KATHERINE WALKER WLM 552

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Keeper Class 175-foot Coastal Buoy Tender Keel Laid 8 April 1996 - Launched 14 September 1996 USCGC KATHERINE WALKER WLM-552 Commissioned 1 November 1997

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

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1. USCGC Katherine Walker WLM-552 Covers Page 1    (1996-2019)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

USPS Pictorial Postmark "USCGC Katherine Walker / (WLM-552) Sta." Staten Island NY

2019-05-26

Fleet Week, cachet by Stephen Decatur Chapter No. 4, USCS

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Katherine Walker was the keeper of Robbins Reef Light in New York Harbor. Katherine’s husband, John was appointed keeper of the light in 1883. In 1886, John died from pneumonia. Katherine Walker was then appointed as keeper of the light by President Benjamin Harrison on June 6th 1895. The task was not an easy one for the 4’10”, 100 pound woman. She climbed to the top of the light several times each night to tend the kerosene lamp. During periods of fog or heavy snow she would ring the fog signal by hand for hours on end when the mechanical system failed.
     During storms, she not only ensured the light was “watching properly”, she also kept a sharp lookout for ships in distress. Her efforts resulted in the rescue of 50 sailors from shipwrecks. Among those rescued were five crewmen and a small dog from a wrecked schooner. Katherine accomplished this rescue using only a small dinghy. Despite all the hardships she managed to raise two children.
     Robbins Reef Light was isolated from the mainland, so Katherine would row her children to and from the shore daily so they could attend school. She stayed on as keeper until she retired in 1919 and moved to Tompkinville, New York. She passed away at age 83 on February 5th, 1931.

 

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