SB 1.pages - Reedville Fishermen's Museum

Newsletter of the Reedville Fishermen’s
Museum
STARRY BANNER, was the first menhaden steamer to operate in Reedville by Capt. Elijah Reed in 1880.
Annual Benefit Auction Gala
Coming February 6 th
Happy Chinese New Year!
This is the theme of this
year's Silent and Live
Auction.
The team of Margaret
Hudnall, Pam Struss and
Kathy Elsden are hard at
work for a wonderful event
on February 6th at Festival
Halle. Lots of items will be
up for sale including a
Boston Whaler Rage Jet
Boat. Look for your invitation
in the mail.
What a deal! Lots of
great food, drink and FUN!
We need lots of items,
big and small. It's time to
start checking your attic,
The Year of the Ox
cellar, closets and shelves
for those items you haven't
been able to part with, but
you just know you'll never
use again. Services can also
be donated. If you have any
items to donate you can call
Margaret at 804-580-0204 or
the RFM office. The deadline
for donations is February 1st.
Donation Form/Receipts are
available at the RFM Office
or can be downloaded Here.
Tickets will be $45 per
person, and reservations are
required. Your ticket includes
heavy hors d’oeuvres, wine,
beer & soft drinks.
Tickets will go on sale
from January 13th at the
Museum Office. This is one
of the Museum’s major fundraisers
for this year, so we
hope that all who can will
attend,
Be sure to get your
tickets early as we can only
accommodate 200 people
and last year's event was
sold out. Charge by phone or
stop in and pick them up.
See you there!
Winter 2008/09

The President’s Corner
It seems as if we just put the
fall edition to bed and spoke of the
very active season ahead of us. Not
only was it active it was productive.
•The Oyster Roast and our very first
Winter Market provided all with a
fabulous autumn Saturday. Under the
leadership of Carol Towne and Joanne
Anderson, 180+ volunteers pitched in
to advertise, sell tickets (another sell
out), set up, cook, serve, clean up,
haul trash, pitch and break down tents,
collect fire wood, administer first aid
and even tried to find a cameraman for
the lady who was fortunate to get a
pearl in her oyster! A lot of work but
also a lot of fun and we raised $20,000
• The NN Railroad garnered rave
reviews. The new sound effects and
enhanced layout had many visitors
giddy with joy. The RR welcomed over
1,100 visitors this season, no doubt
boosting the value of our NNRR
shares.
• Christmas on Cockrell’s Creek
always pleases. Maureen Gillmer took
the chair for a second year and this
may have been one of the best events
ever. Feedback indicates a great
success (see Maureen’s article) and
we made a net profit of over $14,000.
Thanks again to the 225 volunteers,
Smith Point Sea Rescue, Fishing
Buddy, Seaboard, our home-owners,
and the Chesapeake Bay Garden Club
who make this event a joy every year.
Now that the RFM is closed for
our winter break you would think we
would relax and take a long winter’s
nap. Not a chance! In February have
an array of activities planned,
• February 6 th the RFM Auction Gala
returns. Margaret Hudnall is once
again at the helm and has promised
quite an event. (see front page article)
A limited number of tickets are for sale
so call or stop in now or visit the
Auction page for more details.
• February 14 th (that date should
sound familiar) will be our first
Valentine’s Dinner Dance. Watch our
web site for details. We can guarantee
that it will be a lovely dinner and light
on the dancing until dinner is over—
then we party!
• Sunday, February 15 th @ 2:00 PM.
GRA/RFM Annual Meeting at Festival
Halle. Please plan on attending.
• Saturday, February 21 st 9 – 1 is our
second annual Family Day (see
article). Audrey Brainard, our
Education Committee Chair has
assembled a group of diversely
talented experts to bring this day
together. It promises to be an
informative and fun day, with a number
of hands-on activities for the children.
Please encourage all your friends,
neighbors and relatives to attend.
O u r c a m p u s h a s b e e n
experiencing a Renaissance of late.
Please read the Campus Doings
article.
