1998 Fall

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ISHRA NEWSLETTER
Volume 7 Number 2 Fall 1998
Islesof ShoalsHistorical and ResearchAssociation
SPRING MEETING
From Secretary Don Bassett'sMinutes
he Annual Meeting of the Isles of Shoals
Historical and Research Association was
held May 12 at the Seacoast Science Center.
President Bob Hochstetler opened the meeting
by thanking the officers and board that had
served during his presidency. Wendy Lull, nominating committee chair, read the proposed slate
of officers for the new term.
T
President - Peter Lamb
Vice President - Donna Titus
Secretary - Don Bassett
Treasurer - Marybeth Foster
Directors - Jean Ragonese (1 year)
Steve Miller (2 years)
Faith Harrington (2 years)
Laury Bussey (2 years)
. Bob Tuttle reported a balance in the treasury of
$4883.60. About $1024 of this is earmarked for the
Smuttynose Program.
Maryellen Burke reported from the Collections
Committee that Tony Codding had donated to the
Athenaeum on a permanent loan basis some prints
from nitrate negatives. They are mostly images of
Appledore, of Celia's garden and portraits of individuals. She invited people to look through and
identify them. Peter Randall suggested that they
may have been taken by Karl Thaxter. The
Athenaeum plans to scan the photograph collection
from the Isles of Shoals with a scanner they have
purchased with money donated by the Thaxter
Foundation.
Dave MacEachran reported that the Smuttynose
caretaking program has been reorganized. The
Smuttynose Rangers will be replaced by a smaller
group of individuals, the Smuttynose Stewards and
be independent
of ISH RA. Th is program was
worked out this winter with Nate Hubbard and the
Smuttyriose overseers. The reason for reorganization is to streamline the organization and spread
responsibility more equally among a core group of
people. Dave stated that the Ranger group had
done a superb job and that Nate had sent letters of
thanks to all that had been involved.
Richard Stanley announced the dates of the Star
Island ISHRA weekend, Friday 11 September through
Sunday 13 September.
Steve Miller reported on the tern project which
will continue on Seavey Island this summer. They
have a wish list, as well as T-shirts on sale at the
Science Center, to support the program.
The new slate of officers for the organization was
approved unanimously. Gifts, images of the Isles of
Shoals, were presented by Peter Lamb, presidentelect, to the two past presidents.
Program
Giny Chisholm, a member of the Rye Driftwood
Garden Club, presented a wonderful program entitled "Celia's Garden on Appledore". She told how
John Kingsbury began the restoration of Celia's garden in 1977 exactly as it was in 1893 using Celia's
description of its physical dimensions and plant varieties in "An Island Garden". She described how she,
with the help of Marjorie Duquenne and Mary
Smith, is continuing these efforts, including an ongoing search for authentic plant varieties, obtaining
and transporting seedlings, and the never-ending
battle with the muskrat population. Her talk was
interspersed with many beautiful slides of the present-day garden.
/SHRA Newsletter
Fall 1998
ISHRA'sNew President
White Island
P
L
eter Lamb was elected as the third president of
ISHRA at the annual May meeting as the organi. zation officially began its sixth year. He was introduced to the group by founding president Bob Tuttle,
whom he has known since the mid-1980s through
their mutual interest in the ShoalsMarine Lab.
Lamb is vice president of the University of New
Hampshire Foundation. His job involves raising and
managing private contributions to UNH including the
marine programs such at SML, the Jackson Estuarine
Lab on Adams Point, the running seawater lab at Fort
Constitution, and the new lere A. Chase Ocean
Engineering Laboratory on the UNH campus. Prior to
coming to the University, Peter worked as a cabinetmaker and was the first Director and Curator of the
New Hampshire FarmMuseum.
Peter'spersonal interest in the Islesof Shoals is primarily in the early settlement and colonial periods
and the continual human interaction with the natural
environment. He finds much meaning in the "small
things forgotten," not the great eventsor names in the
history books. Life in 17th century Gosport was likely
very similar to other settlements in the region. Lamb
feels many clues to history are found in the built
structures, daily routines, and folkways of the period.
