Skipjack Rosie Parks Restoration ProjectChesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
T
h e Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM), in St. Michaels, Maryland, has announced a major skipjack restoration project that will be funded by $500,000 in philanthropic support. The Rosie Parks w ill be restored on the museum's grounds and in the public eye. O ver the next three
years, the project will provide hands-on shipwright experience while serving as a m ajor attraction for museum visitors. The skipjack was built in 1955 by the well-known Chesapeake boatbuilder Bronza Parks for h is brother; it is named for their mo ther. The C BMM purchased Rosie Parks in 1975 fro m Captain Orville Parks. Only twenty years old at the time, Rosie had a reputation as the best-maintained skipj ack in the oyster dredging fleet and as a champion sailor at the annual skipjack races at D eal Island and C hesapeake Appreciation D ays at Sa ndy Point. Rosie Parks was the first of her kind to be p reserved afloat by a museum and quickly became the m ost widely recognized Chesapeake Bay skipjack of the late 20th century. Now pas t 50, Rosie Parks is in need of a substantial rebuild. Repairs were made to the boat as needed until 1994, but Rosie remains one of the least altered historic skipjacks in existence. If resto red in acco rdan ce to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Vessel Preservation Projects, Rosie could be the best example of her type for interpretation of the work of this fleet. The skipjack contains her original winders (power winches) and other dredging gear, which will allow her to be fully outfitted when refloated. Original fabric retained includes a majority of the structural components of the hull, including a major portion of the keel. Rosie's suit of D acron sails is still usable, although she will most likely need a new engine fo r her push boat, and the push boat itself must be assessed fo r repair or replacem ent. C BMM ho pes to involve a large pool of community volunteers as well as school and yo uth programs in the restoration process. In addition to witnessing and participating in the hands-on physical work, museum visito rs will learn about the cultural aspects of this vanishi ng communi ty: how the boats were designed and built, who the designers and builders were, how workers were treated and paid, what life was like in these communities, and what th e men and boats did in the off-season. The restoration project has already received a generous bequest from the family of Richard Gram, who sailed in Rosie Parks when she was still working the oys ter beds. C BMM has 86 vessels built from the 1880s to the 1980s, including wooden sail,
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power, and row boats in its collection. Ir is the largest and most important collection of its kind in the world. All of the region's waterfowling boats are represented, along with most of the m ajor types used in the regio n's fisheries, as well as a good sample of recreational watercraft. In addition to the Rosie Parks, the museum maintains afloat fi ve other historic vessels: the 1889 oyster dredging bugeye Edna E. Lockwood (a National Historic Landmark) ; the 19 12 river tug Delaware; a 193 1 Potomac River dory boat; the 1934 Hooper Island draketail M artha; and the 1909 power crab dredger Old Point. (CBMM, 2 13 N . Talbot Street, POB 636, Sr. Michaels, MD 21663; Ph. 4 10 745-2916; www.cbmm.o rg) j:,
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