HRPE: The American Red Cross

Posted on
Two American Red Cross volunteers hand out donuts to soldiers. Accession # P0003-01–L-16193

我们回到我们的研究在汉普顿道路难觅踪迹t of Embarkation (HRPE) with the American Red Cross. The Red Cross played a vital role in maintaining morale and the mental health of those in the military, especially those abroad. During World War II, the Red Cross was the only civilian service organization authorized to work with overseas military personnel, and in fact began providing aid to civilian victims of the war in Europe before the US entered the war in 1941. Red Cross members were a mix of volunteers and employees, who served both at home and abroad. The Red Cross provided supplies, aid, and refreshments to all those who needed it. Many volunteers signed up to be nurses aids through the Red Cross. However, during WWII the Red Cross was probably most famous for their free donuts, to the point that many volunteers were referred to as ‘Donut Dollies’!

Likemanyorganizationsat thetime, the American Red Cross held applicants to a very high standard. Female volunteers had to be college graduates, at least 25 years of age, have excellent reference letters and pass physical examinations. The application standards were so high, only 1 in 6 applicants were accepted. After accepting the volunteer position, women were then sent for training in Washington D.C. before being assigned a position on the Homefront or abroad.Read more

City Nature Challenge is here! What might you discover?

Posted on

We made it! The City Nature Challenge began at 12:00 AM April 30 (Friday) and ends at 11:59:59 PM on May 3 (Monday)! Please get outside and take some snaps of wildlife (animals, plants, and fungi)!

If you do come to Mariners’ Park or you’re in the area, you might be wondering what some common critters you might encounter. I would suggest reading a great blog post from Erica, our park department manager, posted last year that talks in detail about the wildlife in the Park (clickHEREto read her blog). Erica’s post should give you a good idea of what to see in the Park from trees to mammals to turtles and even dragonflies.Read more

Send Help! Stuck in the Suez

Posted on
Satellite images give a unique vantage point of the stuck ship Ever Given. (Credit: cnbc.com)

So far, world events of 2020 and 2021 have been interesting, to say the very least. In the maritime world, a unique event occurred on March 23, 2021. If you watched the news that day and for many days following, you most likely heard about and saw how it unfolded. Can you guess what I’m talking about? I’ll give you a second before I reveal the answer.

Pause for Dramatic Effect…Read more

The Power of Water: Celebrating National Poetry Month and Earth Day

Posted on
The Wild Gulf Stream, artist Frank Vining Smith (ca 1900-1940)/ The Mariners’ Museum and Park

April is National Poetry Month and Earth Day is also today (April 22)! As a poet, writer, and environmentalist, I feel obligated to craft something interesting for this wonderful month honoring one of the most expressive written forms and the best planet in our solar system.

What’s so special about poetry?Read more

Forgotten Faces of Titanic: The Widener Family

Posted on
man with mustache
“George Dunton Widener Sr.” Find A Grave, 28 Sept. 2005, www.findagrave.com/memorial/11841844/george-dunton-widener.

It has been 109 years since the R.M.S.Titanic, at one point, deemed the “unsinkable ship,” struck an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Of the 2,205 passengers and crew members aboard, only 704 souls survived that fateful night. Passengers came to travel aboard the ship from all over the world, including approximately 300 from America. The Widener family was among this group of Americans.

George, accompanied by his wife, Eleanor, and their adult son, Harry, was returning from a business trip in Europe and had booked 1st class passage aboardTitanic. Traveling along with their two servants, the family was searching for a new chef for a new hotel, The Ritz Carlton, in Philadelphia. George was the president of several railways and streetcar companies in the Philadelphia area. Eleanor, an heiress, was also a well-known philanthropist, while Harry, a graduate of Harvard University, was an avid rare book collector. It has been noted that Harry’s collection was between 3,000 and 3,500 volumes. Some sources claimed that he had dreamed of building his own educational library or institution someday.Read more