Spring 2008 - Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Spring 2008
Chesapeake Shipbuilding • Hooper Strait Lighthouse

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St Michaels Office: 210 S. Talbot Street
Tom Crouch 410.310.8916
Debra Crouch 410.924.0771
Office 410.822.3456
www.cbmove.com/TomandDebra
TALBOT COUNTY, MARYLAND
We have the area’s finest waterfront building sites...Ranging from 3 to 196 acres...
Priced from $699,000 to $7.9 million
Tom and Debra Crouch
“Specializing in Fine
Talbot County Properties”
WATERFRONT ESTATES
Including this amazing “French Country-style” home on
a premier 8-acre point. $3,100,000
CONTEMPORARY WATERFRONTS
Including this just-completed 7,500 sq. ft. home, waterside
pool, deep water dock. $3,950,000
HISTORIC HOMES
Including this grand c. 1790 Georgian home w/7 bedroom
suites. Zoning allows Inn/B&B. $1,990,000
WATERFRONT RETREATS
Including this perfect family compound...3 cottages, sandy
beach, privacy, sunsets! $1,795,000

On the Cover
WaterWays
Spring 2008
Volume 6 Number 1
Editor
Michael Valliant
editor@cbmm.org
Graphic Design/Photography
Rob Brownlee-Tomasso
Contributors
Dick Cooper
Robert Forloney
Pete Lesher
Melissa McLoud
John Miller
Stuart Parnes
Kathleen Rattie
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Navy Point, P.O. Box 636
St. Michaels, MD 21663-0636
410-745-2916 • Fax 410-745-6088
www.cbmm.org • editor@cbmm.org
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a private
not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational institution. A
copy of the current financial statement is available
on request by writing the Vice President of Finance,
P.O. Box 636, St. Michaels, MD 21663 or by calling
410-745-2916 ext. 238. Documents and information
submitted under the Maryland Charitable Solicitations
Act are also available, for the cost of postage and
copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State
House, Annapolis, MD 21401, 410-974-5534.
A new mast for the skipjack Stanley
Norman, photo by Nikki Davis. Davis
is currently a photography student at the
Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston
University, in Washington DC. She came
to the CBMM Boat Yard to take pictures
of wooden boat building.
Spring Season’s Greetings
It must be spring – the osprey are diving for fresh fish, tourists are re-appearing
from their winter hibernation, and the Museum is bustling with preparations
for a new season. Mister Jim is up on the railway for her (his) annual
inspection and bottom scrub; the Lighthouse is about to re-open with all new
furnishings and interpretation. New merchandise is rolling in for the Museum
Store, and the grounds are green and beautiful.
But like so much other springtime activity, there is more going on below
the surface here that is getting ready to sprout.
We have begun the careful transfer of our library and archival collections
from their outgrown home on North Street to a much improved location in
the Research, Resource, and Collection Center on Mill Street. These precious
materials will finally have the environmental and security protection that they
deserve. Soon, a small addition to the facility will provide new people space
for researchers, volunteers and staff. The new reference area will be a more accessible
and pleasant place to work, write and study the extensive collections
that comprise the Museum’s treasure trove of historical information.
We are also preparing for the arrival of new artwork. Final preparations
have been made for hosting the 30th Anniversary Exhibition of the American
Society of Marine Artists (ASMA), which will open here in the new
Steamboat Gallery on July 25. Marine art in America is flourishing, thanks
in large part to the work of ASMA, which set out three decades ago to revive
this rich American tradition. This spectacular juried exhibition will showcase
the work of 100 artists and will include a wide array of media—oils, watercolors,
pastels, scratchboard, pencil, sculpture and scrimshaw—and subject
matter. In addition to the more traditional themes, such as recreational boating
scenes, commercial shipping, historic vessels, or navies in battle, many of
the ASMA artists have turned their attention to marine wildlife in their ocean
environment and coastal habitats.
Speaking of habitats, the Museum is planning to add some of its own as
a new marsh exhibit along the Miles River. We will be constructing a “living
shoreline” along the bulkhead that stretches from the Boat Shed past Waterman’s
Wharf to the Steamboat Building. Planting won’t take place until next
winter, but informational signs will appear this spring describing the project
and the important environmental benefits of undertaking it. Seed money (sorry)
has come through a grant from NOAA
and the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Contributions
for the balance of the work are now
being sought from foundations and individuals.
If you would like to participate in
this project or its funding, please contact
me for more details.
History, art and science—it’s all here
waiting for you, along with the special
events listed later in this issue. Spring
on over. It’s the perfect season to enjoy
your museum.
Stuart L. Parnes, President
sparnes@cbmm.org

Contents
(Above) A Bay Day photo memory.
Two of CBMM’s Bay Day visitors
on April 19, take home a snapshot
souvenir of the mini-skipjack, Spat.
Departments
To the Point 7
Calendar 9
Wood Works 13
Mystery Answers 23
Features
30 Years of Marine Art
A new exhibition from the American Society of Marine Artists
chronicles the result of three decades of outstanding marine art.
The exhibition opens at CBMM on July 26.
Research & Rebirth
How do you re-interpret a nearly 130-year-old Chesapeake lighthouse
You tell the stories of the people who lived and worked in it. To pull
that off, you better do your research. By Melissa McLoud.
Destination: Chesapeake Bay
14
16
Cruise ships have found the small Bay port towns such as St. Michaels
and Oxford. American Cruise Lines has found a niche creating unique,
off-the-path experiences for their travelers. By Dick Cooper
19
This issue of WaterWays was underwritten, in part, by the Talbot County Office of Tourism.
Visit www.tourtalbot.org.
5

