Jan 2012 - Port Aransas Museum

Volume 6, Issue 1
PAPHA Newsletter
January 2012
A Tall Ship for Port Aransas
By Rick Pratt
Our Museum has been presented an
opportunity to bring a traditional tall
ship to Port A.
A non-profit in Anahuac is folding and wishes to transfer its assets to
PAPHA.
Their assets consist of a set of excellent boat building power tools, four
small boats, and the completed hull of a
40” Schooner.
The vessel, a Gulf Coast Scow Schooner, is a replica of the type that serviced
our town for half a century bringing
goods and people.
This small ship (40’ on deck, 60’
overall) was to be allied with the Texas
tall ship Elissa in Galveston, where it
would have bolstered their program
for taking visitors on sailing trips. The
costs of leaving the dock with Elissa are
astronomical, while this boat could do
the job for very little.
Then hurricane Ike did severe damage to Elissa. Repairs will take two to
four years and cost around 2 million
dollars. Thus the folks who care for her
had to drop all their ancillary projects
and concentrate all of their resources on
bringing the tall ship back to health.
This left the Scow Schooner Project
in financial shoals and ran it aground.
The hull is complete, and plans for
finishing it have been drawn. If we accept, we will have to deck and rig the
tor of the Elissa, and one of the leading
men in the field of traditional ships, and
we have arrived at a probable budget
of $75,000.00 to complete the boat and
launch it.
The opportunity comes to us at a
good time, just as we are completing the
Farley Boat Works and ready to launch
our boat building program. Bringing
boat and maintain it in the water at the
city harbor.
When finished,
the ship will carry
visitors on day
sails and help us
teach the maritime history of our
island.
I have consulted with Kurt
Voss, past direc-
this traditional tall ship to life to represent our island history is a grand and fitting first project.
If we accept
this challenge,
our island community will have
its own tall ship.
Pioneer Times
on Docket
J. Guthrie Ford of the PAPHA will
make a presentation on pioneer times
on Mustang Island on February 9 at
the Corpus Christi Science and History
Museum. Door open at 6:30 p.m., and
the presentation is at 7.
Inside this Issue:
Made in USA .................................. Page 2
Boat History .................................... Page 3
Farley Boat Works .......................... Page 5
History Book/Benefit ....................... Page 5
Schooner Scow ................................ Page 6
[See history
on the scows on
page 6]
Made in the USA
By Nancy Phillips
There’s a trend this year for all
Americans to make many of their
purchases things that are made in
the USA. We have been in this mode
since our Port Aransas Museum first
opened, without realizing we were part
of a trend. We mostly stock items for
the shop that are on consignment from
area artisans. When someone buys an
item in the gift shop at the museum,
they not only help preserve history,
they encourage an area artist.
Artists who have been in the shop
since the opening days include Nancy
Kilgore, who makes delightful
handmade soaps in her shop, Little
House on the Island. She researches
seaweeds, sometimes with the help
of Tony Amos, to learn which type
would best make soap. Then she adds
all types of essential oils and other
great things like lavender leaves. She’s
always coming up with a new recipe to
add to her selection.
Brenda Barnett has also sold pottery
and photo note cards in the shop since
the beginning. One of her small pieces
was actually the first thing we sold
when we opened the shop. Her photo
note cards of the Little Chapel on the
Hill are in great demand.
Those brightly colored, beautifully
embroidered hand towels are the
work of Vicki Robertson. She used
to live in Port Aransas, but moved to
Rockport a few years ago, so we still
count her as a local. When she comes
to Port Aransas for her hair salon
appointments, she comes by to check
on her inventory. Her towels are of
the highest quality and so beautifully
embellished with things we see every
day here on the island.
A newer artist to our selection
is Ginger Henley, who makes the
popular wood crosses. She decorates
them with seashells that she and her
husband picked up right here in Port
Aransas.
Page 2
Our book selection is constantly
growing and includes books mostly
by local writers. The best selling book
right now is a pictorial history of Port
Aransas by Guthrie Ford and Mark
Creighton. It is a soft cover book
with many photos of old Port Aransas.
