WINTER 1963-64 Stories contained herein were published by and for Mooremack Employees Ashore and Afloat. (Courtesy of Karin Cleary) |
How to Avoid Paying Letter Postage In those old adventure stories, the hero never worried about getting stranded on some deserted island. All he had to do was to put a message in a sealed bottle, set it afloat and in no time at all he was rescued. Fourteen-year-old Robert Stark fervently hopes he never gets stranded like that because he knows he will probably run out of bottles and patience before he gets an answer. You see, Robert, who lives at 2051 Bleeker Street, South Plainfield, tried the system out himself. Some time ago, he asked his father, Edward J. Stark, who is captain of a Moore-McCormack Lines cargo ship, to drop messages for him while his ship was at sea. The elder Stark, although skeptical of the plan, agreed to drop the bottles containing a slip of paper with Robert's name and address and a request to write. In July, about one year and 120 bottles later, Robert finally got an answer from 13-year old John Fermor of Hastings-on-the-Sussex, London. John said he had found the bottle while out in a fishing boat. Entire Mooremack Fleet in "Adopt-A-Ship" Program The extensive fleet of Moore-McCormack Lines has been completely "adopted" by grade school students across the country. Announcement of the inclusion of all the Moore-McCormack ships in the "Adopt-A-Ship" program was made December 2, 1963, by W. T. Moore, Chairman and President of Moore-McCormack and Vice-Admiral Ralph E. Wilson, USN, Ret., National President of The Propeller Club of the United States and Vice President of J. J. Henry & Company, Inc. The "Adopt-A-Ship" program is sponsored by The Propeller Club aided by participating United States flag steamship companies. With Moore-McCormack's 44 ships, the program totals 322 ships. Grade school classes in all 50 states have "adopted" United States merchant ships and there is a waiting list of applicants from over 300 classes for whom no ships are currently available. The school children send their questions to the Masters who have voluntarily enrolled and who reply with details of staff, cargoes, and countries visited. Many teachers use this information in class work. Emphasis is placed, too, on the importance of the merchant fleet to people and industries in the students' areas. |
S.S. Argentina Expansion Completed The Luxury Liner Argentina sailed from Baltimore, December 18, 1963, after a
three-month "residence" for extensive expansion at the Bethlehem Steel Company's Fort McHenry and Key Highway shipyards. Two new cruise decks were added to the sleek white ship, with 63 staterooms
The S.S. Argentina left on a gala 15-day Christmas and New Year's cruise to Port Everglades (Florida), Cristobal, Barbados, Martinique and St. Thomas, returning to Port Everglades on the 2nd of January. Mr. and Mrs. McCormack went on that gala cruise (see their photo below.) Captain Paul B. Scott commands the Moore-McCormack Lines' vessel. This terminates the $6,000,000 expansion program handled by these two Baltimore yards for Moore-McCormack Lines on the S.S. Argentina and her sister-ship, the S.S. Brasil. The latter left Baltimore in June and has been on a full cruise program to Scandinavia, South America and the Caribbean; and starts a 63-day "Sea-Safari" to South America, Africa, the Mediterranean and Southern Europe in January. The shipyard work on the two liners was completed in the shortest time possible—remarkably so—in order to return the ships quickly to service. The stack and 80-foot radar mast were removed in one week; the navigation deck was extended, a new sun deck installed and the mast and stack replaced in three weeks! Finishing touches took only a little over eight weeks! To do this expeditiously, the superstructure decks were pre-manufactured at the shipyard. They were hoisted into place by cranes in 50-ton sections with all facilities "roughed-in." Once welded in place, they were plugged into the ships' utilities lines and the decorative features, such as paneling, furniture, drapes, carpets and lighting fixtures installed. The two new decks—sun and navigation—include a chic observation café, surmounted by a flying bridge. Twelve picture windows offer a thrilling view of the sea by day; by night the windows are ingeniously sealed to prevent light from hampering the bridge below. The closed twelve window panels are lighted and decorated with exotic birdcages inhabited by fanciful birds and one lone, forlorn Siamese cat. The walls of the café reflect this theme with decoration of walnut and brass birdcages and ceramic birds. The Argentina returns to Baltimore for four more cruises in April and May and will make another Caribbean cruise from Port Everglades on January 3rd before commencing her famous 39-Day "Carnival in Rio" cruise January 17th from New York and January 19th from Port Everglades. |
