Glenn H. Cur t iss Museum

W inter 2014

MUSEUM STAFF

Trafford L-M. Doherty Executive Director

Rick Leisenring Curator

Don Rumsey Education Director

Lynne Mason Gift Shop Manager

Karen Trepes Bookkeeper

Arlene Day Weekend Supervisor

Weekend Staff: Connie Cook Beverly Frisk

Jean Doherty Newsletter Editor Collections Registrar Membership Coordinator

A E R O G R A M INSIDE THIS ISSUE

From the Director 4

Curator’s Corner 5

Restoration Shop 6

Marketing 7

“Horseless Carriage” c. 1900

One of the truly neat things about working in this museum, is that one never knows what to expect from one day to the next. Back in January, we had a visitor approach us with an offer to donate a replica automobile that he had recently completed. He then produced some photos of what appeared to be very early Henry Ford design (c. 1900) and it looked to be very nice. But we needed to see it, so we made arrangements to go down to the Elmira area for a visit. Harry Kesselring and his wife, Marjorie, live in a very nice house not far from Harris Hill. This, of course, is the famous (and still active) gliding site dating back to the early 1930’s and it is also the location of the National Soaring Museum. If you’re interested in seeing a nice museum and taking a glider ride, this is the place to go. But back to Harry and his “horseless carriage”: We found him out back in his shop and sitting in the middle of it was this beautiful little car. It immediately came to mind that, if this thing ran as well as it looked, it would be a welcome addition to our outdoor events such as Old Engines Day (May) and our August motorcycle weekend. We would use it in conjunction with our Windwagon to take folks for rides. It really boiled down to listing the “pros and cons”. For “pros”, we have the best materials, exquisite workmanship, and excellent running qualities - the mechanicals are impressive: a horizontal shaft Honda engine, a four-speed lawn mower transmission, an electric “ahooga” horn and starter, a disk brake (on the sprocket drive shaft), special wheel bearings and a set of heavy duty tires and tubes (these were all new components, purchased for this project). To give you an idea of just how seriously Harry was taking this, he visited an Amish carriage maker down near Lancanster, PA to find the exact type of leaf springs suitable for a car of this period. That pretty-much covers the “pros”. As far as “cons” are concerned”, there aren’t any! This is a solid little vehicle that will serve us well – so we said “yes, thank you” to Harry’s most generous offer. When you stop by to see it, check out the Amish buggy suspension.

REMEMBERING MARK BENNETT

Museum member and donor of the Virginia Dare, Mark J. Bennett, died on January 19 after a long illness. Mark was born in 1950 in Corning, NY. From the time he was a small boy, Mark loved building everything from boats to large commercial buildings. He earned a degree in architecture from Syracuse University and an MBA from the University of Virginia. He traveled the world for his career in real estate finance. While he relished his adventures, his heart remained at Keuka Lake, where he could indulge his passion for antique wooden boats. Just last summer he completed the restoration of the Virginia Dare, a 1927 Baby Gar, which he then donated to the museum. He wanted to give back a piece of history to "the lake," which had always brought him such joy.

CURTISS MUSEUM OFFICERS

Richard Honeyman President

Richard Rahill Vice-President

John Van Zanten Secretary

Gregory Hintz Treasurer

Trafford Doherty Director

TRUSTEES

Kyle Bower Dennis Carlson Mardo Doherty Michael Doyle

Cameron Dunlap Bruce Inglis

Jim Lally Ellen Shaw Maceko

Joseph “Bud” Meade, III Joseph Meade, IV

Terry Northrup Rod Pedersen

Thomas G. Snow Thomas Tranter Arthur H. Wilder

HONORARY TRUSTEES

Jeanne Curtiss Honorary Trustee

Jill Flynn Trustee Emeritus

Lee Robbins Trustee Emeritus

Carol G. Jenkins Trustee Emeritus

Charles “Bud” Shaw Trustee Emeritus

Robert Turissini Trustee Emeritus

Peter Baker, Esq. Trustee Emeritus

Trafford Doherty, Mark J. Bennett and Larry Turcotte of Gar Wood Custom Boats, Brant Lake, NY, at the July 2013 Wine Country Classic Boat Show. Larry assisted in moving the boat from the lakefront into the museum after the boat show.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

February-March, 2014 Monsters in the Museum

(Just when you thought Halloween was over!)

March 7 - Sept. 1, 2014 Warehouse 53

- an exhibit of Adventure in the Cinema

May 10, 2014 Old Engines Day

June 7, 2014 Museum Yard Sale Donations Welcome!

