Page 46 - Port of Baltimore Jan/Feb 2011
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port view
A
t the time this photo was taken in 1945, the tugboats
of Baltimore Harbor were at the height of activity.
The war effort brought about plenty of need for ship
repair and construction, and the piers were bustling.
Tugboats like Curtis Bay Towing’s
Sparrows Point
were essential to
keep the traffic moving.
Built in Philadelphia in 1893, the
Sparrows Point
was a steam
tug with a crew that included one or two firemen, one or two deck-
hands, the captain and the cook.
“The cook was the most important person on the boat,” said
David Boone, a maritime artist and historian who is working on a
STORY BY KATHY BERGREN SMITH
history of Curtis Bay Towing. “Those guys ate like kings, and the best
crew always followed the best cook, not the captain.”
Walking through the vessel, which was lit by kerosene lantern,
the cook rang a school bell to summon the crew to the galley. After
breakfast, a midday “supper” and dinner, the boat might make a
detour to take the cook back to the dock so he could get home —
anything to keep him happy.
Following the war, the
Sparrows Point
often delivered Navy ships
to the scrapyards. She finally was scrapped herself in 1958.
THE ABOVE PHOTOGRAPH IS PROVIDED COURTESY OF THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY AND IS PART OF THE MUSEUM’S BGE COLLECTION.
VISIT THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY AT
1415
KEY HIGHWAY ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE INNER HARBOR; CHECK OUT THEIR WEB SITE AT
; OR CALL
410-727-4808
. THE MUSEUM IS OPEN TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY,
10
A.M.-
4
P.M. AND SUNDAY,
11
A.M.-
4
P.M.
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The Port of Baltimore
■
January/February 2011
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