“Brendan Riley’s Solano Chronicles: Historic ships may tie up at Mare Island”
The Vallejo Times Herald - Published December 29, 2022
By Brendan Riley:
A century ago, ships lined the seawall of the former Mare Island Naval Shipyard. As part of a $102.3 million National Maritime Park project, history could repeat itself with the park’s old ships, now at Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco, tying up at Mare Island while the deteriorating pier is replaced.
Half the funding, already authorized by Congress, would be spent on the pier project. The rest would pay for the temporary relocation of the six historic ships and costly restoration of one, the 1890 steam ferryboat Eureka, at 299 feet in length reportedly the largest existing wooden ship in the world.
Steve Nash made sure that message came through loud and clear Saturday morning at Mare Island Naval Cemetery.
Nash — the President of the Vallejo Navy League — is once again a big part of Wreaths Across America. For the fourth straight year, he made sure every grave and tombstone in the cemetery had a wreath on it for the holiday season.
“It’s really special for me because some of the veterans here haven’t been recognized for many, many years,” Nash said. “When I put the wreath down I take a step back and mention their name out loud and then I wonder what the good person did in that time they were serving. What would have it been like to serve during that time?”
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Six historic ships could move from the San Francisco waterfront to Mare Island. (National Maritime Park photo)