The Mormacpine was originally the Brown Victory, built in March 1945 at Oregon Ship Building (Official No. 250541).  She then became the Mormacpine in 1947 and was later scrapped by Moore-McCormack in July 1970 at Kaoshung, Taiwan.

(Photo courtesy of Captain Harold Vanderploeg)

(Photo courtesy of Captain Harold Vanderploeg)

Maritime Santa Claus

("The Mooremack News," December 1947)

(Courtesy of Vincent Fiorenza)

A tall man walked into our information office in mid-November and asked for a picture of the Mormacpine.  He wanted a large one, he said, large enough to hang on the wall of an orphanage in Gdynia.  That sounded like an unusual request, so we questioned our visitor, and so heard a very interesting story.  It developed that he was John Tuzo, chief officer of the Mormacpine which on that day was loading at Pier 46, North River, and would sail within forty-eight hours.

The orphanage that would display our photograph, it appeared, was of special interest to the fellows on the ship who, the chief officer explained, had "adopted" the seventy-two children dependent upon it for sustenance.  We asked how that happened.

"A couple of us from the ship were having dinner one night with Mr. and Mrs. Davis", he said, "and during the evening Mrs. Davis told us about the orphanage and its need of a bit of paint.  So the fellows agreed, sure. they’d provide the paint all right.  That’s how we first got acquainted with the place.  It is an abandoned troop barracks, and doesn’t have much, but brother you should see those kids."  (All Mooremackites will recognize the Davises as our Gdynia manager and his wife.)

The painting job was accomplished, said the officer, hut the Mormacpine fellows could not forget their young charges.  Christmas loomed and the memory became especially poignant.  The result was that the forty one members of the crew—including the "old man", Captain G. H. Blickens, the chief hastened to explain—chipped in and bought a mess of toys and books.  Somehow the men on the Mooremack pier in Philadelphia heard about it, and they insisted on taking part in the project.

Below are three photos of a model of Mormacpine.  

(Courtesy of Gary Kohs)