Reedville Fishermen's Museum - Reedville, Virginia
Reedville Fishermen's Museum - Reedville, Virginia
Reedville Fishermen's Museum - Reedville, Virginia
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<strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> - <strong>Reedville</strong>, <strong>Virginia</strong><br />
Sentinels of<br />
Cockrell's Creek<br />
WINTER 2007<br />
Tom Ryals<br />
INSIDE<br />
From the Pilot<br />
House<br />
President’s<br />
Corner<br />
Barge<br />
Discovery: The<br />
Beginning<br />
Northern Neck<br />
Railroad<br />
Exhibits<br />
Houses of<br />
<strong>Reedville</strong><br />
Members<br />
Flotsam &<br />
Jetsam<br />
Christmas on<br />
Cockrell’s<br />
Creek<br />
Special Events Calendar Foggy River Oyster Roast Home Tour<br />
Quilters<br />
In Memoriam<br />
2—3 4—5 6—7 8—9 10-11<br />
12-13 14-15 16-17
FROM THE PILOTHOUSE<br />
I’m not sure why Charles Bowles<br />
named his workboat Foggy<br />
River. But when the 42’ deadrise<br />
was launched at George P. Butler’s<br />
boatyard in 1961 that was the<br />
name she bore.<br />
The years have not been kind to Foggy River and her<br />
conservation, restoration, maintenance and interpretation<br />
is a long-term project that will require the best efforts<br />
of our organization. The work required to restore the<br />
boat is varied. Some of it requires skilled and experienced<br />
craftsmen like George M. Butler, son of the boat’s<br />
builder. Some of the work is dirty work and requires volunteers<br />
willing to scrape, patch, pry, repair, replace, saw,<br />
hammer, clean, paint and sweat. In addition to a crew<br />
of hard-working volunteers, we’ll need money, material<br />
and an engine. We’ll also be looking for working gear<br />
used for crabbing and oystering, and the insights of area<br />
watermen.<br />
Let me pause here for an editorial<br />
remark. In the southeastern Nebraska farming community<br />
where I grew up, folks didn’t name their combines.<br />
Conversations might include mention of “the Allis<br />
Chalmers,” or “the old 4400,” but that was sterile reference<br />
to a manufacturer or model number. The closest<br />
any combine came to a given name was when it faltered<br />
during the rush of fall harvest. Then the offending machine<br />
could receive any number of names…none of<br />
which I’d care to repeat here.<br />
Chesapeake Bay workboats, on the other hand, have<br />
long been christened with the name of a beloved daughter,<br />
like Elva C., or a son, like Claud W. Somers. Others<br />
carry the names of wives, sweethearts, mothers, sisters,<br />
or even the boat-builder. Unlike factory-forged farm machinery,<br />
stamped out in a distant city, workboats like<br />
Foggy River would often reflect the unique collaboration<br />
between boat-builder and waterman/owner. Over time,<br />
the vessel revealed its unique character traits, took on a<br />
personality of its own, and ultimately became a member<br />
of the waterman’s family.<br />
Captain Bowles and others provided this Butler-built deadrise<br />
with an active career. She provided the same for<br />
them in return. However, Foggy River’s work days are<br />
now behind her. Like the partnership between boatbuilder<br />
and waterman that flourished on these waters for<br />
generations, her time is slipping away. Today she sits<br />
as a silent witness to an era that is quickly disappearing<br />
from Cockrell’s Creek.<br />
Thankfully, your <strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> exists to<br />
preserve and share the stories of the people who take<br />
their living from the waters of the Chesapeake<br />
Bay. Thankfully, there is still time to hear the stories that<br />
Foggy River can tell. We already know a great deal<br />
about her (see Spud Parker’s article on page 11). We<br />
know about her <strong>Reedville</strong> construction, modifications to<br />
her structure, and about her working career on Cockrell’s<br />
Creek. Most importantly, we know that this lovely vessel<br />
has recently been donated to the <strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong> through the generosity of Mssrs. George C. and<br />
George B. Verlander.<br />
This is not going to be a quick job. This is not going to<br />
be an easy job. In fact, it’s going to be a challenge. It<br />
will demand the involvement of all facets of our membership.<br />
But it’s a job worthy of the <strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong> and a challenge that we can meet.<br />
As I write these lines, I remember that when I ran into<br />
trouble on the combine, I’d simply climb down from the<br />
cab and walk back to the house. Walking home isn’t<br />
much of an option when January blows a Nor’easter that<br />
catches you out on the Bay. Perhaps that’s the key difference<br />
between a John Deere 4400 Combine and a<br />
workboat like Foggy River. Perhaps it’s in that journey<br />
home--through the salt-water baptism of a storm-tossed<br />
sea--that she earns her right to a name and a place in<br />
the family.<br />
Welcome home, Foggy River. You’ve had quite a journey.<br />
Welcome home.<br />
Chuck Backus, Executive Director<br />
ON THE COVER<br />
Retired veterans of World War II, Coastal Harvester<br />
(former U.S. Army freight service vessel and veteran of<br />
the island hopping campaigns in the Pacific Theatre),<br />
and Atlantic Breeze (former U.S. Navy patrol & rescue<br />
vessel built as a mine sweeper and veteran of the Invasion<br />
of Okinawa, Leyte Gulf, Philippine Sea, & South<br />
China Sea), had full careers as menhaden boats following<br />
their retirement from military service. Now retired<br />
from Omega Protein, they stand silent watch over the<br />
waters of Cockrell's Creek.<br />
2 STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007
.<br />
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT<br />
I have had an easy time as president this year because<br />
of the fine work done by our operating committees. Our<br />
major fund-raising events were very successful due to<br />
the leadership of each chairperson. Ben Ward did his<br />
usual great job with the oyster roast. I want to thank<br />
