On June 2, 1958, the world's first atomic-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN 571), returns to Everett for its second visit in a year. The submarine arrives at Pier 1 shortly after 6 p.m. and is greeted by crowds of curious residents and local officials. Invited visitors take tours aboard the submarine and souvenir brochures are given to everyone. While the sub is in Everett, crew members go ashore on a secret shopping trip. The submarine remains overnight at Pier 1 and will cruise to Seattle the next morning. This visit is part of a public relations and training tour of the West Coast. In time, another purpose of the trip will be revealed.
First Visit of the Nautilus
The USS Nautilus first visited Everett on Saturday, June 15, 1957, when it was anchored in the harbor and not at the pier. The Everett Herald reported that hundreds of people lined the shore to catch a glimpse of the submarine from every possible viewing point. Cal Papritz (b. 1939) of Mukilteo, who days before had graduated from Everett High School, heard news of the visit on KRKO Radio and decided to investigate. He recalled:
"Not knowing how long the sub would be anchored there in Port Gardner Bay, I decided to go to Mukilteo to see about renting a rowboat and rowing out to the vessel. I remember several employees at McConnell's boat house saying 'you can try it kid, but they (the crew of the Nautilus) won't let you get close to the ship.' I said to myself 'we'll see!'
"When I finally got on the water and pointed the rowboat toward Everett, I rowed for about 30 minutes. Every now and again I would stop rowing, stand up and see if I could see the ship. At about 35 minutes, I noticed a long slim feature sitting in the water about a quarter mile ahead. It was the Nautilus. It was difficult to see from afar because I and it being so low in the water.
"I was about 200 yards from the vessel when I heard people talking. When I was about 100 yards from the ship, I heard a loud command, 'Hey you in the rowboat. Stop and turn around immediately, this is a secure zone.' I answered 'OK, OK' and stood up to take several pictures with my camera, sat down and rowed like heck out of rifle range, from the guards who I thought or imagined were pointing the guns my way.
"It was a beautiful, shimmering flat-water day and I got to see the world’s first nuclear submarine up close; it was a very special day in this boy's young life" (Papritz email).
The Nautilus stayed in Everett for only about two hours on that day in 1957. Before arriving, it had performed tests in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Everett visitors were ferried to the submarine aboard the minesweeper USS Redhead. They included dignitaries and members of the press who would stay aboard during a cruise to Seattle. Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson (1912-1983) boarded the Nautilus in Port Townsend, observed some of the tests, and remained aboard for the trip to Seattle. Because of heavy weekend boat traffic on Puget Sound, commanding officer Captain Eugene (Dennis) Wilkinson (1918-2013) made the journey to Seattle submerged. Observers on Pier 91 in Seattle watched for signs of the submarine as the scheduled 5 p.m. arrival time approached. Suddenly they were treated to a spectacular view as the submarine "shot out of the water like an unleashed whale" in front of them ("Nautilus is Visitor Here").
In Seattle on June 18, 1957, command of the USS Nautilus was passed from Wilkinson to Commander William R. Anderson (1921-2007). Anderson would bring the submarine back to Puget Sound the following year for an important mission.
Jackson and Rickover
Hyman G. Rickover (1900-1986) was the "father of the nuclear Navy," and the USS Nautilus was the first nuclear vessel. Rickover's submarine experience and his work in the late 1940s at the Naval Reactor Division convinced him that a nuclear reactor should be built for use in submarines. His Navy superiors did not agree, so the feisty Captain Rickover went around them and enlisted the support of the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Chester Nimitz (1885-1966) and the Secretary of the Navy John L. Sullivan (1899-1982). (In 1976, Sullivan would be a strong advocate for Jackson’s presidential campaign). Representative Jackson, soon to become senator, strongly shared Rickover’s vision that a nuclear Navy was key to the future defense of our nation.
Rickover’s gruff style and tendency to bypass Navy command made him unpopular with many officers, and the secret Navy promotion board attempted to pass him over for promotion. Their "up or out" policy would force him into retirement in 1953, in the middle of the Nautilus project that he created. Senator Jackson and allies in congress took action several times to have the board decisions reversed and Rickover was promoted to Admiral. Rickover continued to lead the nuclear submarine project and was uncompromising in his drive to ensure the safe design of the vessels.
