And........ who are those masked men?.......
And........ who are those masked men?.......
Of course, it's our beloved BOB FLOWER and MASON SHEEHAN fingering one of the oldest STAR trophies around, the JOHN CHARLES THOMAS trophy. And it belongs to us! (aka MRYC / MES)
Turns out that Mason was sailing his STAR in the Miles in the early 1930's when he almost ran down Thomas. Both Thomas and his father had large yachts kept at their property on the Miles. Taken with Mason in his tiny yacht, the two struck up a friendship after Mason took him sailing several times. Thomas decided to make a statement at MRYC regarding STAR racing and a trophy emerged. BUT....... what a trophy (as you shall see)!
In those days, the STARS were not sailed dry, but were kept in the water during racing season. When a regatta was held locally, the Stars from the Western shore were sailed across the Chesapeake on the Thursday or Friday before. The Gibson Island Fleet (some 8 or 10 boats) were occasionally towed all the way across by one of the power boat afficionados from those clubs. You should hear Mason's words when it comes to backing up those miserable 4 wheel trailers..... the 2-wheel invention is relatively recent as the 4 wheeler was mainly used as a storage device, not for week-end travelling.
Now who was John Charles Thomas?....... little did I know that he was a world renowned baritone! He "practically invented the buoyant free-swinging style of American singing" and was considered by many as the dean of American singers. Born in Meyersdale, Pa. on Sept. 6, 1891, he was the son of a Methodist minister. Intended for a career in medicine, he switched to music in 1909 after winning a scholarship to the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. This worked out so well he received $5 a month for his first engagement with a church choir!
Ever hear of "Home on the Range, The Lord's Prayer, the Bluebird of Happiness?".... legacies of JCT...... just three of the many songs introduced by JCT! From the early 1920's well past the second World War, he was both an operatic and established Broadway musical star, a pioneer in radio..... singing over 70 concerts a year. Included were operatic appearances in Europe as well as military and Victory Bond rallies in this country. However, his genius lay in the adaptation of setting American poetry and literature into music...... mostly done in the thirties and forties....... converting Sandburg, Whitman, Kilmer, etc. into a "life-affirming and buoyant" art form in music...... a truly popular singer.
Although much of his life was spent performing on the road, he maintained an Eastern Shore residence on the Miles for three decades, not moving to California until 1943. More recently his prior residence was part of the Patriot's tour. In those early days he could be heard singing from his yacht......... and on firmer soil, he delighted the locals with performances at the Avalon and the Miles River Yacht Club. No wonder a young STAR sailor like Mason was taken.
Now...... back to our trophy.... this trophy is a model for an 8,430 pound prototype known as the NAVY and MARINE MEMORIAL! Overlooking the Potomac, facing the District's 3 major memorials, its siting is certainly spectacular. Located at the southern tip of Lady Bird Johnson Park off the George Washington Memorial Parkway, it is easily reached by car or an easy STAR sail across the Bay and up the Potomac. Following contributions by 2 million children, the memorial was dedicated on October 18, 1934...........
TO
THE STRONG SOULS AND READY VALOR OF THOSE MEN
OF THE UNITED STATES
WHO IN THE NAVY THE MERCHANT MARINE
AND OTHER PATHS OF ACTIVITY
UPON THE WATERS OF THE WORLD
HAVE GIVEN LIFE OR STILL OFFER IT
IN THE PERFORMANCE OF HEROIC DEEDS
THIS MOVEMENT IS DEDICATED
BY A GRATEFUL PEOPLE
Ever hear of ERNESTO BEGNI del PIATTA?
No, he wasn't a STAR sailor....... he was the sculptor! Born in Sienna, Italy, in 1880, he came to this country to study law, but abandoned his evil ways to become a sculptor, artist, and publisher of art and religious books. Ten years before our trophy was made, Congress approved construction for a memorial to honor those servicemen lost at sea......... passed on February 16, 1924. A collaboration occurred between Ernesto and Harvey Wiley Corbett, an architect whose firm was also instrumental in the Rockefeller Center in New York City. The memorial was footed privately at a cost of $339,737.40. The U.S. government contributed $13,000 for transportation and set-up. However, these funds proved insufficient and plans for its elaborate base were abandoned. Ernesto, in a vain effort spanning 5 years devoted the remainder of his life plus half of his fee in a vain effort to secure a proper base. The problem was "solved" in 1940 when the WPA landscaped the site and installed the present "abbreviated" base, an inferior grade of green granite.
Considering that this was the largest cast aluminum sculpture ever built up to the mid thirties, at 35 feet in height and almost 100 feet around, several tons of aluminum, and a massive green granite base, a few hundred thousand dollars was a steal even for those times. Such a casting process mimics techniques of ancient metalsmiths....... the method of "eire perdue", or lost wax. Typically, a full scale statue of wax is constructed. Multiple rods, also made of wax are then attached to the statue so that it looks like a wax porcupine. The free ends of all these rods are led into one or more wax containers, all external to the statue. The whole contraption is called a sprue. This structure is then coated with plaster, drying to form a rigid outer jacket (whose inner surface takes on the shape and form of the desired sculpture). If bronze were the material used, an oven, large enough to contain the entire statue is heated to 2500 degrees F. and the sculpture placed within. Since aluminum melts at a much lower temperature, the oven temperature is reduced in accordance with the casting alloy. By dividing the sculpture into multiple sections, oven size can also be reduced. These individual sections are joined later.
