Incorporated in the State of Michigan October 21, 1963

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vol. XXX, No. 1 www.lakehuronlore.com January / February, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ David Michelson ( Editor ) Membership (annual) - $14.00 (U.S. & Can. funds) 51805 D. W. Seaton Dr. Send to: Lake Huron Lore Marine Society New Baltimore, MI 48047-1460 P. O. Box 99 Ph: (586) 725-6276 Email: micheldr2005@yahoo.com Marysville, MI 48040-0099 Ph: (810) 982-9832 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE DIRECTORS President - Fred Miller Secretary - Gareth McNabb Frank Frisk David Michelson V. President - John Coulter Treasurer - Theresa Miller Kenneth Niemi Andrew Severson Chris Tabor Gene Buel (Hon. Advisory Director) Paul Schmitt (Hon. Advisory Director) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOCIETY NEWS – ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING EVENTS - MARK YOUR CALENDARS Spring 2009 Dinner Meetings - Saturday, April 4, 2009, 6pm at the Museum, Jim and Pat Stayer will present “Shifting Sands and the Shallow Wrecks of Whitefish Point” . Many people know of the fabulous deep wrecks of Whitefish Point, but did you know that there are many wrecks in less than 50 feet of water. Join Jim & Pat Stayer, as they visit several of these shipwrecks. See newly discovered wrecks in under 25 feet of water complete with anchors, capstan, rigging, and other artifacts still lying on the bottom where they have been for well over a 100 years. They Stayers will also explore the Alex Nimick in under 25 feet of water complete with engine, windlass, and steam whistle. See what time and shifting sand reveals as they revisit this wreck. Pleease join us for an informative and entertaining evening. Saturday, May 16, 2009, 6pm at the Museum, Program and speaker to be announced. It should be known by the next issue and of course all of you will receive a special invitation for each meeting by special mailing. 2009 Annual Marine Mart – Saturday, June 6, 2008, 9am to 4pm at the Port Huron Seaway Terminal, 2336 Military Street, Port Huron. This event brings vendors in all types of Great Lakes maritime merchandise and memorabilia with many, many items for sale. Great opportunity to buy gifts or for your own collection! Membership Renewal Annual membership dues are now payable for the coming year. We would like to thank all of you who have already renewed for the coming year. Your support of our society’s programs is appreciated! If you have not yet renewed, please consider doing so soon. You will not be disappointed. New Members: Special welcome goes out to Violet Bostwick, Sterling Heights, MI; Emory Massman, Ellenton, FL; Ken Michelson, East China, MI; Brian Musille, Mansfield, OH; Mark Shumaker, Columbus, OH; Kenneth Swarts, Port Huron, MI; Rick Woodward, Duluth, MN; and to our new life members Lynn and Bill Demsky of Rochester, MI.

Newsletter Ideas and Contributions - Your editor continues looking for materials for upcoming issues of this, your newsletter. I have received some great material for use in future issues that I know you will enjoy. I wish to heartily thank those who have contributed. Again I ask, if you have any ideas or contributions of material especially relating to our maritime heritage in the Lake Huron – St. Clair River – Lake St. Clair region it would be most welcomed. Your fellow members will certainly enjoy your contributions and we hope you will consider sharing with us. __________________________________________________________________________________________

Caught Through the Camera Lens of Louis Pesha

Louis Pesha caught this fine view of the speedy White Star Line steamer GREYHOUND (2) while passing down bound at Marine City, Michigan in the early 1900’s. Mr Pesha was a noted commercial photographer who along with his wife, Lena operated a studio in Marine City. He was born in Canada in 1868, began his photographic trade in 1895 before moving to the United States and establishing his studio at Marine City in 1901. He travelled widely around the lower Great Lakes area and became well known for his prolific photo postcards of many subjects besides ships. Since his studio was at the river’s edge, he was able to capture nearly every ship that passed by. Nearly all of his photos, regardless of subject, had his distinctive hand-lettered text of his name and subject. Unfortunately, an automobile accident in 1912 cut short his life. His wife continued to operate the studio and take photographs until 1920 when she closed the business. Today, Pesha Photos of any subject are highly sought-after by collectors and historians. As for the GREYHOUND (2), she was built in 1902 and operated along with her famous sister, the TASHMOO, in the day excursion business from Detroit to Port Huron, with frequent stops at parks and resorts along the way. In later years, she operated out of Toledo, Ohio to various Lake Erie resorts. She fell victim to the Great Depression and ceased operations for good in 1933 and was sadly cut-up for scrap in 1936. Photo courtesy of Dick Wicklund. -2-

