Document 3QMo5xZ8KdQ0d3Dd4G07GREYJ

PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DIVISION, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. 4, No. 19 October 4, 1962 More Indio Pictures These photos were made from excellent color slides taken in Bombay by Chief Engineer Colos J. Bennett. His ship, the Esso Jacksonville, was at that port June 30-July 10, on a round-the-world voyage. (above) A waterfront view showing broad-beamed, lateen-rigged cargo lighters. (above, right) Beach scene with a young Indian mother and child in foreground. There are refreshment stands at left and under umbrellas but no bathing suits, at least, not as we know them. (right) Bombay sea wall during monsoon season, with very modern-looking apartment buildings opposite. "For Want of a Naii the Shoe Was Lost" A paraphrase of that familiar quotation could be -- for want of a lock nut a propeller was almost lost. The incident occurred as the Esso Lexington was maneuvering into Charleston on Sept. 21. Three jars had been noticed on three occasions when the engines were run astern and it wras discovered later that the propeller nut had backed off 8" on the tail shaft. Two questions presented themselves -- How to move the 32-ton w'heel back in position and how did the nut get out of place? The answer to the first was solved by dis charging cargo and ballasting the forward part of the ship in order to bring the stem up as high as possible. Then, repair men from the Charleston Drydock and Shipbuilding Co., working on barges and rafts, pulled the propeller back in place with the aid of chain hoists. The job started on the morning of Sept. 22 and was completed at noon. Sept. 24, the men working around the clock. The second question was answered when the fairwater cap was removed. A locking pin or "keeper" that prevents the 500-lb. propeller nut from turning w'as found in the cap but there were no lock bolts to hold down the pin. Thus, the propeller nut was able to back off and the wheel would slip down the tail shaft taper when going astern. (continued on next pageJ Boston Agent Receives 30-Year Honors J. J. Keileher, Jr. (left) is presented with a Humble 30-Year Gold Watch by Joseph Andreae, Assistant General Manager of the Marine Division, at a luncheon at the Houston Club, Sept. 18. Mr. Keileher, who has been Agent at Boston since last November, began his Company career as a service station attendant in New Orleans in Sept. 1932. He became a Dispatcher at Bayonne a year later and a Ship Operator in Rockefeller Center from 1935 to 1945. After four years in marine insurance, he moved to Baltimore, first as Special Assistant and then Assist ant Agent. On May 1, 1956 he was made Agent at Norfolk and headed the Baltimore office from Aug. 1 7, 1959 until his Boston appointment. Rare as is this type of mishap, it is almost in credible that it should be the second one in a month. The first victim was the Esso Tampa. She was preparing to anchor off New Haven on Aug. 29. Shortly after her engine was put full astern a terrific jar was felt. At first it was thought that the propeller had struck submerged debris and perhaps it did as something waterlogged came to the surface. When the ship was docked by tugs and lightened after discharging cargo, the propeller was found to be off the shaft and just hanging on the rudder casting. Best way out of this predicament was to lash the propeller in place and tow the ship to Newport News, where a spare tail shaft and pro peller were available. The Tampa left New Haven Sept. 1, arrived at Newport News on the 4th and sailed on the 8th. Superstition has it that "jolts" like these come in three's. Here's the third. The Esso Dallas was southbound from Tiverton, R. I. on Sept. 5. She was well out in the Atlantic, 1,150 fathoms under her keel, visibility good, seas calm, no surface craft or flotsam visible -- and a slight jar was felt. Investigating, crew members saw blood in the water near the stern and a herd of whales in the vicinity. "No apparent damage was found," Captain Gregaitis reported, "and the vessel's propeller seems to rotate smoothly, as it did prior to the slight bump." Thrift Fund Report A report on Thrift Fund operations for the year ended June 30, 1962 has been mailed to members. The report shows a total value of Thrift accounts of approximately $370 million, of which $285 million is represented by almost 6% million shares of stock at cost. The average value of members' accounts is about $8,600. The value of the Fund increased by about $22 million, or 6%, during the