KORTUM DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO
Karl Kortum: "Retirement" with an asterisk The invitation said clearly , " Retirement Party for Karl Kortum. " Yet, of the 300 fri ends and family who gathered on the decks of Balclutha on 29 September, few, if any, really believed it. Even Karl 's parting words left them knowing that the work was only just beginning. They gathered more to pay homage to a great man than to say good-bye. They stood in line to say things like: " You changed my life 30 years ago, Karl. " Or to report on a favored project: " We
Karl Kortum (left) at his retirement party aboard
Balclutha, the ship he savedfor history in 1951 '.with Captain Adnan Rayna ud. Photo by Joseph D1tler.
couldn't have done it without yo u." This was the atmosphere throughout the evening. Peter Stanford, President of NMHS , said, after reading a letter of appreciation from the San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen: "We all work for Karl one way or another." And as one person afte r another found their way through the crowd to say a few words, it was appare nt that we do indeed all work for Karl. Whether it be recovery of the bow of an American clipper ship in the Falklands, acquisition and renov ation of a g iant steam engine at the US Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, or the salvage of an Arctic steam whaler aground in Oregon, we ' ve all been busy with projects assigned by Karl Kortum . It was a perfect evening for a party. Balclutha tugged at her moorings as the evening sky lit up with the Pleiades, Orion and a ll the other conste llation s so familiar to San Francisco thi s time of year. The breeze carried Louis Armstrong tunes along the decks of the big full-rigger and down the Hyde Street Pier. "Louis was the greatest musician that ever lived," says Kortum. Present were the veteran Cape Hom sailorman, 101-year-old Captain Adrian Raynaud ; two of the greatest ship riggers of our day, Steve Hyman and Brion Toss; Harold Huycke, noted historian and Kortum confidant; and even three of Karl 's shipmates from the Kaiulani, the last American merchant square rigger to sai l around Cape Hom (1941-42). Well-wishers came from as far as Poland to see the Founding C urator of the San Francisco Aquatic Park and Maritime Museum , a man affectionately known not as the curator, but " the creator." As Karl sat in the crowded main cabin, children gathered at his feet. Periodically he would look down at one, wink , and smile, bringing gigg les and sm iles to their faces. During the evening, a Karl Kortum Endowment for Maritime History was announced. A certificate of honor was presented on behalf of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and letters from Senator Diane Fein stein and Mayor Jordan were read (among others). The City of San Francisco made 29 September Karl Kortum Day . And event organizer Steve Hyman presented pieces of the keel and garboard from Kaiulani to Karl , somethin g that seemed to please him the most. The evening was punctuated by two broads ides; one from the square-rigged ketch Ha waiian Chieftain as a tribute to Kortum , and the other from Kortum him se lf. Though thin and frail-looking from his battle with a heart condition, he left no one in doubt as to the projects left " unfinished. " The first is the collecting from the Falkland Islands of the last of the Gold Rush ships, Vicar of Bray. Kortum dec lared this ship 's destiny was in San Francisco, on display. But that wasn't enough. The great lion ra ised his voice yet again urging people to stop construction of a large structure planned for Hyde Street Pier. Karl feels that it would not significantly increase income for the Park, but will destroy the ambience of Hyde Street Pier. He implored hi s guests to not let such a thing happen, as it would ultimately detract from the ships we cherish. Those of us who know Karl must have all fe lt the same chi ll up our spines, the ting ling one gets before a long voyage or a good fig ht. It was clear that if Karl is retired , it is with an asterisk that exp lain s: "Retired but not gone." -
JOSEPH DITLER
Development Director San Diego Maritime Museum
6
Ruth Newhall Remembers Scott Newha ll, who welded up the first displays in the fledgling museum and led its most adventurous ship-save, the voyage ofthe paddle tug Eppleton Hallji ¡om England to San Francisco in 1969-70 (see pages 46-47), was Kortum' s constant partner and hacker in these ventures. His widow Ruth wrote these recollections to Karl of their partnership: Scott telling me thata young Petaluma chicken farmer, who was trying to keep a freeway off the family farm, happened also to be a shipmate of his younger brother Hall [aboard Kaiulani] . Unprecede nted victory was scored against the fearsome State Division of Highways, and Scott told me that now the farmersailor had come up with another idea: A maritime museum to occupy the mostly vacant WPA project building at the foot of Polk Street. "Great idea!" said Scott. Scott and Karl with their heads together at Scott's desk in This World magazine; Scott asking Paul Smith, the San Francisco Chronicle's boy-genius editor, if he would host a luncheon for all the local publishers to present the maritime museum idea, so that it wouldn ' t be a Chronicle project to be shot down by the others. Then the many images: Dinner with Alma Spreckels; Karl and Dave [Nelson] and Scott huddling around midni ght on a Washington Street sidewalk , laying plans forthe museum ; a bright girl named Jean [Edmonds] who applied for a job at the Chronicle and was assigned to help Karl establish hi s muse um ; a later image in Reno, witnessing the marriage of Karl and Jean , and later still a playpen in the museum office. Creative ideas spring ing from Karl 's head as he took fragments of old ships and turned them into exhibits; a capacity to turn ord inary notes into pieces of fine writing. Through it all- children, a burned-down hou se, the vicissitudes of daily life-was the mu seum , adding beat-up ships and restoring th eir beauty , finding money , persuading , politicking, demanding- so that the museum became a reality. And a lways mi schievous stunts for Scott and yo u to enjoy. The big stunt was the fa iled kidnapping of the Reliant from England 's Tyne River- the caper that even tua ll y found yo u and Johnny [Karl and Jean 's son, then 11 years old] and Scott cross in g the Atlantic in the Eppleton Hall. -
R UTH NEWHALL
SEA HISTORY 76, WINTER 1995-96