One example is the tiny "cottage industry" buildings
that persist on the mainland. Surprisingly similar in
size, these structures were used by such folks as cobblers and clock makers and as boiled wool mitten
manufacturers and fish houses. Many were probably
in use at the Shoals through the centuries and Lamb
feels they played an important community role as
informal centers of daily conversation and political
debate. Peter has also pursued an inventory of animals at the islands and speculated on how the
islands could have supported their numbers. These
investigations have built from an interest in his own
ancestors, Richard and Ell i nor Wi Icomb (or
Welcome) who operated an "ale house" at the
Shoals as early as 1683.
Peter Lamb's goal as president is to shepherd
ISHRA into its second phase evolving from the creation of an organization and its structure to the active
engagement of the diverse interests of our members.
"There is a wonderful opportunity for members to
work together in small groups around subjects of
common interests," says Lamb. "We are an informal
organization and I hope ISHRA can help facilitate
this kind of interaction."
-Janice Warren
ast spring's ISHRA meeting (1997) featured a program by Don Stevens, owner of Atlantic
AquaSport in Rye, who told of his dream to use
White Island as a cold water diving school/site, offering divers and snorkelers access to this unique
underwater environment. As an update, his vision
began to materialize with the signing of a five-year
renewable leasewith the Stateof N.H. last August.
This enabled him to proceed with major
improvements to the Coast Guard building, using
more than $15,000 of his own funds, and to clean
up the surrounding area. There are new shingles on
the roof, a fresh coat of exterior paint, and the
beginning of some remodeling to create classrooms
and a display area that will contain materials about
the island's human history and natural environment
above and below the waterline. If you visit the
island and see what is being done, you will be
heartened by the improvements and promise of
preservation of this landmark.
A visit can be arranged during the seasonby calling Don at 436-4443 to sign up for one of his snorkel
trips. He goes out several times each week with a
small group of people who have demonstrated proficiency in handling masks, snorkel and fins in an
ocean environment. (If you haven't put on a mask
since you were a kid, his program of classroom and
pool instruction will give you the necessaryskills).
A "normal" trip, (and nothing is ever normal
about getting on and off White), consists of leaving
Rye Harbor early in the morning on the Uncle
Oscar and being dropped off at Don's mooring
where his boat, a traditional design wooden dory
built by Nate Piper, is waiting to bring you ashore.
After a brief orientation in the classroom, you have a
90-minute snorkel in the multicolored water world.
You break to tour the island for an introduction to its
history and its present creature habitat. (Over 40
terns are now on Seavey,for example). After a second snorkeling stint, you have lunch on the island
(provided as part of the package) and await Uncle
Oscar to bring you back ever so regretfully to the
realities of the mainland.
Even if you have no interest in diving or snorkeling, you can visit Don's shop and simply ask "how's
it going?" and you'll be in for a very pleasant earful
of information and a chance to look at some superb
snapshots that have been taken around White at all
times of day including some spectacular sunRISES!
-Dave MacEachran
Page2
ISHRA
Newsletter
Fall 1998
Home Again: the Tern Project 1998
Tern Stats
First tern arrives:
Copulation begins:
Incubation begins:
First hatch:
First fledging:
Total pairs:
Total chicks hatched
Total chicks fledged
t is Sam at Seavey Island. The early morning light is
I just beginning to illuminate the rocks in front of me.
Adult common terns fill the rocky outcroppings as
they are bathed in the pink and violet pastels of sunrise; there is a constant gutteral chattering. TIny fluffs
of down can be seen poking out from under brooding
adults as they shift to get the greatest benefit. From
my vantage point in a small burlap blind nestled in
the heart of the colony; I am surrounded by terns.
As the sun fully lights the colony, the activity
grows to a near frenzy. Adult terns begin to move in
and out with small fish, still dripping. The downy
chicks scatter over the rocks. The bright orange
insides of their wide open mouths is in sharp contrast
to their mottled brown-and-white plumage, a camouflage imperative for their survival. Necks craning,
begging incessently; they seem to leave the ground in
quick bouncing movements in their bids to be fed. I
am overwhelmed with both the beauty and significance of the moment.
