Ship Quits Seas After 69 Years

That's the headline from a 1958 edition of the Tonawanda News that I came across while researching information about the ship Eva S. Cullison.  The Eva S. Cullison was a schooner owned by my great great grandfather John Aaron Jackson.  He used her to harvest oysters from the Chesapeake Bay.

 The article I found reads:

Rockland, ME, The two masted schooner Eva S. Cullison has been dry docked after 69 years of sailing along the East Coast.  The all white craft recently was towed into Lermond's Cove here where she will be used a a training ship for the local unit of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.  The vessel was built in Baltimore in 1888 and formerly plied the Bahama fruit trade.  Since 1951,  Capt. Frank Swift of Camden, ME had operated the Eva S. Cullison as one of his summer windjammer cruise ships.  She has been called the last of the Baltimore-built Chesapeake Bay coastal schooners.

My great great grandfather owned the Eva S. Cullison after she was used in the Bahama fruit trade and before she was sold  to be used in Capt. Swift's windjammer fleet.

Oyster Festival

 

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the annual 

Oyster Festival in Urbanna, VA.

It's been many many years since I've been to an Oyster Festival.

These dogs were probably one of the coolest things I saw.

We toured some boats including the Godspeed

(pictured above)

from Jamestown.

The Brat Child built a boat and sailed it in the "pond"

There were unique recycling opportunities

to help Save the Bay

(and oysters)

And of course a parade with Shriners driving smaller than normal vehicles

And marching bands.

Overall it was a nice afternoon

spent in a quaint town

on what was probably one of the last warmish days of the fall.

(And I intend to head back to Urbanna next year when it isn't packed with people)

Blogfest 2013

There was some hot tubbing

Some water collection from a hole

(the Brat Child says this make CBW "rich")

Some beach time

Some oysters at Merroir

(Let me just say, I hate oysters but 

Noe Noe Girl shoved one of these in my mouth and 

I ended up ordering my own plate)

Some talks

Some hugging

Some nice scenery

And some wild gator rides. 

When can we come back??

Monday Meditation

"A pearl is a beautiful thing that is produced by an injured life. It is the tear [that results] from the injury of the oyster. The treasure of our being in this world is also produced by an injured life. If we had not been wounded, if we had not been injured, then we will not produce the pearl."

~Stephan Hoeller