Kids Club
(formerly Bay Combers)
at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
NEW!
Week long, half-day camp
for ages 4 & 5 and 6 & 7
Camp led by educator Martha Hamlyn
4 & 5 year olds
9:30 to 12:30
week of June 23-27
6 & 7 year olds
9:30 to 12:30
week of June 30-July 4
Themes each day:
Monday
A Pirate’s Life for Me
Don your pirate costume
and come eager to learn
about these outlawed
sailors. Listen to stories,
play games and hunt
for treasure.
Tuesday
The Bay Below Us
Discover surprises under
the surface of the Miles
River. Voyage on the
buyboat Mister Jim to
experience wildlife and
pull up a dredge to create
a living touch tank.
Wednesday
Living in a Lighthouse
Explore the new handson
activities in the lighthouse.
Open doors and
peek through cabinets
and closets to learn about
the lighthouse keepers’
lives and work.
Thursday
Row, Row, Row
Your Boat
Merrily row in a small
skiff with an adult while
learning about boating
safety. Back on shore,
see other types of Bay
boats at the Museum.
Friday
Chesapeake Feasting
Come with a big appetite
for a Chesapeake feast.
Learn why the Bay is
considered the greatest
seafood factory and try
your skill at chicken necking
for crabs. Together
we’ll prepare and eat a
crab cake feast.
4 & 5 year olds
9:30 to 12:30
week of July 7-11
Themes each day:
Monday
Woodland Indians
Step back in time and
imagine life in a Nanticoke
tribe. Hear stories
and learn about the lives
of the first people who
lived along the Bay.
Tuesday
The Eyes of an Artist
Put on special “eyes” to
see brand new things in
the Museum’s art collection.
Then we’ll get out
the paint and brushes
and see what we can do!
Wednesday
Marsh Mucking
Find out who lives (and
who hides!) in those
great, gunky, grassy
marshes! Learn why
marshes are important
for animals and people.
6 & 7 year olds
9:30 to 12:30
week of July 14-18
Thursday
Float that Boat
Aspiring shipwrights will
visit a working boat yard,
meet boat builders and
learn about building a
craft. Then, we’ll experiment
with what floats
and what doesn’t.
Friday
Play on Our Bay
Go on an adventure and
discover ways you can enjoy
the Bay. See how kids
and adults have played
on the Bay. You’ll go fishing
off the dock, too.
Chesapeake Bay
Maritime Museum
Navy Point w PO Box 636
St. Michaels, Maryland 21663
410-745-2916 w cbmm.org
*Members: $100/week
Non-members: $120/week
* Membership rates apply only if camper’s parent or guardian is a member.
Program fee includes activities and snack. Cancellation Policy: There
will be no refund for cancellations made within 7 business days of your
program date. Cancellations 7-30 days will get a 50 % refund and more
than 30 days will be entitled to a full refund.
Kids Club is partially funded by the Jim and Patty Rouse
Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Scholarships are available for qualifying
students. For more information or to register, call 410-745-2916 or e-mail education@cbmm.org

To the Point
Museum Welcomes
23 New Docents
Members of the Spring 2008 class of CBMM docents, along with
CBMM director of education Robert Forloney, during one of the
final training sessions.
Once through our admissions building, the first person a
CBMM visitor is likely to encounter is one of our docents.
From a friendly greeting, to a thought-provoking, interactive
tour of the Museum, to fielding questions and giving
lunch and shopping recommendations, the CBMM docents
enhance and help create our visitor experience.
This spring, 23 new docents completed the nine-week
training program making this the largest class in more than
ten years.
“Our latest docent class was the largest in recent memory
and this is incredibly important due to the widely expanded
educational programming now offered at CBMM,” says Director
of Education Robert Forloney. “Docents are the public
face of the institution. They guide visitors by facilitating interactive
experiences, leading demonstrations, and assisting
with special classes. We simply could not function without
this core group of volunteers.”
The nine-week docent training course leads participants
through an orientation to the Museum and its exhibits, boats,
and collection; provides background on the history of the
Bay and the regional community; and covers interpretive
techniques, how to build and lead tours, how to teach with
objects and other hands-on learning opportunities.
Congratulations to the 2008 docent class! To learn more
about docent training and other volunteer opportunities,
please contact Volunteer Administrator Melissa Spielman at
410-745-2916, ext. 252, or e-mail mspielman@cbmm.org.
Lad Mills Needs… You!
This year’s annual Boat Auction is fast approaching on
Saturday, August 30, but Lad Mills, CBMM’s boat donations
program manager stays hard at work throughout the
year. Lad tirelessly searches for boats to be donated as well
as finding homes for donated boats year-round. Revenue
generated by boat sales is a substantial boost to the Museum’s
operating budget and helps support programs and exhibits.
If you don’t mind rolling up your sleeves, Lad—and
CBMM—need your help! Cleaning the boats up and detailing
them does wonders for the boats’ appearance and ultimate
resale value.
“This is a really tangible way to do something for the Museum,”
Lad says. “We’ll take all
the help we can get, and there
are a number of simple tasks
from which we reap huge benefits.
Besides, I have a hard time
keeping (CBMM president) Stuart
Parnes on task with a bucket
and a can of AJAX, when he’s
supposed to be sitting in a finance
meeting!”
In the end, the work and
camaraderie are good fun, and
Lad takes care of his volunteers—his
cookout for his helpers
at the end of the boat auction
is another annual event. For
more information or to sign up to volunteer with Lad, contact
Volunteer Administrator Melissa Spielman at 410-745-2916
ext. 252 or e-mail mspielman@cbmm.org.
Get Out on the Miles!
Cruise with Mister Jim
There are a number of jobs
to help get a boat ready for
re-sale!
CBMM’s replica buyboat Mister Jim will be taking regularly
scheduled cruises throughout the summer.
For years our members and visitors have been asking for
opportunities to get out on the water. In 2007, we were able to
respond, offering regularly scheduled cruises on our replica
buyboat, Mister Jim, for the first time. These scenic cruises of
the Miles River are back again for 2008!
On Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, Mister
Jim will take regularly scheduled 45-minute tours on the
Miles. The cost of non-member cruises is $12 for adults, $10
7

