Restoration of the Howe Estate
WHEN: Sunday, September 21 at 2:00PM
WHERE: Nahant Town Hall, 334 Nahant Road, Nahant
Ricky Beliveau will give a detailed presentation on the 2 year renovation of the historic 1880 Howe Mansion in Little Nahant. “Having talked to all the neighbors and the Historical Society, it really opened my eyes to how important this property is to the community,” Beliveau said. “There were a lot of concerns that it’d be knocked down… but it was really clear how important this was, and we’ve had great feedback from the community.”
Free and Open to the public
WHEN: Sunday, September 21 at 2:00PM
WHERE: Nahant Town Hall, 334 Nahant Road, Nahant
2:00 PM - Nahant Historical Society, "History of the Howe Estate"
2:15 PM - Paul Chiampa, "1950’s playground for 11 grandchildren"
2:30 PM - Ricky Beliveau of Volnay Capital, "The Restoration"
Ricky Beliveau will give a detailed presentation on the 2 year renovation of the historic 1880 Howe Mansion in Little Nahant. “Having talked to all the neighbors and the Historical Society, it really opened my eyes to how important this property is to the community,” Beliveau said. “There were a lot of concerns that it’d be knocked down… but it was really clear how important this was, and we’ve had great feedback from the community.”
Free and Open to the Public. This is an Essex National Heritage Trails and Sails Event
Art on the Rocks Event
A brief history of the Whitney Estate and its connection to the Nahant Historical Society will be followed by a demonstration of floral design, and a painting demonstration by local artist KT Morse. There will also be a variety of works of art by North Shore artists that will be available for purchase.
WHEN: Saturday, July 5, 2025 from 11am to 3pm
WHERE: Whitney Homestead, 369 Nahant Road, Nahant
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC If you need parking accommodations, please contact: julie@nahanthistory.org Phone: (781) 581-2727 or (781) 581-0345
WHEN: Saturday, July 5, 2025 from 11am to 3pm
WHERE: Whitney Homestead, 369 Nahant Road, Nahant
12:00pm: There will be a brief history of the Whitney Estate and its connection to the Nahant Historical Society given by Tom Costin, current owner and steward of this homestead with his wife, Cindy.
1:00pm: A demonstration of floral design by Nahant resident, Susan Cadigan
2:00pm: A painting demonstration by local artist and former Nahant resident, KT Morse.
There will also be a variety of works of art by North Shore artists that will be available for purchase, with part of the proceeds benefiting the Historical Society.
A $10 per person donation would be appreciated. Children 12 and under are free. Light refreshments will be served
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: If you need parking accommodations, please contact: julie@nahanthistory.org Phone: (781) 581-2727 or (781) 581-0345
Call to Artists
Grab your paints, pencils, cameras, driftwood, crayons, sewing kit, and talent and let’s make history!
Prior to the July 5th event, select an inspirational spot in Nahant to paint, draw, sketch, or photograph a chosen view. We then invite you to share your artwork at the event, where you can display your art for the enjoyment of others, or sell your work with a commission to benefit the Nahant Historical Society.
If you would like to participate, please contact: julie@nahanthistory.org Phone: (781) 581-2727 or (781) 581-0345
History of Dory Building
Join the Nahant Historical Society on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM for our Annual Meeting and lecture as Graham McKay will discuss the history and process of dory building.
Join the Nahant Historical Society on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM for our Annual Meeting and lecture as Graham McKay will discuss the history and process of dory building and his recent book, How the Old Fella Done It.
Graham McKay is the director and master boat builder at Lowell’s Boat Shop, a working museum located in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Lowell’s Boat Shop was founded in 1793 on the banks of the Merrimack River and is the birthplace of the dory. Today, Lowell’s is a National Historical Landmark and America’s oldest operating boat shop.
Graham McKay
Prior to coming to Lowell’s Boat Shop, Graham was (and still is occasionally) a Tall Ship Captain. He has also spent time as a commercial diver, commercial fisherman, and a fisheries scientist. McKay has a master’s degree in Maritime History and Archaeology from the University of Briston in England and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College. He currently serves on the Massachusetts state board of Underwater Archaeological Resources.