June 28, 2014 Museum Benefit Gala

August 2-3, 2014 Motorcycle Weekend

August 18, 2014 Golf Classic

Sept.12-Nov.2, 2014 Embroidery Exhibit

September 13, 2014 Seaplane Homecoming

Nov.14,2014-Feb.16,2015 24th Annual Dollhouse &

Miniatures Exhibit

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P-40 PROGRESS IN OUR NEW RESTORATION SHOP ANNEX

CURTISS AT KINGSLEY FLATS

A LOCAL STORY shared by Patche Brady

Hammondsport native, Carl Slater, shared this story with museum member, Patche Brady, about his father’s first-hand encounter Glenn Curtiss. It seems that Carl’s father was one of several boys from town who liked to ride their bikes down to Kingsley Flats (the area now encompassing Hammondsport Central School and Champlain Beach) and see what the Curtiss men were working on. The men who worked there were not too fond of the boys hanging around. One day Carl’s dad was there on his bike and Glenn Curtiss himself needed to get a part quickly from the hardware store downtown. He borrowed the kid’s bike to go over to Hammondsport for the part and then told the workers that young Slater could come down to the work site anytime he wanted to.

AEROGRAM Page 4

From the Director - Trafford L-M. Doherty

In this issue you have learned about our new “Horseless Carriage” and as you read on you will hear about some major accomplishments by our Restoration Shop volunteers, plus current and future exhibits, etc. Things are shaping up quite well, so rather than musing about how harsh the winter has been (something that I normally would subject you to at this point), I will instead share another anecdote about my father.

We have a semi-permanent Civil War exhibit in place which consists of a field piece, two generals, a number of artifacts relating to local veterans, and a small collection of period firearms. I stopped by the rifle case today and focused on a .58 caliber Springfield (muzzle loading) “rifle-musket”. This particular piece, which dates to 1864, belonged to my father. He had a strong interest in that conflict and enjoyed owning and shooting historic firearms. He got this gun in a trade (for a .32-20, I think) back in the early 50’s and, for a while, shot it regularly. One day he got the unfortunate idea of talking my mother into “having a go at the Springfield” (as she, being English, would have said). This decision was to have far-reaching consequences. It took some convincing, but she finally agreed to do it, so my father (typically) put in an extra-heavy powder charge. He then set up a bucket for a target, placed my mother about 20 feet away and handed her the loaded rifle. I was very young, but I’ll never forget it. There was this huge explosion of smoke and flame going in one direction and my mother and said musket going in the other. Neither she, nor the target, was hurt, but mother was not happy, and we all know the saying about “if momma ain’t happy…...”.

About a year earlier, my father had been experimenting with our first TV set and it turned out that, because of the close proximity of the hills around Hammondsport, TV reception down in the valleys was terrible. So Dad talked a friend into loaning him a (rather expensive) 60’ antenna, mounted on a mast consisting of three 20’ telescoping sections. How he got this thing up, I can’t imagine, but it did work – I remember I could “sort of” watch Howdy Doody. The antenna was braced by four guywires - - and another image forever frozen in my mind is the visage of that antenna crashing down after my sister clipped one of the wires with her pony (a nasty little beast named “Smokey”). After narrowly missing her, the antenna (top part) totally self-destructed, but the mast was undamaged. After cleaning up the mess, Dad compressed the sections and placed it about 10’ up the bank, behind the house, in the weeds. Out of sight – out of mind!

After the black powder smoke cleared and my mother went storming into the house, Dad went over and examined the bucket – not a scratch on it! He then got curious about where the bullet went. Please bear in mind that a .58 lead ball makes a crater, not a hole. He worked his way up the bank without seeing any evidence on an impact - until he got to the mast. She had hit it dead-center and the bullet, having passed right on through, forever fused the three sections together. I have often wondered what Dad ever told the fellow who loaned him the antenna. And quite often, when I walk past Dad’s Springfield, I think about that day.

