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Kenrick A.Claflin & Son

13458. (lot 3 photos) Captain Mark Casto of the Schooner “Alberta” Rescued crew for Freighter “Cherokee” Gold Medal Awarded January 14, 1906.

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13458. (lot 3 photos) Captain Mark Casto of the Schooner “Alberta” Rescued crew for Freighter “Cherokee” Gold Medal Awarded January 14, 1906.

13458. (lot 3 photos) Captain Mark Casto of the Schooner “Alberta” Rescued crew for Freighter “Cherokee” Gold Medal Awarded January 14, 1906. Three rare period photos include Captain Mark Casto, his crew of the Schooner Alberta, and view of the rescue off Atlantic City for which he was awarded a gold Carnegie Hero Fund Medal. Captain Casto was a 36-year-old commercial fisherman from Pleasantville, N.J., who ran a 58-foot, 10-ton fishing schooner, the Alberta, out of Atlantic City. On Jan. 14, 1906, a 2,256-ton freighter with 54 persons aboard went aground on the Brigantine shoals in the Atlantic Ocean and was taking on water. Casto and a six-man volunteer crew took the Alberta through 25-foot seas to the rescue. When the schooner was within 200 feet of the freighter, its crew launched two dories. One was smashed on the deck by a large wave, and the other, with Casto aboard, was broken apart when it hit the side of the freighter. Having conferred with the captain of the freighter, Casto returned to his boat in one of the freighter’s lifeboats, taking with him one end of a secured line. By means of that line, the Alberta was pulled closer to the freighter. Another lifeboat from the freighter was secured by lines affixed to the vessels, and, in 12 trips, it shuttled the 54 crew and passengers from the freighter to the schooner. The Alberta returned to shore under sail, as its engine was then disabled. For his efforts, Casto was awarded the gold medal later that year, and accompanying financial grants were used to pay the mortgage on the Alberta and assume schooling costs for his son, Mark Jacob Casto. The younger Casto was trained as an engineer at Carnegie Institute of Technology, which is now Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. In 2004, the Casto family donated the medal to the university’s archival collection. Photos are original and from the period, on postcard paper. 3 ½” x 5”. Rare rescue lot. (VG+). $125.