Jackson’s daughter Anna Marie Laurence (b. 1963) remembers Rickover as a family friend. When she was a child, Rickover sent her a birthday card every year. Since he advocated for education and reading, he sent books to Anna Marie and her brother Peter. On her sixth birthday, he sent her Black Beauty, the first book he had read when he was 6 years old. It sparked his lifelong love of reading. Recalled Laurence in 2024:
"On a visit to our Everett house, he gave Peter and myself Morse Code telegraphs and flashlights and taught us how to send messages. He also gave us Semaphore flags and showed us how to communicate with them. We had so much fun learning this new secret language as kids, and we were excited to share our new knowledge with our friends. Rickover was the consummate educator!
"A month after dad passed away, President Reagan named a Trident SSBN 730 class submarine the USS Henry M. Jackson. President Reagan asked if I would be the ship's sponsor, which I eagerly accepted. Right before the christening in Groton, Connecticut, Admiral Rickover said to me that I must break a bottle of champagne across the bow of the ship in order for the boat to have good luck. And you only get one try to do it right. The pressure was on as Admiral Rickover looked at me very seriously. He was intent like a professor looking at you and expecting the perfect answer to a question. However, in this situation, there was no practice, just strength in knowing I could not let the Admiral down, nor the crew. I was thrilled when the champagne came splashing out across the bow! The boat would be lucky and it is still in service 40 years later" (Laurence email).
Everett Connection
Launched in 1954, the USS Nautilus was the world’s first atomic submarine and probably the world’s most famous naval vessel. It was the first submarine to achieve author Jules Verne’s dream of running for years without refueling and staying submerged for months. Kids in the U.S., Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand found small plastic toy models of the submarine inside their cereal boxes. Magazine advertising used images of the Nautilus for everything from petroleum products to pricey Steuben art glass and Rolex watches. In 1959 the USS Nautilus was depicted on a U.S. postage stamp.
In 1956, after Senator Jackson returned from a flight over Arctic ice with the U.S. Air Force, he wrote a letter to the Chief of Naval Operations Arleigh Burke asking about the feasibility of operating the new atomic submarine under the ice. His request set off events that led to plans for a North Pole trip. Everett was Jackson’s hometown, and at his request the Nautilus visited Everett in 1957 and 1958. In a 2012 essay celebrating the 100th anniversary of his father’s birth, Peter Jackson (1966-2020) wrote that one of Scoop’s lifelong memories was seeing the famous polar explorer Roald Amundsen, who visited Everett in 1926. Now the visits of the USS Nautilus to Everett would become lifelong memories of another generation.
Secret Shoppers
During the 1958 cruise from New London, Connecticut, to the West Coast, a small water leak was detected in the seawater circulation system of the nuclear power plant condenser. It did not affect operation but was still concerning. Attempts to locate the leak during the trip and during a stop at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in San Francisco failed. The Nautilus left Mare Island and proceeded up the coast to Everett without finding the leak. A 1959 account written by Commander Anderson stated that the search for Bar's Leak took place while the Nautilus was moored in Seattle. In a subsequent book, published in 2008, Anderson maintained that the ship was moored in Everett at the time. For security reasons, there were no contemporary newspaper accounts. It is possible the crewmen combed both Seattle and Everett for a sufficient supply of Bar's Leak, but the apparent contradictions cannot be reconciled at this late date.
Anderson wrote about it in his 2008 book The Ice Diaries:
"I was still worried about the leak in the condenser system. We had not stopped it yet, though I had downplayed the problem in the messages that I sent to Washington. Frankly I wrote them in as reassuring a manner as honesty permitted.
"Then I got an idea. I do not know where the memory came from, but somehow, I recalled a casual conversation with my father-in-law, Dr. Gastao Etzel. He was a research chemist at Dupont in Delaware, and something he said that day stuck in my mind, only now coming forward. It was a crazy solution, but it just might work, I told myself.
