South Sound Maritime Heritage Association: Who We Are
Forty-one years ago, in 1974, the South Sound Maritime Heritage Association (SSMHA) was formed. At the time it was known as the South Sound Maritime Chapter of the State Capital Museum. Its founders included historian Gordon Newell and Pat Haskett, later a tug boat skipper and widely-acclaimed maritime artist. Early members included Franz Schlottman, owner of the vintage tug Sand Man, Scott Schoch, and maritime historian Chuck Fowler. Derek Valley, Director of the State Capital Museum, initially was centrally involved. Presidents during the 80s and 90s included Les Eldridge (twice), Ralph Blankenship and Mark Johnson. Dave Peeler is the current president. Marine artist Karla Fowler has designed the race logo, a series of different vintage tugs, for each Harbor Days race until 2015. Patrick Eldridge has mostly taken over such duties since.
The Association presented the Olympia Harbor Days Festival, featuring tug boat races, from 1974 until 2011, when it transferred the festival to Olympia Kiwanis, and assumed an advisory role. The festival typically draws 15 to 30 tugs, and 40,000 to 50,000 attendees. The race has always received strong support from the International Retired Tugboat Association and their longtime president, the late Robin Patterson.
In its early days SSMHA attempted to gain ownership of the lightship Relief, retired from the Swiftsure Bank lightship station, and SSMHA also began an effort to acquire maritime artifacts. An eventual organizational goal, never realized, was to establish a maritime museum in Olympia.
Most recently, the association has identified establishment of a virtual museum as a more attainable goal. These websites, maritimeoly.com and navycruiserolympia.com, are the first, incremental steps toward realization of that goal.
The Association presented the Olympia Harbor Days Festival, featuring tug boat races, from 1974 until 2011, when it transferred the festival to Olympia Kiwanis, and assumed an advisory role. The festival typically draws 15 to 30 tugs, and 40,000 to 50,000 attendees. The race has always received strong support from the International Retired Tugboat Association and their longtime president, the late Robin Patterson.
In its early days SSMHA attempted to gain ownership of the lightship Relief, retired from the Swiftsure Bank lightship station, and SSMHA also began an effort to acquire maritime artifacts. An eventual organizational goal, never realized, was to establish a maritime museum in Olympia.
Most recently, the association has identified establishment of a virtual museum as a more attainable goal. These websites, maritimeoly.com and navycruiserolympia.com, are the first, incremental steps toward realization of that goal.