Read Our Mail -- August 2005

A complete archive of mail from July 2005

August 26
COMMANDER WHO?
Who is the present commander of the yard and how long and where does he come from just curious I think I may know him
Ron in Naples, ME

EDITOR’S REPLY: The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has its own web site and the Commander has his top billing with his own web page.

August 20
SETTING THE WHITE HOUSE STRAIGHT
Please ask someone to condense info on the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth and forward to The White House Tour program. Because when I took a tour of TWH about 10 years ago, the guide mentioned "And this is a portrait of President Theodore Roosevelt, and he received a Peace Medal -- but I really don't know what for!" I got a dirty look when I dared mention, briefly, what for. They do a great job -- and this should be included correctly. OK?
Margaret G. Fish

August 15
STILL MIGHTY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
I watched the film THE MIGHTY yesterday during a rainy, dreary day in New York. I'm not sure what hooked me @ first but within a short time I was ...hooked that is. I actually sobbed during the scene in the laundry. What a wonderful story. I watched it again later in the evening. I can not believe that this was not given more publicity. I look forward to reading the book
Mary Cochran.

EDITOR’S REPLY: We were just talking to Mighty author Rod Philbrick (from Kittery, Maine) about that very topic today. The great news is that, while Miramax launched a minimal promotion of this excellent film, the DVD continues to find its way into the hearts and minds of people all across America. The book has sold a million copies and was recently released in England with other books by Philbrick. While Hollywood continues to give us car crashes and junk blockbusters, it is the "sleeper" films, well made, that have a long life in the DVD field. You may want to read other books byu the author. Here is his web site link.

August 9
BORN IN ARBIGLAND
Captain Jones was well supported by Benjamin Franklin in his coastal raids on Britain. I think he was born in Hull, is that so?
Signed OCTILLION

EDITOR’S REPLY: John Paul Jones was born in Scotland. Ben Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Neither was born in Hill.

August 8
TREATY EXHIBITS
Are there any planned exhibits, events, etc. set to mark the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905? Thanks for any information that you can provide.
Susan Vorderer

EDITOR’S REPLY: This is the month for Treaty events. The centennial parade was last week, but tehre is still a dress ball, lectures, five separate exhibits, a walking and bus tour and an excellent map. For all the details visit the official treaty web site.

August 7
COCSWELL, WENTWORTH & MORE
Dear Dennis Robinson: An old friend sent me a copy of the May/June issue of "Accent Home and Garden" and I enjoyed your article on "A Treasure Trove of American Folk Art." Cogswell's Grant is indeed a treasure trove, and its attic is the only one to have ever graced the cover of the magazine "Antiques." I spent many an open house stationed up there in what I call the "coffin corner"-- usually on the hottest days of the summer.

Although I never have known a great deal about the objects the folks Collected, I do give a talk to historical societies contemplating a trip on "Growing up in a House Museum," in which I point out such places as where we kept the comic books.

May I also say how much I have enjoyed reading your book on "Wentworth By The Sea." My wife and I spent a few days there last spring as guests of my classmate Addie Closson to celebrate his 73 birthday. His first cousin Harry Beckwith was also a classmate of ours at Harvard. I grew up iBrookline with both of them. It was grand to see the hotel again, having not stayed there since 1980 with the New England Museum Association.
Sincerely yours,
Warren M. "Renny" Little

August 7
SUMMER RANT
I arrived at your website looking for some GOOD information about whittier- WHO writes all this REVISED history .The NORTH lost alot (sic) of blood in that fight. You have a HATE AMERICA attitude and it is very easy to read between your lines. I hope the ghost's of dead NEW HAMPSHIRE solders haunt you for speaking so LOWLY of so many kind souls. By the way ,where were all the white/black segragated (sic) places in that state INTO the 1950's-- Talk about lie's!!!!!!!!
Dennis King

EDITOR’S REPLY: We don’t have a clue what this letter is about, but it sure vibrates with energy.

August 6
SAIL TO THE SHOALS
Just read your article in the July issue of the NEW HAMPSHIRE MAGAZINE on the Isles of Shoals. Very enjoyable & informative. Thanks so much for including us in your "Getting There in 2005" section. We appreciate it.
Pat Ford Gibbons, Sail Amaryllis

August 5
FANS OF BIKING BALKINI
I read it [Seacoast by Bike] all the time and I always email folks the URL, I love the Great Balkini!
Gail K

Since I usually read your email for historical information, I was thrilled to see the articles on biking by David Balkin. I've been a cyclist for years , recently bought a new bike and get out at 5:30 am to enjoy the solitude that early mornings offer. Living on the seacoast certainly adds to my ride tremendously! Thank you so much for this great information -thank David Balkin, too. Happy biking!Carole R

August 2
OPEN LETTER ON LOCAL MEDIA
To the Editors: On Saturday, July 23 at 4 PM Eastern an estimated 8,000 people participated in a conference call with Rep. John Conyers, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, and hosted by Air America’s Randi Rhodes. From small house parties across the nation to larger town hall meetings in New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles, thousands turned out to hear the latest developments in the unfolding story of treasonous acts on the part of Bush administration officials in exposing the identity of a covert CIA agent as well as a growing list of fabricated "evidence" that lead us into the war in Iraq.Here in Portsmouth, a group of concerned citizens participated in the conference call. This event was a call to citizens to hold their local media to the responsibility of reporting on these developing stories. After the call, we discussed the state of our local media and decided to address a few concerns.