FOR THE BOOKSHELF: Great Additions to Your Marine Library

THE GREAT LAKES ENGINEERING WORKS: THE SHIPYARD AND ITS VESSELS, The Marine Historical Society of Detroit, 2008. The Society has finally released it latest book, a complete history of the Great Lakes Engineering Works, a prominent Detroit area shipbuilder. Over 500 pages, this hard-cover book took nearly four years to complete and is divided into two major sections, which are amply illustrated with more than 1,000 photographs. This book is a small run limited edition and can only be ordered directly from the Society. The cost of the book is $59.95 in U.S. funds plus shipping and handling of $5 to U.S. addresses or $12 to Canadian addresses. Order on line http://mhsd.org/publications/GLEW/default.htm or send check or money order to Robert Pocotte, 606 Laurel Ave., Port Clinton, OH 43452-2127.

PRE-SEAWAY SALTIES 1850-1958, Daniel C. McCormick and Skip Gillham, 2008. Regular LIGHTSHIP contributor Skip Gillham has joined with his equally-respected U.S. counterpart Daniel C. McCormick for this exhaustive guide to the small saltwater vessels that entered the Great Lakes in the years before the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959. This differs a bit from Gillham’s previous efforts – there’s more text and fewer pictures, which have been included in a section at the back of the book. The information here is invaluable for the serious ship researcher, containing hard-to-find details about individual vessels and also the fleets that ran them. The authors suggest this is a starting point for others to continue similar research; if so, they have set the bar high. 194 pages with many black and white photos. $30.00, includes postage. Order directly from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0,

ABITIBI TUGS, G.I. “Buck” Longhurst and E.B. “Skip” Gillham, 2008. The fleet of tugs used by the Abitibi Power and Paper Co. in the pulpwood rafting trade, mostly on Lake Superior and Lake Nipigon during the middle part of the last century, are remembered in this latest book from these prolific Canadian authors. Tugs like GARGANTUA, STRATHBOGIE and NIPIGON are gone, but a few of the others continue on the lakes, converted to pleasure craft or at work for other owners. This is another essential addition to the series of Canadian fleet histories authored by Skip and his rotating cast of co-authors. 126 total pages, softcover, many black and white photos, $25.00, includes postage. Order directly from Skip Gillham, 3750 King St., Vineland, ON L0R 2C0

SUMMER DREAMS: THE STORY OF BOB-LO ISLAND, Patrick Livingston, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 2008. This experienced author, continues to delve into Great Lakes history, this time examining the Bob-Lo island amusement park south of Detroit that operated for nearly 100 years. Mention the word “Bob-lo” to longtime Detroiters and get ready for the string of memories that might well be released, recollections that will probably include the trip to the island on one of two steamboats, the COLUMBIA or the STE. CLAIRE. This is the whole story, including not only the good times to be had on the island, but also the problems that doomed the park after the Detroit riots of the mid-1960s. Anyone seeking an example of how local history ought to be told need look no farther than “Summer Dreams.” 208 pages, many black and white photos, $24.95 Available at Wayne State University Press, 4908 Woodward Ave, Detroit MI, 48201-1309 or by calling toll-free at 1-800-978-7323 or online at http://wsupress.wayne.edu/greatlakes/.

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*** NAME THIS SHIP *** *See Answer on Page 12*

MEMBER'S PHOTO CORNER

This fine photo was submitted as part of a nice Christmas card by longtime member and photographer Jim Hoffman. It shows the self-unloading steamer HENNEPIN (2) of the American Steamship Campany at Toledo in the early 1970’s. She has a fresh coat of paint and is preparing for another busy season hauling coal and stone. Built in 1905 at West Bay City, Michigan, she has only a few seasons of service remaining before her retirement. By the end of 1974, she was competing with new, more efficient ships in the fleet. In 1975, she was sold scrapping at Humberstone, Ontario and was gone by early 1976.