George Frayne has graciously
agreed to chair the search committee
for a new Museum Director. His
capable group has met once and will
report their plan to the Board of
Directors next week. It is my
understanding that if all goes well we
should have a new director in place by
perhaps September. Thank- you
George.
My term on the Board of
Directors ends this February. It has
been an interesting three years to say
the least. I would like to express my
deep sentiment for the Greater
Reedville Association which now not
only encompasses The Reedville
Fishermen’s Museum but also Festival
Halle. I have nothing but respect for
the 30 people who put their pens to
paper and purchased the Walker
House – a modest start indeed, but
they continued to reach and grow and
prosper. They lived by the words of
Alice Butler “just never give up, just
keep on going”. Incorporated in 1986,
the GRA has come a very long way as
the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum.
We are a Museum to be proud of.
Anyone who volunteers here has
heard deep praise from visitors and
often those visitors are not local, but
national and international visitors. This
little Museum has done itself proud. It
is our duty as members to continue to
do it proud.
There are some areas of
Museum operations that have not
received the attention they deserve in
recent years. Specifically financial
development (primarily grants and
gifts) and the collections, archives and
curatorial sectors have languished in
our transition from a manual Dewey
decimal system to the PastPerfect
software system we are currently
trying to master. We need assistance
and I am reaching out to anyone who
has interest in these fields for your
help. If you are experienced or
knowledgeable or can offer computer
s u p p o r t p l e a s e e m a i l t o
Elsden@kaballero.com or call me at
453-4999.
To my surprise this is what the
online thesaurus/dictionary offers in
response to “volunteer”: a) someone
who holds an unpaid position OR b) a
person who offers to do something for
free. How understated. I would define
our volunteers as the Heart and Soul
of The RFM with compensation of an
intrinsic value beyond that of the
dollar. Volunteerism is the voice of
the membership put into action.
Actions shape and mold the present
into a future of which we can all be
proud. It is never too late or too soon
to volunteer. You can volunteer once a
month or more to suit your needs—not
only in the areas referred to above, on
any of our committees. Now is the time
to become part of the action, let your
voice be heard, let’s move forward
achieving good things together.
Thank you for your continued support.
Greater Reedville
Association and Reedville
Fishermen’s Museum
2008 Board
Officers
President - Kathy Elsden
Vice President - Tom Miller
Secretary - Margaret Hudnall
Treasurer – Rick Struss
Directors
Clif Ames, Carol Cole, Dennis
Dalpino, Maureen Gillmer, Aubrey
Henry, Susan Carter Hughes, Eve
Jordan,, Bill Rogers, Ben Ward,
Glen Warner
Directors Emeriti
George and Katherine Frayne
Museum Staff
Office Manager – Joanne Nelson
Museum Office: 804.453.6529
FAX: 804.453.7159
Email: office@rfmuseum.org
Website: www.rfmuseum.org
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 306, Reedville, VA 22539

Family Day
The second annual RFM Family Day will be held
on Saturday, February 21st from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm in
Festival Halle. This year's theme is "The Chesapeake
Bay - A Partnership of Humans and Nature". The
event encourages families to come together and learn
more about the daily life that surrounds them.
The sponsoring Education Committee aims to
raise awareness and share knowledge about the spirit
and wealth of The Bay and our own relationship with
nature. The activities of the day will teach how to better
engage with nature, improve our impact, and become
good stewards. Family Day will also focus on the
economic importance of The Bay, its changing culture,
and our interdependent livelihood.
Local experts and museum volunteers will provide
hands-on science activities, history lessons, the latest
data, interactive displays, and facilitate Q&As. The
following topics will be featured:
• Geological History of The Bay's Formation
• The Chesapeake Bay Watershed
• The Bay's Ecosystem
• Habitats of All Sizes and Shapes
• Living Resources and Biological Communities
• Food Production, Collection, and Consumption –
The Ecological Impact
Sound interesting, but a little stuffy? It's not...
Family Day is for kids of all ages and the activities are
designed to be a mix of fun and facts. Plus, there will be
real fish that the kids can't resist touching! Building on
last year's success, this is a great opportunity for kids to
get out and learn more about this amazing place we call
home.
