Browse Folders (1494 total)

Includes a black and white photograph of the Fir Grove ship in port in Seattle (Wash.) Inui Steamship Company, the owner of Fir Grove and its sister ships Pine Forest and Southern Aster, was found guilty on October 14, 1992 of wage abuse and faulty…

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The first Floating Church of Our Saviour, moored at the foot of Pike Street in 1844 and in operation until 1868. The Church was converted from the ferryboat MANHATTAN and presided over by the Rev. Benjamin C. C. Parker.

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Photographs of the Floating Church of Our Saviour (second), built in 1869 as a replacement for the first floating chapel, and in operation until 1911. Also represented under this subject are Rev. Archibald R. Mansfield’s last service at the second…

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Interview with Ed Flynn, who spent 47 years at sea before he retired at age 80. Starting out with the Coast Guard, Ed sailed for several years in Arctic waters during World War II, cutting ice and supplying army bases in Greenland. Ed joined the…

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After attending Coast Guard bootcamp in New Orleans in 1941, Ed took a job on a buoy tender working on the Great Lakes. Ed describes the effect that the wintry conditions had on one of the older, wooden vessels.

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Ed and his shipmates were making their way up the St. Lawrence River when America entered the War in Europe. Ed's ship picked up depth charges and were heading northeast when an accident shook the river.

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During the several years that Ed spent sailing in the Arctic he and his shipmates encountered Inuit communities. Ed describes trading the scrap wood from shipping crates for fish. The Inuit used the wood to make shells for kayaks they would cover in…

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Ed crossed the Arctic circle dozens of times, in many cases to supply the Army bases of Northern Greenland. Ed describes the American troops relationships with the Inuit women, with whom they were separated when the base was shut down.

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After leaving the Coast Guard after the War, Ed began his career with the Merchant Marine. Having received his First Class license in Boston, Ed started a career with Exxon that lasted several decades. Ed says he never joined a union because Exxon…

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After 47 years at sea, Ed retired from Exxon at the age of 80. Ed gives a simple reason for how he lasted so long: elevators.

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