Please remember to join us this Thursday evening, January 10 at 1900, at the Meridian in Galveston for the Hawkins Squadron bimonthly meeting. We will be meeting in the Auditorium, to the left as you enter from 23rd Street. Guests are welcome to attend.
Our program will be an illustrated presentation on naval rum, especially the history of traditional Royal Navy grog. Rum was both a source of relief on board sailing vessels and an important trade commodity. Adm. Michael Wonio will take us on a journey that covers the development of “modern” rum from its humble beginnings, its creative uses (such as grog), and its various bad times and good times. Join us for this high spirited presentation.
Michael Wonio, originally from the Quad Cities area of Iowa and Illinois, is a long-time resident of Galveston and has been a volunteer seaman crewmember of Elissa for more than a decade. He has served as an Instructor and Volunteer Education Chair for the Texas Seaport Museum. Since 1983 he’s been at the University of Texas Medical Branch, where he is currently information manager for a research group in the Department of Pathology.
The Meridian is located at 2228 Seawall Boulevard in Galveston, with the entrance on 23rd Street. The Texas Navy Association is a private, 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to preserving and promoting the historical legacy of the naval forces of the Republic of Texas, 1835-46. The mission of the Texas Navy Association is to preserve and promote an appreciation of the historic character and heroic acts of the Texas Navy; to promote travel by visitors to historical sites and areas in which the Texas Navy operated; to conduct, in the broadest sense, a public relations campaign to create a responsible and accurate image of Texas; and to encourage Texas communities, organizations, and individuals, as well as governmental entities, to participate with actions and money, in pursuit of these goals. Membership in the Texas Navy Association is open to all persons age 16 and over who have an interest in Texas history and want to help support the goals of the organization.
In Galveston, the Charles E. Hawkins Squadron was organized in the fall of 2016, and meets in odd-numbered months.
Charles E. Hawkins Squadron 