I should have been an archivist. Diving through hundreds of reader letters, this one surfaced today. It arrived in 2008, soon after the publication of my history of Strawbery Banke Museum. It was a real letter, handwritten on paper, and sent by the US Post Office. I don’t see many of those these days.
The letter was from John F. Sullivan of Sewell Road in Portsmouth, NH. He was pleased with my book, but for one detail. On page 147, Mr. Sullivan noted, there was a photo of an unidentified man dressed as John Paul Jones. The photo, taken some time in the 1930s, had come from the local historical society and I’ve wondered about it often. Who was this guy?
“I would like to identify to you the name of the individual standing on the steps of the John Paul Jones House Museum in your lovely book and tell you a little about him.” The mystery figure turns out to be Lt. Frederick Benjamin Webber, who served in the US Navy for 47 years. He was stationed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard from 1929 through World War II. He retired in the late 1940s. Webber lived at 44 Gardner Street with his wife and seven children. They later moved to 220 Hillside Drive.
It is rare, indeed, for an author to hear from a reader. Less so, today. Facebook calls it “engagement,” and I get a daily report. But while tapping a message on a phone is rare enough, imagine the effort of writing a letter, affixing a stamp, and putting that note in the mailbox.
I hope I wrote back thanking Mr. Sullivan. A national guardsman, school board member, Rotarian, he was a lifetime Portsmouth resident. He and his wife Martha were married fo 65 years.
Today, with digital books, I could have corrected the caption in minutes. But my hardcover book is out of print. It includes over 400 illustrations. Now we know a little more about one of them.
(c) 2026 J Dennis Robinson
Return of the World’s Best Clam Chowder