Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Transcription

1 To the Fall 2009 Point CBMM s OysterFest is Back on November 7 Oystering and maritime traditions of the Bay will come alive at CBMM on Saturday, November 7, from 10am to 5pm, for OysterFest 2009! The sweet bivalve will take center stage during the day-long festival, which will include oysters prepared a multitude of ways, including on the half-shell, fried and stewed, along with live music from two bands, boat rides, and special children s activities. Blues DeVille will keep the day lively by performing blues, rock, funk and soul on the deck of the Museum s Oystering on the Chesapeake exhibit from 11am to 3pm. And Cuzzin Mark and Sean members of the band Key Lime Pie will perform their blend of classic rock with soul, R&B and modern pop, under CBMM s Tolchester Beach Bandstand throughout the day. The Choptank Oyster Company, aquaculture growers of Choptank Sweets, will offer their fresh-from-the-bay oysters on the half-shell for sale. Choptank Oyster Company is the only privately-funded oyster hatchery in the state of Maryland, culturing only the crassostrea virginica, the oyster species native to the Chesapeake. An oyster stew tasting will feature culinary creations from Eastern Shore restaurants including The Bridge Restaurant, Key Lime Café, Tilghman Island Inn, and Town Dock, with more signing on each day. Fried oyster sandwiches, platters and sweet potato pie from Susie s Kitchen are sure to please. For those who prefer to learn about oysters rather than eat them, regional favorite Krsytal Q Catering will be on hand with pit beef, garden burgers, and more. The beer on tap at Oyster- Fest will be great craft brews from Maryland s Evolution Craft Brewing Company. And Rise Up Coffee will offer organic coffee, hot chocolate, and other hot and cold drinks. Throughout the day, Captain Ed Farley will provide boat rides aboard the skipjack H.M. Krentz, one of the last commercial sailing vessels that continues to dredge oysters in Maryland s Chesapeake waters. Skipjack cruises will be available for a $10 fee. There will also be boat rides every half-hour aboard CBMM s replica buyboat Mister Jim, at $5 per passenger. Martha Lewis, a skipjack built by legendary Bay boat builder Bronza Parks, will be Members Day has been moved to OysterFest, on November 7! dockside for visitors to walk aboard for tours. OysterFest boasts plenty of family educational and fun activities designed to help kids get to know the oyster and how important the bivalve is to the Chesapeake Bay. Families will be able to design their own oyster can and label, explore the animals in an oyster reef, and conduct science experiments about filter feeders. Two fun groups, Mr. Oyster and Johnny Oysterseed, will show kids and their parents how oysters filter the Bay s water. The Choptank River Eastern Bay Conservancy will illustrate the work being done to improve water quality in this Bay tributary. Two films will be featured at OysterFest. Watermen, a documentary film by acclaimed filmmaker Holly Fisher, shot by Fisher in the 1960s, follows the life and work of Captain Art Daniels and other skipjack captains of the era. The second film, Common Ground, from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, looks at the history of the oyster fishery and examines the biology, habitat, and critical role of the oyster in the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Both films will be screened in the Museum s Van Lennep Auditorium throughout the day. Two new authors of books about life and work on the Bay will offer readings and book signings. Chris White is the author of Skipjack: The Story of America s Last Sailing Oystermen!, which will make its pre-publication debut at OysterFest. Scheduled for release in November by St. Martin s Press, the book chronicles a year with skipjack captains Wade Murphy, Stanley Larrimore and Art Daniels as they battle nature and each other to help control the fate of their island villages and the oyster fleet. White s book has been praised by two-time National Book Award winner Peter Matthiessen and by former National Geographic Society Chairman Gil Grosvenor. Chesapeake Bay photographer Heather Davidson draws on her images and experiences on the Bay in her new book. Davidson will discuss her experience capturing the stunning images of the Bay s watermen and their work. OysterFest will be the fourth and final weekend for the popular Fall into St. Michaels festival, hosted by the St. Michaels Business Association. For more information on Fall into St. Michaels visit or call the St. Michaels Business Association at