Carol Cole for stepping up and leading Christmas on<br />
Cockrell’s Creek to another quality event. The next<br />
fundraiser is the auction and I’m sure Margaret Hudnall<br />
will work her magic on that. I’m always so proud of the<br />
way all of our volunteers perform tirelessly in these<br />
events.<br />
From its humble beginning twenty years ago, our museum<br />
has developed into something we can all be<br />
proud of.<br />
PRESIDENT’S CORNER<br />
Our future looks bright with all of the projects we have<br />
planned. We are always trying to improve on what we<br />
are already doing. RFM Visions 20/20 is on the agenda<br />
for January 14th at 1:00 PM at Festival Halle. This is<br />
an open meeting where anyone can express ideas as to<br />
where the museum should go in the future. We hope<br />
that this meeting will be beneficial to RFM.<br />
Reflecting back over the years, I see many reasons for<br />
our success. To me, the support and loyalty of our<br />
large number of members stands out as the main reason.<br />
Hard work and good fortune rank up there also.<br />
Former director, Angus Murdock, used to say fairy dust<br />
was sprinkled on our museum. I think he may have<br />
something there.<br />
I have enjoyed working with our executive director,<br />
Chuck Backus. I am certain that the new board president<br />
for next year will find it as rewarding as I have.<br />
Wendell Haynie<br />
FAREWELL MESSAGE<br />
FROM JESSICA WAITE<br />
I have always believed<br />
that certain<br />
people and situations<br />
are brought into our<br />
lives for a reason.<br />
Now whether that<br />
reason is for happiness<br />
and joy, or pain<br />
and sorrow depends<br />
upon the person. My<br />
stop at the <strong>Reedville</strong><br />
Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong><br />
is one of those happy<br />
situations everyone<br />
searches for. The<br />
last six months have<br />
brought new and exciting<br />
experiences<br />
into my life.<br />
I will look fondly back at some of the most memorable<br />
experiences with a smile from the Bluefish<br />
Derby where I volunteered to tag the catches (a big<br />
feat for me personally because of my fear of fish)<br />
to the Fourth of July parade that can be seen<br />
twice, my first sailing trip (thanks to Spud and<br />
Joanie Parker) and my first Oyster Roast. However,<br />
it is the friends I have made in the Northern<br />
Neck that have had the most impact on me.<br />
I would like to take the time to thank all the volunteers,<br />
the board members, staff, and community for<br />
welcoming me into their homes and lives. You<br />
have made my stay in <strong>Reedville</strong> a happy one, but I<br />
must say good-bye. I have accepted a position with<br />
the Nebraska State Historical Society at the Gerald<br />
Ford Conservation Center in Omaha. As this year<br />
draws to a close and the new year begins, I am<br />
preparing to take this next step in my career. I wish<br />
the very best for the <strong>Reedville</strong> Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong><br />
and its supporters in the coming years.<br />
Happy Holidays and farewell!<br />
STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007 3
BARGE DISCOVERY: THE BEGINNING<br />
Barge or Shallop: What’s in a name?<br />
In the flurry of activity surrounding the 400 th anniversary of<br />
Jamestown, an historical conversation has arisen regarding<br />
which boat John Smith used to explore the Chesapeake Bay.<br />
RFM volunteer George Perry has composed a series of articles<br />
for the Starry Banner to examine this historical question.<br />
Perry contends that there were two different small vessels (a<br />
shallop and a barge), that John Smith knew the difference<br />
between them, and that both played a different role in the<br />
founding of Jamestown and the exploration of the Chesapeake<br />
Bay. Perry’s original research reviewed over 40 books or texts<br />
on the Jamestown colony. These ranged from the 1904 John<br />
Smith Edited Edition to Edward Haile’s 1998 text; Jamestown<br />
Narratives. --Editor<br />
Part I: Introduction<br />
John Smith and the Colony at Jamestown. In 2007, Jamestown<br />
celebrates the 400th anniversary of the first British settlement<br />
of our country. The <strong>Reedville</strong> Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong> built<br />
a replica of the three-ton “brethren” barge—the Discovery—<br />
that John Smith used<br />
in 1608 in his two<br />
explorations of the<br />
Chesapeake Bay.<br />
Smith explored the<br />
Chesapeake Bay by<br />
water and on foot. He<br />
drew the first detailed<br />
charts of the<br />
Bay and the surrounding<br />
country,<br />
locating the Indian<br />
villages by name.<br />
Forced to return to<br />
England in 1609 due<br />
to injury from an<br />
explosion of gunpowder,<br />
he never<br />
returned to the Bay<br />
or to Jamestown. He did make three more voyages to the New<br />
World, during which he drew charts of the East Coast from the<br />
Carolinas to Nova Scotia.<br />
These charts, in fact, were used by the “pilgrims” aboard the<br />
Mayflower. But we must not forget that the Jamestown colony’s<br />
Susan Constant, Discovery, and Godspeed arrived in<br />
<strong>Virginia</strong> 13-14 years before the Mayflower arrived in Massachusetts!<br />
village; Cinqiack, at the head of the peninsula that is now<br />
named <strong>Reedville</strong>. In his daily diary entries, he shows his group<br />
coming into the east side of <strong>Reedville</strong> on July, 15, 1608. He<br />
wrote about an Indian named Musco from the King’s village;<br />
Wighcocomoco, located at the headwaters of the Little<br />
Wicomico River (which flows to modern-day <strong>Reedville</strong>).<br />
The idea to build a replica of the barge Discovery was<br />
launched in Spring 2002, over cocktails on the fantail of<br />
Wendell Haynie’s boat. One of us mentioned the two small<br />
vessels in the diaries of John Smith, and said that it would be<br />
interesting to build them. Wendell, always positive, said<br />
“Yes.” Aubrey Henry, always practical, asked what was involved<br />
and how big were these two vessels? The reply was<br />
