Set sail at Milford Library with program on state’s tall ship

Delaware’s Tall Ship the Kalmar Nyckel will be the subject of the a history talk at the Milford Public Library.

Ahoy, matey. Ye old history dude Bill Hutchison has a yarn or two he’d like to spin you about the Kalmar Nyckel , Delaware’s Tall Ship. A replica of the Swedish ship that brought the state’s first European settlers to Delaware’s shores, the replica was built during the 90s and slide into the waters of the Christina River in 1998. True fact: Nobody really knows what the ship looked like, and Delaware’s version is based on studies of similar vessels. It was sunk in battle in with the British in 1652.

Bill Hutchinson

Hutchison’s talked at the Milford Public Library Saturday, Sept. 14, at 1 p.m. is part of the Milford Museum’s American History Series.

Seeing the Kalmar Nycklel sail along the Wilmington Riverfront is a site that never fails to enthrall those watching from the riverbanks as it motors past. Hutchinson, a former social studies teacher and assistant principal in the Capital School District, has been the Kalmar Nyckel’s interim education director, education coordinator and now lead educator emeritus. His lecture will tell the story of both ships. The newer ship has been sailing for 26 years as a living memorial of the founding of the colony of New Sweden and the heritage of the early Swedish and Finnish colonists in America. Thousands of school children and member of the the public have had the opportunity to live history by sailing on the Kalmar Nyckel, which often requires a little hands-on work. The museum’s monthly history programs focus on a variety of topics concerning local, state, and national history. The library is  at 11 S.E. Front Street in Milford, Delaware. For more information, please call the museum at (302) 424-1080 or email tom@milfordDEmuseum.org. This month’s program is sponsored by a generous donation from The Milford Rotary Club.