Maritime Museum

I had asked Aline if she'd like to go to old Bordentown (Victorian houses, little shops, very historic) yesterday, but because it was cloudy and cold, I suggested we defer it and I looked for something else.  Put "New Jersey museums" in the search engine and I stumbled over the Maritime Museum on Long Beach Island.

Now, I'm no fan of maritime history, lover of the sea though I am, but I thought it was worth a look, so--after an expensive lunch at one of the fancy and cutthroat eateries on the island (hamburgers were fifteen bucks), we found the place across from the bay.

What a treasure!  It's incredible, starting with the fact that it's free of charge.  Without going into an enormous amount of detail, I can say it entails records--written, in photos, and via electronic, artifacts--of what seems to be practically every shipwreck off the New Jersey coast, as well as other Jersey shore-related events, up and down the whole coast.  There are vast stores of information on the Morro Castle fire, the Texas Tower disaster, and a trove of other Atlantic Ocean/New Jersey related topics. The artifacts on display just boggle the imagination. They include vintage photos, uniforms, newspaper articles, dishes and personal possessions from sunken ships, life savers and vests, DVDs and a multitude of other items. There's a whole section on deep sea diving, one devoted to Absecon Island and Atlantic City, another on WW II, and so on and on.  There's a lending library, Internet access, and "a complete set of USLSS annual reports from 1876 and 1915," whatever that is.  All this is arranged with great intelligence and imagination in what looks like a converted house, but is clearly pretty newly built.

When we walked in, we looked for a place to pay admission, but there isn't any--it's free.  There's also free single-serve coffee and incredibly, we were each given a number of DVDs gratis.  I received twelve, including "Shark Attack, 1916" and "the Lucy Evelyn."  This was after we met the owners--aside from three other visitors, the only people there--Deb Whitcraft,* a former Beach Haven mayor, and Jim Vogel, whom she introduced as her  husband. 

Without stretching this out too long (hey, that never bothered you before, Mimi), I can say we stayed until after 4:00, talking with Deb, who's been collecting for 42 years.  I'm going to ask Kelly, the Little Egg library manager, if she'd like to arrange for Deb to present there.  Will also do a piece for The Breeze, June issue.    

Everything in this remarkable place is arranged and presented with great intelligence and imagination--we loved it! We'll be back often, that's a cinch, and would highly recommend it to others.

Got a call from Betty and we had a nice chat.  Today, Aline and I are going up to Mercer Community College for orientation as NJPerry Award reviewers for the theatre company.  You can be sure I'm going to submit a requisition to LETCO for mileage; this one trip alone will total 130 miles and, of course, I'll be driving when we travel to shows.

* I was charmed to read on her card that Deb is also a "wedding officiant."  Presumably, she performs ceremonies on the beach, at sea, and--for all I know--as the ship goes down.