Donald
Duncan, Editor
Boat Maintenance
One
of the problems faced by museums is the maintenance of items in their care. When
we built the Boatshop and used it as a storage place for old boats, we faced the
problem squarely. Should old boats be kept in their “old” condition, which
will continually deteriorate without attention, or should they be restored to
their “original” condition. We have found that the boats in our care are
slowly deteriorating, especially the canvas deck of the SYC sailboat generously
donated by Jeanette Ingersoll in 1998. Last spring we decided to replace the
canvas on the foredeck. Even though the boat will never see salt water again due
to loose planking and other deterioration, the deck is more “on display” all
the time and looked distinctly unloved. We found as many ways to do the job as
we found experts to ask, but finally decided on bedding compound thinned with
linseed oil spread liberally on the deck planking and smoothed with a serrated
trowel. Number 12 canvas was laid on top and stapled down with stainless steel
staples. When two coats of oil paint were applied, the deck was restored and now
looks much as it did when Sid Gray laid it in the 1930’s.
Other
boats also need treatment. Link Webber’s lobster boat has dropped a lot of its
caulking and perhaps needs treatment. If you have advice on what should be done
or the time and expertise to do it, we’d love to hear from you.
About
seventy people gathered at the Town Hall on June 17 for the Annual Meeting of
the Friends when directors and officers were elected. Jean Hawley and Jack
Bauman replaced Sally Wood and Sarah Sherman Brewer. Jim Hunt of Pine Cliff gave
a fine talk on the Four-Masters of
The
New Computer
Our old computer of 1995 vintage proved unable to handle the new age of compact disks and the much larger memory required for today’s software. After a good deal of discussion and a clinic with the Portland Historical Society, we bought a printer, a scanner and a Dell 4400 desktop computer, with enough memory to handle the anticipated Old House Project and to store many of the photographs the museum has collected. Expenses related to the computer have run to about $2,100, all of which has been underwritten by the Friends. Through a special program for non-profit organizations sponsored by GWI (Great Works Internet) we are now connected to the Internet and have web space for our website. See the following article.
Website
We have often been
asked whether the Museum has a website and if not, why not? Now, through the
generosity of GWI and the expertise of Bruce Wood, a long time resident of
Molly’s Point, the answer is yes. Visit us sometime at www.hendrickshill.org
to see the results. GWI has a program through which they provide low-cost web
space and Internet access to non-profit organizations, and the Friends are
beneficiaries. We express our thanks to GWI and hope that surfers of the net far
and wide will take advantage of the information that is now literally at their
fingertips. If you have suggestions as to how the site might be improved or
expanded, feel free to let me know (Donald Duncan,
GWI
Notice
As
a Friends member, you can get unlimited Internet access for only $9.95 per month
(for the first three months) when you sign up during the month of November,
2002. With this special offer, set-up fees of $25 are waived and the first three
months at only $9.95 per month, $10 less than the regular monthly rate of
$19.95, provide a savings of $55.00. As
Genealogy
Ron
Orchard has done a great deal of genealogical work and has on display a printed
genealogy of the Marr-Pierce Family that includes hundreds of persons spread
over several generations. It is a fine accomplishment and was a great hit at the
Pierce-Marr family reunion that was held this past summer. See a picture of the
display on the website. Pegi Stengel has volunteered many hours doing
genealogical research on the Thompson family and entering the information into
the computer. The Friends have purchased several fine books for genealogical
research, and Ron and Pegi have become very knowledgeable on the subject.
During
August several of us noticed an old sign for the Southport Post Office in a
Wiscasset antique shop., The Friends bought the sign with monies from the
Memorial Fund. The sign is now in
the Museum along with signs for the
Hospitality
Has Its Limits
Each month we publicize a meeting of the Friends and seldom does a member attend who is not an officer or a Director. Usually an interesting story surfaces and last month was no exception.
Ron said that a couple arrived at the Museum with large knapsacks on their backs and a small baby. Ron told them that they had to leave the knapsacks in the reference room lest they knock over a fragile display item. “Yes”. After a while they asked whether there was a bathroom. “Yes”. Then the woman said that her baby was hungry and could she breast-feed him. Only a little non-plussed, Ron directed her to the Reference Room. Soon she said the baby needed changing and where could she do it. Fine, the Reference Room again. Eventually the baby was happy, and the mother asked if she might leave the diaper in the wastebasket! “Not likely”.
See what you are missing by not attending those monthly meetings?
Old
House Update
Jean
Hawley is using a database and has now entered all the taxpayers of
I
recently read (Shipping Days of Old Boothbay, p327) that around 1790 Molly Casey
and her husband ran a tavern near what is now Molly’s Point. One evening a
customer had too much of their Indian Rum and became belligerent. Molly rushed
to her husband’s defense and crowned the attacker with a rum jug. They were
shocked that the blow was lethal. The two of them rowed the body to
Can
your house top this, or would you like to help gather information or enter data
into the computer? Let Jean know. (
Challenge
Picker
In
late August, there appeared on the porch outside the boatshop a very heavy piece
of machinery, a gift of Elizabeth McKenna. It is about 4 feet long and two feet
wide and stands about 40 inches high. It consists of a heavy drum covered with
one-inch iron spikes that revolves rapidly when a crank is turned. Also
revolving are two wooden rollers like an old-fashioned washing machine wringer.
Apparently whatever is fed through the rollers is scraped and combed by the
revolving spikes. It says “Challenge Picker, Andrew Dutton,
Trustees
Museum Trustees
Bob Colby
Phyllis Cook
Donald Duncan
Ethelyn Giles
Mary Lou Koskela
Leonard Merrill
Ronald Orchard, Chairman
Evelyn Sherman
Gary Snowman
Friends
Officers/Directors
Jack
Bauman
Marion Bradley, Treasurer
Phyllis Cook
Dick Dexter
Joyce Duncan, President
Leanne Eaton, Secretary
Jean Hawley
Evelyn Sherman
Dick Snyder, Vice President
Vollunteers
The Museum could not operate without lots of volunteer help. As a matter of fact we hardly know of any other kind of help. Volunteers clean the rooms, wash the windows, keep track of membership, guide visitors through the exhibits, learn about computers, build websites, accession new artifacts, research genealogy, wire up telephones, provide financial support and generally encourage each other to ever greater efforts.
This summer we invited those who guided visitors to two luncheons when we had a chance to go through the Museum under the direction of local authorities, Ron Orchard and Evelyn Sherman. About a dozen people attended each event and everyone gained new insights into the articles on display. We hope to repeat the event in the coming year.
Volunteers, we salute you all!
Judy
Basilieri, Jack Bauman, Mary Ann Blycher, Marion Bradley, Kathy Bugbee, Barbara
Bush, Jackie Buttimer, Bob Colby, Phyllis Cook, Evelyn Damrell, Dick Dexter,
Maria Doelp, Ed Donohoe, Fran Donohoe, Linda Dowling, Joyce Duncan, Donald
Duncan, Ron Duquette, Leanne Eaton, John Gibson, Mimi Havinga, Jean Hawley, Jim
Hunt, Enid Johnson, Mary Lou Koskela, Leonard Merrill, Mary Merrill, Deborah
Mullen, Ralva Orchard, Ronald Orchard, Jeanette Orne, Michael Pollard, Penny
Pollard, Mary Anne Sanborn, Evelyn Sherman, Kit Sherrill, Leigh Sherrill, Gary
Snowman, Dick Snyder,
Contributors
