Today in Great Lakes History – July 20

1875
1875:  The scow DIXIE burned during the night while lying at Kenyon’s dock in East China Township on the St. Clair River.

1877
1877:  At the end of June 1877, the ferry MYRTLE began running between Port Huron and Sarnia. However, on this date, The Port Huron Times reported that “The ferry MYRTLE has been taken off the route on account of the extreme dullness of the times.”

1907
1907:  JAY C. MORSE (Hull #438) was launched at Cleveland, Ohio, by American Shipbuilding Co. for the Mesaba Steamship Co. (Pickands & Mather & Co., manager) Sold Canadian in 1965, renamed b.) SHELTER BAY, used as a storage barge at Goderich, renamed c.) D.B. WELDON in 1979. In 1982, her pilothouse was removed and is used as a museum in Goderich Harbor. The WELDON was scrapped at Thunder Bay in 1984.

1929
1929:  HORACE JOHNSON (Hull #805) was launched at Lorain, Ohio, by American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.

1940
1940:  The first LACHINEDOC ran aground at L’Isle-aux-Coudres but was refloated the same day after 600 tons of coal were jettisoned. The vessel became b) QUEENSTON in 1946 and was sunk as a dock facing at Bob-Lo Park in 1962.

1961
1961:  LEON FALK JR. was christened at Cleveland after one trip to Duluth, Minnesota, for ore.

1963
1963:  Thick fog prevailed overnight on the St. Lawrence, contributing to three accidents. The TRITONICA sank after a collision with the ROONAGH HEAD off Île d’Orléans with the loss of 33 lives. To the west, the Swiss freighter BARILOCHE ran into the CALGADOC (ii) and then veered into the CANADOC (ii) before all ships on the water went to anchor. BARILOCHE later visited the Seaway as b) ST. CERGUE in 1967 and c) CALVIN in 1978. It was scrapped at Shanghai, China, in 1985. ROONAGH HEAD received significant bow damage in her collision but was repaired and operated until she arrived at Castellon, Spain, for scrapping on September 14, 1971.

1964
1964:  ZENICA went aground in the Straits of Mackinac en route to Chicago and was lightered by the MARQUIS ROEN and released. She passed downbound at Port Huron under tow. This vessel was beached at Karachi, Pakistan, for scrapping as f) CONSTANZA on June 1, 1980.

1965
1965:  The Norwegian freighter LYNGENFJORD sustained stern damage when it backed into the SALMELA while leaving the dock at Montreal. The former made 35 trips to the Great Lakes from 1959 through 1967 and was scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan, after arriving prior to May 3, 1980, as c) EASTERN VALOUR. The latter, a British vessel, began Great Lakes service in 1965 and arrived at Gadani Beach, Pakistan, for scrapping on April 21, 1985, as c) ELENI.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Mike Nicholls, Father Dowling Collection, Ahoy & Farewell II and the Great Lakes Ships We Remember series from the Marine Historical Society of Detroit. Compiled by Roger LeLievre.