A Most Pivotal Decade: Fishers Island in the 1940s
August 29, 2021 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
In this illustrated lecture, HLF Museum Director Pierce Rafferty will reveal much that has been forgotten or was never widely known about the 1940s on Fishers Island.
Sunday, August 29, 2021.
Time: 4 p.m.
In-person at the Movie Theater (and virtual).
Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85755336672
Or One tap mobile :
US: +16465588656,,85755336672# or +13017158592,,85755336672#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 9128
Webinar ID: 857 5533 6672
International numbers available:
https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keIXOyfFvD
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- US Navy conducting top secret experiments with anti-submarine detection devices (ASDIC) from a barge off Club Beach during World War II. Photo courtesy of Jim Carpenter.
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- Civic Association Billboard, Fishers Island Ferry Dock, New London, Conn. c.1948 Photograph by Al Gordon. Courtesy of the Gordon Family
This billboard encouraging outsider visitations reflects a period when both ends of Fishers Island were in deep financial crisis; the hotels were all shut down, the Fergusons’ ferry company had ceased operations, the Mansion House Cottages were being sold off to individuals, the Fort was all but shuttered, and the clubs couldn’t find enough suitable members to stay functioning. The newly formed Civic Association responded by promoting tourism as a way to increase commerce on and interest in Fishers Island. Shocking!