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NAUTICAL NEWS From The Files – 15 Years Ago…..1994 By Cy Hudson A Lay-Up List of the Ports in our Area Winter 1993-1994 DEARBORN CHARLES M. BEEGHLY, HERBERT C. JACKSON ECORSE COLUMBIA, LAKEWOOD (barge), MANITOU (tug), STE. CLAIRE DETROIT J.A.W. IGLEHART, LANDSDOWNE (restaurant), WINDSOR MARINE STAR (ex AQUARAMA), SENNEVILLE OJIBWAY DAVID K. GARDINER, PETER MISENER, RICHELIEU, SILVER ISLE SARNIA & POINT EDWARD AGAWA CANYON, JOHN B. AIRD, ALGOCEN, ALGOSOUND, ALGOWAY, CANADIAN RANGER, CANADIAN TRANSPORT, A.G. FARQUHARSON, MANITOULIN, DUC d’ ORLEANS (tour boat), GLENADA (tug), MENASHA (tug) GODERICH CEDARGLEN (storage barge), OAKGLEN, DEBBIE LYN (tug(, DONALD BERT (tug), IAN MAC (tug) OWEN SOUND BEECHGLEN, CHI-CHEEMAUN, NINDAWAYMA, WILLOWGLEN I5 Years Ago….1994 The winter of 1993-1994 was one of the most severe winters on the Great Lakes in recent memory, abnormally frigid weather set in about Christmas-time. The below-normal temperatures lasted well into February, and as a result the Lakes Superior, Erie, and Huron were almost completely ice covered, even Lake Ontario had 30 per cent ice cover. January 7 Because of heavy ice in the upper Great Lakes shipping channels, the US Coast Guard moved the icebreaker MACKINAW to the Soo to assist the KATMAI BAY. The Canadian Coast Guard moved the SAMUEL RISLEY from her home port at Thunder Bay to the Canadian Soo to assist the two United States icebreakers. January 12 Interlake’s 1,000-footer MESABI MINER was the last up bound commercial vessel to pass through the Soo Locks for the season. She spent 22 hours working through heavy ice in the St, Mary’s River assisted most of the way by the MACKINAW. She arrived in Duluth for winter lay-up on the 13th. January 23 The cement barge MEL WILLIAM SELVICK, the former Huron Cement’s 102 year old SAMUEL MITCHELL laying at the Canonie/Andrie dock on Muskegon Lake started demolition operations, when her crew began removing asbestos from the SELVICK. February 2 The ferry SUGAR ISLANDER lost one rudder in the morning due to heavy ice. Later in the day she became stuck in an ice jam at Mission Point in the St Mary’s River. The US Coast Guard’s KATMAI BAY freed her that evening, around 8pm. Heavy ice had interrupted ferry service from the mainland to Sugar Island several times that winter, requiring help from icebreakers. 20 Years Ago….1989 January 8 The former 1965 built small motor ship, the Paterson & Son’s LABRADOC (2) was sold for off Lakes use to Genav Maritime Co. Ltd., Malta and renamed FALCON CREST in Maltese registry. She sailed under her own power from Sorel, PQ for her new home port of Valletta. Sold to Pakistan ship breakers she arrived at Gadani Beach on June 14, 1994. January 11 The Sarnia City Council refused permission for the AQUARAMA to remain at her present berth after March 31, 1989. January 13 The ALGOWOOD was the last Laker to pass up bound at the Soo Locks, she wintered at Thunder Bay. January 14 Scrapping began on the 1930 built CHICAGO TRIBUNE (2) at Port Colborne by International Marine Salvage. January 15 The CASON J. CALLAWAY and the EDGAR B. SPEER were the last Lakers to pass down bound at the Soo. They were both bound for Gary to discharge the ore loaded in Two Harbors, they both later sailed to Milwaukee for winter lay-up. January 26 The demolition was completed by Cukurova Celik Endustrisi A.S. at Aliaga, Turkey of the KINSMAN INDEPENDENT (2) which had arrived there on October 22, 1988 in tandem tow with the OAKGLEN by the German tug FAIRPLAY X1V. On February 24 scrapping of the OAKGLEN commenced with the removal of the pilot house and bow section.

