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Behind the Seams: Costume Shop Prepares for Lantern Light Tours Like a Boat Out of Water | Library Makes a Move | O is for Oysters

Wood,Water& LightThe Photographs of Benjamin Mendlowitz

A Mystic Seaport membership is the gift that keeps on giving. Look at all the privileges—

and discounts! Free admission to Mystic Seaport—with express entry. Free subscriptions

to member publications. A 10 percent discount at our Museum Store. Special discounts

on Mystic Seaport classes and camps. And now, you receive a free Mystic Seaport

calendar when you give the gift of membership.

TO LEARN MORE, CALL 860.572.5339, OR VISIT MYSTICSEAPORT.ORG.

Get the whole year in return.

Give a Mystic Seaport membership.

Save $5 off the price of membership and get a FREE 2007 Mystic Seaport

Members Edition Calendar.

Plum Pudding, Mincemeatand TurkeyHolidays of the past at sea and ashore

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C O N T E N T S

Wood, Water & LightThe photographs ofBenjamin Mendlowitz18

Let Me Count the WaysHow do you get a boat outof water?14Behind the Seams

Costume shop preparesfor Lantern Light Tours4

ARMCHAIR SAILOR. . . . . . . . . . 25

CALENDAR OF EVENTS . . . . . . . 30

GREENHAND’S CORNER . . . . . . 31

BY THE NUMBERS . . . . . . . . . . 32

SIGHTINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

IN THE NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

GARDENING BY THE SEA. . . . . . 16

IN THE GALLEY . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

I N E V E R Y

I S S U E

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ast summer, Mystic Seaport took a significant step in its ongoing efforts to continually refresh

and renew what it offers those who visit and become members. The Museum engaged a team of

exhibit designers and architects to help plan a major series of expansions and enhancements to our

year-round exhibiting and programming capabilities.

Haley Sharpe Design, Ltd., is a multidisciplinary design practice based in the U.K. Their exhibit

design portfolio includes the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada; the National Center for the

American Revolution in Philadelphia; and the Association for the Preservation of Virginia

Antiquities. We have been very impressed by the creativity of the people on the Haley Sharpe team.

Machado and Silvetti Associates is an architecture and urban design firm known for enhancing

distinctive spaces and unique works of existing architecture in the U.S. and abroad. The firm has

worked on such projects as the Getty Villa and Museum, Malibu, CA; the Rockefeller Stone Barns,

Pocantico, NY; the Provincetown Art Association, Provincetown, MA; and the South Boston

Maritime Park. We are particularly pleased about the quality of their work and their track record for

working effectively with the communities adjoining their projects.

The work these two firms are doing for us is supported by funds donated expressly for this

project. Their focus is on the Museum’s “north campus,” the area fronting the Mystic River west of

Route 27 and north of the Membership Building. It’s there that we have the greatest potential to

improve in indoor ways that complement Mystic Seaport’s mostly outdoor historic village,

waterfront and working shipyard, as well as the scenic elements of the community of which the

Museum is an integral part.

The exhibit designers are now working with the Museum’s staff to help select those compelling

themes, stories and topics that will best inspire visitors and members, and thus fulfill the Museum’s

mission through a continually refreshed series of exhibits and public programs. In particular, we seek

to give our members, the community and our visitors even better coverage of

thought-provoking and enjoyable “America and the Sea” stories than our

limited exhibiting capabilities permit. For example, our collections of

historic marine photography, spanning more than a century on

the water, have great power to inform and inspire. Yet they

remain mostly unseen by our audiences because we lack suitable

exhibition galleries.

In all of this, we will seek to preserve and enhance the best

of Mystic Seaport while we concentrate on those parts of our

public campus that have the greatest untapped potential to

serve our visitors on a year-round, all-weather basis. As I like

to put it, we will be “as good as always, and better than ever.”

If you have ideas or suggestions to share, I encourage you to contact

Project Coordinator Jenny Doak at jenny.doak@mysticseaport.org or

860.572.0711, ext.5004. And if you would like to contribute financially

to this historic undertaking, I am grateful for your support of our shared vision.

While all this is taking shape, we continue to offer an amazing variety of exhibits and

programming. Be sure to visit this season and enjoy your Museum in all its winter beauty!

S I G H T I N G SL

MMyyssttiicc SSeeaappoorrtt magazine is a publication of Mystic Seaport

The Museum of America and the Sea

PPrreessiiddeenntt aanndd DDiirreeccttoorrDouglas H. Teeson

ddiirreeccttoorr ooff ccoommmmuunniiccaattiioonnssPeter glankoff

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PPrroodduuccttiioonnSusan Heath

DDeessiiggnnCaspari McCormick

PPhhoottooggrraapphhyyKane BordenDean Digital ImagingBenjamin MendlowitzDennis Murphy

photograph by

Benjamin Mendlowitz

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Bank of America Foundation

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Coca-Cola of Southeastern New England

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MYSTIC SEAPORT PHOTOGRAPHER DENNIS MURPHY CAPTURED THIS IMAGE OF THE

JOSEPH CONRAD EARLY ONE FALL MORNING. “What made this image different from so

many other photos of the Conrad was the overcast sky and the curtain of fog. Framing

the image in my camera, I especially liked the view of the Conrad from this low angle,

with the grass in the foreground,” says Murphy. The image was chosen as one of the

featured images in the 2007 Mystic Seaport Members Edition Calendar.

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JOANNA CADORETTE, MYSTIC SEAPORT COSTUMER

In preparation for her role in Mystic Seaport’s annual holiday celebration, Lantern Light Tours, Hallie Payne

memorizes her script and walks the grounds. But nothing prepares her as much as putting on her costume.

“The first time I put on my costume and laced up my corset, I literally felt ‘pulled’ into my

character, Mrs. Palmer,” she said.

Many people often overlook the role costumes play in each year’s performance. “People don’t know the 19th

century,” said Marelda Hart, director of Lantern Light Tours. “Clothes serve as a point of reference for the cast

and the visitors. When a person puts a costume on, they become their character. When visitors go on a tour,

they expect authenticity.”

“I feel so different in my costume. It really gives me a sense of character,” said Payne. “As soon as we

take off our 21st-century clothing and put on our costumes, we begin thinking like our characters. We

even start speaking differently—like saying ‘good evening’ instead of ‘good night.’”

At the forefront of costume preparation is the Museum’s costumer, Joanna Cadorette. Her interest

in costumes reaches back to her childhood when she visited Colonial Williamsburg and Old

Sturbridge Village with her family. Her sister also had a passion for collecting 19th-century

clothing that Cadorette found interesting.

After receiving a B.F.A. from Tufts University, Cadorette worked as a curatorial

intern at Colonial Williamsburg to learn about patterns and how they worked.

There she created designs based on originals in the collections—designs that would

later be used in reproductions of garments.

In 1993, Cadorette began working as a tailor at Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA,

where she researched and studied Elizabethan embroidery design and techniques.

She came to Mystic Seaport in 1999 and is in charge of creating period costumes worn and

used as educational tools by the Museum’s role players, as well as in Mystic Seaport’s

theatrical productions, holiday programs and special events.

In preparation for the holiday season at Mystic Seaport, Cadorette spends hour upon

hour researching, sewing, washing and drying. Surrounded by piles of fabric, drawers full

of patterns and walls covered in inspirational artwork by the likes of Winslow Homer

and Edgar Degas, Cadorette works long hours as the seasonal event approaches.

The challenge to assemble 100 costumes for the cast of Lantern Light Tours

begins in October. Even before the final cast is chosen, each potential cast member

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visits Cadorette in the costume shop to have their measurements taken. With measurements in hand, she

begins pulling costumes that might fit not just the person, but the character.

Starting the second week of October and trickling well into November, back-to-back fittings are

scheduled daily with the cast. These half-hour sessions are critical to developing the right look for each

person’s character. Cast members try on clothes, shoes, hats and capes, while Cadorette marks the

clothes for alteration if necessary.

