MTA) , a consortium of museums whose patrons and supporters are  passionate about cultural travel. 
  
MTA offers affiliated museums and cultural institutions access to a curated selection of travel opportunities led by renowned curators and scholars.    museumtravelalliance.com
_____________________________________________________

The Challenge, part II
  
The gravelly strip alongside the museum had to be emptied of fill, as much as possible. Cadets were able to dig to a depth of from just six to twelve inches .

You may remember, three weeks ago  Sara Munro at Studio 33 donated $1,000 to the Maritime Society, the money raised from a community postcard project. We're using that money to put in some new  greenery. First thing we ordered fill, which was put in place on Saturday by Ken Lake & Lake Lawn Care .



We want to thank our neighbors at  Studio 33 as well as our local community by creating a new garden alongside the museum.
Our block of Bank Street is possibly now the most vital in the city, with tasty new restaurants, apartments, a coral lab, men's spa, and yoga studio just across the street. 
Soon we'll also have a small oasis of green!   
Keep up with what's up!
Sign up to receive this weekly email blast.  

We all should be concerned about the rising waters.



The NLMS Spring newsletters were in the mail on Monday thanks to three cadets' work.
This 2nd floor area scraped by the cadets will be painted soon and become the new knot room.

Areas of the Custom House consistently undergo revision.
Our once beautiful (and empty) collections room, below left, is now overstuffed with not only collections items, but also extra packing, empty display cases, file bins. We are fortunate that the Custom House collections room will be the special project of the AIC ReOrg collections angels annual volunteer project in May. Meanwhile, we're getting ready by measuring all our furniture and clearing the way for that BIG event.

As we finish the Kids Ahoy exhibition, our whaling display is transiting into the main gallery. We have been keeping the wall next to the Jibboom Club materials open in the hope that Citizens Bank will allow us to display the whaling painting, previously on display in the bank's former home on  Eugene O'Neill Blvd., next door to The Day building. The decision about where the painting goes will be made by the bank later this month.
The Maritime Society makes donations, too.
This week, we created a gift basket for Groton Open Space's annual fundraiser. We'll post details closer to the event.
  • Facebook the Custom House MUSEUM SHOP MUSEUM SHOP gifts have that extra feel  good factor --  when you shop with us your purchases go towards  supporting our museum, exhibitions, and educational programs.
We have new items in the SHOP:  note cards and linens.

  • F
    acebook New London Harbor Light  reports the latest on NL Harbor Pequot Light and about  American lighthouse preservation. 
  •  
  • Several of the cadets wanted to visit Harbor Lighthouse, so we brought them by.

Librarian Laurie Deredita shows one of the LPs in the library collection: Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier Sound Effects.








CT National Public Radio intern Roberto Royas visited New London Harbor Light last week for a radio segment. Here he is gathering a soundscape.

 
 
 
  Have a Sparkling Day!
 
Please make a 100% tax deductible donation
   
New London Maritime Society
ANNUAL FUND    Donate Here

Thank you for 35 years of 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