"I was not sure how to present an idea to Early (Lt Commander Paul Early, USS Nautilus Chief Engineer) that I was not sure of myself, but I called him to my stateroom anyway. 'Paul, when we get to Everett, I want you to send some of your men around town to some gas stations,' I told him, ignoring the quizzical look on his face. 'Have each man buy several cans of that stuff you put in radiators to stop leaks.'
"Early tried to suppress a smile. He could not tell if I was serious or not.
"'I'm not kidding. Paul,' I told him. 'We will do no harm to the steam generator system by putting radiator block into the seawater pipes. If that type of sealant will work on radiators, it may just work on our condenser system. So let’s accumulate a good supply. It probably comes in pints or quarts, and we will need a lot of it. Tell your men not to say anything about being from the Nautilus – or any submarine. No dolphins for sure. They should wear civilian clothes. We have to keep this strictly undercover.'
"Early selected Chief Stuart Nelson to spearhead the acquisition of a product called Bar's Leaks. He and five of his shipmates were off on their odd shopping spree and eventually returned with dozens of containers of the stuff.
"Think about it. Here was a multi-million dollar nuclear-powered submarine, the most advanced ship in the world, and we were using $1.80 cans of automobile radiator leak block to fix it. Looking back it seems humorous, but at the time it was serious business. Incredibly, it seemed to do the trick. The leak, whatever it was, stopped. The problem would never arise again" (The Ice Diaries, 190-191)
In his 1959 book, Nautilus 90 North, Anderson had written that crew members shopped for Bar’s Leaks in Seattle. Anderson’s books are the only primary source of the story. Once it was revealed, the Bar’s Leaks company used the story in advertising and depicted the Nautilus on jars of its product.
Cruising to Seattle
On the morning of June 3, 1958, 50 passengers enjoyed a three-hour cruise from Everett to Seattle on the Nautilus. Four of them were from Everett: Mayor George Culmback (1888-1960), Superior Court Judge Edward Nollmeyer (1919-1992), KRKO news director Shirley Bartholomew (1924-2008), and Everett Herald reporter Frances Gallagher (1921-1995). Each was given a wallet-sized card signed by Commander Anderson declaring them "ATOMIC SUBMARINER EXTRAORDINARY."
Once underway, the visitors assembled in the crew’s mess and heard a lecture on the design and operation of the submarine and its nuclear power plant. They were told about the difficulties of operating under the Arctic ice pack the Nautilus had encountered the previous September. There was no mention of future plans for Arctic travel. After the lectures, the visitors were given tours of the submarine and experienced its maneuverability with sharp turns, 20-degree dives, and cruising at a depth of 90 feet.
This 1958 trip from Everett to Seattle was a small milestone for women; it was the first time that women traveled on a U.S. Navy submarine. Previously, the Navy did not allow women due to lack of "lady’s facilities." In June 1957, Bremerton Sun journalist Adele Ferguson (1925-2015) was denied the trip because of her gender. She protested and appealed to high-ranking officials, including her friend Senator Scoop Jackson, but the Navy would not reverse its policy and she was left behind. She wrote up her story, which was carried by The Associated Press and appeared on the front page of newspapers across the nation.
In 1958, Ferguson was welcomed on the trip, as were Shirley Bartholomew and Frances Gallagher. All three made history that day.
Ferguson worked for the Bremerton Sun for nearly 50 years until retiring in 1993. She began her career as the women’s and features editor for the Salute, a newspaper produced by the Bremerton Naval Shipyard, before she moved to the Sun. In 1961 she became the first full-time woman reporter assigned to the capitol press corps in Olympia. She asked tough questions of leaders and was willing to go toe-to-toe with them to get information. When denied the trip on the Nautilus in 1957, she wasn’t afraid to fight back and publicize her beef with the Navy on the national level. It was effective and opened the door for woman journalists to participate in 1958.