Since the Lantern Light Tours script changes each year, sometimes there is nothing in the

collection of costumes that will work for a particular person or character. In this case, Cadorette will

start from scratch, making or buying new costumes. She has many original patterns from the pattern

archives at the University of Rhode Island, and in some cases will make costumes from patterns that

came free in magazines like Harper’s Bazaar in the 1800s.

With so many costumes, storage is tight in the costume shop. The rooms are full of clothing,

rows and rows of men’s and women’s shoes and boots, and drawers full of accessories, such as brooches,

gloves and hair pins. Low ceilings, narrow hallways and small closets make the rooms seem even

smaller. As the performance dates approach, the costume shop begins its transition into dressing

rooms for the cast.

Along with finishing all the production on time comes the challenge of keeping all the clothing,

hairstyles and accessories in the look of the 19th century. While research has given Cadorette

guidelines as to how to dress and accessorize the cast, she still finds this part challenging.

The pictures on Cadorette’s wall, novels, diaries and photographs all serve as references of

how men and women wore their hair, laced their shoes or wore a piece of jewelry. But

although they give her ideas, they are not absolutes. “I think it’s a mistake for us to believe

we can know for certain how people behaved, dressed or carried themselves in the past,”

said Cadorette. “The only thing we can do is study our sources and try to interpret

them as best we can and always be open to new ways of interpreting history.”

Cadorette likes to give the cast the option to wear more complete costumes

in order to give them a richer experience into the history aspect of the Museum,

as well as improve the overall look of the play. This can involve details such

as corsets and petticoats.

“Although it is challenging, getting closer to more and more accurate details

is always my goal,” said Cadorette. “I would like to help people to get closer to

the feel of period dress and get more involved in the history of the mid- to

late 19th century through their dress as much as possible.

“[I enjoy] having the opportunity to build on and improve the

costume inventory and see progress from year to year,” she said.

“When people tell me that they have learned something new from

wearing the clothes, I am happy.” E

H O M E P O R T

As the cast expands, we eventually run out of clothes to fit

the people we have. But the nice part is that each time we

have to make something, we have it for next year, and as

the inventory grows, so do our options for the future.

- Costumer Cadorette

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-MOLLY ENTIN

TAKING ON A LIFE OF ITS OWNAdd Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America to the list of people wanting to know if there is para-

normal activity aboard the Charles W. Morgan. The ABC morning show, seen by millions every day,

ran a four-minute segment about the story June 26—two days after the Rhode Island Paranormal

Research Group reported on its full investigation of the vessel. The group was aboard Saturday night,

the story ran Monday and was concluded by Sawyer conducting a live interview of Museum President

Doug Teeson. The CBS Evening News also ran a national story about the Morgan and its purported

paranormal activity. That segment ran August 12.

LEARNING THEIR ROLEA story originally published in the Hartford Courant about role playing at Mystic Seaport has

gone on to receive national attention. A number of newspapers, including the Arkansas Democrat-

Gazette and the Columbian in Vancouver, Washington, picked up the story about the role-playing

apprentice program at Mystic Seaport led by Rebecca Donohue. The article not only spotlights

those learning to become role players, but Museum veterans, too, including Janice Whiteman and

Robert Schneider.

OPEN 24 HOURSHeadline writers at the Providence Journal, one of the larger daily papers in New England, must

have had fun when working on the paper’s story about the annual Melville Marathon at Mystic

Seaport, where visitors read the classic Moby-Dick in 24 hours. They dubbed the story “Whale of a

Tale.” Predictable? Maybe. But the fact is a reporter and photographer from Rhode Island’s leading

paper perfectly captured the spirit and atmosphere at one of the Museum’s most unique events.

Reporter Bryan Rourke recounted personal stories of those who have attended previous readings and

gave insight into what happens after hours—when just a few hearty souls remain on deck overnight.

WOOD CONTINUES TO BE GOODThe story about Mystic Seaport acquiring Live Oak trees from the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast

provided the Museum with publicity in numerous national outlets—including CNN, The New

York Times and nearly 100 television stations. The story reached even more people nationally July

15 when it aired on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition. NPR correspondent Noah Adams

interviewed Shipyard Director Quentin Snediker for a story that also featured conversations with

two tree donors. The end result? More exposure for the Charles W. Morgan as we try to make her

famous yet again.

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EW PARTNERSHIP FOR MYSTIC SEAPORT

Mystic Seaport has joined forces with the New Bedford WhalingMuseum and the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park in a collaborative initiative, Pursuit to Preservation: The Story of American Whaling.

The collaboration combines the considerable strengths of all threeinstitutions through a variety of initiatives that leverage their respectivecollections, resources and expertise while cross-promoting programsand venues to larger audiences. Components include whaleboat races,volunteer and staff training, a lecture and performance series, reciprocalfree admission for members at selected events, teacher professionaldevelopment and family activities.

A central focus of the collaboration is the Charles W. Morgan, the lastremaining wooden whaleship in the world. Built in New Bedford,MA, in 1841, she has resided at Mystic Seaport since 1941.

“Mystic Seaport is the proud steward of this National HistoricLandmark,” said Doug Teeson, president and director of MysticSeaport. “While the Morgan has strong ties around the world, perhapsits strongest are still in New Bedford. Through this partnership, all ofus can continue to learn more about the Morgan and who sailed her.More importantly, we can celebrate her, particularly as she will undergomajor restoration in fall 2007, a project which will lead to numerouseducational opportunities for all involved.”

EAS, SCHOONERS AND FISHERMEN

A new exhibit, The Seas, the Schooners and the Fishermen: Thomas Hoyne’sPaintings of the North Atlantic, featuring the fine art paintings of ThomasHoyne will open in June 2007 at Mystic Seaport. A successful commer-cial illustrator, Hoyne devoted the final years of his life to the creationof elegant and poetic paintings of the 19- and 20-century commercialfishing fleet of the North Atlantic.

Although he came from a family of lawyers, stockbrokers and civicleaders, Hoyne followed his early interest in the arts at the Universityof Illinois in a course of architectural studies. Hoyne’s lifelong interestin the sea and the North Atlantic fisheries became his passion when hewas diagnosed with cancer and gave up his commercial art career topaint “scenes for my own enjoyment,” as he related in a speech atMystic Seaport in 1983. He was a Fellow of the American Society ofMarine Artists, and in 1983 he was given the Rudolph J. SchaeferAward at the Mystic International, an honor given to the artist whosework best documents our nation’s maritime heritage. His paintings arein numerous private and public collections including Peabody EssexMuseum, Mystic Seaport and Ventura County Maritime Museum.

Hoyne’s paintings depict images of the hand-liners that fished fromsmall dories dispersed from a schooner constantly threatened by storms,

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currents, ice and fog and by the transatlantic steamers, whose lanes

ran close by the fishing grounds. His images also celebrate the fast and

seaworthy ships built “Down East” in the shipyards along the New

England coast. Hoyne’s paintings reveal the poetry of the North

Atlantic seas, the able schooners and the men who fished them—in

short, his work embodies the grandeur of the era.

The exhibit was brought to Mystic Seaport in collaboration with the

Ventura County Maritime Museum.

ACHT TALES

Mystic Seaport has opened its newest exhibit, Yacht Tales: Stories

from the World of Recreational Sailing.

The exhibit presents four stories that suggest how yachting—

once a pastime for the wealthy—has become more accessible for all.

They feature:

Arthur Curtiss James, a man of wealth who cruised the world’s

oceans and believed owners should know how to skipper their own

yachts; Captain Thomas Hawkins, a professional yacht captain who

worked for those who could not sail; the Star, a middle-class racing

sailboat that became popular all over the world; and the Albatross, a

yacht-turned-classroom that sank in 1961.

Support for the exhibit was provided by Mr. and Mrs. Robert T.

Galkin, Mr. Warren B. Galkin, Mr. and Mrs. Richard W. Marsellus,

Ms. Anne Ramsey, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Webster Walker and donors

in memory of Christopher B. Sheldon.

Yacht Tales: Stories from the World of Recreational Sailing is now

located in the lower level of the Mallory Exhibit Hall.

OLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

Marie Engelman has received the 2006 William C. Noyes

Volunteer of the Year Award.