that the smaller of the two was 27’ to 28’ and larger one was<br />
33’ to 37’. We decided to build the smaller one. I was asked to<br />
do the basic research and to come up with plans of the period<br />
and the overall design of the replica.<br />
I am not a formally trained historian or naval architect. I was<br />
trained in forestry and economics (B.S., University of Georgia),<br />
business (M.B.A., Yale), and economics and mathematics<br />
(M.S., Duke University). I spent over ten years in a “think<br />
tank,” the Management Sciences Staff in California, during<br />
my 35-year career. Like many overgrown “boys,” I love boats<br />
and the sea. I have built for myself, others, and <strong>Reedville</strong> Fishermen’s<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> over 60 historic models and have restored<br />
for others over 25 historic models; some dating back to the<br />
16 th century.<br />
In fact, as I write this at my dining room table, before me is a<br />
wonderful model of a clipper ship built in 1932-33, the Flying<br />
Cloud, which I plan to restore if my eyesight holds out!<br />
<strong>Reedville</strong> can make a good case for John Smith having come<br />
here on one or both of his explorations, for he shows an Indian<br />
George Lucas Perry<br />
4 STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007
NORTHERN NECK RAILROAD<br />
All Aboard!<br />
The Northern Neck Railroad Arrives at <strong>Reedville</strong> Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong><br />
The Northern Neck Railroad has begun its annual Holiday run at the <strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong> <strong>Museum</strong>! Visitors have<br />
come to enjoy the turn-of-the-century <strong>Reedville</strong> and surrounding communities carefully recreated in miniature with<br />
model trains, realistic scenery, and precision models.<br />
The 2007 -2007 season debuts the newly completed Fredericksburg area including a lighted tunnel and hilltop dairy<br />
farm. And no visit to the exhibit would be complete without watching "The Railroad That Never Was" an exciting new<br />
video that gives you a rider’s eye view and behind the scenes look at this delightful exhibit.<br />
Come and discover the past as it might have been. Bring your whole family to enjoy an imaginary journey on the<br />
Northern Neck Railroad!<br />
Sponsored by Lillian Lumber Company, the Northern Neck Railroad exhibit will be open January 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, and<br />
14. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for Seniors. Children 12 & under, and members of the <strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong> <strong>Museum</strong><br />
are admitted free. For further information, contact the <strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> at 804.453.6529 or<br />
check out our website at www.rfmuseum.org<br />
STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007 5
EXHIBITS<br />
EXHIBIT TO OPEN IN MAY…<br />
CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH<br />
VISITS THE NORTHERN NECK<br />
In 2007 it will be 400 years since John Smith explored<br />
the Chesapeake Bay for the first<br />
time. His main objective was looking<br />
for that elusive passageway to the<br />
Orient.<br />
Stimulated by the sight of the completed<br />
Smith barge replica which has<br />
drawn so much attention and praise,<br />
we thought it fitting to direct our major<br />
2007 exhibition to the subject of<br />
Smith’s exploration. We decided to<br />
portray the environment that Smith found himself in as<br />
he visited native settlements in the lower Northern Neck.<br />
There seemed, also, a need to put his activities in perspective:<br />
• What had produced the environment he became so<br />
enthralled with?<br />
• What was going on elsewhere at that time in history?<br />
• What was the Native American culture at that time<br />
and who were these people?<br />
• And, since everyone, even then, was a “comehere”…Where<br />
did these “Native Americans” come<br />
from?<br />
These and a number of other questions arose while formulating<br />
the content of the exhibition.<br />
The centerpiece of the<br />
exhibition will be a<br />
6’X8’ diorama of the<br />
lower Northern Neck.<br />
It will show where Native<br />
Americans settled,<br />
how they lived and<br />
what their environment<br />
was like. It will display<br />
models of the boats involved, not only in Smith’s adventures,<br />
but also that surrounding this diorama will be displays<br />
relating to the coast of <strong>Virginia</strong>. Surrounding this<br />
diorama will be displays relating to the lifestyle of both<br />
the settlers and the native Americans. The wildlife and<br />
the vegetation of that period, as well as, the abundant<br />
sea life that awed Smith and his crew, will be illustrated.<br />
the boat was handled.<br />
Our exhibition committee has spent untold hours researching<br />
the various components of this exhibit and still<br />
had a way to go. While ample records exist about the<br />
Jamestown settlement, little was recorded of the activity<br />
in the lower Northern Neck for the years 1607-1608. As<br />
a result, reconstructing the local scene requires a lot of<br />
conjecture and interpolation. But we think<br />
we’ve got it right and are hopeful that this<br />
will be another successful RFM exhibit.<br />
The show will open in early May 2007 and<br />
will probably be on display through 2008.<br />
We can, as always, use some extra help.<br />
Anyone with graphic art experience or<br />
who can do some carpentry would be very<br />
welcome. We will need more help from<br />
the middle of January to the first of May.<br />
Please call George Frayne or the <strong>Museum</strong> office.<br />
George Frayne<br />
SECOND ANNUAL<br />
NEEDLE ARTS SHOW OPENS<br />
The <strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> is<br />
pleased to announce the Second Annual<br />
Needle Arts Show. The exhibit will be open<br />
Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from December<br />
14 th through January 14 th in <strong>Reedville</strong>.<br />
