LETTERS
DECK LOG W h en J ohn No ble d ied in 1983, we said that we would be seeing him again in these pages. T h e co mpellin g power of his sch ooner paintings in this iss ue explains w hy. J o hn's work sp eaks fo r itself, but it is good to know so m ethin g m o re of the m an , his inn er tho ughts and turmo il, and his p assio n ate devo ti o n to a concept of beau ty w hich h as littl e to d o w ith "prettiness ." And it is a rewa rding thing to see his work as the centerpiece of the No ble M aritime Co ll ect io n in Snug H arbo r in Staten Island, New Yo rk. In this iss ue, E rin U rban is o ur guide to this m aritime center, which h as develo ped its ow n life and style in passion ate devotion to its subj ect. Last spring the C oll ecti o n celebrated the o pening of the restored studio barge, J ohn No ble's "little, leakin g Mo nti cello," aboard which h e did much of his wo rk . In this pho tograph, thirty-odd yea rs ago, yo u can see J ohn (right) and From left, PS, Squire, Ko rtum, m e (l eft), welcoming Karl Ko rtum , paMcAllister, N oble. triarch of o ur Society, aboard th e studi o barge, accompani ed by a co upl e o f ou r Wh arf Ra ts, Ed Squire and Jim McAl lister, III. M ay you share, in these pages, th e joy in th e wo rk w e all felt on that grand occasion! And d o look over "Ame ri can Achievem ents by Sea, " o n pages 8-11. The venture undo ubtedly h as its risks, but it w ill help o ur cause. Let us have your views, whi ch w ill be taken to h eart. P ETER STANFORD, Editor at l arge
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A Poignant Tribute from the East End I was fascin a ted a nd greatly impressed by th e excelle m a rticle in Sea History 101 on Havengore, th e laun ch which served as Sir Winston C hurchill's fun eral barge a nd carri es its message to day. Th e act oflowerin g rhe cranes o n th e Thames as a m ark of res pect to Sir Win ston C hurchill when the fun eral cam e uprive r was tou ching. The poig na ncy of th e ac tio n being taken in rhe Eas t End of Lo ndo n must h ave bee n g reat amon g th e peo ple wh o suffered so much from rhe tyrann y fro m which Sir W inston had fou ght to defe nd them. Of special no te is that rhe lowe ring of th e c ra nes was insti ga ted by Sir D av id Burne tt, Baro ne t, at the rim e he was chairm a n of th e Lo nd o n Assoc ia ti o n of W ha rfin ge rs. Sadly, Sir D av id di ed in May o f rhis yea r. As we ll as having h ad a di stinguished co mme rcial life, he was th e most seni o r Past Mas ter of the Co mpa ny of W aterm en & Lighte rm e n o f th e Ri ver Tham es. T h e co mpa ny was established durin g th e reign o f Qu een M a ry a nd Philip of Spain and was gra nted a Coat o f Arms by E li za beth I. In E lizabeth an tim es the W aterm en we re in effect the Lo nd o n tax is. D AV lD
L. GEAVES
Burnham on Cro uch, E ngla nd
On the High Seas Again! I am ninety- three yea rs o ld a nd li ving in a retirem enr ho me. Eve ry seaso n I loo k fo rward to Sea History a nd while I read it, I'm nor nin ety- three and in a retire m ent ho me, I'm o n th e high seas a nd yo un g aga in! Thank yo u!
As pa rt of o ur m embers survey in the 1 OOth iss ue of Sea H istory, this past spring, we as ked your opinion abour including p ages designed for stud en ts in Sea H istory, w ith the aim of getting the children and grandchildren of o u r m embers involved in th e challenging story of America's m aritime h eritage. Sixty-fi ve p ercent of th ose respo nding to the survey said that they wo uld purch ase a m embership for a yo ung person in thei r lives if we publish ed a sectio n for children . We begin this in a sm al l way in this issue, o n pages 34 and 3 5, and we ask fo r yo ur ideas and suggest io ns. T he goal, d ependent o n the success of fund raising fo r this project, is to have a fo ur- or eight-page insert in each issue and to encourage teach ers and students to actively pursue th e topics and proj ects di scussed in the in sert. Please let us k n ow w ha t yo u think! A nd fo r ano ther oppo rtuni ty to get involved in th e Nati o nal M aritime H istorical Society, co me to th e US Naval Acad em y in A nn apoli s, M aryland, on Satu rd ay, 10 May 2003, fo r o ur Annual M eeting (see p6). W e are entering our 40 th year w ith agreat record ofaccomplishments in preserving a nd promoting the m a ritim e history of the U nited States-and that is due to th e d edication and co mmi tm ent of o ur m embers! W e look to you for yo ur ideas and comments on o ur work toge ther as we move forward into our fifth decade. B URC HENAL G REEN, Executive Vice President
I was deli ghted to receive th e lates t iss ue of Sea History. I es pecially enjoyed the va ri ety of articl es. I have fo ur children w ho all read the m agazin e. T he youn ge r children enj oy the M a rin e Art section a nd th e ph o tographs. M y o lder on es use th e arti cles as a resource for th eir high school repo rts. Altho ugh I grew up around boa rs a nd ri vers, my fa mily and I now li ve in the middle of rhe m o umains o f W yo min g. M y husband is an Arapah o Indian and a lifetime ran cher. We live 1000 miles fro m any ocean and quire a distan ce from a ny ma ri time muse um , a nd I was puzzled when I first go t Sea History.
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SEA HISTORY 103, WINTER 2002-03
E VE LYN
S. TROTT
C hes mu r Hill , Massac husetts
A Challenge to NMHS Members