By Chris Kaltenbach
Laura Embrey enjoyed something of a family reunion in Philadelphia last week, involving her brother and her son, the spirit of her father and a 990-foot steamship that was once the pride of the Atlantic but has been out of service for half-a-century.
The 54-year-old Baltimore native, now living in Columbia, was selected recently to tour the long-dormant SS United States, a passenger liner 100 feet longer than the Titanic, whose first voyage across the Atlantic, in 1952, set a speed record — 3 days, 10 hours, 40 minutes — that still stands.
“It was unbelievable, beyond any expectation I had,” Embrey said after touring what remains of the ship, stripped of much of its fittings and finery, and docked since 1996 in Philly, where restorers hope to raise enough money to preserve it for future generations to visit. “It’s been 50 years since it’s been in operation, but to see that it’s still there, and to know its history — to think of the kings and queens and presidents who have been on that ship.”