Monday October 13–Dinner To Mark Ocean City Museum Milestone

OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum Society will hold a dinner on Sunday, Oct. 26, to mark the 30th anniversary of the museum and the 130th anniversary of the dedication of the USLS Station at Ocean City.

"The celebration will be open to all members of the Society as well as to anyone who has an interest in preserving the history of Ocean City," said Janet Cherrix, one of the event’s coordinators.

"The Museum, at the Ocean City Inlet, reminds people of the foundation of Ocean City," said cellow coordinator Bob Rothermel. "Ocean City’s very existence has always been affected by water and our Museum exhibits what that has meant to the men and women who called this their home of the past 130 years."

The dinner will be held at Harrison’s Harbor Watch Restaurant; cocktails at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person. An "Eastern Shore Dinner" will be served. The guest speaker is Christopher Havern, US Coast Guard Historian. Also on the agenda will be anecdotes by two who served when the museum was an active station, Carmen Meo and Jack Fisher.

"Ocean City should be grateful for the dedicated volunteers who have helped keep the memory of a very important era in the life of Ocean City," said Museum Director Sue Hurley. "We hope this dinner will encourage others to become involved with the museum.”

Checks should be made out to the Ocean City Museum Society and mailed to P. O. Box 603, Ocean City, Md. 21843. Call 410-289-4991 for more information. The museum will be open until 6:30 p.m. that evening.

In 1891, the present museum was built as part of the U.S. Life-Saving Service. The U.S. Life-Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service in 1915 to form the modern day U. S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard used the building until 1964 when it abandoned the station for a newly constructed station located near the Ocean City Inlet.

The Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum was moved to its current location on the Boardwalk at the Inlet in 1977. After much restoration to its exterior, the station house was officially dedicated as a museum on Christmas Day, 1978. The Ocean City Museum Society, formed that same year, has dedicated itself to preserving and interpreting the rich natural and cultural history of this coastal community through memorabilia collections, rotating exhibits, educational programs and area research.

“We felt that this milestone in the life of the museum deserved a celebration,” said Society President Granville Trimper. “We want the members of the Society as well as the public-at-large to have an opportunity to show appreciation for this gem in Ocean City.”

For all the week’s news, see The Dispatch on Friday morning.