SS United States Conservancy News

October 29, 2010

Manhattan's famed luxury liner row vintage postcard image.

Conservancy News and Updates

Hampton, VA Event Set for November 13
More Media Coverage of SS United States
SS United States Honored by Steamship Historical Society
Band Composes Inspirational Anthem about SS United States
Conservancy's 2011 SS United States Calendar on Sale Soon!

HAMPTON ROADS EVENT AND GALA DINNER NOVEMBER 13

The SS United States Conservancy is supporting the Steamship Historical Society of America's special 75th Anniversary Celebration on November 13 in Hampton, Virginia. We hope you will join us for this special maritime event! The Conservancy will be screening its dazzling new 15-minute video presentation entitled SS United States: SOS which was produced by Big Ship Films and directed by Robert Radler (SS United States: Lady in Waiting) and Conservancy board president Susan Gibbs will provide an update on the SS United States' latest developments.

Additional presentations will address ship building and model making, the restoration of the Captain John Smith and the NS Savannah, and other maritime topics. After the formal program on Saturday afternoon, the Conservancy will convene an initial meeting of its new Hampton Roads chapter. Please join us! We'd love to have a great turn-out! A gala 1950s-themed dinner is scheduled to cap off the event.

Saturday's program fee is $45.00 per person and the gala dinner costs $50.00 per person. To download a .pdf of the registration form, please click HERE. If you have any questions about the weekend's events, please contact Elizabeth Fletcher, SS United States Conservancy Advisory Council member and Steamship Historical Society of America's Hampton Roads Chapter Chair via email HERE or by telephone at (757) 810-6664.

MEDIA COVERAGE CONTINUES!

The SS Conservancy's ongoing media outreach continues full speed ahead! Links to recent stories are provided below and be sure to check our blog regularly for updates!

The Flagship Donor," Elizabeth Malone's excellent profile of the SS United States' benefactor H.F. Gerry Lenfest, is now online. Although the headline states that "Gerry Lenfest has rescued the SS United States," the specific terms of his donation are clarified later in the article: Mr. Lenfest's generosity will allow for the Conservancy to take title to the vessel and maintain it for twenty months while seeking to build a public-private partnership to secure the ship's future indefinitely.

Jack Shaum has written an excellent article about the current status of the SS United States for the Steamship Historical Society of America's quarterly publication, Power Ships. The article is available to preview online.

Silvio Laccetti, a professor of social sciences at Stevens Institute of Technology, wrote an opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this month in which he makes a case for preserving the SS United States.

In case you missed it, Ann Dermody wrote a piece about the SS United States in the August/September issue of Boat U.S. Magazine.

REGGAE BAND PENS ANTHEM TO SS UNITED STATES

Jimmy and the Parrots wrote a beautiful anthem to commemorate the SS United States. The Conservancy would like to personally thank Jimmy Maraventano and his band of Parrots: Lance Hyland Stark, Jimmy Maraventano, Jr., and Hal B. Selzer. We'd also like to extend a special thanks to Manager Mary Beth Rotella for providing the lyrics which follow.

SYMBOL OF AMERICA
Words and Music by Jimmy Maraventano
Copyright 2010

She floats as only she can
Proud and majestic is she
Colors of grandeur none can compare
Could you picture her on the high sea

Kings and queens were the guests of her time
Persons of fortune and fame
Can you recall the time it was
When the whole word would utter her name

She's a symbol of America
Built with American hands
She cuts through the seas with amazing ease
She stills holds the Blue Riband

Flagship of our nation
The strongest and fastest to date
We cannot stand by we will not accept
That this is to be her fate

Her contours split the horizon
Defying the endless tides
Though faded and rusting you'll see right through
Her beauty her grace and her prime

But now broken, alone, no place to call home
She sits and wait patiently
To ride the waves, fly her flags
Fulfill her destiny

She's a symbol of America
Built with American hands
She cuts through the seas with amazing ease
She stills holds the Blue Riband

Flagship of our nation
The strongest and fastest to date
We cannot stand by we will not accept
That this is to be her fate

For fifty odd years she continues to fight
The ravages of the sea
Time will win out as it always does
Fade into history

Now is the time is to hear her call
Let's end these years of neglect
A second chance to serve again
She deserves at least that much respect

For she's a symbol of America
Built with American hands
She cuts through the seas with amazing ease
She stills holds the Blue Riband

A symbol of America
Her namesake the United States
Let's do this for our country
Before it is too late.

A symbol of America.

Steamship Historical Society of America Honors SS United States

The SS United States Conservancy is delighted to announce that the SS United States was awarded the prestigious 2010 National Ship of the Year Award by the Steamship Historical Society of America (SSHSA) at its 75th Anniversary Celebration in Providence, Rhode Island last month. This award has been presented to only three ocean liners over the years by SSHSA, and was awarded to the SS United States in recognition of her significance as the flagship of the American Merchant Marine (1952-1969) and ongoing efforts to showcase and preserve the extraordinary design and engineering that resulted in the safest, fastest and most powerful ocean liner ever built. SSHSA Board member and Award Committee chair Richard D. Rabbett commented: "SSHSA is delighted to recognize the greatest American ocean liner ever built upon the occasion of SSHSA's 75th Anniversary. The mission of the SSHSA is dedicated to recording, preserving, and disseminating information about the history of engine powered vessels. The SS United States is the ultimate American expression of a PowerShip. This award serves not only to pay tribute to this iconic American vessel, but also to acknowledge that in the case of the SS United States, her future, while still uncertain, appears brighter than ever thanks to the ongoing efforts of the SS United States Conservancy and the ship's legions of fans and supporters."

2011 SS UNITED STATES CALENDAR COMING SOON!

The Conservancy's 2011 SS United States wall calendar is in the final stages of production and will be available soon. Designed by the talented Gregory Shutters, whose ongoing "Don't Give Up the Shirt" website sells gorgeous tee shirts, posters, stickers and more, the new calendar's theme is "Ship of the Stars" and features gorgeous color images of the ship then and now while highlighting the many celebrities, politicians, and other notables who sailed aboard her. Important dates throughout her career are also highlighted. We'll let you know just as soon as the calendar is available for purchase!

NUMBER OF PLANK OWNERS CONTINUES TO GROW

The Conservancy's national campaign titled "Save Our Ship" (SOS) offers a customized "Plank Owner" certificate for tax-deductible donations of at least $25 via its DONOR WEBSITE.

Please click on the link above and give as generously as you can. If every American contributes even a modest amount, the SS United States could be saved, but we are in urgent need of your help! Your continued support is what fuels our determination to save the SS United States!

For the latest news about the SS United States,
please visit our Save Our Ship blog

Please visit our bookstore on Blurb.com.

Please support our efforts to save
the SS United States by
visiting our store.

SS United States Conservancy
P.O. Box 32115
Washington, DC 20007
(888)-488-7787