Fall 2012 Volume Nineteen • Number Three
Special Lecture on Sir Thomas Lipton In conjunction with the Fall Exhibition, author Michael D’Antonio will present Sir Thomas Lipton and His Race for the Cup on December 11, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. D’Antonio has authored many acclaimed books, including A Full Cup: Sir Thomas Lipton’s Extraordinary Life and His Quest for the America’s Cup. Among his many awards is the Pulitzer Prize, which he shared with a team of reporters for Newsday.
Sir Thomas Lipton, who lost five challenges for the America’s Cup between 1899 and 1930, but won the hearts of Americans through his generosity and good sportsmanship. Flagler Museum.
Today he is more famous for his tea, but in the world of Gilded Age yachting, Sir Thomas Lipton’s name was synonymous with a passionate love of yacht racing and good sportsmanship. After great success building his empire of markets, factories, and tea plantations, Lipton set his sights on winning the America’s Cup. He spared no expense to capture the most coveted
Museum Trustees President: George G. Matthews Vice President: G.F. Robert Hanke Treasurer: William M. Matthews Secretary: Thomas S. Kenan, III Trustee: Alexander W. Dreyfoos Trustee: Kelly M. Hopkins Trustee: John B. Rogers
Museum Staff Executive Director: John M. Blades Business Manager: Susan Present Chief Curator: Tracy Kamerer Education Director: Allison Goff Facilities Manager: William Fallacaro Member Services Director: Sarah Brutschy Public Affairs Director: David Carson Store & Café Manager: Kristen Cahill
On The Cover Sir Thomas Lipton’s challenger Shamrock II and Columbia, owned by a syndicate led by J. Pierpont Morgan, maneuvering for the start of the October 1, 1901, America’s Cup race. Library of Congress.
of all sporting trophies, despite the fact that he didn’t even know how to sail. For his five attempts to challenge American champions between 1899 and 1930, Lipton built five state-ofthe-art racing machines, Shamrocks I through V. Lipton also promoted yacht racing by donating elaborate trophies to encourage yachting competitions around the world. Lipton’s generosity and unwavering good will, despite repeated and expensive America’s Cup losses, earned him the admiration of sporting fans worldwide, and the nickname “the Gamest Loser in the World of Sports.” Tickets are $20 per person. Advanced purchase is recommended as space is limited. Tickets may be purchased through the Museum website.
Museum Hours and Admission The Flagler Museum is open year round, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum is closed Mondays and on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Admission is $18 for adults, $10 for youth ages 13-17, $3 for children ages 6-12, and children under 6 are free. Admission is free for Members. Special rates are available for groups. The Museum and grounds are wheelchair accessible. For more information, please call (561) 655-2833. Inside Whitehall is published quarterly by the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The Flagler Museum One Whitehall Way Palm Beach, Florida 33480 Telephone (561) 655-2833 Fax (561) 655-2826 e-mail: mail@flaglermuseum.us website: www.flaglermuseum.us © Flagler Museum, 2012
Upcoming Season Programs Announced
Vienna Piano Trio
Capturing the Cup Exhibit
Easter Egg Hunt & Egg Roll
The Season begins with the Fall Exhibition Capturing the Cup: Yacht Racing During the Gilded Age. Open October 16th, Capturing the Cup offers an illuminating perspective on the exciting story of yacht racing in America up to the Great Depression, through the elaborate gold and silver trophies made by the most important silversmiths of the period. The exhibition is sponsored by PNC and the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs. The 14th Annual Flagler Museum Music Series will bring the finest chamber music groups to South Florida. The Series welcomes: Quartetto Bernini (Jan. 8), the Utrecht String Quartet (Jan. 22), the Schubert Ensemble (Feb. 5), the Vienna Piano Trio (Feb. 19) and the Auryn Quartet (March 5). The Music Series is sponsored by Northern Trust, Palm Beach Daily News, and the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust. The 28th Annual Whitehall Lecture Series will bring experts on Gilded Age culture and history to the Museum to discuss Presidents of the Gilded Age. The Series begins February 3rd and will explore obscure, famous and infamous, and little-known topics concerning presidents McKinley,
Grant, Garfield, Cleveland, and Hayes. The Series is sponsored by The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation and The Palm Beach Post. The private spaces of legendary residences of the American and European elite are depicted in paintings by American artist Walter Gay (1856–1937) in the Winter Exhibition, Impressions of Interiors: Gilded Age Paintings by Walter Gay, open January 29th. The exhibition is organized by the Frick Art & Historical Center in Pittsburgh. This exhibition is made possible by a generous grant from the Richard C. von Hess Foundation and sponsored by Northern Trust and The Palm Beach Post. This season, the Museum continues to provide family programming such as the Easter Egg Hunt, Children’s Exhibit Activities, Mother’s Day Tea and much more. Before visiting the Museum, please confirm program dates and times at www.flaglermuseum.us, where the complete guide to Museum programs is available.
Café des Beaux-Arts Opens November 23
The Café des Beaux-Arts offers a unique Gilded Age style lunch experience. The Café is open November 23, 2012 through March 30, 2013.
