Whale of a catch at Dickens tour home
Whale of a catch at Dickens tour home
By STU MERRY
When you think about a North Dakota museum, more often than not, you think about artifacts from the days of the frontier pioneers.
Do you think about Charles Dickens, whaling ships and the dangers of the sea? Probably not – unless you are thinking about a special museum in Garrison.
The home museum is housed in the First Congregational Church, UCC, parsonage, located just off Main Street, ½ block east of the Garrison City Park. It’s this year’s Dickens Village Festival Historic Tour home.
The parsonage, the home of Rev. Steve and Kathy Holmes and their family, serves as a treasure trove for whaling artifacts. The collection, which covers two centuries of whaling, is something one would only expect to find in a New England coastal community. Items include an assortment of authentic whale oil lamps. One belonged to Holmes’ great-great grandfather who was part of the era’s whaling industry.
