Remembering The Steamers

By Isabel Morse Maresh

May 24, 1990

An open house to show off one of the new Navy ships was recently held at Bath Iron Works. We have two sons working there, and Peter arranged for Bob, Pat, and me to have a grand tour of the shipyard. It is a majestic place, with the huge cranes which show up on the skyline for miles. The awe we felt can only be reflected in a 1908 newspaper article about the launching of the turbine steamer Belfast.

The date was Nov. 12, 1908. The Hon. John S. Hyde, president of the Bath Iron Works, extended a general invitation to Belfast residents to attend the launching of the Belfast. It was expected that a large delegation would attend, but because of the early start and late return of the trip, and weather conditions, only 46 were able to attend. The hospitality of the city of Bath was long remembered.

At 5 a.m. the steamer, Castine left Lewis wharf in Belfast with Orrin J. Dickey in charge. The group arrived at Tillson's wharf in Rockland where they took the 8 a.m. train to bath. President Hyde met the group and escorted them on the tour of the steamer Belfast, as well as two torpedo boats and various departments.

A banquet was held at New Meadows Inn for lunch and the group was conveyed in a special electric car, where the guests enjoyed a complimentary shore dinner.

A large platform had been elected for the launching of the steamer and was decorated with flags and bunting. A delegation from the Eastern Steamship Company had ordered a total of four turbine steamers, and the Camden had preceded the building of the Belfast.

Carrie M. Greenlaw of Belfast had been chosen to christen the steamer and her maid of honor was Margaret L. Keene, also of Belfast. Miss Greenlaw was presented with a bouquet of American Beauty roses while Miss Keene received a bouquet of violets tied with a violet ribbon. Miss Greenlaw wore a black silk skirt, ecru waist, tan coat, and black hat while Miss Keene wore a tailored blue suit, with matching hat and tan lace waist.

Miss Greenlaw had been instructed as to her duties, and at 2:58 p.m. a signal was given. At the first blow, the bottle with red, white, and blue ribbons, lettered on each, "Bath Iron Works, The City of Belfast, Turbine Steamer, Miss Carrie Greenlaw, Sponsor, Bath, Maine" with the date, the contents baptized not only the steamer but several workmen on the staging below. The sightseers scrambled to obtain fragments of the broken bottle for souvenirs. Miss Greenlaw kept the gaily decorated neck of the bottle.

Miss Greenlaw told a Bath Enterprise reporter, "I enjoyed it so much I'd like to do it over again. It was a novel sensation, and a lot of fun to see those workmen get a ducking in the face from the foaming champagne. I was a trifle timid, as I thought I couldn't hit hard enough to break the bottle, but it was a perfect success." The stately steamer Belfast slid swiftly and smoothly down the ways and the Belfast delegation gave a hearty salute.

The steamers ran regularly from Bangor to Boston, and they were a familiar sight in the Belfast Bay. My great-grandmother took the Steamer to Boston to bring home her four grandchildren whose mother had died. She said that the children were seasick the whole trip. A traveler could leave Belfast in the morning and arrive in Boston in the afternoon. Many summer guests arrived at ports on the coast via steamer.

I have been told that after the Camden and Belfast had served the Eastern Steamship Company many years on the Bangor to Boston route, the U.S. government used the steamers as troopships during World War II.

It must have been quite an adventure to see the steamers in the harbor and to board the ships to see the world and seek one's fortune.