The importance of Seavey Island is great. In 1997,
tern restoration efforts started on this windswept
island after almost 50 years of the Isles of Shoals
being devoid of these once-common birds. Notable
in our restoration of the terns has been our nonlethal
gull control techniques, as deterring gulls is necessary to provide the terns with a safe nesting site. This,
along with vigilance on the part of the two resident
biologists, set the stage for the entrance of the terns.
Alongside the gull deterrent efforts came tern
attraction techniques. Over 100 decoys awaited the
return of far-flung migrant terns. A solar-powered CD
player - the orchestra - provided the sound of a wellestablished tern colony. The backdrop: the everchanging weather and seas. We now waited and
watched. Much to our amazement, and seemingly
against all odds, our first season saw six pairs of common terns settle in and raise six young to fledging.
The tenacity of this first group of terns touched all
involved with the project. Six pairs in the middle of
this rocky island. Six late chicks pushing against the
forces of late summer and early fall. Twelve adults
and their chicks persevering and making a small
piece of history happen.
As we began the project this year we wondered ...
would the birds return? Would six pairs be enough?
.... The warm days of late May allow much to be
completed on our new living space tucked in behind
the lighthouse keeper's house - a small area remodeled to bunks, shelves, and a table. This is satisfying,
but the activity in the tern colony is what excites us.
1997
May 12
June 15
July9
August 2
Sept 2
1998
May 14
May 20
June 2
June 27
July 27
6
45
7
6
91
approx.75
Twelve to eighteen common terns are consistently
present. They strut about, deeply bowing and posturing. Necks are stretched with bills pointed skyward,
tails cocked, wings held low and to the side. Their
courtship ritual is at once both beautifully disciplined
and ambivalent. The time-honored nuptial activity
plays itself out with all the grace of a young couple
newly in love .... we are witness to nature's re-creation, forged many millenia ago. We are heartened
and we breathe a sigh of relief.
All the many questions about the tenacity of last
year's very small group of birds are answered in the
life around me. Their great beauty on the wing,
graceful movements, hovering flight, agility over the
open water are all unmistakable, beautiful. This core
group of terns, among others, partially identified by
leg bands also read in 1997, are back to stake their
claim to this bit of restored tern habitat.
.... Mid-June and the colony continues to grow.
Observations from blinds set close to the breeding
areas reveal many incubating birds. A long stretch of
fog and rain does not deter them. They are steady
and consistent, ever vigilant to their charges.... Our
official count: 24 pairs are tending eggs... already a
fourfold increase from 1997.
As greater numbers of chicks fledge, they take to
the rocks along the northwest edge of Seavey. At
times, close to 150 terns, both adults and young, line
the rocks on the outer edge: That we have provided a
foothold, a chance, a repossession of this place
speaks to the importance of the effort.
Tern numbers are beginning to rise in many areas
in the Gulf of Maine as management and tern
restoration efforts succeed. But as important to the
numbers is the distribution of these birds. The Isles of
Shoals once supported close to 2000 pairs of common, roseate and Arctic terns; nearly 20% of the
Gulf of Maine tern population at that time. Our
efforts have shown that we can restore suitable habitat .at the Isles of Shoals. In the past two years, it has
become clear that we can make a difference .... They
are home again.
-Diane De Luca (excerpted from an article
in New Hampshire Audubon, Nov-Dec 1998.
Page 3
ISHRA
Fall 1998
Newsletter
Glimpses of Yesteryear
From The Portsmouth journal of Literature
Politics, June 8, 1822.
Custom House, Collector's Office
District of Portsmouth, June 4, 1822.
and
S
150 Years of Ferry Service
onday, June 15, 1998 marked the 150th
anniversary of the ferry service to the Isles of
Shoals. It was on this day that the Appledore House
first opened its doors to guests. They arrived on the
schooner Springbird, out of Newburyport, Massachusetts. The following year, Thomas Laighton arranged
to base the ferry in Portsmouth and it has been there
ever since with many boats seeing service, among
them Lonestar (1862), the Pinafore (1887), the MN
Kiboko (1946), the M/V Viking (1962), the M/V
Viking Queen (1974), the MN Viking Sun (1980),
and the MN Thomas Laighton (1987).