Wednesday, April 23, 2025
7:00 pm
41 Valley Road, Nahant, Serenity Room
50th Anniversary Event
Please join the Nahant Historical Society on Sunday, January 19 2:00 PM at Nahant Town Hall to celebrate our 50th Anniversary
Sunday, January 19 2:00PM, Nahant Town Hall
• Presentations about the History of Nahant and the Nahant Historical Society
• Artifacts and Historical Records will be on display
• Poetry readings by Johnson School students and the Council on Aging
• Student art inspired by the poem, Yes for Nahant, by the late Polly Bradley
• Seaside Sirens choral group
• Citations to be read by local dignitaries
Light refreshments provided by Brett Henry Catering
The Evolution of Christmas
Join the Nahant Historical Society on December 8, 2024 at 2:00 PM for our Annual Meeting and Paterson lecture: “Over the River and Through the Wood. How Did our Christmas Traditions Evolve?”
Join the Nahant Historical Society on December 8, 2024 at 2:00 PM for our Annual Meeting and Paterson lecture: “Over the River and Through the Wood. How Did our Christmas Traditions Evolve?”
What we think of as the traditional trappings of Christmas celebrations were just beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. Ken Turino, long-time member of both Nahant and Lynn Museums, narrates how female abolitionists in the North Shore and America contributed to the development of modern American Christmas traditions.
Turino looks at women’s sewing circles here and abroad which contributed a wide array of goods for sale at Christmas fairs. Christmas fairs had a wide-ranging influence on our customs, including the use of Christmas trees, greenery in decorating, and gift giving in America.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
LOCATION: Serenity Room, 41 Valley Road, Nahant
Norman Laliberté Exhibit
The Nahant Historical Society hosts LALIBERTE LIFE! An exhibit honoring the art of Norman Laliberte. August 5 - November 19, 2023. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays, 1:00 - 4:00 pm at the Nahant Historical Society, 41 Valley Road, Nahant, MA
Laliberté Life! An Exhibit Honoring the Art of Norman Laliberté
Exhibition Dates - (Free and Open to the Public)
August 5 - November 19, 2023
Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays
1:00 - 4:00 pm
The Nahant Historical Society, 41 Valley Road, Nahant, MA
Norman Laliberté's paintings, totems, and banners have been exhibited at more than 300 one-man shows. His sculptures and banners are part of major corporations and public art installations throughout the US and Canada. Norman Laliberté was awarded a major commission from the Vatican to design 88 banners for their Pavilion at the 1964 New York World’s Fair, which brought him fame and millions of views of the tapestries.
“Critics sometimes used the word whimsical to describe his work, which in many instances was so cheerful it seemed to smile and wink at viewers and passers-by.”
Plentitude is the overarching theme in Norman’s art. His paintings, banners, and totems are covered with a multitude of shapes and colors of birds and animals, fruits and flowers, men and women. As a young man he was influenced by mythology and the natural world and began to incorporate birds into his art as well as Mayan animal folklore: snakes, leopards, rabbits as tricksters, and swans as symbols of purity.
Norman personified “joie de vivre,” which was the title of the last exhibition in his lifetime at the Marblehead Arts Association. We think of him as alive in spirit and have titled this exhibition in loving memory to reflect that feeling.
Annual Meeting 2023
The Nahant Historical Society cordially invites you to its Annual Meeting on Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 2PM.
The Nahant Historical Society cordially invites you to its Annual Meeting on Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 2PM.
We will hold our annual business meeting to vote in new and returning board members and attend to any business at hand. This will be followed by a presentation in honor of long-time member, friend, and supporter Doug Lemle whose donation of time and resources towards the preservation of Nahant’s history has been vital to the Society’s success.
We will be enlightened by Robert B. Dimmick / Etiquetteer, about the ‘Victorian Summering’ of the Boston Brahmin in Nahant.
Robert B. Dimmick has been writing about matters of manners as Etiquetteer since 2001. Writing from the intersection of Etiquette, History, and Humor, Etiquetteer has advocated for what used to make daily life beautiful, or at least bearable, and advised readers on how to manage 21st-century situations with older-fashioned aplomb. Read more Etiquetteer at https://www.etiquetteer.com/home. You may follow Etiquetteer on Facebook, and on Instagram at @etiquetteer1.