To the Point
Cruise with Mister Jim (continued)
for seniors, $10 for military, and $7 for children ages 17 or
under. CBMM members can cruise for $10 for adults and $6
for children ages 17 or under. Cruises depart at 11 a.m., 12:30
p.m., and 2 p.m.
On select days this spring, summer, and early fall, CBMM
is also offering cruise aboard the skipjack H. M. Krentz with
Captain Ed Farley. Skipjack cruises are two-hours long and offer
a unique experience to learn about working the water from
the captain who took James Michener dredging for oysters!
Cruises aboard the H.M. Krentz are $35, $32 for seniors,
and $18 for children ages $17 and under. The cost to CBMM
members is $32.
All boat rides and cruises are subject to cancellation
based on the weather. Please call Visitor Services at 410-
745-2916 ext. 142 to confirm times and space availability on
particular days.
Good Bye Crab Days, Hello
Chesapeake Folk Festival!
CBMM now eligible for funding via
the Combined Federal Campaign
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum has just
been approved to receive funding from the Chesapeake
Bay Area Combined Federal Campaign (CFC).
CFC is the world’s largest and most successful annual
workplace charity campaign, with more than 300 CFC
campaigns throughout the country and internationally to
help to raise millions of dollars each year. Pledges made
by Federal civilian, postal and military donors during
the campaign season (September 1st to December 15th)
support eligible non-profit organizations from throughout
the world.
The CFC provides Federal government employees
with the ability to donate through payroll deduction.
About 90% of CFC donors use payroll deduction, an
easy and flexible way to give. Payroll deduction, combined
with designations of their donation, affords Federal
employees the opportunity to
ensure that their contributions
support the charities that they
care about, like CBMM!
8
Crab picker “Miss Alice” Palmer, a fixture at Crab Days, will be a
part of the first Chesapeake Folk Festival on July 26.
If you show up at CBMM on Saturday, July 26, looking
for our Crabs Days festival, you will still be able to sit down
with steamed crabs, crab cakes or crab soup. But, you’ll find
a lot more on campus.
The Chesapeake Folk Festival, sponsored in part by the
Maryland Traditions Program of the Maryland State Arts
Council, will debut at CBMM that day and welcome artists,
singers and aficionados of the Smith Island Cake among others
to Navy Point.
This year’s inaugural festival celebrates the Chesapeake’s
people and traditions with the music, food, history, culture and
artistic traditions that make Chesapeake region so special.
The daylong celebration will focus on the wide-ranging
influences of Chesapeake culture, showcasing the region’s
finest artistic and musical traditions, along with a wide variety
of living history, boat building, cooking and fisheries
presentations with a special tribute to Chesapeake sailor Jimmy
Wilson. Among those slated to perform are the singing
groups, the Zionnaires and the New Gospelites.
Check our website this summer for more information and
put Saturday, July 26, on your calendar so you can be part of
the first Chesapeake Folk Festival!
ALL Comes Home
CBMM’s Academy for Lifelong Learning (ALL) is on
the move, literally and figuratively! With the sale of the
Railroad Avenue property, ALL is returning to its birthplace
on CBMM’s campus. From small beginnings in 2001, ALL
has grown steadily in membership and in the number and
variety of the courses it offers to its members. A broad spectrum
of subjects has been presented over the years: from
spirituality to sailing; from music to medicine; from poetry
to painting. The Spring 2008 session now underway is no
exception to this rule, offering twelve courses that have attracted
132 participants.
The 2008 Summer Session of ALL will take place on
the Museum campus and the curriculum is in the planning
stage and will include courses on Renaissance Art, Literature,
and sailing events. For more information about ALL courses
and membership please call 410-745-2916 or contact www.
cbmm.org/all.html. w

Calendar
Spring/Summer 2008
c 1900, National Archives
the water as we discuss constellations, astronomy and
celestial events. The entire family will enjoy stargazing
on the Miles River. Meet at Admissions Building.
CBMM Members $25, Non-Members $30
May
Opening—Hooper Strait
Lighthouse
Be the first to see the re-interpreting of our own Hooper
Strait Lighthouse. The story is a keeper...or about the
lighthouse keepers, more specifically! Through research
and rethinking, Museum staff have re-created the exhibit
inside the lighthouse using the stories of the keepers.
Ecology Cruise
May 28, 9:30am-12:30pm
Biologists Bob and A.J. Lippson, authors of Life in the
Chesapeake Bay, explain the ecology of the Miles River
aboard the Museum’s replica buyboat, Mister Jim. Get
close to nature on this hands-on science cruise. Meet
at Admissions Building. CBMM members $30, Nonmembers
$35
Haunted Lighthouse Tales &
Sea Superstitions
May 31, 2-3pm
Award-winning author and storyteller Ed Okonowicz explores
the old belief that there is a ghost guarding every
standing lighthouse. Shouted warnings, shipwrecks, mysterious
piano music, deaths at sea, apparitions and the
effects of deadly storms are all part of this new program
on unexplainable tales told about America’s lighthouses.
CBMM members $5, Non-members $8
Star Gazing Cruise
May 31, 8-11pm
Join us aboard (the Museum’s replica buyboat) Mister
Jim while raising your eyes to the mariner’s night sky.
SOLD OUT
Delmarva Star Stargazers representatives will join us on
June
Attracting Pollinators
(Co-sponsored with Adkins Arboretum)
June 11, 1-3pm
Join entomologist Ted Suman to learn about native
pollinators, bees in particular. Pollinators provide
invaluable service in fertilizing many native plants and
there are many ways of attracting more of them to
your yard. Ted will give an introduction to pollinators
and lead a walk to look at pollinators around the arboretum.
Participants will also learn to make a simple
bee box to install in their own yard. Pre-registration is
required. Call 410-634-2847 or e-mail info@adkinsarboretum.org
to register. At Adkins Arboretum
CBMM Members $15, Non-members $18
21st Annual Antique and
Classic Boat Festival
June 13, 11am – 5pm, June 14, 10am – 5pm
June 15, 10am – 2pm
This annual boat event is the largest of its kind in the
Mid-Atlantic region! It features over 100 antique and
classic boats, boatbuilding demonstrations, maritime
craft vendors, live music, food, and more.
To register for Museum programs, please call Helen Van Fleet in the Education Department
at 410-745-2916 ext. 111, or e-mail hvanfleet@cbmm.org.
9

Easterly Ensemble Concert
June 22, 3pm
The Easterly Chamber Ensemble offers a concert of light
classical and pops music at the Museum’s historic bandstand.
Celebrate the season with the first concert by this
new community ensemble. Donald Buxton, music director,
conducts.
July
Big Band Night
Sunset Music Cruise
August 16 , 4:30-6:30pm
Chanteyman Geoff Kaufman draws on the rich resources
of folk story and song, from ancient balladry to contemporary
composition. Join us on the Museum’s buyboat
Mister Jim for a rousing evening on the Miles River. CBMM
Members $30, Non-members $35
11th Annual Boat Auction
August 30, 11am-3pm
Boating experts and novices alike have the same opportunity
to bid on the boat of their dreams! Offerings
include everything from wooden rowing skiffs to classic
sailboats and modern power cruisers.
September
“Chesapeake Bounty”
The 11th Annual Boating Party
Saturday, September 13
Join us on Navy Point for an elegant evening of music,
dancing to the Golden Gup and exquisite food that will
showcase the Bounty of the Bay. $175 per person; Benefactor
tables of 10 at $2750. To reserve call Julie Barnett,
410-745-2916, ext. 122, or e-mail jbarnett@cbmm.org.
July 5, 7-10pm
Come hear jazzy big band sounds come alive on the
Museum’s Tolchester Beach Bandstand. Stay into the
evening to enjoy the St. Michaels fireworks over the
Miles River. CBMM Members $5, Non-members $10
Chesapeake Folk Festival
July 26, 10am-4pm
Our folk festival picks up where Crab Days leaves off.
You’ll still find crabs to eat at this celebration of the
Chesapeake’s natural landscape, history, culture, food,
musical, and artistic traditions. Join us for a day of musical
performances, good food, storytelling, demonstrations,
exhibits, and discussions.
August
Sea Chanteys
Saturday, August 16, 12-1:30pm
For over thirty years, Geoff Kaufman has preformed in
concerts and festivals from the Eastern Shore to Europe.
Listen to songs inspired by watery environs during this
special program open only to CBMM members. Lunch
will be included as part of this special event. Pre-registration
necessary. CBMM Members $17
Log Canoe Race Cruises
Sunday, June 29 “Start of the Season”
Saturday, July 26 “Governor’s Cup”
Saturday, September 6 “Labor Day Series”
9:45-11:45am
Witness the action of log canoe races on the Miles
River from the Museum’s replica buyboat Mister Jim.
Observe the tactics of the skippers as they carry on
a living tradition unique to our region. Each weekend
offers a highlight of this year’s racing season.
CBMM Members $30, Non-members $35
To register for Museum programs, please call Helen Van Fleet in the Education Department
at 410-745-2916 ext. 111, or e-mail hvanfleet@cbmm.org.
10