Café des Beaux-Arts will open for the Season on November 23, 2012. Each afternoon the Flagler Museum serves a prix fixe lunch featuring an array of delicacies and refreshments reminiscent of the elegance of entertaining during the Gilded Age. Visitors may enjoy a selection of gourmet tea sandwiches, traditional scones, and sweets complemented by the Flagler Museum’s own Whitehall Special Blend™ tea, and served on exquisite Whitehall Collection™ china. Located in the beautiful Flagler Kenan Pavilion, Café des Beaux-Arts
provides guests with spectacular panoramic views of Lake Worth and the West Palm Beach skyline. Henry Flagler ’s private Railcar No. 91, completes the sophisticated Gilded Age ambience. Guests are encouraged to prepurchase lunch to insure space is available. For more information call the Flagler Museum’s Reservation Coordinator at (561) 655-2833.
Fall Exhibition: Capturing the Cup: Yacht Racing During the Gilded Age Capturing the Cup: Yacht Racing During the Gilded Age, on exhibit at the Flagler Museum from October 16, 2012, through January 6, 2013, presents the exciting story of yacht racing in America during the period that has also become known as the Golden Age of the sport. Works of art, artifacts, historic films, and elaborate gold and silver trophies made by the most important silversmiths, illuminate the history of the great yachts, races, and personalities of the period, like “the Gamest Loser in the World of Sports,” Sir Thomas Lipton, who won the hearts of Americans in spite of losing five America’s Cup challenges. Among the significant objects on display is a rare perfect replica of the silver America’s Cup, the oldest and most coveted prize in the world of sport. The yacht America surprised everyone by winning the Royal Yacht Squadron’s competition for yachts of all nations around the Isle of Wight in 1851, the first year the cup was offered. Her radical design by George Steers, with a narrow, tapered bow and fuller stern, was essentially the opposite of the hull style preferred by British racers. Artifacts related to America, such as a half model of the hull made by Steers for presentation to Queen Victoria and a fragment of her innovative sails, are on display in the exhibition. Subsequent competition for what came to be known as the America’s Cup helped ignite a craze for yachting and advanced nautical design in this country. The international competition has been a showcase for the best in the world of yachting ever since. During the late nineteenth century, America’s Cup competition between the United States and Britain was fierce. Competitive tensions came to a head during the unsuccessful 1893 and 1895 challenges by the Earl of Dunraven, resulting in disagreements over the rules, an allegation of cheating, and ill will on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Sir Thomas Lipton’s arrival on the yachting scene, however, helped revive the competition. Today he is more famous for his tea, but in the world of Gilded Age yachting, Sir Thomas Lipton’s name came to be synonymous with a passionate love of yacht racing and good sportsmanship. Lipton set his sights on taking the America’s Cup back to Britain, making five failed attempts. Lipton also did more than any other individual to promote
steam yachts and was known to have attended regattas. In 1883 or 1884, Flagler purchased the famous schooner Columbia, a successful 1871 America’s Cup defender. Flagler and his steam yacht Alicia, built for him in 1890, served on the New York Yacht Club patrol for the 1895 America’s Cup races. Artifacts and works of art related to Flagler’s yachts are featured in the exhibition, including a rare painting of the Columbia by maritime artist William G. Yorke.
2 1. A rare perfect replica of the silver America’s Cup, the oldest and most coveted prize in the world of sport since it was won in 1851 by its namesake, the yacht America. William I. Koch Collection. 2. The schooner yacht America, the winner in 1851 of what came to be known as the America’s Cup. Library of Congress. yacht racing worldwide by donating elaborate and costly trophies to encourage friendly competition. A highlight of the exhibition is the famous 18-karat-gold Lipton Presentation Cup made by Tiffany & Co. in 1930. Humorist Will Rogers helped solicit funds from American citizens to purchase the loving cup for Lipton after his final attempt to win the America’s Cup trophy failed.
wealthy were able to purchase and maintain a large yacht and its crew. Many prominent Americans, such as John Jacob Astor, James Gordon Bennett, J. Pierpont Morgan, Harold Vanderbilt, and Henry Flagler owned sail and steam yachts. Racing yachts was an even costlier endeavor – even a century ago, a challenge or defense of the Cup could cost more than half a million dollars.
Participation in yachting on Lipton’s scale, however, was clearly an elite pursuit. It was the most costly pastime during the Gilded Age, as only the
Sailing and racing became popular among the general public after the Civil War. In the late nineteenth century, yacht clubs sprang up wherever there were large bodies of water and numerous regattas were held for competition between smaller boats. Crowds thronged to the shore to watch racing. Capturing the Cup highlights trophies and artifacts related to racing on Florida’s shores, where several yacht clubs were organized before the turn of the twentieth century.
America’s Cup defender Reliance, owned by a syndicate led by Cornelius Vanderbilt III, and Sir Thomas Lipton’s challenger Shamrock III, before the start of an America’s Cup race on August 25, 1903. Library of Congress.
Though he didn’t race, Henry Flagler was keenly interested in yacht racing. A member of several clubs including the New York Yacht Club, Flagler owned sailing and
While it could cost enormous sums of money to compete in the major regattas, winners also walked away with large cash purses and costly trophies. Leading silversmiths of the Gilded Age such as Tiffany & Co.; Black, Starr & Frost; Gorham Manufacturing Company; and Dominick & Haff were commissioned by yacht clubs and wealthy sportsmen to create some of the most lavish presentation pieces ever made. The high cost and elaborate design of yachting trophies are evidence of the prominence of the sport in America during the Gilded Age. Capturing the Cup features numerous important yacht racing trophies and presents the fascinating stories of the donors of these prestigious prizes, the champions, and their yachts. Capturing the Cup: Yacht Racing During the Gilded Age is organized by the Flagler Museum and sponsored by PNC and Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs. Lenders to the exhibition include: Chrysler Museum of Art, Glasgow Museums (Glasgow Life), William I. Koch Collection, Mariner’s Museum, Museum of the City of New York, Newport Historical Society, NewYork Historical Society, New York Yacht Club, Palm Beach Yacht Club, St. Augustine Yacht Club, and Tiffany & Co. Archives.