Engelman began volunteering at Mystic Seaport in March

2002 and has since contributed 1,350 hours. She has served the

Museum in many areas including Interpretation, Volunteer

Services, Lantern Light Tours and Community Carol Sing.

“Marie epitomizes the highest standard for a Mystic Seaport

volunteer,” said Senior Development Officer Lisa Reed. “Her

infectious enthusiasm and can-do attitude is an inspiration.”

The Award was established in 1998 through the generosity of

Noyes’ widow, Bettye, and donations received in Bill’s memory.

Noyes volunteered close to 6,000 hours between 1983 and 1997.

The Volunteer of the Year Award is presented each year to a

Museum volunteer who “best personifies Billy Noyes’ example

and the ‘true spirit’ of a Mystic Seaport volunteer.” Volunteers

are nominated by Museum staff and a winner is chosen by a

committee headed by Rhoda Hopkins, supervisor of volunteers.

This year, the committee also presented two new awards. The

Lifetime Achievement Award honors longtime volunteer Art Payne.

Prior to his death in June, Payne volunteered more than 5,500 hours

at Mystic Seaport. He was a skilled clock repairman and worked on

the Mystic Scale River Model from its inception in 1958.

The Libby and Pickett family were awarded the Outstanding

Family Award. Elizabeth Libby, Stephen Pickett and their two chil-

dren, Evan and Tristan Pickett, volunteer

their time in the Communications

Department, where they complete a

multitude of office tasks.

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2006 Volunteer of the Year, Marie Engelman

There is a traditional thought that libraries

are built with 20 years’ growth in mind. Library

Director and Vice President of Collections Paul

O’Pecko says Mystic Seaport’s G. W. Blunt

White Library opened in 1965 and ran out of

proper space after the first 20 years. Library staff

has jury-rigged every available space to

accommodate the library’s vast collections,

which include 1,000,000 pieces of manuscript

material, more than 1,300 logbooks, 900 oral

history audio and videotapes, 10,000 charts and

maps and the aforementioned 75,000 volumes of

books and periodicals.

Environment is also a concern. The potential

for water incursion into the basement and

damage to the collections stored there is likely.

“If we are ever in harm’s way of the 100-year

flood, our basement and the 12,000 books in

it would be devastated if we could not move

them in time,” said O’Pecko.

In the event of severe weather, the Museum’s

Williams-Mystic students are tasked with relo-

cating the collections to higher ground. This

plan took effect in preparation for Hurricane

Gloria in September 1985. As the storm

approached, the students formed a human chain,

starting in the farthest reaches of the basement

where the government documents and periodicals

were held. Items were passed from student to

student down the hallway and up the stairs until

all the items had been moved.

Jim Carlton, Williams-Mystic director,

remembers that day well. “We moved hundreds

and hundreds of books,” he said. “Nearly 25

students made a very efficient human book chain.”

When they had finished, the students

hunkered down in the Munson Room with

bedding, food and water and the movie Star Wars

to ride out the storm. “Ten to 15 minutes before

the storm’s landfall, we heard a loud banging on

the door,” said Carlton. “A couple in a small boat

had nearly given up on finding shelter and was

searching for safety on the grounds. Luckily, we

were in the library and let them in.”

Mystic Seaport escaped any serious damage

from the storm.

The Museum plans to begin relocating the

library collections this winter. The Collections

Research Center will offer a larger, climate-

controlled space for the library material.

“Creating a single department dealing with all

the Museum’s collections allows us to work with

them in a more efficient manner,” said O’Pecko.

“This will give the public greater access to the

collections while also giving the materials

greater security.”

In addition to the relocation, new compact

shelving will be purchased specifically for the move.

The large amount of shelving will give the library

room for growth. The acquisition of the shelving

is made possible in part by the Davenport Family

Foundation, supporting the project with nearly

half of what the shelving will cost.

In addition to the generosity of the Davenport

Family Foundation, the Library Fellows have

begun supporting the match. The Fellows are a

group of more than 50 professionals who are joined

together to support the Library, its collections

and programs. Organized in 1981, the Library

Fellows include researchers, university faculty,

writers, librarians, booksellers and others with

maritime and library interests. The Fellows are

dedicated to supporting the library by encouraging

research, publication and scholarship. They also

provide financial support for special programs,

acquisitions and library endowment.

The Fellows also offer annual prizes and

awards, such as the Morris Prize, a prize of

$1,000 for a previously unpublished article in

American maritime history, and the Maritime

History Prize, given to the best paper written by

a resident undergraduate student.

O’Pecko anticipates that at least half of the

funding will come from the group. “They have

been the library’s strongest supporters,” he said.

“The move of the library to the Collections

Research Center is vital for the library’s future

and its collections,” said Joe Callaghan, president

of the Library Fellows. “This move will provide

more extensive access for all users, put an

invaluable collection in a safer environment, as

well as provide urgently needed room for growth.”

nug between the R. J.Schaefer Exhibit Hall and theMuseum’s north entrance, the G.W. Blunt White Library standsquietly on the north end of thecampus. Perched atop the whitecupola, a weathervane reflects inthe sunlight. The stone buildingis home to nearly 75,000 volumesof books, and there isn’t room forany more.

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H O M E P O R T

How do you create a 400-square-foot traveling exhibit that

does it all: is attractive and informative, light but sturdy,

expandable yet self-contained and appealing to all ages? And,

how do you use it to tell the complex story of the 1839 Amistad

incident, which started with the illegal enslavement of 53African

men and children, climaxed in a revolt at sea and resulted in a

landmark Supreme Court case?

It might sound like a design challenge on a TV reality show,

but this was a real-world request made to the Exhibits

Department last winter. Amistad America wanted to debut a new

introductory exhibit during the Freedom Schooner Amistad’s July

visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Supported by a federal grant, it

partnered with Mystic Seaport to create a historically accurate,

sturdy and beautiful display.

The exhibit plan evolved through brainstorming sessions,

historical research, sketches and three-dimensional scale models.

The final design takes the visitor on a chronological and

geographic trip, from a West African village scene complete with

touchable tools, cloth and musical instruments, through a

discussion of the transatlantic slave trade and the horrific Middle

LEFT TO RIGHT:

1) Once the rigid sails and masts are removed, the model’s hull flips upside

down so all elements fit inside the crate for travel.

2) Visitors can explore the Amistad story in depth at the computer station.

3) A binder with short bios and portraits of the captives.

Passage. At the center is a three-dimensional mockup of the

cargo schooner with drawers that open to reveal more info

about the captives, crew and conditions aboard.

Five free-standing graphic panels (actually customized

trade-show displays) represent the Amistad story with dramatic

scenes, historical images, maps and landscapes drawn by illustrator

Mike Eagle, and label copy exploring the key themes and

events. The panels themselves hang on lightweight pop-up

frames that support lights and the electricity for the different

interactives. Each six-foot-high unit collapses to fit inside its own

traveling case, which also serves as a display pedestal.

Binders with facsimiles of important legal documents and

biographical information about the individual Africans round

out the presentation, along with a computer station with

Mystic Seaport’s Amistad website and a short video of the

Freedom Schooner’s construction at the Museum’s shipyard.

The end result? An engaging and visually stunning display

that can be packed inside a standard cargo van and set up by

two people in under one day. Mission accomplished!

useums on the oveM MMystic Seaport creates a traveling Amistad exhibit

- ELYSA ENGELMAN

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YSTIC SEAPORT’S CURATORS AGREE THAT THE SAFEST

PLACE FOR ANY HISTORICAL OBJECT IS SECURELY TUCKED AWAY IN A

temperature-controlled, light-regulated, archival-quality storage unit. But they also recognize that if

every one of the Museum’s more than two million maritime artifacts remain sa fe ly within the

Collections Research Center walls, the Museum would sail far off course from its mission statement:

to create a broad, public understanding of the relationship of America and the sea.

