Today in Great Lakes History – September 23

1873
1873:   The scow WAUBONSIE was launched at the Curtis yard in Fort Gratiot, MI.

1910
1910:   The BETHLEHEM (steel propeller package freighter; 290 feet; 2,633 gross tons; built in 1888 at Cleveland, OH) was carrying general merchandise when she went ashore in a gale on the southwestern side of South Manitou Island in Lake Michigan. Members of the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the vessel’s crew unloaded her over several days. Although battered by several storms while ashore, she was eventually pulled free and repaired. She lasted until 1925 when she was scrapped.

1922
1922:   The 306-foot NEPTUNE loaded the first head-of-the-lakes cargo of pig iron at Zenith Furnace in Duluth, MN. The 5,000 tons of malleable pig iron was delivered to Buffalo, NY.

1935
1935:   HURRY-ON was a Great Lakes visitor in 1934 when it loaded bagged flour at Port Colborne, ON. The ship was lost off Port Hood Island near Judique, NS, after developing leaks and a list. The lifeboat swamped twice, and five were lost.

1952
1952:   The steamer CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON became the first boat christened at Cleveland, OH, since the early years of World War II. The 644-foot HUTCHINSON, under the command of Captain T.A. Johnson, was the new flagship of the Pioneer fleet and one of 35 boats in the three fleets operated by Hutchinson & Co. She was renamed b.) ERNEST R. BREECH in 1962 and c.) KINSMAN INDEPENDENT in 1988. Sold Canadian in 2005, the vessel was renamed d.) VOYAGEUR INDEPENDENT and later e.) OJIBWAY before being scrapped in 2023.

1961
1961:   CRYSTAL JEWEL, inbound for London, United Kingdom, in thick fog, was in a collision with the BP tanker BRITISH AVIATOR. The captain was seriously injured, and his daughter was killed. The vessel first visited the Great Lakes in 1960 and was en route from Duluth, MN, to London with a cargo of grain at the time of the accident. The vessel grounded and, after being released, was taken to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where the entire mid-ship superstructure was replaced. The ship made many more trips through the Seaway and returned as b.) MELTEMI in 1970. It was scrapped at Busan, South Korea, after arriving as d.) TETA on July 17, 1979.

1975
1975:   HERBERT C. JACKSON lost power while upbound on Lake Superior. She was towed back to the Soo by the U.S. Steel straight-decker D.G. KERR.

1980
1980:   FERNLEAF first visited the Seaway in 1965 and returned as b.) AALSUM in 1974. The ship was detained at Basrah, Iraq, as c.) INICIATIVA on this date in 1981 and declared a total loss in December of that year. It was salvaged in 1993 and renamed d.) DOLPHIN V but perhaps only for a trip to the shipbreakers. The vessel arrived at Gadani, Pakistan, on December 27, 2003, and dismantling began at once.

1991
1991:   J.W. MCGIFFIN rescued several people in a 24-foot pleasure craft off Presque Isle State Park near Erie, PA. The group had been disabled since the day before and were taken aboard the MCGIFFIN with their boat under tow. The MCGIFFIN was rebuilt with a new forward section and renamed b.) CSL NIAGARA in 1999.

2000
2000:   Vandals attacked the museum ship NORGOMA at Sault Ste. Marie, ON, breaking windows and light fixtures and setting off fire extinguishers, leaving an estimated $15,000 in damage.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Joe Barr, Dave Swayze, Russ Plumb, 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.