Junior Sailing
Ages 8-16
Monday-Friday, 8:30am-12noon or 1-4:30pm
Basic Level Course
Learn the basic skills needed to sail a small boat. Offers
an introduction to water safety, rigging, boat handling,
and docking. This course is designed for new sailors or
those who need to solidify their skills before starting
the intermediate level. Most students benefit from taking
this course at least twice. Ages 8 and up. Members:
$175, Non-Members: $200
#
1 June 16-20 (am) #
6 July 14-18 (am)
#
2 June 16-20 (pm) #
7 July 21-25 (pm)
#
3 June 23-27 (am) #
8 July 28-August 1 (am)
#
4 June 30-July 4 (am) #
9 August 4-8 (am)
#
5 July 7-11 (pm) #
10 August 11-15 (am)
Intermediate Level Course
Intermediate students learn more complex sailing skills,
such as right-of-way rules, boat handling, local navigation,
and proper sail trim. Successful completion qualifies
students to participate in Tuesday evening member
sails without an adult on board. Prerequisites: prior sailing
experience and the ability to proficiently sail solo.
Ages 8 and up. Members: $175, Non-Members: $200
#
10 June 23-27 (pm) #
13 July 21-25 (am)
#
11 June 30-July 4 (pm) #
14 August 4-8 (pm)
#
12 July 7-11 (am)
Learn To Sail!
Community Sailing Programs
Advanced Level Course
Advanced students have mastered their intermediate
level skills and will focus on boat handling and sail trim.
Instructors will develop drills to fine tune students’ competence
and confidence in operating their boats. Activities
may include exploring aspects of dinghy racing, the
racing rules of sailing, as well as racing starts and tactics.
Ages 10 and up. Members: $175, Non-Members: $200
Adult & Teen
Basic Sailing Weekends
This class will focus on providing adult and teen sailors
with the opportunity to learn or improve upon their sailing
skills. Challenge yourself by learning the principles of
sailing a small 15-foot boat. Instructors teach small boat
handling, boating safety, sand sail theory. This course is
designed for those with little or no sailing experience.
Members: $175, Non-Members: $200
July 19-20, 8:30am-12:30pm
August 2-3, 8:30am-12:30pm
August 16-17, 8:30am-12:30pm
Boaters’ Safety Course
6-10pm both evenings
Maryland boaters born after July 1, 1972, are required
to have a Certificate of Boating Safety Education. The
Certificate is obtained by passing a Department of Natural
Resources-approved course and is good for life.
The course is also recommended for anyone looking to
become a more competent boater. Members and Non-
Members: $25.
June 10 & 11 July 22 & 23
June 24 & 25 August 5 & 6
July 8 & 9
About the Community Sailing Program
The Community Sailing Programs are some of our most
successful and long-standing programs. For the past ten
years, CBMM has encouraged students to feel comfortable
on the water while providing public access to the
Bay at a time when public access has been limited. The
program teaches maritime skills and seamanship, and
provides students with experience and confidence. They
instill an appreciation of wind and water as a way of life
integral to local history.
#
15 July 28-August 1 (pm)
Tuesday Evening
Member Sails
5pm to dark, Tuesdays,
June 17 - August 12
Join friends and staff members
on our fleet of JY 15s. A lifeguard
and safety-boat accompany Tuesday
evening sailors. Previous sailing
experience required. Weather
dependent. Members: $15
CBMM thanks the following for
their support: The J. Douglas
Darby Memorial Education Endowment;
The Fichtner Family
Community Sailing Endowment
Fund; The David and Susan Pyles
Community Sailing Program
Endowment Fund; Sailing Club
of the Chesapeake, Sail Training
Endowment; The George Harry
Wagner Memorial Scholarship
Endowment.
To register for Museum programs, please call Helen Van Fleet in the Education Department
at 410-745-2916 ext. 111, or e-mail hvanfleet@cbmm.org.
11

Location! Location! Lifestyle!
Enjoy the lifestyle of Talbot County
Elizabeth Y Foulds
Realtor®, GRI, SRES, e-PRO
(410) 924 1959 cell
www.stmichaelsrealestate.net
Planning to Buy or Sell
Call Elizabeth 410-924-1959
Waterfront Estates * Historic Townhouses *
* Single Family Homes
Lacaze Meredith Real Estate * St Michaels * 410-745-0283, x101
Choose Your
Prize!
$30,000 cash
or
Your choice of a new car* at David Wheeler Easton
*up to $40,000
Ticket price: $125
(Only 600 tickets will be sold)
Drawing: Saturday, September 13, 2008
Benefits Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum educational programs and exhibitions
Visit cbmm.org/boatingparty.html to download your raffle tickets

