 This is Dennis McMahon and welcome to Positively Vermont and today we are going to be exploring a very interesting facility Here in Vermont the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and my guest is Susan Evans McClure The executive director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. Welcome to Positively Vermont. Thank you so much for having me Dennis Tell us a little bit about yourself first and how you became involved with this Well, I'm new to the museum. Although the museum is not new, but I've been there for just about two months and I Spent some time in Vermont after college and then was just most recently living in Washington, DC Working at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History So I have a real background and education and passion for the work that museums can do in our communities And when I moved back to Vermont a year ago I was working as the executive director of VSA Vermont a great statewide organization that does arts Education and development for people with disabilities and when I saw the opportunity at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum I was happy to sad to leave VSA Vermont, but really happy to return to museums, especially in a great place like Vermont That's great and tell us about the museum itself is history how it got started and where it is actually Yeah, so the museum is located just outside of Regens on the right next to Basin Harbor and the Basin Harbor Club The museum was founded in the mid 80s and has been around since then we have a wide collection of Objects related to the maritime history of Lake Champlain So we are an archaeology and history museum So what we really focus on and look at is the relationship between the people and the water and the place over time So how were the choices people made the actions they took how were they impacted by the lake and how did the lake impact them From the beginning of people living in this region up to today and hopefully into the future We hope that all of our programs help people feel motivated to take action in their own communities Could you give us an overview of what the facility is like the buildings and and the vessels as well Tell us what it looks like Yeah, so the museum started with one building which was an old-school house that was moved on to the site In the mid 80s and we've since ballooned up to 18 different buildings on site and some waterfront on Lake Champlain So each building has some exhibitions or education spaces. We have a blacksmith forge we have exhibitions on the science and Archaeological history of the lake and then we have a large exhibition on the Battle of Valcor Island Which connects directly to our replica boat the Philadelphia So the Philadelphia was one of the boats that sunk during the battle of Valcor island in 1776 That boat was taken out of the lake in the 1930s It was fully intact on the bottom of the lake and it was put in the scissorians national museum of american history where it Still is today We have a replica boat replica being exactly the same built from the same models That is on the water So visitors can go to the Philadelphia step on board the ship and really step back into what it was like to be on A gunboat in 1776, which is a pretty amazing opportunity We're open to the public from May through October So we're open for museum visits. You can come on site Check out our exhibitions and our experiences But then we also do education programs year round So in addition to our exhibitions, we have school programs or we partner with schools around the region to do programming related to history archaeology and the ecology of the lake We also do boat building programs. One of our longest running programs is called Champlain Long Boats It's a really wonderful project Where we actually work with students who come on site into our boat shop and they build a boat and Yeah, and I'm Particularly excited about that project as it's such a wonderful example of hands-on learning in a museum setting But doing something that's really meaningful for kids So we bring students into the program every year to build the boat from scratch And then the boats themselves are used in our rowing program Which we actually work with five regional high schools And we have about 200 high school students who do a competitive rowing program in the spring and fall And they they train on Otter Creek and in virgins. And then they also train in In burlington in lake Champlain, and then they will race against each other. They do regional regattas and It's a really great opportunity for kids to get involved in Sport and activity but with a deep historical connection to the lake That's amazing. Tell us about this vessel the lowest McClure So the lowest McClure no relation to me McClure I should add but A wonderful person who's left leaving a huge impact on vermont and on the lake Champlain maritime museum The lowest McClure is an 18 schooner 1860s replica schooner canal schooner So the lake Champlain was really kind of a thoroughfare of transportation almost like a Like the superhighway of its time in the 19th century There would be boats moving items from The st. Lord from the atlantic ocean to the st. Lawrence seaway Down the st. Lawrence river down the Richelieu canal into lake Champlain Down the Champlain canal and then from there at Albany the goods would either go down the Erie canal And to the west or down to the Hudson river to new york city So the lake Champlain was kind of right in the center of all of this commerce and traffic and shipping Canal boats were a special style of boat that was meant to be full of goods that were moved on the canal So they were actually designed to be pulled by oxen so the boats If you can imagine a fairly narrow canal, you wouldn't have the sails up on a canal You'd have oxen on either side of the canal on the side On the ground actually pulling the boat along So our replica is a replica of an 1860s canal boat Same thing designed to be pulled by oxen Or people you can actually also