Volume VII, Number 2 Fall 2002
In this issue:
- Message from the President
- Birds on Eagle Island, 2002
- Women of Eagle Island
- Eagle Island has a new set of clothes
- Message from the Peary family: "Athenticity Vs Practicality"
- Message from the Park Manager
- Admiral Peary's Navigation, by Lt. Col. William E. Molett
The Friends have tried to keep you informed of what is happening on Eagle Island through the biannual issues of the Journal. But we hardly ever hear from you with any comments or criticisms of the work that we and the Bureau of Parks and Lands are doing. In order to encourage communication, we are enclosing an envelope that can be used to renew your membership for 2003, or to send us your comments be they pro or con, and/or to let us know that you are available to volunteer for our many projects. The envelope can also be used to tell us to please drop you from the mail list. (We hope we won't receive too many of those messages). Your responses to these questions will be a big help to us.
Having completed many of our goals with respect to the physical improvements on the Island such as the composting toilet, the picnic benches, and the fire protection system, we are now turning more of our attention to education programs, long range planning, restoration and preservation of the artifacts, continuation of our bird and marine studies, as well as dditional work on repairing the house and caretaker's cottage. We also expect to continue the archival work, assess the possibility of weekend docents, as well as maintain the trails. As you can see we have a full plate. We need contributions for our flattened pocket book as well as volunteer workers and volunteer leaders. Please communicate with us by using the envelope or, if you wish, by sending us an e-mail or letter. Please give us the benefit of your advice. Together we can do better!
Oliver S. Brown, President
In May, June, and July teams of four to six people counted birds on Eagle Island, paying particular attention to nesting Common Eiders. There were 39 Eider nests within 1.5 meters of the 1115 meters of trails. Assuming that the ducks were neither attracted nor repelled by the trails, this would extrapolate to an estimated 702 pairs nesting on the island. This is more than in 1999 (252), 2000 (0), and 2001 (432). The skill of the counters is obviously important, but it seems safe to say that the Eiders are at least holding their own, since a more thorough count by a larger team in 1980 gave a population of 654 pairs.
Not counting Eiders, Herring Gulls, and Great Black-backed Gulls, 35 species of birds were observed on or near the island. This is the same number as in 2000 and 2001, but 11 of the species had not been seen there in the preceding three years. Although the tree where the ospreys recently nested has fallen down, they are likely to nest in another tree. This year a pair of Great Blue Herons nested on the island.
Chuck Huntington
Women played an important role in Admiral Peary's life on Eagle Island. They shared his values; provided strong support for his every effort to attain his lofty goals he set for his life and they enriched his life by adding the beauty of flowers to his beloved Island. Gardens were everywhere around the house and even along the trails from one end of the island to the other. Records and remnants of these gardens survive today.
The tradition started by Josephine Peary nearly 100 years ago is carried on today by the current Park Manager, Jeanie Dorrington. Jeanie is not only a "walking encyclopedia" of Peary family history; she also has a way with flowers. Visitors to the Island each summer are treated to lovely flower gardens in keeping with the Peary family tradition plus numerous flower arrangements in pots artfully placed on steps and porches. The Admiral and his wife would be pleased.
Jeanie's talents are not limited to flowers. Far from it. She has excellent people skills and an abundant supply of enthusiasm that make a visit to the Island a truly memorable experience. Jeanie's work ethic is that of the Nike "Just do it" persuasion.
When wind driven rain leaked between the bricks of the chimney at the main house, Jeanie climbed on the roof, resealed the bricks, and the problem was solved. No contractor, no delays, and the cost -probably a couple of bucks for the sealant.
Jeanie's good works on Eagle Island exemplify the traditional Maine values of independence, dedication, and hard work. We are indeed fortunate to have her for a leader on our team.
Harry Rich
Eagle Island has a new set of clothes
The Bureau of Parks and Lands has completed the almost impossible task of restoring the ouse to withstand another 40 or 50 years of the worst weather the North Atlantic can produce. Finding workmen able and willing to travel by boat to a full day's work on an island has been a daunting experience. But the BOPL has persevered, and the house is now safe.
