Document VG2N8zvjzvZwOzEwe6V2Zgdjj

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT A u s t in t h e c o l l e c t io n s in t h e c e n t e r f o t a m e r ic a T h is t U iT am r.i) m m PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DIVISION, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vo!. 4, No. 12 June 14, 1962 CATTLE, COTTON AND CORN This headline sounds something like the title of a popular song. And in a way, it is musical -- at least to the ears of Alfred Kerr. Mr. Kerr, still in his fifties, retired Jan. 1 after going to sea for 40 years and spending nearly half that time in the Esso fleet. Although technically Mr. Kerr is a Humble annuitant, he has not retired in the usual sense. He has just switched from the bounding main to the rolling plain of east-central Texas, from a Bos'n's berth to the good earth. It started about 30 years ago when Alfred and Karen, his wife, bought his mother-in-law's farm in Taylor, Texas. Over the years they paid off the debts on it, built it up through prudent manage ment and Alfred's earnings as a seaman. Eleven years ago they purchased adjoining property and once more went into debt, this time for $16,000. And again, prudent management, good luck and Alfred's continuous employment in the fleet paid off the mortgage -- and built up some savings, besides. Now the Kerrs' have 223 acres -- 80 in cotton, 70 in corn and the balance in pasture. The grass land supports about 60 head of milk and beef cattle, although the figure varies as he buys and sells from time to time. Right now he has 10 baby calves recently purchased at an auction. He'll keep them for three or four months -- until they are big enough to be sold for veal. The Kerrs' daughter, Carrie Jo Gordon and her husband, Jack, also have a house on the property. They have three fine boys -- Jackie, 10, Alfred, 6 and David, 4. Carrie Jo is a registered nurse (Mrs. Kerr is, too) and works two days a week at Creek that runs through the Kerr Farm grazing land. HMiS 3- sr> i$5 *;-v j WBBBSBSm&k 'O sv&v-yr r , C'TUatiihl ziszmism Retired Bos'n Alfred Kerr and family -- grandsons Alfred and David, daughter Carrie Jo Gordon and Mrs. Kerr. Another grandson, Jackie, was in school. & 'W2I V Mr. Kerr and a few of his cattle, which are his special interest. He is stroking Sammy, a bull which he says is a gentle and good-natured animal. Part of the Kerrs' 80 acres of cotton. The land in cotton and corn is worked on shares -- Alfred receiving every third bushel of corn and every fourth bale of cotton. mm S rthm' k-rr-1-:.'- ,--sr'--, .vv. v ffc.tUSt* X--;-* :Am *1; i-; Vi: -I EXX-MOR-007819 the Scott and White Memorial Hospital ("the Mayo Brothers of the South") in Temple, Texas. In addition to cattle, Kerr's Farm population includes a small flock of sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, pigeons, ring neck doves, two pigs, two dogs and three Fords -- a new pick-up truck, a "like new" sedan, and an old tractor. Obviously enjoying life on the farm, Mr. Kerr said, "I made it working for Esso". While there's a lot of truth in that, we'd be inclined to give a good share of the credit to his family, too. Capt. J. G. Moffitt Named Manager, Operating Department Captain James G. Moffitt, who served in the fleet for 18 years, advancing from AB to Master, returns to the Marine Division this month as Manager of the Operating Department. For the past four years he has been Operating Superintendent for Esso Tankers, Inc. in New York. Captain Moffitt first went to sea in 1931 as a deck boy in the Clyde Line's Cherokee. He joined the Company as AB in the H. M. Flagler on May 20, 1935, advanced to Third Mate in 1939 and served throughout World War II as Second and Chief Mate. His first command was the W. H. Libby in Sept. 1945. Later he was Master of the Esso Aruba, Esso Bethlehem and several other vessels. Coming ashore in March 1953, Captain Moffitt was Operations Assistant, Harbor Facilities, work ing on the improvement of existing terminals and the development of new ones. He was Port Captain in the Port of New' York Office from May 1955 until his transfer to Esso Tankers in mid-1958. In his new position, Captain Moffitt succeeds Captain M. Breece, who returns to New York as Manager of the Port of New' York Office. Humble Continues S. E. Expansion During the past 30 days the Company has an nounced acquisition of 49 service stations in Geor gia and Mississippi. Thirty-eight of the stations, plus accounts and a bulk plant, were acquired from the Empire Oil Co., of Savannah and 11 sta tions, the properties of Gillespie Oil Co., are in the Hattiesburg, Miss. area. In February and March, 52 stations in Florida, formerly operated by the Southern Oil Co. of Fort Lauderdale and the Florida Southern Oil Co., w'ere purchased. Stationary Butterworth Machines Installed in Esso Washington Tw'o of the Esso Washington's cargo tanks are being equipped with fixed installations of Butterworth