August 16 & 17
Spar Making (2 day)
Learn the various methods of designing, gluing up and
shaping masts and booms for small boats.
September 27 or 28
Steam Bending and Laminating (1 day)
Learn how to form wood into curved shapes by either
steaming and bending or by laminating several layers.
October 25 or 26
Sharpening and Hand Tool Use (1 day)
Learn how to keep a sharp edge on your hand tools, how
to properly use those tools and how to decide which tool
is right for the job.
The cost for these specialized classes is $60 per day for
CBMM members and $75 per day for non-members. Classes
will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please
contact Dan Sutherland at 410-745-2916 ext. 186 or e-mail
dsutherland@cbmm.org.
Shipwright Dan Sutherland leads CBMM’s boat building
Apprentice for a Day programs.
A Bigger, Better Apprentice
for a Day Program
Our popular boat building Apprentice for a Day (AFAD)
program is getting a makeover. In addition to the drop-in boat
building sessions on which AFAD has built its reputation,
the CBMM Boat Shop will be running a series of specialized
courses each month taught by shipwright Dan Sutherland.
Before coming to the Museum as our Boat Yard Program
Manager, Dan ran his own boat shop in the Finger Lake region
of New York for more than 20 years. He specialized in
beautiful lap strake sailing canoes. His experience as a boat
builder and teacher have energized the Boat Yard and added
this type of new opportunity to the AFAD program.
The special courses are curriculum-based with some lasting
a single day and some others meeting for two sessions.
The schedule for the spring, summer and fall is:
May 17 or 18
Fundamentals of Rowing and Sailing (1 day)
Learn the basics of rowing and sailing small boats using
the Delaware duckers as class boats; includes rigging
techniques and safety issues.
June 21 & 22
Lofting (2 days)
Learn the basics of laying out the lines of a boat full size
to begin the building process.
July 19 or 20
Varnishing (1 day)
Learn how to refinish old varnish, touch up damage or how
to build up a beautiful finish on a new project; includes
stripping techniques and staining.
Fundamentals of Rowing and Sailing
Want to learn to row or sail your boat better CBMM’s
Boat Yard will be running a series of courses on the “Fundamentals
of Rowing and Sailing,” on Thursday evenings. The
class will run from two hours from 6 to 8 p.m. at a cost of
$10 for CBMM members and $20 for non-members. Boats
will available for people to row and sail. The dates for these
evening courses are: June 12, June 19, July 17, July 31, August
14, August 28.
Take Home Your Own Delaware Ducker
Museum visitors admire the lines of a Delaware
Ducker, hand-built in the CBMM Boat Shop.
They don’t make boats like the 16’ Delaware Ducker
anymore. Unless of course, you stop through our Boat Shop!
The Apprentice for a Day program has been building these
traditional Chesapeake skiffs by hand, out of cedar and oak.
Skiffs built and sold as part of the AFAD program support the
program’s continuation.
The Duckers come complete with sails and oars. They are
a piece of Chesapeake Bay history and gems of wooden boat
building. If you are interested in owning your own hand-built
Delaware Ducker, please contact Dan Sutherland at 410-745-
2916, ext. 186, or e-mail dsutherland@cbmm.org. w
13

1
1. Charles Raskob Robinson
Under the Scorching Sun
at the Five Minute Gun
15 x 27 inches, Oil
2. Kent Ullberg
Southern Stingrays
17 1 /4 x 10 1 /4 x 10 1 /4 inches,
Bronze
3. Christopher Blossom
Preparing to Transfer
the Pilot
22 x 36 inches, Oil
2
30 Years of
One of the largest and most ambitious
exhibitions of contemporary American
marine art, the 30th Anniversary Exhibition
of the American Society of Marine
Artists, opens to CBMM on July 26.
This show features exciting and varied
art from more than one hundred of
the best marine artists working today. A
wide array of media—oils, water colors,
pastels, scratchboard, pencil, sculpture
and scrimshaw—make this a most rewarding
experience for viewers and collectors
alike.
Marine art is flourishing, thanks in
large part to the work of the American
Society of Marine Artists (A.S.M.A.),
which set out three decades ago to advance
the appreciation and understanding
of this rich American heritage. The
Society has championed this tradition by
encouraging an ever-wider search for artistic
expression through various media
depicting maritime subjects. Today, it
has grown to become the nation’s largest
organization of contemporary marine
artists boasting over 600 members.
3

4
Marine Art
5
“We are especially excited to host
this year’s exhibition,” remarked CBMM
President Stuart Parnes. “For the first
time, there is a significant environmental
interest evident in these works. In addition
to the more traditional subjects such
as recreational scenes, commercial ships,
historic vessels or ships in battle, the
viewer will see paintings and sculpture
depicting marine wildlife in their ocean
environment and coastal habitats reflecting
a growing concern about ‘Planet
Ocean’s’ survival.”
Visitors will also find that as a group
these American artists have an international
purview, presenting coastal and
harbor scenes from countries abroad. In
short, there has never been such excitement
and diversity in marine art and this
exhibition shows the tradition is very
much alive and well.
The exhibition will be on display at
the Museum until September 22, 2008,
before moving to its next venue, The
Noyes Museum of Art in Oceanville,
New Jersey, just outside Atlantic City.
The Museum will offer a number of
special programs in conjunction with the
exhibit. The exhibition catalog is a 107
page full-color publication, which features
the artwork of the show. It will be
available for sale at our Museum Store.
For more information about A.S.M.A.
or the 30th anniversary exhibit, please
visit their website at www.americansocietyofmarineartists.com.
w
6
4. Yves Parent
Brant Point, Nantucket
8 x 16 inches, Oil
5. Robert Weiss
John Paul Jones
7 1 /4 x 3 3 /4 x 2 5 /8 inches,
Scrimshaw on Antique
Sperm Whale Tooth on
Rosewood Mount with
Mammoth Ivory and
Abalone Accents
6. Mary Louise O’Sullivan
Green Rowboat
with Blue Interior
28 x 42 inches, Oil

Research & Rebirth
By Melissa McLoud, Ph.D., Director, Breene M. Kerr Center for Chesapeake Studies
After serving for 75 years as a vital guidepost through the
tricky waters of Hooper Strait, the Hooper Strait Lighthouse
was finally replaced by an automated light in 1966. Slated for
demolition, the Lighthouse was saved that same year by the
new Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, which moved the
structure to Navy Point. Since then the Hooper Strait Lighthouse
has become the Museum’s iconic image and a treasured
venue for overnight programs for children and families. Interpretative
programs and tours of the lighthouse have conveyed
to thousands of visitors the critical role lighthouses play in
safe navigation and the economy of the Chesapeake Bay. Now
after 42 years, the Museum has brought new interpretation
We decided that the new exhibit would tell the tales of
the 11 lighthouse keepers who lived and worked in
Hooper Strait Lighthouse. We would convey the details
of their daily lives—the humor, loneliness, and
hardship—and try to communicate something of the
satisfaction it gave these men to know they were
performing work of vital importance.
Such an approach was not without challenges.
Initially, we knew very little about the
daily lives of most of the men who had worked
on the lighthouse. Long-time CBMM members
and volunteers Norman and Ellen Plummer of
Who were these men who were the keepers
What was it really like to live here
Did they really follow all those rules
What did they do for fun
and exhibit techniques into the lighthouse exhibit.
When we began to develop the new exhibit, we started by
talking with a broad range of people: visitors of all ages, museum
staff, exhibit developers from other museums, experts
and lighthouse buffs, as well as people who evinced little interest
in the topic and had never visited the Museum. From
these conversations, we first heard the expected: “Make sure
to keep that map that shows all the different kinds of lighthouses
on the Bay…” and “The keeper’s most important job
was to make sure that the light was lit from sunset to sunrise
every day.” But we also heard from many people who wanted
to know: “Who were these men who were the keepers What
was it really like to live here Did they really follow all those
rules What did they do for fun”
The Hooper Strait Lighthouse was originally located forty miles south
of its current location — in Hooper Strait — where its light marked the
location of one of the Chesapeake Bay’s many hidden sand bars.
c 1900, National Archives
16