Another always popular book is by
Guthrie Ford, “A Texas Island”.
Anyone interested in local history
loves these two books.
Jim Moloney from Corpus Christi
usually has his latest books in the
shop. His books on the 1919 hurricane
in the area sell fast.
Another author, Dr. Lauro Cavasos,
former US Secretary of Education
and former president of Texas Tech
University, lives in Port Aransas. He
has written a book about his growing
up on the King Ranch. Readers enjoy
hearing the account of a young boys
life as the son of the “head cowboy”
on the famous ranch.
One of the newest artists to the shop
is Glenda Cook. Her brightly colored
beach bags are a delight. She special
orders colored vinyl net fabric and
adds such great artistic touches.
Linda Hansen, jewelry designer,
has been represented in our shop since
the beginning. She makes all kinds
of jewelry, but her biggest seller in
the shop are the ones she especially
designs for the younger visitors.
Some are painted on dominoes and
are reasonably priced for the young
shoppers.
Gary Hanson, who lives in Aransas
Pass, sells his photo note cards and
also photograph prints of his shots on
canvas. Any of his photographs can be
reproduced into a canvas print and are
available in the Port Aransas Museum
gift shop or on special order through
the shop.
One of the first items visitors spot
upon arrival are the great hand painted
pillows with images of fish, birds or
antique trailers painted on them. What
they may not realize is that the pillows
are made with zippers for removal
for washing and are safe to wash at
home. Janet Dineen is the artist that
makes these for the shop. She went to
Donna’s sewing to learn how to make
the pillows with removable covers
when she came up with the idea of
painting designs on canvas pillows.
A popular book for children is
the coloring book which was a joint
project between the Art Center for
the Islands and the Port Aransas
Museum. Our teams worked with the
schools in Port Aransas to get students
to write the stories and draw the
pictures for the coloring book.
So, if you’re a part of the buy USA
made projects movement, you can
start your shopping right here at the
Port Aransas Museum Gift Shop. We
take credit cards, checks or cash.
2012 Winter Lecture Series
Jan. 16 ............. Mark Creighton, Port Aransas Archives
Jan. 30 ........... Guthrie Ford, Assault on Mustang Island
Feb. 13 .......... Jim Maloney, Coastal Postcards & Books
Feb. 27 ............................ Guthrie Ford, the Mercer Logs
PAPHA Newsletter
January 2012
The "History" Part of the Re-established
Farley Boat Works
By J. Guthrie Ford
Rightly so, much has been said
and written recently about reviving
wood boat building in Port Aransas.
While that enterprise has had various
historic times, the heyday of wood
boat building began in 1915 when the
first Farley fishing boat was launched.
The Farley Boat Works enjoyed great
success in Port Aransas before closing
in 1975. Now, under the supervision
of Port Aransas Museum director
Rick Pratt, the plan is to revive the
wood boat tradition by sponsoring
the actual building of boats in the
Re-established Farley Boat Works on
Ave. C.
Half of that structure is dedicated to
the boat building enterprise, but what
about the other half? The south part of
the Boat Works is the history section.
The plan is to tell the local maritime
story through an exhibit of informative
wall panels, boat models, and, as the
exhibit centerpiece, a full size Farley
boat. The 22 wall panels, produced
by Mark Creighton, archivist, and
Guthrie Ford, historian, will present
both historical and contemporary
maritime features of Mustang Island
and Port Aransas.
Then ... and Now!
Photos by Pat Farley
Page 3
PAPHA Newsletter
January 2012
Farley Boat Works Nears Completion
By Rick Pratt
Only a few details remain to be
finished and the Museo will take
possession of the newly restored
Farley Boat Works.
We soon will be
building boats!
The project has attracted the attention
of lots of folks, many
of whom want to volunteer and learn to
build a boat.
At least two Farley
folks and maybe three
are joining the gang.
