Navy League pack shoeboxes with items for ship crews
- lawyair
- Jan 15
- 2 min read
Originally published on December 18, 2025
By TERRY DICKSON terryldickson50@gmail.com
Merchant mariners who called on the Port of Brunswick midweek experienced the goodwill of the revived Golden Isles Council of the Navy League.
Meeting Tuesday at the International Seafarers House, council members and volunteers packed nearly 50 shoeboxes with stocking hats, toiletries, socks, toothbrushes and other items that ship crews need.
It was enough to give the boxes to the crews of two ships.
Seafarers House Executive Director Peter Boynton said ships average 24 on a crew. The problem is that a ship called Tuesday night and two more were expected Wednesday morning.
That will leave a situation similar to the weekend when there were no boxes for the mariners of two ships.
Some will benefit from what council President Glenn Cook called “a simple act of goodwill.”
“Our purpose is pretty simple,’’ Cook said, opening the meeting, “to serve those who serve at sea.”
Those who spend much time at sea look forward to calling on ports where they hope to enjoy some comfort. The council was aiming to provide some comfort with the boxes, Cook said.
As Cook spoke, a pool table in the center’s recreation room was piled with bundles of socks, toothbrushes, deodorant, underwear, razors, popcorn, gum and other items.
There was also a box of 50 knit stocking caps. As he gave instructions on packing the plastic shoeboxes, Boynton said, “Every box gets a cap.”
The caps were in an array of bright colors.
“People knit them for us all year,’’ he said.
To date, the center has passed along more than 500.
The 20 packers made short work as they walked around tables holding the goods, carefully arranging items in the boxes to get as much as they could in each.
As for the council, Cook said, “We’re just getting started. We’re hoping to get this organization built up and keep it rolling.”
The council hopes to adopt a submarine at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, the U.S. Coast Guard station in Brunswick, the Marine Junior ROTC at Glynn Academy and the Navy Junior ROTC at Brunswick High, he said.
Packing the shoeboxes turned the tradition of sailors’ ditty bags into a charitable act. For hundreds of years, seamen have carried some of their belongings in small, drawstring bags. The originals were likely made of leather.
The Seafarers Center uses durable plastic shoe boxes that Boynton secured with heavy rubber bands.