2 President s Message When we retuned the Museum s mission statement a year ago to inspiring broad public stewardship of the Bay s cultural traditions and places, we didn t ask for the federal government s approval. But last month, they gave it to us anyway The draft report on Bay protection and restoration released by the Environmental Protection Agency has been anxiously awaited by many around the Bay who hope that renewed federal regulatory oversight, coordination and enforcement might turn the tide of disappointing restoration results. We have a very long way to go, but this first step by the new administration is certainly encouraging. The report deals largely with water quality, of course, and the critical needs of reducing pollution, controlling storm water run-off, etc. etc. However, it is a broad-ranging document, which includes a number of initiatives and some very stunning statistics: only 2% of the Bay s 11,600 miles of tidal shoreline is publicly accessible the federal government is the largest single landowner in the watershed nearly 8% of all lands and doesn t yet comply with its own regulations the watershed s population (17,000,000) is on track to increase 30% by 2030 climate changes threaten to negatively impact every aspect of life on, in and around the Bay. The most encouraging elements of the report for me (and for CBMM) are the authors recognition of the importance of treasured landscapes, cultural history and recreational assets that are priceless. There is a clear call to identify and prioritize those special places and activities that make the Chesapeake Bay culture unique, and then to engage watershed residents and foster stewardship. How about that? The EPA has jumped on the CBMM bandwagon! Seriously, what I am taking away from this report is that this refocused federal initiative is not all about chemistry and hydraulics, it s also about our sense of place. This report opens the door wide for us to connect with this growing movement and it points in a direction where the Museum can and should help lead the way: inspiring stewardship of what is essential to the culture of the Bay. Our job hasn t gotten any easier, but it sure is nice to get backup from the big boys. Stuart Parnes President CBMM Receives New Grants Totaling $75,000 The National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Gateways program has awarded CBMM $45,000 in new funding and the Museum will receive $30,000 from the Maryland Historical Trust. Both grants support new exhibitions and educational programming focusing on the Bay s cultures, landscapes and environments that will help Museum visitor s connect the Bay s past to its future. We are extraordinarily honored to be granted these funds, which will support several new projects at the Museum, noted CBMM President Stuart Parnes. The National Park Service funding will underwrite a new exhibit in the Steamboat Building gallery that will open in March The exhibit, A Rising Tide in the Heart of the Chesapeake, will combine the renowned photography of David Harp with the observations of author and environmentalist Tom Horton and the voices of Chesapeake Bay islanders themselves. The exhibit will focus on the lives and stories of key individuals in each Chesapeake island community represented, so that Museum visitors can experience an intimate sense of the cultural heritage at risk of disappearing. National Park Service funding is also underwriting a portion of the costs for CBMM to send its newly restored historic crab dredging vessel, Old Point, to visit ports and Gateways sites around the Bay during local and regional gatherings. An on-board and dockside exhibit will include both visual and audio elements, which will communicate central issues of Bay cultural and resource stewardship. Experienced oral historians will work with the crew and participate in the initial voyages, as we engage visitors in conversation and invite the public to share their responses. CBMM will work with Michael Buckley at Voices of the Chesapeake (who will be a member of the traveling crew) to incorporate the collected public responses on his acclaimed WRNR-FM radio show. The 2010 Old Point traveling exhibit regional tour schedule includes proposed visits to: Solomons Maritime Festival May 2 Piney Point Lighthouse Waterfront Festival May 9-10 A National Park Service grant will allow CBMM to send our 1909 crab dredger Old Point around the Bay to collect oral histories and serve as an ambassador for the Museum. Tilghman Island Summer Seafood Festival June 27 Potomac River Festival June Norfolk HarborFest July 3-5 Havre de Grace Seafood Festival August 8-9 National Hard Crab Derby and Fair, Crisfield September 4-6 Sultana Down-Rigging Weekend, Chestertown October Maryland Historical Trust funding will support a number of initiatives including the installation of the Rising Tide exhibition along with programs, lectures and discussions that engage children and adults in thinking about how the Bay has been transformed and what it could