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Bluewater Passages By Dick Wicklund THE LEGACY OF SOO SUPPLY: Part One For the past few years the supply tender OJIBWAY has been operated by M.C.M Marine in the harbor at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, lifting supplies aboard passing ships below the locks. This operation has a legacy and a reminder of bygone days. Even now an observer will note that the ships of the Great Lakes Fleet and the Interlake fleet exclusively use this service, and these fleets are part of Soo Supply’s story. In the late 1880’s because of the increasing number of ships sailing the Great Lakes the story of supplying vessels at the Soo began. At this time there were only two locks at the Soo, so ships would tie up below them to await their turn. It would not have been uncommon to have seen four to five boats tied up abreast of each other waiting for hours for passage. These ships would need provisions for the crews, and various items to keep the boats running as well. During waits, the captains, chief engineers, and stewards would go ashore to local stores for needed supplies. The orders would then be delivered by horse-drawn wagons to the waiting vessels. With ships tied up abreast the supplies would have to be handled from one boat to another. For larger items like lubricants, machinery, and ice, these would often be put aboard the boats while they were in the locks. In the early 1890’s two companies had each started a marine supply business based on this need: The American Steel Barge Company founded by Alexander McDougall, and the mining and shipping company of Pickands Mather. This latter company would take over the other’s business. Pickands Mather which managed ships from its beginning in 1883 also would start a fleet known today as the Interlake Steamship Company. The Soo supply store was a small but important part of their operations, yet it had grown to service some 65 vessels by 1900. However events in mining, shipping, and steel making took a huge turn in 1900 and 1901. Two large competing steel companies had taken shape each controlling several fleets of vessels to carry their iron ore. The Federal Steel Company known simply as the Rockefeller interests included such well known individuals as J. P. Morgan, and Elbert H. Gary. Its competitor, the Homestead Steel Company of Andrew Carnegie had decided to sell out to its rival, thus was born almost overnight, the United States Steel Corporation in 1901. The fleets of these two giant steel makers were combined, and U. S. Steel’s Pittsburgh Steamship Company was formed with some 112 steamers and barges, then the largest fleet of ships in the world under one company flag. Pickands Mather, which had been associated with the Rockefeller interests, apparently agreed to combine its Soo supply operation with a new larger facility run by the Pittsburgh Steamship Company. Thus was born the Pittsburgh Supply Company in 1902. However a better way of servicing the ships was needed, and the solution was to handle vessel and crew needs from another smaller boat that could transport and lift cargo directly onto the ships whether docked or moving in the river. The first of these Pittsburgh Supply Company tenders was the SUPERIOR, purchased and rebuilt for this use in 1902. It was built by the Cleveland Dry Dock Company in 1890 along with a sister ship named, DULUTH. Both were wood hulled ferries constructed for the Duluth-Superior Steamship Company for use between the ports of the same name in western Lake Superior. Both would serve there until a bridge was built between these cities. The Superior was sold in 1895 for use in Lake Erie between Cleveland, Ohio and the Euclid Beach Amusement Park, and served there until 1900 when it was sold again. It is unclear what service it had from then, but this next owner had SUPERIOR docked at Marysville, Michigan when the Pittsburgh Supply Company purchased it. SUPERIOR was then extensively rebuilt as a supply tender, but kept its name.

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The SUPERIOR as originally built for ferry service between the cities of Duluth, MN and Superior, WI Author’s collection The SUPERIOR got the silver stack like the Pittsburgh Steamship freighters, yet it was certainly the smallest at 104 feet long by 30 feet wide, and 251 gross tons. However it had two distinctions while servicing its larger sister-ships, the first was it had the fleets only wood hull. The second occurred in 1905 when the stack was changed from all silver. The chief engineer on the Superior suggested to the captain to paint the top of the silver stack with a thick black band because coal smoke pouring from it was difficult to keep clean. The president and general manager of the fleet, Harry Coulby, liked it, and since then all Pittsburgh, and Great Lakes Fleet ships have this stack color. (It should be noted that Mr. Coulby served in this capacity for the Pittsburgh fleet at the same time he was a partner in Pickands Mather, as well as general manager of its ships.)

