Why did the little tugboat do what all the other tugboats told him to do?

Because he gave into pier pressure.

History of the Tugboat

Steam power entered the transportation engines in the late 1700’s, and the first tugboat steam engine was patented in 1802 by William Symington of Scotland.  One of the earliest tugboats, known as the Charlotte Dundas, made her first trip with twenty passengers in 1802.  This six-hour trip was her one and only voyage because the captain feared she would erode the canal banks if she approached the surface past her stopping point.  Five years after, American Engineer Robert Fulton brought the steamboat to North America.

            The introduction of the tugboat to mechanisms for transportation created new jobs in the country: captain, mate, and engineer.  The captain position is that of any of ship.  Not only did the captain have to be a leader, but he was also required to have previous experience working as a shipmate and to having knowledge in respects to how the boat operates.  Additionally, some companies even required that a Captain have experience navigating through specific water areas.  The next position, the mate, was the second-most important job on the ship.  The mate had to work with the captain to ensure that the tugboat operates smoothing. Such responsibilities include overall navigation ad towing functionalities.  The third job that was introduced with the introduction of the tugboat was more extensive engineer positions.  Because tugboats were responsible for moving passengers as well as cargo, the vessels had to go through constant matinee checks.  An engineer’s primary role was to check both the main and supplemental engineer to ensure it was operating properly.  And one can not forget that a captain is nothing with out his crew.  The three main job positions were captain, mate, and engineer; however, the seamen carried out the menial activities in the tugboat, as did the onshore crew members.  Not only were these boats used for businesses and travel, but they were also used by Armed Services.

            During World War I and World War II needed tugboats for war efforts.  Specifically, during World War II, four different types of tugboats were requested.  At 186 feet long, the largest tugboat was the type V.  Only a total of forty-nine of these ships were constructed.   Some of these types of tugboats were involved in helping building Normandy ports, while others served different purposes. Regardless of their specific tasks, tugboats were maneuver vessels, moving vessels that were either too large to move alone or those that had been disabled. 

A Personal Connection Made

An example of a tugboat was found in these recovered negatives from Worthpoint’s Founder William Seippel.  Once developed, the negatives were difficult to read at first; however, once they were thought the cleaning process, William successful discovered some neat historical information on them.  After making out the name “Clare H” on the side of the boat, he found that the ship was a 1900s model of the Clare H Doanes.  In recent years, William traveled to and restored Doanes Wharf in Kennebunk, Maine, which made this connection so fascinating, as the slide relates to a place he has helped restore.  There was not much other information that William could gather on the slide, but he deduces that the ship was responsible for supplying the British efforts and the end of World War II.  Regardless of its specific tasks, isn’t it interesting to see just how history has a way of sneaking into our lives?  Imagine investing your resources to preserve a bit of historical land just to one day stumble upon a variety of slides that turn out to have a tugboat that belonged to the same family as the land you restored.                                          

"A man told me that nobody who was in the war would ever object to anyone smoking." — F. Scott Fitzgerald

Before we can appreciate the history of the tobacco pipe in America, we must first understand its origin.  The first smoking pipes identified were from Egypt, dating back to 2000 BCE.  These pipes were found in tombs, most likely so that a mummified person could enjoy a good smoke in the afterlife.  It is unknown if their remains in the tombs were strictly religious or purely recreational, or perhaps a combination of the two.  As people moved around through exploration, the practice of smoking did as well.  Smoking pipes were later found in Roman, Greek, and Nordic tribe populations.  Clearly this practice was worldwide.

How did the tobacco pipe get to the “New World” then?  One may assume that it was the Europeans who brought it over during settlement; however, the Native Americans receive credit for this one because there had been using tobacco as far bac as 1500 BCE.  When Christopher Columbus stumbled upon the Americas, he brought back reports of Native Americans smoking tobacco from a stone pipe.  These exploders spread this trend from Spain and Portugal to France, where it was referred to by its botanical name- Nicotiana Tabacum.

The Native Americans treating smoking as something religious, and the pipe was a holy object.  The narcotic effect of smoking and the indrawn and ascending smoke created a sense of communication, not only within the people of the community but also with their religious beliefs. In “New America”, tobacco was the economic lifeblood of the people.  Tobacco could be rolled into a cigar or took as a snuff, but pipe was soon adopted as a necessary means to smoke.  Fast forward to modern America, and pipe smoking is not only cool, it is intellectual, which in a sense only expands its social appeal.

Pipe smoking requires thought, dedication, and patience.  There is the art in loading the pipe and then lighting and tamping to produce just the right experience.  It is far more sophisticated than running to the convenience store and picking up a pack of Virginia Slims.  A common brand is the Burak pipe.  This pipe store was owned by Ed Burak of the Avenue of the Americans in New York City.  Although the act of smoking tobacco has declined in the United States from 42% to about 15% due to the increased awareness on its negative medical effects on the body, it is still regarded as classic activity of Americas history.

