May2011 The Antique Boat Museum Page 1

May 2011

Well now, that was a long winter!

We aren’t even sure now that it has actually left. Today – April 6th, we had a passing snow squall. I know we are in the North Country, but March seemed all lion and no lamb. Perhaps like all of

us, that frosty season of winter loves the Thousand Is‐lands and just doesn’t want to leave.

In my last note to you in the winter Volunteer Voice, I mentioned how much was going on here at your Mu‐seum during the off season months. We are just as busy now if not more so. Spring is when we really ratchet up for our opening on May 13.

So what will you see when you come back? First off, you’ll notice the boat in the lobby is Atosis; our newest addition to the collection. I trust that you read all about her in the recent Gazette. We have placed her in a posi‐tion for easy examination and to help us interpret what this Museum is all about.

Recently Barton came across our original Charter while digging through yet another pile of library materi‐als. And as fortune would have it, someone from Time‐less Frames came by for a sales call and offered to frame the document for free. Now it hangs proudly in our hall‐way upstairs for all to see.

Comments from the Executive Director By Fred Schmitt Our Curators and facilities staff are installing three

new exhibits in the Small Craft Building. The reinterpreta‐tion of the galleries in this building will provide a fasci‐nating and lively new visitor experience.

You may have heard all about the drama surrounding Mike Corrigan’s trials and tribulations over getting a new work visa. I’ll share the details some other time, but suf‐fice it to say that he was unable to be with us for about three months from January through just two weeks ago. As such, our scheduled boat repair and restoration work is being recast for the season ahead. But we have him back and what’s more, while he was away, Bob Brown stayed on task with Wild Goose chipping away at work that never actually stopped. In addition, two other volun‐teers came on board to lend a hand. They are Duane Chaulk and Chuck Burlingame. They have helped us in so many ways to make progress on bringing Wild Goose back to her former beauty. We hope to have her back in the water later in the season.

This situation could have been very difficult if we had to wait for Mike’s return to resume this project. The hard work of these few dedicated volunteers has helped us to weather a cold season of difficulties. No one asked them to step up and carry this burden. They volunteered. Their selfless contributions serve as an example of just how much your Antique Boat Museum relies on you ‐ our Vol‐unteers. Thank you all for what you do.

Welcome to all as we begin another great year for the Antique Boat Museum. Last Fall the Volunteer Council members and the Museum staff met with our Executive Director, Fred Schmitt, to establish operating priorities and develop a plan. As a result of this two-day session a Docent Training Program was proposed and the following are ten-tative training dates: • June 2, 2011 Orientation • June 9, 2011 Group Tours with speakers in key

galleries • June 16, 2011 Group discussion on key points

in each gallery

Other resources that may be considered are the Doebler Collection Facility, other Clayton Museums as well as sug-gestions from fellow Docents.

After each Training Session there will be a critique and review.

In conclusion, I encourage each of you to reach out to your neighbors, relatives and friends to volunteer as Do-cents for the Antique Boat Museum, and extend an invita-tion to the Volunteer Breakfast on May 26th.

Hank Parker, Lead Docent

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One day back in 2003, I was on volunteer assignment in the Museum Store. I went up to the 3rd floor with Hutch to lo-cate something, and my eyes were as big as saucers upon seeing all the treasures in storage. In one area, I noticed a grouping of many interesting items. Vintage wicker furniture, lamps, beauti-ful prints, boxes of china and glassware, and nautical antiques. What in the world can all this be? When I asked Hutch about it he replied, “It’s all from LaDuchesse, she’s coming here you know.” No, I didn’t know. Who or what in the world is La-Duchesse?

A visit to the Museum Library and a talk with curator, John Summers, revealed all to me. That huge white houseboat I re-membered seeing in that little cove on Wellesley Island since childhood was in fact La Duchesse. I had been curious about this odd vessel whenever my family would cruise down River. Was it a gentleman’s lodge? A B&B? Something to do with the Coast Guard? I wasn’t familiar with a lot of River history then.

