Shipyard workers arrive by bus

Date

• April 1943-May 1943

Publisher

Manitowoc, Wisconsin: Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co.

Summary

• Shipyard workers arriving from other communities for work at the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company walk along a row of buses parked on the company grounds in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. To secure qualified workers for its World War II submarine building program, Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company recruited throughout northeastern Wisconsin and provided bus transportation for many employees who commuted to the Manitowoc shipyards from Sheboygan, Green Bay, Kaukauna, Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, and intermediate points. The buses shown here, known as Defense Buses, were operated by Green Bay Stages, Inc. Another bus company, "Victory Bus Line" operated by Ernest R. Sorenson of Two Rivers, transported other shipyard employees to Manitowoc from the neighboring city of Two Rivers. Out-of-town workers who did not ride the buses were urged to share rides through "full car clubs," which were overseen by the company's Plant Transportation Committee. This photograph was originally published in the April-May, 1943 issue of the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company's newsletter "The Keel Block."