Getting the Word Out

The JOHN W BROWN offers a unique experience to lucky visitors.  One way that people find out where we are and what we do is by seeing our volunteers at events.  This is one more way our volunteers share their time and talents.

Fells Point hosts a Privateer Day each year to celebrate one of the many maritime traditions that are part of Maryland's rich connection with the Chesapeake.

While peacefully sharing stories and info with passersby these volunteers were ambushed by a rogue privateer.

Jack the Wonder Dog jumped to the rescue and there were happy endings all around.

The Mid-Atlantic Aviation Museum in Reading, PA hosts a WWII event the first weekend in June. The JOHN W BROWN is there to invite visitors to join us and to step back in time to 1944 on a Living History Cruise. We'll be there again this year. Please stop by and let us know you've seen the blog.

Doug and Hugh, both members of our Armed Guard, were enlightening visitors to the Battle of the Bulge Renactment in Ft Indiantown Gat in PA.

While they were there a guest shared a great photo of the JOHN W BROWN taken from the 1945 TBM Avenger that flies in our air shows. You can see that shot and more in this blog.

Volunteers turned out again this year for the Maritime Day Expo at Pier 13. Two of our members participated in the dedication of the NS Savannah's #2 lifeboat as an Armed Forces memorial. You can see pictures of Mike Schneider and Liam Bauman in this ceremony and more here.

The JOHN W BROWN was in Fells Point for the 4th of July Family Fest.  The public was invited on board for free tours of the ship, to enjoy a variety show, and to indulge in a beer tasting courtesy of  Max's Taphouse. 

Max's Taphouse is well know for the staggering number of beers they  have on tap, and in bottles. Here guests have so many good choices to sample during the on board beer tasting.

It was a great weekend for us to welcome so many new visitors on board.

We'll be at back at Pier 13 to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the end of WWII from September 5th - 7th. You will need to register for entry to Pier 13 and we'll have more information about this soon.

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

From the Museum-finding and restoring old photographs

A couple of months ago, we started a work weekend with cleaning out storage spaces. We unwrapped some bubble wrap to find this damaged photograph. Things are always being donated to the ship and we try to rotate artifacts and pictures every few years.  This one had not been placed out, due to the fragile condition of the picture.  We were very excited to read that this is a photograph of an Armed Guard unit that served aboard the JOHN W BROWN. With the date of the photo on the bottom we knew just which voyage this Armed Guard detail sailed on.  Luckily one of our crew members happened to know the right person to restore this picture. 

This is the image that the restorer, Summer Kelley, was given to work on.

This slideshow will move you through ten hours of work to the final image below.

What a difference lots of hours of skilled work make!  This is the final image and it will be displayed in the Armed Guard Museum on board ship.

We also found a box with several items donated by veteran Paul Baran. He served in the Armed Guard on several ships, including the JOHN W BROWN. We found a diary that he kept that was addressed to his wife Josephine. It also contained lots of great photographs of his voyages and we're going to share some of them with you below.

Communication between ships in a convoy was very important.

One in twenty six mariners serving aboard merchant ships in World WW II died in the line of duty, this is a greater percentage of war-related deaths than all other U.S. services.

It wasn't all work. The ship seems to be in port and the gun crew are taking some time to relax.

Though we don't have much information about the Baran pictures, we still have his notebook (in the form of continuous letters to his wife) that needs to be read fully and there may be some details about his shipmates, friends and service.  We can tell there are future 'blogs in the making' in just that one notebook by Mr. Baran.  Even without specific details, we love seeing old pictures of our ship, and hope you do, too.  Routinely, things are mailed/dropped off and donated to the ship and we were contacted in the last 2 weeks by someone in Virginia who bought a storage locker and found a bunch of pictures of the BROWN to be one of the things inside.  They contacted us to see if we'd be interested in getting them, so we are patiently waiting for the newest additions to our archives. At this very moment, we are working on multiple projects that are highlighting artifacts donated to the ship over the years, and these will be displayed throughout the ship and the museum spaces. Come check us out.  Next cruise is on June 13th!  

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.

Maritime Day Expo at Pier 13

Volunteers from the JOHN W BROWN were at this year's Maritime Day Expo. This annual event hosted by NS SAVANNAH and other maritime organizations is held at Pier 13 in Canton.  Armed Forces Day and National Maritime Day  fall in the month of May and it is a great way to celebrate those days. There were several ships to visit including the NS SAVANNAH, an Army Tugboat, an Army Corps of Engineers vessel, a Coast Guard vessel, a fire boat and a NOAA survey boat. The crews on each were happy to talk about their ships and to listen to us talk about ours! There were lots of other fun things to see and do and some good food to eat too.

The JOHN W BROWN has a table at the Maritime Expo and we're happy to explain to visitors what we're about.

Mindy helps a visitor become a member of our wonderful crew.

Phil brought several items from the BROWN and was showing off some of our treasure.

This is set of ship models to help train sailors so they would know which ships were on their side and which ships they should aim at.

We  love to say hello and had lots of people stop by to enjoy the day with us. Here are some pictures of some of the BROWN's volunteers working and enjoying the day.

The NS Savannah dedicated the #2 lifeboat as an Armed Forces memorial.   Each Armed Forces branch was honored and a representative from each branch carried their service flags up to the lifeboat.  The BROWN's crew represented two branches in the ceremony.  Mike carried the flag for the Navy and Liam carried the flag for the Merchant Marines.

Baltimore has a long history as a working port.  Many different companies and organizations were represented at the event.  Some companies were offering jobs, some represented the history of the port and others  were educating the public.  An incredible amount of goods and people move through Baltimore each year. For more info about commodities in Baltimore, click here.  Whether you're curious about working in the industry or interested in services offered by the industry you'll find it here.

A special pool is filled with water for model enthusiasts to race their vessels. These radio controlled boats are fun to watch. If you've never seen one or would like to know more this is the place to ask questions. If you ask nicely you may even get a turn at the controls.

The TEACH FLEET was built by Commodore Wilbert McKinley to promote careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The TEACH FLEET consists of almost 200 Lego ship models of every type from tugboats to aircraft carriers. This display is a crowd favorite! The BROWN also has a STEM program and this year 3 students finished the program in May.

There are vessels of all types at the Expo. Diesel powered, nuclear powered, radio powered and steam powered. The crews of each ship welcomed visitors and patiently answered all kinds of questions.

We enjoyed all the Maritime Expo had to offer and are already looking forward to next year.

Project Liberty Ship, Inc is a 501(c)3 non-profit, all volunteer organization engaged in the preservation and operation of the historic ship JOHN W. BROWN as a living memorial museum. Gifts to Project Liberty Ship are tax deductible.