In 1962, Captain Arnold Whittaker took the contract with the Star Island Corporation to provide ferry
service to the Oceanic Hotel. When he retired in
1986, Bob and Robin Whittaker formed the Isles of
Shoals Steamship Company. Captain Bob has now
resigned; his immediate plans are to finish hi.ssecond
book, which has a publication date sometime next
year. Robin Whittaker will be in charge. of the company which, with the MN Thomas Leighton and a
smaller vessel, the MN Oceanic, makes four scheduled trips a day to the islands during the summer and
also offers whale watches and fall foliage cruises.
Captain Matt Brewster, a thirteenth generation
descendent of Samuel Haley, serves as the ranking
officer for ISSCo.
-Helen Brewster
M
ealed Proposals will be received at this Office until
one o'clock on Wednesday the 19th inst. for
BUILDING A SEA WALL at the Isles of Shoals,
between Smutty-Nose and Cedar Islands, to commence at high water mark on one island and extend
to high water mark on the other at such points as may
be selected by Wm. Rice and J. L. Thompson, Esq'rs,
two of the Commissioners appointed by the President
of the United States to examine said Islands, etc. The
height of the wall to be five feet above the line of high
water mark at the highest tides, and ten feet wide at
the top, spreading towards the bottom, so as to form
an angle of 45 degrees. The right will be reserved by
the contractor on the part of the United States to
increase the slope on one side and lessen it on the
other, as may be thought expedient
by the
Commissioners; but not so as to increase the quantity
of stone beyond what would be required to build the
Wall with an equal slope on each side. Above the
line of low water mark, all the outside stones must
average two feet square, and those on the top must be
at least three feet long and two feet thick, or equal in
weight to stones of such dimensions. The whole to be
completed on or before the last day of October next,
in a good and substantial manner.
By an estimate of the Commissioners it appea~s
that the distance between the Islands at low water IS
320 feet; at high water 770 feet and the average
depth at low water is 10 feet. The quantity of stones
required is estimated at about 28,000 tons.
TIMOTHY UPHAM, Collector
-
Because of the weather on June 15th, the planned
celebration cruise to the Shoals turned out to be a
slow cruise down-river and back in the fog and drizzle. It ended in a heavy downpour just as the boat
tied up to the wharf. The weather didn't dampen the
good spirits of the group, h0w.ever! Ma~y S~oalers
were on hand, including Devid and Edith Pierson,
Dick Howe, Prudy Randall, Joan and Ken Cummiskey, Esther Kennedy, Leslie Lowry, and TerryDelaney.
-
Donna Titus
Page 4
Richard Winslow
ISHRA Newsletter
Fall 1998
Then and Now: Shoals Marine laboratory Vessels
THEN
Hesperoinis
Wrack
The Hesperoinis was purchased for $225.00 in
1966. Kingsbury writes, "It was home-made, intended for hand fishing, and looked like a barn door
with rectangular fish well in the center. The operator
shared a cockpit at the stern with an outboard
motor. This unlikely vessel had been made by placing a flat, overhanging deck (like an aircraft carrier)
on top of a scow hull. About six students could sit
comfortably and safely on the 17-foot deck with
their feet and collecting gear in the center well."
Early in 1971, the Osprey started to have trouble; all
the barge hauling from the cleats in her stern began
to pull the transom out of her. It became necessaryto
find another boat quickly and at a price the Lab
could afford. The boat found was a shrimper, built in
Nova Scotia, and cost $6,000.00. It was two years
old, rigged with an excellent deck winch and pot
hauler, and powered with a six-cylinder Chevrolet
truck engine. The Wrack was wrecked on the rocks
of Appledore during a severe line squall in 1982.
NOW: RIV john M. Kingsbury
RlV JOHN M.
KINGSHlJRr spec~fict1ti(I/IS
Built in /984 by Giadding-Hcarn
Shipbuilding Corp. in Somerset, MA:
length overall
beam
draft
gross tonnage
net tonnage
power
top speed
current value
1997 yard period
47 feet
16.5 fee,
5 fee,
34.49
23
4-71 Detroit diesel
8.5 knots
$350,000.00
$30.000.00
Osprey
When it became apparent a larger vessel than the
Hesperoinis was needed, the Osprey, a Jonesporttype lobster boat, was bought in 1970 from the
Massachusetts Audubon Society by John Kingsbury
and fellow faculty member Oliver Hewitt, who split
the cost fifty-fifty.
