By Maddy Vitale
The Richard Somers Questers Chapter 1148 raised funds for six oar locks to be used on a replica of a historic lifeboat on display at the U.S. Life-Saving Station 30 Museum in Ocean City.
“Every other year we can apply to the state for matching grants. We raised $1,000 and then the state gave us $1,000 for the six oar locks. They are individually cast and reproductions of what would have been on the lifeboat,” explained Ocean City resident Suzanne Hampton, vice president of Questers 1148.
On April 19, the Questers presented John Loeper, chairman of the U.S. Life-Saving Station, with a gift during a ceremony at the station, located at 801 E. Fourth Street.
Hampton said Loeper, who is also the curator of the Life-Saving Station Museum, requested the oar locks.
“We ask John what he needs at the museum and if there is something he wants to acquire, we try to help with that,” Hampton explained. “The Life-Saving Station pre-dates the Coast Guard. We are local and focused on giving locally.”
The U.S. Life-Saving Service, a government agency, was formed in 1848 to rescue shipwrecked passengers and crew members. It was the predecessor to the U.S. Coast Guard, which was created in 1915.
Ocean City’s station was occupied by the Life-Saving Service until 1915. The Coast Guard took over then and continued to use it for life-saving operations until the 1940s, before it became a private home. The city acquired it in 2010, beginning the process for the building’s conversion into a museum.
The station formally opened to the public as a museum last year to showcase Ocean City’s history with the U.S. Life-Saving Service.
The Questers, who raise money through card parties and luncheons to be able to give back to the community, have provided $6,228 to the Life-Saving Station since 2015, Carol Dotts, a member of the Questers said.
Hampton noted that this is the third time the Questers have given to the Life-Saving Station Museum, and they hope to continue to do more.
“We received a large grant last year for the Lyle Cannon powder flask, a rare acquisition. We paid $2,300,” she said. “It is one of the artifacts at the museum for their collection.”
Hampton said that the Questers enjoy giving to the Life-Saving Station for many reasons.
“The Questers are all about raising funds for restoration and preservation. We like to help with old buildings that need to be restored, or repurposed,” she said. “We just want to preserve history.”
The Life-Saving Station is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the only Life-Saving Station in New Jersey operating as a museum, she added.
The Questers chapters were founded in 1944 in Fort Washington, Pa., and the local chapter has 21 members.
There are five Questers chapters in Cape May County, three of which are in Cape May, Hampton said.
In addition to Hampton and Dotts, there are about 19 other members, including Pat Crowley, the treasurer, and Sue Glazier, the president.
For more information contact Suzanne Hampton via email at Suzanne.hampton@longandfoster.com.
