Join us in the museum for this talk by Dick Boak on Saturday, September 21. Archival research, interviews, and imaging all combine to make a spellbinding story that blends biography, music, polar exploration, history, determination, courage, and romance.

The "Konter Ukulele" made by the famed C.F. Martin & Co. may be the most interesting ukulele in the world. Richard Konter, “Ukulele Dick,” took it along on Admiral Richard Byrd’s famed expedition to the North Pole in 1926. During the expedition, Konter solicited signatures on the ukulele at every opportunity. Ticker tape parades and galas welcomed home the polar explorers. Konter asked notable people to sign his famous souvenir. Calvin Coolidge, Thomas Edison and Charles Lindbergh were among them. But these 160 or so names — and the space-age detective work to identify the faded autographs — are only the tip of the iceberg.

Dick Boak and archeologist Larry Bartram researched and co-authored the book "A Stowaway Ukulele Revealed" that traces the ukulele's journey. Boak will tell the remarkable story behind this little Martin ukulele and the detective work that revealed the more than one hundred famous people that signed it.

Please note that the museum galleries, where the talk will take place, are on the second floor of our historic Whitefield House and are accessible only by stairs. The special exhibition galleries and Museum Store on the first floor are accessible via ramp.