Norwich bulletin., 1909-08-06
UNCLE SANS FLEET PRINTER.
John =. Kennedy, Residing With
GreeneVille Relatives. Set Type for
Armored Cruiser Squadron.

The work of feet printer in Uncle
Sans navy is nightly interesting,
says John F. Kennedy, formerly Of
New Bedford, but who is now making
his home with relatives on Seventh
street, Greeneville. For considerably
ships printer of the u. S. S. Mary
land, and as he was the oldest man
in point of service. the fleet printer of
the armored cruiser squadron, of four
warships and later of eight, and in this
capacity had charge of the setting up
in type all the general orders, court
martials and general official business.
But one of the pleasantest of Mr..
kennedy's duties was that of publish
ing The Oriole, and the way the edi-
tor, S. c. Pardee, introduced the first
number of this magazine in August,
1907, speaks for its purposes and aims.
For many months one of the great
wonders on the Maryland was the fact
that we had no ships paper. Here and
there around the decks could be seen
agents for other ships papers, among
them the Grand Cannon, Dirty Box,
Liberty Bell Asiatic, and it is a sad
truth that the Maryland, the ship that
leads in so many ways, was the only
one of the Big Four that did not pub
lish a ships paper.
THE Oriole shall be devoted particu-
larly to the interests of the Maryland
crew and generally to those interested
in them. 1t shall aim to instruct,
a part to be devoted to the history of
the people and ports visited, and other
matters worth knowing; the Terse and
Tarts column containing Rips and
Shorts heard about the decks from
time to time. There will also be
current news column containing sub
jects upon which we should all be con-
versant."
The first number of The Oriole gives
an account of cruising up the Yangtze
in China and describes ball games with
Toxic university students in Japan.
The sailors thought the Japs were good
ball players and especially enthusiast
tic and courteous.
In Pointed Punches number of the
men are touched up. among them Ice
Machine Pete Bremen. whose thrIlrlng
catch of a 37-foot shark at Honolulu
is graphically described.
Mr.. Kennedy has a number of the
papers published aboard the other
ships, among them The Native Son
Afioat OF the u. S. S. California and
the Liberty Bell of the L. S. S. Penn
sylvania. They are all interesting and
make good reading, both for the sail
ors themselves and their relatives and
friends at home. The circulation Of
The Oriole was about 800 month.
After serving a year in the revenue
service, which is the means by which
many men get into the regular navy,
Mr. Kennedy enlisted at Buffalo while
he was still on the revenue boat He
took as his permanent billet that of
printer, as he had already served his
apprenticeship at that trade in his ma
tive town of New Bedford. After
seven months at the Norfolk Training
school he was assigned to the cruiser
Maryland, where he served three years
and five months.
The Maryland was one of the Big
Four which after crossing the Atlantic
visited the Mediterranean ports pass
ed through the Suez canal, cruised
along the coast of India and about the
Malay peninsula to the Philippines.
China and Japan were next visited and
finally the squadron was homeward
bound. touching at Cavite and Homo
lulu on the way and arriving at San
Francisco Sept. rs, 1907. Since that
time Mr.. Kennedy has been up and
down Che entire Pacific coast and in
all has sailed $4,000 miles. His term
of enlistment expired June q, 1909.
while at Mare Island, Cal, and after
making the trip by train across the
continent he is content at least for a
while to settle down on dry land.