Admission is $5.00 for adults and<br />
$3.00 for Seniors. Children under 12 and<br />
RFM members are admitted free.<br />
Presented by the RFM Quilters, the exhibit<br />
features much more than quilts. Hand-made<br />
exotic dolls, needlepoint, knitted items of all<br />
kinds, hooked rugs, English embroidery, and<br />
beaded jewelry are but a sampling of the art<br />
to be exhibited at the event. In addition to<br />
the work of the RFM Quilters, works by other<br />
needle artists will be on display.<br />
To complete the exhibition visually we will highlight the<br />
history of the construction of the replica of the Smith<br />
barge that now enhances the museum’s boat collection<br />
and we hope to complete a re-enactment, on film, of<br />
what it was like to explore the Bay in this vessel and how<br />
For further information, contact the <strong>Reedville</strong><br />
<strong>Fishermen's</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> at 804.453.6529 or<br />
check out our website at www.rfmuseum.org<br />
6 STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007
SPECIAL EVENTS<br />
RFM VISIONS 20/20<br />
What if…<br />
We want your input Sunday, January 14 th<br />
when we brainstorm!<br />
Visions 20/20 is a board-backed initiative to<br />
try to mine the community and out-of-town<br />
members for creative, interesting, zany, intriguing<br />
ideas that will continue to keep the<br />
museum fresh and exciting!<br />
Please tell me you went right to your calendar<br />
when you received the invitation postcard<br />
after Thanksgiving and marked the<br />
date and time! We chose 1-4 so those who<br />
attend church can do both and those who<br />
don’t can finish their Sunday morning rituals.<br />
The topics range through all the usual suspects:<br />
ideas for exhibits, building projects,<br />
education, fund-raising, entertainment, marketing,<br />
recruitment, etc. The sky’s the<br />
limit! Every idea has potential! What if…<br />
We are planning break-out sessions so<br />
you are guaranteed your say.<br />
We promise that you will not automatically<br />
be made the chairman.<br />
We promise you don’t have to know<br />
how to house it, fund it or feed it.<br />
We will have refreshments when we’re<br />
done that will tide you over ‘til dinner.<br />
The more people share ideas the more ideas<br />
will be born. This promises to be a stimulating<br />
and entertaining afternoon made all the<br />
better because you are here! Non-members<br />
with good ideas are invited, too. All we ask<br />
is that you call the office 453-6529 by<br />
January 10 th so we have a count for chairs,<br />
tables and food.<br />
SUNDAY, JANUARY 14 TH , 1-4 P.M.<br />
FESTIVAL HALLE, REEDVILLE<br />
Benefit Auction Gala<br />
Coming February 23rd<br />
SAVE THE DATE<br />
The Third Annual Benefit Auction Gala<br />
is back by popular demand and has<br />
been scheduled for Friday night February<br />
the 23rd. Join us for cocktails and a<br />
buffet dinner at Festival Halle in <strong>Reedville</strong>,<br />
browse our silent auction tables,<br />
and let the auctioneer encourage you to<br />
bid ever and ever higher!<br />
We have already received some fabulous<br />
donations but we are still looking<br />
for those very special items. Margaret<br />
Hudnall has agreed to again be chief of<br />
procurement and has some great ideas<br />
for new and exciting auction items. If<br />
you have something you'd like to donate<br />
call Margaret at 580-9118 or the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> office at 453-6529. We can<br />
arrange to pick up large items if<br />
needed.<br />
We need lots of items, big and small.<br />
It's time to start checking your attic, cellar,<br />
closets and shelves for those items<br />
you haven't been able to part with, but<br />
you just know you'll never use again.<br />
Tickets will be $35 per person, and reservations<br />
are required. Dress to Impress.<br />
Tickets will go on sale the week<br />
of February 1 at the <strong>Museum</strong> Office.<br />
Charge by phone or stop in and pick<br />
them up. Be sure to get your tickets<br />
early as we can only accommodate 200<br />
people and last year's event was sold<br />
out.<br />
See you there!<br />
STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007 7
MODELS REFLECT 19TH CENTURY REEDVILLE<br />
729 Main Street – Part Two<br />
For readers following our “Main Street In Miniature”<br />
series, you’ll notice this is the same street<br />
address as the Starry Banner’s fall edition article.<br />
That’s because another historic Main<br />
Street <strong>Reedville</strong> building shares this location<br />
with our previous subject, the <strong>Reedville</strong> House<br />
Hotel.<br />
This edition introduces<br />
the Blundon and Hinton<br />
Store building, best<br />
known today as<br />
Tommy’s Restaurant.<br />
As a popular eatery, it<br />
holds true to its heritage,<br />
since it began life as a<br />
department store and<br />
grocery store. Behind<br />
the front building was the<br />
Blundon and Hinton<br />
Cannery, where many a<br />
ripe tomato and crisp turnip<br />
green met their fate.<br />
Later on, the building<br />
was used as the <strong>Reedville</strong><br />
Market, and then<br />
became Elijah’s Restaurant, named after our<br />
town’s founder, Elijah Reed.<br />
Mr. William Blundon and Mr. (Captain) John B.<br />
Hinton were prominent merchants, also owning<br />
saw, planing, and grist mills. Recall it<br />
was Captain Hinton who purchased the<br />
<strong>Reedville</strong> House in 1884 from the<br />
Chesapeake Oil and Guano Company as<br />
his family residence. He and his business<br />
partner erected the store and cannery<br />
on the same lot, in the late 1800’s.<br />
Many original Blundon and Hinton canning<br />
labels are framed and hung in area<br />
homes throughout the region as reminders<br />
of the agricultural and food packing<br />
aspects of the economic underpinnings<br />
of <strong>Reedville</strong>’s past.<br />
Indeed, good food, or the makings of it, has<br />
been a common component of this Main Street<br />
landmark for over a century. Stepping inside<br />
