Developments
The Friends host the family of a former crew member
The decks of OLYMPIA recently echoed with new, yet perhaps oddly familiar, footsteps when Eloise B. Myers and her daughter Joanna paid a visit to the ship.
Eloise is the daughter of Paul I. Burke, who was not only a crew member of the Olympia during WWI, but also was on board when the Olympia bore the body of the Unknown Soldier from France into the Washington, D.C, navy yard in 1922. Eloise remembers her father telling her the story of that solemn journey, naming himself and his comrades as the honor guard for the fallen hero who represented all the fallen heroes lost in foreign lands.
Eloise was with her father during WWII, when he was stationed at Pearl Harbor and present for the devastation of Dec. 7, 1941. Promoted to an officer during the war, Eloise’s father was recalled to serve in the Korean War was well, reinstated to his rank of Chief Petty Officer and carrying on his fine military career.
Although Eloise’s parents visited the Olympia in Philadelphia during the 1950s, she herself was not along for the trip. And despite listening avidly to her father’s stories through the years, time and distance did not afford her an opportunity to go aboard the ship she had heard so much about and felt such an affinity with for her entire life.
Until Nov. 13, 2010, when The Friends of the Cruiser Olympia welcomed Eloise and Joanna to the city of Philadelphia and to the mysteries of the ship that had played so prominent a role in their family’s history.
Eloise, who has lived with cancer for more than a decade had decided that she needed to see the ship “before she or it was no longer around.” Enlisting her daughter Joanna to make the trip with her, Eloise landed in the capable hands of President of Friends of the Cruiser Olympia, Captain Jay Richman, who was delighted to meet the daughter and granddaughter of a crew member and escort them on their tour of a piece of United States history that runs through their veins.IRS Status recognized
The Friends of the Cruiser Olympia have received official recognition by the IRS as a Public Charity under section 501 (c) 3 retroactive to 1 June 2010. Any money that has been donated on or after this date is fully deductible under federal tax code.
Establishing comms with NAVSEA
The Friends have made contact with head of PMS333 and now have established a working relationship toward ownership of OLYMPIA. We are proceeding with completing the reams of required paperwork to satisfy transfer.
National Maritime Heritage Conference, Baltimore
Bruce Harris, Executive Director participated on a panel at this year’s conference addressing “What Happens to OLYMPIA After Restoration”. Other participants were Charles Deroko, CAPT Chris Pietras, USN (NavSea), Jesse Lebovics (ISM), Kevin Foster (National Park Service), Frank Cooling (Defense Industrial University), Scott Doyle (PA State Preservation Office).
Harris focused on knowing your industry, which is tourism, creating a proper self sustaining business plan, and working as hard as you can on creating active and lively programming and exhibits.
The event was very well attended, especially the Q&A session which spilled out into the lobby and went well into overtime due to overwhelming interest.
Executive Director met with Independence Seaport Museum’s new President
Bruce Harris, our Executive Director, met with John Gazzola, President of the Independence Seaport Museum to discuss working directly with the ISM to open a dialogue toward a solution to the Olympia’s fate. The meeting was the first in a series aimed at building a co-operative relationship to explore possible means of saving the ship and keeping her in Philadelphia. Captain Gazzola was positive and most accommodating. We feel encouraged.
Facebook site is up!
Many of you have become friends of the Friends of the Cruiser Olympia. You may have noticed that the group’s name has changed. We want you to come back to our official group. Friends of the Cruiser Olympia. To come back or to join our group just click on the link below.
New Office Space
All mail, packages, donations may be sent to:
Friends of the Cruiser Olympia
2 Penn Center Plaza
Suite 200
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 854-6309
Much of what we are doing is ” nuts and bolts” type of stuff that must be done in order to apply for grants and speak to potential donors and benefactors. We want you to be aware that we have been working on budgets, financial projections, estimates, technical issues, proposals, and outreach to legislators and other cultural institutions where we have shared interests and concerns.
OLYMPIA fitting out in dry dock 1893
Just because you haven’t seen or heard much from us recently doesn’t mean that we haven’t been at work. It’s not particularly glamorous stuff, but we are doing everything possible to show our seriousness and focus on the goal of preserving OLYMPIA. Please stay with us and “don’t give up the ship”!
