 For Sail Freighter Friday last week, we visited the cautionary tale of the John F. Leavitt, a wooden sailing ship built between 1976-79 and launched in October of 1979 in Thomlinson, Maine. Conceived of by amateurs as a way to revive sail freight in the wake of the Oil Crisis of the 1970s, the vessel would go on to become a cautionary tale, and set back the idea of sail freight for decades. Several years after he began filming the project, filmmaker Jon Craig Cloutier released "Coaster: A true story of the John F. Leavitt." In 1982, the year "Coaster" won best feature documentary at the American Film Festival, the New York Times interviewed Cloutier: The waves were over 20 feet high and the winds stronger than 60 miles an hour on that eighth day at sea. ''The sun was setting in the west and we were sinking in the east,'' Jon Craig Cloutier said. Mr. Cloutier, a film maker, was one of nine persons aboard a 97-foot schooner, the John F. Leavitt, on its maiden and final voyage. The ship was 187 miles off the coast of Long Island on Dec. 29, 1979, and night was approaching when the nine aboard and 3,600 feet of film were saved by two helicopters from the 106th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group. A Russian trawler had received the ship's call for help and sent an S O S to the New York National Guard in Westhampton. ''Two large jolly green giants appeared in the sky,'' Mr. Cloutier said. ''The last thing to go into one helicopter was my film.'' Fifty thousand dollars worth of photographic equipment was left on the ship. Watch the full film below. The film covers the ship's construction, launch, maiden voyage, and disastrous end. Narrated from the point of view of Ned Ackerman, the school teacher who dreamed up the idea of the John F. Leavitt, the film runs just over 90 minutes long. Although the official release date is 1983, the film was shown as early as 1981. This November 23, 1981 review from the Washington Post reads: "Coaster," which opened Friday at the Inner Circle, is the story of the John F. Leavitt, the trading schooner that was launched in a crescendo of windship romanticism two years ago and sank on her maiden voyage. She was the dream of a former college teacher named Ned Ackerman, a young man with a sea captain's beard and an unflagging desire to construct a 98-foot, 100-ton sailing vessel for glory and profit. From the beginning he was dogged by cameramen, and this 90-minute film is the result of their chronicle. It appealingly records the Leavitt's construction, from the laying of her keel to the fitting of the "shutter plank" that sealed her hull. The Maine craftsmen, and their tools and techniques, are fascinating to watch and listen to. It took Ackerman four years to get the Leavitt built, but she came out right. He then cast off for Quincy, Mass., to pick up his first payload -- a cargo of chemicals and lumber bound for Haiti. Just before Christmas, heavy laden, the Leavitt set out into the North Atlantic. The temperature in Quincy was 8 degrees, and her crew was looking forward to the tropics. Less than a week later, beset by a winter gale 150 miles southeast of Cape Cod, the Leavitt had received superficial damage to her rig, found her main bilge pump inoperable, and was reporting a 30-degree list to port. With more bad weather on the way, Ackerman put in a distress call to the Coast Guard. Helicopters arrived to evacuate him and his eight-person crew. The Leavitt apparently sank sometime thereafter. The end of the John F. Leavitt was sad and inconclusive, and that is a condition that affects this documentary as well. Movie footage of the rescue itself was either lost, or not shot, so the tale simply stops. This is understandable, but difficult to forgive. Even more difficult to forgive are the relentless sea chanteys, full moons and echoing narrative that give "Coaster" an overeager heroism. Had things come out all right, that would be merely annoying; as things are, it is bizarre. "Coaster" would make more sense on television, perhaps on a weekend morning. It is not what you expect to find in a movie theater. As for Ackerman, brutal questions remain unanswered. After four years of willful publicity, in which he sought to bring back a lost era of seagoing, he abandoned ship in his first gale. Given the ambiguous ending of "Coaster," we are free to assume that Ackerman abandoned his dream ship while she was still afloat, rather than risk the lives of his crew in saving her. That is the new tradition of the sea, not the old. Ackerman probably did the right thing. But he proved the wrong point. And since he is a first-class publicity hound, he proved it big. What do you think? Do you agree with the Washington Post's review? If you'd like to learn more about sail freight and the Oil Crisis, visit the Hudson River Maritime Museum in-person or online to see our new exhibit "A New Age of Sail: The History and Future of Sail Freight on the Hudson River."