A native of Louisiana, Mr. Dimmick identifies as “Southern by birth, Yankee by choice,” having remained in Boston since his arrival 40 years ago. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, Boston University, and Emerson College, Mr. Dimmick is proud to be affiliated with the Gibson House Museum in Boston’s Back Bay, whose archives provided much of the material used for Etiquette of the Brahmin Summer. The Gibson House is also home to Etiquetteer’s Annual Repeal Day Celebration each December. Learn more about the Gibson House here: http://www.thegibsonhouse.org.
Please join us in person at 41 Valley Road, Nahant or via zoom. Open to the public and light refreshments will be served.
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Schepens Lecture
Charles Luc Schepens never pursued recognition or fame for any of the things he accomplished. However, due to his research and development of ophthalmic devices, Charles earned the title of, ‘Father of Modern Retinal Surgery’. For his service to France during the war, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor by the Consul General of France for ‘smuggling more than 100 people over the Pyrenees from France into Spain’.
When Germany invaded Belgium during WWII, Charles Luc Schepens was a captain in the Belgian medical corp. His involvement in the war effort went deeper. He was a member of the Belgian resistance. After being arrested by the Gestapo twice, Charles fled to France in 1943 where he assumed the name, Jacques Alexandre Perot. Joining the French resistance movement, ‘Jacques’ set up a spurious operation at a ‘back-country’ lumber company. From here he managed an evacuation system, aiding nearly 100 citizens in fleeing France and certain persecution.
Charles Luc Schepens, the youngest of six children, was born in Mouscron, Belgium in 1912. His father, a general practitioner, died when Charles was just seven, so he was raised by one of his older brothers. Like his three brothers before him, Charles went on to become a physician, specializing in ophthalmology. With his invention of the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope, which allows physicians to view and diagnose the retina, he was a pioneer in retinal medicine.
Charles established the Retina Foundation, which later split into two operations: Schepens Retina Associates Foundation and Schepens Eye Research Institute, the largest independent research institute for ophthalmology in the world.
Charles never pursued recognition or fame for any of the things he accomplished. However, due to his research and development of ophthalmic devices, Charles earned the title of, ‘Father of Modern Retinal Surgery’. For his service to France during the war, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor by the Consul General of France for ‘smuggling more than 100 people over the Pyrenees from France into Spain’.
Please enjoy this video presentation:
2022 Paterson Lecture
On November 5th, 2022, Keeping the Stories Alive: Exploring Essex Counties Black Heritage was presented by Historian Kabria Baumgartner. She has been digging through archival records, seeking to learn more about the Black experience in Essex County, MA. These stories highlight African American contributions to the economic, cultural, and intellectual vitality of Essex County.
Keeping the Stories Alive: Exploring Essex Counties Black Heritage
Historian Kabria Baumgartner has been digging through archival records, seeking to learn more about the Black experience in Essex County, MA. With her lecture, "Taverns, Gardens and Parties: A Journey Through Essex County’s Black History", Kabria shared some of the compelling stories that highlight African American contributions to the economic, cultural, and intellectual vitality of Essex County.
Kabria Baumgartner is a historian of African American life and culture in the nineteenth-century United States. She is the Dean's Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at Northeastern University where she also serves as Associate Director of Public History. She is the author of the award-winning book, In Pursuit of Knowledge: Black Women and Educational Activism in Antebellum America (New York University Press, 2019)
From Nahant to the Moon
Please stop by the Historical Society to see our our Essex Heritage Trails and Sails Exhibit to learn about Nahant residents Ellen Steeves and her father Bob’s role in the Apollo 11 lunar mission. Exhibit runs through the end of March 2023
Lynn Daily Item, by EMILY PAULS, February 3, 2023
When you think of Nahant the first thing that comes to mind is probably not outer space. But maybe it should be because a piece of Nahant is on the moon right now.
The Nahant Historical Society currently has a temporary exhibit called “From Nahant to the Moon” about Bob Steeves, who was an integral citizen of Nahant before he passed, and his family’s connection to the Apollo Space Missions.
Back in the 60s NASA contracted the company Steeves worked for as a chemical engineer, National Research Corporation (NRC) Lab to create the heat shield material needed for space missions.
Steeves was one of the masterminds behind vacuum metallization, a process still being used by NASA today. It was this process that eventually led to the creation of Kapton Foil, which were heat shields.
