Ahoy Shipmates
Happy New Year and welcome to 2007.
Normal day to day routine and training kept the sailors busy whist underway but there were diversions after hours for those not on watch.
Aboard the ships there were phonographs, pianos, games, playing cards, handball and billiard equipment.
There were also player pianos and silent movies.
As regards the on board movies one crewman of the USS Connecticut stated
“they had one they showed us about 50 times … The Perils of Pauline. It was a film series. They might show number 9 one day and then show number 47 the next. But we enjoyed it anyway. She was always in some kind of fix, getting thrown off cliffs and things like that”
The good times were hard earned by these sailors.
There was the seemingly endless round of cleaning chores, watches and drills.
Personal chores were still important here is a picture of a Navy barber giving a shave to a crewman during the early 1900’s.
But for the hardworking deck force life at sea wasn’t so bad compared to the jobs of the “black gang” in the fire room below the decks.
At least topside the deck crew had the benefit of sunlight and breezes however below decks the “black gangs” world was dominated by searing heat and coal dust.
The next instalment will cover the USS Louisiana.
Regards
Sean