Admission is free. Groups welcome. Food will be
available throughout the day. For further information
contact 804-453-6529.
Family Day 2008 delighted kids of all ages
Recycle Sails
The RFM Gift Shop is looking for donations of old boat
sails to recycle into boat bags. Please leave the sails at
the Gift Shop, with the name of the boat and donor.
Foggy River
The Foggy River has been resting safely at the
RFM pier since returning from the Reedville Railway last
spring. Boat Shop volunteers gave her topsides a fresh
coat of paint, and open seams were caulked. Major
work done at the dock was the replacement of many
rotten deck and hull planks on the port side and aft of the
boat. Thanks to Dudley Biddlecomb, the original bilge
pumps are back to working order and doing their job. In
September, the RFM sponsored a rockin’ stompin’ “pigpickin’”
to raise funds for the restoration of the Foggy
River… and the boat dressed up for the occasion (see
photo)!!
Back again she’ll go to George Butler’s
Reedville Railway this spring for the replacement of the
shaft block so that an engine can be installed in the
future.
The boat shop plans to undertake another major
project: the building of a new “dog house”/cabin
matching the original design. For use as a model, the
Foggy River project benefits from the old dog house off
the Glenna Faye, saved for this purpose after its recent
replacement. The Glenna Faye, like the Foggy River,
was built by George Butler, Sr.
While work has been suspended during the
winter months, the Foggy River is well on her way to
complete restoration.

Preserving Our
Local Heritage…
A Look At The RFM Oral
History Project
Over the past decade of so,
oral histories have gained a good deal
of popularity and recognition. Some of
the better-known efforts have been
sponsored by the Smithsonian and
C-Span, to include the Veterans’ Oral
History Project run by the Library of
Congress. The beauty and magic of
oral histories is found in capturing
stories and knowledge directly from
the lips of those who lived the actual
experiences they describe from
bygone eras.
Back in the late 1990’s, when
RFM was attracting growing attention,
and looking for ways to expand its
acquisitions and research capabilities,
the feasibility of creating some sort of
oral history program occurred to a
number of individuals. Given the rich
history of the local fishing community
a n d t h e v a l u a b l e a n d o f t e n
entertaining stories told by ageing
watermen, the birth of an oral history
program seemed to be a natural.
Three individuals in particular…Anne
Davis, Donald George and Dennis
Dalpino…developed a stronger
interest in recording local history
beyond the point of just agreeing that
such a project would be an interesting
endeavor. Initially, Anne (a come-here
writer interested in menhaden fishing),
and Donald (whose family hails from
Fairport), who possesses an amazing
memory for local detail, teamed up to
capture the reminiscences of retired
menhaden captains from the Northern
Neck and Middle Peninsula. Shortly
thereafter, Anne and Dennis met
Grayson Mattingly, a professional
videographer who was running the oral
history program at the Steamboat Era
Museum. Not only did Dennis, an
amateur photographer and history buff
share the same strong interest in
preserving the heritage of the area, he
also knew how to run a video camera
and produce a decent DVD. An
instant meeting of the minds soon
blossomed into a serious commitment.
The RFM Oral History Project
was formally launched in 2005 with
back-to-back interviews of Arnold C.
Ripley and Robert R. Hudgins, two
retired menhaden captains living in
Mathews County. Ripley, who is
known as one of the most successful
commercial menhaden captain, won
numerous “highboat” awards for
largest annual catches. Hudgins
proved to be a very entertaining and
informative raconteur, providing the
project with multiple interview sessions
of generous detail. To date, the project
has interviewed 36 individuals, all of
whom graciously invited us into their
homes, shared their mementoes and
scrapbooks with us…and occasionally
provided us with a free meal.
A s t h e t e a m g r e w i n
experience, interview topics expanded
from the original menhaden captains
to other types of watermen, spotter
pilots, cooks, accountants, boat
builders, canning factory owners, and
generally any individual who could
contribute to the knowledge base of
the region. In February 2006, the trio
traveled to Beaufort, North Carolina,
an area with a fishing history similar to
t h a t o f R e e d v i l l e , w h o s e l a s t
menhaden factory closed its doors
only a year and a half prior to the
team’s visit. That trip captured on
video interviews rich in historical
content with five colorful and very
informative individuals.
