02/27/10 - On Monday the classic Block Island fishing boat, Leona A., was permanently removed from display on the side lawn of the Historical Society.

She was a swordfishing boat built by Fred Shogren in 1940 from the hull of a boat wrecked in the 1938 hurricane. Shogren built her in a barn on the West Side owned by Leona Littlefield Harvey. It has been said that once she was completed the side of the barn had to be removed. The Leona A. served as a fishing boat for more than 50 years. She was the last surviving wooden boat of her kind built on Block Island.

Shogren was born in Sweden in 1893, immigrating with his family to Cranston. As a sailor in World War II, he was stationed at Block Island where he met and married Leona Harvey, a widow with a son named Albert who joined the navy and was lost at sea during the war.

After the war, Shogren returned to Block Island and, among other things, built the boat. Leona’s brother, Sands Littlefield, bought the Leona A. and was the sole owner until he sold her to Stanley Smith. Stanley sold her to Alan Pesch, who donated her to the Historical Society in 1994. Many islanders fished on her over the years including Jon Grant and Joe Sprague as a deckhand for Stanley.

Fishing was a way of life central to the island’s culture, which is why the society accepted the Leona A. into the collection. As the fishing industry diminished on Block Island, so unfortunately has interest in wooden boats. The 1938 hurricane destroyed much of the island’s fishing fleet. By 1961 there were only 17 boats registered from the island. In 1994 there were less than a dozen. This well-loved boat sat at Bridgegate Square for 14 years awaiting restoration.

Many fund-raisers, festivals, sales of T-shirts and mugs over the years raised $10,000 for the effort, but was not enough to restore her. The society did not have the funding available as repairs to the museum building have been the focus for the last 15 years.

An article appeared in Wooden Boat magazine in 2003 attempting to solicit interest outside the island.

The society did document her with extensive photographs and video recordings. Mark Starr from the documentation shop at Mystic Seaport recorded her lines, and the society consulted with professionals in the field including the Custom Marine Woodworking shop in Mystic, Conn. Much of these efforts were spearheaded by past president, Champ Starr. The board was told she was beyond repair due to the exposure to the elements from being out of the water for so long.

The Leona A. Fund will be used to construct a scale model for display in the museum and any excess money will be dedicated to the Double Ender Boat Project now underway in conjunction with the Block Island School.

The society’s current president, Dr. Gerald Abbott, invites anyone to add to the collection’s stories of Leona A. or any other fishing boats from the island. The Historical Society would like to express thanks to Joe Sprague of Sprague Farm and Scott Kisilywicz of Offshore Express Inc., for their donation towards the removal of the Leona A. to her last resting place. It was a part of our island heritage that we didn’t want to lose.