Tommy’s, the wainscoting on the walls and ceiling,<br />
the plank floors, old artifacts hung on walls,<br />
and the relatively undisturbed floor plan conjure<br />
up visions of yesteryear. It’s not a stretch for<br />
one to imagine aisles of groceries or dry goods,<br />
fine shirts and shoes,<br />
and cans of vegetables<br />
fresh from the<br />
neighboring cannery.<br />
And nowadays, it certainly<br />
is not difficult to<br />
see a plate filled with<br />
juicy prime rib or succulent<br />
coconut shrimp.<br />
As always, you can<br />
find a realistic scale<br />
model of the Blundon<br />
and Hinton Store, circa<br />
1925, in the Pendleton<br />
Building Model Shop<br />
on the Northern Neck<br />
Railroad Exhibit. And<br />
while you’re in town,<br />
drop by Tommy’s. Owner, chef, and cordial<br />
host Tommy Crowther invites our members/<br />
readers to present this original article any time<br />
through January 28 th 2007 and receive a free<br />
dessert with any entrée. Enjoy!<br />
8 STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007
REEDVILLE FISHERMEN’S MUSEUM CALENDAR<br />
JANUARY 2007<br />
2 9:00 am Boat Shop 12 5:00 pm Cocktails on the Creek<br />
4:30 pm Operations Meeting 14 1:00 pm Vision 20/20<br />
4 9:00 am Boat Shop 16 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
10:00 am Model Group 18 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
5 9:30 am RFM Needlers 10:00am Model Group<br />
1:00 pm RFM Quilters (BUMC) 2:00 pm Photo Group<br />
9 9:00 am Boat Shop 23 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
2:00 pm Boat Talk 25 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
7:00 pm RFM Board Meeting 10:00 am Model Group<br />
11 9:00 am Boat Shop 5:00 pm Cocktails on the Creek<br />
10:00 am Model Group 30 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
FEBRUARY 2007<br />
1 9:00 am Boat Shop 7:00 pm RFM Board Meeting<br />
10:00 am Model Group 15 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
2 9:30 am RFM Needlers 10:00am Model Group<br />
1:00 pm RFM Quilters (BUMC) 2:00 pm Photo Group<br />
6 9:00 am Boat Shop 18 2:00am Annual Meeting<br />
4:30 pm Operations Meeting 20 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
8 9:00 am Boat Shop 22 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
10:00 am Model Group 10:00 am Model Group<br />
5:00 pm Cocktails on the Creek 5:00 pm Cocktails on the Creek<br />
13 9:00 am Boat Shop 27 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
2:00 pm Boat Talk<br />
MARCH 2007<br />
1 9:00 am Boat Shop 7:00 pm RFM Board Meeting<br />
10:00 am Model Group 15 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
2 9:30 am RFM Needlers 10:00am Model Group<br />
1:00 pm RFM Quilters (BUMC) 2:00 pm Photo Group<br />
6 9:00 am Boat Shop 17 Spring Schedule Begins<br />
4:30 pm Operations Meeting 20 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
8 9:00 am Boat Shop 22 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
10:00 am Model Group 10:00 am Model Group<br />
9 5:00 pm Cocktails on the Creek 23 5:00 pm Cocktails on the Creek<br />
9-11 Women’s Boat Building 27 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
13 9:00 am Boat Shop 29 9:00 am Boat Shop<br />
2:00 pm Boat Talk 10:00 am Model Group<br />
WATERMARK BY MARRIANE MILLER, RFM PHOTO GROUP<br />
<strong>Reedville</strong> Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong><br />
Phone: (804) 453-6529<br />
Fax: (804) 453-7159<br />
Email: rfmstaff@crosslink.net<br />
Director: bunker@crosslink.net<br />
Website: www.rfmuseum.org<br />
Location: 504 Main Street<br />
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 306<br />
Please contact the <strong>Reedville</strong> Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong> for additional information.<br />
All meetings & events listed are subject to change. You are<br />
strongly encouraged to call ahead to confirm an event, date and time before<br />
traveling a significant distance.<br />
STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007 9
MEMBERS<br />
Greater <strong>Reedville</strong> Association & <strong>Reedville</strong><br />
Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong><br />
2007 BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />
President…………...………………………Wendell Haynie<br />
Vice President……………………………....Martha Tallent<br />
Treasurer………………………………...Willis “Bill” Burton<br />
Secretary…………………………………....Susan Hughes<br />
DIRECTORS<br />
Blaine Altaffer<br />
Dudley Biddlecomb<br />
Carol Cole<br />
Jane Crowther<br />
Kathy Elsden<br />
Margaret Hudnall<br />
Karen Jett<br />
Warner Rice<br />
Bill Rogers<br />
Rob Schindler<br />
Martha Tallent<br />
Ben Ward<br />
DIRECTORS EMERITI<br />
George & Katherine Frayne<br />
BOARD COMMITTEES<br />
Financial Management Committee……………Paul Deleo<br />
Long Range Planning Committee............. Martha Tallent<br />
Membership Committee ..........................…Susan Tipton<br />
Planned Giving Committee… .................... Susan Stubbs<br />
OPERATING COMMITTEES<br />
Boat Donation & Resale Committee .................Clif Ames<br />
Boat Shop Committee............................... Jay Rohmann<br />
Building & Grounds Committee ......................Bill Rogers<br />
Landscape & Gardening..................CBGC Judy Burgess<br />
Claud W. Somers Committee......................Harry Towne<br />
Curatorial Committee .................................Maria Rogers<br />
Docent Committee ......... Kathy Elsden & Keese Williams<br />
Elva C. Committee............ Spud Parker & George Butler<br />
Exhibits/Interpretation Committee............ George Frayne<br />
Gift Shop Committee......Marcia Adams & Susan Hughes<br />
Boat Collection Committee…………..Dudley Biddlecomb<br />
Marketing Committee.....................................Dick Doyle<br />
Model Shop Committee................................John Elsden<br />
Photo Group ............................................ Doug Brogden<br />
Publications ....................... Rita Johnson and Tom Ryals<br />
Quilters..................................................... Carol Korman<br />
Walker House Committee ..................... Audrey Brainard<br />
Webmaster ................................................. Paul Kimball<br />