New Life for the
Hooper Strait Lighthouse
Easton, Md., had done an extensive study for
Norm’s monograph, Beacons of
Hooper Strait. We began with
their research notes. They had
read through and made notes
from the original records
housed in the National
Archives and Coast
Guard repositories,
and they had
combed the
census records
for the
keepers’ genealogical
data.
This gave
us a good starting-point and we have incorporated much of
their work into the new exhibit. In addition, we had two oral
histories with recent keepers in our collection that offered
rich details of daily life.
We also found in our collection a wonderful memoir
written by Keeper Lewis Carman (donated to the Museum
in 2000 by Carman’s son). Carman’s memories include: “My
favorite breakfast in those days was fresh caught trout, bluefish,
croaker or most any local fish, boiled in salted water,
drained, peppered heavily, then splashed with smoking hot
bacon grease. A later version called Hatteras-style added raw
onion on the side and I do favor it. I cannot describe the taste
but highly recommend it with good coffee and homemade,
hot, yeast powder biscuits. After a month’s practice, I was
tempted to challenge my wife to a contest, although I used
her recipes in most all of my cooking.”
Carman also remembered: “I had and still have respect for
nature’s moods and during those years had developed a fair
knowledge of the signs of impending rough weather;
also a nose for fog. A continuous watch was
kept on the weather; it was far better for the
William Simpkins was 49-years-old when he became the keeper at
Hooper Strait, after dredging for oysters for years with his brothers.
17

The exhibit features a recreated logbook accompanied by
soundscapes of what the keepers heard.
18
fog signal to be sounding before fog actually set in, than to
have it sneak up on you. After a few months’ observation, I
developed an inability to sleep if fog was imminent, unless the
fog signal was sounding. In all those years, I was never caught
off guard by a sudden storm or fog.”
Memories such as these can make an exhibit come alive,
but we needed still more of them if we were to give a full and
honest picture of the lives led in our Hooper Strait Lighthouse.
Over the past year Norm and Ellen Plummer, Pete Lesher,
and I have conducted the original research necessary to create
this kind of exhibit. We’ve traveled to and from archives
in Washington and Annapolis, pored over arcane documents,
deciphered elaborate nineteenth-century handwriting, listened
to oral histories, interviewed surviving relatives … all to bring
our lighthouse to life.
Mining the collections at the Maryland Historical Trust, I
found the oral histories of Chesapeake Bay lighthouse keepers
from which we were able to extract several gems for our exhibit.
Among my favorites are the remembrances of a young girl’s
visit to the Holland Island Light in the first years of the last century.
Speaking of the keeper,
Frances Harstick recalled, “He
liked the company, and he enjoyed
being with the children.
I remember him laughing, you
Harold Messick kept the light from 1939-1941. He wrote
in his log how much he enjoyed his daughter Annalee’s
(second from left) visits in the summer.
know, kidding with us, playing with us and everything. And, I
remember a little about his cooking and all. Because that was
quite a chore for a man.”
Herbert Yeatman talked about how his father got stranded
when he was keeper at Point No Point Light: “Oh, this
must have been 1912, 14, 15 along in there. Anyway, one time
while he was out there, the whole Bay froze over and he was
stranded out there for so long, a month or so, and couldn’t get
to shore, and he ran out of food. So he takes the shelves out
of the closets and all and builds a little scow, enough to float
him if he broke through while walking ashore, and he walked
on to shore with that little rig.”
By dialing every telephone number assigned to a person
with the name “William Simpkins” on the lower Shore, I located
78-year old William Edward Simpkins of Salisbury,
Md., whose grandfather William O. Simpkins was keeper of
Hooper Strait from 1924 to 1939. Although he was a youngster
when his grandfather was keeper, Mr. Simpkins remembered
that his grandfather was very lonely much of the time
and that he got a pension for being a keeper, something that
he never had in his previous job of oyster dredger. These
memories informed the audio script that we wrote for the
Keeper Simpkins who stars in the new exhibit, writing a letter
home to his wife, Minna, on Christmas Day.
We have hidden this new research throughout the Hooper
Strait Lighthouse exhibit. The keepers’ stories and the
details of their lives can be discovered inside the pot belly
stove, under the lid of a paint can, in desk drawers, and under
the bed. Very much hands-on, the new exhibit is really
a treasure hunt, where visitors can uncover the stories of
the keepers of the Hooper Strait Light and delight in their
discoveries in much the same way we did in researching and
creating the exhibit. w

Destination:
Chesapeake
Bay
By Dick Cooper
The first glimpse of the American Star comes as the
cruise ship’s red, white and blue funnel appears above the
tree line north of Deep Water Point. Within minutes, her
crisp white bow cuts into the Miles River at 10 knots, bound
for St. Michaels.
Gulls circle overhead as Captain Henry Thorpe (pictured
below) slows the 215-foot cruise ship, the newest in
the American Cruise Lines (ACL) fleet, to a dead stop in the
American Cruise Lines Captain Henry Thorpe at the
controls of American Star.
The idea of sailing into small
ports on the Bay is not new.
American Cruise Lines ship American Star makes her
way into St. Michaels Harbor and her CBMM berth.
middle of the historic harbor off the docks of the Chesapeake
Bay Maritime Museum.
With the steady hand of a sailor who has been moving
large vessels for four decades, Thorpe uses bursts from the
ship’s thrusters to turn her on her own length. As passengers
line the rail, Thorpe taps the controls on the port bridge wing,
three stories up, to ease the ship sideways, stopping it less
than a foot from the bulkhead.
With a quick step, a deckhand is on firm ground placing
dock lines as thick as a strongman’s arm over the pilings.
Within minutes, the gangway is in place and the first of
American Star’s passengers are heading for the sights of St.
Michaels, the shops on Talbot Street, or touring the Museum.
Just another morning’s piece of work for Thorpe and
his crew.
Cruise ship docking has become a familiar scene in the
harbor as the Museum’s waterfront attracts more and bigger
ships. Niche cruise lines such as ACL have found that backwater
villages of the East Coast, from Maine to Florida, are
popular ports of call.
Almost every week, from March through December, cruise
ships carrying from 50 to 100 passengers gunk hole their way
into small harbors once served by local craft and ferries. The
new, small cruise ships, some of them being built on the Chesapeake
Bay, are designed to get in close and personal with the
seaboard villages that ocean-going liners can’t even get near.
Thorpe says his American Star draws just seven feet; shoal
19