pull it with human power When we travel the boat it travels with the church hill, which is a tugboat So that boat is what pulls it along as well. You can pull up the sails on it Um, if you're into that kind of adventure But um, so that boat really allows us to take the story of Lake Champlain and its importance to the entire region So every summer we do a different tour with the boat last year We partnered with the Corning Museum of Glass and did an amazing tour through Um all the way down to new york city and then all the way out the Erie canal to Corning new york And we created a glass barge where they were actually blowing glass on the boat Which was a really neat thing to see and we actually saw about 30 000 visitors to the boat last year That's amazing. This year we are happy to be working with the Lake Champlain Basin program and the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership To have the theme for the year be related to the international year of the salmon I don't know if you've heard of the international year of the salmon But the international year of the salmon is an international Celebration marking the importance of the history Um ecology and science of north atlantic salmon Lake Champlain is one of the only landlocked bodies that has north atlantic salmon still They spawn in the rivers and streams that connect to the lake and then they go back into the lake There are not very many of them left But they've had a huge impact on Lake Champlain's region over time and they have been hugely impacted by environmental change over time as well So the international year of the salmon Are many efforts around the world actually dedicated at highlighting Highlighting these stories. So the lois baccalaure will be highlighting some of the stories about the impact of north atlantic salmon this year That's amazing In addition to the the history aspect tell us about the science aspect of the museum and its work So the museum is home to the um marine research institute, which is an underwater archaeology center really one of the most Impactful and well known around the country. We partner with universities researchers historians who really are looking at underwater archaeology So marine archaeology and underwater underwater archaeology is as the name suggests the field of Going into water diving finding shipwrecks and other materials Um And then doing research on those deciding the best way to preserve them making available making them available to the public Sometimes removing them from the water and conserving them But that that field of research is something that the maritime museum has become a real leader in around the world And the marine research institute actually does projects both on link champlain on the Hudson river on some of the the finger lakes in new york And beyond that that really is looking at how to best preserve the underwater resources underwater resources that are still out there One of the big projects that we do every year at the museum is that we actually manage vermont's underwater preserve sites as in partnership with the vermont office of historic preservation So you may have heard of historic sites that you would go visit In vermont you can drive to them or get there and see a great um great location That's well preserved and interpreted for the public the underwater historic preserves are the same idea, but they're underwater so there's nine of them in vermont their shipwrecks and We manage the sites so we go to them every year make sure they're in good condition Put out markers so that divers can access them and all of that information can be accessed on our website where we Make it available to people And track you know work with them to to tell them when the preserves are open when they're closed How they can access the site safely and have a great historic experience As a diver on lake champlain What kind of shipwrecks are out there? There's a wide range uh lake champlain actually has about 300 shipwrecks In the lake, which is pretty amazing. I think it's one of the things that Living and having lived in vermont for a long time right in burlington I looked at the lake almost every day and never really thought about that But it's it's pretty amazing the history that is at the bottom of the lake and kind of the sides of the lake too There's boats there from all the way back to the french and indian war Revolutionary war boats in the lake Canal boats up through the 1800s and into the 1900s Some of them are easier to access than others and actually if you come to the museum you can take a boat tour That uses a remote operated vehicle so an rov That we as a little camera on a robot pretty much that we drop into the water And you can take a boat out to where the wreck is we'll drop the camera in and right from the boat You can take a kind of a video tour of the wreck underneath the boat That's amazing. Tell us a little bit about the battle of valcor island So the battle of valcor island is one of my favorite topics actually i'm glad you asked The battle of valcor island was in 1776. It was a real turning point in the revolutionary war Interestingly it was a battle that the united states lost but in some ways by losing they Were able to turn the tide of the war So benedict arnold the benedict arnold that you're probably familiar with He started by being a hero of the revolutionary war So he was leading a fleet of boats on lake champlain In battle with the royal navy of the british navy. So the british were coming south from canada benedict arnold His job was to prevent them from going through lake champlain Once the british got through lake champlain they would be able to access the hudson river and have Be able to effectively split the colonies in 1776 So the battle happened in the fall And benedict arnold realized that they were going to lose basically they had it was clear that they were outgunned out Outmaneuvered by the british navy who had much more experience in naval warfare So benedict arnold's boats are captured And it