Varnum Continentals

Preserving and Sharing Rhode Island History

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[SEPT. 9 DINNER MEETING] Guest Speaker: Brian Wallin on Ida Lewis, Legendary Lady Light Keeper of Lime Rock

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Idawalley Zoradia Lewis

Ida Lewis was only 11 years old when her father Hosea was appointed keeper of Newport’s Lime Rock Lighthouse in 1853. Four years later, he suffered a debilitating stroke and his teen-aged daughter began assisting her mother in tending the light that marked the often stormy harbor. Ida devoted her life to her work, spending some six decades at the light. Following the deaths of her parents, first her father and then her mother, she was appointed keeper in 1879 at the annual salary of $750 making her the highest-paid light tender in the country. Ever modest of her achievements, she remained devoted to her duties until her death in 1911.

September speaker Varnum Trustee Brian Wallin brings an added knowledge to this story as he also narrates the Rhode Island Fast Ferry Lighthouse Cruises on Narragansett Bay. His richly illustrated lecture portrays one of the most famous women of the 19th century and highlights the role other women played in the care of lighthouses across the country.

RSVP by 6:00 pm Friday, September 6 to Scott Seaback at 401-413-6277 or by email at scott@ritemps.com.

PLEASE NOTE: Reservations for dinner are mandatory and MUST be received by the date and time listed above. NO walk-ins allowed!

MEETING DATE: Monday, September 9
TIME: 5:30 pm (social hour); 6:30 (dinner followed by presentation)
LOCATION: Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, 6 Main Street, East Greenwich, RI
DINNER MENU: Steak fry! Baked potato bar, seasonal veggies, Caesar salad, dessert & coffee
FEE: $20/person

  • Illustration of Ida Lewis rowing by Phebe Ann Hanaford
  • Ida Lewis’ grave at the Common Burying Ground
  • Lime Rock Island in 1869 (Harpers Weekly)

[SEPT. 10 DINNER MEETING] First US Flag to enter Germany after World War I Armistice

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First US Flag to enter Germany after World War I Armistice
First US Flag to enter Germany after World War I Armistice

The huge U.S. flag displayed in our drill hall has an illustrious past with a  Rhode Island connection. You can read more about it here.

At September’s meeting, Varnum member Tom Gardiner relates the story of Tim Morris of Providence, RI. Morris was an American hero who served in World War I as a Knights of Columbus secretary. He is also Tom Gardiner’s great, great uncle!

Unarmed, Morris served as a volunteer on the front lines and often under heavy fire while providing much needed aid and comfort to the troops. He was issued this U.S. flag by the Knights of Columbus and he later brought it to the vanguard of General Jack Pershing‘s 3rd Army as they were about to cross the border into Germany at Coblenz.

Reservations must be received by 5:30 pm Friday, September 7. Call Scott Seaback at 401-413-6277 or email him at scott@ritemps.com.

WHEN: Monday, September 10, 5:30 pm (social hour); 6:30 (dinner followed by presentation).
WHERE: Varnum Memorial Armory, 6 Main Street, East Greenwich, RI
MENU: Steak fry

[APR. 9 DINNER MEETING] Patrick Donovan on U.S. Civil War Battle of New Bern

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Armory Vice President & Museum Curator Patrick Donovan
Armory Vice President & Museum Curator Patrick Donovan

At our April Members’ Dinner Meeting, Varnum Memorial Armory Museum Curator Patrick Donovan will tell the story of the Civil War Battle of New Bern that took place early in the U.S. Civil War on March 14, 1862.

Patrick will discuss the 4th Rhode Island Volunteers‘ important and heroic role in the attack to capture a crucial Confederate port city, vital for the supply of war material to the main Confederate Army in the Eastern Theater. He will provide context to the battle, recite a Rhode Islander’s first-hand account of the attack, and share artifacts that were used at the battle.

Reservations for this dinner must be received by 5:00 pm Friday, April 6.

Call Scott Seaback at 401-413-6277 or email him at scott@ritemps.com.

TIME: 5:30 p.m. (social hour); 6:30 p.m. (dinner followed by program)
LOCATION: Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, 6 Main St, East Greenwich, RI, 02818.
FEE: $20 including dinner (Steak fry with baked potato bar, roasted veggies, rolls & butter, coffee and dessert)

Map of the Battle of New Bern
Map of the Battle of New Bern

[MAR. 12 DINNER MEETING] Admiral William Sims Brings Baseball to England to Unify Allies in World War I

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King George V, Admiral Sims, and Chief Yeoman Mike McNally of the Army-Navy Baseball Team on July 4, 1918, in London. About 70,000 attended.
King George V, Admiral Sims, and Chief Yeoman Mike McNally of the Army-Navy Baseball Team on July 4, 1918, in London. About 70,000 attended.