be in the future. CBMM will also host a series of focused public symposia and programs linked to issues raised in the exhibits The Bay from Above and A Rising Tide in partnership with the Adkins Arboretum, Eastern Shore Land Conservancy, Bay Hundred Foundation, Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage, Horn Point Lab, and Washington College s Center for Environment and Society. Chesapeake Semester On August 24 and 25, Washington College s first class of Chesapeake Semester students spent two action-packed days at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum sailing with Captain Ed Farley on his skipjack, trotlining with local watermen, spending the night in the Hooper Strait Lighthouse, and touring the Museum s exhibitions and collections. A Washington College student works the dipnet trotlin- The Chesapeake ing for crabs with Russell Dize. Semester engages students in the complex history, ecology, and culture of the Chesapeake Bay and allows them to use the Bay as a microcosm of the challenges and transitions confronting coastal communities around the world. Using the College and CBMM as base camps, students are traveling in, on and around the 64,000 square mile watershed. Connecting students to the land and water fosters a powerful sense of place WC students went out on the skipjack H.M. Krentz with Capt. Ed Farley. and gives students a better understanding of the human and social dimensions of environmental issues. Students will have an opportunity to study the ecosystem in depth, develop solutions to environmental problems, and influence decision-making at the local and national levels. The Museum s partnership with Washington College enriches the students experience by teaching them about the Bay s traditional working cultures, the future of Bay communities, as well as serving as a resource for the students final semester projects. Opening Spring 2010: A Rising Tide The shorelines of the Chesapeake Bay have been changing for hundreds of thousands of years. Today, predictions of climate change, global warming and sea level rise have focused our attention on the accelerating rate of these changes. Scientists may disagree on the specifics, but most predict that life around the Chesapeake Bay will be dramatically affected over the next century. Low lying areas will surely be inundated, islands will disappear, and the lives of the people who live along the shores will be forever altered. A Rising Tide in the Heart of the Chesapeake is an exhibition designed to provoke conversation about the endangered cultures and environments of the Bay s island communities. What have these communities meant to the larger culture of the Chesapeake? What is their value today to our sense of place in the region? What will it mean when these places and their cultures are lost to the rising sea level and other threats of a rapidly-changing environment? What, if anything, can or should we do about this? The exhibition will feature the world-class photography of David Harp along with the words of writer and conservationist Tom Horton and voices of the Bay s island residents. Opening in March 2010, the exhibition is being funded in part through grants from the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Gateways program and the Maryland Historical Trust. 2 3

3 A Look Back at the 2nd Chesapeake Folk Festival By Marian Robbins, CBMM Folklike Intern from Western Kentucky University Saturday, July 25, marked a frenzy of activity all over CBMM s campus when the Museum hosted the second annual Chesapeake Folk Festival. The day included amazing local food, regional music, artisans and craft vendors, and local people galore! Visitors praised the array of wonderful foods, such as the ever popular Bellevue BBQ Chicken and the diversity (Above) Bluegrass band Chester River Runoff was a crowd favorite at the Chesapeake Folk Festival. (Below) The Ragin Unstoppables gave an electrifying performance on Navy Point. of music. Crowd favorites on hand included The Zionaires, The New Gospelites and bluegrass band, Chester River Runoff. This year we also had the honor of the participation of two local marching bands. These included the Kent County Community Marching Band with members ranging in age from 8 to 80 and the dancing and marching band from Cambridge, the Ragin Unstoppables. Scattered throughout the campus were demonstrations by local people who practice traditional professions or crafts. These included everything from blacksmiths to boat builders, potters to crab pickers, and waterman to luthiers. A big hit, as she was last year, was Janice Marshall demonstrating the making of Smith Island Layer Cakes. Shore Stories, conversations between festival participants and guests, included Bay Pilots, Edible Chesapeake, Island People, Hay & Grain Farmers, and Watermen/Waterwomen