scuttlebutt may june 2014

New exhibit OpeNs!

May/JuNe 2014 [email protected] VOl. 1

Visit the Battleship and see some big changes in the main exhibit hall. Thanks to funding provided by the Friends of the Battleship, we have been able to reproduce colorful photos and graphics from our archives to share with visitors. You’ll learn about the Battleship “coming home” to Wilmington in 1961 along with her beginnings in 1941. Port City Mopars Car Club has provided funding for a flat screen which will show a variety of present day and historical, recently digitized, footage.

Along the main wall you’ll gain an overview of the Battleship’s wartime operational history from the Eastern Solomons to Tokyo Bay. Artwork from the collections is featured as well as a 48-star U.S. flag that flew on the Ship during the Gilberts campaign. A treasured wartime map of Iwo Jima is back on display. (Conservation funding provided by the Friends of the Battleship.)

We honor all who serve our country by remembering the 11,000 North Carolinians who died during WWII. A new touch screen computer will feature all the names on the Roll of Honor. The Roll of Honor interactive unit is available online: http://wwwncrollofhonor.com. Visitors will also be able to write and send postcards to veterans

in present day VA hospitals across the region. A variety of artifacts from crew members who served on BB55 is featured.

Be sure to stop at the Foto Fx “studio” before boarding the Battleship!

Mary Ames Booker, CuratorBattleship North Carolina

Large photomural of the Battleship “coming home” to Wilmington in 1961. Photograph by Hugh Morton. Photo mural work by Port City

Signs & Graphics. Funding provided by the Friends of the Battleship.

“Journey’s End” watercolor painting by Elmer Griese, 1961. Framing by FrameWorks, funded by the Friends of the Battleship.

New exhibit OpeNs! Continued

May/JuNe 2014 Scuttlebutt page 2

continued on Page 3

Bay 2 features large, colorful graphics along with artifacts and a movie screen that interprets the beginnings of the Battleship NORTH

CAROLINA. Flat screen funding provided by Port City Mopars. The Friends of the Battleship provided the funding for the

production of the graphics.


continued from Page 2

continued on Page 4

The exhibit also features other artifacts from our collections including a flag that flew over the Battleship during the Gilberts campaign and a selection of items that belonged to crew members…our “men of honor.”

The rubber intelligence map of Iwo Jima is back on display. Conservation of the artifact was provided by the Friends of the Battleship. And more colorful graphics illustrate the end of the war along the Operational history wall.

A display case funded by the Friends of the Battleship features artifacts from the Battleship’s vast collections. Large graphics help illustrate the items, such as Chief Dillingham’s hat, and

the case blocks harmful sunlight.


continued from Page 3

The Friends of the Battleship provided the funding to frame two original pieces of artwork in the collection as shown here. The

drawing by crew member Art Hahn depicts a Japanese airplane that was shot down during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in August 1942. Artist Elmer Griese interpreted the September

1942 torpedo attack on BB55.

P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P PNew actiVities iN bay 3

That’s Bill Barnes, volunteer, lettering the mailbox. A visitor can “mail” a postcard of thanks to a veteran in one of North Carolina’s VA hospitals. More than a dozen people gave

their talents to make this idea a reality.


The following article was originally printed in the SUMMER 2000 issue of The Annunciator. Thank you Mike Wortham for suggesting we reprint it.


wORD seaRch puZZle

Answer in the next issue


P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P

The Battleship has launched the first digital initiative to share the extensive collections online. The ship has been cataloging the collections into a database for more than 15 years, therefore the database represents years of work by staff, volunteers and college interns.

Through dedication, perseverance and funding by the Friends of the Battleship, the free online catalog gives the internet community an insider’s look to rare artifacts.

http://www.battleshipnc.com/friends

cOMe VIeW tHe FOuRtH OF JulY FIReWORKS FROM tHe DecK OF tHe bAttleSHIP NORtH cAROlINA!

ONlY ActIVe FRIeNDS MeMbeRS WIll HAVe AcceSS tO tHe bAttleSHIP FOR VIeWINg tHe FIReWORKS DISPlAY ON FRIDAY NIgHt JulY 4tH At 9:00 PM.

Miranda Lynn Photography

Mike Wortham

Mike WorthamMike Wortham

Ronnie Rhodes


2014 caleNDaR Of eVeNts

February 15 Firepower!

March 15 Power Plant

Friday, April 18 Easter Egg Hunt Carnival

May 17 Showboat Systems & Design

Monday, May 26 49th Annual Memorial Day Observance

May 28-31 USS North Caroina Battleship Annual Crew Reunion

May 31 Battleship Alive!

June 14 Battleship 101 Legacy Series: Armored Cruiser North Carolina and the Great War

July 12 Battleship 101 Legacy Series: Under the Sea with Submarine USS North Carolina

August 9 Battleship 101 Legacy Series: Blue & Gray North Carolinas

September 27 Battleship Alive!

October 11 Hidden Battleship

Tues., October 28 Batty Battleship’s Halloween Bash

November 8 Torpedo Headed for You: Damage Control Aboard North Carolina

battleship NORth caROliNa life lONg pROgRaMs 2014cOMe leARN AND exPlORe WItH uS

ALL PROGRAMS - Participants must be 16 or older and able to climb narrow ladders and over knee-high hatches. Wear comfortable, washable clothing, sturdy, rubber-soled shoes and bring a camera!

Registration and payment due the Thursday prior to the program. Call 910-251-5797 extension 3001 for reservations.

All events take place on Saturday unless otherwise noted.Be sure to check the Battleship website for complete details about all of these events.

All articles & photos printed with permission. Copyrights may apply.

P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P

Scuttlebutt is the bi-monthly newsletter of The Friends of the Battleship North Carolina, PO Box 480,Wilmington, NC 28402 • battleshipnc.com/friendsEditor-in-Chief/Layout & Design: Nancie Giacalone Managing Editor: Ronnie Rhodes Please send article suggestions, photos, address changes, or comments to:

[email protected]

scuttlebutt may june 2014

Documents