The Superior converted to a supply tender and in service at Sault Ste. Marie, MI. Author’s collection

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The SUPERIOR served well in the harbor at the Soo. It would serve the many ships of the Pittsburgh fleet from its consort barges, whalebacks, to the newer 400 to 600 foot ore carriers. It would service ships like the whaleback FRANK ROCKEFELLER, THE BARGE MARTHA, or a towing steamer such as the CORNELL. JOHN W. GATES, GEORGE W. PERKINS, or the larger 600 footers like the HENRY PHIPPS, and the JAMES A. FARRELL were also on its itinerary. Of course, not to forget the many Pickands Mather vessels served before and after its Interlake Steamship Company fleet was formed in 1913. It should be noted that the Pittsburgh Supply Company’s SUPERIOR and its two successor tenders also serviced other fleets: the Great Lakes Steamship Company, the Hutchinson fleet, and the Michigan Limestone Bradley fleet over the years, which meant these were indeed busy and useful vessels.

Supply tender SUPERIOR shown in winter lay-up at the Soo. Note the workers cutting and moving blocks of ice up from the river and into the ice house at Soo Supply Company. These ice blocks will be delivered to passing ships during the shipping season since many did not have refrigeration in these times for keeping perishable foods. Author’s collection In 1916 the Superior was 26 years old with a wood hull, aging, and small for its continued use in this capacity. Also, 1916 would see the addition of more ships to the Pittsburgh fleet, increasing the work load for this tender. A replacement was found, another car ferry that was replaced by a bridge, the NIAGARA FRONTIER. It would be larger, have a steel hull, and after rebuilding it entered service in 1917 as the FRONTIER. However the disposition of the SUPERIOR would involve its final days in the St. Clair River area. Also, interestingly, this includes its one time twin car ferry, the DULUTH, which served in the “Blue Water” area as well in its last days under another name. With its replacement chosen, the SUPERIOR was sold to the Pringle Barge Line. Since it had been built as a car ferry in 1890, then rebuilt as a supply tender in 1902, the 1917 rebuild was even more extensive. The SUPERIOR was converted to a tug by the Wolverine Dry Dock Company in

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Port Huron, and was ready for service in 1918. It eventually took the name WALTER R. PRINGLE. Sadly its days as a tug were short-lived. On May 6, 1920 it burned off Stag Island in the St. Clair River. Its wrecked wood hull remained in the river bed until 1958 when it was blown up and removed.

A very rare view of the SUPERIOR in Pringle Barge Line livery at Port Huron in 1917 after recently being rebuilt into a tugboat. Her name would be changed to WALTER R. PRINGLE later that year. Author’s collection Surprisingly, it twin, the former, DULUTH, would also serve and end its days in the “Blue Water” area as well. The DULUTH had remained as a car ferry, and served in various places around the Great Lakes. From 1909 to 1925 it ran in the Straits of Mackinac under the name, CITY OF CHEBOYGAN (1). It came to Port Huron in 1925 and was renamed the CITY OF PORT HURON for operation to Sarnia. With the opening of the Blue Water Bridge in 1938 its service came to an end. While laid up it sank at its dock at the foot of Clyde St. in Port Huron in 1939. In 1941 it was raised by the Reid Wrecking Company, cut down to a barge, and sold to Ross Construction of Kincardine, Ontario. While being towed for its new service it foundered in Lake Huron off Port Franks, Ontario, taking a load of equipment down with it. For fourteen years the supply tender SUPERIOR served at the Soo, and was replaced in 1917 by a larger tender. The SUPERIOR’s successors, FRONTIER and later the OJIBWAY would continue the legacy of Soo Supply. – To Be Continued –

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Fire on Lake Huron By Mark Shumaker

If anyone in the sleepy town Forrester, Michigan had taken the time to gaze out over Lake Huron on the chilly morning of Wednesday, December 16, 1964, they would have seen an unusual sight. Unfortunately, no one had. Three miles away Captain Harold Miller, aboard Canada Steamship Lines DONNACONA, was frantically sounding short whistle blasts in hopes of drawing anyone’s attention from land. The 625’ grain carrier was ablaze and he was unable to contact anyone.