machines during the vessel's present repair period. The No. 4 starboard (coated) and No. 8 port (uncoated) tanks will each have five machines --one in each comer, 30' below the deck and one in the center, 38' below' deck. To wash tanks with this system, it will only be necessary to start the Butterworth and stripper pumps and open the valves (located beneath walk way) to the machines. The Butterworth plates are not disturbed. Tw'o other tanks in the Washington, the No. 1 wings, are being fitted to carry solvents and 12 tanks -- Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 6 across -- are being coated with Humble's Rust-Ban 191. In addition to the shipyard w'ork, an impressive amount of repairs was accomplished by the ship's officers and crew during the nearly six weeks' stay at the Newport News yard. Good planning and organization by Captain George E. Christian sen, Chief Mate Ernest Palazzini, Chief Engineer Fulton A. Bergeron and First Ass't Roland A. Walton, plus a fine esprit de corps among the men w'ere responsible. TAFFRAIL TALK One youngster w'ho won't have to go to school on his birthday is George John Redepenning. He was born May 30 (Memorial Day) to Ann and George Redepenning, of Toms River, N. J., weigh ing in at 7 lbs., 8 oz. George, Sr. was recently Oiler in the Esso Zurich. * * * A new' products pipeline from Baytown to San Antonio was put into service May 23 by Humble Pipe Line Co. Gasoline was the first product to start westward and reached San Antonio on May 31. The new' system will total 2 70 miles of pipe w'hen a branch from Luling to Austin is completed later this summer. * * * Just as men in the Esso Gettysburg had a box seat off Cape Canaveral for the blast-off of John Glenn in the Friendship 7 on Feb. 20, the crew 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. COPIED FROM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN of the Esso Miami were eye witnesses of the start of Scott Carpenter's orbits in the Aurora 7 on May 24. AB Charles H. Tyler, of the Miami, wrote that "most of the crew watched the count down on TV and then rushed for the weather deck at `ignite'. We had a fine, clear view of the first and second stages." *** Captain James S. LeCain (ret. April 1, 1952), photographed at the Marine Division headquarters in Houston on May 17. The Captain was enroute from his home in Long Beach, Calif, to visit relatives in Florida and New Jersey and on up to Nova Scotia for some trout fish ing. Why should he go so far for a few fish? He wants to and besides, he was born "up thataway". Captain LeCain is 75, looks fine and has been gath ering no moss, driving about 1,000 miles a month in his "command" -- a Chrysler Imperial. Two West Coast mates recently pleaded guilty to charges of negligence in allowing oil to pollute harbor waters and each was fined $100. One mate miscalculated his loading time by two minutes, causing an overflow. The other failed to have valves lined up properly when de-ballasting and pumped oil overboard with the water. A roughness indicator, a device to instantly determine common ailments of auto engines, has been developed by Esso Research & Engineering Co. The electronic "stethoscope", about the size of a floor model TV set, makes a graph of the en gine's "heartbeat" and can tell by the character of the vibrations whether the problem is in spark plugs, carburetor, timing, or other cause. It takes less than two minutes to open the hood, test the engine and close the hood. The tester is not now commercially available but a patent has been applied for. It has been used for six months to test new engine fuels. RECENT RETIREMENTS i Radio Officer Andrew R. Hamilton began working in the "radio shacks" of merchant ships in 1919 -- when the term was more or less appropriate -- after serving in the U. S. Army Signal Corps in World War I. He made a few trips in the Com pany's L. J. Drake in 1923. sail ed in the Dollar Line's Manchuria in 1927 and. from 1929 to 1935, the Cristobal, of the Panama Line. Since May 19, 1936, wdien he signed on in the W. C. Teagle, Mr. Hamilton has been in the Esso fleet -- a total of 26 years, 5 months. In Jan. 1939 he was Radio Officer in the Esso Baytown when she made the famous rescue of 10 survivors from the British seaplane Cavalier, which was forced down enroute from Newr York to Bermuda. He was also assigned to that vessel in 1943, on a voy age that took him around the world. Most recent of the many vessels in which he sailed were the Esso Gloucester, Boston and Gettysburg. Mr. Hamilton's plans after retirement June 1, are indefinite except for keeping an eye on Jersey stock, the buying of which he lists as one of his favorite "hobbies". Oiler Daniel Henry. Despite 42 years of following the sea, Dan Henry is at heart, still "a country boy from down in Tennessee". Born in Sevier County, Tenn., he joined the Navy in 1920 and served 10 years in (what else?) the USS Tennessee. After his discharge at