MUSEUM STAFF<br />
Executive Director.................................... Chuck Backus<br />
PHOTO GROUP<br />
2007 CALENDAR<br />
NOW ON SALE!<br />
ANNUAL MEETING<br />
ANNOUNCED<br />
The <strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong> <strong>Museum</strong> will hold its<br />
Annual Meeting on Sunday, February 18,<br />
2007. The meeting begins at 2:00 p.m. and will<br />
be held at Bethany United Methodist Church. All<br />
museum members are encouraged to attend.<br />
CHESAPEAKE BAY GARDEN CLUB<br />
DECORATES FOR CHRISTMAS<br />
ON COCKRELL’S CREEK<br />
NANCY FUCHS<br />
10 STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007
Over the past several years a small group of people with<br />
great knowledge of traditional workboats have often discussed<br />
a boat lying unused at Jennings Boatyard in Fairport.<br />
Despite the somewhat decrepit and unkempt appearance<br />
of the boat, these conversations continued and<br />
increased in frequency. Some investigation into her history<br />
led to the realization that her design, construction,<br />
career and relationship to <strong>Reedville</strong> made her a particularly<br />
effective example of the wooden workboats found in<br />
this region of the Chesapeake in the middle of the 20 th<br />
century.<br />
Foggy River is a 42-<br />
foot deadrise 1 , open<br />
boat with a small<br />
cabin forward – typical<br />
to some degree of<br />
the type still seen<br />
today. She has, however,<br />
low freeboard<br />
(distance from waterline<br />
to deck), a distinctively<br />
graceful<br />
sheer (the upward<br />
curve of the deck<br />
from stern to bow), an<br />
unusually pronounced<br />
but attractive<br />
flare to her sides<br />
near the bow and a<br />
round stern. These<br />
characteristics, with<br />
the possible exception<br />
of the flare and<br />
her length, were common in the mid-20 th century but, except<br />
for the round stern, precursors of later designs. The<br />
stern is of “chunk construction”, meaning that the curve is<br />
accomplished by shaping pieces of wood 2-feet long and<br />
3-inches thick laid horizontally like bricks. Unlike the<br />
square or box stern, a round stern lies to the sea more<br />
effectively (a necessity at times for a working boat). However,<br />
chunk style construction became too complex and<br />
expensive in later years.<br />
The design of the Foggy River was a collaborative effort<br />
between her owner, Charles Bowles, and her builder,<br />
George P. Butler, the second of the three generations of<br />
the family to own and operate the <strong>Reedville</strong> Marine Railway.<br />
As was and is the custom at that shop, there were<br />
no plans on paper – just discussions prior to and during<br />
the construction as the boat took shape.<br />
The materials for the project were cut locally from timberland<br />
owned by the Lillian Lumber Company, which in turn<br />
sawed the logs to Mr. Butler’s specifications. The boards<br />
were then stacked to dry in a shed by the creek where Mr.<br />
Bowles lived. That house and shed are situated between<br />
FOGGY RIVER<br />
Fleeton Road and the road to the Cockrell’s Creek Deli<br />
and was at one time the site of the Herbert Rice Railway.<br />
The construction of Foggy River was completed in 1961.<br />
Charles Bowles was the captain of a menhaden boat and,<br />
like many of his colleagues, worked the water in other<br />
ways when the menhaden season closed. The Foggy<br />
River became the means for him to generate some income<br />
for most of the year, although not as much as he<br />
made as a menhaden captain. She was designed and<br />
initially used to<br />
fish pound<br />
nets in the<br />
spring and<br />
early summer.<br />
Later she was<br />
modified with<br />
a larger engine<br />
and other<br />
gear to go<br />
crab dredging,<br />
which is particularly<br />
demanding<br />
on<br />
boat and<br />
waterman.<br />
The activity is<br />
pursued in the<br />
winter when<br />
crabs are dug<br />
into the mud in<br />
the lower portion<br />
of the<br />
Bay. Captain<br />
Bowles initially pulled a single dredge 8-feet wide but<br />
then, with an even larger engine, went to two 6-foot<br />
dredges. It is likely that Foggy River also was used for<br />
oystering and working crab pots as she, like all workboats,<br />
could be modified for a variety of activities..<br />
When he retired from the water Captain Bowles sold the<br />
Foggy River to be used for recreational gill netting. Then<br />
she was discovered by Mr. George Verlander of Montross<br />
lying unused at the head of a creek off the Corrotoman<br />
River. He bought her and used her commercially on the<br />
Potomac River until the engine failed. Mr. Verlander has<br />
recently donated Foggy River to the <strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
Spud Parker<br />
1 “Deadrise” is a term for the V shape of a bottom at the bow that permits<br />
it to cut through the waves without pounding. This requires a separate<br />
set of bottom planks for each side that run across the boat from the side<br />
to the keel. In the traditional Chesapeake Deadrise the V is very sharp<br />
at the bow but gradually decreases to flat or almost flat at the stern.<br />
This combination provides a sharp entry to the water at the bow but also<br />
the lift at the stern that permits the boat to ride on top of the water.<br />
STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007 11
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM<br />
The Boat Donation Committee has<br />
BOATS FOR SALE<br />
1972 Larson 17 foot fiberglass OB with trailer. Asking…………………………….....$500<br />
40 foot deadrise, “Catherine T”. Asking…………………………………………......$12,000<br />
1988 Butler Built 16 foot flat bottom skiff. Asking…………………………………..…. $50<br />
1970 Thunderbird 23 foot fiberglass boat with Mercury I/O 225 HP. Asking…... $2500<br />
WE ARE LOOKING FOR DONATIONS<br />
If you have a boat with clear title that you wish to donate to the museum please contact<br />
Clif Ames at 804-453-3506 or the museum at 804-453-6529.<br />
MUSEUM FLEET—The Somers is out of charter season<br />
