Document emZprzRV7ZxdeYR19qEbZj4np

COPIFIJ FROM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERiCANHlST THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS a t a iis t in i PUBLISHED BY THE MARINE DEPARTMENT, HUMBLE OIL & REFINING COMPANY Vol. 9, No. 2 January 19, 1967 On the Subject of Dignity "We are told by some that we are slaves. If being a slave means doing only what we have to do, then most of us are in truth slaves, but he who does more than he is required to do becomes at once free. He is his own Master." This quotation is attributed to A. W. Robertson, who was Chairman of the Board of Westinghouse Electric Corp. for over 2 decades. We've been thinking about it and also the w'ord "dignity" that we've been hearing about lately. What is dignity? The dictionary defines it as elevation of character, quality of being esteemed; degree of estimation; as, the dignity of one's profession. How does one acquire dignity? Certainly no one can hand it to you. Nobody can come up to you and say: "Here, I'm going to elevate your charac ter and give you some dignity." Or. "I'm rais ing my estimation of you and giving you more dignity." Oh. some gushing female's "Ah just adore a deep sea sailor man" may have an effect (heh, heh) and you may puff out your chest but sooner or later you've got to exhale and your dignity is not really enhanced. Character, esteem, self-respect, dignity, are re sulting conditions. They follow' after actions -- your actions. If you want to be w:ell-thought of by your shipmates, you must first do something to make them think well of you. You can't in crease your estimation of yourself -- your self respect -- without first doing something to justify the increase. Let's look at some examples. Suppose you're a Second Cook. Suppose you bestir yourself and bake a pan of cinnamon rolls and put them out in the messroom for the mid-morning coffee break. You weren't required to bake them but you thought "it would be nice." Doesn't that raise vour self-respect? Doesn't that raise your "stock" Seven-Year Safety Award A Jones F. Devlin Award for 7 years' operation without a lost-time accident (longest safety record ever made in the Fleet) was presented to the Esso Dallas, Jan. 16, by Joseph Andreae, General Manager of the Marine Dept. Captain Emil L. Wigh (center) received the framed certi ficate on behalf of all the men who, through the years, made the record possible. Actually, the Dallas put 8 years and 124 days between the report able injury on June 3, 1958 and the freak accident that stopped the record on Oct. 6, 1966. However, the American Merchant Marine In stitute-sponsored Devlin Awards are made on a calendar year basis. L. to r. in the photo are: AB Ray mond R. Darby; Chief Engr. Robert D. Cain; First Asst. Arne C. Haug (kneeling); Mr. Andreae; Chief Mate Sebastian J. Masuzzo; A. B. Ran dall, Port Staff Asst.; RO Earle J. Schlarb; Captain Wigh; OS Ricardo L. Barros; Chief Cook Frank Gomes; Port Captain F. L. Hooper; UM Andres Ortega; Pumpman Donald Genung; OM Jose C. Domingues; AB Charles E. Denton, Jr. (kneeling); Chief Steward Daniel E. Alves; Asst. Port Captain R. F. Stap, and Port Steward D. A. Hodges. _, ,, "T* O'?: ~ , V'. -mFSWAtl i * >?) : TPs- 'Skpertei.. .............. '\;- r ' ^- jf -.--A,#' m. EXX-MOR-007135 with the crewr? And if they should start thinking you are the best Second Cook this ship ever had, are you going to protest too much? No, you are experiencing that "quality of being esteemed" -- dignity. Suppose you're an AB or Oiler and about to go off-watch. Your relief shows up but you're in the middle of a job that needs 5 or 10 minutes more work to complete. If you say "Here," hand the brush or the wrench to your relief and walk off (which you have a perfect right to do) is your "quality of being esteemed" increased? But how would it be if you said: "I'll just finish this little part before I go. Only take a few minutes and you won't have to bother with it." Or suppose you are a mate. You tell the ABs on your w'atch to rig a staging. You come back in an hour and see it's a pretty poor job. Do you add to the dignity of your profession by bawding the men out and standing over them while they re-do the job? You w'ould be well within your rights. Or w'ould you gain more in esteem and dignity by saying, although it really isn't required, "Let me show' you a better way." The common element in all these examples seems to be that dignity and esteem only come when you do more than is required. When you give something extra. Has anyone ever gained respect, from himself or others, by doing as little as possible? And the less he does the more it be comes drudgery and, most likely, the more he complains about it. Well now -- this is getting to sound like pure company propaganda, isn't it? Frankly, wre think these ideas are good for the Company. Any com pany would prefer to have employees wrho have dignity, dignity born of self-respect and self respect born of the knowledge and good feeling that comes from a job well done. If at the same time, good work makes for happier employees, who's to knock it? However, it isn't any big lack of dignity and