Mare Island. Calif, and a few trips out of the West Coast in the early '30s, he started his Com pany career as Wiper in the Charles G. Black in Nov. 1933. A month later he advanced to Fire man in that ship and then to Storekeeper. He sailed in the latter rating and as Oiler in six ves sels during World War II and, in fact, throughout his 26-plus years in the fleet. Hank's last ship was the Esso Newark, which he left at Baytown on May 10 for paid leave and retirement on June 1. "The Master and crewr were really nice to me," Hank said, "and I hated to leave. They gave me a gift check and told me to get whatever I wanted. I thank them all and my employer too, for the many courtesies they have shown me." Mr. Henry intends to go back to Tennessee for a fewr weeks to visit his two brothers and do some fishing and then return to Baytown, where he has made many good friends. Aboard the Esso Newark, May 9, Oiler Daniel Henry (center) was the recipient of a gift check and best wishes for his retirement from shipmates. Also in photo 1. to r., are Third Ass't John B. Chamberlain, MM/2nd Pumpman Thomas A. Barden, Captain Harold F. Blytt and Chief Engineer Gregor O. W. Gellins. Ph.o^to by Chief Mote -T. A. Johmc_m -V --Si EXX-MOR-007821 COPiniJ FROM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN HISTOK THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN Oiler Richard A. Vila, ex-Esso Newark, spends much of his paid leave time in Puerto Rico. He is shown here with his wife, Maria, and their four children at his father-in-law's house in Ceiba, about 40 miles SE of San Juan. The children are Lillian, 8, Richard, Jr., 4, Jimmy, 3, and Bobby, 2. Richie was born in New York City, graduated from the New York Vocational and Technical High School and has been in the Esso fleet since Jan. 1952. In ten years' service he has had ,v. -S only 10 days of sick leave. Cut Back Planned for Everett Refinery Operations at the Everett Refinery will be re duced, starting July 1, to asphalt finishing and the use of tankage and the waterfront terminal. In announcing the change, Refinery Manager John J. Coates said that the Company's greatest concern is for the personnel who wall be affected. Of the present 289 employees, about 60 will be re tained and 80 retired with additional retirement The MIS-Adventures of J.sTuMB\EPffONE M< FRACTURE Mac, here, is preparing to make a crash land ing on deck. Stepping off a small crosswalk on a supertanker, he trod upon a Butterworth hose, twisted his right foot and broke a bone in it. "Careless," O', the accident report said, "he should have looked where he was going." But perhaps J. S. did look. If so, he had four months' laid-up time to become convinced that a Butterworth hose makes an unsafe footing. Any hose, for that matter. ' || || || ; <3 income. Some of the remainder wall be offered transfers to other Company units and the balance will receive generous severance allowances and job placement services in finding new work. Mr. Coates said the primary reason for reducing operations is that surplus capacity in the industry and in Humble has made Everett's output of light products no longer needed. In addition, the loss of Humble's largest wholesale customer. Standard Oil Co. (Ky.) was a factor. The Kentucky com pany merged with Standard of California last year. Five Vessels Win Safety Honors Five tankers of the Humble fleet were among 38 vessels honored at a luncheon in New York, June 5, wrhen Admiral E. J. Roland. Commandant of the U. S. Coast Guard announced this year's Jones F. Devlin Awards. The awards, sponsored by the American Merchant Marine Institute, are made to vessels operating for two years or more without a lost-time personnel accident. The Esso Zurich was among seven vessels re ceiving four-year awards and the Esso Bangor, Chester, Florence, Greenville and Jacksonville earned the two-year honors. Special plaques were made for Sun Oil's Dynafuel, and the Texaco Georgia, which have 12 and six-year accident-free records, respectively. * OBITUARY Ralph 0. Heeter, 55, recently Machinist in the Esso Chester, died suddenly in Jersey City on May 29. He is survived by his wife, Helen, four sons and a daughter. Born in the town of Hallton, Pa., Mr. Heeter served in the fleet for nearly 15 years. He sailed as Electrician from Dec. 1944 to July 1949 and as Machinist from Feb. 1954 until his death. Mr. Heeter was ship's representative from the Esso Chester at the Esso Seamen's AssociationMarine Management Conference in Bayonne last March. Manuel R. Alonso, annuitant and former Pumpman, died May 30 in Newark, N. J. He was 66 years old and had been retired since June, 1954. A daughter in Newark and two brothers in Spain survive him. v-' :v Mr. Alonso had 32 years' service in the fleet, including _ 28 as Pumpman. He was in the Chester 0. Swain for almost eight years and shipped out in five vessels during World War II. His last ship was the Esso New Orleans. EXX-MOR-007822