I quickly learned that it had been given as a gift to the Antique Boat Mu-seum by the McNally family upon the passing of their beloved father, Andy McNally III, photo to the left at the Antique Boat Museum. Andy was the great grandson of the co-founder of Rand McNally and became the company’s president in 1948. His family would leave their Chicago home every summer to spend “the season” on Welles-ley Island. The “magnificent house-boat” had been built for

George C. Boldt one hundred years ago. He paid $175,000 for this “floating mansion” and it didn’t even have an engine, but it had many other amenities. Upon George’s death, Edward John Noble acquired most of the Boldt property, including La Duch-esse. After many hard years, the houseboat took on water and sank to the bottom of her slip in the Boldt Yacht House. This was to be the watery grave that would end La Duchesse’s 40 year existence if it weren’t for the valiant efforts of Andy McNally.

He purchased the vessel from Ed Noble for $100, had her raised and towed up River to his family’s property. Andy hired the Watertown architect, Albert Skinner to come up with a plan to save the houseboat. This included remodel, redesign, repair and replacement work throughout the vessel. After much work, and a hefty check(s) later, La Duchesse would be moored again in that cove between Isle Royale and Wellesley Island. It would

then serve as the summer home for Andy’s family. In the photo below, cropped from a post card, is La Duchesse as most of us have probably seen her in our travels. Andy was committed to maintaining and preserving this marvelous piece of history, so over the years, ongoing maintenance and other major repairs continued. Most every piece of woodwork or hardware that was ever removed or replaced was carefully labeled and saved.

Andy was also a great supporter of the Antique Boat Mu-seum, and served as Trustee for 16 years, as well as Chairman of the Board. Around 1986, he bequeathed La Duchesse to the Museum. This magnanimous gift would allow the public to share a glimpse of history while insuring the continued preser-vation of La Duchesse. After Andy’s passing in 2001, owner-ship of the houseboat was transferred to the ABM. In 2005 La Duchesse took up mooring at the Museum and opened to visi-tors that July (see photo on page 3).

I had told John Summers that after seeing all the contents on the 3rd floor, I was very much interested in doing something connected with La Duchesse. Perhaps helping inventory or re-placing furnishings aboard or doing research projects, but not becoming a docent. After John took a group of volunteers

(Continued on page 3)

Pictured is La Duchesse’ new steel hull as it was being constructed in Alexandria Bay at Hutchinson Boat Works in

1957. Across the River in the background is Boldt Castle.

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aboard for our initial tour and hearing the fantastic history of this “gilded-age mansion sitting on a barge,” I was hooked. I had to share this story with others. I wanted to provide this awe-some experience with Museum visitors. As docents, we were all told to learn the basic facts then come up with our own tour. We each developed our own unique version of the story of La-Duchesse. Every week, newly discovered facts were revealed and shared among the docents. We shared our resources which included the ABM library, ABM staff, and many publications including the Paul Malo trilogy, Tony Mollica’s books and arti-cles, Roger Lucas’ little books on Boldt’s Boats and others. The McNally family (Teddy, Sandy and Betsy) were also very gen-erous with sharing their time and knowledge of La Duchesse’ history.

My own research took me back to Boldt Castle and the Yacht House many times. I had talks with Shane Sanford and docents at the Castle. My good friend, Bill Siegenthaler, gener-ously spent a whole day taking me around the east end of Wellesley Island visiting Hart House, the back farm, the Tennis Island condo development that is the footprint of the Boldt farm and Wellesley House. I visited the Ice House and met Bud and Eleanor Forrest who shared stories, maps, photos and remem-brances. I’ve had chats with Jeremy Smith, the grandson of Ed Noble, who maintains his grandfather’s log cabin on Lake of the Isles. I have also toured three other former Boldt properties on Wellesley Island: The Chalet, the former pump house known as Blue Top, and The Birches. There were connections and re-lated stories everywhere!

In getting to know my Cape Vincent neighbor, Jean Hazel-wood Golden, I learned that it was her father, Perry Hazelwood, who was the diver Andy hired to repair the punctured wooden hull of La Duchesse in 1943. Another neighbor, Justine Baskey, had lived aboard as caregiver for Andy’s parents, then Margie McNally and eventually, Andy himself. On my tours I met many people who had connections to the McNally’s or La Duchesse including a charming elderly gentleman named “Doc” VanDeusen. A veterinarian from Malone, NY, Doc re-vealed on my tour that he, while attending college, had been hired by Ed Noble in the summer of 1941 to work as the stew-ard aboard La Duchesse while she was serving as the temporary club house of the Thousand Islands Yacht Club. He told stories of having to bail water from the hull every day as he also served

(Continued from page 2) drinks and light meals to gentlemen on the upper deck. His ac-commodation was one of the bunkrooms in the “crew quarters” that summer.