Poets. These stories, or narrative stages, highlighted local professions, foods, people, and traditions. The first storywas that of the Bay Pilots. Unbeknownst to most inhabitants of the bays, these professionals dedicate their lives to navigating large ships safely from the mouth of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays into port and back. Audience members were amazed by the knowledge necessary to their profession as they memorize every shoal, channel, and depth of these winding waterways. Another wonderfully air-conditioned activity was Shore Films, eight films based upon area traditions and activities, shown in the Steamboat Building. Eight films. These included Eatin Crabcakes, Bugeye: A Chesapeake Legacy, Charlie Obert s Barn, Island Out of Time, Hands of Harvest, Muskrat Lovely, Waterman, and Discovering the New American Farmer. CBMM was one of the first to screen the full version of a new movie by Adrian Muy, Hands of Harvest, which had been previewed at the 2008 Folk Festival. This wonderful film chronicles the journey of Hispanic women crab pickers who travel from Mexico to Hooper s Island. One visitor proclaimed it as her favorite event of the day! The day held something for everyone, young or old, local or traveler. Children enjoyed imaginary trot-lining, Chesapeake paper people, and fishing and crabbing off the dock. As a special treat for families, Dragon Wings Marionette Theater from Easton offered an exhibit on marionette making as well as two presentations of their on version of the traditional Billy Goats Gruff story. Overall, the day was jam-packed with engaging events, delicious food, exceptional music, and wonderful people. If you missed it, be sure to come next year, for another one of a kind celebration of local culture! Annual Fund CBMM relies on contributions to the Annual Fund from members and friends to fund innovative programs for children and adults, to acquire and preserve the collection of boats and Bay artifacts, and to showcase new exhibitions. Please support the Museum s Annual Fund, and make a difference. Your Holiday Coupon! CBMM Members Museum Store coupon good for 25% OFF all regular prices for the holidays You must be a Museum member to redeem this coupon. Offer good from November 21 through December 24, Offer applies only to regularly priced merchandise. One-time usage. Cannot be combined with any other offer or discount. You must present this coupon to receive the discount. No cash value. Fall 2009 Calendar October Group Lighthouse Overnight Program October 9, 10, 16, 23, 6:30pm-8am (next day) Hooper Strait Lighthouse Fridays and Saturdays in October. Cost includes program activities, the overnight, and two days admission to the Museum. A special lighthouse badge and Chesapeake Bay patch are available for Brownie, Junior and Cadet Girl Scout groups. $650 for up to 15 people. CBMM Members Day October 17 HAS BEEN MOVED TO NOVEMBER 7 CBMM Members Day activities have been moved to November 7 to help us celebrate OysterFest! Don t miss Breakfast with the President and Chair of the Board of Governors, special boat rides, and other members activities. There will not be a members event on October 17. November OysterFest Saturday, November 7, 10am-5pm Come celebrate the Bay oyster with live music by Blues DeVille and Cuzzin Mark and Sean, great food, family activities, skipjack and buyboat rides, oyster aquaculture and restoration demonstrations, oyster tonging, and cooking demonstrations. Members, please join us for a special breakfast with the President and Chair of the Board of Governors at 10am. December Christmas in St. Michaels December 12 & 13 Celebrate the holidays in St. Michaels with a historic house tour, holiday parade through the center of town, Santa s Wonderland activities for kids, Breakfast with Santa, and special marketplace and marketplace kitchen. For more information, visit their website at Christmas in St. Michaels Brings Joy to Town and to CBMM Christmas in St. Michaels 2009 will take place December 12, and 13 when the town dons its holiday finery and exudes Christmas cheer. More than a holiday happening, it s a time to enjoy the festivities while helping to make a contribution to the community. Although CISM brings lots of fun to the town, it is serious about fulfilling its primary mission, which is to provide resources to local nonprofit organizations that enhance the quality of life for the residents of the community. CISM this year selected CBMM as one of the beneficiaries of this annual fund raising event. A grant to the museum will be used for need-based scholarships for children participating in the Kid s Club project. CISM has continuously supported organizations, which champion child development and enrichment, by contributing to preschool, elementary, and secondary school programs. A