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Strand Theater and we got alot of business from the submarine sailors. They
would 
come and bring their girl friends... I think the admission price in those
days was 44 
cents.''43 "I worked at J. C. Penney's after school," comments
Audrey. "Ater leaving 
work one day I can remember seeing young girls all lined up on the bridge
and looking so 
sad. The sailors they had become friendly with were leaving.., oh well, there
would 
always be another crew coming to Manitowoc!"44 
The submarine launchings were a big event for Manitowoc. On April 30, 1942,
the 1500-ton submarine, was launched. It was the first major Navy vessel
built on the 
Great Lakes and was launched sideways into a basin of Lake Michigan. Rear
Admiral 
William T. Nelson writes, "The city was in a festive mood with flags
flying from homes 
and buildings and buntings draped across the streets and over doorways."
He adds, "Two 
hours before the scheduled launching time, the streets were clogged with
automobiles 
and pedestrians searching for a good spot from which to observe the launch.'45
Present 
for the event was the Governor of Wisconsin, Julius Heil, a delegation from
the Navy 
Department from Washington DC and the Great Lakes Naval Training Center.
At 11:49 
AM, the shipyard band, the Submariners, began playing the "star Spangled
Banner," Mr. 
Armin Pitz, vice-president of the shipyards, turned the master valve that
automatically 
cut the ropes holding the Peto. Mrs. Lofquist, wife of Captain E. A. Lofquist
who 
represented the Commandant of the Ninth Naval District, broke the traditional
bottle of 
champagne on the bow and proclaimed, "I christen thee Peto." The
band struck up 
43 Marge Miley, interview by Steve Kolman, 6. 
4Audrey Nickels, interview by Barbara Broehm, 26 October 2000. 
45 Nelson, 37.