“It had to be something that could withstand temperatures from 450 below to 755. So he went to work with his fellow workers,” Julie Tamry, the executive director of the Nahant Historical Society, said.
That is when the vacuum metallization and subsequently Kapton Foil was born, helping make the Apollo Space Missions happen. Since its creation Kapton Foil has continued to be used on rovers and spaceships.
So what is vacuum metallization?
“Vacuum metalizing plastic is a process that allows you to create a layer of medal on a substrate (a material which provides the surface on which something is deposited or inscribed, for example the silicon wafer used to manufacture circuits), usually of another material. Also referred to as “vacuum deposition,” it involves heating the metal coating material until it vaporizes inside a vacuum chamber,” an explanation at the exhibit said.
With the “lack of pressure” in the chamber, it “drives the metal’s boiling point downward.”
“This allows the metal vapor to condensate and form a layer over the top of a substrate. The semiconductor industry uses vacuum deposition to deposit copper interconnects on silicon,” the explanations said.
DuPont Corporation currently holds the patent of this process, but Steeves created it. He eventually went on to create space blankets, also known as emergency blankets.
“Now they use them for hikers, firemen use them, they’re used after marathons,” Tarmy said. “They will protect you in extreme weather, hot or cold.”
“Steeves daughter Ellen also has her finger prints in space, literally. Her fingerprints are on the Lunar Rover which is currently on the moon.”
“She was going to college at the time, so in the summer, she worked with her dad, and that was at the time of the Apollo 17 mission, and her job was to wrap a box that contained an experiment in it for testing the density of moon rocks, and it was to be placed on the lunar rover,” Tarmy said.
Ellen wrapped the box in the Kapton Foil for 27 layers and wore gloves while doing it. But after a while, wrapping layer after layer became “cumbersome,” Ellen told Tarmy.
“So she took her gloves off,” Tarmy said. “Her fingerprints are on the moon.”
Executive Director of Nahant Historical Society Julie Tarmy uses a folded up space blanket, an invention of Nahant's Bob Stevens, to point out a photograph of female technicians insulating the heat shield of an Apollo space craft. (Libby O'Neill)
This information along with the rest of Steeves’ story was told to Tarmy by Ellen.
“She brought me some artifacts that belonged to her father, and related to the Apollo missions, so I said, ‘tell me more.’” she said.
After hearing everything, she knew she had to create an exhibit showing Steeves and his family’s influence in space. Ellen’s brothers also helped with the exhibit.
“It was a great community story with the fact that people in Nahant who knew Bob, Harriet (his wife), Ellen, would come in and see this exhibit and they’d look at me and they’d go ‘I had no idea’ I said ‘neither did I.’ That’s why I felt that had to be shared,” Tarmy said.
Not only did he accomplish what he did for space exploration, Steeves was also heavily involved in town. So was his family.
“Harriet was our town clerk okay, for many, many years … Bob was at one point the selectmen of the town, he was also the DPW chief. There was nothing he wouldn’t do in his retirement years. He would stop in here and say, ‘do you need anything? What can I do for you?’ And he did that for everybody in town. They were just a giving family,” Tarmy said.
Even though Ellen is no longer alive to see the exhibit, Tarmy is “hoping she’s looking down and appreciating it.”
The Exhibit runs through the end of March 2023
Wednesdays and Thursdays: 1 - 4PM
Thomas Roland
At our 2022 Annual Meeting, we featured the life of Nahant resident Thomas Roland, known as ‘America’s Best Plantsman’. Please enjoy this presentation.
At our 47th Annual Meeting, we featured the life of Nahant resident Thomas Roland. From 1883 to 1929, he was a cultivator of orchids, roses, acaceas, and many other local plant species, and was regarded by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society as ‘America’s Best Plantsman'.
Please enjoy this video presentation:
"Nahant Revisited" Book Signing
Authors Christopher R. Mathias and Robert A. Wilson will be signing copies of their new book, Nahant Revisited. Sunday March 20, 2022, 2 PM to 4 PM at the Community Center, 41 Valley Rd, Nahant MA
Authors Christopher R. Mathias and Robert A. Wilson will be signing copies of their new book, Nahant Revisited. This book examines Nahant thematically with over 200 fabulous images spanning over 200 years of Nahant history. If you haven’t purchased your copy yet, books will be on sale at the event. Light refreshments will be served. Masks are recommended.
