The Boys of Summer Visit Mare Island, 1945

From the Mare Island Grapevine  -  Friday, February 23, 1945

“Big League Stars Visit Hospital”

“It was quite an exciting day last Tuesday when the world famous baseball players of the past and present baseball world visited the Mare Island Naval Hospital. They helped spread good cheer and enjoyment for the patients and staff members with their humorous stories and jokes of the national pastime.

Ty Cobb

“Among the group were Ty Cobb, the greatest baseball player of all time, formerly with the Detroit Tigers and other clubs; Lefty O’Doul, manager of the San Francisco Seals, formerly with the Brooklyn Dodgers; Dolph Camilli, manager of the Oakland club, and formerly of the Philadelphia Phillies; JoeGordon, now a sergeant in the Army Air Corps stationed at Hamilton Field, former famous keystoner of the New York Yankees; and Joe Marty, also a sergeant at Hamilton Field, formerly with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“Others present were Jim Tobin, great pitcher for the Boston Braves; Augie Galan, star outfielder of the Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers; Ernie Lombardi, catcher for the Cincinnati Reds and N.Y. Giants. And last, but by no means least, Oscar Vitt, one-time manager of the Cleveland Indians, who is noted for his deep bellow which is so familiar to all fans of the American League.

Lefty O'Doul

“Probably the most appreciated and truthful statement was made by Joe Gordon when he thanked Tony Lazzari for retiring, thus to allow him (Gordon) to take over.

“After a short movie of the World Series of 1944, Manuel Duarte [owner of the Oakland Oaks] acted as the “Professor” in a Baseball Quiz, in which the patients participated. The winning team with a score of 560 points had as their members Pfc. Straub, Pfc. Pitzer, Pfc. Sims who was high man and Cpl. White. The other team put up a good fight with a score of 333 points. The ballplayers, accompanied by W.A. Brown of the Oakland Tribune brought prizes for the winners.

“Later in the afternoon the players visited the wards where they talked with the bed patients who were not able to attend the theater performance.”

Mare Island Names

The story of Mare Island’s naming is a well-known one: General Mariano G. Vallejo’s favorite white mare falling overboard into the wind-swept waters of the Carquinez Straits. The horse was feared lost, but later turned up on the shores of Isla Plana… “the flat island,” and the General, relieved that his favorite horse had survived, renamed the island Isla de la Yegua… “Island of the Mare.”
 
But there are other names associated with Mare Island that have more obscure origins. The Mare Island Grapevine of March 27, 1953 ran an interesting article explaining the origins of some of those names.

WHERE  DO YOU WORK? DUBLIN, SNAKE RANCH, SIBERIA, GISHVILLE?

“Gishville, Snake Ranch, Little Siberia and Dublin all are, or were, names of areas of Mare Island --- and where they came from makes for some interesting reading into the history of the West Coast’s greatest naval shipyard.  Most simple to trace down were the names “Snake Ranch” and “Little Siberia.” The Snake Ranch is that area from which the finger piers extend at the southern end of Mare Island.  Back in the days prior to the filling in of that section to turn it into workable area, it was, according to old timers, alive with snakes of many and varied descriptions, including rattlesnakes.

“The fact that in recent years a rattlesnake or so has turned up dead on the ammunition depot grounds, just south of the area in question, bears out the statement.

Mare Island's "Elephant Train"

“Little Siberia in the days BET (Before Elephant Train)* was just what its name implies---an outpost, a haven for exiles, and a heck of a place to get to and from if a person were relegated to shanks mare. Now well built up and full of buildings, the Siberia of yesterday no longer is little, for it fills most of the north end of the shipyard---but it holds its name.

“After all, you have to go “far” north to get there.

“Siberia once was all marsh and water. Old timers (the same ones as mentioned before) recall getting into boats around what is now Third street, and going duck hunting in the area around the lumber storage yard and on north.

“Dublin was a real, live settlement of a dozen or so families which strung out up a hill that no longer is there. The hill stood where the dispensary and supply building 483 now are located and was leveled in the not too distant past.

“Families who lived in Dublin---so named for its large Irish population---included the Horns, Jamison’s, Pearcy’s, Knowland’s, O’Brien’s, McGee’s, Tiernans and Baker’s. There were others, too.

“The Wards and the O’Briens “belong” to the “city,” but actually lived near where the old stables now stand.

