Charles B. Reeves Jr., a retired Baltimore attorney, called the other day to chat a bit about the President Warfield, an Old Bay Line steamer that I had mentioned in an obituary for Henry "Sonny" Schloss.
Schloss and his father, Moses M. "Captain Mo" Schloss, a Baltimore Zionist and businessman, had joined the secret effort after World War II to purchase the old overnight packet boat that had sailed regularly between Baltimore and Norfolk, Va., before being requisitioned during the war and sent to England.
After being refitted, the old Chesapeake Bay steamer quietly sailed from Baltimore on Feb. 25, 1947, for the French port of Sette, where it was boarded by 4,554 Holocaust survivors from Europe who attempted to run the British blockade and land in what was then British-controlled Palestine.
The vessel, renamed Exodus 1947, was stopped by British destroyers in the port of Haifa and then rammed. Its passengers were removed and sent back to war-ravaged Europe.
"My Aunt Ella was vice president of operations for the Old Bay Line back in the 1920s," said Reeves.
Reeves said his aunt, whose married name was Ella Reeves Clotworthy, had been appointed to the line by Solomon Davies Warfield, president and chairman of the Seaboard Airline Railroad, which owned the Old Bay Line.
Warfield hired her as the line's director of service in 1920, where she was in charge of room service and personal service, and then was given a second promotion as director of steamer and passenger service.
"Old Sol always said Aunt Ella was a natural-born executive. At first, she didn't want the job. She couldn't imagine herself working for men," her nephew said.
Clotworthy became a major local maritime figure at a time when waterfronts across the country and steamship companies were strictly male-dominated.
When she was promoted to vice president in 1926, The Baltimore Sun reported this was done on the basis of her "excellent record of efficiency."
"Mrs. Clotworthy is to occupy a position unique among women in business, according to officials of the company, who said today that she is the only woman vice-president of an American steamship company," reported the newspaper.
"She loved excitement, and if it were a foggy day driving down to the Bay Line pier on Light Street, she'd say, 'Because it's foggy on the bay, we're going to have some excitement today,' " Reeves said.
