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August 17th Photos Page |
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Wow, I can't believe it's been nine months since I last posted any new photos here. Between taking on writing The Jerseyman, working on adding crewmember names to the Memorial Kiosk, and oh yeah, my regular "day job", posting new photos here has slipped down on the priority list again. I know these are all excuses I've used in the past, and as always I apologize for taking so long. I trust though that y'all have been able to keep up with ships events by reading the recent issues of The Jerseyman, that's where all the photos and news of events are being reported in detail. To read issues of The Jerseyman click on the button in the upper right corner of this page and select the issue you want to read. I looked back at the calendar and found that I've been onboard 25 days since my last posting, time sure flies when you're having fun. Most of the exciting things that have gone on during that time have appeared in The Jerseyman, but perhaps the best news of the year is that the ship received $1.4M in early July from the states new budget. That money will go a long way to help us pay off bills, buy much needed supplies and pay for advertising and marketing campaigns. What I did for photos was I went through all the photos I've taken on those last 25 volunteer days and included a chronological selection of them below. They start in December of last year and run through today, showing just some of the things the Brass Team has been up to. So, come with me as we climb into the "WABAC" machine with Mr. Peabody (I'm hoping that for those of a certain age that reference will ring true and perhaps bring a smile to your face) and see what's been happening on the Big J for the last nine months. Once your journey is complete I'm hoping that some of you who live close enough to the ship will consider coming down and volunteering some of your time and expertise to help maintain the Battleship. The need is greater than ever and there is no shortage of things to do. Come on down and lend a hand, if you can, if not, well then as they say in the theater, just send money! J |
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These first five photos are from last
December 15th. This was the |
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That shiny mixing bowl
once served as a planter in the yard of a neighbor of one of the ships volunteers. One day the neighbor gave the bowl to the volunteer and explained to him what it really was. The volunteer gave the bowl to the brass team to be cleaned up and made ready to be installed on this mixer in the ships bakery. Holes on the side of the bowl lined up perfectly with locking pins on the mixer making it look like it has been there forever. |
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This was the gang
assembled that day in late December. We only worked a half day and then it was off to Victor's to share a little holiday cheer. |
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Earlier in the week the
Wreaths Across America caravan stopped by the ship on their way to Arlington National Cemetery. This is a wreath they presented to the ship which was on display in the Ward Room. For more about this event check out the 1st Quarter 2013 issue of The Jerseyman. |
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Sweatshirts are among
the items for sale in the new Camp Store, which has been a huge success with our Overnight Campers. Something like this was sorely needed and congratulations to the Encampment Volunteers for getting it up and running! |
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This photo was snapped
just at the stroke of midnight on New Years Eve. It was a cold and windy night, but I climbed up on this tower hoping to capture the fireworks show over the bow of the ship. Unfortunately though the barge with the fireworks was much farther up river so I couldn't get the shot from this vantage point. Curses, foiled again... |
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On February 2nd this
huge statue of "The Kiss" made a stop on the pier. It was on the way to the USS Midway out in California where it will be put on permanent display. That thing was huge! |
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On the same day we also
had a visit from a gentleman who worked on the ship when she was built in the early 40s. He is the guy in the center with the orange coat and he had some really cool stories to tell about the ships construction and launch. Photo taken in Forward Main Battery Plot. |
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This photo was taken on
March 9th. When it gets cold outside the Brass Team finds things to keep us busy inside the ship. One of our regular Winter tasks over the years has been to put a shine on the knee knockers along the tour routes. To accomplish this we break out the angle grinders and pads and go to work, here is a shot of the results. |
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Here it is April 13th
and we've just moved the Memorial Kiosk up to the Sailors Life Gallery. This is something I've been working on a lot this year and I've also had a lot of help from others on it. We are currently working on adding the names of all WW II and Korean War era crewmembers on the kiosk, and next we'll move on to those from Vietnam and the Cold War eras too. For more about this effort check out the 3rd Quarter 2013 issue of The Jerseyman. |
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Fast forward to June
15th, and here we are saluting Seapower, a company that has generously supported the Brass Team for years by donating cases of their outstanding metal polish for our use on the ship. With their donation of three cases today also came this snazzy banner so we wanted to give them our hearty endorsement and some free publicity. They make a great polish and I highly recommend it, plus I think its fitting somehow that we are using a product called Seapower to polish brass on a Battleship, the epitome of Sea Power. |
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After taking the
publicity photo above we went to work with some Seapower on the ships binnacle, when we were done it looked like this. The Brass Team has sort of adopted this binnacle, mostly because of its close proximity to our shop. We can see it from our shop and it truly pains us to see it looking dingy. Also visible in this photo is a new teak wood base that we installed a few weeks earlier. This base was made from teak planks that were removed from the deck during restoration efforts years ago. The original base had been removed a while ago when it became unstable, so one of Brass Team Team guys stepped up and made a new one. The moment of truth came when we jacked the compass about 10 inches off the deck and slid the new base in place. A quick check showed all of the holes lined up perfectly, we lowered the binnacle onto the new base and a sigh of relief was heard from all three of us! Now it looks great and with all the brass shining it looks pretty darn good for a 70 year old binnacle, eh? |
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Here it's July 6th, and
I have been given the huge privilege of observing the July 4th July fireworks from the O11 level. Tonight was the ships annual fund raiser, The Battleship Blast, and this was the 10th such event I've attended. On two previous Blasts I have fired Mount 52, and tonight I got to watch the fireworks from this lofty perch, it was awesome. This shot is taken as the sun is going down and the small boats are gathering for the fireworks. Following the fireworks we fired Mounts 52 & 56, needless to say a good time was had by all! |
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| One week later it's July 13th and we had an antique car show on the pier. |
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On the same day as the
car show we also had a visit by two former skippers of the ship, each of whom went on to become flag officers before retiring from the Navy. Seen here is Admiral Richard D. Milligan, ships captain from 15 September 1983 - 7 September 1985 and Admiral Douglas J. Katz, ships captain from 8 August 1987 - 19 May 1989. |
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The admirals, along
with a group of 1980s crewman, assembled first on the forecastle for a short meeting before taking a tour of the ship. They talked about their time onboard the ship while in service and also about how they could help support the ship in her current role as a museum. The current condition of the teak decking was a topic of discussion and pledges were made to help with the ships Dollars for the Decks program to replace teak. |
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| Ding Ding, Ding Ding, New Jersey x 2... Departing... |
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On August 10th a memorial ceremony was
held onboard for U.S.
Senator |
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Here we are now on
August 17th. This photo, along with the next two, show the progress of removing teak decking from the port side Signal Bridge so repairs can be made to the steel decking and then have new teak decking installed. Here we are just forward of the port side flag bag looking towards the Flag Bridge. This is the long awaited continuation of work that was done on the starboard side Signal Bridge several years ago. |
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This is the crossover
between the port and starboard signal bridges. Here we are looking from port to starboard. It's pretty ugly now, but it will look as good as new when the project is finished. |
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Here are some of the
teak planks that have been removed. They will likely be cut up and used in a future marketing piece like the teak wall plaques we offered for sale recently. To me each of these planks is a historic artifact and should be treated with the reverence it deserves. Anyone who purchases something made from this wood is getting a very unique treasure. |