highlight of the weekend is the parade down Talbot Street with bands, vocal groups, vintage cars and trucks, horses, and celebrities perhaps CBMM President Stuart Parnes will again make an appearance. Other activities during this weekend include a tour of historic homes in town. Also, houses of another sort will be on display when gingerbread houses, baked and decorated by local townspeople, will be available to view and admire. An antique and classic boat display will be staged on the grounds of CBMM during this weekend. For more information, to purchase advance tickets for specific events, or to order the annual Christmas ornament, call or visit Bequest A Simple Gift: You can make a bequest to the Museum by naming CBMM as a beneficiary in your will. You will want to discuss the details with your attorney or financial advisor. We hope you will let us know when you have named CBMM in your will so we can honor you as a member of the Perpetual Mariner Society and place your name on a permanent recognition plaque. For information on making a bequest to CBMM or about other planned giving considerations, please contact the Advancement Office at

4 All Hands on Deck at CBMM s 12th Annual Boating Party Members of the Shook family and friends look on as a smiling Kathryn Shook, center, of Washington, D.C., hears her name drawn as the winner of the Decadent Dining Drawing at the September 12 Boating Party. Paul and Joanne Prager were the generous lead sponsors of the 12th Annual Boating Party. Greeting the Pragers as they arrive at Navy Point are, left to right, Boating Party Co-chair Kay Perkins, CBMM Board Member Joanne Prager, CBMM Chair Bob Perkins, Paul Prager and CBMM Vice Chair Alan Griffith. All Hands on Deck, the theme for CBMM s 12th Annual Boating Party, captured the imagination of 465 guests who celebrated the Museum s goal of involving large numbers of community friends, members and donors to benefit CBMM and its future plans and programs. Held annually on the first Saturday after Labor Day to launch the fall season, the Boating Party has become a vital fundraising special event for the Museum. Proceeds support education, preservation and key initiatives, such as Chesapeake Futures, a collaborative program of new exhibitions, interpretation and educational activities focused on inspiring stewardship of the Bay. Welcomed by CBMM s Chairman of the Board Bob Perkins, and President Stuart Parnes, guests enjoyed a beautiful evening under tents on Navy Point with an elegant dinner of seafood hors d oeuvres, fresh Maryland Rockfish and local vegetables, all prepared by PeachBlossoms Catering of Easton. Jocelyn Eysymontt of St. Michaels and a team of deck hands designed centerpieces of sharp, multi-colored boating bags overflowing with colorful zinnias and accompanied by a crisp baguette and a bottle of Maryland wine. After dinner, guests danced waterside to the music of Oxford s Free & Eazy Band. Event Co-chairs Kay Perkins and Karen Shook, also of St. Michaels, acknowledged generous underwriters, benefactors and all guests for their generosity and commitment to the future of the Museum. The evening was capped with the announcement of the winner of the Decadent Dining Drawing. Kathryn Shook of Washington, D.C., will be enjoying nine evenings of excellent dining for four at many of Talbot County s top restaurants. The Boating Party will continue its traditions again next year on Saturday, September 11, 2010, on Navy Point in St. Michaels. Past CBMM Board Member Shirley Gooch, left, catches up with CBMM Board Member Mark Nestlehutt and Abigail Nestlehutt Annual Report We are going green with our annual report! The Museum s annual report will be available online at the CBMM website org. A very limited quantity will be printed. The report will be published and online in midoctober. If you would like to receive a copy in the mail, please contact Julie Barnett at ext. 129 or jbarnett@cbmm.org. (From left) Event Co-chairs Kay Perkins and Karen Shook celebrate the evening s success with Boating Party committee member Candy Backus. 6 Take a Chance on a Ducker Spotlight on the Collection This fall, you could own a beautiful new lapstrake wooden sailboat. A 16-foot Delaware Ducker, built as part of CBMM s boat building Apprentice for a Day program, will be the prize of a drawing, which will be held on Saturday, December 12. Only 500 tickets will be sold at a cost of $20 per ticket. The skiff comes with sails, all the rigging, and sailing instruction how to rig, sail, and care for her. It is a unique prize that could only come from the CBMM Boat Shop. The Ducker is a beautiful boat, which could sell for more than $10,000. And just before the holidays, it could be yours for $20, or 6 tickets for $100. To purchase a ticket, please contact Cynthia Paalborg at ext. 113 or cpaalborg@cbmm.org. Robert