La Duchesse continues to reveal her history to us all the time through many avenues. Major revelations came from the ABM’s project to have the vessel surveyed by architectural preservationists over the last couple years. In this comprehen-sive study to plan a maintenance and preservation program for La Duchesse, a clearer understanding of the construction and renovations were exposed. Curator of Education, Lora Nadolski has taken me and other docents aboard on a “nook and cranny” tour following the survey and its findings. She also completed compiling The Docent’s Handbook, a very thorough publication with facts and history on all the boats in the collection, but es-pecially helpful to docents is the section on La Duchesse. Lora even took time to satisfy my enormous curiosity by taking me to “the barns” on Bartlett Point to see the water stained panel-ing, old doors, stairway parts, and the highly-decorated metal bunks once found in the staterooms. Do all the volunteers know that the cooler/fridge in the Volunteer Lounge was the bar fridge on the Lounge Deck? Many thanks to Lora and Dan Miller for their on-going education and support of the La Duch-esse docents.

I have been a docent for La Duchesse since she came to us in 2005. I have lead hundreds of guests from all over the world through this historic vessel. I love seeing the looks of awe on their faces as they come aboard the stern deck of this big, long white box of a boat and move through her rooms. They see why she has always been referred to as “the magnificent houseboat, La Duchesse.” Pictured below is her arrival at the Museum in 2005.

All the docents are grateful to the Museum and the McNally family for their continued support, the steady stream of visitors who are overwhelmed after touring the interior, and especially to Andy McNally III, who is our hero. He rescued a sunken 40 year old houseboat from the bottom of the River, recognized her historic significance, provided meticulous main-tenance for her for nearly 60 years, gave his family a unique and wonderful experience of living aboard her every summer and finally, generously donated La Duchesse to the Antique Boat Museum for her future preservation and for so many of us to enjoy. Thank you Andy.

Linda and “Doc” on board La Duchesse

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As the snow melts, and the days get warmer and longer, it is approaching time for the gardens that make the Antique Boat Museum a beautiful place to visit to come alive!! Above are the Volunteers who worked to make the potted plants and other parts of the grounds come alive! Left to right they are: Brenda Knight, Joy Dutcher, Candy Quethera, Pat Taylor, Kathy Ward and Hank Parker. When you see these ladies, and Hank, please thank them for all of their hard work.

Security at the Antique Boat Museum

By Steve Bull When discussing security at the Antique Boat Museum it is far more than keeping out unauthorized

people. As Volunteers we all have a stake in what happens at the museum, so we all should be interested in security.

Security volunteers need to be willing to politely but firmly confront guests who are breaking the basic rules. These include smoking, handling of artifacts or exhibits, pets on campus, and food and drink in prohibited areas. During the boat show, persons not displaying badges or wristbands also need to be stopped and asked about their authorization. This can result in an unpleasant response from the guest, which the average person wants to avoid. However, this cannot dictate your response to the prob-lem at hand. Appropriate action will be backed by the ABM staff.

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2011 Calendar of Events May 13 — Museum Opens for the Season

Hours: 9am to 5pm

May 18 — Volunteer Council Meeting

May 26 —Volunteer Breakfast – Bring a Friend

June 2, 9, 16 & 23 — Docent Training Program

June 11 —1000 Islands Family Day

June 17 — Volunteer Voice Deadline June 27 — Junior Sailing Classes Begin

July 5 — Camp ABM Program Begins

July 12 — Tuesday Night Sailing and Rowing

July 24 —1st Annual Community River Picnic

August 5‐7 —47th Annual Antique

Boat Show and Auction

featuring boats designed by John Hacker

Sept. 8 —Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

October 10 — Museum Exhibits Closed for the season

Ye Olde Editor’s Corner by Dick Ashley There is a Sign-Up Form on page 6 of this issue. Mine has been filled out and sent in, with the intent of continuing as Edi-tor of Volunteer Voice. Obviously, I did that to encour-

age all volunteers to make known their intent to continue to work in support of our Museum. Hope you do, and that you encourage your friends to do the same.