Henry Flagler’s steam yacht Alicia, 160’ long at the waterline, custom built in 1890 by Harlan and Hollingsworth of Wilmington, Delaware. Library of Congress.
The Amazing Story of Henry Flagler’s Yacht, Alicia What do bananas, the overthrow of a government, and Henry Flagler have in common? The answer: Henry Flagler’s yacht Alicia. With the America’s Cup race just months away, and the Museum’s Fall Exhibition on the history of yacht racing during the Gilded Age about to open, it seems like the perfect time to tell the amazing story of one of Henry Flagler’s yachts, the Alicia. Like other titans of America’s Gilded Age, Henry Flagler enjoyed yachting and was a member of many yacht clubs, including the New York Yacht Club, where he registered his private signal flag or burgee. Flagler purchased Eclipse, his first yacht, around 1883, but he owned it only briefly. Eclipse was built by C.A. Willis in 1881 and its overall length was about 55 feet. Flagler’s second yacht, the schooner Columbia, was purchased in 1884. Built in 1871 for Franklin Osgood, Columbia became world famous when in that same year she successfully defended the America’s Cup, along with Sappho. Columbia was about 108 feet long with a beam of about 25 feet. She drew just over eight feet and displaced just over 100 tons. In 1890 Henry Flagler decided to build his own new yacht, which he named Alicia, after his wife Alice. It would be,
by far, his largest yacht. Harlan and Hollingsworth of Wilmington, Delaware received the commission to build a two-masted schooner, with a three-cylinder steam engine. Alicia’s overall length was 180ft, her length along its waterline was 160ft, its displacement was just over 300 tons, its beam was 24ft, and its draft was 9ft 6in. At a cost of about $113,000 (about $3,000,000 in today’s money), Alicia was a substantial investment. Flagler must have been proud of Alicia, as it was the only one of his yachts for which he commissioned a painting. Like Columbia, the Alicia was involved in an America’s Cup race, but in Alicia’s case not as a competitor, but as a patrol or committee boat. Henry Flagler and the Alicia were chosen to serve as a captain and patrol vessel during the 1895 America’s Cup race, when an American Lapel pin of sloop designed by the legendary yacht Alicia’s Nathanael Herreshoff named personal signal Defender successfully defended the flag, or burgee. Cup by defeating the British cutter Flagler Museum Valkyrie III. To commemorate the Collection. occasion and thank Flagler for
Mahogany, silver, and enamel humidor made by Tiffany and Co. in 1896 and presented to Henry Flagler in recognition of Flagler and his yacht Alicia’s role in the 1895 America’s Cup Race. Flagler Museum Collection. his participation, New York Yacht Club Rear Commodore Bergen commissioned a cigar humidor from Tiffany & Co. When the United States hastily declared war against Spain in 1898, it did so without much in the way of a navy - the Great White Fleet was yet to be created by Theodore Roosevelt. Since war with Spain would necessarily involve naval battles and blockades, in order to bring the Navy quickly up to par, Congress authorized the purchase of more than
100 private yachts and corporate ships, among them: JP Morgan’s Corsair, Ogden Goelet’s Mayflower, J.D. Spreckels’ Fearless, two Standard Oil ships Atlas and Hercules, and Henry Flagler’s Alicia. The Navy removed the aft mast of the Alicia and renamed her the USS Hornet, immediately sending the ship into battle where it quickly developed a reputation as a capable Navy ship. In April of 1898 the USS Hornet seized the English schooner Nickerson, with its Spanish crew, trying to run the blockade off Manzanillo, Cuba. Shortly thereafter, the USS Hornet and two other ships sank a Spanish gunboat. Later that same day the same group of three U.S. ships entered Manzanillo Harbor and immediately engaged in battle. The steam pipe on the USS Hornet was blown away, but the Hornet continued to fight and sank a Spanish sloop. By July the Hornet had been repaired and was back in action near Santa Cur del Sur cutting under water telegraph cables. But, it wasn’t long before the Hornet saw action again in Manzanillo Harbor where the American fleet sank nine Spanish ships in an hour and 40 minutes of heavy fighting. By August the Hornet was back in Key West and by October 1898 it was decommissioned and loaned to the Naval Militia of North Carolina where she served until 1902. The Hornet was then sent to Norfolk , where it served as a tender to the Franklin for the next eight years. In 1910 the Hornet was decommissioned and sold to a broker in New Orleans.
A painting by William G. Yorke depicting America’s Cup champion Columbia in 1881, purchased by Henry Flagler. Flagler Museum Collection.
