Topic starter
02/11/2011 7:33 pm
Seems something is always going on over at the Howard Museum!
Today I visited with Keith for lunch and saw many great things going on. The Parlor chandelier has been restored and is breath-takingly beautiful! It seems after research into old photos the chandelier did not have fluted glass covers on the bulbs at all but rather fringed shades. These give the fixture such a beautiful dimension it never had before. As for the brass work, it is gleaming in the sun, polished to a almost mirrored finish. Look at the attached photos to see how it looks.
The pilot house in the yard is really coming along well with the addition of the gingerbread trim. Soon it will have a pilotwheel, nameboards, lazy bench, and whistle attached. However, it sure looks great as it is now! As you come down Market Street to the museum, it stands out like a shiny new penny! The little museum that can and does has pulled another rabbit out of it's hat! Hats off to the great team over there at the Howard for another successful accomplishment!
02/11/2011 11:36 pm
Oh yeah! Love the gingerbread!
03/11/2011 6:12 pm
The man the museum contracted to build the pilothouse is not just a carpenter, he's an artist with wood. His joiner work is excellent. The side windows are authenic steamboat, they came off the BELLE OF LOUISVILLE, a gift to the museum from Capt. Mike Fitzgerald. The gingerbread around the roof turned out perfect and is based on the gingerbread on the J.M.WHITE's pilothouse.
It is a great addition to the museum and will serve many purposes. Wonder how many brides will be married there in the coming years?
03/11/2011 6:32 pm
What will the nameboards be on this fine looking pilothouse (J.M. White?), or is it a surprise (yet to be announced) ?
03/11/2011 7:01 pm
*RE: Howard Museum*
Hi, Travis, Jim & steamboating colleagues:
The photos posted of the restored chandelier, pilothouse terrific! What the Howard Museum
R. Dale Flick
Coal Haven Landing, Ohio River, Cincinnati.
03/11/2011 7:05 pm
Pilothouse Plans
While the gingerbread (cut from material said to last 200 years!) is modeled after that on the famed J.M. WHITE, the nameboards on the pilothouse will bear the name ROSEMARY, named in honor of the late Rosemary Prentice, a longtime museum board member and promoter of preservation in Jeffersonville. Rosemary was a dear lady and also contributed generously toward the pilothouse, which has been in the works for many years.
The architect/builder of the pilothouse is Derek Paprocki, a very talented and enthusiastic young man, who has gone well above and beyond the call of duty in this project. Of course, in my unbridled zeal, I make frequent trips out there, armed with pilothouse photos, keeping him and his assistants "pumped up" with ideas and copious compliments! Depending upon the weather, I also take popsicles, soft drinks and hot coffee!
As for lighting, the mansion is illuminated at night and we also have security lights and alarm systems. The pilothouse is fully wired and will also be illuminated, perhaps excursion boat style! A "skirt" will be built around the base of the pilothouse and painted black.
Yvonne and I are planning a dedication for the pilothouse, probably in the spring, and I'd love to have Capt. Bill and Becky Ray come over from Missouri to provide some river music for the event. Stay tuned!
04/11/2011 2:02 pm
The rain has subsided and cooler temperatures prevail this morning. I have just put the coffee pot on in the museum office and await Kenny and Jimmy's arrival for our WASH HOUSE WORKDAY #2.
Don't forget that our "Fall into Art" exhibition is now open! Admission is free! The opening reception (wine, cheese, etc.) is Sunday at 1:00 PM.
Also, mark your calendar for our annual Christmas Open House on Sunday, December 11th from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. This year we'll feature a book signing for our good friend, HSM docent and BELLE of LOUISVILLE education coordinator Kadie Engstrom. Her new book, Pathway through the Past, is a beautiful pictorial journey through the region's historial landmarks with emphasis, of course, on the river!
04/11/2011 5:01 pm
Potpourri
If you have the pilothouse dedication in the spring, what about the Monday after Chautauqua, when the booths would be gone, or the Friday before? I say this thinking that only one 850 mile round trip would be necessary for both events in my case... or you could have it with the River Ramblings weekend, maybe have the speaker be someone who GRACEd pilothouses???
In looking through the photos in the Curator's Corner, these questions came up: 1) how many boats were built by the Howard? 2)How many were sidewheel, how many sternwheel? 3)How many passenger vs. towboats?
4)Is there a complete listing of the boats (probably in one of the books I have but haven't read completely?)
04/11/2011 5:15 pm
Judy, I might be mistaken, but it seems that the book "From Paddle Wheels to Propellers: The Howard Ship Yards of Jeffersonville in the story of steam navigation on the Western Rivers" by C. P. Fishbaugh provides a good appendix covering the boats built at the Howard. Does anyone know if there's a better, more up-to-date source of this information?
04/11/2011 6:43 pm
Howard book
Yes, that's the one I obliquely referred to - I've got it but am too lazy today to dig it out. Unfortunately this place is often like the excavation site of the CALIFORNIA - things buried everywhere!
04/11/2011 10:52 pm
BINGO!
Jonathan is correct and right on the money! From Paddle Wheels to Propellers by Charles Preston Fishbaugh is THE book for those interested in the history of the Howard Shipyards. Published in 1970, it is long out of print, but copies are often available on Ebay and at Bookfinder.com. We have several used copies in the HSM gift shop. A complete listing of boats and barges built at the Howard yards is contained in the book.
Our WASH HOUSE WORK DAY #2 today was a real WORK OUT! We moved some BIG and HEAVY items to the new CMF (collections management facility) including a towboat pilothouse radar, the shipyard bell and a vintage outboard motor. Other items (charred pieces left from the 1971 fire) beyond salvation were relegated to the big dumpster! Still lots to do, but our old, aching backs would stand only so much. Ohhh, please hand me the Aleve!
05/11/2011 3:54 am
The outboard motor Keith refered to was no easy affair. It is was a gift to the museum and was used in D-day. Although it was only rated at 25 hp they must have been big draft horses because the thing took 3 men and a mule to move. Guess they were real men back then.
The next project for the museum is to refurbish the laundry house. I would lke to see them make it into a "classroom/theater". I think it would make an ideal venue for lectures, etc. since it could easily be heated and air-conditioned and could easily seat 30 or so people, but others want to return it to a victorian wash house.
05/11/2011 2:04 pm
Wash House What If's...
As you can well imagine, there are MANY ideas being offered as to what should be done with the HSM laundry house. First of all, it practically needs to be REbuilt, as there is much rotten wood involved and in one room part of the floor is missing. Time is of the essence!
If we ever return the mansion kitchen (currently the gift shop) to a display area, one possibility under discussion is to move the gift shop to the laundry house. I favor this most of all. I also like Jimmy's idea to have a small orientation theatre for visitors upon arrival, as well as hosting small group events. I just don't see two rooms featuring exhibits on where laundry was done being of much interest to visitors- when that space can be utilized for so much more. I hope that the museum NEVER becomes a "push button place" with high tech screens and electronic hardware in each room. In my opinion this will detract too much from the experience of what the museum is all about - transporting the visitor back to an 1890's Victorian era mansion.
Of course, one of the big issues with having more buildings is that we have fewer volunteers to staff them! But, the Howard is the little museum that CAN and DOES --- and we'll find some way to make it work!