Over the life of the oral history
project, the number of team members
expanded to include Spud Parker,
Marianne Miller and Ken Freude. The
underlying philosophy of the approach
w e t a k e r e m a i n s u n c h a n g e d :
information is valuable, video tape is
cheap. Accordingly, once the
information is captured on tape, editing
is as light as possible to preserve
maximum content. This approach also
permits the widest number of users of
the finished DVD, to include scholarly
research, and extracting portions for
promotional use.
One particularly popular
application of oral history material has
been the Remembering Reedville
shows that were a part of the RFM
Lecture Series. Portions of interviews
selected were shown at Festival Halle.
Following the video clip, the person
interviewed then came to the podium
to field questions and comments from
the audience. Of particular note was
the video clip of Captain Charles
Winstead, who recounted the sinking
of his ship during a violent storm off
the coast of North Carolina in which
seven crew members lost their lives.
Captain Winstead passed away on
December 16 th , and the oral history
team will always remember the two
sessions we conducted with him
(resulting in four hours of interview
material) as one of our most enjoyable
and informative endeavors.
The finished interviews are
presently housed in the small
curatorial room of the Butler Building.
The museum has begun an effort to
build a research library that will include
facilities for video production as well
as viewing of finished interviews by
interested museum members and
visiting researchers. Additionally,
technical explorations are underway to
find the best approach to posting
selected interview clips on the RFM
website. The oral history project is
always interested in bringing new team
members on board and entertaining
new ideas on interesting people to
i n t e r v i e w. I f y o u h a v e a n y
suggestions, please feel free to
contact any of the team members
mentioned above.
Mark Your Calendars
February
6 Gala Benefit Auction Link
6 to 9 at Festival Halle
14 Valentine’s Day Dance
at Festival Halle
15 Annual Meeting
2pm at Festival Halle
21 Family Day Link
9 to 1 at Festival Halle
March
14 Winter Market
at Festival Halle
14 Museum re-opens Saturdays &
Sundays

Winter Market
December 2008

Winter Market
A new event that brings people
to town!!!
On Saturday, January 10 th ,
Reedville hosted the second “Winter
Market at Reedville,” held at Festival
Halle on Main Street. Dozens of
artisans and vendors, many of whom
inaugurated the first “Winter Market at
Reedville” in November, returned,
joining new vendors, to display and
sell their unique and varied products.
The diversity and quality of products
plus a charming indoor setting are
distinguishing features of Reedville’s
new “market.” Weather permitting, the
Market expands to include vendors on
the front lawn of Festival Halle. A café
and concessions provide a nice place
to sit and visit with friends and fellow
shoppers.
Most of the items for sale have
been created by hand, grown, or
artistically crafted. Some specialty
food items, as well as seasonal items,
are offered. Examples of products
include: Farm products, if available;
Specialty food products; Jewelry; Fiber
Arts; Photography; Pottery;
Glassware; Woodcrafts, including
furniture; Quilts; Fabric Arts and
clothing; Knit items; Paintings;
Sculpture; Whimsy.
There are great opportunities
at the “Winter Market” for fulfilling your
gifting needs…for birthdays and
special occasions, even for yourself!
“The Original Birkel Bear TM”
– itself “born” in Festival Halle – is
available for sale at these markets.
The next “Winter Market at
Reedville,” will be Saturday, March
14 th , 9:00-2:30, coinciding with the
reopening of the Museum on
Saturdays and Sundays. Admission to
the “Winter Market at Reedville” is free
and the fun is plentiful. Parking is
ample near and around the building,
and the facility is wheelchair
accessible. For more information
about the event, call the RFM at 804-
453-6529.
Christmas Thanks !
On December 13th and 14th,
the RFM welcomed over 700 visitors
to "Christmas on Cockrell's Creek," in
hopes that the planning and
organization of the many months
before would result in an event that
would satisfy. Nearly 20% of these
visitors filled out our surveys and
provided us with written feedback.
