Here was my grandfather's pride and joy. This is ''Triton'', built in 1889. She is still around, but semi-retired and for sale in Chicago.  This was taken in 1965 going under the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, PA. That's my grandfather, Captain Chester Rickards, in the white shirt steering on starboard side.  As a boy in the 60's, Capt. Rickards would watch over  me.  Part of that babysitting was getting up at 0400 and heading down to 'Triton' by 0500.  Pop would hold my hand on Pier 40 and when we turned the corner, there was Triton, along with the Meyle fleet, warming up. Pop would head to the wheelhouse.  I would head to the galley.  You would smell bacon, scrapple, ham, eggs, pancakes, and other breakfast items cooking.  Pop would then return signal to the engineer and deckhand to get her underway. My day would consist of cleaning wheelhouse windows, sweeping floors, polishing the wood, and emptying trash cans.  I couldn't thing of a better way to spend a childhood than this and I thanked him up to the day he made his final departure.

-Scott Rickards-