Pirate Exhibit at Door County Museum

[hurricane]

I went to the museum on Saturday. I must say I was a little disapointed that there were so few artifacts. I was expecting more. The best part was the paintings by the man who created Captain Morgan. I don't think it was worth it for the length of the drive up there. Oh well.....

That would be Don Maitz who painted the Captain Morgan that is so famous. A great guy and amazing artist. His wife is equally talented as a painter of fantasy art.

-- Hurricane

[CapnJake]

For those of you going to see this exhibit and are interested in picking up some maritime goodies of your own, I went to Bay Trading Co. in Egg Harbor last Saturday. I discovered that they had no less than twenty real ship's wheels, a large assortment of oars, signal lights and other maritime paraphernalia. It is a bit of a drive, but I browsed for nearly two hours looking at everything.

Bay Trading Company

7376 Hwy 42

Egg Harbor, WI 54209

920-868-2648

Terence Thompson

asaintno@msn.com

The owner is a hell of a nice guy and has salvage partners in Florida, Louisiana and other points on the gulf sending nautical goods to him regularly.

And Door County, Wisconsin is famous as a beautiful place to dine and relax, so combine your trips if you're coming out. Be sure to check out Shipwrecked Restaurant, Inn & Brewpub, also in Egg Harbor!

[JohnnyTarr]

I take it was not a very great display at the meauseum then? Would you not recomend it to the rest of us thinking about going?

[CapnJake]

I take it was not a very great display at the museum then? Would you not recommend it to the rest of us thinking about going?

Johnny,

Who are you asking, mate? I thought it was an excellent exhibit, combining historical artifacts with modern, hands-on aids that enabled children and adults to get an understanding of the life of a pirate as a robber-sailor. There was a large collection of the work of Don Maitz, but I didn't regard that as the only draw. The reproduction gun deck was fantastic, as was the virtual ship tour. While there was a limited amount of historical artifacts, what they had was fascinating and told compelling stories. The customization that they made to the museum was very cool, the other interactive features, such as the pirate clothing room was great, the scent boxes were visceral (also seen at the Oshkosh Public Museum's Pirate Exhibit in 2005), the music kiosk was very informative.

If you're just looking for recovered shipwreck artifacts, this is not for you. If you're looking for a modern perspective and recognition of the pirate life, I heartily recommend checking out this exhibit.

Dean

[JohnnyTarr]

That is the info that I was looking for. The review from Crowsnest Kate had me worried. I would like to learn about the days not just see artifacts from them.