The common sitting areas aboard the cruise ship American Star show the
attention to detail given to American Cruise Line accommodations.
20
enough to dock in all but a few East Coast ports.
“We have to anchor outside Camden, Maine,” he says. “But
you can’t do a tour of Maine without stopping in Camden.”
Most of the travelers are older, affluent, educated and well
traveled, says ACL owner Charles Robertson, who runs his
fleet from offices in Guilford, Conn.
“We describe our cruises as more of a cultural experience
than an entertainment experience,” Robertson says. “There is
less focus on gaming and discos and rock-climbing walls and
more focus on more quiet entertainment including lectures by
historians and environmentalists and naturalists.”
The idea of sailing into small ports on the Bay is not new.
The Steamboat Age on the Bay saw scores of vessels carrying
passengers and freight on regular schedules for a century.
They stopped at wharfs and landings up and down the Bay
and along the East Coast. However, when the steamboat industry
collapsed after the opening of the first Bay Bridge in
1952, anyone wanting to travel by water had to own a boat.
New England saw a similar down turn in coastal vessels
and in 1966, Captain Luther Blount of Rhode Island founded
the American Canadian Caribbean Lines. Blount was also a
boat builder and designed his ships to be able to navigate inland
was well as coastwise waters. His ships were not glitzy
but they carried passengers to places other ships did not go,
including the Great Lakes.
When Blount died in 2006 at the age of 90, his obituary
stated:
“Known in the travel industry as the ‘father of small
ship cruising,’ he designed, built and operated a fleet of U.S.
Flag overnight expedition-style ships for over 41 years, currently
operating as American Canadian Caribbean Line, Inc.
The line is renowned for cruising off-the-beaten path North
American waterways to areas traditionally only accessible by
private yacht.”
Blount’s lead has been followed around the world to the
extent that the small-boat cruise industry has formed its own
business group, the Niche Cruise Marketing Alliance.
The 16 companies in the Alliance offer a variety of vacations
on vessels that include a five-masted sailing ship in the
Caribbean, a riverboat on the Mekong River in Vietnam and
a luxury small cruise ship that takes you to the islands of the
South Pacific.
Lawrence Dessler, executive director of the Alliance, said
the market for small cruise ships has been steadily growing.
He said most of the companies are privately held so there is
no hard data but the number of ships and cruises being offered
is continually increasing. He said an estimated 500,000 passengers
a year take cruises on the smaller ships, a fraction of
the 14 million that sail on the super cruisers.
“It is more intimate,” Dessler said of the smaller ships. “It
is like having your own country club, afloat. The well-traveled
Baby Boomers are saying, ‘Take me someplace new or
more interesting.’ ”
“Take me someplace new or
more interesting.”
He said part of the lure is that the ships have a yachty, personal
feel to them that attracts passengers who are boaters.
The ships also have a higher ratio of crew to passengers so
that the passengers get to know the staff on a first name basis.
Much of the intimacy comes from the way the ships are
designed.
Tony Severn, president of Chesapeake Shipbuilding Corp.
on the Wicomico River in Salisbury, describes the vessels
he builds for the ACL as “purpose built.” The vessels have
squared off sterns and slab sides because the naval architects
want to maximize the interior space. All of the staterooms are
on the exterior with windows or small balconies.
Each deck has a public lounge area, a single dining room

were all of the guests are served at one seating and a large forward
lounge that is used as a social hall for cocktails, lectures
and movies.
Severn says it takes about a year to build a ship from laying
the keel to putting in furniture and carpeting. Skilled craftsmen—welders,
plumbers, electricians, pipefitters and naval
architects—use time-honored skills and modern technology
to make sheets of steel into a floating vessel.
“There is a fair amount of empirical knowledge involved,”
he says.
We are all good friends
by the time the cruise is over
During a tour of the yard, Severn climbs a scaffold to get
to the deck of a tug being built for Vane Brothers of Baltimore.
His voice is all but drowned out by the ear-piercing
hiss of welders’ torches and the anvil-chorus banging of metal
on metal.
Much of the work is done outside, year around.
“This is hard work,” he says.
Chesapeake Shipbuilding, which is also owned by Robertson,
last year completed construction of two large buildings
where work on ships will be finished. Severn says that
the shipyard also conducts routine maintenance on the cruise
ships to keep them fresh for the passengers.
The small cruise lines try to pay close attention to passenger
comforts and Severn says extra attention goes into details
such as soundproofing staterooms and finding ways to
increase the size of the staterooms.
Back on board the American Star, Captain Thorpe shows
off one of the staterooms with a king-sized bed and a bathroom
“as big as one in a house.”
The small-ship cruise clientele expect better facilities because
they are paying more for their tickets, which can run up
to about $10,000 a week or more for a couple.
“There is no hiding it,” Robertson says. “Our cruises are
expensive.”
By contrast, several large cruise companies advertise prices
starting at under $800 per person for a week. Dessler, of
the marketing Alliance, says those prices are low because the
big cruise companies expect passengers to spend more for onboard
extras that are often included in the small-ship price.
For that cost, the passengers get a lot of personal attention,
gourmet dining and other specialized services. Each stateroom
has a flat-panel television and DVD-player. The ships
are equipped with Wi-Fi for people who bring their laptops
and each deck has a computer station where guests who travel
laptopless can keep up with e-mail. Each American Cruise
passenger gets a nametag on a lanyard to wear at all times.
“It is the perfect ice breaker,” Thorpe says of the tags.
Instead of dancing and gambling, the small ships often
build their social schedule around guest lecturers or themes.
“Our market is the more affluent, more educated, more
well-traveled folks so it tends to be more of a cultural experience,”
Robertson says. “They tend to be a little more mature,
certainly more educated and more intellectually curious.”
Donald Shomette, a marine archaeologist, author and expert
on the history of the Chesapeake Bay, is a frequent lecturer
on the ships.
“We are all good friends by the time the cruise is over,”
he says.
Thorpe says, “It is amazing to me the number of people
who meet on the ship, develop a friendship and then book a
cruise together later.”
American Cruise Lines says that a third of its passengers
have sailed with them before. “As far as we know, we have
the highest repeat rate of any cruise line in the world,” Robertson
says.
The Thomases from Elmhurst, Pa., John and Jean, were
experiencing the Chesapeake Bay for the first time as they
disembarked from the American Star in St. Michaels, but Jean
said they have been on two other American Cruises. “We took
the New England cruise,” Jean Thomas says, “And we did the
River of Florida cruise.”
The Bay cruise starts and ends in Baltimore with stops at
Yorktown, Tangier Island, Crisfield, Cambridge, Oxford, St.
Michaels, and Annapolis. At each stop, organized tours and
side trips are arranged for the passengers. Thorpe says that the
ship’s chef often buys local fare to add to the menu.
He says the St. Michaels stop ranks high with the
passengers.
“It is the best stop on the Chesapeake Bay cruise,” he says.
“Our being able to tie up at the Museum, right in the middle
of it all, who gets that experience Our people can wander off
after the Museum closes, sit in the bandstand and watch the
moon coming up over the skipjacks. I know that they see that
as a distinct privilege.” w
Chesapeake Shipbuilding on the Wicomico River in
Salisbury, Md., builds ACL cruise ships as well as
handling maintenance on existing ships in the fleet.
21

