Historical
Society Meeting Features Labrador Talk, Election of Officers
Cathy
Sherrill had her Boothbay Region Historical Society audience in the palm of
her hand from the moment she began her tales and slide show of adventures
crewing on a 22-foot cat boat along the coast of Labrador during the summers
of 1995 to 1997.
Imagine cruising around icebergs, through treacherous
fjords where rocks abounded, cooking on a wood stove that had to be fed with
wood gathered every time Sherrill and the boat’s captain went ashore,
temperatures that never went above 47 degrees and, since there was no radio,
no hope of rescue if anything went wrong.
“I’d do it again in a minute,” Sherrill said.
Sherrill. a former BRHS president and current board
member, was the featured speaker at the society’s 41st annual meeting May
20, which also included election of officers and a rundown of events and
accomplishments during the past year.
Sherrill dedicated her talk to Roger Duncan, a long
time historical society trustee, and his wife, Mary, well known in the sailing
world, and friends of the late Capt. John Church, with whom Sherrill sailed.
“They (the Duncans) egged me on to share a little of it,” she said.
Sherrill worked in a college administration office
when she signed on to sail with Church, whom she described as “infamous in
cat boat sailing, retired from GE and a man who could fix anything,”
Originally, she had offered to help Church find a likely student who might
fill his requirements for an “able lady” to crew on a Labrador cruise.
Before long, Sherrill said, she discovered that she no longer wanted to find
someone to go, she wanted to go, herself – and with the blessing of her
husband, she went. And went again, for several weeks for two more summers that
included near encounters with polar bears, infrequent visits to Inuit
settlements and invitations to dine aboard supply ships. There were memories
and photographs of spectacular sunsets, offset by grim, foggy weather, eating
out of cans unless the fishing happened to be good, and light moments of
sending gun shots (whizzers and bangers) into icebergs to set off private
“fireworks” showings. It didn’t matter that sometimes it took two or
three hours in the morning to raise from the Labrador mud the two or three
anchors that kept the boat stable each night.
Sherrill obviously loved it all and stayed long after
her talk was over to answer questions on the details of her adventures.
During the business meeting before Sherrill’s talk,
three officers were reelected to new terms: Doreen Dun, president; Sally
Bullard, secretary; and Sarah Giles, treasurer. Elected vice-president was
Steve Alley. Welcomed to the board for a new three-year term was Philip
Haselton, one of the society’s original founders. Reelected for three-year
terms were Sarah Giles, Cathy Sherrill, Don Soler and Peggy Voight.
Dun briefly summed up the past year’s
accomplishments: the winter speaker series, the major fund raiser held at the
Nicholas Knight house last fall and publication of the “beautiful”
newsletter under the direction of BRHS administrator, Laurie Green. Upcoming
events include a fund raiser at the “Murray House” in East Boothbay on
Aug. 24 when the owners, Fran and Bob Lord, will open their home to a limited
attendance. Tickets, at $50 each, can be bought at the society’s museum, 72
Oak St. now. Another fund raiser will be at the Russell House on July 14, when
proceeds from meals will go to the society.
Dun thanked Jim Hunt, former BRHS president, trustee
and chair of the finance/budget committee, who is stepping down from the
board, but will continue to serve on thee financial committee, and thanked
Laurie Green for “making things run smoothly.”
“As always, we are very grateful to Barbara Rumsey,
(director), “ Dun said. Rumsey fields at least 300 research inquiries a
year, Dun said.