Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Pa. navy on board to build vessel
UNIQUE TEACHING TOOL. Group still needs to raise $130,000.

 By Sara K. Satullo
The Express-Times

U. SAUCON TWP. | In the days of tricorn hats, quill pens and Ben Franklin, Pennsylvania had a navy to protect the main waterways into the nation's first capital, Philadelphia.

Few people know Pennsylvania ever had a navy or that it still does. Damian Siekonic, Pennsylvania State Navy president, wants to change that.

Today, the navy is a nonprofit organization made up of historians and historical boat aficionados. It has launched a project to rebuild the Basilisk, an original navy vessel, hoping to use the craft as a mobile educational tool.

It will be the first of its kind, Siekonic said.

"If we're competing against Xbox and television on a regular basis to keep education interactive, new activities have to be hands on," said Siekonic.

Construction on the 30-foot boat has not begun. The navy is in the early stages of raising the $130,000 needed to make the plan a reality.

The group is working with two other nonprofits, the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory and the Historic Fort Mifflin on the Delaware.

"Youth visitors to Fort Mifflin often have trouble conceptualizing the modern day river as the site of revolutionary battles," said Don Johnson, a member of the Fort Mifflin organization's board of directors. "It is important because of the absolute historic intimacy between the Pennsylvania Navy and the Fort, the really crucial role they played together at the siege that saved Washington's army," said Johnston of Aston, Pa. "Without that there wouldn't be a Valley Forge or even the United States."

The Wooden Boat Factory was founded in 1996 by Geoff McKonly and a friend to use maritime activities to find alternative ways to learn academic skills, later expanding to offer adult classes.

"Most of the work with kids is school groups. Typically, we work with a class for the whole year, they come in once a week and the class works on building three or four different boats," McKonly said. "It becomes a service project for them, where they can work on team-building skills and hands on applications of math skills, physics skills and geometry."

The Wooden Boat Factory is exploring starting programs for experienced students focusing upon helping build the vessel while using Siekonic's expertise on historical aspects, McKonly said.

"With this project, we have an organization whose only concern is the history," he said. "This gives us an opportunity to develop a lot more educational programs around it."

Siekonic said he is excited about the possibility of students helping to build the Basilisk.

"In a demonstration, kids can board the vessel out of water and truly get a feel of the weight of an oar in their hands," he said.

Siekonic is a Northampton County native and a history buff. Active in the restoration andng of the Bachmann Publick House in Easton, Siekonic became the first director of education and programming at the Bachmann house.

After leaving Easton for Upper Saucon Township, Siekonic was hired by Blue Mountain Vineyards to list the Frederic Leaser Homestead on the National Register of Historic Places.

He is also president of Privateer Media which specializes in providing film projects with 18th century boats, cannons and crew training, he said. Its most recent project is the PBS four- part series "The War that Made America," he said.

On October 27th, 2005 the Pennsylvania State Navy received its 501(c)3 status as a public charity from the IRS, paving the way for the start of the BASILISK project.

Lake Champlain Flotilla - The Pennsylvania State Navy participated in the 2005 Bougainville Voyage on Lake Champlain.  The adventure began at Ille le Motte on June 19th and concluded at Fort Ticonderoga on June 25th to coincide with the F&I Grand Encampment.  The HORNET joined the flotilla at Crown Point and completed the journey to Fort Ticonderoga from there.  A video diary of the voyage was filmed and is currently in production.