The saga of Matthew Henson has inspired many writers, but now his story has inspired South Jersey composer Dick Wolfe to produce the Mathew Henson Suite. The Henson Suite is a group of songs about Henson's life and times. Titles range from "Cabin Boy" and "A Sailor's Working Song" to "The Good Ship Kite". One of the first songs about Henson composed by Wolfe, titled "Matthew Henson" was performed by local school children on April 6th 2009 at the dedication ceremony for the Matthew Henson statue that graces our museum. Wolfe, a noted musical composer, producer and arranger, has worked with Nat King Cole and other musical giants, and now looks forward to seeing all the Henson songs performed at the museum in the near future.
This past Saturday, the museum showed off it's skiff (wooden row boat), and presented to the public, the Urban Boat Works Program. The public was very receptive and excited for us. Among other programs presented at the boat show were the Philadelphia Canoe Club, Academy of Aquatic Sciences, the US Coast Guard Auxiliary , and multiple showings by the Independence Seaport Museum. A few wooden sail boats were available for viewing, and a few brave souls sailed on the Delaware, with barely any free board. Overall, it was a good day. Now, if mother nature brought the sun out, more people would've shown up. But those who did had fun, as did I.The Waterfront South Neighborhood is fortunate to have the Heart of Camden community development group spearheading plans for the revitalization of this historic neighborhood. Guiding recent development activities is the Waterfront South Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan funded by the N.J. Department of Community Affairs. This dynamic and imaginative plan was developed by H.of C. with ample citizen input. It calls for new and rehabilitated housing, parks, a communty center, a new theater, new businesses and now with the coming of light rail service to the community, this community will become a transit-oriented village, so beloved by urban planners and ecologists because of their low carbon footprint. Also featured in this neighborhood plan is our maritime museum which will provide a strong institutional anchor on Broadway, and a valuable educational and recreational resource for Camden school children and their families.
On March 31st Emeritus Professors Michael Lang and John Giannotti gave a presentation to Rutgers faculty about the Camden Shipyard and Maritime Museum and the new Henson statue, designed by Giannotti, that graces its front yard. The presentation stressed the museum’s relationship to extensive community development activities sponsored by the Heart of Camden Inc. in the Waterfront South neighborhood. This event was co-sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities at Rutgers-Camden (MARCH) and the Science Preparation Alliance of Rutgers and Camden (SPARC).
Rutgers faculty and students have been involved in various aspects of this museum during its formative years, with several current faculty members serving on its Board of Trustees. Lang, a retired Professor of Urban Studies and Public Administration, serves as the museum’s director. Additional support has been extended by the School of Business, as well as professors, staff and students in the Graduate Criminal Justice Program, the Rand Institute and the Urban Studies Program.
Church Of Our Saviour
Garden State Historic Preservation Trust Fund
Capital Preservation Grant, Level II
Grant Award: $750,000 (2008)
Grant Recipient: Camden Shipyard and Maritime Museum
County: Camden
Municipality: Camden
The Church of Our Saviour is noted in the National Register nomination as “an excellent example of small-scale Gothic architecture designed by noted Philadelphia architect George W. Hewitt in 1880.” The church campus includes a 1892 parish hall and 1912 rectory. The church historically served a congregation linked to the nearby shipbuilding and maritime industries. The buildings fell into a deteriorated condition after the Episcopal Diocese abandoned the buildings. The applicant and a local community development organization purchased the complex in 2007.
The Trust grant will help fund structural stabilization, exterior restoration, and interior rehabilitation of the former church and parish hall for use as a maritime museum and community space.
We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Tom Carroll has begun to develop an oral history project at the museum. This project will produce an archive of oral histories of the men and women who were part of Camden’s glorious maritime past. Dr. Carroll is an experienced professional in the field of oral history and is currently working on a project related to the nuclear powered ship Savannah that was built at the New York Shipbuilding Corporation yards in Camden and is a listed national historic site. In conjunction with his current project with the museum, he will focus on people in the community who lived in Waterfront South and/or worked in the various maritime industries in the Camden region. He has already interviewed Joseph A. Balzano, CEO of the South Jersey Port Corporation and President of our Board of Trustees. The resultant oral histories will be archived at the museum and made available to visitors. Selected interviews may be made available on our website in the future. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Carroll and we are very excited about this important new project.
The Barnegat Lightship is the last remaining Light Ship built by New York Ship Co. It's duty was to help create a path that large ships and liners would take to enter a port or harbor. Much like a runway guides plane to a terminal. Neither snow, nor sleet, rain or wind could keep a light ship from doing its duty to sailors. The Barnegat currently is moored at a safe berth in north Camden, a reminder of Camden's glorious ship building past.
On May 31st, a peace statue was unveiled across from Sacred Heart Church. The dream realized for Monsignor Doyle. There are multiple statues honoring war and the fallen, for great reason. However, Msr. Doyle beleived there should be one honoring peace. Why not, the Good Book, tells us, "Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called Sons on God". This statue is only 1000ft, from our Henson Statue. 