NEW MEMBERS

Donor

Nanette Cosbey

Contributor

Alan & Patty Garrett Sandra & Denwood Ross

Harry & Marjorie Kesselring Stephen Tompkins Theodore Bellisario

Phil Zink Tom & Cheryl Vis

Angela Gonzalez & Christopher Basty

Basic

Dean Flynn Keith Brayer

Robert Schwarting & Carol Worth Paul E. Francis

Ronald Bors

MEMBERSHIP UPGRADES

Patron

Greg Hintz

Sponsor

Robert B. Higgins Norma Bird

Paul & Lauren Schweizer

Contributing

Peter & Carol Robbins

MEMBERSHIP DONATIONS

Mr. & Mrs. Edward Babor Dan Pattarini

Al & Patricia Clark Gilbert & Margaret Switzer

AEROGRAM Page 5

C U R A T O R ’ S C O R N E R - R I C K L E I S E N R I N G I hate to start off this edition on a somber note, but, just after I wrote my report for the last Aerogram and it had gone to print, I found out that a longtime friend, Ron Tunison, had passed away on October 19th, 2013. Ron was the talented artist who created the Joshua Chamberlain statuette we have on display. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Ron took an interest in the Curtiss Museum a few years ago when he graciously loaned us several of his works for a Civil War Art exhibit and was looking forward to helping on a future exhibit. For those of you who are unfamiliar with his background, he was an internationally acclaimed sculptor of nine heroic bronze monuments: "General W. Crawford," near Little Round Top on the Gettysburg National Battlefield. Also at Gettysburg are "The Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial", the bas-relief "Delaware State Memorial", and "The Gettysburg Civil War Women's Memorial". On the Antietam National Battlefield is Tunison's "Irish Brigade Monument." "The Bivouac" is at the entrance to the Civil War Soldier's Museum at Pamplin Historical Park near Petersburg, Va. "The Delaware Continentals" heroic size bronze of three advancing Revolutionary War soldiers stands atop a twenty-five foot granite pedestal in front of Legislative Hall at Dover, Delaware. At Ringgold Gap in Atlanta, Ga., is Ron's life-size General Patrick Cleburne. He also created the “Admiral John Barry, U.S. Naval Commander” bas-relief sculpture which will be dedicated on May 10th, 2014 at Annapolis Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. Ron’s other commissioned works include a series of golf legends, a series of famous literary personalities and the Avon Cosmetic Co.’s “The First Avon Lady”.

The 23rd Annual Dollhouse and Miniature Show did very well this last season as usual. It is one of the public’s all-time favorites that never fails to please. The train sets in the lobby really took center stage and caught the attention of everyone, young and old! Another fun interactive “exhibit” that has grabbed the visitor’s attention is our Monsters in the Museum display and scavenger hunt. So much so, we’ve decided to extend it through the month of March.

Warehouse 53 – A Museum Exhibit of Adventures in the Cinema! will run from March 7 to September 1, 2014. This exhibit will currently cover 15 “archaeological” adventure films spanning over 60 years. With a vast array of original props and costumes filling nearly 25 display cases, it is by far the largest movie related exhibit we’ve presented. The Corning Embroidery Guild is also in final preparations for Hand Wrought: An Embroidery Art Exhibit to run from September 12th to November 2, 2014. This show, like its alternate quilting exhibit, just seems to grow larger than the last every time we host it. Absolutely beautiful!

New displays and exhibits update: We’ve added two more mannequins to our displays - look for them in the Jeep and in the Buick “Staff Car”. We are also in the planning stages to add a life-size Alexander Graham Bell figure to our A.E.A. exhibit along with a few more display cases.

Behind the scenes, I also have a new volunteer helping me with cataloging and curatorial work, Griffin Bates. Griff is a Bath High School student who started out as one of our exhibitors in the Dollhouse and Miniatures Exhibit. He enjoyed displaying his collection so much, he decided to try his hand at other aspects of museum work. Welcome, Griff!

Well, that was long-winded. Folks, again thank you all for your support and great comments on the museum. See you soon!

Ron Tunison

AEROGRAM Page 6

News from the Restoration Shop

MEMORIALS

In Memory of Robert Edward Smith

Janet Hallahan

In Memory of Mark J. Bennett

Carolyn & Peter Calkins

In Memory of Marcel “Bud” Rouin

Pierce & Nancy Johnson

RESTRICTED DONATIONS

Mercury Aircraft Foundation

The Meade Foundation

Larry Peckham

DONATIONS Mercury Aircraft Foundation

Charles Rhodes

Able Banking - Pavil Danilov

Barbara Andres

The Meade Foundation

MEMBER DONATIONS

James Carey

Russell & Judith Cranston

Ed Babor

Goodrich Foundation

Al & Patricia Clark

Tom Babcock

Dan Pattarini

Gilbert Switzer

There’s a lot going on in the shop right now. The P-40 project is now out in its new home, the former back storage shed. A new furnace, excellent lighting, and ample space have all combined to make this area a pleasure to work in. With the exception of the spray-foam insulation, all of the work to convert this building was performed by Restoration Shop volunteers. One final touch is running a special 220v cable to power the large metal-cutting band saw that sees constant use on this project. This will be completed in the near future. The P-40 is progressing well with much of the aft fuselage skin riveting having been completed.