Down bound on Lake Huron in early 1960’s. Editor’s Collection

DONNACONA spent the previous few hours downbound on Lake Huron with 400,000-bu. grain for

Walkerville, Ontario. This was scheduled to be the vessel’s last cargo of the 1964 season. Captain Miller was resting in his cabin “Kinda’ counting off the 11 hours we had to go to reach our last port.” Shortly before 10 a.m. the alarm bell rang in his cabin, alerting him to come to the bridge. When Captain Miller opened his door he was met by an inferno! “The flames were high and crackling, so I slammed that door and ran through another to get to the outside up the outer ladder. But, the winds had already caught the fire and spread it.” When Captain Miller reached the boat deck, clothed in only a shirt, trousers, and slippers, he saw the third mate and wheelsman running from the blazing forward end. When Miller caught up with the men, the third mate explained that at the first sign of fire he hit the alarm bell with one hand and reached for the radiotelephone with the other. Unfortunately, the telephone was dead, and with the fire immediately engulfing the pilothouse, they ran for their lives.

With the power lines cut, the crew had no other way of sending a distress signal, so the crew began sending a steady series of short whistle blasts hoping to get the attention of someone from land. “I hoped someone from land would hear it and at least look and discover we were burning.” Captain Miller would later say, “But I guess no one did.”

For the next frantic few minutes Miller began accounting for the crew, and they (which) were soon accounted for. “As soon as we were able to account for the 14 who were bunked there, I began to feel a bit easier.” Captain Miller could only look on as DONNACONA’s forward fo’cle, texas deck, and pilothouse burned out of control. For an entire hour, no one knew of the giant laker ablaze on lower Lake Huron.

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Shortly after 11 a.m. DONNACONA was finally discovered. A pilot on a training mission aboard an F-106 jet fighter came on the burning ship and radioed back to Selfridge Air Force base. Air-sea rescue at Selfridge immediately dispatched an amphibian plane and a helicopter. A few minutes later Captain Clemens Morreau, aboard the self-unloader WYANDOTTE, noticed something burning 15 miles away. WYANDOTTE was immediately turned and began racing for the scene. WYANDOTTE informed the Coast Guard of the situation, who immediately contacted U.S.C.G. ACACIA, which was refueling the lightship HURON, 28 miles away. At 11:30 a.m. the Coast Guard was notified by State Police, who had taken several calls from locals, who had notices smoke on the horizon.

An hour and a half later, WYANDOTTE and ACACIA arrived on the scene. The fire had “pretty well eaten up the forward section, the forward cabins, and the pilot house” Captain Morreau reported. Due to the 25-mph winds, WYANDOTTE was unable to come alongside, but stood by in case DONNACONA would need to be evacuated. At 1 p.m., with WYANDOTTE and ACACIA alongside and a helicopter flying about, DONNACONA’s crew finally got the fire under control, and by 2:30 p.m. the fire was largely extinguished.

Later in the afternoon Captain Miller, now clothed in the cook’s socks, fireman’s boots, and a deckhands coat took position near the stack and used the manual steering wheel to guide his ship to anchor north of Port Huron.

Smoldering forward cabin when rescue crews arrived Wreck arriving in tow at Walkerville (Windsor) in tow of tug SUPERIOR Detroit News Photo Detroit News Photo

Early the next morning the crew surveyed the forward end of DONNACONA. The crew found the

pilothouse, captain’s office, and mate’s cabins “turned into charred rubble”. The forward crew’s quarters, located in the fo’cle, was heavily damaged by smoke and awash in water. Detroit News reporters Roy J. Courtade and photographer Robert Q. Jacobs chartered the St. Clair River pilot boat and were able to spend nearly 30 minutes touring the damage and talking to crewmembers about the ordeal. One sailor remembered finding two soggy dollar bills in the captain’s cabin. “I gave them to the captain and he said he’d save them” the sailor said. “He’ll never spend those singles.” Captain Miller took the reporter to his cabin. “This, he said as he stooped to pick up a metal box, was the radio. It used to be mounted on the ceiling. Now look at it.”

Later in the afternoon two tugs arrived from Detroit and towed the vessel to Windsor and the cargo was

finally unloaded. DONNACONA spent the winter at Windsor and a new, large, square pilothouse was installed. An investigation found that the fire started in a 2’ shaft, which carried heavy electrical cables and hydraulic steering lines from the keel to the pilothouse. The exact cause of the fire was never known.