A Rare Find

Recently, our founder William Seippel had the experience of organizing and pricing a collection of antique tobacco pipes.  The collection consists of nearly three hundred pipes, some of which costs over a grand per pipe.  William cataloged each pipe, taking note of its creator and dimensions, as well as any marks on the piece.  The collection totals to around $65,000, and it can be viewed on WorthPoint.com.

Here is an example of one of the pipes from the collection:

The Sells Floto Circus

The Sells Floto Circus was a combination of the Floto Dog and Pony show and the Sells Brother Circus that through with a variety of acts in the United States during the 1900’s.  The first two owners of the entertainment group were Frederick Gilmer Bonfils and Harry Heye Tammen.  Frederick Gilmer Bonfils was born in Troy, Missouri on December 21, 1860, and Harry Heye Tammen was born in Baltimore, Maryland on March 6, 1856. 

The circus was created in 1902 and was originally titled “Floto Dog and Pony Show”.  The name “Floto” of the circus came from the post’s sports writer Otto Floto. It was not until four years later that the word “Sells” became apart of the title.  This is the year when Willie Sells was added to the show. One of the unique characteristics of this circus was that it had the support from its posts, primarily because Bonfils and Tammen were the owners of the Denver Port newspaper.  At this time in history, many circuses were criticized and struggled financially because it was difficult to gain popularity.

Later in History

In 1914 and 1915 the show was called “Sells-Floto Circus and Buffalo Bill West”, with Buffalo Bill performing in the show.  The wagon, building during the previous decade’s show” was featured until the 1924 season.  It was also around this time where the American Circus Corporation claimed ownership of the circus (1921-1929).  The American Circus Corporation also owned four other circuses: Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, John Robinson Circus, Sparks Circus, and Al. G. Barnes Circus.  The American Circus Corporation was only competition to the Ringling Brothers; however, the American Circus Corporation booked a performance by the Sells Floto Circus on the Ringling Brother’s territory; New York’s Madison Square Garden.  This booking caused for the Ringling Brothers to win ownership of all the American Circus Corporation because they were in violation of performing their show on land that was illegal for them to perform on.

The Sells Floto Triumph March

The Origin of Bowling

Bowling has a thick, rich history, and today it is one of the most popular sports in the world.  It is theorized that bowling dates to 3200 BC; however, it appeared in Western Europe and then the United States much later.  German historian William Pehle hypothesizes that bowling began in Germany around 300 AD.  Additionally, there is evidence that suggest that bowling appeared in English around 1366, when King Edward III outlawed the sport to keep his troops focused on archery.

Modern Bowling

The style of bowling we associate with the American culture is based off the German version of nine-pin bowling, as well as German ceremonies.  In these ceremonies, parishioners were instructed to place their kegels, a pin-like item that was used for both protection and sport, at the end of a long lane.  Next, they were instructed to roll a rock at the kegle.   If the rock crashed the object down, sins were absolved.

German immigrants fostered the game’s popularity in America as they formed their own bowling leagues preceding and following the American Civil War.  The first indoor bowling facility was Knickerbockers in New York City, 1840.  The lanes were made of baked clay and the balls were made of wood.  The Brunswick Corporation aided in advancing the sports equipment, enhancing the sport’s growing popularity.  Such improvements included replacing the wooden bowling balls with hard rubber bowling balls.  Additionally, as the sport’s popularity increase, more companies began to create custom bowling balls, as well as apparel for professional and recreational bowlers alike.

The Standardization of the Sport

During the late 1800’s, a restaurant owner named Joe Thum gathered many representatives from regional bowling clubs.  People from states like New York, Ohio, and Illinois met to establish the American Bowling Congress in Beethoven Hall in New York City, leading standardization and national competitions to soon follow.  The American Bowl Congress (ABC), now referred to as the United States Bowling Congress (USBC), was originally designed for men only; however, in 1917, the Women created an alternative organization: The Women’s International Bowling Congress.

With the emergence of these organizations came rules to standardize the sport.  All lignum vitae hard wood balls were replaced by rubber balls, the “Everture”.  Not only was the ball material standardized but so were rules and scoring.  A standard scoring system was also put into place.  One game of bowling consists of ten frames, and within each ten frames, bowlers receive two chances to knock down as many pins as possible with their bowling ball.  Then are ten pins set up at the beginning of each frame.  If a bowler knocks all ten pins down on the first try, he is awarded a strike.  If the bowler knocks all ten down in two tries, it is called a spare.  Although the game equipment and the scoring do not differ, the ball weight does.  A player can use any size bowling ball as long as the weight does not exceed 16.00 pounds (7.26 kg).