New cedar shingles have been applied in the same fashion as they would have been in 1908. The windows have been fully restored by replacing rotted parts and reglazing, painting, and caulking with winter shutters fabricated to protect them from severe storms. Screens have been added where needed. The outside deck structure, which is unique to this house, has been retimbered where needed and resurfaced with a material called the Acrymax system, which looks very much like the original canvas that was used.
All this took almost 3 years to complete, because it could only be done in summer and then only on "good" days. Some days the weather is so rough that you can't even land at Eagle Island.
The bulk of the work is now complete with only replacement of five 25-year-old pier spans and replacing the roof on the caretaker's cottage remaining to be done. Annual maintenance such as resurfacing trails and staining picnic tables and bulletin boards will also be done.
We think we all owe the BOPL a hearty vote of thanks for accomplishing this most difficult ob. Huzzah!
Message from the Peary family "Authenticity Vs Practicality"
These two qualities, both desirable, come often into conflict in the course of maintaining / restoring Eagle Island, and presumably all other historic sites. Either can be overdone to the detriment of the process and the place. Excessive zeal in the pursuit of authenticity can result in long delays and greatly increased expense. Resort to practicality alone devaluates the very properties we are trying to preserve.
If we were to go for 100% authenticity, say, to restore and preserve the island exactly as it was when deeded to the state of Maine in the fall of 1967, we would need to replace several structures no longer existing-the guest house / "Igloo", the workshop, the woodshed, the "Greenhouse" and the pump house-restore the East Bastion (now a picturesque ruin) and edo the seawalls around the front lawn with their original masonry. Obviously this would be impractical.
Nor would 100% authenticity permit the existence of the superbly practical composting toilet r the soon-to-be-operational fire protection system and alarm system.
So clearly what we need to strive for is a sensible compromise, keeping in mind that Eagle Island in its glory days was always a work in progress, with improvements and increased conveniences eagerly sought and incorporated-a gas refrigerator replacing the ice box, a kerosene
stove succeeding the wood burner, a six-cylinder marine engine taking the place of the old "one-Iunger" Hartford in the Robert E.( the Admiral's launch), creosote lumber used to redo the boardwalk around the house, asphalt rolled roofing on the caretaker's cottage instead of the old wood shingles, etc. If the Admiral or his son or his daughter were still in charge they would be excitedly grasping at the newest, most practical products available to enhance andprotect their beloved island home.
I think we are generally on the right track and achieving such a compromise, replacing the porch and kitchen ceilings with the same kind of tongueand-grooved lumber as was originally used, duplicating the Admiral's desk in the library and bringing home his original chair (thanks, Bert), installing the composting toilet (after all the Pearys did not plan for 8000 visitors a summer) and protecting the highly flammable 100-year-old house from the chance of fire. Let's not get bogged down in the chemical analysis of paint, but match the original colors with a better, longer-lasting product. Nor do I think we need to duplicate upholstery materials precisely as long as the atmosphere of the original summer island home is retained, or worry about mixes of linseed oil to preserve the furniture (if Polyurethane had been available in 1919, it would have been applied enthusiastically).
And let's canvas the antique warehouses for duplicates of the three kerosene chandeliers (two in the living room and one over the dining room table) that some miserable SOB stole ifteen or twenty years ago.
For what it's worth, and with special thanks to the Friends and to the State of Maine.
Ed Stafford
This summer brought the completion of a pressurized fire protection and intrusion alarm system in the Peary House Museum.
Visitation was down a little for the season due in part to one tour boat getting in the water late and another one not coming at all. We were able to get a lot of extra projects done on the Island because of the smaller numbers each day.
Two of our trails have been completely resurfaced. This will help out a lot in August, our driest month, minimizing soil erosion due to heavy foot traffic.
All windows in the museum have now been refurbished and put back in place. The window contractor is now working on the library windows.
