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Captain Marvin Creamer's Circumnavigation Without Instruments |
A Word From the Webmaster
When I was born, Marvin Creamer and his brother Richard worked for R. C. Harvey,
Contractor and Builder, in Quinton, NJ. The photo above shows Marvin with his
back to the camera, my grandfather, Ralph, and my father, David, on the scaffold. They were
building the Salem Acme Market in the late thirties.
Marvin was also a close friend of my father's favorite cousin, Ralph Van Meter.
Many think that I was named after my grandfather, but I was actually named after
Ralph Van Meter which my middle name betrays. Most boys of the era were
interested in cars and airplanes, but Marvin and Ralph also liked to sail.
Marvin later founded the Geography Department at Rowan University (formerly known as
Glassboro State College) and Dr. Ralph Van Meter studied medicine and became a
noted obstetrician in Moorestown, NJ.
I inherited a pile of newspaper clippings about Creamer's voyage from my parents and because I liked
to sail, I decided to pay the Creamers a visit in 2000. We had a delightful time talking
about his experiences with Harvey builders, Ralph Van Meter and sailing. They
moved from NJ to NC in 2003 the
same year we retired in NJ. I made the website
www.globestar.org
in 2004 and visited the Creamers in NC to scan his
slides for the website. Within a couple of years, people were once more becoming aware of
Marvin Creamer's historical feat.
I tried to get Marvin Creamer's historical voyage recognized by Guinness Book of Records, but received a reply
stating that they were "not interested in recognizing that sort of thing."
Phil Miller and several siblings and friends helped plan and conduct the 25-yers
celebration at Red Bank Battlefield Park, where both the 1982 send-off and 1984
triumphal return took place. The affair was held May 16, 2009.
We provided refreshments and set up displays with newspaper accounts of the voyage from around
the world. Official representatives of Glassboro made speeches and the Director of the Glassboro Museum placed Creamer's now famous
hour glass on display. I arranged for the Original Pitman Hobo Band to give a concert. They agreed, partially because
my Uncle John Pedicord was one of the band's founders. The concert included several numbers with maritime themes. At 93,
Marvin Creamer gave a fascinating account of his voyage replete with many humorous anecdotes.
We collected many signatures on a petition to get Marvin Creamer inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame, but the request
was rejected. The NJHOF said that only dead people were inducted in that
category. Marvin Creamer said that he wouldn't cooperate!
Ralph VanMeter Harvey, webmaster |
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