was as it tends to be it can be very foggy on lake champlain. So benedict arnold's boats were captured a fog descended and they um The british were on their boats the americans were on their boats and they basically said okay in the morning We'll take your boats. We'll go on our way south. You're all our prisoners So benedict arnold thinking you know, I really don't have anything to lose Decided to escape with the fleet. So it was a foggy night. It was really dark He lined up the boats in one single line And didn't use lights. He only had one light at the front very front boat and one light in the back And he sailed them under cover of darkness Um to get away and pretty much when the british woke up in the morning and the sun came up They said where are the boats? What happened? um Some of the boats he he intentionally ran the boats aground some of them he lit on fire Some of the boats had sunk during the battle itself the previous day so because this um this affair kind of took so long And because winter was quickly descending the british decided and the british were pretty um embarrassed that they had let a fleet of boats Get away during the night So they decided to that they couldn't continue further south because of the weather because they had been so delayed by this battle So they had to wait until the spring of 1777 effectively giving the colonies more time To muster more resources and get the french involved in the war That's amazing and a really interesting example of one um A history a story about history that you think you know a lot about right if you think about benedict darnold everyone thinks Oh, well, what do you think about benedict darnold? Well, it's actually I was reading a book about this very, uh battle. Um, I think it's called blind ambition or Grand ambition so he mentions that battle right in the in the book Yeah, so you know we you learned in high school really that benedict darnold was the greatest trader of american history But before he became a trader he was a hero and really um Helped the americans win the revolutionary war before he worked against them So those stories about complexity in history are ones that get me really excited about why we learn history today Understanding that benedict darnold made individual decisions and he was a really complex character Is is something that you can learn from today both about how individual people make decisions today and how everyone Is part of history What kind of artifacts do you have uh there from from that particular conflict? So we have a major exhibition about the battle of velcro island um and many Um pieces that were found from boats. So we have a you know a canon A lot of canon shot As well as some great Art art pieces that kind of let you see the battle as well Tell us a little bit about the uh The educational aspect of this how you network with the local schools We have great partnerships with many of the school districts in um adison county and beyond the school programs in addition to our boat building program that i mentioned we also do a lot of partnership Programming where we go out into the schools connect them with some of that history ecology work I was talking about um and then we also welcome students on site So many schools come to the lake shamblain maritime museum for their spring and fall field trips where they get to experience The 17 our field trip was called 1776 and you get to experience some of that history Of velcro island and the revolutionary war right here in vermont. That's great Tell us about you you have a series of summer camps. We do have summer camps about that summer camp registration is now open So if people are looking for things to do with their kids in the summer We do summer camps for kids of all ages some day camps some overnight And the camps really run the gamut again. We have a history focused camp. We have camps that are about um Experiencing the lake so about how to boating we have a fishing camp. We have um camps about scuba diving So really our all of our camps are about how do we get people connected to the lake in ways that will Inspire them to stay connected and make a difference in the future So our day camps run through June july and I think some of august maybe just a lie all the information's on the website But in addition to those day camps we have expedition camps and overnight camps So those camps um, there's two one-week camps that are full overnight experiences on the lake where you're on the lake the whole time camping with your group and then our Another one of our programs is actually a five-week camp where you spend the first three weeks building your own boat And then you spend the last two weeks overnight Traveling from whitehall new york to berlington on the lake. It's amazing. But how many people are involved in this over here So we have um over the course of the year. We have about 75 staff who are Full-time and seasonal. So it again, we're open to the public may through october So that tends to be a lot a lot busier. We have a smaller staff in the winter But it's in addition to those 75 people. We have many many volunteers who work on our programs who we're so grateful for We couldn't do what we do without our volunteers And then we have great partners in the school districts and communities nearby. It's amazing But I understand you're also involved in professional development activities. Tell us what's that that's all about We are we um work with teachers throughout the state in the region to do professional accredited professional development courses during the summer And those also um have a wide range of topics Some are about teaching with objects So how can teachers be using historical objects in their classroom as a way to spark interest in their students And then we also partner with the abnaki artist association to bring abnaki Culture leaders to teachers to talk about teaching abnaki culture in the classroom. That's a really special one week experience that brings teachers and abnaki culture bears together