The Whaling Museum

6

T h e W h a lin g Mu se u m

Attendance and total revenues at the Whaling Museum for the season just ended exceeded all expectations and established a new record by a substantial margin. I wish that I could support a claim that this was the fruit of our own expanded effort but most of the gain, if not all, can probably best be explained in terms of the larger number of visitors on the Island and by the great amount of publicity that has been given the whale as an endangered species.

The swelling influx of people in our midst will undoubtedly be viewed as a mixed blessing by those of you who fight tooth and nail during July and August to negotiate, by car or on foot, the three long blocks between the Pacific National Bank and the Pacific Club. I remain silent except to say that if given a choice I would much prefer to welcome to the Museum 100 percent of 50,000 visitors to our shores than 50 percent of 100,000. If this be treason, let the Chamber of Commerce make the most of it!

We continue to plug away at sprucing up the place and rearranging exhibits when this appears desirable for a more effective display. Last year I reported that the Reading and Scrimshaw Rooms, upstairs hall and the reception and sales area had been redecorated and reorganized. Since then a similar program has been completed in the Portrait and South Seas Rooms. This winter we plan to move on to Sanderson Hall, the main exhibit area, and to do some relabeling in various locations.

In connection with this program, we gratefully acknowledge the help given us from time to time by visitors with specialized knowledge that we do not possess. For example, last year the Curator of the Brooklyn Museum made a suggestion which we hastened to follow regarding the large Maori canoe model in the South Seas Room. This past summer Mr. R. J. Porter of Niantic, Connecticut, an avid collector of whaling and related artifacts, pointed out that some of the items in our display of native weapons brought back from the South Seas by Nantucket whalers were mislaDeled as to description, provenence or both.

When he got back home Mr. Porter took the trouble to send us a considerable amount of source material bearing on the subject and we are now in the process of making the necessary corrections. We had one oddlooking shark-tooth dagger labeled "boomerang" which it in fact resem-

THE WHALING MUSEUM

7

bled. Sorry about that. A complete list of changes will be available to all interested members on payment of $1000, cash or check, accompanied by a notarized pledge of secrecy!

Now for some bad news and some good news. First the bad news. Twice during the summer thieves or vandals tried to force an entrance into the museum. The good news? Our alarm system alerted the police immediately and they were on the scene within minutes. Unfortunately, the culprits had time to escape but it must have been a close thing. You will be glad to know that, in addition to windows and doors, our system affords protection to all vital areas inside the museum.

Bill Walmsley, our sterling manager in 1974, left for-greener pastures at the end of the season. We were sorry to lose Bill but most fortunate to replace him with Frank Pattison, retired Pastor of the Nantucket Methodist Church, who already knew more about Jonah's adventure than we did. Since then he has been filling the gaps in his secular knowledge of whaling and you may have heard his informative and well-delivered talk on one of Clarence Swift's days off. Not a word about Jonah and even Swifty admits he is good.

Clarence is now a veteran of ten years as first mate in Sanderson Hall and he continues to be a great crowd pleaser. Chubby Watts and Hazel Sandsbury are capable boat steerers at their usual positions and Abe Niles and Jesse Dunham, with Francis Abbott as a substitute, still perform their important function of ship keepers while the regular watches take time off for chow. Bea Killen was ordered to sick bay early in the season but we hope to have her back on board for the next cruise.

Lucia Arno, Jane Appleyard, and Bud Craig were new members of the crew this season. Lucia was usually to be found officiating in the Reading Room while Jane presided at the sales counter. The Law of Probabilities states that the chances of having two such attractive and cooperative young ladies in the same small organization at one and the same time is zero point zero; but it happened. I never did think much of the Law of Probabilities, anyhow.

Bud is also a semi-retired man of the cloth, a Presbyterian this time just to prove we have no religious prejudices. My own feeling is that his temperament is more ecumenical than dogmatic. In any case, his knowledge of whaling literature is now second only to that of Ed Stackpole

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HISTORIC NANTUCKET

and his enthusiasm for the subject knows no legal bounds. I may yet decide to fire him for the heinous crime of knowing more than I do. You had better let me catch you in an error, Bud. It may not be fair but life is like that!

While I am on the subject of personnel bear with me while I tell you a little about our faithful volunteer workers who have helped immensely to improve our service to the public. Pat Searle, Debbie Newhouse and Harold Taylor are all enthusiastic students of scrimshaw and deserve full credit for making this exhibit one of our most appreciated attractions. Bill Searle performed a like function in the Reading Room and as a backup 'tween decks when Swifty was holding forth. Laura Baldwin took time off from her responsibilities at the Macy House to beef up our security on Sunday mornings. Thank you, one and all!

We are anxious to put together a new exhibit of the tools and techniques of scrimshawing and would be eternally grateful to anyone willing to part with a small old hand lathe or cross cut saw of the kinds sometimes used on whaleships in this activity. Strange to say, we are also lacking a jack knife of the period and an early copy of Godey's Lady's Book from which many scrimshaw designs were taken. We do have a number of raw teeth in our collection which can be used to illustrate various steps in producing the finished article.

Hugh R. Chace

Chairman