Sunday March 20, 2022, 2 PM to 4 PM at the Community Center, 41 Valley Rd, Nahant MA
Artist Reno ‘Ray’ Pisano
The 2021 Annual Paterson Lecture featured Artist and Sculptor Reno ‘Ray’ Pisano.
The Nahant Historical Society cordially invites you to our 2021 Annual Paterson Lecture featuring Artist and Sculptor Reno ‘Ray’ Pisano. At the event, Ray has made and shall narrate a one hour video that shows how a large bronze sculpture is made from concept to finish. This documentation in its detail of the process is unique. The subject of the video is "The Risen Christ" a 14 foot high bronze sculpture, its detail of process and site installation.
Ray Pisano, founding faculty member of Montserrat College of Art, long-time Nahant resident, and dedicated son of Lynn, was recently awarded the Lynn Cultural Council’s Significance award in the Devotion category for his dedication to creating an artistic palette which softens the hard edges of some of the city’s open spaces. Ray’s bas relief sculptures of such notables as Mary Baker Eddy and Frederick Douglass can be found scattered around the city of Lynn. Like most artists, Ray works with his hands and, more importantly, his heart.
Reno in his studio. Photo Credit: Spenser R. Hasak, Lynn Item
Reno “Ray” Pisano was born in Lynn, Ma and began sculpting at the age of 12. He graduated from, and later taught at, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 1970, Ray was a founding faculty member of the Montserrat College of Art. Over the course of eight decades, Ray has created two commissioned sculptures of Frederick Douglass, one installed on the Commons and the second recently installed at the new Central Square Park, named for Douglass. Ray sculpts in plaster, bronze, and wood but is best known for stone carving, particularly in granite.
“The Risen Christ" at Marian Religious Community, Medway MA
“I create my work in direct response to the natural material I use, as well as the subject it references. The material I like to use best is stone, because it brings the work closer to the earth’s composition.”
The Lightkeepers of Egg Rock, Nahant
The Lightkeepers of Egg Rock, Nahant is the subject of our 2021 Trails & Sails Essex National Heritage presentation.
When you think about the cold winters of New England, imagine living on a rock a mile off of the coast. We will take you there through journal entries of the Lightkeepers of Egg Rock, Nahant. The journals, and the Lightkeepers exhibit, will be on display at the Society through the end of December, 2021.
Please enjoy this 2021 Trails & Sails Essex National Heritage Area presentation:
Etiquette of the Brahmin Summer
"Etiquette of the Brahmin Summer" by Robert Dimmick will be offered via Zoom on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 6:00 p.m.
Back by popular demand! The Gibson House Museum in Boston presents "Etiquette of the Brahmin Summer" which focuses on summering in Nahant. The program will include images from the Gibson House and Gibson family archives. Before air conditioning, Brahmin (wealthy Boston) families retreated for the summer season to homes on the New England coast. Join Robert B. Dimmick for an entertaining look at the rituals, pastimes, and domesticity of the Gibson family and other Yankees.
"Etiquette of the Brahmin Summer" by Robert Dimmick will be offered via Zoom on Tuesday, August 17, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. Information here: https://www.thegibsonhouse.org/events.html
Volunteering
Looking for something to do in your spare time? How about volunteering at the Nahant Historical Society. This Wednesday, June 23, 2021 at 10:00 AM, current volunteers and those interested in learning more about volunteering, are invited to come in for tea/coffee. There are many opportunities to play a role and the schedule can be flexible. If you are not able to come on Wednesday, give Julie Tarmy a call (781) 581-2727, or email julie@nahanthistory.org
Looking for something to do in your spare time? How about volunteering at the Nahant Historical Society. There are many opportunities to play a role and the schedule can be flexible. Give Julie Tarmy a call (781) 581-2727, or email julie@nahanthistory.org
Nahant and the Civil War
On May 23rd, 2021, Steven Eames presented “Nahant and the Civil War”. He brought Nahant in the 1860s to life once again, and brought us into the lives of those who continued to serve this unique town long after the battles were over.