Barrie and his brother, George Barrie, Jr., are best remembered as yachtsmen who wrote an early account of yachting published as Cruises, Mainly on the Bay of the Chesapeake. Photos from this book appear in the Museum s exhibit At Play on the Bay. Compiled from a series of articles they wrote for yachting magazines between 1897 and 1910, the book recounts cruises in a series of yachts owned by the brothers the cutter Mona, lugger Iona, ketch Liris, yawl Seminole, schooner Azalea, yawl Virginia, and skipjack yacht Omoo. A scrapbook compiled by one of the brothers now in the Museum s collection adds to their written accounts and photos. In addition to copies of their original magazine articles, the scrapbook contains advertisements they posted to sell each of their boats, correspondence from yachtsmen and yachting writers of their day, original photographs, a measurement certificate from Mona, and a sumptuous 1905 Corinthian Yacht Club menu that reflects the bounty of the Chesapeake then fashionable. From the scrapbook, too, we learn about boats they owned that were not mentioned in their book, including the Crosby cat Thursday Island. The Museum was alerted when this scrapbook appeared on ebay last year, but the acquisitions fund was empty and we had to pass on it. A week later, Museum member Karl L. Kirkman contacted us with the news that he was the successful bidder, and offered it to the Museum as a gift. Thank you, Mr. Kirkman! A New Face at CBMM: René Stevenson The desk, and the administrative offices at CBMM are now filled by the smile and enthusiasm of René Stevenson, new assistant to the president. René and her husband, Tom, hail from Ann Arbor, Mich. A job transfer took them to Wilmington, Del., after a short stint in Cleveland, Ohio, 15 years ago. After 20 years in banking, René transitioned to the non-profit sector and served for the past nine years at the Nemours/ dupont Hospital for Children, working in the Business Development (Marketing/Public Relations) department. When they visited St. Michaels six years ago on their anniversary, René and Tom fell in love with the town and the Museum at first sight. They bought a house and have spent every weekend here since. When René saw the ad for this position in the newspaper, she thought this would be my dream job! I still have to pinch myself when I look out the window and see water, René says. I feel very fortunate to be part of the CBMM team, and look forward to helping further the mission of the Museum. René can be reached at ext. 122, or by at rstevenson@cbmm.org. A 1905 yacht club menu featuring Lynnhaven oysters and stewed snapper and a flyer for a 16-foot launch purchased by the Barries are contained in the scrapbook 7

5 Can You Keep the Light Burning? This is your last chance to sign up for the Lighthouse Overnight Program in 2009! Through fun, interactive activities, your group can travel back in time to experience the life of a lighthouse keeper! The Lighthouse Overnight Program includes a hands-on tour of the 1879 lighthouse; trying on the chores (and clothes) of a traditional lighthouse keeper; hearing thrilling tales of adventure about lighthouses of years past; discovering facts and clues about living in a lighthouse through games and puzzles; swearing the oath of lighthouse allegiance and becoming an official Hooper Strait Light Keeper; all while working towards earning a lighthouse badge. This is a program that can t be found anywhere else. Why not pull together a group of family and friends for experiential learning about the Bay s rich history? Dates available for October include: 9, 10, 16, and 23. The program begins at 6:00 pm and ends at 7:30 am the next morning. The Program Fee is $650* (up to 15 people), which includes program activities, two days admission to the Museum, and a souvenir patch. To make reservations, please call ext. 103, or klivie@cbmm.org. Give a Family Gift This holiday season, give a family experience that will last the whole year long. Give a CBMM FAMILY MEMBERSHIP! Each gift membership includes a coupon to redeem in the Museum Store for a free copy of CBMM s awardwinning cookbook From a Lighthouse Window, a collection of recipes and recollections from the Bay. Offer applies only to GIFT memberships at the Family and above levels. Gift memberships must be purchased between Oct. 15 and Dec. 21, To purchase gift memberships and for further information, Go to or call Cynthia Paalborg at , ext 113. Navy Point u PO Box 636 St. Michaels, MD Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum This newsletter is printed on paper which is 50% recycled content; 25% of which is post consumer waste. The printing inks are vegetable oil based which are eco-friendly. We will continue to strive to use environmentally helpful products in the production of this newsletter.