The vessel was acquired in 1984. Between 1982
and 1984 transportation to and from the Shoals was
provided by the Boston Whalers of the Lab, and
with the assistanceof the Isles of Shoals Steamship
Company, as well the research vessel of the
University of New Hampshire, the RIV jere Chase.
Photographs and descriptions are taken from Or.
John M. Kingsbury's book, Here's How We'll Do It.
Illustration from the Appledore Times, Winter 1998
issue, courtesy of the Shoals Marine Laboratory)
Page 5
Fall 1998
ISHRA Newsletter
Book Reviews
Review by Dot Tuttle
Here's How We'll Do It. An Informal History of the
Construction of the Shoals Marine Laboratory,
Appledore
Island, Maine. John M. kingsbury,
Bullbriar Press, Ten Snyder Heights, Ithaca, NY
14850.1991. $17.00
he subtitle of this book is misleading; it covers so
much more than the construction phase of the
Shoals Marine Laboratory and, in so doing, cannot
help but delight the heart of a Shoaler (a "Shoaler"
being defined as anyone who has lived, worked,
studied on, or visited the Isles of Shoals and/or has a
deep, abiding love for these islands)! Along with having a front seat on watching the realization of a
dream, one has the enjoyable experience of witnessing Kingsbury's intriguing, frustrating, though often
hilarious, tussles with the massive bureaucracies of
two university systems (Cornell University and the
University of New Hampshire) and the Town of
Kittery; drama on the "high seas" as heavy equipment is transported to Appledore from the mainland;
the ingenious solutions to construction and operating
problems by a unique contractor, Dominic Gratta;
and many examples of the can-do, helping hands
Shoaler spirit.
Among the latter was the building of a sea table by
the Star Island Manager; Harry Lent, and the open-up
staff for the naturalist's room at Star, where the first
class was held in June, 1966. Kingsbury writes about
the sea table that not only was it functionally one of
the best he had ever used, but "What would have
been miraculous, grudging, over budget, and late at
many academic institutions, was routine, enthusiastically undertaken, free, and on time at the Shoals."
Another example was the purchase of the Lab vessel,
the Wrack, in Five Islands, Maine, in 1971. The asking price was $7500. No immediate money was
coming from Cornell. Kingsbury writes, "The word
about the contretemps immediately got around the
Shoals, and help immediately appeared. Overnight,
by passing the hat on Star and Appledore Islands, I
obtained $6000 and some change in green cash.
With a large wad of well-worn bills from $1 to $500
in hand, Harry Lent, Dave Pierson, and I departed for
Five Islands...." After intense dickering, the boat was
obtained for $6000. They went aboard, cast off, but
T
not to Appledore. They first went in the opposite
direction to Owls Head, where Dave Pierson had
independently
purchased a lobster boat, whose
engine was not functional. They picked up Dave's
boat, got provisions and fuel, and headed back to
Appledore. There is no doubt that the Shoaler spirit
"built" the Shoals Marine Laboratory and continues
on the islands today.
As a bonus, the book is beautifully written and has
a plethora of photographs not in print elsewhere.
mt!
nOr
Isles of Shoals Historical and Research Association
Newsletter is produced biannually by the Publications
Committee with support from ISHRAmembers. Please
sendyour newsletter itemsto:
JaniceWarren 42 Woodman Rd Durham NH 03824
Illustrations: Drawingson cover and page 1 from
Sprays of Salt (1997, PeterRandallPublisher)usedwith
permissionof Gail Kadlik; photo on page4 supplied by
MargaretSullivan (seeNewsletterVol. 4 No.2).
Contributors:
Helen Brewster, Diane DeLuca,
Malcom Ferguson, Dave MacEachran, Donna Titus,
Bob Tuttle, Dot Tuttle, and JaniceWarren.
Designand Layout: PatriciaMiller, PMDesign.