"People really seem to love Reedville
and the Fishermen's Museum." How
could any comment validate our efforts
more?
Many guests praised the
diversity of the homes and, of course,
the fabulous decorations of the
Chesapeake Bay Garden Club. They
loved the boat and golf cart rides, the
abundant generosity at the Walker
House, the warmth and number of the
volunteers, and the charm of our
town. Firsthand, I heard how great the
gift shop was, and I watched people
buy tons of baked goods and enjoy the
loveliness of the Tablescapes
exhibits. And many a visitor ended
their day with a fun and relaxing stop
at Athena's tasting room!
“The experience exceeded my
expectations.”
“Everyone was informative and fun to
talk to.”
“Boat and golf cart rides greatly added
to the convenience and enchantment
of the tour!”
“Love the model railway! Awesome!”
“Organ recital, a charming addition to
a lovely day.”
“Host on boat was most
knowledgeable and entertaining.”
"A treasured Christmas experience.
Thanks for all the hospitality and joy."
“The community involvement was so
apparent and very special!”
Like our visitors, I love the
spirit and the pride that everyone took
in their role, the enthusiasm they
exuded for the event! To the thanks
implicit in their comments, I add a few
more: thanks to the 225 volunteers:
"great ambassadors for the area," to
Santa for his arrival and to Bethany
United Methodist Church and our
Model Shop for hosting the kids
afterwards; to the Bank of Lancaster
for their sponsorship; to Radio Bay FM
for broadcasting live on Sat. from our
lawn; to the dozens of important others
behind the scenes who made the
weekend hum along. Loudly and
especially, thanks to the very
generous home-owners who worked
hard and allowed their homes be our
centerpiece!
After an event, planners and
organizers, sponsors and workers
always say "phew!" So finally, to those
725 visitors who came to "Christmas
on Cockrell's Creek" on that beautiful
December weekend, thank you for
lighting up Main Street with your
enthusiasm, for your warm words and
infectious good spirit, and for your
ongoing support! "We love it every
year!" said one. So do we – this jolly
annual event – so do we! See you in
2009!
Maureen Gillmer,
Chair
RFM Volunteer Bob Healy
transports visitors to the winery
owners' home , the newest of the
lovely homes on the House Tour.

MEET OUR VOLUNTEERS
Fred and Carol Cole
….moved to Fleeton Pt., Reedville in
the summer of 1990. Fred is a
graduate of the University of Virginia
and served as an officer in the United
States Marine Corps. Before moving
to Virginia, the Coles had been living in
Rockville Centre, Long Island, N.Y.
where Fred had been active in village
government. He spent his working
career as a Sales/Engineer in the
construction business and had his
office in Manhattan. Carol began her
working life in downtown Manhattan
and, before leaving to raise a family,
was employed as an assistant to a
partner in a Wall Street brokerage firm.
In later life, she studied interior design
and worked as an interior decorator for
the last 10 years of her life in New
York. She served on the Board and
worked on exhibits at the Philllips
House Museum, a restored sea
captains home.
After moving to the Northern
Neck, they again became active in
community affairs. Fred is currently on
the Board of Rappahannock General
Hospital and is a member of the Vestry
at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church,
Fleeton. In the past, he served on the
Advisory Board of Bay Trusts
Company and was a member of the
original Rangers at Rice’s Tavern.
Carol served as President of the
Chesapeake Bay Garden Club, is an
active volunteer at Historic Christ
Church, serves on the Haven’s Just
Gardens committee and is a Reading
Partner at the Northumberland
Elementary School.
But, nothing has given them
more pleasure than serving as
volunteers at the RFM. Over the
years, they have been Docents on the
second Saturday of each month. Fred
has served on the museum’s Board of
Directors and was Chairman of
Fundraising. He will chair the
museum’s upcoming Annual Appeal.