The Fledgling project is also moving along – albeit, slowly. This is a more complicated airframe than that of the Travel Air and, in keeping with a “ground up restoration”, a lot of parts have to be restored, recreated, or purchased as the project moves along. It’s very time consuming. On the other hand, The Fledgling has been a very interesting project for our visitors to observe in progress and it will continue to serve in that capacity for quite a while.

Duncan Springstead has completed the cradle for the Virginia Dare II and she is now sitting on it, looking very impressive. Duncan was assisted in the end by Lee Westbrook, who was given the unenviable task of painting it (Battleship Gray, of course). There are still a number of minor steps to accomplish before we will consid-er this boat to be completely display-ready, but we hope to have them all finished up by late-spring.

Fledgling progress

New Cradle

AEROGRAM

Marketing Report ———— Dennis CarlsonDennis CarlsonDennis CarlsonDennis Carlson

The Southern Tier/Finger Lakes Region of New York State had a very good year in 2013 for tourism with an approximate 5-6% visitor growth over 2012. The best part of this is that the Curtiss Museum experienced about twice this visitor growth over the same period. Each activity/function at the museum seemed to pull its share of visitors as the Curtiss Museum becomes continually more recognized for its contribution in presenting local history.

We as an organization recognize that we will never be the primary destination for visitors to our area, but we clearly can be a leader as a “must see” destination for those visiting wineries, the Corning Museum of Glass, Watkins Glen and other major local draw venues.

To accomplish this leadership distinction, we have set our sights and objectives on identifying, building and implementing those actions that will support further visitor growth in this destination category.

This direction will require more significant efforts in the marketing of the Curtiss Museum, not only on the local and regional fronts, but also with groups and interested organizations that have found the Curtiss venue to be of high value.

As we move forward with these new efforts, we again want to say thank you for your support. Please continue with the word of mouth promoting of the museum and check our website for upcoming 2014 events.

Page 7

SPRING CLEANING COMING RIGHT UP!

Remember to save some of your

“treasures” for the Museum Yard Sale on June 7 this year

Bring items in anytime

TRAVEL AIR PROGRESS IN THE SHOP On the Travel Air project, the fuselage is nearing the point where it will be ready for covering. The fuel tank, seats, and controls have been installed. This is the last component that needs to be covered. The wings, horizontal and vertical stabilizers, and control surfaces are all covered and painted – ready for final assembly.

This charming little stove came in as a yard sale donation in rusty condition, but Duncan Springstead decided to restore it instead. The excellent result is now on exhibit.

Travel Air

MUSEUM HOURS

WINTER Nov.1-Apr. 30 Mon.-Sun. 10

-4

SUMMER May 1-Oct.31 Mon.-Sat. 9-5 Sunday 10-5

Museum closed on the following holidays:

New Year’s Day

Easter Sunday

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

MUSEUM HOURS

WINTER Nov.1-Apr. 30 Mon.-Sun. 10-4

SUMMER May 1-Oct.31 Mon.-Sat. 9-5 Sunday 10-5

8419 State Route 54 Hammondsport, NY 14840

GLENN H. CURTISS MUSEUM 8419 State Route 54 Hammondsport, NY 14840 Phone: 607-569-2160 Fax: 607-569-2040 Email: info@glennhcurtissmuseum.org Web: www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org

WINTER 2014

Please check the membership category of your choice and return to:

The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, 8419 State Route 54, Hammondsport, NY 14840

___ Basic $35 ___ Sponsor $125 ___ Patron $500

___ Contributing $50 ___ Donor $250 ___ Sustaining $750

___ Benefactor $1000

My name(s) as it is to appear in printed matter : ______________________________________

Address______________________________City _________________State_____Zip ______

Home phone ___________________________e-mail address __________________________

___ My check is enclosed

___ Please bill my Credit Card# _______________________________exp. date ___________

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Signature____________________________________

Additional tax-deductible donations will be used fo r museum improvements Including

up-grading facilities, restoration shop and new exh ibits.

Cur t i ss Museum Membersh ip Form