Bananas Native to Southeast Asia, bananas were first introduced to the New World when, a quarter century after Columbus “discovered” the New World, a Dominican Priest brought just two banana rhizomes to Santo Domingo. For the next 400 years all bananas in the New World were descended from just those two rhizomes. In 1836 a French botanist working on a farm in Jamaica developed a hybrid named “Big Mike.” The Big Mike variety was the banana that made the fruit the most popular in America. It’s thick oily skin made it sturdy, easy to ship, and it ripened relatively slowly. Unfortunately, the Big Mike’s oily skin also made it very slippery, thus the many jokes and cartoons of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries about slipping on a banana peel. However, by the mid 1960s, Panama Disease wiped out the Big Mike entirely. From the mid 1960s on a variety known as the Cavendish became the most common banana variety. Not nearly as durable as the Big Mike and much quicker to ripen, the Cavendish could not be shipped as bare hands and bunches. Instead, a special cardboard box had to be invented for shipping. And, because the skin of the Cavendish was not especially oily, jokes and cartoons about slipping on banana peels have slowly disappeared from American culture. The term “Banana Republic” was coined by none other than William Sydney Porter, better known by his pen name, O. Henry, while he was living in selfimposed exile in Honduras. Escaping to Honduras through the Port of New Orleans, Porter hoped to avoid prosecution for embezzlement from the bank in Austin, Texas, where he had worked as a teller. It was the banana trade, in large part, that made United Fruit the first real global business. At its peak it owned a 100 ships, at least a million acres of land, and employed a hundred thousand workers. Ironically, Fidel Castro’s father was a teacher in a United Fruit school and Fidel himself was educated in a United Fruit school. Not surprisingly, after Castro seized power in Cuba and nationalized everything in Cuba United Fruit owned, United Fruit was only too happy to supply many of the ships used for the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Eventually, United Fruit was taken over in 1983 by Carl Lindner who moved the company’s headquarters to Cincinnati and changed its name to Chiquita Brands International, Inc.
Until this summer that’s all that was known to historians about the storied life of Alicia (later known as the USS Hornet). However, that was far from being the end of Alicia’s story. Instead, the Alicia was about to begin another interesting chapter of its history. A phase in which it would play a critical role in shaping the geopolitical landscape. But, more about that later. For more than a century bananas have been the most popular fruit in America. But, it wasn’t always so. It is very unlikely that Henry Flagler ever even saw a banana until he was well into his adult life. In the mid-nineteenth century bananas were a very rare fruit, known only to the wealthiest of Americans. But thanks to the United Fruit Company and an extraordinarily scrappy and ambitious young Russian immigrant named Samuel Zemurray, that all changed beginning in the late nineteenth century. Having seen his first banana in 1893 for sale by a peddler in Selma, Alabama, Sam Zemurray was smitten. Working like a dog and repeatedly risking everything, Sam went from buying and selling “ripes,” as the freckled bananas that would not survive long shipments were known, to owning thousands of acres of banana plantations in Central America. He spent part of each year in New Orleans, with his wife and children, and the rest in Central America, making sure he knew the banana business literally from the ground up. By 1910 Sam owned at least 18% of the U.S. banana market, which was saying something, as by then bananas had become the most popular fruit in America. In fact, Sam Zemurray was the only truly serious competition United Fruit had. United Fruit owned thousands of acres of banana plantations, primarily in Nicaragua, while Sam owned thousands of acres, primarily in Honduras. Having contracted in 1870 for the construction of a railroad between the Pacific and Atlantic, Honduras was in deep financial trouble. Apparently, the contract for the construction of the railroad was based on per mile of track completed and the contractor happily laid 60 miles of meandering track, that never even came close to spanning Honduras from sea to sea, before the company went bust. By 1900 Honduras owed London bankers and bondholders about 100 million dollars. By 1910 Honduran President Miguel Dávila, desperate to find a way out of the country’s crushing debt, asked for America’s help. And, he got what he was looking for. Secretary of State, Philander Knox, worked out an agreement with JP Morgan to buy all the outstanding bonds for 15 cents on the dollar, provided a Morgan representative would be stationed at the Custom House in Puerto Cortés to collect duty on all exports. It was a classic Morgan move. The problem with the Knox Plan, at least as far as Sam Zemurray was concerned, was that it would mean additional taxes on the bananas being exported and that would mean the end of Zemurray’s banana business. So Sam, following a time-honored tradition, hired loads of Washington lobbyists to undermine the Plan. When Sam’s lobbying efforts attracted Secretary Knox’s attention, Knox became so furious he summoned Zemurray to
Washington, where he pointedly explained that the Plan was more important than Sam’s banana business and that there was no stopping it now. For Sam Zemurray, allowing his banana business to collapse was simply unacceptable. So, thinking that a change in the presidency of Honduras would mean the Plan would be rendered moot, Zemurray immediately set about figuring out how orchestrate a Honduran revolution. Obviously, Sam Zemurray didn’t fully appreciate the fact that he “couldn’t” simply defy two of the most powerful men in America. It just so happened that the former President of Honduras, General Manuel Bonilla, had been living in exile in New Orleans since he was deposed in 1907. And that, he was a close friend of none other than Sam Zemurray. It also just so happened that New Orleans was filled with adventurers and mercenaries more than willing, for the right price, to embark on yet another mission. Sam set about immediately rounding up the “usual suspects” for his Honduran “revolution.” Zemurray’s first attempt to stage a Honduran revolution failed spectacularly. Undeterred Zemurray believed a successful revolution could be mounted if the Knox Plan could be cast as some sort of American hegemony, which friendly Honduran reporters were happy to do, and if he added a warship to his small army of about 100 mercenaries. Working secretly through an agent in New Orleans he found and purchased his warship, which was none other than the former USS Hornet (formerly the Alicia). With a top speed of 15 knots, the Hornet was faster than any ship in the Honduran navy. Secretary Knox got wind of the sale of the Hornet to Zemurray and assigned the Secret Service to monitor Zemurray’s every move in New Orleans, hoping to keep Sam Zemurray from engaging in any activity that might upset the Plan and embarrass Uncle Sam. Employing clever subterfuge, Zemurray, Bonilla, and the leaders of the group of mercenaries managed to slip out of the harbor in New Orleans just before Christmas 1910 and rendevous with the USS Hornet, which had left the harbor several days before, supposedly to pick up a shipment of iron ore in Nicaragua. In fact, however, the Hornet was loaded with a large shipment of a very different kind of iron - rifles, grenades, and ammunition. A few days later, veiled in dense fog, the Hornet sailed into the harbor of the island of Roatán, just before New Year’s Eve 1910. The mercenaries quickly
