Jersey Shore Magazine

j e r s e y s h o r e • F A L L / H O L I D A Y 2 0 2 2 15 to 1924 when her primary catch was lobster, which could be transport- ed in the wet well. She remained active until 1924, when she was left on the flats of Beals Island, Maine. In 1926, she was used as a coaster freighter sailing between Maine and Massachusetts by Milton Beal. As a child, Dale stayed with a local Bay Head family and listened to many local "old salts," who would tell stories about their days at sea and the vessels they loved. When he decided to purchase a vessel in 1931, serendipity led him to the Berry, which sat derelict in Massachusetts. He saw the boat's name and imme- diately recognized it from stories he heard during his youth and pur- chased it on the spot. After restoring it to her former glory, the Berry spent almost the next forty years of her life in and around the Barnegat Bay area with Dale at her helm. In 1969, Dale donated the historic vessel to the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut, where from 1987 to 1988, she was rerigged to her original sloop design. In 1994, she was designated a National Historical Landmark. Today, she appears as she did when original- ly built and serves as an integral part of the largest maritime museum in the United States. The Emma C. Berry Boat Model The Bay Head Historical Society decided to restore a boat model of the Emma C. Berry in their collec- tion to reflect the same boat Dale had rescued from Maine in 1931 as a way to further memorialize Dale's contributions while helping to edu- cate museum visitors about his life and legacy. "I have found that each restoration undertaken requires many hours of research to select just the right craftsman to do the work," said society president and museum cura- tor Cathie Coleman. She found renowned model ship craftsman Thomas Lauria of Massachusetts, who was charged with the task of refurbishing the model to how the Berry looked when Dale owned it because it spent most of its life in the Bay Head area. The model, built from a kit, had been crafted without particular atten- tion to historical detail. Transforming a model from a recreational piece to a historical piece was a challenge Lauria welcomed. "As for problems in restoration, that's the name of the game," he said. "You are always look- ing for ways to solve the problems of repairing a broken ship model." However, the restoration project caused Lauria to face an ethical dilem- The Emma C. Berry boat model on display at the Bay Head Historical Society Museum. Details of the The Emma C. Berry model. courtesy of Thomas J. Lauria courtesy of Thomas J. Lauria Jill Ocone continued on page 16

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