DAR Brunswick Town Chapter: Visit the Southport Maritime Museum to see "Along the Colonial Cape Fear" Permanent Exhibit

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Visit the Southport Maritime Museum to see "Along the Colonial Cape Fear" Permanent Exhibit

A dedication ceremony was held in June at the NC Maritime Museum in Southport, followed by a reception to celebrate the addition of a new exhibit, “Along the Colonial Cape Fear River.” The special exhibit was the fruition of a grant application sponsored by our Brunswick Town DAR Chapter and submitted to the NSDAR Special Projects Grants - Mission for Education.

The effort to secure the grant began in 2014 when Lori Sanderlin, Curator of Education, at the Museum spoke to chapter member, Connie Hendrix about the possibility of the Brunswick Town Chapter securing a grant for the museum. Connie passed along the request to Jackie Craft, Regent at the time. Jackie and Betsy Pessetto, Vice Regent, met with Lori to discuss the grant. In these new exhibits, Brunswick Town is a big part of the Museum’s attraction and so appropriate to our chapter since Brunswick Town is our namesake.

The exhibit features interactive educational elements including a touchscreen that delves deeper into colonial culture including, Did You Know? Flip Panels for the naval stores industry; sliding doors for delicate paper artifacts such as Royal Governor Josiah Martin’s signature; and a talking mannequin depicting Ms. Janet Schaw, a Scottish loyalist, who shares important details of the colonial Cape Fear from her Journal of a Lady of Quality.

We were honored to have in attendance at the celebration, Merry Ann Thompson Wright, Honorary President General; Dianne Biggs Janis, National Chairman of Special Projects Grants; Carole Weiss, State Vice Regent; Cricket Crigler, State Organizing Secretary; Lou Walker, State Registrar and her husband, Jerry; Anne Hobbs State Special Projects Grants Chairman; and Meg Smith, District VII Treasurer. Also, in attendance were many chapter members. Following the dedication and reception, a dinner was held at The Reserve Restaurant in St. James Plantation hosted by our Regent, Diane Kuebert, for our honored guests and members.

L to R Mary Strickland, Museum Manager; Lori Sanderlin, Curator of Education, NC Maritime Museum; Diane Kuebert, Brunswick Town Regent; Merry Ann Thompson Wright, Honorary President General; Diane B. Janis, National Chairman of Special Project, Grants

Diane Kuebert, Brunswick Town Regent; Merry Ann Thompson Wright, Honorary President General; Diane B. Janis, National Chairman of Special Project, Grants; Museum Manager; Lori Sanderlin

Front Row (L-R): Jamee Vassil Rose, Exhibit Designer, NC Maritime Museums; Mary Strickland, Museum Manager, NC Maritime Museum at Southport; Back Row (L-R) Joseph Schwarzer, Director, NC Maritime Museum System; Bob Springle, Administrator, Friends of the NC Maritime Museum at Southport; Lori Sanderlin, Curator of Education, NC Maritime Museum at Southport; Meredith Jones, Museum Store Manager and Volunteer Coordinator, NC Maritime Museum at Southport.

Gwen Causey, Brunswick Town Chapter Parliamentarian and State Volunteer Genealogist and Carole Weiss, State Vice-Regent

Martha Koletar, Public Relations and Media Chair for Brunswick Town Chapter,

Jackie Craft, State Americanism Chair; Cindy Sellers, Registrar for Brunswick Town Chapter

Carole Weiss, NC State Vice-Regent; Lou Walker, State Registrar; Bonnie Becmer, Brunswick Town DAR member; Cricket Crigler, State Organizing Secretary; and Pat Gooding, Brunswick Town Chapter Historian