Dressed in Sunday finery, Nina Churcher, held by Frank Churcher, presents a bouquet of flowers to Commodore W. S. Schley who doffs his hat in thanks on May 27, 1899. Schley, and Admiral William T. Sampson, became naval heroes when they bottled Spanish Admiral Topete y Cervera and his fleet in Santiago Bay, Cuba, on May 19, 1898, then destroyed the Spanish fleet as it attempted to escape July 3. Celebrities, dignitaries and politicians frequently made themselves visible – or spoke – from their railroad cars as yard crews swapped locomotives. When residents learned someone special was coming, it was a good excuse for a parade – winter or summer.
Frank Thomson Collection.