I offer a big thank you to all of the authors who provided material for this issue of Volunteer Voice — especially Linda Schmitt for her article on La Duchesse and her experi-ences in being a Docent for this beautiful Antique Boat Mu-seum asset. I encourage everyone interested in the responsibili-ties and opportunities of being a Docent to contact Hank about the sessions outlined in his article on page 1. Steve has a good article about Safety on page 4. I recognize that I did NOT do a very good job in all cases last year in general, and particularly at the Boat Show in checking, and where necessary, handling people who did not want to follow the rules and requirements. I’ll do better this year. Our Executive Director, Fred Schmitt,

always comes up with an interesting message showing the im-portance of the volunteers to the Museum. When I first took on this job he asked if he could be a part of each issue; I am very pleased that he has and plans to continue doing just that.

Lastly, thanks to Judie who bears up well under my com-plaints, and sometimes off-the-wall suggestions, as well as sup-plying ideas and information to help me make this communica-tions tool better. And a BIG thank you to Lora who always seems to be able to supply that one photo, or piece of informa-tion, that I need to fill a hole in the story we are trying to tell.

I do want to remind everyone that this is the newsletter of the Volunteers. If you have had an interesting experience, or have been doing a job you would like to talk about, let me know. I would love to hear from you, and so would the other Volunteers. I have an e-mail address established just for the Volunteer Voice! It is: editorvv@aol.com

This year’s calendar looks full of exciting events. I look forward to participating in as many as possible, and reporting on their success, and the Volunteers’ participation, over the next several issues.

See you soon on The River!

Photo above: Your Volunteer Council at the 2010 Volunteer Dinner from left to right: Hank Parker, Carol Richardson, Judie Petersen, Dick Ashley, Bonnie Wurster, Phyllis Deruytter, Steve Bull, David Dodge, Linda Schmitt. Not pictured: Sue Sears who had not been able to attend. Photo below: Judie Pertersen and Fred Schmitt.

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Volunteer Sign-Up Form If you will miss the opportunity to sign up at the Breakfast for volunteering, please fill out the form below and we will get you on the schedule for 2011. Mail this form to: Volunteer Council, Antique Boat Museum, 750 Mary Street, Clayton, NY 13624.

Name: Phone:

Address:

City, State & Zip:

I am interested in volunteering at the Antique Boat Museum for the following position(s): Have you volunteered in this position before?

1. Yes No

2. Yes No

3. Yes No

4. Yes No

I am available to work: Dates: Times:

Volunteer Council volunteers@abm.org Judie Petersen, Volunteer Coordinator rpetersen@copper.net 315.686.4104, x246 Dick Ashley, Editor Volunteer Voice editorvv@aol.com Steve Bull Phyllis Deruytter, Event Registration David Dodge, Captain’s Representative Hank Parker, Lead Docent Carol Richardson, Admissions Linda Schmitt Volunteer Hours Sue Sears Bonnie Wurster Lora Nadolski. Staff Liaison lnadolski@abm.org

Antique Boat Museum Volunteer Council 750 Mary Street Clayton, NY 13624

ATTENTION VOLUNTEERS By Dick Ashley, Editor

If you have been working at Volunteer activities for the Museum throughout the Winter I hope you have kept track of your time. It doesn’t matter whether it has been at the Museum, or at home in some remote (warm) location like I have been, we need to keep track of our time spent and record it as soon as we get back to the Museum. I know it is easy to forget. As I sit at my computer in Trinity, Florida, I am scratching my head wondering how may hours I have spent on the January and May issues of the Vol-unteer Voice . Why is it important? Well, from one point of view, you might earn a Gift Card from the Museum Store. From another point, the Museum uses this information to show the dedication of the community to the Museum. From my point of view — it is the opportunity to do something I enjoy while helping the Museum and meeting and working with a tremendously dedicated group of people.

So, keep track of your hours, record them as soon as you get to the Museum — and fill out the form below to continue your volunteer service.

Enjoy!