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 Title still from the film "Around Cape Horn" featuring footage aboard the "Peking" from 1929, narrated by Captain Irving Johnson, who was aboard for this trip. In honor of our upcoming lecture, "The History and Future of Grain Races," as well as our upcoming exhibit on sail freight (currently under development), we thought we'd share this amazing historical film featuring footage from the bark "Peking" (formerly at South Street Seaport, now returned to her native Germany) as it sailed around Cape Horn in 1929. The film is silent, but narrated by Captain Irving Johnson, who was aboard "Peking" during this voyage and took all of the film footage with a camera he had brought with him. He was only 24 at the time. Johnson continued a career as a sailor, and met his wife, Electa "Exy" Johnson, while working aboard a schooner bound for France. They married in 1932 and went on to circumnavigate the globe together, teaching young sailors, and writing several books, articles, and producing several films based on their adventures. Their papers are now held in the collection of Mystic Seaport. For a glimpse into the later sailing expeditions of Captain and First Mate Johnson, check out this wonderful story map put together by Mystic Seaport charting their 1956 circumnavigation aboard the brigantine "Yankee" with a student crew. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
Steam whistles at the 2014 New Year's Eve celebration at Pratt Institute. Photo by Scott Lynch for Gothamist.
Happy New Year! And what a year it has been. To ring in 2022, we thought we'd celebrate with an old tradition involving Hudson River steamboats.
For years, Pratt Institute in New York City celebrated New Year's Eve by taking a collection of steam whistles, including many from historic Hudson River steamboats, hooking them up to the steam plant that heats the campus, and blowing them all at midnight. Check out the cacophony in the video below, from the 2012 celebration.
The whistles were from the collection of steam engineer and steam historian Conrad Milster, who worked for decades as the steam plant engineer for Pratt. Unfortunately, the celebrations came to a halt in 2015, but Milster continues to work in Pratt's steam plant, which is one of the oldest in the world.
Milster worked in the engine rooms of Hudson River Day Line boats as a young man, and has worked continuously at Pratt since 1958, although in recent years there have been efforts (unsuccessful) to force him into retirement. To learn more about Conrad Milster, his work at Pratt, and his extensive collections, check out the short documentary below (2019, Long Island Traditions).
To learn more about Milster's drive to collect recorded sounds, including Hudson River steamboat whistle and engine sounds, check out this audio interview with Sound & Story:
And whether you're ringing in the new year with the Times Square ball drop, attending a party, or going to bed early, play a steam whistle for us and we'll see you in 2022!
If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 The Hudson Athens Lighthouse surrounded by ice. Photo by Jeff Mertz. Today's Media Monday post is another teaser trailer for our forthcoming documentary film, "Seven Sentinels: Lighthouses of the Hudson River." The museum is crowdfunding for this film on Indiegogo, so help us make it a reality and get some really cool perks in return. We have made significant progress toward our goal - will you help us reach it before January 13? "Ice Guardians" is a teaser trailer look at some of the amazing footage filmmaker Jeff Mertz got of the Hudson-Athens, Rondout, and Esopus Meadows Lighthouses last winter. As we approach the holiday season, it seemed apt to share the icy beauty with everyone. The drone footage also reveals how isolating life at a lighthouse in winter could be, and how the lighthouses themselves needed to be protected from the heavy floes of ice. If you missed the first trailer, catch up below! We have already received dozens of individual donations, as well as support from Ulster Savings Bank, Rondout Savings Bank, and Ulster County Cultural Services & Promotion Fund administered by Arts Mid-Hudson. But we've still got a ways to go before we reach our goal, and just under a month to do it in.
