If you have any stories/personal experiences of Leo, and you would like to share them, please let me know or just send them along. If you know of any photos with Leo in them, please let me know who to contact about seeing them, getting copies, or just listing them as existing. --Charlie York |
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January 11, 2001
Last night, after dinner, I took Laura and Emma (who is almost four) and baby Isaac to the former site of the Beetle Boat Shop at the foot of Frederick Street in New Bedford. We parked a few feet from the shore at the mouth of the Acushnet River, with a broad view of Buzzards Bay. The tide was high and the moon full, shining sparkles on the water from just in front of us all the way across the river to Sconticut Neck. "The moon is thinking of the river, winding through the mountains far away, because he has a river in his heart full of the same silver" I quoted to Emma from an old poem by another little girl. "Tell me a story" she said, so I told her this: "A long time ago there was a boy named Leo, who loved to sail his small boat on this water. He lived right up the street here. Some of his friends had boats too. He didn't have much money, so his boat was an old quahog skiff which he fixed up, using street tar to pay the seams. He named his little boat "Spaghetti", and sailed it as often as he could. Sometimes, he sailed it all the way across the bay, through Robinson's, and across the Sound to Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard, so he could ride the Flying Horses Merry-Go-Round and, if he still had five cents, buy a double scoop ice cream cone. Sometimes, when he was sailing home, this part of the bay would be thick with fog, not like tonight. But Leo knew the currents, and he knew the smells and sounds of the South End so well that he used them like a chart to steer straight to the beach which used to be right where we are now. Leo went to school at Roosevelt Junior High, right up there at the top of Frederick street. He always took a seat by the window so he could watch what was happening at the Beetle Boat Shop. More than anything else, he wanted to work there and build boats. At the end of the eighth grade, when Leo was only 15 years old, he was given a full time job at the shop, where the Beetle family took him on as one of their own and taught him well. Leo did many things after that. He married Alma, and he loved her and was faithful and dedicated to her all his life. They had two beautiful children, a son named Jon and a daughter, Jean, and they stayed married forever, more than 60 years. Over all those years, Leo built thousands of boats; almost 3000 Beetle Cats and at least a thousand others. He built new kinds of boats and ships that helped win a war. In Fall River he made the molds for the Widgeon and the Day Sailer and others. He was also a Sea Scout leader, helping children learn about the water and enjoy it as he did. By all these things and more, and over all these years, he helped tens of thousands of people to see and feel some of the things that he saw and felt when he was sailing his old quahog skiff. Then, today Emma, just today, Leo left on a much longer sail and we will not see him for a long time." "Did he die?" "Yes, he died ... His son, Jon, told me that where he is going on this sail is a better place, even better than the places here. And I think, he can still see this beautiful bay, and the moon shining on the water, and the shop, and the boats, and everyone he loves." "That's the shop where you build Beetle Cats, right?" "Right." After some silence, Emma said, "Papa, put on the music we had on before". So I did, and we drove up Frederick, past the spot where Ruth Beetle's house used to be, up past Roosevelt Junior High, just now being torn down to be replaced with a new building, and up through the South End, then past St. Luke's hospital, to home. Charlie York, Beetle, Inc. |
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My folks told me this morning that Leo past away. Although it has been many years since I had seen him, probably 35 at least, I can still clearly remember him. I remember his mustache and see him sitting at the tiller of my beetle and others when I was a kid. I remember him well from my hanging around the NBYC. I can picture the Red pants with topsiders that were popular. I always had great respect for his sailing knowledge. I am sure he helped give me my love of sailing. My dad sailed with him a bunch also but I can't remember what boat. It may have been in Rhodes 19's, he sure use to talk about what a great sailor Leo was. I enjoyed your story about Leo. His name and of course his boat, the Beetle will be remembered fondly by me. Stu Seymour, San Diego |
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Charlie, You were looking for "Leo" pictures. Attached is a picture that I took in January 1998 after stopping to see you at the shop to pick up some 1/2 round stock and a tiller. My son Sam (not quite 4 at the time) and I then stopped to see Leo. I had Leo sign the tiller for Sam so he could have one like his grandfather did. (In my father's rec room, he has the original transom from Pixie (replaced 1985) with a "Leo" tiller above.) I got Leo and Sam to pose for a picture and send a copy to Leo and Alma. The tiller is still in Sam's room and if asked will tell anyone that "Mr. Telesmanick signed that for me. He built our boat a long time ago." Bill Lawrence Ed. note: Go to "Photo of the Week" to see the photo described in this letter. |