“We cannot fully learn about our past when we cannot see its objects,” observes Exhibits Director

Jonathan Shay. And so, the Museum makes many of its objects available throughout the campus—

aboard the ships, within the village and inside the exhibit galleries. But what you may not know

is this: The effort doesn’t stop at the borders of the Mystic Seaport campus.

Through two primary loan programs—objects-on-loan and traveling exhibits—the

Museum works with other like-minded institutions around the world to expand the reach

of our mission statement. These programs not only broaden the Museum’s reach but,

as Shay notes, they are also “a great way to utilize the true breadth and depth of our

collections, and capitalize on the cross-fertilization of resources and knowledge that

comes from building relationships with other institutions.”

OBJECTS-ON-LOAN

Today, the Museum has almost 200 objects out on loan to other institutions. “In general, we loan to other nonprofit, educational

institutions like libraries, museums or historical societies,” says Rodi York, registrar and coordinator of the loan program. “But we also

sometimes loan to local organizations and federal programs, like the Art in Embassies program.”

In most cases, a curator from another institution will call the Museum to request objects that fit a particular exhibit theme. Because every

object loan requires a complicated behind-the-scenes process, from conservation work to loan agreement preparation to facility survey, most

objects don’t actually leave the Museum until six months after the initial request.

Some objects travel for only a month, others for up to one year, and still others remain on what York describes as “long-term” loan. She

highlights one long-term object loan of note: Since 1977, a whaleboat from the Museum’s Collections has been displayed at the National

Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Whaleboats and whaling materials are a popular loan request, along with paintings and ship models. In fact, the objects farthest away from

the Museum right now are a selection of whaleboat materials on long-term loan to the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. But

the farthest distance a Museum object has ever traveled is Western Samoa, where, in 1994, a variety of Robert Louis Stevenson’s personal

effects traveled to the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum.

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TRAVELING EXHIBITS

It’s no secret, acknowledges Shay, that in recent years,

museums and other cultural institutions have struggled to

make ends meet. Shay and his exhibits staff met that challenge

a few years ago with an important new loan program—traveling

exhibits. They realized that by lending out not just objects,

but an entire exhibit—including graphics, text panels,

audio-visual materials and more—the Museum could defray

costs, expand its reach and accomplish its mission in a brand-

new way, all while building strong, creative relationships

with our sister institutions.

Shay cites the Women & the Sea exhibit as a great example

of this creative synergy. The original exhibit was conceived

by the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, VA. When the

Mariners’ Museum exhibit closed, Mystic Seaport

borrowed their text panels and a half-dozen objects,

then built up the exhibit’s central themes with

hundreds more objects from the Museum’s collections.

Women & the Sea was on display at the Penobscot

Marine Museum in Searsport, ME, and is now at the

Independence Seaport Museum in Philadelphia. Each

museum gives the exhibit its own unique touch: Penobscot

augmented the show with objects from its own collection, and

created an evening speaker series that highlighted women from

Maine with notable maritime connections.

In addition to Women & the Sea, Mystic Seaport also travels the Sea

Dogs! Great Tails of the Sea exhibit, and Shay hopes to travel Black

Hands, Blue Seas: The Maritime Heritage of African Americans after

it closes.

While York echoes Shay on the core benefits of an object loan, she

adds one special side benefit, “Sometimes when we make an object

available to another public institution, we hear something back about

it, learn something more about it.” By reaching out beyond the

borders of the Museum campus and working together with the

borrowing institution’s visitors, she said, we are able to refine the

collection’s historical account of an object. In this way, visitors

around the world become an important participant in fulfilling our

mission to better understand the fascinating and complex relationship

between America and the sea.

- CHRISTINE BATEMAN

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IT’S LIKE A SHIP OUT OF WATER…NO, REALLY!With approximately 500 vessels in Mystic Seaport’s Watercraft Collection, not a

day goes by that the Shipyard staff isn’t inspecting, maintaining or restoring

historic boats. But before the Shipyard staff can work on one of the

vessels that you see floating along the waterfront, they first have to get it out of

the water. From the smallest rowboat to the largest whaling ship, here are the

Museum’s six tried-and-true methods for hauling vessels out of the river and onto

dry land.

MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORKFor the smallest boats in the collection—including rowboat and sailboat rentals,

as well as the JY15s and Dyer Dhows used in sailing classes and camps—we use

good, old-fashioned manpower. A small group of people work together to haul the

boat by hand and carry it to the appropriate place.

ONE FORKLIFT OR TWO?When hauling larger rowboats, dories or whaleboats out of the water, we use

forklifts. Depending on the vessel’s size, one or two forklifts approach the water’s

edge with a long boom attached either perpendicular or parallel to the vessel.

Large, weight-bearing slings dangle from the boom and are then snugly wrapped

around the vessel. After the vessel is hauled, a single forklift will usually transport

the vessel directly to the Shipyard, or the two forklifts will transfer the vessel onto

a trailer for transport.

HEY, VESSEL, WANT A RIDE?In the railway method, a wooden carriage rolls down a short set of tracks, or ways,

into the water. A medium-large vessel—a large sharpie, the sandbagger Annie,

oyster sloop Nellie, or Crosby catboat Breck Marshall—is guided into position to

rest on top of the carriage. A motorized vehicle then hauls the carriage and vessel

HOW DO YOU GET A BOAT IN ( OR OUT) OF THE WATER?

LET MECOUNTTHE WAYS

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back up the railway and onto dry land.

Most maintenance and restoration work is

completed right there along the waterfront.

BRING IN THE BIG RIGWhen we have to haul some of our heaviest

medium-large vessels, like the Eastern-rig

dragger Roann or the Noank fish and

lobster boat Star, we bring in some of the

heaviest hauling equipment. Rarely used,

this method involves the rental of a massive

vessel-hauling crane and boat-specific

trailer to do the job.

In the case of Roann, currently undergoing

a major restoration, a crane lifted the vessel

onto blocks set right next to the water-

front. Shipyard staff then spent a

month scraping down her hull and

disassembling the vessel enough to fit her

inside the 75-man shop shipyard. Once

she was ready for transport, a trailer slowly

carried Roann from the blocks into the shop.

GIVE HER A LIFTIn anticipation of a massive, three-year

restoration of the Charles W. Morgan, the

Museum is in the process of installing of a

brand-new vertical ship lift located

behind the Shipyard. This ship lift

will haul the Museum’s largest vessels,

including the Morgan, fishing schooner

L. A. Dunton, square-rigged training ship

Joseph Conrad and steamboat Sabino.

Like the old lift dock, the new ship lift

uses the same elevator-like process. When

the time comes to haul the Morgan out of

the water, a platform with a large cradle

covered by keel blocks will be lowered

into the river. Then the Museum’s family

of workboats will gather around the elderly

matriarch and guide her gently into place

above the lift. Divers ensure appropriate

positioning before the platform begins its

gradual return to the surface. When the

keel blocks on the platform touch the

bottom of the ship, the divers will again

check for positioning, and continue to do

so as the lift rises slowly and carefully.

When the boat begins to lose its stability

in the water, the divers will ensure that

the side supports are moved into the

appropriate place. Once the Morgan reaches

ground level, a large motorized vehicle

will slowly and carefully pull the cradle

along a track that will guide the vessel

into position for her restoration.

The slow, deliberate nature of the lift

process is critical, notes Shipyard director

Quentin Snediker. “If you put too much

pressure on any one part of the vessel, you

can damage her.”

Unlike the old lift dock, the new ship lift

is loaded with safety features that will

ensure success in safely hauling out

the Morgan and our other large vessels.

These features include sophisticated load

monitoring, a synchronized motor system

and increased environmental protection.

“Our equipment will now meet world

standards of quality work and design to

ensure the best possible care of our

vessels,” says Snediker.

Dana Hewson, vice president of watercraft

preservation and programs, credits the

new ship lift’s design and construction

in large part to two key participants:

Project Manager Bill Parent and Naval

Architect Jack Llewellyn. “Bill has years

of experience in the management of complex

projects, so he is ideally suited for this

type of work,” says Hewson, “and Jack’s

high degree of technical understanding

was instrumental in the design process.”

Snediker calls Llewellyn the “overall guiding

intellectual force of the project.”

