[Luther G. Holbrook—home movies] Reel 1

Date1934

AbstractViews of the schooner Bowdoin tied to the dock in Portland, Maine, June 16, 1934. Many visitors are on board, and the dock is crowded with visitors and family members of the crew on departure day. Nine young crew members pose on deck. Luther Holbrook is on far left, squatting. Other members of the crew included six additional students from Bowdoin College, one from Clark University and one from Colby College. Three professional crewmembers (a cook, a first mate and an engineer) also were on the voyage with Admiral MacMillan and the two academic scientists, Dr. Alfred Gross and Dr. David Potter. Several more views of activities on board and on the dock as the departure ceremony gets underway on the dock. Several men speak at a microphone, including Donald MacMillan in his uniform. Navy seamen on the dock give a rifle salute, and a band plays in the background. CU of MacMllan as he makes his way to the ship to begin the voyage to Labrador. A pet white snowy owl is seen on board the Bowdoin perched on the life ring. Arcturus, mascot of the expedition, was a passenger on the Bowdoin from Boston to Labrador. Views on board the ship under sail on a warm day as the crew moves around the deck, and the owl watches from the ring. Large barrels of fuel and water are seen lashed to the deck. Views of two crewmen climbing the ladder up either side of the mast to get better views aloft. A car ferry passes the ship. Views of the schooner at dock, possibly at Port Hawkesbury on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, where it is taking on supplies. Several views of Holbrook on deck, standing by the rail as the ship rolls with large seas. The ship passes a rocky cliff/island with a lighthouse and associated buildings. This could be one of the Magdalen Islands. It was on the Magdalens that the ornithological studies began. Views of gannets on the rocky terrain in the Bird Rock reserve on Grindstone. More than 200 birds were collected on the expedition and more than 400 birds were banded. Many birds were killed, the meat eaten, and the skins stuffed or preserved. Views of Great Auk birds on rocky cliffs. Views of hundreds of gannets sitting or nesting on steep rocky cliffs above the ocean. Views from the ship of rocky outcroppings in the ocean that could be part of the Magdalens. Views on the deck of the Bowdoin showing lifeboats, and a crew member in the "ice bucket" on the mast, then the crewmember descending down the ladder in the rigging. Three crew members on watch and at the wheel during rainy weather, wearing oil skins and hats. The aft sail is down and the rough sea is following the stern. The Point Armour, Newfoundland, lighthouse is seen in the far distance along a shoreline. First views of a small iceberg. More views from the bow looking sternward at the deck watch. One crewman takes movies looking toward the bow. Panning views from a high vantage point of a rocky cliff harbor with small fishing boats and small houses and cottages. Farther in the harbor the Bowdoin is anchored in the narrow passage (Battle Harbour, Labrador?). Pan across a rocky shoreline from a radio tower to two small wooden huts for radio equipment.