Five of the Most Famous Bowlers in America’s History:

1. Earl Anthony

Earl Anthony was a left-handed bowler in America and was also the first to win the professional bowling’s No. 1.

2. Walter Ray Williams Jr.

Walter Ray Williams Jr. is one of the greatest bowlers in history.  He is notorious for his two-handed bowling style.

3. Richard Anthony Weber

Richard Anthony Weber was one of the founding members of he Professional Bowlers Association.  He also captured his first PBA title in the 2^nd tournament of the inaugural 1959 season.

4. Pete Weber

Pete Weber was introduced to the sport at only two years old, and he has rolled over eighty perfect 300 games in PBA completions through 2016.

5. Mike Aulby

Mike Aulby is another left-handed bowler, and he is one of only four PBA bowlers to win both a Rookie of the Year and a Player of the Year award.

Our Photograph:

Description Country: Italy Source: Bodin Collection

Approx. Date: 1940s

 An Italian man enjoys a fun game of bowling as he releases his ball and watches it roll down the alleyway in front of him. As he lets go of the ball, he bends his left leg forward and raises his right leg behind him as he leans forward with his throwing arm outstretched. He fixates on his target with an intense expression and furrows his eyebrows as he appears to be deep in focus. Behind him, two older men watch the bowler as they prop themselves against a wooden wall and enjoy the entertainment.

Taken by George Sakata, a photographer featured throughout our website. George was a member of the infamous 100th Division 442nd Nisei Regimental Combat Team in WWII. This was the only Japanese American unit in WWII and was nicknamed the "Go For Broke" unit. The 442nd had a casualty rate of 93% and was awarded 21 Medal of Honors. 

Sources

FLOBOWLING

The First Church of Cambridge is a Unitarian Universalist church, located in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  It is a welcoming congregation, open to people of many backgrounds who have different beliefs but share moral values.  This church is also a member of the Unitarian Universalists Association.

The First Church Early History

For over the last three centuries, First Church has offered sanctuary to those searching for salvation.  Then, pilgrims and pioneers entered the congregation to be guided by God’s grace. The church was first established between the years of 1633 and 1636, making this the eleventh oldest congregation in all New England.  By October of the year 1633, Reverend Thomas Hooker begins preaching in the house, but he only practiced for three years because he and many of his followers escaped to Connecticut to escape religious persecution.  Because of this, Reverend Thomas Shepard took over as the pastor (1636). This is the year that the Puritan church is formally recognized; however, it was not deemed a Unitarian church until the 1800’s.

How the Church Came to Harvard

Pastor Thomas urge the General Court of Massachusetts to move the Harvard College to Newtowne (now Cambridge), which is only a short distance from the newly established church.  His reasoning was that he wanted the Harvard students to be closing to the church and could “benefit from proximity” to his preaching.  The Harvard College Yard was then deemed the site for the second Meeting House, built is 1652 (currently Lehman Hall).  The church continued to grow, and a third Meeting House was constructed in 1706, a fourth in 1756.  By 1833, the fifth and final Meeting House was constructed and still stands adjacent to present-day Harvard Yard.

Evolution of Church Doctrine

Reverend Shepard, as well as those who proceeded his as Pastor, preached a Calvinistic doctrine, a major form of Protestantism that follows the theological traditions of Christian practice designed by John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. In the 18^th century, the church started to adapt to a more liberal direction in thinking.  This split the church theologies into two sides: the Arminian and the Calvinists.  The split also caused a great crisis between 1805 to 1830.  The minister at this time were Reverend Abiel Holmes, and he was dismissed by the Parish, resulting in the church to adopt the Unitarian views.

Ministers of First Parish in Cambridge

• 1633–1636 Thomas Hooker
• 1633–1636 Samuel Stone
• 1636–1649 Thomas Shepard 
• 1649–1650 Henry Dunster
• 1650–1668 Jonathan Mitchel
• 1671–1681 Urian Oakes
• 1682–1692 Nathaniel Gookin
• 1696–1717 William Brattle
• 1717–1784 Nathaniel Appleton
• 1783–1790 Timothy Hilliard
• 1792–1829 Abiel Holmes
• 1830–1868 William Newell
• 1874–1879 Francis G. Peabody
• 1882–1893 Edward H. Hall
• 1894–1927 Samuel M. Crothers
• 1928–1934 Ralph E. Bailey
• 1935–1944 Leslie T. Pennington
• 1945–1958 Wilburn B. Miller
• 1959–1977 Ralph N. Helverson
• 1978–1987 Edwin A. Lane
• 1989–2006 Thomas J. S. Mikelson
• 1997–2007 Jory Agate
• 2008–2015 Fred Small
• 2010–2014 Lilia Cuervo
• 2017– Adam Lawrence Dyer

Our Photograph