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Preserving
and teaching 400 years of maritime history |
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| Volume
3, Issue 1 March 2004 |
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Newsletter |
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| Plans
underway for Thomas Point Lighthouse transfer The Annapolis Maritime Museum is one of four partners in a consortium slated to take ownership of the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse at a ceremony to be held during the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival at Annapolis City Dock on Saturday, May 1.
The Museum will join the U.S. Lighthouse Society, the City of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County to take over management and preservation of the beloved National Historic Landmark, the last screwpile lighthouse on the Bay still in its original location. Built in 1875, Thomas Point is in surprisingly good shape, except for damage to the lower loading platform caused by Hurricane Isabel. Guided tours will begin by late summer from City Dock. Tours will eventually depart from the McNasby Building once its docks have been renovated. The Museum will also house a permanent exhibit that will interpret the structure’s significance. All funding for the project will come from grants, private donations and sponsorships. For more information on how to help, contact us: 410 295-0104, ammoffice@annapolismaritimemuseum.org. |
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Galway Bay “Irish Night” nets more than $6,000
The First Annual Irish Night at Galway Bay restaurant on March 8 was a terrific success, reports Marsha Buchanan, AMM’s event coordinator extraordinaire. Nearly two hundred AMM supporters paid $50 each for a St. Patrick’s Day “preview” featuring an all-you-can-eat Irish buffet and music by the “Irish O’Boys,” cousins from the Emerald Isle of the Museum’s “house band,” Them Eastport Oyster Boys. “We are indebted to Galway Bay for their generosity in offering this opportunity,” Marsha added. “The evening was ‘made,’ however, by the ‘Irish O'Boys,’ whose upbeat music and fun makes everyone feel happy.” Kevin O’Brooks and Jeff “Sean” McHollihand led the eclectic band of balladeers including Tom Guay on fiddle, Keith Manuel on bodhran, Pete Miller on bass, Randy Neilson on accordion, and Andy Fegley on the slide shillelagh. Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley stopped by to sing a couple of rousing sea chanties, as did Irish music superstar Shamus Kennedy. |
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Bruce Morse and Mike Caswell, volunteers in charge of AMM’s Wooden Boat Program, bring the skipjack Lydia D down the Bay from her home port of Havre De Grace. Bruce Gallup, who built the vessel in 1981, donated her to AMM last October. She spent the winter at a pier on Back Creek as a guest of the Parkwood Civic Association, and will be dedicated at the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival at Annapolis City Dock the first weekend of May. USS Constellation to visit old “home port” of Annapolis in October — AMM guests welcome aboard The recently restored Sloop of War Constellation will be visiting the U.S. Naval Academy the weekend of October 30, 2004. The historic Civil War-era vessel served as a training ship at the Academy from 1871 to 1893, so, in a sense, the impressive ship will be leaving Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to return to her old “home port” in Annapolis Harbor. The Museum is planning a reception on board while she’s here. AMM guests will be able to tour the ship, enjoy cocktails and heavy hors d'oeuvres, hear a lecture on her service history and restoration, and support the Museum at the same time. Stay tuned for more details.
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Chesapeake Music Institute debuts with CD collection of Bay folk artists Any place worth singing about is worth preserving. With that simple precept in mind, the Annapolis Maritime Museum has launched an exciting new project called the Chesapeake Music Institute (CMI), an organization dedicated to researching, collecting, preserving and promoting traditional and original music inspired by the Chesapeake Bay.
CMI’s initial project is a CD retrospective of existing recordings titled, “Thomas Point Light,” and will feature artists like Tom Wisner (seen here at City Dock), Bob Zentz, Janie Meneely, Them Eastport Oyster Boys, Caryl P. Weiss, Joe Thompson, Steve Keith, Tom McHugh and the Chesapeake Scenes. The many singer/songwriters involved with the project will be donating the use of their original tracks on the album, which is slated for release at the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival at Annapolis City Dock the first weekend of May, 2004. Many of the artists featured on the CD will perform live at the festival, as well as in the “Lunchtime Maritime Concert” series at Annapolis City Dock starting in June.
Proceeds will be used for future concerts, workshops, research and promoting artists like these dedicated to celebrating the Chesapeake Bay in music and song. For more information, or to order a CD, contact us: 410 295-0104, ammoffice@annapolismaritimemuseum.org.
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Wednesday,
March 24 — AMM Maritime Lecture Series Saturday,
April 17 — GreenScape Saturday
& Sunday, April 17 & 18 — Wooden Boat Work Days Wednesday,
April 28 — Maritime Lecture Series Saturday
& Sunday, May 1 & 2 — Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival Thursday,
May 20 — A Tribute to Peg Wallace Wednesday,
May 26 — Maritime Lecture Series Wednesday,
June 2 — Lunchtime Maritime Concert Series Ongoing through June 2004 |
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| "Before
There Was GPS: The Navigation Genius of Capt. Weems — highlights
the career of the “Grand Old Man of Navigation”
(1889-1979).