Here in the seacoast, we encourage our two larger newspapers The Portsmouth Herald and Foster’s Daily Democrat to reconsider the way in which they cover national and foreign policy issues. It is obvious to us that there is a crisis in media today. True journalism upon which we rely on to protect our democracy is being replaced by centralized publication of government statements and press releases as the only source of information on these issues. Our local newspapers as well rely on hand me downs from Associated Press and others to take care of their responsibilities when it comes to matters of national concern and foreign policy. These sources we feel can no longer be relied on to convey a complete picture.

Here in Portsmouth many people have come to rely on smaller, free publications such as The New Hampshire Gazette and The Wire to complete the picture. Some talented people dedicated to researching the truth behind some of the troubling stories coming out of Washington are proving themselves to be the real journalistic heroes of our time.

It is apparent to us that in this new age of corporate dominated media we can no longer trust to get the whole story from national sources. We have no ability to influence these media giants so we turn instead to both The Portsmouth Herald and Foster’s Daily Democrat for responsible journalism.This is not to say that these newspapers don’t provide editorial space for readers to sound off on a full spectrum of viewpoints. They do. But this is not the same as researched reporting in a quest to inform readers about what is really happening. We are talking about the staff of these newspapers taking it up a notch in an attempt to fill the void left by the shallow coverage of the national media. Some of us as individuals have felt to research these issues on the internet and if we can do it we are sure your organizations can certainly provide the information we are not getting elsewhere. Also, we urge you to reach out to your other community publications like The New Hampshire Gazette and Wire to give some of their dedicated writers a larger voice on these matters.

Our democracy has perhaps never been more vulnerable to abusive power as it is today. The role of the press as described in our Constitution as a "free press" is sorely lacking and we urge you to consider the situation and act accordingly.
Brian Vawter, Portsmouth, NH

August 5

August 1
HER MOTHER WAS LORD NELSON
Mommy as Lord Nelson in 1931 TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN: PLEASE FIND ENCLOSED PICTURE OF MY MOTHER WHEN SHE WAS NINE YEARS OF AGE (1931) IN PORTSMOUTH BORN UK. FROM THE OSENTON NAVAL FAMILY. MY MOTHER ESTELLA MAY OSENTON STILL LIVES IN PORTSMOUTH HAMPSHIRE ,ENGLAND. I THOUGHT YOU MAY LIKE TO SEE IT. I BELIEVE IN RECENT YEARS HER COUSIN,WAS HEAD OF MUNITIONS ON THE "THEODORE ROOSEVELT".
SINCERELY
58 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER JENNIFER
LONDON, UK

August 1
OLD SHIPHOUSE PHOTOS
Hello there, I'm a photographer at the Marine Corps. base here in Albany Ga. I'm orginally from Phila. Pa. but as I spent 15 years working at the Shipyard and living in Ports. and Dover I call the seacoast my home. I hope to return next year after I retire to live in Ports., Dover or Rochester. What I'm trying to find someone that knows about a photographer by the name of Stinson. Before I left in 1992 I found some 5x7inch negatives and some 4x5inch glass plates of the Seacoast area and some ship buildings dating 1n the 1800's. Can you stee me in the right direction?
Anthony Rawls

EDITOR’S REPLY: We forwarded your info to an expert in glass plate negatives. We recently ran pix of two 19^th century shiphouses at the Navy Yard. Maybe this shot will help.

August 1
DESCENDED FROM LEAR (NOT)
Since early childhood I have been told that Tobias Lear V was my fifth grandfather. I recently was informed that he had only one son Benjamin Lincoln Lear and that he had no male heirs. My grandmother was Mazie Lear and I am curious as to how the connection may have come about. Ihave been shown letters written by Lear describing Washington's death and pictures of the birth home in Portsmouth which seem to lend some credibility to the ancestor story. Could you provide any clarification with regard to lineage?
A. Hamilton, Santa Ana, Ca

EDITOR’S REPLY: Your latest info is correct. Tobias Lear had one son who had no children, so your could not possibly be descended from Tobias Lear V. For more info , why not join the historic house association that supports the upkeep of his home in Portsmouth, NH?

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