Caution

(by Heather Hernandez, Technical Services Librarian)

This week we're offering another instructive rhyme from Nautical Nursery Rhymes by Billy Ringbolt, which resides in the Peterson, Peter H. (Capt.) Papers, (SAFR 18665, HDC 571).  This one seems applicable to land "vessels" as well!

Caution

Every steamer or ship in fog, mist or snow,

At a moderate speed is directed to go.

Holiday Capon

(by Heather Hernandez, Technical Services Librarian)

Looking for a little celebration fare?  The next recipe in the Library's copy of The captain's table : 18 recipes for famous dishes served aboard the S.S. United States and S.S. America is for a festive stuffed capon:

Holiday Capon

Any day is a holiday when you serve this succulent bird.

Prepare a stuffing:  Trim the crusts from half a loaf of white bread and cut the bread into cubes. Coat the cubes with melted butter and bake them in a moderate oven (350° F) until they are golden on all sides.  Put these croutons in a large mixing bowl.  In a skillet sauté 8 shallots, finely chopped, and 1/4 pound sliced bacon, cut in squares, until the bacon is transparent. Add 1 bunch of chives and 1/4 bunch of parsley, both finely chopped, and cook the mixture until the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan from the heat and cool the mixture. Dice 1 pound chestnuts, cooked, shelled, and peeled, and add them to the croutons. Stir in the bacon mixture, 2 egg yolks and 1 cup heavy cream. Season the stuffing with salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of brown sugar. Stuff the cavity of a 6- to 7-pound capon with the prepared mixture, truss the bird, and rub it generously with soft butter. Put the bird in a roasting pan, cover the pan, and roast the capon in a moderate oven (350° F), basting it frequently with the juices in the pan, for 2 hours, or until the bird is tender and cooked through. Serves 6 to 8.

Anchor in Fog

(by Heather Hernandez, Technical Services Librarian)

This week we're offering another instructive rhyme from Nautical Nursery Rhymes by Billy Ringbolt, which resides in the Peterson, Peter H. (Capt.) Papers, (SAFR 18665, HDC 571):

Anchor in Fog

When feeling your way, if you hear a ship's bell,

It's a vessel at anchor, you can easily tell,

Her bell in a fog is her only provision,

As signals to others to save a collision.

Digging for Gold at the Library: Jane Proctor letter, HDC 1043

(by Gina Bardi, Reference Librarian)

Most of what I write about for this blog are fun items- little gems with interesting pictures or something just plain delightful I’ve stumbled across.  This though is about something I found in our collection which was so sincere and heart wrenching that even though it’s a departure from my usual pieces, I had to share it with you.

The document is a letter in our archives, Historical Document Collection 1043.  It’s a letter written by a woman named Jane Proctor who was a nurse at the Army Hospital at the Presidio.  It was written late in the night of February 22^nd, 1901. Ms. Proctor was unable to sleep due to the deep and overwhelming grief she felt over the wreck the day before of The City of Rio de Janeiro. The City of Rio de Janeiro was a Trans-Pacific steamship operating between San Francisco and Asia. On the 21^st of February 1901, she was headed into San Francisco Bay when she hit a reef.  She sank quickly; her holds were completely flooded.  130 people died that night; many of the bodies washing ashore the next day. Ms. Proctor describes this horrific scene to unnamed friends back home in harrowing terms.

The full letter is below.  It has been transcribed from the original.  The full collection includes a few more items about Ms. Proctor including a diary entry.  A finding aid for the collection can be found here:

http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8028svz/

Citation:

Proctor, Jane.  Letter in regards to the City of Rio de Janeiro.Jane Proctor Collection. HDC 1043.

Museum Archives and Manuscript Collections, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.