Like Our Flagship, The Nation Will Chart a Forward Course
With Strength, Speed And Grace
As we continue to mark the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, this week the SS United States Conservancy illuminated America's Flagship brighter than ever before in tribute to all the frontline workers, first responders, and public health professionals who have responded to the global health crisis.
As Conservancy President Susan Gibbs remarked, "Optimism, strength, ambition, and innovation defined the creation of SS United States. During this time of unprecedented challenges, our nation has yet again embraced those values and persevered against seemingly insurmountable odds."
Thousands of people from across the country and around the world watched the special lighting on the Conservancy's Facebook page, and both 6ABC Action News (LINKED HERE) and CBS Philadelphia (LINKED HERE) provided coverage from aboard the Big U. As we continue to battle the pandemic, the SS United States Conservancy salutes the nation's enduring spirit and resilience.
Learn More About The Women Who Left Their Mark On The United States
This week we continue our Women's History Month series with a look at some of the amazing, visionary and powerful women who helped make America's Flagship an icon of its era and a global ambassador for our nation. A number of prominent artistic installations in the United States' interiors were created by talented and renowned female artists. For example, Hildreth Meière designed the eye-catching three-dimensional map titled The Mississippi: Father of Waters that dominated the Cabin Class Lounge. Mira Jedwabnik Van Doren, pictured here, was commissioned to design the enamel tabletops for the SS United States' Observation Lounge when she was only 21 years old.
A key component of the ship's famed propulsion system was designed by Elaine Kaplan, an engineer with Gibbs & Cox, whose groundbreaking design of four- and five-bladed propeller combination was instrumental in the Big U's capturing the Blue Riband. These are just a few of the remarkable women who made a lasting impact on America's Flagship's engineering, art and design.
The Conservancy's decade of work to keep the United States afloat was recently featured in the Daily Press of Newport News, Virginia.
As the story notes, "Its funnels don’t gleam red-white-and-blue the way they did when SS United States left Newport News Shipbuilding in the summer of 1952 — or even after its last stop there in 1970 — but the work of those shipbuilders mean hopes for a new mission for the liner isn’t an impossible dream."
A big thanks to Conservancy supporter John Berg, who recently shared this photo of himself looking stylish with his new SS United States baseball cap. Photo courtesy of the SS United States Conservancy West Coast Chapter's Facebook group.
"After we got over our amazement, we found out that the whole world was astounded by the beauty, size, and engineering marvel that America had created to cross the ocean in record time in comfort and safety. Something that has never been able to be improved upon for over 70 years deserves to be saved."