“Times were good for the residents of Dublin. The youngsters had the run of the place and went swimming on the “sandy” beaches on the west side of the island.  Yes, we said “sandy.” They had sports teams which competed against town teams from Vallejo and the Navy ran small tugs back and forth across the channel to town --- free for nothing.

“If they couldn’t get a tug, Dublin’s townspeople usually could get a ride with a Mare Island worker who was rowing to work. It was not uncommon to see 10 or 12 men in a longboat making with the oars on their way to or from work.

“Groceries ordered in Vallejo were delivered by ferry to the shipyard and then to the houses by one-horse buggy. The large fruit orchards which once stood behind “officers’ row” were fine places to supplement a lagging menu.

“Gishville, on the other hand, is of fairly recent birth as far as names are concerned. It did not exist by name until World War II.

 

“During the war the area bounded by Shop 31, Shop 51 and structural shops on the south and west, were used for layout and prefab work of all kinds and was under the supervision of the shipfitters.

“The man who was in charge of the area was Griffin R. Gish, a leadingman shipfitter, who had charge of the “assembly field.”  Gish, who now works in supply joined the shipfitter shop in August,1927. He was promoted to leadingman in 1940 --- just in time to lend his name to Mare Island’s history.”

* The “Elephant Trains” were used at the Treasure Island World’s Fair of 1939-40 to transport visitors around the Fairgrounds. When the Fair closed, the trains were transferred to Mare Island where they were used to convey workers around the Shipyard.

Captain T. J. J. See: "The Sage of Mare Island"

Captain Thomas Jefferson Jackson See, “the Sage of Mare Island,” was born on this date in 1866. Captain See was an internationally known astronomer, mathematician, author, philosopher, and lecturer, who spent much of his career in charge of the chronometer and time station at Mare Island’s naval observatory. See attained a degree from the University of Missouri and later received a doctorate in astronomy at the University of Berlin in Germany. Returning to the United States, See worked closely with renowned astronomers George Ellery Hale and Percival Lowell, among others. He later worked at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. and taught mathematics at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. See’s inability to work within the strict confines of military discipline ultimately led to his transfer to the then-remote Mare Island Navy Yard in 1902, where he served for nearly thirty more years.

Although Captain See was acknowledged as one of the most prominent and accomplished astronomers of his time, many of his theories ran counter to the theories popular among his contemporaries. Most notably, Captain See had a long-standing and bitter feud with Albert Einstein. Over time, however, Einstein’s theories gained wider acceptance while See’s theories were dismissed among main-stream astronomers. A contributing factor to these intellectual battles was See’s own personality. He stood well over six feet tall, with an intense disposition and an outspoken disdain for those not up to his intellectual standards. Captain See not only outlived his own theories, but also outlived most of his contemporaries, dying at age 96 in 1962.

 For many years Mare Island’s time station signaled the exact instant of noon each day by dropping a time ball from a tower on the observatory hill. Navigators in the channel used this signal to check the accuracy of their chronometers. Later, this synchronization was set by radio signal from Washington, D.C. rendering Mare Island’s time station obsolete. The observatory was torn down in the 1930s.

Chief Engineer Daniel Scully

On this day in 1884, Chief Engineer Daniel Scully of the Vallejo Fire Department gave his life in the line of duty. Yet 130 years later his name still does not appear on the memorial at Vallejo City Hall commemorating other fire fighters who made this ultimate sacrifice.  On January 25, 1884 a fire broke out in downtown Vallejo. The next day, the Vallejo Evening Chronicle reported the story:

“In a short time it was reported that the fire was in the Bernard block on Sacramento Street, and a rush was made in that direction. It proved to be in the furnishing goods store of S. Strause in the Sacramento Street side of the building. Those first on the scene of the fire reported that no blaze was to be seen, but that a dirty smelling and heavy black smoke was issuing through the front doors and windows of the building. The people stood in crowds watching the progress of the devouring element and in a short time the flames broke out and lit up the whole neighborhood.”

“Chief Engineer Daniel Scully of the fire department was indefatigable in his efforts to suppress the flames and visited the different parts of the building to see where the best and most effective work could be done. He had been in the second story of the building where the smoke was intense and suffocating, and returned to the street, when in answer to a question he replied that he felt dizzy. He placed his hands on the shoulders of Thomas Gorham and Philip Steffan and sank down. They carried him to the sidewalk and afterwards to the Naval Drug Store where restoratives were applied, but all to no purpose as he died in three minutes after being brought in.”

