CHATHAM MARCONI SPEAKER SERIES
August 21st @ 7PM
The Chatham Railroad and its Importance to the Town’s Development
The talk will trace the 50-year history of The Chatham Railroad from 1887 to 1937, including its key role in the mobility of Chatham’s residents and the advancement of the town’s economy. The talk will also draw on the photographic collection of the Chatham Railroad Museum to illustrate the stations on the line, the equipment used, the route of the railroad, and its connection to the national railroad system.
Gilchrist (“Gil”) Sparks is a retired Delaware corporate lawyer and a lifelong railroad enthusiast. He met his wife of 55 years in Chatham and has had a second home in Chatham for 35 years. Since 2021 Gil has been co-director of the Chatham Railroad Museum after serving a number of years as a volunteer. Among the many leadership positions Gil has held during his career are Chairman of the Delaware State Board of Bar Examiners, the Corporation Law Committee of the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association, the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware Bar Association, the Tulane Corporate Law Institute, and the Board of Trustees of the University of Delaware. He is a graduate of Yale University (B.A.) and the University of Pennsylvania (J.D.), received an honorary degree from the University of Delaware, and was awarded the Order of the First State by the Governor of Delaware. Mr. Sparks will be joined by Mr. Rick Jenkins of the Chatham Railroad Museum staff.
Gil Sparks
The Global Maritime Industry (Part II)
September 4th @ 7PM
Few people in America understand just what the maritime industry is and its main component - the merchant marine, and few realize how this industry profoundly affects every American, every day. In the second part of his 2-part presentation, Christopher McMahon continues his detailed look at the industry and the ships which make global trade possible. Simply put, the global economy is completely dependent on the maritime industry. Admiral McMahon will also touch on just how Chatham Radio/WCC played a key role in keeping merchant ships in touch with their companies, the ports which they served, and how WCC helped ensure that ships and crews remained safe in times of extreme weather and other perils.
Rear Admiral Christopher McMahon, (USMS-ret.)
Master Mariner
Our speaker, Christopher McMahon is a master mariner of steam, motor and sailing vessels. He sailed on merchant ships engaged in world trade. He is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point and served there as a professor, sailing master and deputy superintendent. He is also a Rear Admiral (upper half), U.S. Maritime Service and was appointed in this capacity as a senior executive in several positions at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration and Naval War College. He has graduate degrees from several colleges and is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister.
Reginald Fessenden:
Brilliant Inventor, Unsuccessful Radio Entrepreneur
October 2nd @ 7PM
Reginald Aubrey Fessenden, a Marconi contemporary, made significant advances in radio technology from 1900 to 1911. His work was focused on continuous wave transmissions with the goal of transmitting sound over radio waves. He was the first to demonstrate practical radio telephony and several of his other innovations made their way to the Chatham RCA station. However, his track record commercializing inventions was less impressive. Some of his inventions were ahead of their time but he was also unable to manage ownership issues with financial partners. We’ll look at his life, selected radio inventions, business activity and contrast his contributions to that of Guglielmo Marconi.
Tom Inglin
Tom Inglin earned a PhD in Organic Chemistry and spent 35 years in Consumer and Healthcare Product Development. He holds 12 patents, is a Registered Patent Agent and Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati School of Pharmacy. His lifelong interest in radio began at a young age when he imagined radio waves traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to France while visiting his grandparents at the New Jersey shore. It wasn’t until later that he realized he was sometimes looking West across the Delaware Bay. An amateur radio operator since high school, his retirement volunteer gig at the Marconi/RCA Wireless Museum is a dream come true. He is currently a museum docent and Secretary of Chatham Marconi’s Board of Directors.