As the plaster covered wax sprue warms, the wax melts, runs off, and the original wax statue is "lost". However, a hollow inner plaster core surfaced to the original wax piece remains. Also remaining are hollow channels where the wax rods previously existed. Through these channels, molten metal is poured, forming the sculpture's outer surface. In this case, an aluminum alloy was poured. After the sections cooled, the plaster jackets were broken away and the sculpture cleaned. The individual sections were then brazed together and the remaining joints could then be ground, filed, and polished until a finished product was obtained. Note that to avoid an overwhelmingly heavy structure, an additional hollow inner core is constructed early in the process. Thus, the final casting, poured between two surfaces is a "skin", and not solid throughout.
At that time a newly developed "Alumilite" process was used to give the surface a protective coating similar to natural oxidation, but thicker and more durable. Such a finish could be pigmented. The waves and under sides of the seven gulls were made green; the cresting foam and wing-tips were gold. Today these colors have disappeared.
The precise relationship of Ernesto Begni del Piatta and John Charles Thomas is unknown to me. However, it is known that the trophy and the Navy and Marine Memorial are directly related. Our trophy could have been commissioned by Thomas..... or the bronze casting of gulls and wave purchased outright....... or perhaps simply copied. Remember Picasso's remark, "good artists copy....... great artists steal!"
The following list of winning skippers between 1935 and 2002 are inscribed on the trophy. Of note is that many of these winners were world class STAR sailors in the days when this country and particularly Bay sailors dominated international competition! There are several father, then next generation, son winners....... and there are several repeaters. The trophy resides at MRYC as
"THE JOHN CHARLES THOMAS TROPHY To Be Raced For Annually By The STAR CLASS Yachts At The Miles River Yacht Club"
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Donald Doeller.... Restless.... 1935
Mason Shehan.... Stardust.... 1936
John K. Todd.... Merry Widow.... 1937
Mason Shehan.... Flapper.... 1938
John K. Todd.... The Duchess.... 1939
J. S. Wilford, Jr..... Windrush II.... 1940
J. S. Wilford, Jr..... Windrush II.... 1941
World War II
Stan Lippincott.... Barbaree.... 1946
Chas. W. Knight.... Quakeress.... 1947
Wilson M. Jaboe.... Restless.... 1948
Patsy R. Bremer.... Ripple.... 1949
Barclay H. Trippe, Jr..... March Hare....1950
Robert C., Thompson.... Wind Song.... 1951
Barclay H. Trippe, Jr..... March Hare....1952
Barclay H. Trippe, Jr..... March Hare....1953
Howard F. Lippincott.... Circus.... 1954
C. Stanley Ogilvy.... Flame.... 1955
Howard F. Lippincott.... La Fleur.... 1956
Charles R. Wiley.... Boomerang.... 1957
David D. Gaillard, II.... Blue Chip.... 1958
Wm B. Potter.... Vim.... 1959
Jack Streeton.... Esprit.... 1960
John R. Sherwood, III.... Jade.... 1961
Mason Shehan.... Glee.... 1962
John R. Sherwood, III.... Jade.... 1963
Howard F. Lippincott.... Cirrus.... 1964
Robert Lippincott.... Splendid.... 1965
T. Coleman duPont.... Coquina.... 1966
John R. Sherwood, III.... Amethyst.... 1967
Jack W. Streeton.... Sugar.... 1968
Howard F. Lippincott.... Cirrus.... 1969
Ted Rapp.... Ice Blue Secret.... 1970
Alan Lippincott.... Ramble On.... 1971
Ted Rapp.... Ice Blue Secret.... 1972
Howard F. Lippincott.... Cirrus.... 1973
John Mac Causland.... Spirit.... 1974
R. John Thompson.... Easy Rider.... 1975
Richard Lippincott.... Super Rat.... 1976
Robert C. Thompson.... Windsong VIII.... 1977
Richard Lippincott.... Ryan's Express.... 1978
Richard Lippincott.... Ryan's Express.... 1979
Paul Van Cleve.... NASA.... 1980
Dave Gaillard.... GIYC.... 1981
No Race.... 1982
Tom Hagy.... HDGYC.... 1983
Gene Peters.... 1984
Richard J. Martin.... RYC.... 1985
Tom Hagy.... 1986 Tom Hagy.... 1987
Tom Hagy.... 1988
R. John Thompson.... Easy Rider II.... 1989
Not Raced.... 1990-1996
R. John Thompson.... Easy Rider III.... 1997
John Sherwood.... Jade II.... 1998
John Sherwood.... Jade II.... 1999
John Avis.... Jade II.... 2000
Trapper Lippincott.... Ice Blue.... 2001
Bob Flower.... Gessy.... 2002 .
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Special thanks goes to Park Ranger Catie Drew for delving into the annals of the National Park Service and Mason for his remarkable memory. Much of this information also came via the internet...... amazing! Additionally, a stereo re-creation CD, "Bluebird of Happiness" including 20 of of JCT's original songs has been located. Both a CD and a written copy of the trophy history will be included with the award.
.
ERNESTO del MES
Respectfully submitted.....................
Harold Shuster
January, 2003