Carol started working on the Exhibits
Committee in 1995. She worked on
setting up the Permanent Exhibit and
has been responsible for setting up
many other exhibits. In 1994, she
originated the idea of Christmas on
Cockrell’s Creek and chaired the event
for many years. She is so happy that
this event is alive and well, that it
includes so many in the community
and that it is such a wonderful fundraiser
for the museum. Carol currently
serves on the Board of Directors and
is Chairman of the Walker House
Committee.
Fred and Carol have a son,
Christopher, head of the FBI Field
Office in Madison Wisconsin and a
daughter, Lisa, a Commercial Property
Manager in Coral Gables, Florida.
They are the proud grandparents of
Andrew, Matt, Paige and Douglas.
Birkel Bears
Approximately 75 Birkel Bears
have been made from the time of their
introduction at the first “Winter Market
at Reedville” on Nov, 8 th!! , by dozens
of volunteers from the RFM Quilting
Bee, the Needlers, and many other
community members. These sewers,
cutters, stuffers, and finishers have
met three times at all-day workshops
(dubbed “Bearathons”) at Festival
Halle, where the bears are put
together “assembly-line style.”
The “Birkel Bears,” named for
Anton and Augusta Birkel, were
handmade in historic “Festival Halle”
from stage curtains that once hung
there. It is estimated that there is
enough of the professionally cleaned
plush red velvet to make 125-150 of
these delightful 18” bears.
They were available for sale
at $35 each at the November and
January “Winter Markets,” and at the
RFM gift shop during the holiday
season. More will be available as
they are made.
Proceeds from THE BIRKEL
BEAR support the preservation of
Festival Halle, a local landmark,
formerly Reedville High School, and
now the site of many educational,
cultural, and community events. The
Bears now have their very own
Web Page
Our Committees
BOARD COMMITTEES
Financial Management– Aubrey Henry
Long Range Planning – Tom Miller
Membership – Harry Towne
OPERATING COMMITTEES
Boat Collection - Dudley Biddlecomb
Boat Donation & Resale - Clif Ames
Boat Shop - Jay Rohmann/Dick Doyle
Building and Grounds – Glen Warner
Claud W. Somers - Harry Towne
Curatorial - Maria Rogers
Donald George, acting
Docent – Keese Williams
Education - Audrey Brainard
Elva C - Spud Parker / George Butler
Exhibits - George Koman/George
Frayne
Foggy River – Charley Gillmer
Gift Shop – Jane Kimball
Landscape and Gardening –
CBGC Judy Burgess
Model Shop - Bob Dillon
Photo Group - Doug Brogden
Publications – Paul Kimball
Publicity -
Quilters - Tippie DeLeo
Walker House - Carol Cole
Learn more about positions available
Here

Oyster Roast
November 2008

Dead Rise
Exhibit News
A s w i t h a l m o s t a l l o u r
exhibitions, the time it takes to
research and plan the event far
exceeds the time it takes to construct
it. This up-coming exhibit is no
exception.
It is unfortunate that in going
about their work most people do not
take into consideration the fact that
some day in the distant future some
historic researcher might want to
document their activities. As a result of
this oversight people tend to do their
business without taking pictures or
keeping a journal or drawing diagrams.
This makes it very hard for future
historians and exhibit designers to
replicate their activities.
We are facing this situation
now as we try to replicate a particular
boat yard as it was operated in the
1920's and 30's. We find little or no
evidence of the exact configuration of
buildings or the machinery used to
o p e r a t e m a r i n e r a i l w a y s a n d
workshops.
Talking to people (they were
kids then) for whom it is a distant
memory we get a lot of different mental
images to try to sort out. It can be
somewhat frustrating but eventually
enough information will emerge to
give us the clues we need to develop
our project.
This exhibition, which encompasses
many facets of the dead
rise boat-building experience is
gathering momentum now that the
rotating gallery has seen the last of the
seasonal celebrations.
We are able to set up work
space to construct and arrange the
various displays. It will now be a case
of " full speed ahead" and a
concentrated effort to have the
exhibition in place when the museum
goes back to full time operation in May.
Boats for Sale
Our boat donation program currently
has these boats for sale:
• 1989 Winchester 21 foot with 150
HP OB and 1989 Cox trailer. Asking
$2500.
