An Account by Katherine Frost of The Two Days Before the Launching and the Launching Itself
Monday, March 3, 1919
Yesterday mother, father and I went down to the yard to see the ship. There were a great many persons there. A lot of them were in the cabins, but still more were on deck. Yesterday was the only Sunday that the men had to work. The ship is to be launched on Wednesday and father wants to get the ship painted by that time. Therefore, the carpenters worked yesterday. The people in the cabins were in the way and father made them come out. I saw the mate for the first time yesterday. He is a tall man with a full beard. He is a German, like the Captain is, although, of course, not in sympathy with the Germans and what the Germans have done. Yesterday was a fine day and I learned several things about the vessel, which one may find in the back of this booklet. Some of the people had cameras with them yesterday. The outside of the vessel was all painted and looked fine. Today is a fine day for the painters to finish their work. The sun is shining brightly and we are all glad that it is. I am to wear my new dress Wednesday. I am going down early with mother to see to a few things. I just can hardly wait for the minute when I get aboard. My mind will not stay on my lessons, but wanders back to the ship continually.
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Tuesday , March 4, at eleven o’clock.
I discovered at recess that we are going to have school tomorrow morning. I am very anxious to go down to the ship early with mother before the ten o’clock train comes with Mrs. Kreger and her party. I have my Latin all done and I only have that and English to recite to-morrow morning. We only have reading in English now and so if I stayed out I wouldn’t miss anything. I shall ask mother this noon if I can’t go with her to-morrow. If she wrote a note asking for me to be excused, Mr. David would let me, I know, because I wouldn’t miss anything.
Same day, at thirty minutes past one.
I showed this to mother this noon. She said that she would write a note for me and that I could be excused at recess. It comes just right, because my two recitations come before recess. I am going home at recess, wash, change my dress and go down to the vessel. Mrs. Kreger and her party will probably be there by the time I get down there.
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March 5, Wednesday, at four o’clock
To-day has been a most exciting day. The ship went off fine and------but there, I’m ahead of my story. I awoke this morning about six o’clock and looked out of the window immediately to see whether it was or was not pleasant. To my great disappointment it was very foggy and looked as though it might rain at any minute. However, mother and I continued to hope for the best. I took my excuse and went to school at about thirty minutes past seven. Mr. David said that I might be excused at recess and at recess I came home. I dressed immediately and went down to the yard. I found Clarence (Frost) and told him that I was looking for father. He told me where to find him and I went there. I talked a few minutes with him and then went aboard. There was nobody that I knew very well up there and I soon came down. Father said that he expected the vessel to go off at about half past twelve instead of one o’clock. I knew that mother was planning on the vessel going at one, so I went up in the office to telephone her. I had tried several times when Frank (Keene) came into the office and told me that mother had just gone to the vessel with Maud Mathews. I went down to the schooner just in time to see Mrs. Kreger with some of her party coming. I was introduced to Miss Julia Talcott, the sponsor, Miss Gertrude Schoen, the sponsor’s friend, and Miss Molly Crawford, their chaperone. I went aboard with Mrs. Kreger and went around with mother and her for awhile. All this time Miss Talcott, Miss Schoen, and Henry Kreger were up at the bow of the ship. Mrs. Kreger told me to go up there and I did. I liked both girls very much. Miss Schoen has lovely brown eyes. To add to the excitement a moving picture man with his camera was around. He got Miss Talcott’s picture as she was standing with all of her roses in one arm and the bottle of wine in her other hand. She put the roses back in the box and commenced talking again. All of a sudden we heard a man shout to some people just getting off the vessel, “Get off that plank! Get off that plank! She’s going! She’s going!”
Sure enough! There was a grinding, creaking noise and we were moving, actually moving! Miss Talcott hurriedly picked up her roses and then smashed the bottle of wine squarely on the iron, after which she threw a dozen r so of the roses over the bow of the schooner. I could never describe the sensation I had when we started. To see all the cheering crowd on the shore get farther and farther away seemed queer, but to actually sailing out on the bay in the Jennie Flood Kreger was queerer. Captain Kreger dropped the anchor, or had the anchor dropped, when we were out a little way. Then we just sort of bobbed around on the water. When the anchor chain was getting tighter and tighter it made a queer, grinding noise. Miss Talcott gave me one of her remaining roses and I mean to press it when it wilts. The moving picture man probably got a picture of me, because I stood right beside Miss Talcott when she christened the vessel and the man was going up in the mill to get a picture of the schooner when she slid off. He went up there so that he could get a picture of the sponsor, too. After the excitement of the launching was in a way over, the four of us started out to see every nook and cranny of the ship. First we went to the cabin where the mate and captain have their rooms. Next we went to the galley and from there to the place where the engine is. The Golden Rod took us to the wharf and we walked from there to the Methodist Church. On the way up Henry Kreger took a picture of the vessel as she floated there, all trimmed up with flags. We went to the Methodist vestry and there a dinner was served by the ladies of that church. When dinner was over, Mrs. Ladd, who is one of Mrs. Kreger’s neighbors, Mrs. Kreger, mother, Miss Talcott, Miss Schoen, Miss Crawford, Henry Kreger and I came down here. Miss Crawford has been ill and has not quite gotten over it. She felt a little tired and rested on my bed. They stayed till about quarter past three. They went from here down to the special train, which is to take them at four o’clock back to Fairfield. I changed my dress and sat down to write this before I forgot it and as this story ends, thus a perfect day nears its end.
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The Story as Told By Father
The men had been knocking the blocks out from under the schooner and at about twelve o’clock I told the men to get their lunches. They went to their lunch-boxes and got something to eat. In a little while I asked Mr. Brown, the master builder how much longer it would take to knock out the rest of the blocks. He said that it took about thirty-five minutes yesterday at Rockland when they launched a vessel. I got the men to working again and in a minute or two she sort of settled and crept very slowly along the ways for about two inches. I went immediately upon the vessel and found the Captain. I asked him if he was all ready and he said he was. I hurried down again and by the time I got down there she had crept about four inches along the ways. Brown said to me, “She’s going and she’s going now.” I said all right, that she might as well go then as any time.
And sure enough! Off she went. Of course, when she started, even very slowly, it was no use to discourage her. No telling when she would have gone if we hadn’t kept knocking the blocks out.
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Monday, March 24, 1919
The ship has gone to New York City to load. I watched it from my window. It went about two o’clock and the whistles blew for it. The Pejepscot Paper Co.’s tug took her down quite a way beyond the monument and then came back. Father said they had a bad time getting her started. He said that once or twice she banged up against the wharf so hard that he thought both wharf and vessel would go to pieces, but they didn’t. When she started she did not have any sails up, but a man who telephoned father just a little while ago said that when he saw her going by Islesboro she had all her sails up. Mr. Coombs went with the tug to get a picture of her. The Captain expects to get to New York about Saturday and he is going to telegraph us when he arrives.
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Saturday, April 5, 1919
We have been very anxious about the vessel. A day or two after she sailed a bad snow storm came up. It was not very bad here, but New York way it was quite a bad storm. Several ships were blown out to sea in it. As the reader can easily imagine we were very anxious when over a week passed without a word from the vessel.
This morning father telephoned to Mr. Thurlow to know if he had heard anything. This is Saturday afternoon and father has just heard that the vessel is going into New York and will probably be there by to-morrow. She has been anchored for over a week off Vineyard Haven, near Martha’s Vineyard. She will begin to load just as soon as she reaches there.
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Monday, April 7, 1919
Mrs. Kreger has had a telegram from the Captain saying that he arrived yesterday morning in New York. K. E. F.