Fox Point Native's Love of Ships Charts Early Career Course

For Greg Shutters, it was love at first sight.

“I got a little ‘Step into Reading’ book, the story of the Titanic,” said Shutters, who was a first-grader at in Fox Point. “It was talking about how it was the greatest ship of its time and it really fascinated me. I got as many books as I could about the Titanic.”

For Christmas that year, Shutters’ parents gave him a Titanic model. From there, his fascination with ships only grew, leading him to explore the golden age of transatlantic travel and a certain ocean liner that was all the rage, the SS United States.

“The SS United States still holds the record as the fastest transatlantic crossing set in 1952,” said Shutters. “It was the last of these really great ocean liners before air travel became the preferred mode of transportation.”

The SS United States is the largest passenger ship built in America and among her many famous passengers were four U.S. presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Clinton), the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly, John Wayne, Marlon Brando, Bob Hope, Judy Garland, and Walter Cronkite.

The ship was retired in 1969 and was largely neglected and left to rust. But somehow, after all these years, it managed to escape the scrap yard and is one of the last surviving luxury liners from that golden age of oceanic travel. Preserving and restoring this grand old ship is the mission of the SS United States Conservancy.

Today, Shutters, 24, finds himself at the forefront of this effort. He is a communications associate with the Conservancy in its New York office with duties ranging from web site design and writing print materials to pitching potential investors and donors.

“After graduating from college (Marquette University, 2009), Greg heard about the SS United States Conservancy,” said his mother and Fox Point resident, Mary Shutters. “He got interested in volunteering for that organization and he moved out to New York last March. He did some fundraising and started doing some of their marketing materials. He was also working a second communications job with the Central Park Conversancy, doing multimedia work for them, too.”

Shutters was destined to play a role in the ship’s restoration effort, a fact that became evident in his senior year at Marquette University High School.

“I was part of my high school forensics team and we went to a national meet in Philadelphia,” said Shutters. “We’re driving over a bridge and I see this giant ocean liner and I knew exactly what it is from my book. It was the SS United States but it’s all rusted and fading. It’s obviously been neglected for more than 40 years. I knew this ship was in trouble and I knew I needed to find out more. That’s what got me interested in the Conservancy and I contacted them. I want to contribute my skills and experience and put my best foot forward in this effort.”

On July 3, the Conservancy celebrated the 59th anniversary of the SS United States’ departure from New York on what was to be her record-breaking maiden voyage. On that historic day, the ship was fully booked with 1,700 passengers, including Vincent Astor, Margaret Truman and Sara Roosevelt.

The Conservancy also recently hosted a gala that took 150 Conservancy patrons and friends back to that special era in time. “Relive an Evening Aboard the SS United States” was held at the Corinthian Yacht Club just outside Philadelphia.

“These ships are part of our American history that’s been overlooked for many years,” said Shutters. “In 1952 newspaper articles I read, everybody talked about how great this ship was and how it symbolized our American industrial pride. After it was retired, people started to forget. It’s kind of my way of trying to bring that back and reminding people how important this ship was and how important it can be in the 21st century.”

Naturally, Shutters’ family takes pride in seeing how Greg’s love of ships has influenced his career choices.

“We’re very proud of his accomplishments and his aspirations,” said Mary Shutters. “I’m really amazed at his abilities to use the education he got here in Fox Point and Milwaukee and be able to develop his skills in areas that he’s really been passionate about.”

“Sometimes you can turn your passion into a great career, but if you can't do that right away, make it a hobby, volunteer, get involved,” said Shutters. “It might just turn into something bigger, and even if it doesn't it can still be very rewarding.”

For more information about the SS United States and to donate to the Conservancy restoration project, please visit the Conservancy's web site here.