New Bedford, MA—Members of the
New Bedford Port Society will host a flag raising ceremony
at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 29, 2004 outside the Seamen’s
Bethel at 15 Johnny Cake Hill. The ceremony marks the refurbishing
of the Port Society’s flagpole and ties between the
members of the more than 170-year-old Port Society and the
staff and volunteers of the less than ten-year-old New Bedford
Whaling National Historical Park. This will be the first
time that two other flags will be flown with the American
flag on the Port Society’s flagpole.
The Seamen’s Bethel flag will be raised by Peter
Blatchford, President of the New Bedford Port Society, simultaneously
with the flag of the United States Department of the Interior,
which will be raised by John Piltzecker, Superintendent
of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. The National
Park Service is a bureau of the Department of the Interior.
The Port Society’s flagpole was refurbished thanks
to the generosity of Captain Edward Longo, a member of the
Society’s Board of Managers. This included installing
new halyards and pulleys. The Bethel flag was purchased
through the generosity of another member of the Board, Captain
Rodney Avila. Paul P. Swain, chairman of the Port Society’s
Decorating and Preservation Committee and member of the
Board of Managers, coordinated the activities leading to
the event.
The New Bedford Port Society was organized in 1830 when
the whaling industry in New Bedford was at its height "to
protect the rights and interests of seamen, and to furnish
them with such moral, intellectual and religious instruction..."
In the summer of 1831, construction began on the Seamen's
Bethel atop Bethel Street, known today as Johnny Cake Hill
and in May of 1851 a reputable boarding house for seamen
called the Mariner's Home was opened. The Seamen’s
Bethel is the “Whalemen’s Chapel” of Herman
Melville’s Moby-Dick, and because of its association
for over 170-years with New Bedford whalemen, and other
mariners who “Go Down to the Sea in Ships,”
it has become known in the ports of every ocean on the globe.
The Seamen’s Bethel and Mariners’ Home are
included within in the 34-acre New Bedford Whaling National
Historical Park, established by Congress in 1996. The park,
one of more than 380 National Park Service areas, is the
only National Park Service site commemorating the history
of the whaling industry and its impact on the social, economic
and environmental history of the United States. Unlike most
National Park Service areas, the park is managed in league
with state and municipal agencies and nonprofit institutions.
The New Bedford Port Society, through its work at the Seamen's
Bethel and the Mariner's Home, continues to serve New Bedford
and the surrounding communities with a focus of those who
still go to sea. Additionally, the Port Society opens the
doors of the Seamen's Bethel welcoming thousands of visitors
to New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the
New Bedford Whaling Museum each year. The Port Society and
the National Park Service have collaborated on visitor hours
and programs, publications, employee and volunteer training,
and research.
The Seamen’s Bethel is open to the public from the
spring through the fall and is closed to the public during
the colder months and for events such as weddings, baptisms
and funerals. For more information on the New Bedford Port
Society and the Seamen’s Bethel call (508) 992-3295.
The New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Visitor
Center at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford and
the New Bedford Whaling Museum are open year-round. For
more information on New Bedford Whaling National Historical
Park and its partner institutions, call (508) 996-4095 or
visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/nebe.
Prepared January 12, 2004
-NPS-
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