Pat and Keith have
signed on and Barney
is considering it.
Pat and Barney are
brothers and Keith is their cousin.
Let us know if you wish to join the
growing list.
Sessions will be taught by Doyle
“Coach” Marek, who created and ran and number 1 will be sold at auction
the boat building program at the Port to help support the boat works.
It will likely take three weeks to
Aransas schools for many years.
Sessions will be taught in the eve- a month to finish the first skiff. After that, we should improve
our build time significantly
until we can finish a boat in
a little over a week, assuming a crew of four builders.
Give
Credit
Where Due
nings, 3 days per week. All students By Herb Lancaster
will participate in building the first
Giving credit is always the right thing
two boats. The prototype will go into
the museo as a permanent exhibit, to do, and the Port Aransas Preservation
Docent Doings
By Docent Coordinator Karen Larsen
Hi Everyone,
I hope that your Christmas and
New Years were as wonderful as you
deserve. I have finally gotten back into
town permanently. I can’t thank Pepper
enough for all that she had to do while
I was away. We are starting the new
year off with two new docents. Denny
Larkin will be working at the Farley Boat
Works and Nancy Ludwig is helping out
at the museum. Welcome!! Welcome to
both of you!! I am sure everyone will
make you feel right at home.
Well! I am back to my old mantra. Most
of January has been staffed. Only Thursday
the 19th is empty. However, most of the
days have only one person, so if you could
come in to help, it would be appreciated.
The only new thing that I have learned is
about the tax liability report. Even if you
have no sales you still have to print out a
report. I have no clue why, but you do. Most
likely it is the powers that be in Austin.
and Historical Association needs to
give a big thank you to two men who
have been especially helpful.
Paul Snow and Jeff Talent deserve
kudos for helping me with the lettering
on the new Farley Boat shop signs.
I sold Paul a little CNC router he set
up in Jeff’s garage where they machined
the letters.
Also, Paul purchased some very nice
software to facilitate the programing of
the CNC so he could do our project and
others like ours and future.
This kind of volunteering is a great
example of why PAPHA has come so
far since its inception on November 15,
2002. THANKS!
Sincerely,
Here is a question for you:
Mustang Utilities, water / electricity
Page 4
Karen
Who is Ned Green and why was he important to
Port A? Just wondering, you don’t have to answer,
there won’t be a quiz. Just a little brain teaser.
PAPHA Newsletter
Another Boat Builder
John 'Bubba' & Woodie Raye
Milina in younger days.
January 2012
Exciting
New
History
Book to be
Published
The Robert Mercer family kept a
daily dairy from 1866 through 1877.
Named the Mercer Logs, this work is
the earliest known record of life and
times on Mustang Island.
Following transcription, the logs—a
log is a daily entry—exist as 12 Word
files containing 206,117 words, far too
much information for the average history enthusiast to wade through. Recognizing that, historian Guthrie Ford
chose a sample of 231 verbatim logs
to capture the essence and flavor of
the Mercer Logs. Liking that idea, the
PAPHA Board approved Guthrie putting the sample into book format, and
The Mercer Logs: Pioneer Times on
Mustang Island, Texas was born. In addition to containing the logs, this coffee-table book of 110 pages has historical context sections as well as 28 photographs, images, and maps pertinent to
the Mercer Logs and Mustang Island’s
pioneer years.
This exciting new work will make its
public debut at the annual Port Aransas
Museum Auction Dinner on March 3rd.
In fact, the highlight of the evening will
be the Presentation Copy of The Mercer
Logs: Pioneer Times on Mustang Island, Texas. This special book is leather
bound with gold letters and border striping. (All the other 250 books will have
trade stock covers.) The Presentation
Copy will be signed and numbered “1”
by Guthrie Ford, and the Board guarantees that no other such copy will ever be
produced.
But to bid on this once in a lifetime
Mustang Island history book you (or
your agent) must be at the Port Aransas
Community Center on March 3, 2012.
Get your ticket now! We’ll see you
there!