Samuel Zemurray Ironically, Sam Zemurray’s overthrow of the Honduran government, which the Secret Service had tried so hard to prevent, became the model for later CIA “operations.” General Manuel Bonilla served only a little more than a year as President of Honduras before dying suddenly of some unknown tropical disease. But, the concessions Zemurray had been granted continued, allowing Sam “The Banana Man” to remain United Fruit’s most serious competitor. Eventually, Sam sold out to United Fruit, in exchange for stock, and he retired to his mansion, which was the largest and nicest house in New Orleans. Zemurray probably would have stayed retired, however, when his United Fruit stock lost 90% of its value he was moved to attend a stockholders meeting to find out why. When he was given the brush off by the United Fruit’s board of directors in that meeting, he did exactly what only Sam Zemurray would dare do. He visited each of the other major stockholders over the next year and convinced them to give him their proxy. When he attended the next stockholders meeting and asked the same questions and was again given the brush off, he pulled out his proxies, fired the chairman of the board on the spot, and took over United Fruit, moving into the firm’s offices in Manhattan where he ran the company for the next two decades. Sam quickly brought United Fruit back to its former levels of prosperity. As the head of one of the largest corporations in the world Sam Zemurray was someone to be reckoned with in Washington. Among other things he became involved with the war effort, serving on FDR’s National War Board. Following World War II, Zemurray - a non-observant Jew was approached to assist the million or so displaced Jews of Europe. He agreed to help provided he remain anonymous. His help came in two very remarkable forms. First, using his vast contacts in the shipping world, he helped purchase and register the ships that would carry tens of thousands of Jews to Palestine, including the Exodus. Second, when the first United Nations vote to partition Palestine to establish the State of Israel failed to receive the necessary two thirds approval - the Allies supporting partitioning Palestine and the Muslim world opposing it - the fate of a Jewish State in Palestine came down to the non-aligned nations that might yet be convinced to vote for partitioning. The non-aligned countries just happened to be the “Banana Republics” where Sam Zemurray still had plenty of political clout. Using his considerable influence Zemurray managed to swing the vote of enough of the non-aligned states to favor partitioning, with the result that in 1947 the State of Israel was born. Samuel Zemurray died in 1961 at the age of 84. His mansion in New Orleans was given to Tulane University and is now used as a residence for the University’s President.
Philander Knox Philander Chase Knox is one of those rare individuals for whom there really should be a biography. However, despite his exceptional legal and political career, no biographer has yet found him a worthy subject. Philander Knox was the son of a Pittsburgh banker. Educated as a lawyer, he served as legal counsel for the Carnegie Steel Company, and later played an important role in organizing the United States Steel Corporation. Knox served as Attorney General under Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt from 1901 to 1904. He served as a U.S. Senator from 1904 to 1909, and again from 1917 to 1921. In the meantime, he served as Secretary of State from 1909 to 1913. Knox ran for President twice, first in 1908 and again in 1920. In his own time, Philander Knox was somewhat famous for his advice to President Theodore Roosevelt regarding the Panama Canal, “Mister President, do not let so great an achievement suffer from any taint of legality.” Philander Knox was among the many influential people Henry Flagler counted as friends and he was among the many who attended Flagler’s Memorial Service at the Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach on March 15, 1914.
captured the old Spanish fort there and the Hornet was immediately sold to a Honduran citizen, so that the ship could take part in the Honduran “revolution” without violating the United States Neutrality Act. The Hornet then mounted a successful attack on Trujillo on January 9th, but was seized by the U.S. Gunboat Tacoma (ironically another privately owned ship purchased for use during the Spanish American War) and towed back to New Orleans to be held as evidence. By then, however, the revolution was well underway and the Hornet was not missed. By early January Honduran President Dávila agreed to a cease-fire and on the deck of the USS Tacoma the President agreed to resign and cede power to a functionary until an election could be held. A few months later, General Bonilla, the “hero“of the revolution, was elected President by a landslide. Almost immediately, the new President quickly granted his friend and benefactor, Sam Zemurray, concessions for his banana trade for the next quarter century.
USS Hornet off the Norfolk Naval Yard, VA. December 19, 1898. NHHC Photograph Collection.
Museum Receives Multiple Grants
The Flagler Museum recently received several grant awards that will greatly impact its ability to educate the public and students about Henry Flagler, Florida’s history, and America’s Gilded Age.
The Museum’s Small Business Partners Grant from VISIT FLORIDA (the Official Tourism Marketing Corporation for the State of Florida), will fund advertising for the upcoming German Audio Tour translation. The Wise Foundation will help to support rare book acquisitions for the Henry Flagler Harris Research Library. The Intergenerational Mentor Program for Art, Culture, and Technology (IMPACT) will once again benefit from Bank of America Charitable Foundation grant funding. Continuing General Program Support has been received from the Florida Department of State – Division of Cultural Affairs for 2012-13. And the Sharkey Family Charitable Foundation has provided a grant for children’s programming, including the popular Tour and Activity Guide for Kids. These generous grants will enable the Museum to continue to preserve, research, and interpret Whitehall and our country’s rich history for millions of visitors from around the world.
