About the Lithograph:
Through the gates of the Shipyard would go workers and Navy personnel who not only would build up special loyalties to the Navy but who would build up special friendships. These friendships would spill over into civilian life outside the Shipyard, and the Shipyard would become part of the family fabric of Charleston.
For the many of us who have worked at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, we can remember driving through the MacMillan Street Gate, finding our parking area and reporting for work. Many of us recall getting out of our cars in the big lots outside the fence and walking through the gates into the Shipyard to put in a full day. We can remember the rainstorms that we ran through during these walks, and we can remember the Old Powerhouse standing vigil and committed to the mission of the Charleston Naval Shipyard. We remember the sounds of the twelve o'clock noon hour and the lunch breaks that were but small respites from the hours of work that we had just completed and still faced.
As one recalls the days of the Shipyard, each of us can remember the sounds, the sights, the smells, and the feelings which made up our years at the Charleston Naval Shipyard.
With the announcement of the closure of the Charleston Naval Shipyard and base, we can see the fabric of our past being torn apart and the spirit of what once was, disappearing.