year. Additions included $38 million of employee contributions, $32 million of employer contributions and $10 million in divi dends from stock. Earnings on cash invested by the Thrift Trustee (largely loans to members) added up to about $3 million, which was distributed to the accounts of employees as of June 30. The distribution was equal to 3.8% interest per year on the cash held in members' accounts. During the year employees were involved in 185,000 transactions, over half of which were purchases of stock. About 750,000 shares were purchased. Baytown Refinery Work Force To be Reduced by 500 Salaried and hourly employees at the Com pany's Raytown Refinery, currently numbering about 4,400, are to be reduced by about 500 early next year, according to an announcement Sept. 21 by H. H. Meier, General Manager of the plant. Mr. Meier said that the primary reasons for the reduction are an excess of refining capacity; loss of Humble's largest wholesale customer (Standard Oil Co. of Ky.); a substantial curtailment of con struction w'ork, and the Colonial Pipeline, which could jeopardize some markets that have been supplied by Baytown. "We are deeply concerned for the people affect ed and we intend to take every reasonable means available to soften the impact upon them," Mr. Meier said, "but it is important not only to the Refinery but also to the community that the Re finery continue as a healthy business enterprise." Voluntary early retirement with liberal special benefits will be offered to employees 50 years of age or older who have 15 or more years' service ESSO FLEET NEWS is published for the seagoing em ployees of the Marine Division, Humble Oil & Refining Co.: J. D. Rogers, General Manager; Joseph Andreae, Assistant General Manager; Sydney Wire, Assistant Gen eral Manager. W. E. Gardner, Editor. Contributions and suggestions are invited and should be addressed to The Editor, Esso Fleet News, Humble Oil & Refining Co., P. O. Box 1512, Houston 1, Texas. U< 2 1st |u- < ' C t. St2--O < CJ X IT ^ :S oj uU! f^E =L, G EXX-MOR-007795 and who are in work that has a surplus of per sonnel. The special retirement offer will also be available to employees not affected by the reduc tion in operations. This is expected to provide openings for some persons who would otherwise be released. Retraining will be offered to employees who can qualify for these' jobs. Surplus employees who either are not covered by the retirement program or who do not qualify for other work will be offered a severance allow ance based on rate of pay and length of service. The retirement program will be in effect between Nov. 1 and the end of this year. Except for the names, you could guess most of this story right from the picture. The location is the town of Hunter in New York's Catskill Mts. The boy (Bill Palace) is fascinated with his little pet chipmunk which he rescued from the claws of a cat three weeks ago. He is feeding the chipmunk from a bottle and mother (Mrs. Palace) says she doesn't know who enjoys it more -- child or pet. "We keep him in a cage," she adds, "as I do not trust his tiny sharp teeth on the furniture or drapes. However, all the children play with him, let him crawl over them and he is quite tame." The father (Frank Palace) is Able Seaman in the Esso Bridgeport and rightfully proud of his family, his home and his 24 years in the fleet. TAFFRAIL TALK Oscar H. Dorbacker, who has been sailing as First Asst, and relieving Chief Engineer in the Esso Florence for the past four years, is another note-in-bottle man. "I have probably thrown 100 notes overboard," Mr. Dorbacker said, "but up to now have only received two answers." The first note, dropped off Key West, only drifted about 40 miles and was picked up in a short time. The second note, dropped from the Esso Char lotte off Southwest Pass on Dec. 28, 1955, drifted for four years, eight months and 13 days. The finder, Mr. B. Brooks. Jr., sent this letter to Mr. Dorbacker to claim his SI reward: "Dear Sir: I found your Listerine bottle the morning Hurricane Donna hit this area. Sept. 10. 1960, 9:30 a.m., in the road of Coral Reef Drive, about 100 ft. from Biscayne Bay. approx. 25 miles south of Miami." ** * Chief Cook Anthony P. Senna (ex Esso Green ville) writes from his home in Bayonne. N. J. that "I am very proud to announce the arrival of my first son. I have been married 17 years and have three daughters. Rita, the oldest, is 15, Toni is 14 and Faith. 