You can help by liking, commenting on, and sharing our social media posts, YouTube videos, and this blog post. If you'd like to do more to help, you can join our individual fundraiser contest, where you can get credit for donations from family and friends on Facebook and other platforms. Check out our latest campaign update to learn more. You can earn the same perks as higher level backers. And, if you'd like to donate to the film but don't want to do so online, you can always mail us a check! Send it to the Hudson River Maritime Museum, 50 Rondout Landing, Kingston, NY 12401 and write "Seven Sentinels" or "lighthouse film" in the check memo line.  Today is the last day of our countdown of Hudson River lighthouse introductions in the lead up to Giving Tuesday, which is tomorrow! We're fundraising for our upcoming "Seven Sentinels: Lighthouses of the Hudson River" film this Giving Tuesday, so if you haven't donated, there's still time! You can read a brief history of the Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse, also known as the Little Red Lighthouse, on our Facebook or Instagram accounts, or you can join us in a re-watching of our very first, very homemade lighthouse film we made during the 2020 RiverWise voyage - the trip that started us on the road to Seven Sentinels! If you want to know more about the Jeffrey's Hook Lighthouse, check out this past blog post about one of the first keepers. Thankfully, we've got a real filmmaker on board for the Seven Sentinels film, so prepare yourself for some truly stunning modern footage of the last seven lighthouses on the Hudson River, combined with expert interviews, tours, and lots of historic photos and film footage. If you haven't seen the trailer yet, check it out below! We'll be dropping a new teaser trailer on December 20th, so stay tuned.
Do you have a favorite Hudson River Lighthouse? Tell us in the comments!  Giving Tuesday is coming up next week, so for today's Media Monday post, we thought we would share our newly released trailer for the forthcoming film, "Seven Sentinels: Lighthouses of the Hudson River!" After a summer of recording footage and interviews for all of the seven remaining Hudson River lighthouses, we're going to spend the winter reviewing footage, editing, and starting to put together the film, with a planned release date of July, 2022. We are so excited for this project, but we can't do it without your help. For that reason, we've launched a crowdfunding campaign in hopes that those of you who love lighthouses as much as we do will help us tell their stories. Watch the trailer below for a taste of what's to come! Our crowdfunding campaign runs for the next two months. In that time, you'll be seeing more lighthouse content here on the blog as we share some of our coolest finds. Keep your eyes peeled for another sneak peak trailer, too! If you'd like to donate, we have some great perks. Click the button below and help us reach our goal of making it to the $5,000 mark by Thanksgiving! If you or your business would like to become a sponsor of the films or other film projects, please contact Sarah Wassberg Johnson at swassberg@hrmm.org. We're also doing a daily countdown to Giving Tuesday starting tomorrow on our Facebook page and Instagram account. Click the links and follow us to make sure you don't miss the updates. We'll leave you with a few behind-the-scenes photos from some of our trips this past summer. Thanks for your support!  Detail of still from early documentary film, first shown publicly in 1912. In the foreground is a killer whale (Orcinus orca) named Old Tom, swimming alongside a whaling boat that is being towed by a harpooned whale (out of frame to the right). A whale calf can be seen between Old Tom and the boat. The whalers were based in Eden, New South Wales, Australia. Wikimedia Commons. This week, we're going a bit afield of the Hudson River for Media Monday. Our November 3rd lecture, "The Orca-Human Bond: The True Story behind The Whaler’s Daughter" with author Jerry Mikorenda, covered the amazing history of cooperation between killer whales (orcas) and Indigenous people (and later European whalers) in Australia. We'll have the lecture video up on our YouTube channel soon (some of our fall lectures are already up!), but in the meantime, you can enjoy this excerpt from the 2004 Australian documentary film, "Killers in Eden." Author Jerry Mikorenda said this documentary film was one of the inspirations for his YA novel, Whaler's Daughter. We've previously discussed whaling in Australia with the song "The Wellerman." Whaling in Two-fold Bay Australia was particularly special because of a unique pod of orcas that assisted human whalers with capturing migrating baleen whales. The "Law of the Tongue" was that the orcas would get first dibs on the baleen whale carcasses, preferring to eat only the lips and the tongue. The human whalers could then haul the rest of the carcass ashore to harvest the blubber for whale oil and other products. Sadly, as whaling continued, other more commercial whaling companies were less open to the idea of cooperating with the whales, and by the 20th century the pod had disappeared. