14. Mark B. Perry, “Liner Memorabilia—Highlights from My Collection,” http://www.shipgeek.com/linercollection.htm, accessed August 30, 2007.
15. George Horne, “Liner United States Is Beautiful, Fast, Powerful, and Broke,” New York Times, September 21, 1969.
16. Reverend Frederick M. Morris to Vera Cravath Gibbs, September 9, 1969, September 18, 1967, William Francis Gibbs Collection, Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, VA.
17. Lewis Lapham to Vera Cravath Gibbs, September 11, 1967, William Francis Gibbs Collection, Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, VA.
18. Christopher Gibbs to Vera Cravath Gibbs, September 11, 1969, William Francis Gibbs Collection, Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, VA.
19. Lewis Lapham to Vera Cravath Gibbs, September 11, 1967, William Francis Gibbs Collection, Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, VA.
20. George Horne, “A Sea Dog Making His Last Voyage,” New York Times, May 19, 1968, Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, VA.
21. John J. McCloy to Vera Cravath Gibbs, September 22, 1967, William Francis Gibbs Collection, Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, VA.
22. Interview of Leroy R. Alexanderson, WGAL-TV, Lancaster, PA, 1997, from S.S. United States: Lady in Waiting, directed by Robert Radler and produced by Mark B. Perry, Big Ship Films LLC, 2008.
29. SECRETS TOLD
1. Bernard Weinraub, “Liner United States Laid Up; Competition from Jets a Factor,” New York Times, November 15, 1969.
2. John R. Kane, “The Speed of the SS United States,” Marine Technology 15, no. 2 (April 1978), p. 123.
3. Ibid., p. 121.
4. Ibid., pp. 119–43.
5. Richard Austin Smith, “The Love Affair of William Francis Gibbs,” Fortune, August 1957, p. 160.
6. “SS United States Conservancy—History,” http://www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/History.html, accessed September 1, 2007.
7. Ibid.
8. “Owner of the SS United States is a real skipper: Rusting hulk? Hey, ship happens,” Philadelphia Daily News, February 9, 2000, http://www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/History.html.
9. Norwegian Cruise Line Acquires U.S. Flagship S/S United States,” http://philadelphia.about.com/cs/travel/a/norwegiancruise.htm, accessed September 1, 2007.
10. Records of Proceedings at the Presentation of Medals by W. F. Gibbs to Crew Members of the S.S. United States Who Served Aboard the Vessel During its Record Breaking Maiden Voyage, July 13–15, 1952. Ceremony Held in First Class Theatre, S.S. United States, 11:00 AM, Wednesday, July 22, 1953, William Francis Gibbs Collection, Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, VA.
11. William Francis Gibbs, “The SS United States,” delivered at the 1953 Medal Day Meeting, October 21, 1952, in acceptance of the Franklin Medal, Journal of the Franklin Institute, ca. 1953, p. 549, collection of the Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, VA; Don Iddon, “Life Aboard the Aluminum Anne,” publication unknown, date approximately July 5, 1952, from the collection of the Mariners’ Museum, Newport News, VA.
12. William Francis Gibbs, “S.S. United States,” Journal of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, December 1953, p. 549.
13. Smith, “The Love Affair of William Francis Gibbs,” p. 160.
EPILOGUE
1. “Vera Cravath Gibbs, 89, Dies; Was Active in Opera Groups,” New York Times, July 30, 1985.
2. Paula Gibbs, “Dogs I Have Known and the People They Have Loved,” Wiscasset Newspaper, January 15, 2004.
3. “About the Conservancy,” SS United States Conservancy, http://www.ssunitedstatesconservancy.org/SSUS/About.html, accessed June 29, 2009.
4. Laura Franklin Dunn, as interviewed in S.S. United States: Lady in Waiting, directed by Robert Radler and produced by Mark B. Perry, Big Ship Films LLC, 2008.
5. Harry Manning, as quoted in Frank O. Braynard and Robert Hudson Westover, S.S. United States: Fastest Ship in the World (Paducah, KY: Turner, 2002), p. 138.
6. Josh Barnabel, “Joseph Curran, 75, Founder of National Maritime Union,” New York Times, August 15, 1981.
7. William H. Miller Jr., Picture History of the SS United States (Mineola, NY: Dover, 2003), p. 30.
8. M/Y Savarona, http://www.mysavarona.com/history.php, accessed June 30, 2009.
9. Steven B. Ujifusa, “Lenfest Keeps Big U Alive,” PlanPhilly.com, July 2, 2010, http://planphilly.com/lenfest-keeps-big-u-alive, accessed August 15, 2010.
Acknowledgments
As a child I was fascinated by history, ships, and the sea, but Jonathan Karp, my editor at Simon & Schuster, has enabled me to write a book about William Francis Gibbs and the SS United States. He had faith in the project.
From Jonathan, I have learned how one must feel and think to write popular history. Also thanks to Karen Thompson and Colin Shepherd for their invaluable editorial guidance. Vivien Ravdin, in addition to her remarkable ear for the English language, provided invaluable insights into the flow of the narrative, as well as rich stories about Rittenhouse Square, where I have lived for the past several years… a stone’s throw away from the site of Gibbs’s childhood home.
My agents David Kuhn and Billy Kingsland at Kuhn Projects made sure the book proposal was well polished before it was sent to publishers. Thanks for being such tireless advocates for the past five years.
My book required a great deal of archival research, and I want to thank the staff at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia; the Harry S. Truman Museum and Library in Independence, Missouri; SUNY Maritime Academy at Fort Schuyler in Bronx, New York; the Philadelphia Athenaeum; and the U.S. Naval Archives in Washington, D.C. Special thanks to Claudia Jew at the Mariners’ Museum for helping me search through the enormous collection of SS United States material housed there.
Several very special people opened their personal collections, giving me access to rare materials that would otherwise be unavailable: Larry and Grace Ward, Laura Franklin Dunn, Bill and Tillie Krudener, Jim and Frieda Green, Susan Caccavale, Joseph Rota and Bonnie Davis, Noelle Braynard Hollander, Dr. William T. Flayhart III, and William duBarry Thomas.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the late maritime historian Frank O. Braynard, who dedicated his life to writing about great ships and preserving the legacy of William Francis Gibbs. Without him, much would have been lost forever.
I am grateful to Matthew Golas, editor of PlanPhilly.com, who gave me a start as a freelance writer on his website in April 2007, with the debut piece “Hidden Treasure on Delaware,” which was about the SS United States. Out of that grew my book proposal, as well as a wonderful friendship with him and his wife Jane. Thanks also to Robert and Rachel Cheetham at PhillyHistory.org, and Chris Satullo at WHYY’s Newsworks.
Special thanks to the fellow members of the Orpheus Club of Philadelphia for the support and encouragement you have provided me since 2006. Ecce quam bonum!