There you have it—Mystic Seaport’s top

six methods for hauling a boat out of the

water. So the next time you visit the

Museum, keep your eyes peeled, and you

may see our shipyard staff actively

employing one of these methods to keep

our watercraft in the best possible condi-

tion, so that each vessel may continue to

demonstrate its important role in

American maritime history.

- CHRISTINE BATEMAN

FOR ALLSEASONS

G A R D E N I N G B Y T H E S E A

As winter approaches, the sweetly scented

and brightly colored roses of a balmy day in

June are rarely on our minds. But some

roses add interest to the landscape in all

seasons with their contributions of colorful

foliage and fruit.

New Englanders, when thinking of roses

and gardens by the sea, almost always

consider Rosa rugosa, the Salt Spray rose.

Following its introduction from Japan, it

escaped cultivation, naturalizing along

sandy beaches, becoming so common that

many consider it a native plant. Ours are

planted along the waterfront at Hobey’s

Dock, providing fragrant blooms

late spring through

fall, and fruit well

into the winter.

The historic roses

at the Buckingham-

Hall House, while

not considered

seaside roses,

are noteworthy

and tolerant of

our waterside

exposure. Rosa Mundi (Rosa gallica

versicolor) is a sport of the Apothecary Rose

(Rosa gallica officinalis). Gallicas are the

oldest of the cultivated roses, hardy and

tolerant of a variety of conditions. The

fragrance of the petals intensifies as they

are dried, and, historically, they were

used in medicines and perfumes.

Valuable as a small hardy

shrub, they keep a neat

appearance when not in

their bloom. Their well-

perfumed blossoms are

striking, as no two are

alike. Loosely semi-double, they are

splashed with deep pink and soft crimson

on blush pink in June. Legend attributes

Fair Rosamond Clifford, mistress to King

Henry II, as the namesake.

The Redleaf Rose (Rosa rubrifolia or R.

glauca), native to central Europe, was

introduced to the United States in 1830. Its

outstanding foliage has blue-gray-green

tones if grown in the shade. Purple and

deep red tones are present if grown in

sunny conditions. The strong, clean, dark

purple canes are nearly thornless. Single,

bright pink flowers are born in bunches,

contrasting with the deep foliage. The

petals are separated, giving a starlike

appearance, further enhanced by a white

center, crowned by yellow stamens.

Colorful fall foliage is followed by glossy

red hips that persist into early winter. The

hips provide a food source for mice, and

dropped seeds produce seedlings true to the

parent type. This rose, in particular,

attracts visitor interest in all seasons.

Harison’s Yellow, planted at the back

kitchen door of the Buckingham-Hall

House, is an American hybrid of Rosa foetida

and Rosa pimpinellifolia (R. spinosissima).

Various dates between 1820 and 1830 have

been attributed to its hybridization by

George F. Harison. Although its prominent

semi-double sunshine yellow flowers are

present only for a week or two in June, they

brighten the entire area. Tolerant of

neglect, cold, drought and extreme

exposure, and readily transplantable, this

rose traveled westward with settlers,

perhaps reflecting the spirit of the settlers

themselves, resourceful and adaptable.

Plants

Gardening by the Sea columnist Leigh Knuttel studied botany at Connecticut College and has worked in ornamental horticulture formany years. She is the Museum’s supervisor of grounds and is responsible for many of the fascinating plants at Mystic Seaport. o

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Drink a toast to the “brotherhood of the raised elbow.”

Close your eyes, click your heels and go back in time a century or so to Mystic on a snowy white winter evening. Walking down Greenmanville Avenue

and across the Mystic River Bridge, Captain Daniel Packer (just off a whaling ship from New Bedford) and his new bride, Sallie, are out looking for a bite to eat. Passing several shops closing for the day, they pause at the window of Sparks Mystic Bakery. It certainly looks like a spot for a snug supper. No lace on the windows here, just rough wooden benches and tables set with bowls of lemons, a crock of butter and soda crackers. A written placard on the table announces the fare of the day: Oysters (Watch Hill Premiums or Long Island Napeague), bean soup, Graham bread, donuts, boiled joint, cod cakes, pickled cabbage and plum duff. Tonight, yearning for a rare treat, they choose a dozen of each oyster at the counter and wash them down with a pint of ale. A sign overhead reads, “Drink a toast to the brotherhood of the raised elbow,” a tribute to the oyster-loving clientele. By the door, a large oak barrel is piled with pints of shucked oysters buried in ice. Not wanting to wait for the

Saturday oyster truck, Sallie picks out a few to set aside for the holiday. Next week is Thanksgiving and they will be out celebrating at the Buckingham-Hall House. Her grandmother’s famous scalloped oysters will certainly be a welcome addition to the table alongside the bounty of birds — roast turkey and goose, grilled quail and perhaps a pheasant if they are lucky. Today, this same joy of eating oysters is probably most celebrated at the historic Grand Central Oyster Bar in New York City. With oysters now available to us year round, they advertise at least 100 different varieties from all over the world, Alaska to Japan. Try a Belon, Blue Point, Chipi-Chipi, Kumamoto or even a Coon oyster from Florida. The long, gleaming counters at their spectacular raw bar are set with huge platters of crushed ice, lemons and bowls of spicy cocktail sauce (do make your own!). The festive mood may be somewhat different than at Sparks on a cold winter night more than 100 years ago, but if you look at the faces in the brightly lit mirrored walls, you might just see the refl ection of Captain Daniel Packer and his wife Sallie as they smile and refl ect thatthe tradition of the “brotherhood of the raised elbow” has not been erased by time.

AINSLIE TURNER IS A LOCALLY RENOWNED AUTHOR, CHEF, RESTAURATEUR AND LECTURER. SADLY FOR FOOD LOVERS EVERYWHERE, THIS IS AINSLIE’S

FINAL COLUMN FOR MYSTIC SEAPORT MAGAZINE. VISIT WWW.MYSTICSEAPORT.ORG/RECIPES FOR ANOTHER OYSTER RECIPE FROM AINSLIE.

Special Request Scalloped OystersA much-heralded Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition

O Is For Oyster

1 pint shucked oysters2 cups coarsely ground crackercrumbs (use buttery crackers)1/2 cup melted butter3/4 cup light cream

1/4 cup oyster liquor(reserved from oysters)1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce2 tbsp. saltDash of black pepper

Drain oysters, reserving 1/4 cup of liquor. Combine cracker crumbs and melted butter. Spread 1/3 of crumb mixture in a well-greased 8-inch round casserole dish. Cover with half the oysters and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Using another third of the crumbs, spread a second layer, cover with remaining oysters and again season with salt and pepper. Mix cream, oyster liquor and Worcestershire sauce and pour over oysters. Top with last of crumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Sprinkle withchopped parsley and serve bubbly hot. Serves 4.

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W O O D , W A T E R & L I G H T

The Photographs of Benjamin Mendlowitz

Photo by Louise E. Rothery

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MARINE PHOTOGRAPHER BENJAMIN MENDLOWITZ,best known for his award-winning Calendar of Wooden Boats® and luminous contributions to nautical publications, spoke with Mystic Seaport magazine editor Anna Sawinabout some of his now iconic calendar photos, going digital and what we’ll see next from him.

The Calendar of Wooden Boats®, a gorgeous calendar

that hangs in many offices around Mystic Seaport, is

celebrating 25 years this year. From all the thousands

of images you shoot each year, how do you choose

the final 12?

Well, six or 10 of us get together and review images.We all come in with our favorites. We gradually nar-row it down and finally get to about 16 images. Atthat point, any one of them is good enough for thecalendar, and then it just comes down to the rightmix—power vs. sail, action vs. quiet, and so on. It’san arduous process, especially for me, since I am moreinvested in each shot than the rest of the group.

What types of boats do you especially enjoy photographing?

I think Buzzards Bay 25s are just spectacular. I alsoreally like Alden schooners and other schooners, bothworking and yachts, peapods and catboats. In general,for sailboats, I find gaff-rigged boats to be much morephotogenic than a Marconi rig.

