On January 27, 1994, the USS Yosemite was decommissioned. At that time, a proposal was floating around to make the ship a technical school in New York City. Was the proposal rejected, or was this just a story?
I researched the Internet to determine if the story was true. Tucked into an article I read was a vague reference to a woman in New York City that proposed using The USS Yosemite as a technical school. I couldn’t find the article or the reference on the Internet even though I searched with several search engines. But, after repeated attempts, I could not find any tangible proof or written source to verify the story. Hence, the story may not be true.
The value of using the USS Yosemite went something like this. The ship contained various individual workshops from wood and metal, repair of many types of devices, etc. Each shop had specialized equipment. The ship was a treasure trove of different shops fully equipped and with the particular toolsets to create, develop or repair or build an item. This would make the USS Yosemite an ideal technical school. A collection of small shops included an electrician shop, an electronic repair shop, a print shop; a dentist’s facility; a doctor’s office, a welding shop, a plumber shop, and much more. The ship could address trade education of many diverse and unrelated trades in a single place with all the equipment and tools.
If there was a proposal to convert the “Busy Lady” to a technical school, there must have been some heated discussions and debates. I assume the proposal was rejected for a good reason – money!
Here’s my “would-be” interpretation of why the USS Yosemite was rejected if the proposal was real.
The USS Yosemite was decommissioned on January 27, 1994. It was then laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Fort Eustis, Virginia. In 1999, there was a proposal to convert the ship into a technical school in New York City. However, the proposal was rejected for a number of reasons, including the cost of converting the ship, the environmental impact of removing the asbestos, and the lack of support from the city government.
Asbestos was a common material used in ship construction during the 1940s when the USS Yosemite was built. Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and exposure to it can lead to a number of health problems, including lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis. The cost of removing the asbestos from the USS Yosemite would have been significant, and there was no guarantee that it could be done completely. The environmental impact of removing the asbestos was also a concern, as it would have generated a large amount of hazardous waste.
In addition to the cost and environmental concerns, the proposal to convert the USS Yosemite into a technical school also faced opposition from the city government. The city government was concerned about the cost of maintaining the ship, and they were also concerned about the impact that the ship would have on the local community where the ship was docked.
Ultimately, the proposal to convert the USS Yosemite into a technical school was rejected. The ship was sunk as a target during training exercises in 2003 and went down with all the shop equipment and toolsets. What a waste!
Yosemite Sam is the traditional mascot of the US Navy ship that bears his name. In 1979, Warner Brother Studios gave permission to reproduce Yosemite Sam's likeness for the USS Yosemite use.
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