Mystery solved, it’s Chesapeake City.
The Mystery Photo on the back of the Fall issue drew eight
correct and partially correct responses identifying the location
as Chesapeake City and the bridge as the highway lift
bridge that was destroyed in 1942. We received more information
about the bridge and location than about the tug
in the foreground, a 54-foot steel-hulled diesel tug clearly
named Gilbert, which was built in Baltimore in 1931 and
called New York home port.
See the new Mystery Photo on the back of WaterWays and
submit your answer by e-mail to editor@cbmm.org.
1. I think the mystery photo in the fall issue of the WaterWays
is the old vertical lift bridge (built in 1927) in Chesapeake
City, Md.—which spanned the C&D canal. The picture, looking
east, was taken before a German freighter knocked down
the lift bridge in July 1942. It took seven years to replace the
bridge—but this time with fixed suspension arch bridge.
John Ferman
2. As a youngster, I spent my summers at my grandparents’ farm
in Chesapeake City in Cecil County. I do remember a bridge
of this type crossing the C&D Canal; it may still be used. But
there was another one that crossed it that connected North and
South Chesapeake City, but it met its demise during WWII.
My parents lived there at the time because my dad worked
as a guard at a munitions factory somewhere in the county.
One day in 1942, they heard a loud crash, the sound of grating
metal and the bridge collapse before their eyes. A ship was
too high, the bridge too low or it ran off course in the narrow
canal. Or SABOTAGE! Sheer speculation, but the canal was
important to shipping. (It kept freighters out of the sights of
German U-Boats that prowled the East coasts shipping lanes.)
Between ‘42 and ‘49 a ferry was used to cross the canal. In
1949 a new bridge opened, which my grandfather worked on.
It is the Chesapeake City Bridge that Route 213 now crosses.
If this is not the bridge in question, at least you’ll add to
your repertoire of Maryland history.
Sincerely, Carl S. Rulis, McDaniel, Md.
3. Location of tug and crane barge is Chesapeake City, Md., at
the C&D Canal.
Robert J. Lewis, Bethany Beach, Del.
4. The Fall 2007 Mystery Photo shows South Chesapeake City
on the C&D Canal. The drawbridge plus the image of Franklin
Hall in the background clearly indicates the location. The
photo would have been taken prior to July 28, 1942. On that
day, the (former) German ship, the Franz Klasen, in an accident,
hit and knocked the bridge down. A new high span
bridge was not completed until 1949 due to delays caused by
World War II. The “new” bridge is still in use today.
Alexander (Sandy) Slater III
5. I just recently read an article somewhere about a lift bridge
being ran down by a ship. It had a picture of a ferry crossing
the C&D Canal that I believe in later years became the Chesapeake
and ran between Old Point Comfort and Willoughby
Spit and then moved to the Jamestown run. I believe the
article was about the St. Georges Bridge. St. Georges does
C&D Canal, Chesapeake City, Maryland. Herman Hollerith, Jr.
Collection, CBMM
not have a boat basin that I know of, so it is not this one.
Bridge pictured is too wide for a single track railroad, either.
Since the photo includes a boat basin my answer is going to
be Chesapeake City, Md.
William L. Baxter (Chesapeake, Va.)
6. The “Mystery Photo” pictured in the Fall edition is of the
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal at Chesapeake City. The
vertical lift span bridge in the scene preceded the bridge
presently at this location. The bridge and the dress of the
men on the fuel barge date this photo to the 1930 ties.
Though I must admit, I never saw this scene with my
own eyes (I was born in December 1945) and remembered
similar pictures in family photo albums. John Thomas Truitt
(“Tom”), 1892-1953, my maternal grandfather and dock
master at Sinclair Refining, took many like it while passing
through the canal on his way from Marcus Hook to “Rock”
fishing in the bay. Not far from the scene pictured was a popular
fuel and provision stop located where Schaffer’s Canal
House (or whatever it’s now called) stood.
There’s an untold story of Eastern Shore and Delmarva émigrés
who, at the turn of the century, migrated to Marcus Hook
and Chester, Pa., for work in the new oil refineries and shipyards.
Among them was John Malcom Truitt, a ship’s carpenter
and my great grandfather, who became head of Sun Oil’s
carpentry department. And many of those early fuel barges
running between Baltimore and Marcus Hook, recalled in the
Summer edition of “Waterways,” were crewed by folks from
the Shore who settled around “Hook.”
Behind Sun’s main gate on Delaware Avenue is a monument
to the more than 100 members of the Sun Oil Company
marine department who lost their lives during WWII (nine
ships sunk or severely damaged). Many of the surnames on
the monument are common to the Eastern Shore.
Walter Hodges
7. I believe that this may be a section of the Chesapeake and
Delaware Canal.... The tug, Gilbert, is diesel powered but
still has kerosene running lights.
Fred Hecklinger
8. This looks like the Chesapeake City lift bridge. The bridge
was destroyed by the tanker Franz Klasen in 1942.
Eric A. van Venrooy, D.D.S., Worton, Md.
23

Mystery Photo
Can you identify where we are in this photo How about when it was taken
Can you tell us anything about the types of vessels and the functions of the bridges
The answer and the names of the readers who get it right will appear in the winter
issue of WaterWays. Send your answers by e-mail to editor@cbmm.org.
Photo from the Frank A. Moorshead, Jr. Collection, CBMM.
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Navy Point w PO Box 636
St. Michaels, MD 21663
www.cbmm.org
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage Paid
Chesapeake Bay
Maritime Museum