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DONNACONA shown with new forward cabin while down bound above Lock 2 on Welland Canal in 1965 Editor’s Collection Sources:

Courtade, R.J., (1964, December 17). ‘Ship mass of flame’ – skipper tells of terror. Detroit News.

Fire damages Canadian grain carrier. (1964, December 18). Grand Rapids Press.

Big grain ship afire in lake above Detroit (1964, December 16). Detroit News.

Greenwood, J.O., (1966). Greenwood’s guide to Great Lakes shipping. Cleveland: Freshwater Press.

Gillham, E.B., (2000). The Postwar ships of Canada Steamship Lines. Vineland, Ontario: Glenaden Press.

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Answer to Name This Ship (Pg. 4) HARLEY (U.S. Pass. Ferry) (Off. #US95517) Built in 1878 at Buffalo, New York by George H. Notter as Hull #15 Hull: Wood, Length: 40 ft. Width: 11 ft. Depth: 6 ft. Gross Tonnage 12. Net Tonnage 8. Built as a passenger ferry. Sold Canadian in 1897 (Off. # CAN126230) and brought to the St. Clair River. Resold U.S. in 1902 and used in ferry service between Marysville and Stag Island. Resold Canadian in 1911. Rebuilt as a tug and renamed R. G. SHAW. Removed from registry in 1949 as abandoned. Photo by Louis Pesha at Marysville, editor’s collection. Regarding last issue’s Name This Ship, the LIQUILASSIE, word of her final disposition comes to us from our regular contributor, Skip Gillham. She ended her career in 1987 being sunk as an artificial reef off the distant tropical South Pacific island nation of Tonga. Our thanks to Skip for that information!

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On March 31,1992, we fitted out the S/S BEECHGLEN in Owen Sound, Ontario. Our first trip was to Thunder Bay to load grain. The harbor was full of hard packed ice but we didn't have any trouble departing our winter birth to get under way. A Canadian icebreaker had broken a path for us to use a few days before. Georgian Bay was clear of ice, as was Lake Huron. We got to DeTour and the Soo River had many tracks in the ice up bound and we made it all the way to the Soo Locks. After we locked through we noticed the ice was thicker as we continued toward Whitefish Bay. We never made it to Whitefish Point. We got stuck in the heavy ice which was about 18 inches thick. We backed the BEECHGLEN hoping to make a run for the ice and break through but the ice would not budge and the ship stopped dead. The BEECHGLEN had a 3500 HP steam turbine engine and was not powerful enough to pull herself through the ice. A call was made for assistance to the USCG. They said the MACKINAW would be sent out in a few hours to break us free. Off in the distance I could make out the white hull of the "Mighty Mac". As they came along our port side, at a speed of 2 or 3 knots, I could see the bow of the Mac plowing though the ice and the paint on the bow had been scraped off. The Mac pulled ahead to break the ice loose then the Captain called our ship and said that she was going to back up to break a plug of ice out from our bow. The captain informed us that he would stay 2000 yards ahead of us as he broke us out. He said if the ice breaker gets stuck in the ice then he will signal us with two red lights located on her mast. If we saw those two red lights we should stop our ship from going ahead. When the order was given from the Mac to proceed, we rang up full ahead and the old steam engine came to life. The Mac broke us a path and we followed behind and finally rounded Whitefish Point. We were several miles past the Point and the Mac asked how we were doing? We replied we were making 9 knots. Meanwhile we met the steamer ALPENA who got stuck down bound off the Point. The Mac said that we should be OK and headed back to help the ALPENA. We thanked the MACKINAW with high hopes that we would make it to the open waters of Lake Superior. But that was not the case and few miles further along the track that we were following closed in and we became stuck again.

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Sea Stories – Recollections of Life on the Great Lakes By Capt. Dick Metz

BEECHGLEN in the distance, taken from the deck of the ALPENA while stuck in ice on Whitefish Bay – April 1,1992 Photo by John Leindecker

We called the Mac and said we were stuck again and needed their help. Again he said in a few hours. Meanwhile we sat stuck in the ice. We watched the STEWART J. CORT coming down bound and her bow was smashing through the ice. She had no trouble at all with all the horsepower that her engines were turning. Finally, later in the day the Mac returned using the same procedure as before, only this time she broke ice only about 1000 yards ahead and after a while we could see the open waters of Lake Superior in site. The Mac called us and said they were going to suspend ice breaking operations for us in order to help other ships that were stuck. If we got stuck again we would have to sit until the next day before they could come out again to help us. We thanked them again as the open water got closer. After a full day of trying to make it out of Whitefish Bay we finally hit open water. It was quiet now. We all got a good nights sleep after spending all day with the ice crashing against our bows. ____________________________________________________________________________________