When the US entered World War I, the country was not fully prepared. Our Army had to be mobilized, expanded, and trained; our Navy was considered the world’s third largest. The officer who led the Navy in Europe, Rear Admiral William E. Sims, had a reputation as a reformer and brought his leadership experience across the Atlantic. Recognizing that many American soldiers and sailors were of Irish or German heritage, he anticipated tensions among the newly allied forces. In a canny diplomatic initiative, Sims used the “great American pastime” of baseball to demonstrate the unity of America with the English and French forces.

Our March speaker, David Kohnen, Ph.D., Director of the Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research at the Naval War College, brings the story of how baseball played a key role in military relations as America entered the war. Dr. Kohnen earned his PhD with the Laughton Professor of Naval History in the War Studies Department at the University of London (King’s College London). A prolific author and editor, his current book, “Two Kings and a Navy: U.S. Navy Admiral Ernest J. King, the Anglo-American Special Relationship”, and the “Fifty Years War at Sea, 1901-1946” will be published by the Naval Institute Press.

David Kohnen, Ph.D.
David Kohnen, Ph.D.

Dr. Kohen also has contributed to award winning historic warship exhibits and remains involved with historic preservation efforts surrounding the former German submarine U-505 in Chicago and the battleship USS Wisconsin (BB-64) in Norfolk, Virginia. As a U.S. Naval Reserve sailor, he completed two deployments in Middle Eastern waters, two ashore in Iraq, and one supporting landlocked operations in Afghanistan. He also serves as the Officer in Charge of the Reserve Faculty supporting the Executive Programs at the National Intelligence University in Washington, D.C.

Reservations must be received by 5 pm Friday, March 9.

Call Scott Seaback at 401-413-6277 or email him at scott@ritemps.com.

TIME: 5:30 p.m. (social hour); 6:30 p.m. (dinner followed by program)
FEE: $20 including dinner (traditional Irish corned beef dinner; zeppoles for dessert)
LOCATION: Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, 6 Main Street, East Greenwich, RI

[FEB. 12 DINNER MEETING] 50 Tons of Fighting Fury: Navy PT Boats and their Crews

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PT Boat in World War II
PT Boat in World War II

The news media called them “The Plywood Navy.” The Japanese called them “Devil Boats.” Historian, author, and lecturer Brian L. Wallin brings to life the story of the US Navy’s Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island, and the men who fanned out from the Ocean State with their small war craft to every corner of the globe.

Numerous rarely seen pictures trace the development of the PT Boat fleet and the story of how more than 11,000 officers and enlisted personnel trained at a large and hastily built facility on Narragansett Bay between 1942 and 1945. Brian recently presented this program for the Naval War College’s “Eight Bells” series. He draws upon the archives of the War College, the Naval Heritage and History Command, and the Battleship Cove PT Museum along with the personal memorabilia of PT crew family members to present rarely seen images of PT training and battlefront exploits from the frozen Aleutians to D-Day and the island campaigns of the Pacific.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Brian Wallin is a graduate of Stonehill College and earned his master’s degree from American International College. He has been a radio-television reporter-anchor in New England, contributing to major networks. He turned his career to health care administration, serving in executive positions in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Rhode Island and retired as vice president of Kent Hospital. He is also a trustee of the Varnum Continentals, a member of the US Naval Institute, and a docent at the Naval War College Museum. He writes for the online journal of Rhode Island history, Smallstatebighistory.com, and is the co-author of World War II Rhode Island (History Press, 2017).

Reservations for this dinner must be received by 5 pm Friday, February 9.

Call Scott Seaback at 401-413-6277 or email him at scott@ritemps.com.

TIME: 5:30 p.m. (social hour); 6:30 p.m. (dinner followed by program)
LOCATION: Varnum Memorial Armory Museum, 6 Main St, East Greenwich, RI, 02818.
FEE: $20 including dinner (filet wrapped in bacon, seafood pasta, roasted veggies, salad, rolls and butter, dessert, and coffee)

About the Varnum Continentals

The Varnum Continentals are committed to the preservation of the historic heritage of our community, our state, and our nation. Please take a virtual tour of our museums to learn more about our mission to encourage patriotism. You can participate with us through active membership and/or philanthropic support in our non-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Museum tours are welcomed and our facilities may be rented for suitable events.

Our Mission

The Varnum Continentals are committed to encourage patriotism through the Varnum Armory Museum, the Continental Militia, and the James Mitchell Varnum House and thus to preserve, support, and communicate the military history of our community, our state, and our nation.

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