S.S. United States

This is a sad story, in more ways than one. In the late 1970's the S.S. United States was towed up the Elizabeth River in Norfolk. It was moored near Craney Island at the Grain Pier. At that time they had planned on making it into a hotel and placing it where Norfolk's Harbor Place is now.

It was a good idea but the money didn't work out. Then it went to Florida; again it was sad to watch it being towed after such a storied career, making her 1952 record Atlantic crossing in 3 days and 10 hrs. at 35 knots. (1.149 statute miles)

Living by the Narrows in Brooklyn I remember seeing her enter and leave New York as a kid. It was a majestic sight. I used to take the subway to mid town Manhattan and tour the liners when they were in port. No charge, you just went up the gangway and they let you roam around. I was about 12 years old at the time.

Her last trip with passengers to New York was when she docked there on September 7th, 1969. Funny this post should appear on September 8th, 2024. 55 years later; an orphan who never got adopted for, or adapted to, another way of life.

The plan now is to sink her as the world's largest artifical reef off Florida, and is probably the most noble of options at this point.

But the final sad, though relatively minor blow is that the article refers to her "purposefully" being sunk. Purposefully means, "In a way that shows determination or resolve." I suppose the author of the article, most likely using spell check, meant to say "purposely" which means "in a deliberate manner". A small difference, granted. But still, one last reminder of how much the world has changed since 1952. We don't even spell right anymore.

The photo above is of her now, in Florida, her once beautiful paint faded and peeling. The next photo is of her at the grain pier up the Elizabeth River in 1983. I want to thank Joe Sea Man for sending it to me today. And the last photo, which seems to be dated from 1954, is of her heading into the channel off Sandy Hook. That photo was taken from a fishing boat out of Sheepshead Bay. I got that photo from the Sheepshead Bay Memories site here on Facebook a few years ago. Sadly, I do not remember who posted it. 

This Week In Music - 1969

Tom Jones - 1968 on BBC Four

This is one of those records which can transport me back to a time and place so vividly that I can still feel the raindrops pelting the car on the side of the road outside Miami in 1969. We were on a road trip to St. Augustine, and then down to Miami, to see my mother's cousin who owned a nightclub there. The music on the car radio ranged from rock to pop to folk to Broadway show tunes.

That's the way it was then. With only the AM radio for entertainment, and no "ear buds", families shared the time, and music, while in the car. It was a good system, and as I've said, I can still feel the rain pelting the car, and see and hear the thunder and lightning raging outside the windows of our 1966 Pontiac. This version of the Tom Jones hit differs only slightly from the released version, but when you watch him sing, it opens a whole new dimension to the song. He's really feeling it.

Although this Tom Jones song was over a year old when we made the trip, I do remember it coming on a few times, especially when we pulled over to wait out that violent thunderstorm. It's a very distinct and pleasureable memory, safe in the car with my parents. And I even remember the follow up song being Bob Dylan's "Lay, Lady, Lay", which my Mom really liked. This was our last vacation together as a family.

"Rosewood" with Don Cheadle, Ving Rhames, Jon Voight and Esther Rolle

This is a savage and raw movie that will leave you disgraced at the things, that we, as human beings, are capable of doing to one another. This is a true story, albeit slightly fictionalized, which takes place on New Years Day 1923 and turns into a 5 day orgy of violence that becomes the systematic destruction of an entire town of African-Americans, many of whom were Veterans of the First World War.

Rosewood, Florida in 1922 was an idyllic place for the African-Americans who lived there. Settled in 1845 by both blacks and whites, the town took it's name from the rosewood coloring of the cedar trees in the area. Over the ensuing decades, and after the Civil War, Rosewood became a mostly "colored" town, located outside of Gainesville. Florida had Jim Crow laws in force, to be sure, but the town of Rosewood consisted almost entirely of African-Americans, who owned stores, had homes, sent their children to church and school, in short they were people very much like their white neighbors in the next town.

The whole story unfolds as a married white woman, Fannie Taylor, is beaten by her lover, John Bradley, within earshot of her "colored" maid. To cover up her infidelity, Mrs. Taylor ran from her home, screaming that she had been attacked by a "negro." The word spread quickly, and the white citizens of the County began to organize into vigilante groups, all intent on revenge.

At this point Sheriff Walker of Levy County is informed that a black "chain gang" prisoner named Jesse Hunter had escaped the day before. He quickly organized a posse to look for him. He also urged all of the local "coloreds" to stay at home, or at work in the turpentine mills for their own safety.

Sam Carter, the local blacksmith was seized after it was said that he had helped the escapee find shelter in the woods outside of town. When he was asked to reveal the location to the mob he was unable to do so. They shot him in the face before hanging his mutilated body to a tree, presumably as a warning to others not to impede the vigilantes.

At the same time that all of this was happening, a white man named John Bradley fled to the home of Aaron Carrier, a black man who was a Veteran and a fellow Mason. Carrier and Carter, who was also a Mason, covered Bradley in the back of a wagon, intent on taking him to the river for safety. After Carter left Bradley at the river, he attempted to return home, only to be met by a band of vigilantes, who lynched him.

On the way back from the river the mob ran into Sylvester Carrier, the son of Aaron and a Veteran of the Great War. He was told to leave town, but refused. He was considered arrogant and "uppity", yet allowed to pass. He then returned to the Carrier home where he gathered as many men as possible to defend the town's women and children, most of whom were, by now, hiding in the woods.

Sylvester was known about town as "Man", and was a crack shot with a rifle. As the mob gathered for the inevitable showdown, numerous incidents of courage and heroism took place. The white sheriff had his hands full as he tried, unsucessfully, to keep some sense of order in the search for justice. By this time, most, if not all of the people involved, knew that Mrs. Taylor's had been beaten by her lover, and moreover, that no rape had taken place. But the truth is no impediment to the orgy of violence that takes place, and the mob continued to grow and their deeds became even more obscene.

Sylvester Carrier was able to get two local white train engineers to bring their train to a point outside of Rosewood, where the women and children were rescued. They were then pursued by the vigilantes as they made their way to Gainesville, and hopefully, justice. But it would be almost 70 years before this story would surface again, resulting in a Commission being formed to ascertain the truth and award damages to the remaining survivors.

Outstanding performances by Don Cheadle and Ving Rhames will keep you riveted to the screen as you watch the insanity unfold. And Esther Rolle, of TV's "Good Times", delivers one of the best performances of her career as Aunt Sarah. Jon Voight has never been in better form than in this movie, where he plays the conflicted John Wright, owner of the local General Store. Throw in perfect direction by John Singleton and this is a movie, and an historical event, which you will never, ever forget.

For more on the history of The Rosewood Massacre, see the link below;


http://www.displaysforschools.com/history.html