Library Friends Events



The Saga of Captain William Shorey

Saturday, February 13, 2010, 6:00 p.m.
In the Library

San Francisco Maritime NHP ranger Carol Kiser will tell the story of Captain William T. Shorey, who worked his way up from seaman to become the first African-American captain of a whaling ship on the West Coast, and of how the harsh racial climate of the time affected the lives of African-Americans at sea. Note: This is a different program than was orginally announced.

For reservations, please call 415-561-7040, or contact the Friends at melani_van_petten@partner.nps.gov.


True Life Video Adventures on the High Seas

Saturday, March 13, 2010, 6:00 p.m.
In the Library

Join San Francisco Maritime NHP Ranger Debbie Grace for a look at the J. Porter Shaw Library's collection of maritime documentaries--whether for research or pleasure, these videos are available for viewing on site in the Library, covering topics ranging from tying knots to the story of the Port Chicago Mutiny of 1944.

For reservations, please call 415-561-7040, or contact the Friends at melani_van_petten@partner.nps.gov.


The Port Chicago Mutiny

Saturday, April 10, 2010, 6:00 p.m.
In the Library


Join us for Mutiny, a drama about the famous Port Chicago Mutiny, the worst home front disaster of World War II. On July 17, 1944, 320 Navy seamen, most of whom were African-American, died when the two munitions ships they were loading blew up at the Port Chicago Ammunition Depot. When 50 black ammunition loaders refused to return to their jobs under what they considered unsafe conditions, they were accused by white officers of mutiny, court-martialed, and imprisoned until the end of the war.


This dramatic version will be followed by The Port Chcago Mutiny: The Real Story, and a discussion of the differences between the fictionalized story and the documentary presentation.

For reservations, please call 415-561-7040, or contact the Friends at melani_van_petten@partner.nps.gov.


Tom Crean--Sailor On Ice

Saturday, May 8, 2010, 6:00 p.m.
In the Library


David Hirzel, author of the forthcoming book, Tom Crean--Sailor On Ice,will tell the story of the Antarctic adventures of Irish sailor and explorer Tom Crean. There are more famous names than Crean's from the "heroic age" of Antarctic exploration, but there are few stories as compelling as his. Time and again he was one of three, at times the only one, whose courage in the face of insurmountable odds saved the lives of his companions. The three parts of the story of Crean's adventures with Scott and Shackleton are told in the names of the ships--Discovery, Terra Nova, Endurance.

For reservations, please call 415-561-7040, or contact the Friends at melani_van_petten@partner.nps.gov.