self-respect on the part of Esso seamen that prompts us to write this piece. On the contrary, our Fleet personnel stand out above any in the world in respect to character and ability to oper ate tankers efficiently. But don't take just our opinion. Recall w-hat Captain Edmund F. Ma honey, then Master of the Esso Miami, wrote from Portland, Oregon last October: "The Shipping Commissioner complimented the crew' leaving and signing on time and time again." Certainly it wasn't wdth any thought of com pany propaganda that the Author of the Sermon on the Mount said 2,000 year ago . . and if any The Errant Sailor Tanker John, fresh from the brig, Shipped on a six-horse brewery rig. John was skilled at steering courses, But he just couldn't pilot those six big horses. Altho a seaman, fit and able, They put him to work cleaning the stable! Furthermore, to add to his blues, On payday they clipped him for union dues. All that day they passed the hat -- Five for this and ten for that -- "Get it up, Johnny, pretty please -- For our Peerless Leader's lawyers' fees." They promised him pensions, and milk and honey, And all they asked was his hard earned money. And while he finally learned to steer, He lost his job for broaching beer. Now John is back on a tanker's deck, His spirits high, but his purse a wreck. And as the tanker sailed away, John was heard to ruefully say, "A sailor's job is the life for me, To hell with the horse carts, I'll stick to the sea!" -- Forty Fathoms man forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." As w'e see it. this can mean that if you have got to go one mile (w'ork for a living) go two miles (give it a little extra). Try it once or twice and let us know' how you make out. Or. maybe you're an old hand at this sort of thing. > WORDS OF THE WISEl The largest room in the world is the room for improvement. --S. E. Charlton (V. P., Humble) Profit is the ignition system of our economic engine. -- Charles Sawyer ESSO FLEET NEWS is published for the seagoing em ployees of the Marine Department. Humble Oil & Refining Co.: Joseph Andreae. General Manager; Sydney Wire. Assistant General 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. Texas 77001. u< ui lj*&. 12 5 CZ u. < 'ak UJr ^& CC [-- 5w u'Jj Er-E 2 1 a. Ic j I __ -- EXX-MOR-007136 COPIED FIIOM THE COLLECTIONS IN THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN H1STOH' THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS a t A u s t in Ra ise in Grade Elbert D. Sprott, Jr. -to 2nd Mate, 1/9/67 22 Firemen Re-rate to Oiler The 22 men listed below were transferred from the Fireman-Watertender to the Oiler seniority list, effective Jan. 1, 1967. The transfers were made in accordance with the ESA-Company agree ment. which provides that, when vacancies exist, such transfers of qualified ratings within a de partment be made by request of the employee. Alexander E. McCorkel Joseph H. Kissel James Wright Kenneth W. Hill Lloyd E. Mercer Joao M. Castro Manuel S. Vieira Angelo M. Rodriguez Ramon Rivera Abelardo Matas William A. Prewitt William M. Catoe George H. Macklin Frank J. Gross Roberto J. DeBarros Mariano P. Taclay Antonio M. Goncalves Raymond J. Bastone Laurence J. Carew Joseph Solinski Raymon D. Barajas Frederick J. Schilein Thrift Fund Statements Mailed Thrift Fund statements, showing what went in and what came out of your account during 1966, have been mailed to employees' registered Thrift Fund addresses. Two figures on the statements may be deduct ible items on Federal income tax returns -- the amount of interest you paid on a Thrift Fund loan and the hospital-medical premiums deducted. Other transactions, such as Fund earnings (inter est received) and the profit or loss from the sale of stock, are not reportable on current tax returns. Even if you sold stock in your name in the Fund and withdrew the profit, it is not subject to cur rent income taxes. Dividends on stock registered in your name and paid directly to you are not included in the state ments. Such dividends are current income and therefore taxable. RECENT RETIREMENTS ^------ 3 Chief Cook Alberto Gomes was gently but firmly eased out of the galley of the Esso New York, Nov. 2 and Chief Stew ard Charles Monteiro took over his duties. Said duties included helping to prepare a special mV ,_ dinner (roast prime ribs of beef '-55^ au jus. poached ocean perch, *' frosted layer cake with pineapple cream, etc., etc.) to honor Mr. Gomes on his last voyage be fore retiring Jan. 1. With experience in ships' galleys going back to the 1920s, when he sailed in coastwise colliers and freighters. Mr. Gomes joined the Fleet on Dec. 10. 