Museum Happenings

The museum is now closed for the season. The Sunday Jammin' sessions will continue through the winter.  This blog will be suspended until the reopening in the Spring. Also note the museum's new acquistion, an actual skeleton of a Friendship Sloop! See details below. Your help is needed.

There is also a lot to read and peruse at the museum's site:

 www.sailpowerandsteammuseum.org

The following features can be found on the site:

Story of Snow's Shipyard, where Sharp's Point is located.

"Last of the Great Gloucester Fishing Schooners," a story by Joseph Garland and Captain Sharp.

"Journey to the Edge of Disaster," a DVD available for purchase. The story of the schooner, Gertrude L. Thebaud

"Lands that Hold One Spellbound," a story of East Greenland by Spencer Apollonio.

Windjammer Cooking, a cookbook and story about how it is to cook aboard a Windjammer. By Dee Carstarphen, a windjammer cook. A link for purchase.

The museum thanks all involved in bringing about the Engine House project. From a recent flyer, "Our new ENGINE HOUSE #1 has been completed and is filled with a wide variety of antique machinery, both steam, make 'n break and hand operated. Our wonderful volunteers and especially your generous donations have made all of this possible. We thank you, one and all.

This is the museum's latest acquisition, the skeleton of a real Friendship Sloop. From that same flyer, "With your financial help we will be able to instruct while we build an actual Friendship. This is #120 in the roster of this famous breed of beautiful traitional old time fishing craft. In 1966, this vessel was started by Carlton Simmons, boat builder in Friendship, Maine and put away in a barn only partly completed. It is our most recent donation and we plan to finish it with volunteers and interested apprentices. With your help we will sail her in 2013 for the benefit of the museum."

The museum is a not-for-profit, fully tax-deductable museum. Your contributions to the museum and to this project are appreciated. Send your contribution to Sail, Power & Steam Museum, 75 Mechanic St., Rockland, ME 04841. (See membership form further down on this blog.)

EVERY SUNDAY:

OPEN JAM: 2-4PM. Pickin' times. Bring your instrument, voice and ears.

With Reckless Abandon, by Captain Sharp

Available at the address above for $20 or free with a one year family membership to the museum--$50, which includes all museum benefits.

Membership form below:

A Seedpod

Here is a "seedpod" to carry around with you as the newest political season heats up. This quote comes from Rob McCall, who writes "Awanadjo Almanack" for Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors.

He likes to give us "seedpods" or things to think about once in a while. This seedpod came from the latest edition, the Winter Edition:

"From P.J. O'Rourke: '"The Democrats are the party of government activism, the party that says the government can make you richer, smarter, taller and get the chickweed out of your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work, and then get elected and prove it.'"

Nuff said.

Fish and Chips--The Andy Rooney Affair

Guest Blog from brother, Ted.

This is a section of Ted’s column for January 9, 1982.

As Ted says, “The story about Rooney’s letter is that I did this ‘pet peeve’ column just a week or so before Rooney did the same thing on his 60 Minutes segment.”

See Andy’s letter on a separate blog.

 Ted’s column reads:

“In the pet peeve department, we have found a new gripe. We used to become really agitated when forced to purchase four flashlight batteries when we only needed three. You see, batteries come in packages of two or four, but I only needed three. Now, you tell me what happens to that fourth battery when the next time comes to refill our three-cell flashlight. We’ve never been able to find it.

Now comes a new wrinkle. We went shopping for new shoelaces the other day. But, wouldn’t you know, they only come in double packages. In other words, in order to get one pair of laces you have to purchase two pair. Now is that fair? The boots we needed laces for are two years old. It would seem that new laces would last another two years. By that time, the boots would surely be worn out. The question is, of course, what do you do with the extra pair of laces?

To tell the truth, we got so agitated we refused to buy any laces. Tied knot in the old broken ones and continued on our way.


There ought to be a law.

While we’re at it, we ought to say something about those guarantees we receive.

Especially like the ones on the sock…”Unconditionally guaranteed.” Wonder what the heck that means? And then there’s the “Guaranteed to stay up.” What we can’t figure out is how does someone keep track of the sock with the stay-up guarantee after you discard the sticky label. And how do you prove to the store they won’t stay up and that you even bought them there in the first place?

Think about it.

Ted Sylvester is chief of the NE Rockland Bureau.

A Letter from Andy Rooney

This is the actual letter brother Ted received from Andy back in 1982 with all the typos and strikeouts intact. I believe Andy probably typed it on his old typewriter because the letters are not all the same weight. No secretary worth her salt would ever present such a messy affair to her boss for a signature to send on to the recipient. Therefore, we can assume that Andy typed it himself.

Here’s what he had to say about Ted’s column. I’ll try to type it exactly as he did (including the typos) except for the strikeouts.

“Dear Ted,


 Im glad you sent me your whole column and not just the pertinent experpt. Good stuff.

 That was a coincidence. The flashlight battery idea is fairly obvious but it’s funny we both hit on shoelaces.

I don’t know about your being chief of the NEWS Rockland Bureau. Reasoner and a couple of the Evening News Writers and I eat lunch together every so often and for years we’ve had a Faint Praise Award for the week. It started in about 1970 when one of the writers said his son was going to Clemson, which he said was “one of the best colleges in South Carolina.” The most recent winner was the sports writer who referred to 1981 as “one of the best years the NY Giants have had recently.”

Personally, I thought your column said more for you than the boldface at the bottom.

Good to hear from you.

                                                                    Regards,


                                                                     Andy Rooney
                                                                  

The boldface at the bottom Andy referred to is Ted Sylvester is chief of the NE Rockland Bureau.

Andy was interviewed by Reasoner on his last night on 60 minutes, shortly before he died. In that conversation he stated that he never signed autographs and rarely if ever answered correspondence sent to him. So this letter from Andy means even more. It shows his respect for Ted as a fellow journalist and he also added a personal story of his own.

I was a big fan of Andy. He said what he meant and meant what he said. Kinda like my brother, Ted. We’ll miss you, Andy.