and obviously not active. After it returned from the Urbanna<br />
Oyster Roast (where it entertained 150 - 200<br />
school kids on field trips), we opened the watertight<br />
hatches and started to set up for winter. Repairs and<br />
seasonal maintenance are being planned and the usual<br />
Christmas light display will be set up in mid December.<br />
The lighted crab pot will be set up for New Year's<br />
Eve. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!<br />
BOAT DONATIONS—Boat Donations committee has<br />
cleared grater than $15,000 for the museum this year.<br />
PHOTO GROUP—After a flurry of activity to publish our<br />
annual calendar featuring some of our images of the<br />
Northern Neck, we are please to announce that they are<br />
for sale in the <strong>Museum</strong>'s gift shop. The members of the<br />
Photo Group wish to thank all those who have already<br />
made a purchase. We sincerely appreciate your support.<br />
The Photo Group meets the third Thursday of each<br />
month in the Butler House at 2:00 p.m. If you have an<br />
interest in photography, please join us<br />
MODEL SHOP—2007/2007 Holiday Season Is Undeway:<br />
Thanks to our eight regular Model Shop Committee<br />
members for dedicating their available time to an aggressive<br />
schedule of over 350 man-hours. Also, special<br />
thanks to those who have or will be pitching in who are<br />
not Model Shop Committee members or routine participants:<br />
Cal Boyd, Jack Christie, George Frayne, Donald<br />
George, Wendell Haynie, Linda Larue, and Claire Michie.<br />
Meanwhile, the trains are running smoothly, the<br />
facility looks great, and the “Railroad That Never Was<br />
Video” has been a modest success.<br />
Chesterfield County, <strong>Virginia</strong>. She has been a great asset<br />
in dealing with the <strong>Museum</strong>'s financial systems and<br />
will be missed.<br />
Curator of Collections & Education, Jessica Waite, accepted<br />
a position with the Nebraska State Historical Society<br />
at the Gerald Ford Conservation Center in Omaha.<br />
Her last day was December 20. We wish her great success<br />
in her new position. With her goes our thanks for<br />
all of her work at the <strong>Museum</strong>.<br />
EDUCATION COMMITTEE—The fourth in the lecture<br />
series for this year featured Renate Muller, a local potter,<br />
who demonstrated throwing a piece on the potter's<br />
wheel and discussed glazing and firing a piece of pottery.<br />
This was the second in lectures featuring local artists<br />
and used the video equipment at Festival Halle to<br />
project the image of the artist at work on the large screen<br />
located on the stage. Dennis Dalpino operated the<br />
equipment. Some members of the education committee<br />
are working with George Frayne on the Jamestown exhibit.<br />
OFFICE STAFF CHANGES—Office Manager, Lynn<br />
Haddon has resigned from the <strong>Museum</strong> effective 30 December<br />
2007. Lynn is relocating from Whitestone to<br />
Visitors to the Gift Shop search for Holiday gifts.<br />
12 STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007
17th ANNUAL OYSTER ROAST<br />
STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007 13
CHRISTMAS ON COCKRELL’S CREEK...<br />
Santa Claus made his annual visit to <strong>Reedville</strong> aboard the Elva C., the <strong>Museum</strong>’s historic<br />
deck boat. Families greeted Santa’s arrival at the <strong>Museum</strong> dock, and joined him for breakfast<br />
at nearby Bethany United Methodist Church.<br />
Holiday Tablescapes on exhibit at the Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong> “Christmas on Cockrell’s<br />
Creek Home Tour”... Area decorators, designers, and flower arrangers shared their artistic<br />
vision and creative gift through a wide assortment of holiday table settings.<br />
14 STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007
HOME TOUR<br />
The <strong>Museum</strong> presented its nationally recognized holiday home tour. Sponsored by<br />
the Bank of Lancaster, the tour included two homes on <strong>Reedville</strong>’s historic Main Street<br />
and four homes on the scenic Great Wicomico River. The <strong>Museum</strong>’s trademark “Water<br />
Taxi Service” was available to ferry visitors to the river homes. All of the homes were<br />
beautifully decorated by the Chesapeake Bay Garden Club members.<br />
STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007 15
The 2007Jamestown Celebration Quilt , created<br />
by the RFM Quilters and a group of<br />
quilters in England, is complete. (The quilt project<br />
was described<br />
in the FALL 2007<br />
STARRY BAN-<br />
NER.) We have<br />
been in contact with<br />
the Director of<br />
Jamestown 2007<br />
and the <strong>Virginia</strong><br />
Quilt <strong>Museum</strong> in<br />
Harrisonburg to investigate<br />
how the<br />
quilt could best be utilized in this important<br />
celebration for our state. In the process we<br />
were contacted by the curator for the <strong>Virginia</strong><br />
portion of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in<br />
2007. It seems that the designers at the Smithsonian<br />
Institution have fallen in love with the<br />
quilt! Apparently they wish to use the design<br />
elements of the quilt for the “graphic identity” of<br />
the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the<br />
Mall in D.C. Of course we immediately gave<br />
permission, but only if the <strong>Reedville</strong> Fishermen’s<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> Quilters would be given credit<br />
for the design. Currently we’re waiting for further<br />
instructions.<br />
QUILTERS<br />
of Northern <strong>Virginia</strong> was the winner. She was<br />
most surprised when we called and invited her<br />
to the Second Annual Needle Art Show Opening<br />
Night on Friday, December 15 where she<br />
was presented the Crossed Canoes Quilt.<br />
The raffle quilt has been a fun project for the<br />
quilters who were aided by the <strong>Museum</strong> Docents<br />
in selling the raffle tickets. The raffle quilt<br />
brought in $1150.00 for the <strong>Museum</strong>. Thanks<br />
to everyone who helped.<br />
