The Cape May County Coast Guard Community Foundation, a non-profit that honors the Coast Guard and nurtures relationships between the Coast Guard and the community, has partnered in planning two educational programs to take place during the 5th Annual Coast Guard Community Festival, scheduled for April 27 – May 4. Planned events are part of a strategic initiative to expand the scope of the non-profit’s educational activities and outreach to the community.
The Museum of Cape May County will debut a Coast Guard-focused exhibit entitled “Always Ready: Always Here.” The displays will showcase the role of the USCG and its predecessors in our county. “Surrounded by water on three sides, every municipality, township and borough has been a recipient of the services provided by the Coast Guard and its predecessors,” Donna Matalucci, Museum Executive Director, said.
Highlights of the exhibition include a scale model of the Cape May Point Lifesaving Station along with a model of a five fathom Lightship. A special highlight will be the first order Fresnel lens that sat atop the Cape May Lighthouse from 1857 until 1946. The lens, on long-term loan to The Museum from the Coast Guard, serves as a testament to the special relationship between the Coast Guard and The Museum. The public may attend an opening reception on Wednesday, May 1 at 7 p.m., or may thereafter view the exhibit during regular operating hours through September 27.
The following evening, Thursday May 2 at 7 p.m., a program will be held at U.S. Life Saving Station 30, a restored historic building in Ocean City. Before the modern Coast Guard was established, the U.S. Life-Saving service rescued shipwrecked mariners and passengers. When Life Saving Station 30 was built in the late nineteenth century, it stood directly on the beach. Over the years, the shoreline expanded, and today it stands several blocks from the ocean.
John Loeper, Chairman of Life Saving Station 30, will give a tour of the restored 1886 building with gabled roof and lookout tower, and then will speak about the history of the Life-Saving Service in Cape May County. Life Saving stations dotted the County’s barrier islands throughout the nineteenth and early 20th centuries. The public is invited to learn this fascinating history in a unique setting.
For a full schedule of Festival events, visit www.CoastGuardCommunity.org.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