• 40 foot deadrise, “Catherine T”, 3208
Caterpillar Diesel. Asking $8,000.
• 1970 Thunderbird 23 foot fiberglass
boat with Mercury I/O 225 HP. Asking
$2500.
• 1985 Bayliner 27 foot Contessa
Command Bridge 260HP Chevrolet
Volvo IO. Asking $6000.
• 1985 Bayliner 18 foot Capri 2.1 liter
Volvo I/O with trailer. Asking $2500.
• 1985 Small Craft Inc 22 foot two man
rowing shell, with slide seats and three
pairs of oars. Asking $1100.
• 1989 Seaswirl 230 Cordova, OMC
stern drive, trailer included. Asking
$5000.
LOOKING FOR DONATIONS
If interested in buying or
donating, please contact Committee
Chair Clif Ames through the RFM
804-453-6529 or Here.
SO, DO YOU GET THE
RFM E-NEWSLETTER?
If you’re not sure whether you
get it would like to, read on. We send
out e-mail reminders of upcoming
events that require shorter notice than
we can provide via the Starry Banner.
These e-mails don’t come out on a
regular schedule, but usually every
two to four weeks.
If you think you’re not getting
R F M e - m a i l s ( l a s t o n e d a t e d
December 26 th ) and you’d like to get
them, then please e-mail the Office or
Harry Towne of the Membership
Committee and we’ll work with you to
figure out what needs to be done.
Many members are changing their
ISPs as broadband expands in the
Northern Neck. Please make sure you
keep the RFM office aware of your
current email address.
This issue of the Starry
Banner is being mailed to all members
of record so that they can be advised
of the importance of keeping us aware
of your email address. For the Spring
issue, we will return to the regular
cost-saving policy of mailing the
Starry Banner only to members who
are not on-line.
Campus Doings
O u r c a m p u s h a s b e e n
experiencing a Renaissance. The
Walker House has been lovingly
scraped and painted and the windows
re-caulked. The Butler House has also
been scraped and painted and is
looking quite lovely in her bungalow
restoration historical colors—which
happen to be Richmond Gold,
Lancaster White and Georgian Green.
Thanks to Buildings & Grounds Chair
Glen Warner for his commitment, and
also to Skip MacPherson, our painter,
with whom it was a pleasure to do
business.
The roofing supplies have
been delivered to Festival Halle and
the work on the new roof begun. The
Board of Directors has contracted E.
K. Batten Roofing in Warsaw to tear off
the old roof and install a new EPDM
roof system on the upper and lower
flat roofs and a new 50 year shingle on
the Mansard portion of the roof. The
contract price is just under $64,000,
with variables for potential rot. Once
the roof is water tight we will address
the interior damage from the leaks. If
anyone is familiar with any possible
brick and mortar grants that may be
available to us or if you are interested
in actively participating in the
restoration of the Halle please get in
touch with Kathy Elsden by Email or a
Board Member.

January
RFM Calendar
2009
12 Museum Closed for Winter Season
February
6 Gala Benefit Auction (see article)
14 Valentine’s Dance at Festival Halle
15 Annual Meeting
21 Family Day • "The Chesapeake Bay –
A Partnership of Humans and Nature"
(see article)
March
7 Volunteer Appreciation Event
14 Winter Market at Festival Halle
Museum re-opens Saturdays & Sundays
April
22 Historic Garden Week in Reedville
May
1 Museum opens full time
Dead-Rise Exhibit opens
June
20 Family Boat Building Weekend
July
Family Day 2009
February 21 st • 9 to 1
Festival Halle
4 Fourth of July in Reedville - parade,
fireworks, Firecracker 5K run
September
• The Chesapeake Bay •
A Partnership of
Humans and Nature
Interactive displays and hands-on activities
representing the wealth and spirit of the
Bay
Free Admission • Groups welcome
For more info call 804-453-6529
11 - 13 Antique Boat Show
Questions or Comments about the Starry Banner or the Web Site
should be sent to Paul Kimball by Email