The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-12-31
CAPTAIN OlMSTEAD FAMOUS NAVIGATOR
 WILL RETIRE HERE
Native of Bridgeport, Many Years In Charge of
 Gable Repair Ship

When the chimes of, midnight strike tonight the Atlantic seaboard will have lost one of it's best known navi- gators and Bridgeport will welcome
 back after some thirty odd years one of its native sons, for at that hour Capt. George T. Olmstead, in the chart house of the big cable-laying ship k.sWestern Union. 2 at Jersey City. will 1 pass over to his successor the com- mand of the great. ship he has com handed for thirty years.
 | When seen on the streets of Bridge bort today the eminent navigator, in company with his boyhood cht1n and
 seafaring companion Capt. Joseph fGreen, of the tug sIsis'' was making
 the rounds renewing old acquaintance 1 in this city prepafatcry to coming back to the Park City.
 Capt. OImstead, who retires from the service of the Western Union Tele- graph company after three decades of service at the age-lirnit of 70 years, 1 is one of the best known captains on the Atlantic ocean, having a speaking acquaintance with more navigators
 than any other seaman connected with the New York maritime exchange for the past quarter of a kcentufy His work, that of navigating the ship which repairs deep-sea cables, com
 municating between the East Coast tof America. with all the eastern con tinent, has been most dangerous as
 well as constant sand his license and ships papers are more extensive than bthat of the ordinary vessel or cap tain. for a cable ship plies the waters I of the world without a specific destina- tion and may roam the oceans for weeks or even months without touch ing at a, port. The work done by this able captain in repairing broken hcables during storms and when gov ernmente emergency has demanded quick restoration of communication
 has on many occasions merited com pliment His meteorological observa- tions are matters of record
 | Born in Stony Brook, L. l., Capt
 Olmstead moved to this city when but
 three years of age, attending the pub
 lie schools of Bridgeport, learning the art of sailing ion a small two masted lschooner belonging to his father who
 followed the sea and he later became Ia member of the famous volunteer
 fire company known as the Protector Mo. 2, which in the '60's was located l on the East Side and coped with some Iof the larger fires in that section
 1 As young man Capt. O1nstead
 worked in the old Wheeler & wilson
 shops, but gained his seamanship in
 Sound and Hudson river waters where
 his fathers ships carried brown stone
 that once came in large quantities
 down the Berkshire division of the 4S0W raven fOaO and was franSp ported l by water to New York and elsewhere. Speaking of those days the retiring
 captain said that 1t was no infrequent
 sight to see schooners canaI-boats.
 brigs and barkentines Iashed to the
 docks here three and four deep waiting
 to discharge eargoes of coal and filling
 with pig-iron. and stone. The docks l were a big part of the business sec I ton and the harbor had a bustling air
 that has long since passed away.
 From a sailing vessel Capt. OInn- stead became mate on the tugs of tha Game Cock Towing company plying
 the Sound. which was merged many
 years ago into what is now the Mo Williams Brothers Line Thirty-one years ago he entered the service of the 1 Western Union Telegraph company, as l captain, and year later was given command of the ocean going cable re-
 pair steamer, Western Unioi1''
 In New York city and vicinity he Is noted as one of the most calm lcaptains in times of emergency and
 stress. and from coaI-heavers 1Ip to
 admirals in the United States navy his uniform courtesy and inpertura- .
 ble nature are matters of most faVora- b1e.s comment.
 l. Captain Olmstead, a widower will
 retire from service with pension
 which will enable him to live hand Isomely in his. old home city and until I he is permanently located, he will re- Isfde at the home of Capt Greene on 1 al nv