We are still getting great positive feedback on the composting toilet with hand soap. The ublic loves them.
The two new moorings came in handy. It might be nice to have one more next year.
Jeanie Dorrington, Park Manager
Admiral Peary's navigation to the North Pole By LtlCol William E. Molett
Celestial Navigation requires a sextant. Peary was traveling at very high latitudes (within 6 degrees of the Pole). At these latitudes, the sextant could not be used to determine longitude
(the altitude of the sun above the horizon was too small in the morning and evening). However it could be used for latitude when the sun was approximately 6° above the horizon at noon. He was traveling North along the 70° West Meridian and the sun crossed the 70° West Meridian at 12:40 PM Eastern Standard Time each day. Six hours before it crossed his Meridian (6:40 AM) the sun was due East and six hours after it crossed his Meridian (6:40 PM) it was due West. Six hours before and six hours after crossing his Meridian, it should be very close to the same altitude (see figure 1). When it was, he knew he was on the 70th meridian and his shadow would always be true North at 12:40 PM EST. Peary would have to allow for a small increase in declination, which he could obtain from the almanac that he carried with him. Declination is the altitude of the sun above or below the equator depending on the time of year. He could easily compute this offsetm hiShead and staying on his true North course was no problem. Anywhere in the Arctic Circle, the sun will always be due South at noon, local mean time.
(Ed. note: Figure 1 could not be reproduced from the Journal. Please see Lt./Col. Mollett's book referred to at the end of this article)
Fig. 1 Graphical depiction of the altitude of the sun on the 70° west Meridian
His diary shows that on March 22nd he calculated his latitude to be 85°-48'; on March
25th_86°38'; on ApriI1st-87°47'; and on April 6th_89°57', 3 miles from the pole. All of the above latitudes were computed by the simple meridian altitude method using his sextant. The formula is simple. Co-altitude (90' minus the observed altitude) plus declination equals latitude.
Please see the copy of two pages from his diary of his calculations taken on April 7th that
follows.
13° 18' 20" Sextant double altitude of tile lowerliiilo-(bottom) of the S-un.
14° 21' 30" Sextant double altitude of the upper limb (top) of the Sun.
13° 18' 00" Sextant double altitude of the lower limb (bottom) of the Sun. (2nd reading)
14° 21' 50" Sextant double altitude of the upper limb (top) of the Sun. (2nd reading)
55° 19' 40" Total, to be divided by 4 to give an average altitude.
13° 50' is the average plus 2' to compensate for the specific index error of his instrument. 13° 52' 00" as corrected
6° 56' 00" one half the double altitude
-00° 08' 20" refraction index taken from the almanac
6° 47' 40" is observed altitude after all known corrections applied
83° 12' 20" co-altitude (90° minus 6 47 40)
6° 46" 17" declination
89° 58' 37" is the latitude of the observer (1 1/2 miles from the North Pole)
Lt./Col. William E. Molett, USAF (ret.) served in the United States Air Force for 31 years. He flew many missions during World War II, and during the Korean and Vietnam actions. During these years he was the first to develop Arctic Navigational Methods that stand today. He is and was a frequent lecturer and writer of many articles on high latitude Navigation. This article is exerpted from his 123 page book "Robert Peary & Matthew Henson at the North Pole", published in 1996 by the Elkhorn Press. Copies of his book may be obtained from the author at 7641 Winners Circle West, Southaven, MS. 38671 or from the Peary McMillan Arctic Museum, Bowdoin College.
Published by the Friends of Peary's Eagle Island, P. O. Box 70, Bailey Island, ME. 04003
President: Oliver Brown, Treasurer: Bob York, V.P. Projects: Harry Rich, V.P. Education: John Davis, V.P. Fund Raising: Ned Dewey, E.!. Journal Editor: Jim Davis, Tour Director: Barbara Tucker, Bird Study: Chuck Huntington, Marine Study: John Davis, School Coordinator: Lynn Pacella, Bowdoin College Coordinator: John Cross.