1947. Over 17 of his 19 years of con tinuous service were as Chief Cook and in that time he had only one sick leave -- 7 days in 1961. Mr. Gomes will not lack for retirement activi ties. He and his wife Olive are planning a trip to Europe and perhaps Canada, he likes fishing, hunting and being in the country and there are always things to do around the house. Two grand sons. aged 4 and 2. will also help make life inter esting for him. L Steam Line Vibration Dampeners This is a view looking upward and slightly forward in the Esso Lima's engineroom. You see a white cross beam and the big white steam line going down to the astern turbine. The 2 deceptively simple-looking braces extending from the steam line to the cross beam were made by Third Asst. Eugene B. Stubble field, with some advice and ideas from First Asst. Leslie O. Henderson. The purpose was to eliminate ex cessive vibration of the steam line. Using materials at hand, Mr. Stubblefield fastened a steel band around the steam line and welded "ears" on each side. To each ear he bolted a short piece of 1 y2" bar stock with a yoke welded to each end. The outside yokes are bolted to turnbuckle bolts. The other bolts in the turnbuckles are pieces of treaded round stock which go through cylinders made of 3 V2" black iron pipe 11" long. Inside each cylinder is a 7" x 3" spring with a round plate on the outside end to hold the turnbuckle bolt. Pieces of 1 V2 " flat bar stock were formed into yokes and bolted to the cylinders. Other pieces of the bar stock were welded to the yokes FS,~r ;\ ' saW. A -~= l and yokes on the ends of these pieces bolted to studs welded to the cross beam. Mr. Stubblefield slotted the cyl inders so that the amount of com pression on the springs could be seen. Confidentially, we think it was easier to make these steam line snubbers than it was to describe them but they seem to serve the purpose intended and that's the main thing. 'fist * . . ^ 1-.7. TST ill *. .'sarisCRT? f.Vj MSSsi Us-! EXX-MOR-007137 Mechanics of Lifting The body is a system of levers made of bone, cables made of tendons and motors made of muscle. Joined to the bony structure at hip level, the backbone as a lever swings up and down by pivoting on the hip joints. The body's largest muscle -- the one we sit on -- supplies the power to lift the backbone. This muscle is anchored in the inner thigh and pulls downward from the top of the hip bones, thus lifting the spine and transferring the total load to the feet. By measuring the upper body and picturing it as a lever resting on a fulcrum, with the end op posite the weight being pulled downward, one can readily calculate the strain involved. The mathematics are: distance from weight to fulcrum (30") times the weight (20 lb.), divided by distance from the fulcrum to the point where strain is applied (3"). The answer is that a 200lb. strain is required to lift a 20-lb. weight in the positions pictured in the left-hand drawings. In the right-hand sketches the man is keeping the weight close to his body and his back almost erect. This changes the weight-distance ratios so that only 20 lbs. of strain is required to lift a 20-lb. weight. Keeping the back as straight as possible forces the body's strongest levers -- the leg bones -- and most powerful motors --- the leg muscles -- to lift the weight with a minimum of strain. For safe lifts, remember -- 0 Stay close, never reach out with a load. 0 Don't twist the body while lifting, move your feet. 0 Never pull or jerk a load suddenly. -- Adapted from an article in Safety Review, published by the Office of Civilian Manpower Management, Navy Department, Washington, D. C. TAFFRA1L TALK ------ -- Odell Herndon (FWT, ret. Sept. 1966) writes: "Just a line to the News to thank the Company for my retirement, watch and pin. Also to thank the men of the Fleet for the cards on my re tirement. "I am well taken care of, thanks to Esso. It was the best move I ever made when I joined the Company on Christmas Day in 1945. "Should any men of the Fleet be down in Florida, I would be glad to hear from them. I have a telephone listing and there is always something in the pantry." Mr. Herndon's address is: 875 Manicke Road, Brooksville, Fla. 33512 (about 40 miles north of Tampa). * * * Edison D. Tibbetts (DM,ret. May 1961), in addition to Seasons Greetings, wrote: "would be most happy to hear from any of my old friends and shipmates at any time." His address is: P. 0. Box 30, Cayman Brae, B.W.I. ** # Andrew C. Henning. ABin the Esso Washing ton, became ill Jan. 11 when the ship was a day out of New Haven, bound for Baton Rouge. Cap tain Roger A. Steward sent a radio message to the Company's Baltimore Branch Office and ar ranged to rendezvous off Cape Henlopen with a Coast Guard cutter. Mr. Henning was safely transferred ashore at Lewes, Del. and taken to the Beebe Hospital there, where his condition was diagnosed as a mild stroke. He was reported resting comfortably, "doing OK with possibility of recovery good" when Jack Bennett, Baltimore Branch Manager telephoned the hospital. Jack relayed this infor mation to Mrs. Henning in Tampa, Fla., and to the Washington and later visited the patient. ---3 OBITUARY Avin C. Johnson, 57. Second Asst. Engineer in the Esso Washington, died on watch in the engineroom on Jan. 9 while the ship was at New Haven. Surviving are his wife Irene and two daughters. Dorothy and Ethel. Mr. Johnson served in the Fleet for 18 years, starting at FWT in the G. Harrison Smith on Aug. 7. 1948. He advanced to Electrician a few months later and for the past 17 years sailed as Third. Second and First Asst. Mr. Johnson was born in Mississippi and re sided in Mobile. Ala.