SHIP MODELS
will build to your specifications. Also di spl ay cases, repairs, packagi ng and shipping servi ces.
Twenty-five yea rs experience, all disciplines.
SOUTH ERN MODEL BUILDERS 565 Glori a Drive, Baton Rouge LA 708 19 Tel: 504-2 75-6 100
EXPERIENCE THE THRILL of square rig and 7000 ft. of sail. Weekly cruises in the warm waters of Southern New Eng Iand be t ween Long Island and Nantucket aboard 108' square topsail clipper Schooner " SHENANDOAH" For color folder & complete information write:
THE COASTWISE PACKET CO., Box 4295 VINEYARD HAVEN, MASS. 02568 617-693-1699
SEAFARER LTD. Rt. 9 & Lily Lake, Box 100 Oceanville, NJ 08231 (609) 652-9491 0 11/y I 0 minutes from A tlantic City casinos.
A full line ofmarine antiques and related items, oak furniture and decorative items. Vis it our 2, 000 squarefoot showroom or send for brochure. SHiP PORTRA IT § Was there a Seafarer in your f amily? Why not commission a p ortrait of his vessel A fin e oil pain ting using the best of materials. Also, VESSEL HISTORI ES RESEARCHED on request. For information & brochure, write:
Captain Jeff Eldridge P .O . Box 8,
orth Carver, Massachusetts 02355
America's Cup Defender: COURAGEOUS
HALF HULL MODELS Finished Models; Precarved & Basic Kits Seven New Hulls available. Beautiful, Nalural, Quality Woods. Precut Cherry, Walnut, Mahogany, Bass, and Maple. 24" Backboards. Detailed lnstruc· lions. Available: 8 Cup Yachls, Chesapeake Bay Bugeye, NY Pilot Boat, Cape Cod Catboat, Gloocester Fisherman, Baltimore Clipper, & Clipper Ship. Sparkman & Stephens says, "·the best·". Brochure $1.00 - Refundable with 0<der.
Model Ship Marina PO Box 15201-H Alexandria, Virginia 22309 34
The Society for Seamen's Childr en by Mar y L. G reene Our /oJe trustee and treasurer, A . Timothy Pouch, Jr., who died last winter, was a prime mover in the affairs of the Society for Seamen's Children . His generous interest in their cause reflected his family's long-standing involvement with the Society, and his great-aunt, his mother and his wife, Nancy, have all served as members ofthe board. Tim's commitment to the Society was manifold and ranged from putting himself at its service in times of emergency to leading the business tenants of his family's converted warehouse to donate toys and other gifts for a f estive celebration of the childrens' Christmas at Pouch Terminal each year. And Tim believed that this was a direction that the NMHS should take, to which we agree. Here, Mary Greene, another long-time board member and Staten Island historian presents a view ofthe Society's 140 years. In the spring of 1846, New York' s East Ri ver waterfront was thick with the spars of myri ad ships in from distant ports . T rade was brisk and far-reaching , and many a sailor, leaving wife and chi ldren behind , departed for a long voyage to face hardship and danger. Some never returned , and the ir fami lies were left des titute. A few people took note of these unfortunate ones, however, and some " benevolent ladies ," meeting on 2 Apri l 1846 in the Brick Church on Beekman Street, determined to form a society ' ' to afford relief and protection to the destitute children of seamen , by providing an asy lum for them , with proper arrangements for their health , comfort, and education." Staten Island was selected as the location for the ho me fo r the chi ldren, because of its " salubrity of air, convenience of access and re move from the te mptation and expense incident to a city residence." The first home was established for twenty-four children in a rented house in Port Richmond. Within six years , the ladies had raised enough money to build a home large enough for one hundred children on five acres of land rented fro m Sailors Snug Harbor. For most of the Society ' s first century , money for the support of the chi ldren came largely from private subscription of individuals and shipping interests. After the tum of the century , and unti l the demise of the great ocean liner fleets, the Society benefitted from collections taken at concerts and entertainments held aboard ships of the great passenger lines. From the beginning , the Society' s directors looked upon institutional care as a poor substitute for family li ving , and efforts were made to " board out " chi ldren with people who could give them a home and teach them a trade . From 1858 on, with the
help of the C hildren's Aid Society, many of the older c hildren were given the opportunity to live on farms in the Midwest. Over the years , the Society has adapted its program in other ways, and as social welfare progra ms came into being , the needy childre n of seamen no longer requ ired the excl usive " relief and protection" of the Society . Graduall y , the Society has broadened its scope to provide for children of non-seamen a nd whose care is requested and paid for by the City of New York . Today, over 250 childre n are in the care of the Society fo r Seamen ' s C hi ld ren . All fos ter c hi ldren live in private homes and inc reasing numbe rs of the m are be ing ado pted by their fo ste r pare nts . Atte mpts are m ade to return chi ldre n to the ir ow n p are nts , but when thi s is no t possible , th e S ociety seeks to prov ide them with a p e rm anent home in the sho rtest ti me possible. A new emphas is in the Society ' s work with children a nd fa milies is to prevent foster care in the firs t place , and to thi s end we have established a Famil y Day Care program and a Teen Ad vocacy program whic h provides c ri sis ass istance , emergenc y shelter and co unseli ng to runaway a nd ho meless youths and to pregnant or pare nt teenagers. It also provides young people with an advocate in their community, to help the m cope during stressful times in their lives , to stay with thei r fa mil ies or to get a good start o n their ow n . T he Society ' s cost fo r proy iding services to childre n and fa milies has grown to over $2 million per year. The preventi ve program s , in partic ular, are very much unde rfun ded and the Society must depend on its fri ends fo r the support needed to continue these vital programs. J,
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We encourage the support of the Society f or Seamen's Children and readers may contribute to this good cause by writing the Society directly at 26 Bay Street, Staten Island, N Y 10305.
Serving Neigh bors and T ravelers for Two Centuries LUNC H EON AN D DI NN ER D A IL Y FAMOUS H UNT B REA K FAST EVE RY SUNDA Y OVERN I G HT ACCO MMO D ATI ONS
E SSEX, CONNECTICUT Reservatioms Suggested. Ring (203)767-099 1
SEA HHSTORY , W INTER 1986-87