THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 19, 1995 TAG: 9511170698
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Ida Kay's Portsmouth
SOURCE: Ida Kay Jordan
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Why can't Portsmouth in Virginia be more like Portsmouth in England?
Peg Nourie, a member of the Sister Cities Commission here, came back from a recent trip to England all fired up to borrow some ideas from across the water.
Nourie, a super volunteer with the Coast Guard Auxiliary and an avid adopted Portsmouthian, came by the office with a bag of souvenirs.
``There are a lot of things we could do,'' she said. And, as anyone who knows Peg Nourie knows, she didn't leave it at that. She proceeded to convince me.
She brought out a lot of little tourist items she would like to see created to supplement the existing selection at the Shipyard Museum.
For instance, leather bookmarks chronicling Portsmouth's history. Such a list could include Revolutionary dates, Civil War dates, the opening of the nation's first naval hospital and the oldest shipyard, construction of the first drydock, etc.
Or, three-dimensional magnets depicting buildings such as the Naval Hospital or the drydock or some of the historic houses or churches here. Each magnet could be packaged with a printed piece giving a brief history of the structure. Or we could use the ships that were built here, especially those that were the ``firsts.''
Or, a set of laminated place mats with artists' renditions of historical moments. Perhaps a corollary to the more durable mats for sale could be the printing of paper mats for use in local restaurants - not a new idea, but one that works. Visitors and locals alike could learn a lot about Portsmouth reading place mats about local history. Once the artwork was done, the cost of printing the mats probably would be borne by restaurant owners who have to pay for some sort of mats anyway. We even have enough interesting places and events so that no two restaurants would have to use the same set.
Nourie also would like to see better postcards of Portsmouth scenes available in the museums shops.
``All of this stuff could benefit the museums,'' Nourie said. ``I just think we need to do more to promote our history.''
I do too. In fact, many people who live right here don't know a lot about the history or, if they've heard it, they don't appreciate its significance.
Nourie also wondered aloud why the Naval Shipyard Museum can't be moved back to the Naval Shipyard.
Actually, she has a good idea.
The buildings near Trophy Park and First Street Gate are historical, dating back to the 1850s and survivors of the burning of the yard during the Civil War.
The museum originated in the yard and was moved down to High Street in 1963, when an old ferry building became available after the ferries stopped running in the 1950s. However, it is now far too small for its treasures to be properly displayed. In addition, the construction in the 1980s of Riverfront Park caused the removal of outdoor displays of cannon and other artifacts.
The city long has planned to build a new Shipyard Museum but that project is not exactly at the top of the list right now.
By relocating some of the treasures to the shipyard, the museum perhaps could have more space and would better tie the city's tourist attractions together.
It may be that the city would continue to maintain a local history exhibition and gift shop at the High Street building which will front on the proposed new inlet.
Meanwhile, we could have a first-class exhibit hall at the shipyard augmented by Trophy Park. Certainly the end of the Cold War has made the Navy more willing to entertain the public in that particular area of the yard.
As Peg Nourie noted, we don't have the longevity of the Dockyard at Portsmouth, England, which dates back to 1194. But we have the parallel in terms of the history of the United States.
A folder Nourie brought home describes the Portsmouth, England, yard as ``playing a vital role in keeping the British Navy afloat'' for 800 years.
``Innovation has always flourished at the Dockyard,'' it reads.
The same can be said for Portsmouth in Virginia - home of the first ironclad, the first battleship and the first aircraft carrier for starters.
We need to make more of the history and what better place to do it than at the actual site of it.
The city and the Navy need to talk more intensely about the possibilities. by CNB