(5:35 min.) (08 of 24) 08 Spring preparations. Rust preventation on ship. Liked to work on the SS Aleutian -- a nice ship and a fast one. Assistant Steward assisted passengers, cleaned cabins before the next passengers were brought aboard,...
(4:48 min.) (09 of 24) 09 Food and health on-board the ship Beef served frequently and caused complaints. Sometimes it was the waiter's fault, sometimes it was the traveler's fault, and sometimes it was the sea. The nurse had to help lots...
(4:53 min.) (10 of 24) 10 Main job of the Steward was in the dining room and the cabins Steward had to deal with the people, had to do the ordering, had to balance all the overtime. On the "North Sea" had to print up the menus. Had to sit...
(5:01 min.) (11 of 24) 11 Supplying the Steward's department
Before the ship even dropped anchor, the Steward would send an order to the purchasing agent who would begin getting supplies for the next trip. Bought in large quantities. ...
(5:47 min.) (12 of 24) 12 Steward's duties
John explained how the Steward resupplied in port. Chief steward's responsibilities included personnel matters; alcoholism was sometimes a problem. Steward had to make out the requisitions and...
(4:47 min.) (14 of 24) 14 Chief Steward's duties Dealt with VIP's. Directed tourists to local attractions such as the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau or Totem Pole Park and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Sitka. Arranged transportation. ...
(6:26 min.) (15 of 24) 15 Deck Steward Deck steward arranged entertainment and kept the passengers happy with games. Wealthy lady from San Franciso had John Sewick fired. Dart's of Seattle stored the cars of passengers. John Sewick was...
(6:52 min.) (17 of 24) 17 Purser's job vs. Steward's job. Union strikes
Purser dealt more with freight. The strikes happened, and the crew started making more money. "We didn't even know what overtime was." The price of everything went up...
(4:20 min) (18 of 24) 18 Strikes and Seattle in the 1930's
Smith Towers. Strikes caused lots of problems with tourists; they only had limited time and couldn't afford the time loss. The Steward and the Purser would have to work things out...