Six years after his death, the Evening Chronicle noted that Scully’s sacrifice was still remembered by his fellow firefighters: “One mournful emblem hangs upon [the firehouse] walls, a reminder of duty well performed and paid with death and whose daring must prove an inspiration to every fireman here. We allude to the heavy leather regulation hat which hangs here and worn by Daniel Scully, the then foreman of the company and who met his death fearlessly while fighting the flames in the Bernard building six years ago. The fire department has its local hero and martyr in the person of Scully and the memory of his unselfish sacrifice must always dignify and exalt its work.”

Chief Engineer Daniel Scully was buried in the Carquinez Cemetery on Benicia Road. Today, his grave marker is broken and what remains of the inscription is badly worn. Daniel Scully’s sacrifice has been forgotten.

In his book The Old Curiosity Shop Charles Dickens wrote: “The memory of those who lie below passes away so soon. At first they tend them, morning, noon, and night; they soon begin to come less frequently; from once a day to once a week; from once a week to once a month; then at long and uncertain intervals; then, not at all.”

Thanksgiving in Vallejo During WWII

In November 1942 Vallejoans celebrated their first Thanksgiving since the start of World War Two. Thousands of defense workers labored round-the-clock at Mare Island Naval Shipyard to support the war effort. The Vallejo Times-Herald of November 26, 1942 described the holiday:

 

Vallejo, U.S. Observe War Thanksgiving

“Today Vallejo joins with Americans around the world in celebrating their first wartime Thanksgiving in a quarter century, starting the day with prayer service, and climaxing it with the traditional turkey dinner. In many homes, soldiers and sailors have been invited around the family board as guests.

“President Roosevelt will lead the Nation’s prayer services in a White House broadcast carried over the major networks at 8:00 a.m. (PWT). With him will be members of the Cabinet, Justices of the Supreme Court, and heads of the Armed Forces. The President will read his Thanksgiving Day proclamation and songs will follow in the first such Thanksgiving ceremony at the White House.

“While services are held by the Ministerial Union and by other churches, thousands of Mare Island workmen in machine and ordnance shops will be ‘passing the ammunition’ literally, with work as usual. But somewhere during their day, civilians and service men will stop for their roast turkey, and to reflect a moment on the fact that now, both at home and in war news abroad, America really has something to be thankful for.

“American forces on the far flung battle lines may have to take their holiday dinner in emergency rations, but those in the Vallejo and Solano County area will “shoot the works.” Here is an exact U.S. Army menu released yesterday:

“Fruit salad, stuffed celery, sweet mixed pickles, olives, roast turkey, sage dressing, mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, buttered corn, creamed peas, creamed carrots, hot rolls, assorted bread, apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, assorted candies, coffee, milk, hot chocolate, cigars, cigarettes.

“Aboard ships, as far as could be learned, there will also be turkey and trimmings, in a menu much like the Army’s.

“However, in the [Mare Island] Navy Yard’s three large and two small cafeterias, there will be no turkey.

“It would take too long to serve,” was the reason given by F.L. Bonn, general manager of the cafeterias. “We feed more than 23,000 persons, and we could never accommodate this number by our closing hour of 5:15 if we had turkey. However, we’re having the same substantial servings of roast beef, pork and cutlets as they get every day.”

“Ninety inmates of the Solano County hospital at Fairfield will also sit down to a Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, cranberries, mince and pumpkin pie, celery, cauliflower, and other trimmings.

“The “super” dinner and that period of time devoted to church services will be the only evidence of a break in schedule for either the soldiers, sailors or the workers on the American production front.

“Secretaries of the War and Navy Departments have ordered personnel of their departments to observe the day by working as usual. War Production Chief Donald M. nelson called upon those engaged in tasks vital to the victory effort to remain at their jobs.

Serving Thanksgiving dinner at Mare Island during WWII

“The American housewife, who for the first time in three years could invite relatives from a neighboring state without wondering whether or not they had already celebrated the holiday, found that her 1942 dinner was costing her more than at any time since 1919.

“The Office of Price Administration said the average cost was offset by the higher average family earnings.”