It was a rather cold November day
in 2003 when I made my daily trip to the post office to pick up my mail
and that of the Friendship Museum. In the museum’s mailbox I found
an official looking envelope from the probate court in Lincoln County.
My heart started to beat faster; what’s happening that we should
be getting something from the court? I could hardly wait to get home to
open the envelope. All I could think about was, who left what to the museum?
In hindsight, I now realize I was being rather selfish in my thoughts.
After all, probate court meant some poor soul had passed away. After opening
the missive I really wasn’t any the wiser. The enclosed letter stated
an attorney in Waterville, ME was asking the court for permission to have
him appointed personal representative of an unnamed estate.
A few phone calls later I learned the Friendship Museum had been named
in the will of a William Danforth. The lawyer immediately cautioned me
not to get too excited about our inheritance, a half-hull model of a Friendship
Sloop. Mr. Danforth’s adopted son (Randy) and his second cousin
(Tom) had been left life enjoyment of the model, and it wasn’t until
they decided they no longer wanted it, that the Friendship Museum would
get actual possession.
The next question in my mind was who was William Danforth? In my four plus years as president of the Friendship Museum, I had never come across a person of that name. Of course, living by the ocean and doing a little boating I knew there was such a thing as a Danforth anchor, but was this man in some way connected to that anchor? My curiosity got the better of me and I started to do some investigative work. What I discovered was Mr. Danforth was indeed connected with the anchor of that name. Slowly I have been able to piece together the history of Bill Danforth, the Danforth Anchor, and how the Friendship Museum received this wonderful legacy.
Richard
S. Danforth designed the original anchor and tested it in San Francisco
Bay in the 1940s. His design incorporated the desirable points of previous
anchors and eliminated the undesirable ones. This new anchor attracted
the interest of various shipping companies as well as the United States
Navy and the British Admiralty as the anchors remained stable during burial
and had good holding power but were still lightweight and easy to stow.
A change of wind or tide wouldn’t fowl the anchor road. Slowly,
Richard Danforth started getting contracts including one from the United
States Navy to manufacture this new type of anchor.
Richard Danforth had a son, William (Bill), and Richard’s sister had a son, Robert Ogg. Both boys were similar in age, only children and lived near each other. Bill graduated from Dartmouth College in 1941, and joined the forest service for a short period of time before joining his father in the family business. Robert immediately started working with his uncle Richard and helped to refine the development of the Danforth anchor. In time Bill adopted a son, Randy, and Robert had a son, Tom. It was Tom Ogg who cared for Bill during the last ten years of his life. In February 2004, I received a phone call from Tom asking me to come to Southport Island, ME to pick up our gift, as he and Randy had decided to turn the half-hull model over to our museum immediately.
In the early 1950’s the Danforth Company was sold to Rule Industries. (In 2000 Rule Engineering sold their Danforth Anchor division to Tie Down Engineering of Atlanta, Georgia.) At that time Bill moved to Southport Island and pursued many volunteer activities, including the Friendship Sloop Society. For twenty years, (1963 - 1983), Bill Danforth was Chairman of the Friendship Sloop Race Committee. During the time Bill was race chairman, the Sloop Society held a week of races in Friendship.
In 1980 the Sloop Society honored his years of service with the gift
of a half-hull model of a Friendship Sloop made by Ralph Stanley, who
is considered to be one of the best designers and builders of wooden boats
in the state. The Sloop Society was, and still is, a generous supporter
of the Friendship Museum, housing some of their memorabilia along with
the museum’s own collection.
Since our initial visit Tom has given the our museum a William Thon pen
and ink rendition of Bill Danforth’s boat, White Falcon, a booklet
entitled “Ship Anchors History and Data,” prepared for American
Bureau of Shipping, Government Officials and Naval Architects by the company,
and a salesman’s sample of a Danforth anchor. This booklet traces
various types of anchors man has used over time in an effort to find the
ideal method of holding a boat secure in all kinds of waters.
You are invited to visit the Friendship Museum from July 1st through Labor
Day, Monday through Saturday, 1:00 – 4:00 PM and Sundays 2:00 –
4:00 PM, from Labor Day until Columbus Day Saturdays 1:00 – 4:00
PM and Sundays 2:00 – 4:00 PM, other times by appointment with one
of the officers.
Lynn Case is a past president of the Friendship Museum.
She now serves as a board member.
Thank you, Lynn.
Back Yard Yacht Builders
A non-commercial association of amateur boat-builder enthusiasts.
All our wooden boats are Stevenson designs.