Two Nahant men, both members of the Nahant Historical Society, had a quest. They wanted to honor the men from Nahant, or with Nahant connections, who served in the Civil War. They researched and investigated anyone connected to town who performed military service. They explored many avenues in search of information, including contacting agencies in Washington, D.C., writing letters and traveling to other towns. Once they had accumulated a ‘shopping bag’ of information, in stepped Calantha Sears, then Curator of the Society, to help organize the information and get it published. She sought a grant and then contacted Dr. Steve C. Eames, a professor of history at Mt. Ida College, to complete the job.
In 2007, thanks to the generosity of Ralph Lowell, Jr, the Bay State Historical League, and the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, the tremendous efforts of Bill Twiss and Austin Brewin culminated in the publication, Sacrifice of Self, Nahant and the Civil War. The book was awarded the Albert B. Corey Award for excellence in local historical endeavor from the American Association of State and Local History.
Sacrifice of Self tells the story of Nahant and the Civil War. It is the story of the men who went to war, the community who stayed behind, and the impact of that great conflict on the veterans and the town of Nahant in the decades that followed Appomattox. While Nahant’s story is similar to many communities and their stories of the men who served and then returned, its story is somewhat unique in that Nahant’s future was formed by these men and their experiences in this war and in life.
Steven Eames brings the community that was Nahant in the 1860s to life once again, and brings us into the lives of those who continued to serve this unique town long after the battles were over.
Please enjoy this video presentation:
36 Views of Egg Rock
A Nahant Historical Society presentation by Emory DeCastro. For centuries artists have gathered inspiration from creating images of the same scene under different light and seasons. Nahant offers spellbinding vistas throughout the four seasons and under a vast range of light. From a catalog spanning 10 years, and nearly a thousand images of Egg Rock, Emory DeCastro has pared this down to "36 Views of Egg Rock."
A Nahant Historical Society presentation by Emory DeCastro
For centuries artists have gathered inspiration from creating images of the same scene under different light and seasons. Nahant offers spellbinding vistas throughout the four seasons and under a vast range of light. From a catalog spanning 10 years, and nearly a thousand images, Emory DeCastro has pared this down to "36 Views of Egg Rock."
Please enjoy this video presentation:
Reinventing Historic Places
Please join the Nahant Historical Society as we explore what our responsibility is to our community as a keeper of the records of today’s emotional and passion-filled social issues.
WORLD PANDEMIC, BLACK LIVES MATTER, SUPPORT THE BLUE LINE, EQUAL &, LGBTQ RIGHTS. These are the focus of today’s headlines, but they are not very different from the headlines of a century ago on many of the same social issues. How can museums address this? What are the challenges for historical organizations to not only record these issues, but to make a difference?
Ken Turino, Manager of Community Partnerships and Resource Development, Historic New England, and Museum Studies, Tufts University discusses how museums across America are addressing issues of race, social justice, and community engagement - impacting their communities as a whole.
Please watch this 45 minute presentation from the Nahant Historical Society as we explore what our responsibility is to our community as a keeper of the records of today’s emotional and passion-filled issues.
Women in Service
The Nahant Historical Society cordially invites you to the 2019 Patterson Lecture to hear the stories of remarkable Nahant women who willingly joined the U.S. Armed Services in both wartime and peace. Some being thrust into situations they could not have imagined. We would like to share the history of these strong women so that the future may know the past.
The Nahant Historical Society cordially invites you to the 2019 Patterson Lecture to hear the stories of remarkable Nahant women who willingly joined the U.S. Armed Services in both wartime and peace. Some being thrust into situations they could not have imagined. Their stories are varied. Their reasons for entering the service are unique to them. However, they are all women who wanted to stand up and be counted in and counted on in support of her country, whether it be in times of peace or conflict.
Captain Hammond
The Hammond family summered in Nahant where Susan was a champion sailor and athlete, racing yearly against familiar names like Motley and Hodges in her 23 ft. Star Class. Susan was presented with a unique opportunity when Europe went back to war in 1939. Almost two years before the United States joined the war effort, Susan, fluent in French, was one of the first relief aid drivers chosen by Anne Morgan, the daughter of financier JP Morgan, when she re-launched her Friends ofFrance organization. Susan was recognized for her fearless work in France when she received the Croix de Guerre in Washington, D.C. from the French ambassador.
After giving of themselves in military service, some of these women simply went back to their private lives often times not even sharing their story with close family and friends. That being said, we would like to share the history of these strong women so that the future may know the past.