Thank you, Members
Last
March it was decided that we would have an Annual Membership Drive instead of
sending out monthly letters, reminders and membership Cards. We included the names of everyone who had
ever donated an item to our Museum and gave them a year of free
membership. It was an overwhelming
success. Not only did we gain many new
financial supporters, but also, we saved lots of money on mailing. If this is the first time you have received
our Annual Newsletter, it may be because you have donated some-thing to our
collection in the past year, or you are someone who has shown an interest in
the work we do. We hope that you will
take the time to return the large section of the enclosed card along with your
donation. 100% of your dona-tion is tax
deductible. We have no salaries to pay
since all of our workers are dedicated volunteers.Your dona-tion will ensure
that we can continue our community outreach events, and pay our bills such as utilities, insurance,
mailing, and supplies. Read
To
those of you who have continued to support us financially over the years we
give you our heartfelt thanks once again.
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New Board Members
Recently
we have added four new members to our Board of Directors. Paul Zbornak and Stanley Dzieciolowski are
both retired service-men that are long time volunteers in our Museum, bringing
with them a good understanding of our plans and goals. Many of you will know Joe Lopes, a South End
resident and local activist. He dug
right in to work after he was invited to join the Board. At our Veterans Day Event he was running
between the Museum and the Low Tide Yacht Club with donuts and coffee and was
the chief coffee urn washer after the event.
If you visited the Museum that day, we hope you also stopped in at the
Art Show displayed at the Yacht Club.
Heading up that show was Cindy Ricard, a local artist and art
teacher. She is our other new
Board
member. Cindy’s students, all Senior
citizens, were given an assignment to do a painting with a military theme. The results were awesome! Come visit the Museum and see a sample of
their work displayed in our Atrium.
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Coming up in May
Mark this date on your calendar.
The Atwater-Donnelly Trio along with step
dancer, Kevin Doyle is returning to delight us once again. Each year they have put on a concert for us that has become our
largest fundraiser, because the
musicians keep very little of the proceeds for
themselves. Purchase your tickets at
the Museum during our open hours.
May 22, 2009
7:00
p.m.
At the Pulaski School
Donation $10.00
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MUSEUM HOURS
Tuesday
1-4 p.m.
Wednesday
1-4p.m.
Friday
1-4p.m.
Saturday
1-4p.m.
Sunday
1-4p.m.
Batteries
You
may have wondered what those old buildings covered with vegetation are
throughout Fort Taber Park. Actually,
they are called batteries. In
the
Military Museum there are pictures of the way they looked during WWs I &
II. They are named for fallen
heroes. The ones located on either side
of Fort Rodman are Walcott and Gaston to the East and Cross, Craig and Barton
to the West. Another one is Battery
Milliken, which is located behind the Umass building on the far west side of
the Park. The first five mentioned were
built during the Endicott-Taft era of Coastal Defenses. They housed large dis-appearing guns that
could be raised for use and withdrawn to keep them hidden.
Workers for the City of New Bedford have been
clearing much of the vegetation that has grown up over the years, nearly
obliter-ating Battery Walcott, which is directly opposite the Military
Museum. Getting the work done has been
a challenging job. The workers have had
to work around the weather, events that draw crowds to the area, and nesting
birds. That’s right, they can’t
disturb the birds during April, May or June.
Keep watching to see the project continue the restoration of Battery Walcott
to its original appearance.
School Curriculum
Work
has begun on the development of a curriculum for New Bedford school children
under the direction of the Dept. of Social Sciences. The goal is to establish a learning format that will match the
learning skills and academic needs of children at three different grade
levels. It is expected that lesson
plans involving the Military Museum will be ready this academic year so that it
can begin next Fall.
World War I
Posters
Some time ago FTFRHA was the
recipient of four World War I posters.
Two are in the format normally associated with posters, but two of them
are horizontal and much larger than usual.
The color is still vivid after more than ninety years of storage. First, it was necessary to find someone who
could restore them and frame them with archival materials. That took time and then we were faced with
the expense of such an endeavor. With
the help of the United Way we were able to finance the project and Crowell
Frames supplied the expertise in locating a restorer and then actually framing
them for display. These beautiful works
of art were fittingly un-veiled at the Art Show on Veterans Day. Our thanks to the donor, Ellda Katan and to
everyone who helped make it possible.
The restored and framed posters are displayed in the atrium of the
Military Museum. Look up as you stand
by the model of Fort Rodman in order to enjoy them.
Joseph Monte
If you live in New Bedford,
you know where Monte Park is located.
It can be seen as you drive south on Route 18. One of our volunteers, retired Air Force Capt. Joseph “Zach” Souza worked at the park as a young man and he noticed the
plaque by the entrance describing Joseph Monte as a fallen hero. Years later, after Zach retired from the
military himself and fulfilled his dream of becoming an artist, he decided it
was time to memorialize Joseph Monte with a portrait. He was able to locate a sister still living in New York. We were delighted to have the family of our
local Cape Verdean hero, Joseph Monte be present at the unveil-ing of his
portrait beautifully executed in charcoal that is now displayed in the World
War I area of the Military Museum.