Member Appreciation Days Begin Nov. 23rd The Museum appreciates the continued support from its many Members, and would like to say “Thank you” by hosting the Annual Member Appreciation Days, November 23rd through December 2nd, 2012. Members will receive an additional 10% discount in the Museum Store on top of the current 10% Member discount, for a total of 20% off all Museum Store purchases. Enjoy holiday shopping at the Museum Store and take home unique gifts from the Museum’s Whitehall Collection™. Member Appreciation Days are the perfect time to celebrate
the new season and the opening of Café des Beaux-Arts. During Member Appreciation Days Members may enjoy Tea for just $20 per person (regular price for Gilded Age Style Lunch is $22 per person, tax and gratuity included). The Gilded Age style lunch features a selection of gourmet tea sandwiches, scones, and sweets complemented by the Museum’s own Whitehall Special Blend™ tea, and served on exquisite Whitehall Collection™ china. Considering Flagler Museum Membership? Join during Member Appreciation Days and take advantage of these special offers.
Museum to Hold Docent Training In September, the Museum hosted a Docent Training course to prepare new volunteers to serve as interpreters and in other capacities in the Museum Store and Curatorial and Public Affairs Departments. Docent Training is an intense 12-week course led by the Education Director and designed to provide volunteers with the necessary resources to develop a tour of Whitehall and prepare for general interactions with visitors. Through illustrated lecture and discussion, extensive readings, and tour practice, volunteers will design a unique tour experience. Upon the completion of the course, volunteers will be assigned to daily tours, special group tours, and Museum events. Flagler Museum volunteers agree to provide at least 75 hours of volunteer service each year, though many surpass that. In exchange for their service, volunteers receive free admission to the Flagler Museum, a 10% discount in the Museum Store, a subscription to Inside Whitehall, and an invitation to the biennial Staff Recognition Dinner.
Deck the Halls of Whitehall Throughout the holiday season Whitehall’s first floor is decorated in traditional Gilded Age splendor. The Annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Holiday Evening Tours are family traditions not to be missed. On December 2nd the Museum will host a special Christmas-themed lecture. Beginning at 2:00 p.m., Mary Seely will present Season’s Greetings from the White House, in which Seely will explore Christmas traditions of United States First Families since the start of the Gilded Age. Seely is a collector, historian, lecturer, author and publisher of two books about Christmas at the White House. Together with her husband, she owns the most extensive collection of Presidential Christmas memorabilia in the country, part of which has been on display at the White House and on exhibit at ten Presidential Libraries.
Visitors gather for the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting.
After the special Christmas lecture, the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting events will begin at 3:00 p.m. The 16-foot tall Grand Hall Christmas Tree with its historically accurate trimmings is the center of Whitehall’s holiday celebrations. The event will include holiday music played on Whitehall’s original 1,249 pipe J.H. & C.S. Odell & Co. organ, and the 1902 Steinway art-case grand piano in the Drawing Room. This is the only opportunity during
the year that visitors have to hear these majestic instruments. Children can also meet Santa Claus in the Flagler Kenan Pavilion.
During the Christmas Tree Lighting, holiday music played on the Music Room’s historic 1,249-pipe Odell organ.
All the way from the North Pole, Mr. Claus himself makes an appearance for the children.
Visitors may enjoy a special choir performance in the Courtyard and holiday refreshments in the West Room. The event culminates with Henry Flagler ’s youngest descendants lighting the Grand Hall Christmas Tree. The Museum continues a tradition of giving a box
of Animal Crackers to children as they leave Whitehall. In 1902, the same year Whitehall was built, the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) began attaching a string to their colorful circus boxes so they could be used as Christmas tree ornaments. Admission to the Tree Lighting is free with Museum admission. Visitors are invited to experience a Gilded Age Christmas while touring Whitehall during the Holiday Evening Tours. Tours begin December 18th. Visitors will discover the origins of American Christmas traditions, and have a rare opportunity to see Whitehall by the glow of the original 1902 light fixtures. Every visitor will receive a traditional Christmas cracker following the tour. A choral group will sing Christmas carols while holiday refreshments are served. The Museum Store will be open for Holiday shopping. Visit the Museum’s website, or call (561) 6552833 for ticket information.