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Advertisement requesting capture or imprisonment of a man named Will who had escaped slavery in North Castle, Westchester County, NY in 1774. Wikimedia Commons. This coming Saturday is the Conference on Black History in the Hudson Valley, so we thought this Media Monday that we would share this award-winning documentary film. Completed in 2018, "Where Slavery Died Hard: The Forgotten History of Ulster County and the Shawangunk Mountain Region" is the creation of the Cragsmoor Historical Society and was co-authored by archaeologists Wendy E. Harris and Arnold Pickman. It is a common misconception that slavery did not exist in the North, or if it did, it "wasn't as bad" as in the South. This is false. New Amsterdam had enslaved people since the beginning, as slavery was a cornerstone of much of Dutch colonialism. And in the mid-18th century, more New Yorkers enslaved people than almost any other American colony. New York was one of the last Northern states to abolish slavery (New Jersey had "apprenticeships" until 1865). New York City was staunchly pro-slavery, even during the Civil War, but upstate New York was a hotbed of abolitionist activity, from Western New York to Albany. "Where Slavery Died Hard" chronicles the role of slavery in Ulster County, including the story of Sojourner Truth, who was enslaved in Port Ewen (just across Rondout Creek from the Hudson River Maritime Museum) and elsewhere in Ulster County. If you'd like to learn more about Black History in the Hudson Valley, you can attend the conference (in-person and virtual options available!), check out our past Black history blog posts, or visit the Hudson Valley Black History Collaborative Research Project and its in-process collection of Black history resources and research specific to the Hudson Valley. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 Indigenous Algonquin Canadian woman sewing birchbark onto canoe frame. Film still from "How Indians Build Canoes (1946)." On Saturday we looked at a birchbark canoe in the Hudson River Maritime Museum's collection. So today we thought we'd share a couple of documentary films about traditional birchbark canoe building. The first is called "How Indians Build Canoes" and was published in 1946 by the International Film Bureau. It was produced by Crawley Films in collaboration with the Canadian Geographic Society. Filmed in eastern Canada (possibly Ontario) this short film, together with another called "Trappers and Traders," was originally shown as a longer film known as "Portage" (1946), which described the Canadian fur trade. The film was digitized by the American Indian Film Gallery, a project of the University of Arizona. The second film is an hour-long documentary about reconstructing a historic 1860s Ojibwe birchbark canoe and was produced by Lakeland PBS, a public television station in central Minnesota. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
 President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson walking through a field of flowers. LBJ Library photo by Frank Wolfe. In 1968, as part of a tour of national sites of historic and scenic significance, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson toured the Hudson River. Speaking with state officials, reviewing plans for riverside parks, and urging historic preservation of historic mansions along the Hudson, Lady Bird didn't make it much farther north than Tarrytown, but her appraisal of the Hudson River was part of a larger effort at preserving the unique scenic beauty of America while also conserving thousands of acres and protecting undeveloped areas. You can see the coverage of the First Lady's tour of the lower Hudson River (aboard the Circle Line XI) below. On this trip in May of 1968, the First Lady dedicated the newly opened American Museum of Immigration at the Statue of Liberty, meets Governor Rockefeller and NYC Mayor John Lindsay and their wives before boarding the Circle Line XI to travel up the Hudson to Tarrytown, admiring the Palisades and learning about plans a new park planned for Harlem River, funded in part by a federal grant. Lawrence Rockefeller accompanied Lady Bird Johnson on the trip, explaining conservation and preservation efforts in the state. She learns about waterfront mansions like Lyndhurst, then lands at Tarrytown and visits Sunnyside, Sleepy Hollow cemetery, Van Cortlandt Manor, interacting with costumed reenactors, and finally visiting Boscobel. Lady Bird was instrumental in a number of important pieces of legislation. The Johnson Administration, under Lady Bird's urging, became one of the most conservationist presidencies since Theodore Roosevelt. You can learn more about the impact of her environmental work in the short documentary film below. She is credited with introducing or influencing the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. In total, over 200 environmental laws were passed during Lyndon B. Johnson's tenure as president, many of them attributed directly to Lady Bird Johnson. To learn more about Lady Bird and her conservation efforts, visit www.ladybirdjohnson.org. Today, many of the historic sites Lady Bird visited in 1968 have been saved and restored and you can visit them today. And the Hudson River Valley is now a National Heritage Area. To learn more about its many historic sites and scenic beauty, visit www.hudsonrivervalley.com. If you enjoyed this post and would like to support more history blog content, please make a donation to the Hudson River Maritime Museum or become a member today!
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