This exhibit is on display at: Weems & Plath 214 Eastern Ave. Annapolis, MD 21403 Monday—Friday, 9 a.m. to 5p.m. No admission charge |
Schooners
on the Chesapeake Bay —
focuses on the origins of the traditional watercraft whose unique
design was born of the shallow waters of our rivers and creeks. See this exhibit at: Capt. Salem Avery House 1418 East West Shady Side Road Shady Side, MD 20764 Sundays, 1 - 4 p.m. www.averyhouse.org |
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Thank goodness it's Spring. And along with the fragrances of spring flowers and socks burning comes the annual Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival May 1 and 2 at City Dock. This year's Festival will be more fun than ever and it has special meaning for the Museum. On Saturday, the Coast Guard is expected to formally turnover the keys to Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse to the City of Annapolis and the four-member consortium responsible for preservation, restoration, and opening of the lighthouse to the public. As an active member of the Consortium, your Museum will be front and center during the celebration. The Museum will have a major festival booth shared with the U.S. Lighthouse Society, the lead member of the consortium. Members of the Lighthouse Society and the Museum will man the booth to discuss our plans (and by the way, recruit interested volunteers.) As you may know the lighthouse will be restored and opened to the public on location. It will remain an active aid to navigation, but in the future you'll be able to board it for a real hands-on experience. The Museum will also announce the new Chesapeake Music Institute devoted to identifying, documenting, and presenting the authentic music of the Bay. This is a long-term project that will be unique to our Museum. Kevin Brooks, Jeff Holland, Jane Meneeley and others are behind the Institute and will be performing at the Festival. Come by the Museum's booth and hear the Institute's first compilation CD! And there will be other announcements. Your Museum is on the move. But the point is: I urge you to come to the Festival. The Maritime Festival is Our Thing. Get involved. Spend some time in the booth. Enjoy. Get excited. Good things are happening in our town. See
you there, |
Plans for McNasby building renovation move forward
“Current plans for McNasby’s and the Barge House are based upon the strategy of doing only what’s necessary to make the buildings safe and functional on a year-round basis,”he said in a recent report to Ellen O. Moyer, Mayor of the City of Annapolis, which owns the property. “We’re looking at completing the plans by the end of March and beginning the reconstruction phase in May,” he said. “The McNasby building will become the ‘Bay Studies and Environmental Center’ with the ‘Oysters on the Half Shell’ exhibit as the main permanent exhibit. It will also become the site of the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Museum and gift shop as well as the point of embarkation for the lighthouse by tour boat.” The Museum campus will continue to serve as a Chesapeake Bay Gateways site and will provide facilities for concerts, lectures and community events as well as for Annapolis Community Boating programs including family boat-building projects. A simple food service is envisioned in the plan, he added. The Barge House will be utilized as a Children’s Maritime Museum and office space. “This is an exciting time for the Museum,” Buck said. “We’re always looking for ideas and input from our members and the community in order to make this a world-class facility that serves the needs of the students and citizens of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County as well as our visitors.” |
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AMM receives new grants & tax credits The Museum recently received $10,000 worth of Tax Credits from the Maryland State Department of Housing and Community Development-Neighborhood Partnership Program to assist in the fund-raising effort to restore the McNasby building.
The spring lecture series at Maryland Hall and part of the summer Lunchtime Maritime Concert series to be held at the Annapolis City Dock will be supported by a $1,000 grant from the Maryland Humanities Council and a $1,000 grant from the Anne Arundel County Cultural Arts Foundation. The
Maritime Republic of Eastport designated
AMM as the key beneficiary of the proceeds from the annual MRE Tug
of War last November. MRE Premier Tim Kennedy recently presented
a check for more than $9,000 to AMM Board Chairman Buck Buchanan. |
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AMM moves to new temporary offices at 222 Severn Avenue This past December, Museum staffers moved to a temporary office space at 222 Severn Avenue in Eastport, site of the historic Trumpy yacht yard from 1947 to 1974. Within just a couple of months, Museum projects and activities progressed to such a pitch that the one-room space proved inadequate, so in mid-March, volunteers and staff moved to a four-room space in nearby Building #3, Suite A. “There’s adequate space for a conference room for Board meetings and other committee meetings as well as room for our new part-time staff, Office Manager Jan Kunz and Project Manager Teresa Dowd,” reports Museum Director Jeff Holland, “as well as Buck Buchanan, Chairman of the Board, and myself. We’re grateful to Bill and Judi Kardash of Columbia Direct Marketing Corporation of Annapolis for all the donated office furniture. Stop by and see our new digs!” The
Annapolis Maritime Museum is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization
and contributions |
Want to help and have fun? Become an AMM volunteer!
Longtime AMM board member Jeannie Zajac, who is (voluntarily) coordinating the museum’s volunteer program, reports that there are a number of fun opportunities coming up to contribute time and talent. “We need your help with upcoming special events like GreenScape, A Tribute to Peg Wallace, the Maryland Maritime Heritage Festival, and our Lecture Series and Lunchtime Maritime Concert Series,” Jeannie says. “In addition, we always need help with landscaping and grounds keeping, wooden boat maintenance and repair, Museum research and cataloging, special events, building maintenance and general administrative work. It’s an exciting time at the AMM. Become a member, become a volunteer, and come out and have some fun. If you’re available for one hour or ten, let us know, and we’ll put your particular talents to work.” Please contact Jeannie call 410-295-0104, or via email at AMMOffice@AnnapolisMaritimeMuseum.org. |
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| Annapolis Maritime Museum Board of Directors
Buck Buchanan, Chairman of the Board Cheryl
Findlay, Assistant Treasurer Staff Annapolis
Maritime Museum 410 295-0104 ammoffice@annapolismaritimemuseum.org |
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AMM
Chairman of the Board Buck Buchanan reports rapid progress on the
plans for the renovation of the hurricane-damaged museum campus,
and that the McNasby Oyster Packing building, the Barge House and
the piers could be completely repaired and ready for occupancy by
early autumn.