New and Renewing Support
May 10, 2012 through September 15, 2012 Contributors, Sponsors, and Grantors $75,000 and above Palm Beach County Tourist Development Council
$10,000 and above Institute for Museum & Library Services Conservation Project Support Flagler System Mr. Thomas S. Kenan, III Mr. Lewis B. Pollard Mr. Lewis S. Wiley Wise Foundation
$5,000 and above Abraham & Beverly Sommer Foundation Bank of America Charitable Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Henry Mrs. Sterling H. Kenan Mr. George G. Matthews Mrs. Beverly Sommer Mr. Jack C. Taylor
$2,500 and above Mr. & Mrs. John W. Annan Atwater Kent Foundation Ms. Linda Dunhill Institute of Museum & Library Service - Museums for America Dr. & Mrs. H. J. Roberts † Sharkey Family Charitable Foundation Mr. Carl Wolfe
$1,000 and above Mr. & Mrs. John J. Rinker
$250 and above Mr. & Mrs. Frederick L. Cone Kanders Foundation
Corporate Memberships Executive - $3,000 Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America
Individual Memberships Flagler Associate - $5,000 Mr. & Mrs. Robert T. Butler Mr. Guy Cosmo Mr. & Mrs. Bruce B. Dunnan Mr. & Mrs. Jose Enos Mr. Allen Forrest Mr. Matt Kendrall & Miss Laura Nowadly Mr. Bilal Khan & Miss Salma Gaya Mr. Ari Litan & Miss Amanda Stromberg Mr. & Mrs. Chris Nelms Mr. Robert H. Shaner & Miss Cara Cusano
Benefactor - $2,500 Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Gendelman Mr. & Mrs. William G. Pannill Mrs. Lesly S. Smith
Patron - $1,000 Mr. & Mrs. John K. Castle Ms. Denise LeClair-Robbins Mr. & Mrs. George J. Michel, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Jack W. Nicklaus Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Pagliari Mr. Charles S. Roberts Mr. & Mrs. Charles M. Royce
Sponsor - $500 Mr. Jackson L. Blanton Mr. & Mrs. Alerio A. Cardinale Mrs. Joan Eigen Mr. & Mrs. Keith Frankel Mrs. Lewis Hay, III Mrs. Lisa L. Huertas Mr. & Mrs. John M. Kubeck Mr. & Mrs. Scott Lanza Ms. Betsy E. Mims Mrs. Mary M. Montgomery Mr. & Mrs. Stanley M. Rumbough, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Perry J. Spencer Ms. Melissa H. Sullivan Mr. & Mrs. James E. Weber Mr. & Mrs. Scott Wood
Sustaining - $225 Mr. & Mrs. Guy Ashley, II Rev. Msgr. L. F. Badia, Ph.D. Dr. & Mrs. Walter F. Ballinger, II Mrs. Rose V. Blair Mr. Erik Borgen-Larssen, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. E. Fulton Brylawski Mrs. Trowbridge Callaway, III Dr. & Mrs. Edgar Covarrubias Mr. & Mrs. Henry Darlington, Jr. Mrs. Judith David Ms. Penelope E. Donnelly Mr. & Mrs. Larry Dorman Mr. & Mrs. David C. Drysdale Mr. David C. Fannin Mr. & Mrs. William M. Feldman Mr. Richard Flaxman & Ms. Judith A. Guido Mrs. Marianne L. Fultz Mr. Larry V. Grosser Mr. & Mrs. Patrick Henry Ms. Eileen Janiga Mr. Dennis L. Johnson & Mrs. Ann Logsdon Mrs. Jeanne Kanders Mr. William P. King The Honorable & Mrs. Richard M. Kleid Mr. & Mrs. Dana Koch Mr. & Mrs. Bryan Kornegay, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Stallworth Larson † Denotes a full or partial in-kind contribution
New and Renewing Support
May 10, 2012 through September 15, 2012 Individual Memberships (continued) Sustaining - $225 Ms. Catherine L. LeBlanc Mrs. Judith S. Lippman Ms. Fran B. Luckoff Mr. & Mrs. Jerome E. Luecke Mr. & Mrs. Marco A. Morin Mrs. Sharon E. Owens Mr. Dale E. Pflum & Mr. Javier Yanes Mr. & Mrs. J. Cater Randolph, II Dr. & Mrs. G. David Raymond Mr. & Mrs. Mark E. Raymond Ms. Ruby S. Rinker & Mr. Andrew Bytnar Mr. & Mrs. Harold M. Singer Mr. & Mrs. Michael B. Small Mr. Ron Smith Mr. & Mrs. Raymond W. Snow Mr. Moses Sternlieb Ms. Patti W. Sullivan Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Talcott Mr. & Mrs. Leon R. Vedovato Dr. & Mrs. Donald E. Warren Mr. & Mrs. Herb Weissman Mr. & Mrs. James C. Wirths, III
Family - $125 Mr. & Mrs. Tim K. Anderson Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth S. Beall, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Malcolm G. Bourne, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Stephen F. Brauer Ms. Denise Buban & Ms. Terry White Mr. Philip M. Byrne Mr. Marco A. Cruz Mr. & Mrs. Gordan Davidson Mr. Russell R. Desoe Dr. Daphne Dorce Mr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Duke Mr. & Mrs. Robert T. Foley Mr. & Mrs. Stan Frost Mr. & Mrs. John Furrer Mr. & Mrs. Richard Galley Mr. & Mrs. Robert Galli Mr. & Mrs. Bruce N. Gimmy Mr. Eric Gleissner & Mr. Robert W. Mohr Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Grudovich Mr. & Mrs. Desmond Heathwood Commander & Mrs. Eric C. Jensen Mr. Paul Josefowitz Ms. Amy Jurskis Mr. & Mrs. John M. Kindred Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Linton Mr. & Mrs. George Marshall Ms. Regina Mian & Mr. Peter Di Pol Mrs. Sydell Miller & Mr. Phil Ziecky Mr. & Mrs. Thomas M. Millhiser Mr. & Mrs. Kelly P. Moore Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Moore Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Y. Morgan Mr. & Mrs. Terrence Murray
Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Natale Ms. Jules Perry Mr. & Mrs. Jorge Pesquera Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Pucillo Mr. & Mrs. Michael S. Reiter Dr. & Mrs. Garth S. Russell Ms. Monica R. Schroeder Ms. Lyn H. Silberman Mr. & Mrs. Edward M. Strogoff Mr. & Mrs. Mark B. Swillinger Mr. & Mrs. Armando A. Tabernilla Mr. & Mrs. John T. Tuttle Mr. Robert P. Vollono Ms. Ann A. Welfeld Mr. John Williamson