Page 6
ISHRA Newsletter
Fall 1996
Rozzie Remembers: The Early Years of Y.P.R.U.
An interview with Rosalind Whipple Smith Holt by
Donna Marion Titus,July 1996, Franconia, NH
oz Holt is a well-known Shoaler who started
going to Star Island at 16 as a conferee in the
1930s.After WW II she worked on Star in a variety of
jobs including hotel registrar and head housekeeper.
Retiring from Star, in 1985she went over to do birdbanding on Appledore for 9 years more. The following articles by Donna Titus are adapted from a twoday taped interview and visit at Rozzie's attractive
ski-lodge home in the pines in Franconia.
R
D. When did you first go out to Star Island?
ROZ: Well, I went out there in 1933 with a Y.P.R.U.
(Young People's Religious Union) conference... We
had two weeks then. One week was for high school
and one week college, as far as program went, but
many of us went to both of them. We had heavy
chaperone care in those days. jan Knickerbocker
and AI Webster were the chairmen. Peter Frederick
was the chaperone. Peter gave us a talk before the
week started of things we could do and couldn't do.
She gave us more ideas than we could ever have
dreamed of!
In the Y.P.R.U.we held as many things as possible
outdoors. We didn't sit in Elliott Hall and have lectures. We'd have Talks on the Rocks every afternoon.
And sports were a big deal, tennis, ping-pong, softball, and all kinds of tournaments. I got put on a
Sports Committee. The big thing about that was that
in the evening, after II o'clock check-in, we would
sit up in the writing room and do our charts for the
tournaments while the night patrol was out doing
Rock Patrol. Instead of checking people'S beds they
went out on the rocks and made sure no one was
out and falling down on the rocks. Being on the
Sports Committee gave us a big excuse for staying
up late at night.
Dr. Charles Joy was our minister of the week. One
time we were all out by the Marine Gardens up on
the flat level above there, and a tremendous wave
came up and we all got soaked - in fact, tipped over
on the rocks! I have a picture of Dr. Joy on the porch
of Gosport the next day in his borrowed clothing,
someone else's knickers, someone else's sneakers,
because of the wave! .... We had very good speakers
at the conferences, and JesseDonahue put every-
thing in the Boston Transcript. There was one big
write-up about me and a guy named Herb Weeks
putting out a daily newspaper on Star, cranking the
old mimeograph machine.
Carl Wetherell who worked there lived in Cottage
D. My friend Libby Hunter and her sister and I often
played tennis before breakfast until Carl yelled out
his window for us to get off the courts. "Don't let me
see you playing out there again at that hour of the
morning!"
....There was an annual costume game for softball. I have a photo of Carl wearing a fancy costume
at the ball game. The boys dressed as girls and the
girls dressed as guys. In this picture Carl sort of
struck it in-between .... Rolly Greely was quite a person in the game because he would run and play
every position from first to 3rd base and short-stop
where he was supposed to be! Dana Greeley was
there. Then the Greeley twins, Anne and Ellen,
came. I remember saying "Well, the Greeley twins
are finally old enough to come to the Y.P.R.U.conference!" They roomed with my sister and me, and
we played tennis, the four of us. Our room was
down at the end of Atlantic corridor. The housekeeper would not allow us to do anything in our
rooms. We couldn't move a single piece of furniture
because the Alliance had furnished those rooms,
and when the All iance was due to come they
expected to find everything exactly where it had
been put!
Many of those young people went on to become
Unitarian ministers, or to hold important positions in
Unitarian churches or in the Star Island Corporation.
There was Donald Harrington who later had the
Community Church in New York City, Don johnston,
Brad Gale of Salem, Dana Greeley, Sy Bacon, john
Brigham, Pete Sampson .... Ed Holyoke from
Omaha....There's a story about Ed Holyoke. He was
a nice guy. Some people wanted to do a stunt on him
so one night while he was busy at a meeting they
took all the furniture from his room in Cottage Band
set the entire bedroom back up down on the tennis
court. All they left in his room was the thunder jug
under the light pull. So when Ed came back and discovered this he went out and slept all night in his
bed in the tennis court!
(Partone of three: this series will be continued in the
next ISHRA newsletter)
Page 7
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