Page 5
Please join the
Port Aransas Preservation
and Historical Association
Benefit for the
Port Aransas Museum &
Farley Boat Works
Boats, Boots & Bow Ties
Dinner ● Auctions ● Open Bar
Saturday, March 3
6:00 PM
* Tables $1,000 $1,500, $2,000
Individual Tickets $100
Community Center, 408 N. Alister St.
RSVP to 361-749-7300 or
nancydonley1@gmail.com
www.portaransasmuseum.org
*Table Donation Includes Grand Opening Cocktail Celebration
at Farley Boat Works Museum, Friday, March 2nd
Board Members: Nancy Phillips, John Fucik, Bruce Reynolds,
Mark Creighton, Guthrie Ford, Mark Grosse, June Petit, Pat
Farley, Herb Lancaster, Matt Landry, David Gillespie, Mary
Hammond, Nancy Donley, Rick Pratt - Museum Director
Port Aransas Preservation & Historical Association is a
Texas 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization
PAPHA Newsletter
January 2012
The Scoop on Gulf Scow Schooners
By Rick Pratt
On the western Gulf Coast,
the scow had been used for both
coastal and river work since the
first settlement of the Texas coast
by Americans. These craft were
either sloops or schooners, and it is
apparent that, in the flat-bottomed
scows, there had
been no striking
local development.
The scow had been
used in Southern
rivers since the early
nineteenth century;
a sloop of this form
was employed by the
Carolina rice planters
and both scow sloops
and schooners were
used to haul cotton
and
tobacco
to
market. These were
centerboarders, and
this indicates that
the type became
popular after 1840,
approximately, as a
sailing carrier.
The Gulf Coast builders soon
developed a V-bottomed scow. This
may have been either an adaptation
of the V-bottomed scow sloops once
used by the Carolina rice planters or
purely a local innovation, growing
out of the skipjack. It is evident that
the V-bottomed scow model was not
extremely old in this section of the
coast, even though the use of dead rise
in the scow form existed as far back
as the American Revolution. The idea
may have been preserved in the large
sailing scows, but in the small ones the
V-bottom seems to have come in use
as late as 1890-95.
Whereas the V-bottomed garvey
was cross-planked, the majority of
the southern V-bottomed scows have
been framed and planed lengthwise
on the bottom. Therefore, the sledlike
profile of many of the northern scows
is rarely seen in the south, where most
Page 6
of the scows have deep transoms at
bow and stern, with the bow transom
set at a great rake. In the south the lack
of suitable timber for steaming made
for moderate fore-and-aft rocker and
very gently formed curves, to avoid
breaking the planking of the bottom.
The area of greatest popularity
Julie Kinney Findley
PAPHA Newsletter
of the V-bottomed scow seems to
have westward of New Orleans and
extended as far as the Mexican border.
The model most generally seen is flatbottomed, or nearly so, amidships
with increasing dead rise worked in as
the bow and stern are approached. The
schooner
scows
were between 32
and 50 feet and
often had a longhead.
Figure 120 shows
the lines, sail plan,
and construction
sections of a good
scow
schooner
of the Gulf Coast
type. (The boat
illustrated is rather
more graceful than
many of her sisters.)
These craft sail very
well and are often
extraordinarily
fast when light or
partly loaded. They
are cheap boats to
build and can withstand very heavy
going for they are very strongly built
and are buoyant and lively in a sea.
The model of these scows may still be
seen in some powerboats on the Gulf
today.
The schooner rig of theses scows
is conventional. They were heavily
canvassed, though not excessively
lofty. A few scow schooners were
built with round bilges, but these
are comparatively rare—indeed,
economically and practicality, no
excuse existed for the round-bilged
scow unless high speed was required
in light weather. There were a few of
this type of sailing scow built in Texas,
and it may well be that some of these
were built with some illegal use in the
stone trade in Massachusetts Bay were
called “square-toe frigates,” while the
Gulf scows were often referred to as
“butt-heads,” or “butt-headers.”
January 2012