Individual - $75 Mrs. Brenda Anderson Ms. Carolyn Lee Andrews Mr. Bernard R. Baker, III Mrs. Laurel T. Baker Mrs. Maria Beaudouin Mrs. Mary P. Bolton Mr. Charles J. Bonsangue Mrs. Candide P. Booth Mrs. Rosalie F. Brill Mrs. W. Diana Deresz Ms. Daniela Di Lorenzo Ms. Carolyn J. Jaeger Ms. Jennifer C. Garrigues Mrs. Richard E. Graebert Mr. Joseph J. Guiffre Ms. Calla Guild Mrs. Pauline Hartogh Mrs. Doris Hastings Mr. Henry P. Hoffstot, Jr. Mr. Emile G. Ilchuk Ms. Muriel S. Kaplan Mr. James S. Lansing Ms. Audrey P. Levine Mr. Patrick K. McCarthy Mrs. Marvin Orleans Mr. Craig R. Presler Mrs. Frances Gilmore Scaife Mr. Harold M. Schaperkotter Mrs. Gloria Segall Mrs. Guy C. Shafer Mr. Darren Stance Ms. Susan S. Stautberg Ms. Tara Stephens Mrs. Sandra L. Thompson Ms. Vassoula Vasiliou
The Museum Store
Schooner Scale Model of America, 1851 Striking in appearance, this scale model (28.35” x 22.83”) reproduction of the historic America’s Cup racer features careful, by-hand execution of every detail with high quality materials and expert craftsmanship. $995.00/$895.50 (Members)
Executive Clock Enclosed in a mahogany-finished box equipped with brass hinges, this clock elegantly compliments any living space or desk. $45.00/$40.50 (Members)
Flagler Burgee Pin A reproduction of Flagler’s yacht, the Alicia, personal signal flag, or burgee, as an enameled gold stick pin. $7.95/$7.15 (Members)
Mariner’s Compass Your child will love learning to use a functioning compass. Book comes with instructions and a guide to learn how to use a compass. $8.00/$7.20 (Members)
The Eye of Time Pocket Watch Not exactly a travel watch, more suitably desk bound, this watch delights with its transformation of light. Featuring convex optical glass magnifiers showing an enlarged dial and hands, and back displaying a compass rose card that is easily exchanged for a picture, this watch makes a perfect addition to any desk or furnishing. $40.00/$36.00 (Members)
Yachting’s Golden Age: 1880-1905 More than a hundred breathtaking photographs that transport us back to the lavish, romantic world of sailing and yachting in its heyday at the turn of the century. Glass-plate images documenting sail and steam from the earliest days of popular photography in the 1880s up to 1905 -- portray pleasure boats at their most magnificence during the height of the Gilded Age. $50.00/$45.00 (Members)
h e n r y
m o r r i s o n
Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage
FLAGLER MUSEUM
PAID
palm beach, florida
West Palm Beach, FL Permit No. 1831
A National Historic Landmark One Whitehall Way Palm Beach, Florida 33480 www.flaglermuseum.us
Upcoming Schedule of Events Fall Exhibition: Capturing the Cup: Yacht Racing During the Gilded Age
October 16, 2012 through January 6, 2013 Free with admission The Fall Exhibition presents the exciting story of yacht racing in America during the Gilded Age, the period that has also become known as the Golden Age of the sport. Works of art, artifacts, historic films, and elaborate gold and silver trophies made by the most important silversmiths, illuminate the history of the great yachts, races, and personalities of the period. Among the significant objects on display is a rare perfect replica of the silver America’s Cup, the oldest and most coveted prize in the world of sport. Sponsored by PNC Bank and the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
Children’s Exhibit Activity
November 10, 2012 - 10:00 a.m. Free with Museum admission In conjunction with the exhibition, Capturing the Cup: Yacht Racing During the Gilded Age, the Museum invites fourth through eighth graders to a special gallery tour with the Education Director followed by a hands-on learning activity. Sponsored by the Sharkey Family Charitable Foundation.
A Gilded Age style lunch in Café des Beaux-Arts
November 23, 2012 - March 30, 2013 Tuesday – Saturday, 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Sunday, 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. $22 for Museum Members includes tax and gratuity $40 for non-members includes Museum admission, tax and gratuity Advance purchase recommended Each afternoon the Flagler Museum offers a Gilded Age style lunch, featuring an array of delicacies and refreshments reminiscent of the elegance of entertaining during the Gilded Age. Visitors may enjoy a selection of gourmet tea sandwiches, traditional scones, and sweets complemented by the Flagler Museum’s own Whitehall Special Blend™ tea, and served on exquisite Whitehall Collection™ china.
Special Holiday Lecture: Season’s Greetings From the White House by Mary Seeley
December 2, 2012 - 2:00 p.m. Free for Members at the Sustaining level and above $10 for Individual, Family and Life Members $28 for non-members, includes Museum admission and Tree Lighting festivities Gilded Age President, Calvin Coolidge, lit the first White House Christmas Tree in 1923. As a collector and historian, Mary Seeley has captured the Christmas traditions of nearly every First Family since the start of the Gilded Age. Sponsored by BMO Private Bank.
Christmas Tree Lighting
December 2, 2012 - 3:00 p.m. Free with Museum admission The Tree Lighting festivities include holiday music played on Whitehall’s original 1,249 pipe organ and Steinway art-case grand piano. Special choir performances, refreshments and a visit from Santa Claus complete the afternoon’s activities. The event culminates with Henry Flagler’s youngest descendants lighting the 16-foot Grand Hall Christmas Tree.
For more information, please call the Flagler Museum at (561) 655-2833 • www.flaglermuseum.us