The quilters who created the Renoir Quilt and<br />
followed the quilt to Houston for the Annual<br />
Houston International Quilt Show returned<br />
without any further prizes but felt satisfied and<br />
happy with the experience of seeing their quilt<br />
hanging in Houston among the best quilts in<br />
the world. They are pictured here in front of the<br />
Renoir in Houston.<br />
Left to right: Tippie DeLeo, Elizabeth Schambers,<br />
Penny Mace, Shirley Galo, Dory Gossman, Jane<br />
Kimball, and Carol Kormen.<br />
December 10 at 5 P.M. the winning ticket for<br />
the Crossed Canoes Raffle Quilt was pulled by<br />
Martha Cousins as Chuck Backus held the<br />
ticket stub jar. With baited breath we waited for<br />
Chuck to announce the winner. Sara Hamilton<br />
A slide show of the Houston Quilts is planned<br />
for the first Friday in February. The slide show<br />
will be held in the church community room<br />
across the parking lot. Pop corn and M&Ms will<br />
be served. Everybody is welcome to join us.<br />
Tippie DeLeo<br />
16 STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007
IN MEMORIAM<br />
The <strong>Reedville</strong> Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong> offers deepest sympathy to the families<br />
and friends of these members and supporters.<br />
In Memory of Glenda Ames<br />
David & Joyce Abbot<br />
A Mark & Romaine Abramovic<br />
John & Sue Anbrose<br />
David Ames, John Ames, Jeffrey Ames and<br />
Kathryn Ames<br />
Diane B. Ames<br />
Harry C., Jr. & Jane S. Ames<br />
Barbara Barna<br />
Robert & Katie Berry<br />
Teryl D. & Theresa Bishop<br />
William Bowman, Sr.<br />
Judith H. Brahler<br />
Sarah Cody<br />
R. W. & Mary Cogley<br />
Fred & Carol Cole<br />
Timothy & Babette Cribbs<br />
William D. & Diane Crutchfield<br />
Bob & Cindy Cutlip<br />
Ed Cutlip<br />
Dennis D. & Barbara Dalton<br />
Patricia Del Villan<br />
Dr. &. Mrs. Richard A. Elko<br />
Donald & Jane George<br />
Edris G Gold<br />
Rodger Greimel<br />
Wendell & Anne Winters Haynie<br />
Aubrey J. & Martha Henry<br />
Ted & Lynn Hower<br />
J. Lance & Maryalyce Johnsen<br />
Bruce Klink<br />
Dennis & Marcelia Lamont<br />
William J. , Jr. and Donna Leonard<br />
Barbara McAleer<br />
Chris Miller<br />
James O. & Joan R. Moore<br />
Larry & Naomi Myrick<br />
Tom & B.J. Norris<br />
Paul & Susan Rosen<br />
William M. & Brenda P. Sebra<br />
John C. , Jr. & Donna Stasko<br />
Helen Sutphen<br />
Lawrence & Betty B. Taylor<br />
Thunderbird, the Garvin School of Int. Man.<br />
Tidewater Antique and Classic Boat Show<br />
Howard & Betty L. Williams<br />
In Memory of Captain Jefferson Carey<br />
Marian Carey Harding<br />
John H. Harding. Jr.<br />
In Memory of Carter LaPrade<br />
Judge Warren Eginton<br />
In Memory of Clarence Stanford<br />
Ellen Rawlings<br />
In Memory of John Fulton Lewis<br />
American Farm Publications, Inc<br />
Robert I. Covington<br />
John & Jeri Gallagher<br />
Robert Good & Deloris Kile<br />
Grau<br />
Wendell & Anne Winters Haynie<br />
Jerry & Bonnie Haynie<br />
Ramona Hutton<br />
John & Rebecca Kile<br />
George & Benita Koman<br />
Jimmy and Iris Lee<br />
Julia Pritchard<br />
JoAnn Yeager Sallah<br />
David & Jan Shriver<br />
In Memory of Lillian Slaughter<br />
William T. Covington, Jr.<br />
Ammon Dutton, Jr.<br />
Jerry & Bonnie Haynie<br />
Wendell & Anne Winters Haynie<br />
Waverly & Katherine Jones<br />
Wilbur & Anne Lawrence<br />
Julia Pritchard<br />
David & Jan Shriver<br />
In Memory of J. Ernest Lewis, Jr.<br />
Robert L. Covington<br />
Linwood T. Wells, III & Blair & Jack<br />
Charles & “Marty” Gilbert<br />
Wendell & Anne Winters Haynie<br />
Jerry & Bonnie Haynie<br />
Waverly & Katherine Jones<br />
Julia Pritchard<br />
In Memory of Buck Slaughter<br />
Wendell & Anne Winters Haynie<br />
Tom & Jude Kelly<br />
Betty Nuckols<br />
W. Taylor Slaughter<br />
In Memory of Charles J. Covington<br />
Fern Walker-Bernhardt<br />
Nancy H. Clark<br />
S. B. Cox, Inc.<br />
Donald & Jane George<br />
Wendell & Anne Winters Haynie<br />
John L. Hughes<br />
Robert T. & Sharon Williams<br />
STARRY BANNER WINTER 2007 17
COCKTAILS<br />
ON THE CREEK<br />
Winter Hours:<br />
Alternate Fridays,<br />
5:00 to 7:00 p.m.<br />
One of the best ways to enjoy<br />
Friday evenings is to join friends for<br />
Cocktails on the Creek at the<br />
<strong>Museum</strong>. Remember to bring your<br />
“beverage” of choice -- the museum<br />
provides ice, sodas, and light<br />
snacks -- and by all means bring a<br />
snack to share if you care to, it is<br />
always much appreciated. Bring<br />
guests or a neighbor along to enjoy<br />
the evening. Check the enclosed<br />
Calendar for dates.<br />
This Publication is a membership benefit and is published quarterly. The editors<br />
encourage readers to submit information about programs, exhibitions, projects<br />
and other information desired. The SPRING 2007 deadline is March 10.<br />
Editors and Publishers:<br />
Tom Ryals tryals@crewone.com<br />
Rita Johnson pjrj@crosslink.net<br />
Photographer:<br />
Tom Ryals tryals@crewone.com<br />
Distribution:<br />
Clarice Williams<br />
Greater <strong>Reedville</strong> Association Inc./<strong>Reedville</strong> Fishermen’s <strong>Museum</strong><br />
is a non-profit organization.<br />
<strong>Museum</strong> Office: (804) 453-6529<br />
FAX: (804) 453-7159<br />
Email: rfmstaff@crosslink.net<br />
Website: www.rfmuseum.org<br />
<strong>Museum</strong>: 504 Main Street, <strong>Reedville</strong>, VA<br />
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 306, <strong>Reedville</strong>, VA<br />
22539<br />
The<br />
is named for the first menhaden steamer to operate in<br />
<strong>Reedville</strong>. The steamer was purchased by Elijah Reed in 1880. Captain Reed,<br />
founder of <strong>Reedville</strong>, was a pioneer in the menhaden fishing industry.<br />
Presorted<br />
Standard U.S.<br />
Postage<br />
Paid Permit No. 6<br />
<strong>Reedville</strong>, Va.<br />
<strong>Reedville</strong> <strong>Fishermen's</strong><br />
<strong>Museum</strong><br />
P.O. Box 306<br />
<strong>Reedville</strong>, VA 22539<br />
Starry Banner WINTER 2007<br />
Printed by Lottsburg Printing Company