'The Great White Hurricane of 1888' comes March 14 to Lewes Lunch & Learn

Jim Bertholet will be the featured speaker at the next Lewes Lunch & Learn, noon, Friday, March 14 at the Hotel Rodney, 142 Second St. in Lewes. He will present “The Great White Hurricane of 1888.”

The audience will hear about the blizzard which swept up the East Coast and caused much loss of life and property in March 1888. Bertholet will talk about the origin and character of the storm and how destructive it was to shipping on the high seas and to the lives of all those in its path from Virginia north to Canada, including folks in Lewes.

Bertholet is a Vietnam veteran who retired after 40 years in sales, sales training, and sales management. Bertholet is a lifelong history buff who grew up on the Jersey shore and always had a particular interest in maritime history, especially the U.S. Life-Saving Service and U.S. lighthouses. He moved to Delaware in 2010, where he currently conducts Lewes Historical Society Maritime Tours, is a presenter at both the History Happy Hour and the Lunch & Learn programs, speaks to school groups at the U.S. Life-Saving Station and is a member of the Wooden Boat Building Program Volunteer Crew.

May 9 is the remaining date in the 2014 Lunch & Learn series. Presentations all take place at the Hotel Rodney and last 20-30 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer period. Audience members have the option to bring their own bagged lunch or purchase a $12 boxed lunch from Rose & Crown. There is no need to make reservations; lunch orders are placed when participants arrive. This program is sponsored by Hotel Rodney.

To learn more about The Lewes Historical Society, go to www.HistoricLewes.org or call 302-645-7670.