The Museum has received a grant from the US Navy Cruiser Sailors Association to purchase audio equipment in order to record oral histories from officers, crew, and families of the men who served aboard the USS Los Angeles CA-135. Portions of interviews will be made available on our website and will be incorporated into the Museum’s CA-135 exhibit. If you would like to participate please contact us.
The Steamship Historical Society has named the Los Angeles Maritime Museum’s tugboat ANGELS GATE as the 2013 Tugboat of the Year. The award was presented on Saturday, May 4th, during the Society’s annual conference held in Long Beach, California.
“Each year the Steamship Historical Society of America recognizes vessels, people or entities that have exemplified or made a significant contribution to the history of engine-powered vessels. ANGELS GATE was selected in recognition of her approaching 70th anniversary and the Museum’s devoted efforts to preserve her and make her available for educational and enjoyment purposes”, stated CDR John Hamma, USN (Ret), President of the Society.
See the Library’s Blog, “Adventures in Maritime History” on blogspot.
We’re beginning April with an eclectic mix of posts, the first one is “Labor’s Imprint on History”. Any aspect of maritime history is framed and supported by the labor of many numbers of men and women who’ve done the jobs by hand and with the sweat of their brows, not by machines, making possible the transport of material, loading fuel, repair, and numerous specialized tasks in shipping and navigation. We rely on the end result in merchandise, which is the sum of many distinctive operations both maritime- and transportation-wise on land, without much thought to the labor necessary to make the products available to us. The same is true of our food purchased from supermarkets. The book featured in this week’s post focuses on farm labor. The Museum’s Past Exhibit “At Work in California…” gives insight into visualizing labor’s struggles and issues.
Jack London’s novels and stories featured prominently in blog posts. Other recently read and commented new books include “At Drake’s Command”, possibly the first in a series about the second circumnavigation in Sir Francis Drake’s Golden Hind, then named the Pelican. See the book on the shelves in the Library—take it out and read it—a fast-moving tale about the cook on the ship Pelican.
The painting in the Library by Roberto Lupetti depicts the classic maritime theme in which a gale at sea has pushed water over the bow, sending the crew to save the deck and below from rising water. What actually is their task? Come into the Library to view the picture of this dire activity.