for a way to increase Increase the knowledge around abnaki culture. That's right here in vermont And to highlight the importance of teaching that for vermont students That's great. And what is the uh, champlain longboats program? So champlain longboats is the boat building program that I mentioned that brings students to the museum to build a boat And then other students row those boats on the lake and you have community rowing. What's that about? We do so it's not just kids who can row on the lake We have community rowing At the museum and in burlington. So Twice a week at the museum in virgins, uh, we have rowing where people can just come on down adults can come on down to the museum and Get with a few other people in a in a boat and Go out and row And then we also do that in burlington once a week as well. And that's a way for us to Bring adults together and community members and do some fun activity and take in the the beautiful Beautiful views in the summer. It's especially important to think about when we're coming up on our, you know 15th snowstorm that one day soon you will be out on the lake rowing on a boat in a sunny day That's amazing. Now one aspect that I noticed from the website is a metal arts. Tell us what that's about We also do classes, um where we around metal arts so blacksmithing bladesmithing copper Copper work and those are opportunities for adults to learn from experts in the crafts of metal arts So those are weekend long classes or one day classes where you can come in and And our for example in our bladesmithing class you can come in and learn how to build a knife Using the blacksmith forage That's amazing. Yeah It's a fun opportunity and a great way to connect with history and be reminded that some of those The same some of the same processes that people were doing Uh, even during the revolutionary war are things that you can still be engaging in today Usually with an updated twist and you have a very excellent website and which leads me to a question What about digital projects? What what does that entail? So there's only so many people that can come to Rural Addison county to visit our museum. We would love it to be more. We're always welcome to have more people come but we really see the Access through the internet and social media as a way for us to share the work that we're doing and also to Learn about the work of other people the great thing about social media now is it's a real conversation so you can bring together people in dialogue around Topics that are related to the museum's content collections That's amazing. Now. What about community participation? What what are you looking for? From the community to assist or or work with you on various projects and support your efforts Oh, well, thank you so much for asking. Well, we um, as I said rely on our volunteers for so much of what we do They're an amazing resource They bring their experiences to the museum and we hope they get something from working with us too as they do so um, we're always open to people who are interested in volunteering and you can find that contact information on our website and We also invite everyone to the museum this summer when we open and to keep an eye out for the Lois McClure As she's sailing around the lake this summer and our summer camps are a real opportunity for people to jump in Actually jump in to the lake as many of them involve but also to jump into what we do with both feet That's great. Well, tell us about membership. Do you have a membership program? We do have a membership program Membership is a terrific way to stay connected with the museum If you become a member of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, you get Free entry to the museum and discounts on all of the camps and classes and workshops that I was just going on and on about So it's a great way to support our work in a sustaining way But then also to be able to access it and make it part of your life That's great. Now as we sit here in the dead of winter Maybe you just summarize what people can expect this summer. What are your long and short-range plans for the summer Yeah, we'll be like I said opening in mid to late May and we'll actually have a new exhibition opening on The jahaziel sherman and his steamboats An interesting name and an interesting fella He was one of the premier steamboat builders in the whole region and he was based in virgins And people have done many of his steamboats wrecks of his steamboats are actually still in the lake he Was really important to the virgins region in the early 1810 early mid 1800s And all of addison county many scholars have studied him people have looked into his work for years And he has a great name to boot But until this year no one had ever seen him before because there were no portraits of him that we knew of And in fact just this past year we were contacted by someone who said Hey, I have a portrait of jahaziel sherman and another one of his wife You know can we talk about it and our curators said I don't think that's possible no one's ever seen one before But through some diligent research it turned out that they he was absolutely right the story totally checked out And they are portraits of jahaziel and his wife Then that we're happy to bring bring back to virgins and put on display for the public And then be able to talk about the impact of steamboat technology on the the lake Well, that's amazing. It really sounds like you have a fascinating facility and a fascinating series of programs Thanks. It's a i'm really lucky to be there. It's a great team that works at the museum It's been wonderful to meet our supporters and our community members who really see the museum As I do which is why I was interested in working there as just a real resource of the community and a great way To stay connected to lake shampolyn. That's great. Well, this has been denis mcmann for positively vermont And my guest today has been susan evans mccore The executive director of the lake shampolyn maritime museum Thank you for watching