What’s hanging on your walls at home?

Let’s see, I have a few images of my boat and my family on the boat; I have a few Rosenfeld imagesfrom Mystic Seaport, a few prints by Ansel Adams and I have some paintings by a local artist. What I’msaying is that I don’t have my own images hangingthere—I see enough of them at work!

For the photography buffs out there, the

question for you is, digital or film?

I’m struggling with the transition from film to digital—it’s just really this year that I have been getting my digital feet under me. For each shoot, I’ve been using film and digital. Most photographersare switching now, or have already made the switch.Digital has improved so much in the last few years.We’ll see what next year brings.

What’s the next publication in the works?

[Maritime historian and former Mystic Seaport trustee]Maynard Bray and I are slowly working on a book onthe Nathaniel Herreshoff boats still in existence, usingthe original drawings and lots of photographs. It iscoming together slowly, so it will be a few years yet!

What would you still like to accomplish as a photographer?

I’m ready for some new settings. For 25 years, we’vedone Maine, New England and the Mediterraneanracing scene. I’d like to try some new environments, perhaps Australia, New Zealand, the Far East and Scandinavia.

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W O O D , W A T E R & L I G H T

Over the years, Mendlowitz has compiled a photo archive of thousands of wooden boats, from simple prams and work-boats to glorious classic sailing vessels and magnificent power yachts. The images on these pages, chosen from among the 25 cover photographs of the Calendar of WoodenBoats®, represent a “best of” collection of Mendlowitz’s work. Here, he comments on some of hisfavorite images.

1989Torna, 37' COAST YAWLSOUTH BROOKSVILLE, ME

“I came across this boat at a local boatyard in Maine one spring. It was a yard that still used a railway ratherthan a travel lift. It is increasinglyharder to find an image like this, of a boat on the ways in a cradle.”

1991Pride of Baltimore II, 97' TOPSAILSCHOONERBROOKLIN, ME

“This was an early morning inBrooklin. I was out in my motorboatand I came across this beautiful scene.The low light of early morningbrought on a beautiful reflection. I likethis shot because you see just enough of the rig to get a feel for the boat.”

1993Breck Marshall, 20' C. CROSBY CATBOATMYSTIC, CT

“I took this one fall evening at MysticSeaport, way upriver, near the cemetery.Maynard and I wanted a shot of this boatfor the calendar. I like how it shows theshape of the rig and what a great down-wind sailor a gaff rig is in light air.”

1994Starlight, 39' CONCORDIA YAWLPENOBSCOT BAY, ME

“This is my boat, so she is always aroundwhen the light is good! This is a scene offGreens Island on the coast of Maine. I wentfor an early-morning row, and loved the fullsun on the boat contrasting with thedark shoreline.”

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1996“I was invited to join Voyager in Tahiti, while they were on an extended round-the-world trip. They had just come off a long passage, and weredelighting in the comforts of being close to shore in Papeete. However, it wasn’t very conducive to photographs with all the other moderncruising boats out there. So after a few days, we took a sail over to Moorea, where it was quiet and lush. I like to isolate a boat in its natural environment, and this photo is a good example of that.”

1998Madigan, 25' GREAT SOUTH BAY CATBOATLONG ISLAND, NY“This was shot near Shelter Island,specifically for the calendar. Madiganwas a bit over-rigged, and needed fourpeople to sail it, to flatten it out. Forthis shot, I asked two of them to hideduring the photos when the wind waslight enough.”

Voyager, 50' ALDEN SCHOONERMOOREA, FRENCH POLYNESIA

W O O D , W A T E R & L I G H T

1999Tuiga, 74' FIFE 15-METER CLASS SLOOPMONACO

“Tuiga is one of the 15-meters in Europe that has beenrestored. It races in the big Mediterranean classic regattas.These regattas have a strict rating rule that heavilypenalizes modern equipment, so most yachts are faithfullyrestored to avoid the racing penalties. For this image, Iasked the crew to go out in this hazy blue Mediterraneanevening. There was very little wind, so they are all alongthe leeward rail to help keep the sails full.”

2001Brilliant, 61' S&S SCHOONERDEER ISLE, ME

“This was in the Camden feederrace to the Eggemoggin ReachRegatta. We had picked up whatwe call a ‘smoky southwester’near Stonington, and while I usuallyprefer to shoot a boat when it ison the wind, Brilliant was movingalong so well that I got her fromthis more unusual angle.”

2003Vitessa and Flying Dream, 32' BUZZARDS BAY 25sRED BROOK HARBOR, MA

“There was just enough wind that afternoon(these boats are great in light air), and patches ofblue in the sky, so between the light on the boatsand the darkness of the clouds, I got this dramaticimage. We didn’t get rain, but it was the kind ofweather where you often see a rainbow.”

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2006Juno, 65' NAT BENJAMIN SCHOONERLESSER ANTILLES, CARIBBEAN

“This was on a delivery with friends from the Grenadines to Antigua. It was a vacation and delivery more than a photography trip—an easy tackthe whole way. At the time, I wasn’t thinking of this for use in the calendaror else I would have taken the canvas covers off the forward companionwayto show more wood. I like this image because it puts you right in the scene as opposed to viewing from afar.”

Longtime Mystic Seaport member (and Antique & Classic

Boat Rendezvous judge) Benjamin Mendlowitz will be

speaking at Mystic Seaport on March 15, 2007, as part of

the 2006–2007 Adventure Series. To inquire about ticket

availability, please call 860.572.5339.

In addition, an exhibition of his work will be displayed

at the Maritime Gallery at Mystic Seaport in March. The

2007 Calendar of Wooden Boats® and other publications

featuring Mendlowitz’s work are available (with 10 percent

member discount) at the Museum Store.

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TUGBOATS OF NEW YORK:An Illustrated History by George Matteson,

New York University Press, 2005

Anyone who doubts the beauty or role of the lowly tugboat will be pleasantly

surprised by this handsome new book, which charts the development of the

waterfront workhorse in New York City—from 1830s steamboats towing

passenger barges up the Hudson to 20th-century diesel-powered harbor tugs escorting

cruise ships and moving barges. Drawing on a range of historical sources, the author

argues convincingly that the towing industry played a crucial role in building New

York’s commercial stature.

At first glance, it is the book’s illustrations that will keep you turning the pages.

More than 100 large-format images accompany the text, from ships’ plans to charts.

The real jewels are the historical black-and-white photographs; early views show city

wharves crowded with tugboats, schooners and canal boats, while detailed 1940s

photos by Berenice Abbott, Gordon Parks and Harold Corsini capture the work

rhythms and off-duty hours of tug crews.

This balancing of the personal and the panoramic is perhaps the book’s greatest

strength and carries through the text as well. Author George Matteson, a 20-year tug

veteran and former waterfront director at South Street Seaport, effortlessly moves

between a discussion of the technical (innovations in propulsion) to the social (the

Irish immigrants who controlled the waterfront in the late 1800s and gave rise to the

Moran and McAllister companies) and the political (the impact of the 1988 tug

strike/lockout on the unions). He opens and closes the book with poignant stories

about his own tug experiences.

The illustrations, text and personal anecdotes combine to create an engagingly textured

work. Matteson’s book would make a welcome winter addition to any maritime

library—whether owned by a New York City devotee, a photography fan or a tug enthusiast.

Elysa Engelman, Ph.D., is the

Museum’s exhibit developer

and researcher. She also is

co-coordinator of the

Museum’s informal

lunchtime forum about

books, research

and history.