12. The baby. Anthony, was bom Sept. 25 and weighed eight pounds. You can imagine how glad I am to have a son at last." ** * The Esso Gettysburg (Capt. Johannes Boje and Chief Engineer Thomas F. Smith) is scheduled to load a part cargo at Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, Oct. 5 and the balance at Aruba, Oct. 7 for dis charge at Los Angeles. She will then load fuel oil for the return voyage to the East Coast. A new product called "Trowel-Crete", that can be used indoors or outdoors to patch concrete, brick or stone and for leveling floors, is now on the market. It comes in a carton containing a concrete- 'mmmmmsmm The MIS-Adventures of J.sTu*lB\FPj?ONE Mc FRACTURE "No use crying over spilt milk", the saying goes -- that is, unless you are like J. Stumbleprone here and slip in it. We really can't blame Mac too much for this one because his "spill" was the result of a prev ious one. Somebody had dropped a container of milk and Mac, coming out of the chill box, "put his foot in it". He got a nasty bump on the head. This must have caused double suffering -- (1) to the head of the injured and (2) to the conscience of the man who failed to mop up his spill. <3 2 Ik 5 |B5 !< uz) 2 < 'cj x i" h if ft *U3 uj X uj H colored setting powder, a plastic bottle of Enjay butyl latex and a trowel. To apply, the powder is mixed with the liquid latex and smoothed on the surface. No water is required. The rubberized cement is said to resist cracking and to be "non-shrinking, moistureproof, permanently resilient and weather - tough". A quart-size package is priced at $3.95 and will cover 16 sq. ft. one-eighth inch thick. Pints and five- gallon sizes are also made by the Adhesion Engi neering Co., Bridgeville. Pa. ** * Oil well drillers can now see what they are doing by television. A new TV camera can be lowered down the hole to give a close-up view of drilling tools and rock formations as much as a mile below the surface. RECENT RETIREMENTS Fireman-Watertender James R. Langen, known throughout the fleet (and elsewhere) as the man who makes the seem ingly impossible chairs in bottles, re tired Oct. 1. Since he took up his unique hobby nine years ago, Jim has given away more than 550 bot tled chairs and is never caught-up with his orders. (He sells the curios for $5 apiece.) Actually, Oct. 1 is Mr. Langen's second retirement. He had the experience once before when he re tired from the U. S. Navy with a lieutenant's stripes and a 33 Vi-year service record. He saw action in both World Wars. Joining the Company 10 years ago. Jim started in the Deck Dept, but since Aug. 1955 has sailed almost exclusively as Fireman-Watertender. Be fore he left his last ship, the Esso Baltimore on Sept. 4. he was presented with a leather traveling bag and an Exacto carving set. In addition, a card extending best wishes was signed by "just about everyone in the ship", according to Chief Steward Lester Payne. Mr. Langen and his wife live in Jacksonville Beach. Fla. and have two children -- a daughter who has graduated from college and a son who soon will. As for retirement plans. Jim put it this way -- "I'm just going to take in slack with both hands". We dare say there isn't anyone in Baltimore who has a better constructed Florida room, cement block fence and concrete walk than this one. It was made by Emory T. Bidle, Pumpman in the Esso Baltimore. He worked 8 to 10 hours a day for 25 days to do it, using 1 1 Vi yds. of poured concrete for the foundation and walks and hand-mixing 15 bags of cement to lay the blocks. There is a planter for shrubs or flowers under the two front jalousie windows and another one near the gate for a tree. The roof is made of 3" tongue and groove flooring and pitched only 2" in case he ever decides to make a sun deck on top. The total cost for materials, Mr. Bidle said, was $1,000 -- "and the best contractor's bid I could get was $3,500." mmmm WORDS OF THE WISE Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision, a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it. --Gordon Graham Sc Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits. --Mark Twain OBITUARY - - ' Captain Maurice W. Carter, 69, died Sept. 10 in Orrington, Maine, where he had been living since his retirement six years ago. He served in the fleet for 33 years, of which 18 were as Master. A native of Maine, Captain Carter sailed in U. S. Shipping Board freighters and served in the U. S. Army in World War I. He was a Master of Company ves sels throughout the second world war and until his retirement on Sept. 1. 1956. His last ship was the Esso Havana. which he commanded for three vears. EXX-MOR-007797