The Sailors' Snug Harbor: 



Safe Haven for 

 Asins iWariners 



By Ann Green 

 Photos by 

 Scott D. Taylor 



I 



t's happy hour. After entertaining fellow 

 mariners with a round of Irish songs, Ed 

 Kelley, 79, walks down a long hallway 

 decorated with an impressive piece of stained 

 glass hanging from the window. 



"This is a ship going into port," says 

 Kelley. "The Latin phrase 'portum petimus 

 fessi' means 'We weary ones seek port.'" 



The motto is symbolic of Kelley 's life at 

 The Sailors' Snug Harbor. After years of pulling into 

 retirement community on Nelson's Bay in Sea Level. 



"We are a safe harbor for worn out and tired merchant seamen," says Rose Tankard, assistant administrator at 

 Sailors' Snug Harbor. "We take care of them. As far as I know, we are the oldest retirement community in the country." 



The facility — which houses men and women who have tallied at least 10 years of deep sea service — was founded 

 in 1801 by Captain Robert Richard Randall, a ship's master and Revolutionary War hero. With guidance from his close 

 associate Alexander Hamilton, he bequeathed his 21-acre estate in Manhattan to a perpetual trust for a home for disabled 

 and retired mariners. 



Continued 



18 WINTER 2000 



