Shards of a broken champagne bottle; wrapped in a decorative casing of red, white, and blue fabric; packed with red, white, and blue ribbons inside a 15½” x 5” x 5½” wooden box. This broken bottle was used to christen the USS Guavina, a World-War II submarine, when she was launched on August 29, 1943 in Manitowoc. The Guavina was one of twenty-eight submarines built in Manitowoc by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company for the US Navy during World War II.
Customs for christening ships to bring luck and safe travels have a long tradition, but by the fifteenth century in England, the tradition had become relatively standard. It involved the ship captain (or another representative of the king) to drink wine from a silver goblet, sprinkle some of that wine on the ship’s deck, and then toss the goblet overboard. By the eighteenth century, though, that custom had shifted from silver goblets to glass bottles.
The United States largely maintained the English custom. The earliest recorded ship christening was for the USS Constitution at Boston in 1797, and during the celebration Captain James Sever broke a “fine old Medeira” over the ships bowsprit (the spar, or wooden pole, which extends from the front of the ship’s prow). By the end of the nineteenth century, champagne became the most popular “christening fluid.”
The Guavina was christened by Marie Roen of Manitowoc, the daughter of one of the Great Lakes Car Ferry captains. She was the only local woman given the honor of sponsoring and christening a Manitowoc-built submarine, and her name had been submitted by her uncle to the Secretary of the Navy. An officer of the Guavina served as Marie’s escort for the launch ceremony, and from that introduction the two continued dating and were eventually married.
Like this one, the champagne bottles used in Manitowoc’s launching ceremonies after 1942 were decorated by another local woman, Mrs. Charles Schaefer. Her work typically involved stitching a decorated silk casing, or bottle cover, fitted to each bottle with woven silk ribbons. This casing would prevent broken pieces of glass from cutting the sponsor during the christening. Mrs. Schaefer had made at least sixteen bottle casings from her home in Manitowoc, and before her, her sister and mother had trimmed bottles for boats launched in Manitowoc by both the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company and the Burger Boat Company.
The first Manitowoc-built submarine, and first World-War II ship launched in the Great Lakes, was the USS Peto, a Gato-class submarine named for a sharp-nosed tropical fish. It was laid down (or construction began) in June 1941, and was launched on April 30, 1942. The Guavina, also a Gato-class submarine, was the company’s twelfth launched ship, completed only sixteen months later.
The Manitowoc community came together with parades and ceremonies for the spectacle of each ship launching. Champagne christenings occurred for all the ships produced in Manitowoc. People drove into Manitowoc from all over and each launch boasted crowds of hundreds or even thousands. This christening bottle highlights Manitowoc County’s important role in American World War II efforts.
Written by Caroline Hunken, April 2022, expanded by Travis Olson, June 2025.
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