The Peggy Story
Original story by George Pongonis. Edited for the 2012 Gwynn’s Island Festival Program.
Can you remember life before microwave ovens? As we live day-to-day, new technologies emerge which replace what we have grown to admire. Do you ever wonder about living in an earlier time? How different day-to-day life must have been for those who never knew the benefits of our modern conveniences. Just think about travel in the time prior to the introduction of engine-powered vehicles. No planes, trains or automobiles, and only sailboats for voyages over water. Those were different times in Mathews County.
Back at what we used to call the “turn of the century,” Mathews was known as a prominent center for boat building. Boats were important around the Chesapeake before highways took over the “shipping” business. (Where do you think our common term for transportation came from?) Not just small boats either. Sea-going ships were built here in Mathews. Indeed, many sons of Mathews went to sea as well. On a per capita basis, Mathews has seen more of its own employed in positions of responsibility aboard ships than any other county in the United States.
The Cardinal is the official bird of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Do you know what the official flower is? And did you know that Virginia also has an official boat? Most people are unaware that the Chesapeake Bay Deadrise has been designated as our state’s Official Boat. “What’s with that?” you may ask.
Well, think of it this way: In the entire universe, it is believed that life, as we know it, exists nowhere but within our solar system. And so far, we have yet to find such life anywhere else but on the third planet from our sun. Also affirmed is that estuaries are of singular importance to our planet’s well-being. The premier estuary on the Earth is the Chesapeake Bay. For well over a hundred years, a unique form of vessel design and construction has been relied upon to enable the successful accomplishment of man’s quests upon this Bay. This deadrise design has been the hallmark of boats intended for use throughout the Chesapeake Bay region, and it is quickly becoming extinct before our eyes. As technologies advance around the waterfront, newer methods of boat manufacture and propulsion are making the deadrise design and tradition obsolete. These boats are sadly going the way of the horse and buggy.
Enter the Mathews Maritime Foundation (MMF) to preserve the maritime heritage of this very special region. Formed only a decade ago, this organization seeks to prevent the loss of our rich, local, maritime history. As part of its mission, the MMF has sought to engage the public in a “hands-on” manner with the wonders of our boat-building heritage. This activity has been facilitated by the availability of a small marine railway and repair shop on Gwynn’s Island. Originally established by the legendary steel boat builder, Gil Klingel, this boat yard affords the people of Mathews the increasingly rare opportunity to experience the art of wooden boat building and repair. Presently, the MMF is conducting an extensive overhaul of an 88-year old, Mathews-built vessel that has spent most of her life engaged in the local commercial fishery.
There are few people still alive who can remember that day, four score and eight years ago when PEGGY was launched from Peary, Virginia. It was back in 1925 that a brand new PEGGY entered the pound-net trade for Mr. Walter Burroughs, who named her for his daughter. The business was good back then and, before long, the owners of these deadrise fishing boats took to racing. PEGGY was quiet a speedster. Although she began her life with a 35 horsepower engine, as the racing aspect of these vessels’ lives evolved, engines with maximum power were sought. PEGGY soon received a fast turning, 200 horsepower diesel for the express purpose of earning “bragging rights” for her owner.
Deadrise boats raced in the Bay, just offshore from the beaches along lower Mathews. All the stops were pulled out in those attempts to beat the competition. Decks were removed, as were pilothouses. Engines were “hopped-up” by the best mechanics of the day and all excess weight was removed from the boats to lighten their load. After starting a diesel engine before a race, its battery would be disconnected and left on the dock. Fuel tanks were temporarily removed and races were run on five-gallon cans.
In 1946, PEGGY had her bottom replaced by a master boat builder, Mr. Alton Smith. The wood selected for this job was chosen after tests were conducted to determine the differences between various woods in terms of water absorption and therefore weight. When PEGGY was ready for launching, Alton sent a man to Gloucester to buy all of the shoe polish he could find. Her entire bottom was then shoe-polished to give her a further advantage for racing.
PEGGY went on to become a crab dredger for many years under the ownership of Mr. Edward Grinnell. She hailed from New Point then and was a regular part of the Davis Creek fleet. Some of today’s Mathews watermen have many fond memories of Captain Edward and can tell fascinating stories of life onboard PEGGY of New Point. Time took its toll on PEGGY, and like all biodegradable objects, she began to deteriorate. She was donated to the MMF by her last owners, Kim and Gretchen Granberry, who recognized the role that she could play for the people of Mathews as a sea-going representative of our proud heritage.
Today, PEGGY has a new engine, along with all new decking, and is now awaiting her new pilothouse. She has received the considerable attention and skills of a highly professional shipwright, Mr. Eric Hedberg. What is equally important, however, is the attention and affection that PEGGY is receiving from local volunteers who have seen their labors rewarded with a sense of ownership. They have earned a kind of equity through the genuine treasure of Mathews County Virginia’s past.
In the days ahead, PEGGY will travel to Norfolk and Urbanna, Virginia; to Baltimore and St. Michaels, Maryland; and beyond, to share with others why we are so proud of Mathews County's maritime heritage, while continuing to manifest the deadrise culture here and building upon what is already “Distinctly Mathews”.