Point Edward North Slip Lay-up 35 Years Ago

LAWRENCECLIFFE HALL (2), OTTERCLIFFE HALL, and tanker CARDINAL (3) shown in winter lay-up on February 14, 1974. The CARDINAL (3) was among the last of the old St Lawrence Canallers and the other two were built to the new Seaway dimensions. Note the size difference between the classes of ships. This would be the last season for the CARDINAL (3) and she would be scrapped later that year. The LAWRENCECLIFFE HALL (2) and OTTERCLIFFE HALL would last for another 30 years before being scrapped on a beach in Alang, India in 2004. Editor’s Photo

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Forty years ago the 600 foot freighters of the United States Steel fleet were regular travelers through the Bluewater area taking iron ore to Conneaut or Lorain and often returning upbound with coal. One of these “tinstackers” was the HENRY PHIPPS. This vessel was built at West Bay City, Michigan, and launched on May 11, 1907. The ship was named for one of the 24 original Board members of U.S. Steel on their formation in 1901. The HENRY PHIPPS entered service on June 13, 1907. There were a few accidents over the years for the 7,240 gross ton steamer and a number were due to fog. The worst sank the JOLIET in a collision in lower Lake Huron on September 22, 1911, in very limited visibility. Earlier the ship had headed off course and run aground on July 1, 1907. It sustained minor damage in a meeting with the DANIEL J. MORELL in Whitefish Bay, Lake Superior, on August 13, 1909, and collided with fleetmate B.F. AFFLECK in the Straits of Mackinac during May 1957. The HENRY PHIPPS tied up at Duluth on November 22, 1974, and was moved to the local scrap berth in July 1976. Dismantling began in 1977 and only part of the stern remained at the beginning of 1978.

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HENRY PHIPPS

*BRUNTO*

Down bound in Welland Canal Photo by Jeff Cameron / www.wellandcanal.ca Built in 1977 by P. Lindenau at Kiel, West Germany as Hull #170 Length – 487’ 7” Breadth – 64’4” Depth – 35’ GRT – 7,953 M. Bulk Carrier Main Engine – 6,000 bhp Mak While researching a website recently I came across a picture of a familiar looking ship called LINDEN. The picture was taken in the Bosporus off Istanbul, Turkey. On closer note, I noticed the ship was a former visitor to the great lakes. She appeared to be in fine shape. Her black hull was a bit dull but her upper works and deck area appeared in very good order. She is a geared bulk carrier with two deck cranes. This ship made her first appearance on the lakes back in 1977, her year of completion. At the time she was called BRUNTO her listed owners were S/A Westray and registered in Norway. She delivered the replica Viking ship HJEMKOMST to Cleveland in 1983. This Viking ship had sailed from Duluth to Norway in 1982. The eventual destination of the Viking ship was Rollag, Mn. In 1985 she was sold and renamed GENERAL VARGAS. Her listed owners became Hillgrey Shipping S.A. and registered in the Philippines. She carried the Kristian Jebsens stack markings. She made her first lakes appearance a few years later, in 1987. She became a regular visitor to the lakes passing through the Port Huron/Sarnia area on a few occasions. Except for 1991 and 1993 she was on the lakes on at least one voyage. In 1994 she reverted to her original name BRUNTO and her listed owners became P/R Brunto ANS and she was registered back in Norway once again. She returned to the lakes that year on a voyage to Detroit and Toledo. She made regular appearances from 1996 until 2002 carrying cargoes ranging from peas, various grains, fertilizers and steel. She visited many ports around the lakes. BRUNTO made her final lakes appearance in June 2002 when she took a cargo of steel products to Detroit then passed upbound to Duluth where she loaded wheat. It was her second appearance that year on the lakes. She was later sold to Turkish owners and her name became LINDEN. Though she probably will never again sail the lakes, just knowing she is still moving cargo at close to 30 years of age is rather remarkable.

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