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May
6, 1998
The
Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society
FOR
RELEASE ON OR PRIOR TO: Thursday, May 21, 1998
Mel
Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Presents
“Conversations
in Key West—100 Years Ago”
Where
can you hear about Key West—and world—events from
people who lived 100 years ago? Only at the Mel Fisher
Maritime Heritage Society, where a fascinating May
presentation offers a journey back through time to 1898.
“Conversations in Key West—100 Years Ago” will be
presented by local author/historians Wright Langley,
Joan Langley, and Jerry Wilkinson at 7:00 PM on
Thursday, May 21. The program, which is free to the
public, will take place in the theater of the
Society’s 200 Greene Street museum.
Dressed
in period costumes, the trio will focus on Key West and
the Spanish-American War in a unique format that’s
sure give 100-year-old events a startling immediacy.
Jerry Wilkinson will portray Captain Charles D. Sigsbee
of the U.S.S.
Maine, which sailed from Key West on its ill-fated
final voyage; Joan Langley will portray a townswoman of
the day; and Wright Langley will play the role of a
visiting journalist.
Elements
will include a lively discussion of the local scene
during the period when Key West was “the storm center
of the world.” As well as interpretive talents,
Wilkinson and the Langleys bring an unmatched knowledge
of local and regional history to the presentation.
“One
of the goals of the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society
is to show people that history is not simply dry stuff,
but a vibrant and exciting series of happenings that has
shaped the present day,” says Madeleine Burnside,
executive director of the Society. “We are very
grateful to the Langleys and Mr. Wilkinson for offering
this intriguing presentation as part of our lecture
series.”
Founded
in 1982, the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society is an
independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to
exhibition, education, archaeology, preservation, and
research into New World maritime activity. Its Key West
museum holds the richest single collection of
l7th-century maritime and shipwreck antiquities in the
Western Hemisphere; its current exhibition, Battleship!,
examines the role Key West played in the
Spanish-American War and life aboard a battleship of the
day.
Everyone
interested in Key West’s involvement in the
Spanish-American War is invited to attend the May 21
presentation and watch history come alive. For more
information, please call the Mel Fisher Maritime
Heritage Society at 305-294-2633 (extension 17).
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