Bartholomew was a lifelong resident of Marysville. She started journalism when she was in third grade as co-editor of a weekly newsletter for members of her class. At age 14 she became a correspondent for the Marysville Globe, where she stayed for five years. From there she moved to KRKO Radio and was news director from 1943 until 1980. She always carried police and fire scanners with her and was usually first on the scene with live reports. She earned five Associated Press National Awards and was the first woman broadcaster named to the Edward R. Murrow-Washington Hall of Fame in 1980. She was active in local politics, serving on the Snohomish County Council from 1981 to 1989, including two years as council chairwoman, and on the Marysville City Council from 1994 to 2001.
Gallagher graduated from Washington State University and began her career as a wire editor, reporter, and photographer for the Port Angeles Evening News in the 1950s. After her husband Gilbert, a deputy sheriff, was killed in the line of duty, she moved to Everett with her three children and became society editor for the Everett Herald in 1958. She was not limited to reporting about society parties, teas, and weddings. She rode on two submarines (USS Nautilus was first) and flew in a jet trainer, writing detailed accounts of her experiences. She was active in community service and was president of the Washington State Women’s Press Association from 1959 to 1961. In 1960 she remarried and her byline became Frances Gallagher Phinney. In 1969 she left the Herald and moved to Riverside, California, where she was a publicist for the county library system.
The Real Purpose of the Visit
While the visit of the Nautilus to Puget Sound was officially a public relations and training cruise, there was a more important purpose. In a mission classified as Top Secret by President Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969), Seattle was to be the departure point for a cruise to England from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic by way of the Arctic Ocean, under the North Pole. Eisenhower wanted to wait until it was successful before announcing it to the world. In September 1957 the Nautilus had made a secret attempt to reach the North Pole from the East Coast but failures of both primary and backup gyrocompasses while they were deep under Arctic ice ended the mission. Fortunately, civilian polar scientist Dr. Waldo Lyon (1914-1998) brought along ocean-current and temperature data that had been collected by frequent Seattle visitor Sir Hubert Wilkins (1888-1958) during his 1931 Arctic submarine expedition. This data helped the crew of the Nautilus find their way out from under the ice.
In 1957 Russia launched two artificial earth satellites, Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2, into orbit. After failed attempts, the U.S. successfully launched Explorer 1 in January 1958. In the eyes of the world, the U.S. was behind in the space race and Eisenhower was looking for a technological breakthrough to counter the Russian accomplishments. A submarine trip under the North Pole, near the "backdoor" of the Soviet Union, would be that achievement.
The Nautilus leaves Seattle
The Nautilus remained in Seattle until June 9. During the stay Commander Anderson, under the assumed name of Charles Henderson, and Dr. Lyon secretly flew to Alaska to survey ice pack on the path of their planned voyage. The official story was that the Nautilus would be heading south for "Operation Sunshine." Instead, it left Seattle just after midnight on June 9 and continued north. While still in Puget Sound the crew painted over the numbers and all identifying markings on the submarine to avoid being recognized.
When they reached the Arctic ice pack, they found it to be too thick. There was not enough clearance between the seafloor and the bottom of the ice above for the submarine to pass. They had to turn around and head to Hawaii and wait for more ice to melt. On July 23, 1958, they left Pearl Harbor and went north again. At 11:15 p.m. Eastern time on August 3, 1958, they passed beneath the North Pole and proceeded to England – the first transpolar passage from west to east.
The Nautilus continued in service for more than two decades, primarily in the Atlantic. In October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it participated in the blockade preventing Russian ships from reaching Cuba. It was decommissioned in 1980, declared a National Historic Landmark, and is on display and open for tours at the Submarine Force Museum and Library in Groton, Connecticut.
While the USS Nautilus never returned to the North Pole, the USS Skate (SSN 578) was there on August 12, 1958. On March 17, 1959, the Skate was the first to surface at the pole. In August 1960, the USS Seadragon (SSN 584) made the first east to west passage via the North Pole from the Atlantic to the Pacific. In August 1962 the Seadragon from the west and the Skate from the east made the first rendezvous at the North Pole. Since those early days many U.S. submarines have passed through the Arctic and under the North Pole.