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January 12, 2001 Yesterday, during regular Thursday maintenance of the livery fleet at Mystic Seaport's Boathouse I read aloud for seven colleagues Charlie York's moving tribute to Leo Telesmanick posted on the Beetle Inc. web site. We were lucky to know Leo, to be welcomed by Alma into their home, and we use and care for the boats they love and built. We are all richer for the contribution they have both made as a team. Thousands of people over generations have reaped the rewards of their dedication and hard work. A giant among us has joined the ranks of Pete Culler, Waldo Howland, John Gardner, George Kelley and others. It behooves us to carry on their work to honor their commitment and dedication by sharing what they taught us about small boats and about life values and to be vigilant, and never take our blessings for granted. Leo was a generous gentleman of great skill and quiet pride. Sharon Brown, Boathouse Supervisor, Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT |
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January 22, 2001 Bill Sauerbrey and Shawn Sipple from the Beetle Cat Shop in South Dartmouth visited Mystic Seaport's Boathouse this past weekend, January 20 and 21. They sparked life into our winter maintenance program and the restoration of the Leo J. Telesmanick, the 1980 Beetle Cat built by Leo and donated by his wife Alma. Arriving at noon on Saturday Bill and Shawn immediately set to work. Cutting into the new canvas, they liberated Shawn's son's hammer from the cockpit and an earlier visit, and to a running accompaniment of verbal instruction and tool clatter, they installed new coamings and rubrails and sealed them before vanishing around 4 P.M. The next morning, despite a snow storm, they returned to install steam bent quarter round on the coamings, and a new centerboard trunk cap. They refastened the skeg, installed gudgeons, and laid on a coat of varnish. The pace was blistering and we were in awe, and the only conflict, a near set to over lighting the fire with the temperature below freezing. It was a generous donation and celebration, a fulfillment of a promise to Leo and he would have been pleased and proud. Thank you. Sharon Brown, Boathouse Supervisor, Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT |
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February 7, 2001 The 1980 Beetle Cat, LEO J. TELESMANICK, donated to Mystic Seaport by Alma Telesmanick, has a fresh coat of paint thanks to master painter, Shawn Sipple of Beetle Inc. Shawn brought his family to Mystic on the afternoon of February 3 and went to work. He used a special jig to locate the exact position to install the boom crutch cleat and guide on the inside of the aft coaming piece, and then, with power sander, prepped her hull which had five coats of hardened undercoat. He gave his arms an overnight rest and returned early Sunday morning to tape and paint the deck, cockpit ceiling, and topsides. There was no wasted motion and it was a continuous lesson for Boathouse staff, volunteers, and museum visitors. Leo Telesmanick, the man, his work, and his memory were honored. As part of an ongoing commitment to Leo and Alma to restore the boat to mint condition, Shawn has been volunteering his time and skills at The Boathouse since last winter. He acts as a mentor, teaching us, giving painting tips, and helping to increase our confidence and skill levels. Volunteers hovered around eager to help and absorb. They provided overnight accommodations and a personal tour of Mystic's Aquarium for Paula and Josh. "Nothing is impossible, if you persevere," says Shawn. We are privileged to work with each other and with these national treasures of our maritime heritage. Thank you.
Sharon Brown, Boathouse Supervisor, Mystic Seaport. |
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February 20, 2001 “My job is done. That’s it folks! That’s for you Leo!” So said Shawn Sipple of Beetle Inc. after wrapping up his volunteer job on the LEO J. TELESMANICK last Friday, February 16. The Boathouse was already toasty when I entered shortly after 7:00 AM, to find Shawn with drill in hand, and the hardware and fasteners neatly laid out on the deck. Before his 1:00 PM departure he had carefully reinstalled the halyard turning blocks, the mooring cleat, the mooring chock, the halyard cleats, the centerboard cleat, the traveler, and the new centerboard. He used great patience to put everything in its original location and avoid holes in the new canvas deck. We learned the Beetle way, and some of Shawn’s tricks with Leo looking over our shoulders. Only a few more details remain including her transom name and we eagerly anticipate her spring launching. Thank you. Sharon Brown, Boathouse Supervisor Mystic Seaport, Mystic, CT |