A R M C H A I R S A I L O RALSO RECOMMENDED

A SELECTION OF MARITIME BOOKRECOMMENDATIONS FROMMUSEUM STAFF AND MEMBERS

HAVE A BOOK TO SHARE?Write to the editor, Anna Sawin, atanna.sawin@mysticseaport.org

THE LONG SHIPS by Frans G. BengtssonThis WWII-published two-volumeSwedish novel about the Viking RödeOrm came out in a marvelous Englishtranslation in 1954. Never out of printon either side of the pond, it’s a thrilling,humorous adventure saga about Orm’svoyages from Scandinavia to Western andEastern Europe—a masterwork.Göran Buckhorn, Visitor Reception Center staff

WASHINGTON’S CROSSINGby David Hackett FischerRead it to discover the untold back storyof a group of seafarers turned soldiers,whose skills and determination madeWashington’s crossing succeed where mostothers gave up and turned back. Thesesame seafarers who, at the Battle of LongIsland, saved Washington and his army tofight another day, enabled him to take thefight to the enemy at Trenton. This bookis great history, and it’s a sea story to boot!Doug Teeson, President and Director

LYDIA BAILEY by Kenneth RobertsKnown for his realistic and conciselydescriptive details, Roberts is probablythe best historical fiction writer I’ve everread. Try this one: Lydia Bailey is aromance set in the Caribbean and NorthAfrica. The story includes details aboutAmerica’s early maritime history, includingtrade in the West Indies and the testing of the young American navy by Barbary pirates.Chris White, Collections Manager

Plum Pudding,Mincemeat and Turkey

HOLIDAYS OF THE PAST

AT SEA AND ASHORE

wrote Richard Henry Dana in 1831, in Two Years Before the Mast.

This dreary situation was on the verge of change even as Dana

penned these words. Merely eight years before, Clement Clarke

Moore wrote a poem entitled “A Visit from St. Nicholas” and in the

following decade Godey’s Lady’s Book editor Sarah Josepha Hale

began her campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday

celebrated reliably on the last Thursday of the month.

ankees don’t keep Christmas ,and ship masters at sea never know when

Thanksgiving comes so Jack has no festival at all,”

“Y

by

SANDRA OLIVER

Most Yankees did not celebrate Christmas in the early 1800s.

A holdover from the Puritan days when extravagant and biblically

non-warranted holiday observance was eschewed, Christmas was

kept in New England only by Catholics and Episcopalians and by

the descendants of the Dutch in nearby New York. New Englanders

who were not at all averse to having a good time did, however,

enthusiastically celebrate Thanksgiving as they had for over a

century already, particularly Connecticut people, who had the most

consistent record of declaring an annual autumnal harvest festival.

During most of the 1700s, Thanksgiving floated from late

November to early December, usually held on a Thursday, declared

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P L U M P U D D I N G

annually perhaps as early as a month in advance by each state

governor independent of the others. That was why Dana wrote

that ship masters at sea, coping with delayed news, never knew

when the holiday was declared.

Early New Englanders might hear that a colony or state

governor had designated a day dedicated to thanksgiving and

prayer for the successful outcome of a battle or the end of some

affliction, like a drought. The major Thanksgiving, the one with

the capital T, was always in the fall after harvest and featured a

festive meal. The “little t” thanksgivings are often proferred today

as evidence that the first Thanksgiving was held someplace else

besides Plymouth Colony in 1621. In fact, the 1621 event was

not described by the Pilgrims as their first Thanksgiving. They

merely set a time to have a traditional harvest festival such as they

had known in England to express their gratitude for a decent

harvest. Later historians dubbed that particular feast the

first Thanksgiving.

In the 1700s and early 1800s, families attended church and

ate a large meal. Days were dedicated for the making of pies and

puddings, the butchering of turkeys, chickens and pigs, and

baking of bread, preparing of vegetables and other arrangements

culinary and domestic. Women cleaned houses and set extra

tables in anticipation of company. By that time, many families had

members scattered into other towns and districts and even across

the country who often took advantage of the holiday to gather

for a family reunion.

In the course of determining the ideal holiday meal, New

Englanders who could afford to do so turned to the most festive

menus they could summon up. Plenty and variety were the goals,

and tradition was evoked. Dinner included roasted meats, rich

puddings and pies and an array of side dishes.

By the 1700s, turkey had become a high-status meat among the

gentry, was more costly than other fowl, and so was an ideal festive

food. By the middle of the 1800s, it also acquired a romanticized

association with the Pilgrims, who were presumed to be the holiday’s

founders. Turkeys abounded in early New England, but were quickly

hunted off, and domesticated versions were subsequently brought in

and raised in New England barnyards. To feed a large gathering,

though, the housewife needed more than turkey, so roasts of pork,

large chicken pies and other meat, together with dishes of stuffing

and gravies, were added to the menu. Seasonal vegetables such as

potatoes, turnips and squash were served and pickles from summer

gardens accompanied them. In addition to apple and pumpkin

pies, cooks set out plum pudding full of raisins and currants,

fragrant with spices and brandy and unctuous with suet. Children

growing up in the first half of the 19th century recalled helping with

the making of mincemeat pie similarly rich in dried fruit, apples,

meat and suet. They pounded and sifted spices, picked the seeds

out of raisins and helped with all the chopping. Ironically, mince-

meat and plum pudding had such strong associations with

Christmas that to make such dishes close to December 25 pointed to

an intention to celebrate the holiday. It was one thing for Puritans

to give up Christmas, entirely another to give up plum pudding and

mincemeat pie. Both were cheerfully incorporated into the

Thanksgiving meal.

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Thereafter, Yankee and all other ship masters had no excuse, except perhaps adverse

weather, for not observing the holiday. The holiday was passed over aboard the Mary & Helen

in 1881, according to Irving Reynolds, who recorded in his journal that the ship had spent

the day fighting a gale, and in the margin of the barkentine Good News’ 1894 log were

penned the poignant words “Thanksgiving Day & no turkey.” Other seafarers might lack

turkey but put some effort into a special meal. Irving Reynolds recorded in 1879 another

shipboard Thanksgiving celebrated with a dinner of roast beef, green peas, potatoes,

apple pie and raisins.

With reunion such an important part of the holiday, seafarers at sea and their families

ashore thought about one another. Sailors wrote in their journals that they were thinking of

home, and wondered if anyone was thinking of them.

Victorian New Englanders were a good deal fuzzier on the details of celebrating

Christmas. Moore’s poem spoke of gift-filled stockings, which were substituted for Dutch

shoes on St. Nicholas’ Day, December 6. Christmas trees were promoted when Queen

Victoria was pictured in American periodicals with her tree, a German custom brought to

England when she married Prince Albert. Many New Englanders were already in the habit

of visiting and exchanging gifts on New Year’s Day. The Dutch offered New Year’s visitors

platters of small cakes and cookies. German settlers everywhere baked large batches of

holiday cookies. New Englanders ultimately cobbled together their Christmas holiday

traditions by borrowing freely from observances among their neighbors.

At first, the holiday was more or less confined to the Sunday school, where a pageant told

the Christmas story and a Christmas tree might be erected. Boxes of candy were handed out

to the children together with an orange. But it was too good a commercial opportunity

for merchants and storekeepers to ignore, and Yankees were quickly educated in Christmas

celebration via commerce and popular publications.

ver the course of the 1800s , turkey became indispensable to the Thanksgiving meal, and Mrs. Hale’s campaign was so successful

that President Lincoln finally declared the holiday a national one in 1863.

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29or Christmas dinner, some followed the English lead with

roast beef. We might think others, possibly influenced by Charles

Dickens’ popular A Christmas Carol, would serve goose and plum pudding

like the Cratchits, or upon reading Washington Irving’s Sketchbook of Geoffrey

Crayon, Gent., decide to offer a boar’s head. There is little evidence of either.

After all, what better menu to have than the most festive one they already knew?

Most people repeated some version of Thanksgiving’s meal, complete with turkey

and mincemeat pie.

As Christmas ashore was more commonly observed, Yankee captains were more likely to make provisions for

the holiday even if it were only plum duff, a boiled pudding with raisins served with molasses for sauce, for the

fo’c’sle. For the after guard, who always fared better than the men before the mast, a nice meal was in order, such as the

one aboard the Ohio in 1876 consisting of roast chicken, stewed apple, pickled pears and apples, and sweet and Irish pota-

toes. Christmas dinner aboard the packet ship Frederick Gebhard in 1858 offered chicken, beef, pork, codfish, onions, green corn

and beans, boiled tongues, pickles, pickled beets, bread and butter, whortleberry pie and whiskey.

