Two diaries from a passenger on steamer Kroonland‘s on her maiden voyage from New York to Antwerp on 28 June 1902.
Europe as seen by Us.
“My mind is a patchwork and I am going to make a crazy quilt out of it—”
Saturday June 28, 1902
When it came to us as a delightful possibility that we might go abroad for one summer — our friends said “go — go with somebody who has been before — in a party of two — don’t go in a crowd — go in a crowd if you must; but go anyway you do it.”
Came to pass that one bright morning — June 28 — Miss Chute, Miss Gage and I stood on the deck of the steamer Kroonland before Pier 14, North River and said goodbye to the kind friends who came to see us off. There was a great crowd on the pier, and it was the great baggage stewards who handled all.
The steamer first hurried about hand bags…
Kroonland was an ocean liner for International Mercantile Marine (IMM) from her launch in 1902 until she was scrapped in 1927. Kroonland was the sister ship of Finland and a near sister ship of Vaderland and Zeeland of the same company. Kroonland sailed for IMM’s Red Star Line for 15 years, and also sailed for IMM’s American Line and Panama Pacific Line. During World War I, the ship served as United States Army transport USAT Kroonland through April 1918, and as the Navy auxiliary USS Kroonland (ID-1541) from April 1918 to October 1919.