By the end of the 1800s, Thanksgiving was still the premier New England holiday, but Christmas was catching up. At

sea in the 20th century, holiday celebrations were helped along by the increased use of artificial refrigeration and wider array

of frozen products. Ashore, holiday dinners struggled through the rationing of two world wars and, for many, Depression-

era privation, but came out intact with turkey and pumpkin pies still the norm.

In our time, Thanksgiving is still the one holiday for which families make an effort to gather and feast, even though it

looks more and more like the prelude to the Christmas shopping season than a dignified old celebration with the longest

historical roots of any in the nation. Christmas dinner itself may be hard to find under the piles of wrapping paper and

ribbon, but when else can you find plum puddings for sale in the grocery store?

SANDRA OLIVER FOUNDED THE OPEN-HEARTH COOKING PROGRAM AT MYSTIC SEAPORT IN 1971. TODAY SHE

IS THE EDITOR OF FOOD HISTORY NEWS AND THE AUTHOR OF SALTWATER FOODWAYS, AN EXCEPTIONAL

VOLUME OF REGIONAL FOOD HISTORY PUBLISHED BY MYSTIC SEAPORT.

F

JANUARY 12John Gardner Boat ShopCourse: Varnishing Techniquesfor Traditional Boats A full-dayfinishing class focuses on theart of varnishing a boat.

JANUARY 13John Gardner Boat ShopCourse: Half-ModelConstructionLearn the basics of half-hullconstruction by carving yourown model of a classic sailboat.

JANUARY 18 The 2006-2007 AdventureSeries continues with David andJoyce Kay, avid scuba divers whotravel to exotic places and photograph beautiful, seldomseen creatures at the bottom ofthe sea.

JANUARY 19–21AND JANUARY 26–28John Gardner Boat ShopCourse: Greenland Kayak BoatBuilding Build your own kayakin this intensive six-day course.

JANUARY 30Mystic Seaport CocktailParty at Christie’sA special preview to the NewYork auction house’s annualmaritime sale. For more information, contact SallyHalsey at 860.572.0711 x5120.

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W H AT ’ S H A P P E N I N G AT M Y S T I C S E A P O R T

For a complete list of eventsand programs, please visitwww.mysticseaport.org. For more information aboutthese programs, call 888.973.2767.

THROUGH DECEMBER 30The Maritime Gallery atMystic Seaport hosts itsWinter/Holiday Exhibition.For more information andhours, call 860.572.5388.

DECEMBER 7-10, 11-17,20-25Lantern Light ToursExperience theatrical scenesof Christmas past with thispopular yuletide activity.For tickets, call 888.973.2767.

DECEMBER 15 AND 22Lantern Light Tours:Family NightsThese special tour nightsfeature live music, a chanceto make your own ornamentand a visit from St. Nick.

DECEMBER 12 The 2006-2007 AdventureSeries continues with whaleresearcher Nan Hauser. Herprimary research is conductedin the Cook Islands, SouthPacific. For tickets, call860.572.5339.

DECEMBER 17Community Carol SingGet into the holiday spiritwith a traditional carol singbacked by brass quartet.

MARCH 2–4John Gardner Boat ShopCourse: The Elements of Lofting Learn the process of lofting—the straightforward process ofdrawing a boat to full size forthe purpose of making pat-terns and molds from whichto build it.

MARCH 10John Gardner Boat ShopCourse: Introduction toSparmaking –The Traditional BoathookBuild an elegant, taperedmahogany-handled boathook,with a polished bronze end.

MARCH 15 The 2006-2007 AdventureSeries continues withBenjamin Mendlowitz, theinternational wooden boatphotographer whose work has been featured in theworld’s noted wooden boatpublications. His work will beexhibited in the MaritimeGallery at Mystic Seaport in March.

FEBRUARY 3-7John Gardner Boat ShopCourse: Traditional BoatBuildingGain hands-on experience innearly every phase ofconstruction of a traditionalplan-on-frame, smooth orlapstrake-planked boat.

FEBRUARY 10John Gardner Boat ShopCourse: Kayak Paddle MakingUse a few simple tools tomake a lightweight, traditionalGreenland kayak paddle.

FEBRUARY 15The 2006-2007 AdventureSeries continues with Dr.Milton Clark, world explorerfrom Antarctica to Africa,describing his latest trip to theMontagnards, the colorfulmountain tribes of NorthernVietnam.r

MarchFebruaryDecember January

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As a sailor out at sea for weeks and months at a time, one of the few events that changes your daily routine is the

weather. Sailors of long ago developed a keen eye for observing changes in the ocean and the skies, and used those

observations to predict the weather, along with a fair number of superstitions. Some of them actually had some scientific

fact to back them up. For example, “Seagulls sitting in the sand, Always foul weather when you're at hand." This

ditty referred to the fact that a drop in the barometer indicates thinner air, making it more difficult to fly.

Here are a few more bits of sailors’ lore for predicting or causing a change in the weather. Do any of these work for you?

Ask your grown-ups how they can predict weather

changes just by looking at their environment. Try

drawing weather, weather changes or weather predictors.

HOW MANY ILLUSTRATIONS OF WEATHER

PREDICTORS CAN YOU INCLUDE IN ONE DRAWING?

To bring a wind to the ship’s sails, trim your nails or your hair.

If a goose honks high, it means fair weather.

A bright yellow sky at sunset indicates wind.

A pig running with straw in its mouth indicates

a big wind is coming.

At sea, a mirage often is a sign of approaching rain.

If the clouds are hanging low in the sky, it will probably rain.

Unusually colored clouds with hard outlines means rain and

wind are approaching.

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.

Red sky in morning, sailors take warning.

When there is moisture in the air, sound carries better.

On dry days, sounds are not as clear.

To invite a breeze to the ship’s sails, whistle a little song, but

NEVER whistle while it is breezy, as it calls a storm to the ship!

Old knee and elbow injuries can predict when wet weather is

on the way.

BY THE NUMBERS

pH LIDAYD E C O R A T I O N S

at Mystic Seaport

Decade in which the Museum began putting up a holiday tree: 1960s

Year in which the Museum began adorning theentire campus with historically appropriatedecorations: 1984

Number of handmade wreaths hung aroundthe Museum each year: 156

Number of themes used for wreaths: 8(shells, cones, ropeworks, berries, sea stars, children’s toys, waxed beans, ribbon)

In feet, length of garland hung: 1,060

In feet, length of handmade garland: 635

Number of sprays: 46

Different types of greens used in decorations: 27

Number of bows created each year: 216

Number of hot-glue sticks used to create handmade decorations: 20

Types of hand cream to soothe decorator’s hands used during decoration creation: 3

Number of buildings adorned with decorations: 78

Employee hours spent creating decorations: 233

Volunteer hours spent creating decorations: 224

Length, in days, of the Museum’s holiday season: 35

In 2005, number of Museum visitors during that season: 15,403

* * *

A gift to Mystic Seaport’s Annual Fund protects our irreplaceable collection of ships, boats, photographs and maritime artifacts, and preserves our priceless

historical legacy. This year, all new and increased gifts made to the 2006-07 Annual Fund by December 31, 2006 will be matched dollar for dollar!

2006-2007

ANNUALFUND

TO MAKE A GIFT TO THE 2006-07 ANNUAL FUND, PLEASE CALL 860.572.5365. YOU

CAN ALSO SEND YOUR GIFT TO 2006-07 ANNUAL FUND, OFFICE OF INSTITUTIONAL

ADVANCEMENT, MYSTIC SEAPORT, 75 GREENMANVILLE AVENUE, MYSTIC, CT 06355.THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MYSTIC SEAPORT. WE COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!

NonprofitU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #119

Deep River, CT

75 Greenmanville Avenue

PO Box 6000

Mystic, Connecticut 06355-0990

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It’s Dinner & Dance night at Seamen’s Inne. The first Thursday of each month join us at Seamen’s Inne for professional

swing dance & instruction for the Lindy Hop from 6-9 pm. Admission for dance and instruction is just $5. The full

dinner menu will be available. For information or reservations, call 860.572.5303.