Today in Great Lakes History – September 9

1871
1871:   Captain Hicks of the schooner A.H. MOSS fired the mate, a popular fellow, in a fit of anger at the same time that a tug arrived to tow the schooner out of Cleveland, OH. The crew was upset to say the least, and when the towline was cast off and Captain Hicks ordered the sails hoisted, the crew refused to do any work. The skipper finally raised the signal flags and had the tug tow his vessel back into the harbor. When the MOSS dropped anchor, he fired the entire crew and went ashore to hire another crew.

1886
1886:   GENERAL WOLSELEY (wooden side-wheel steamer; 103 feet; 123 tons; built in 1884 at Oakville, ON) caught fire on her way to Dyer’s Bay. She was run ashore for the crew to escape near Cape Croker on Georgian Bay and burned to the water’s edge.

1889
1889:   The FOLGER (wooden propeller wrecking tug; 69 feet; 64 gross tons; built in 1881 at Kingston, ON) was sailing upbound past St. Clair, MI, when a fire was discovered in her engine room. Her wheelsman stuck to his post as long as possible, trying to beach her at Courtright, ON, but the flames engulfed the vessel, and all hands had to abandon her.

1910
1910:   The steamer PERE MARQUETTE 18 sank with the loss of 29 lives. No cause for the sinking has ever been determined. The PERE MARQUETTE 17 picked up 33 survivors, losing two of her own crew during the rescue.

1924
1924:   A fire aboard the ship SOUTH AMERICAN at Holland, MI, destroyed the upper works of the popular passenger steamer.

1929
1929:   The ANDASTE (steel propeller self-unloading sandsucker; 247 foot; built in 1892 at Cleveland, OH) was probably overloaded with gravel when she went missing west of Holland, MI. The entire crew of 25 was lost. When built, she was the sister of the semi-whaleback CHOCTAW but was shortened by 20 feet in 1920–21 to allow her to use the Welland Canal.

1936
1936:   For the second consecutive day, boats of the Interlake and Pittsburgh fleets collided. The SATURN collided with the HENRY H. ROGERS in heavy fog above Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior. The SATURN continued upbound to repair damage at Superior Shipbuilding. The ROGERS continued downbound to South Chicago, IL, where the anchor of the SATURN was removed from the mate’s starboard cabin.

1940
1940:   The steamer MARITANA, under the command of Captain Charles E. Butler, went to anchor in Whitefish Bay due to weather. When she retrieved her anchor the next day, she also recovered a second anchor. The second anchor had an oak stock 12 feet across and 17 inches in diameter. The 8-foot forged metal shank was stamped with a date of 1806.

1954
1954:   DETROIT EDISON (Hull #418) was launched at Manitowoc, WI, by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. for the American Steamship Co. (Boland & Cornelius, manager) of Buffalo, NY.

1964
1964:   A collision between the GEORGE R. FINK and the Swedish freighter BROHOLM occurred in zero visibility on Lake Huron just north of the Bluewater Bridge. The latter, on her only voyage through the Seaway, received a gash on the starboard side above the waterline, while the former had only minor damage. BROHOLM arrived at Hsinkang, China, for scrapping as d.) PROODOS on September 2, 1974.

1965
1965:   The ROY A. JODREY (Hull #186) was launched at Collingwood, ON, by Canadian Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd. for Algoma Central Railway Ltd.

1974
1974:   The WOLVERINE (Hull #903) was launched at Lorain, OH, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Union Commerce Bank (Oglebay Norton Co., manager) of Cleveland, OH.

1977
1977:   The British freighter PERTH began service to Canada in 1951 and operated on the Great Lakes until 1960. The ship ran aground about 200 miles south of Suez, Egypt, as e.) GEORGIOS on this date in 1977 but was later refloated and taken to Suez. The ship was arrested there and subsequently sank on October 1, 1979. The hull was likely refloated and dismantled at that location.

1980
1980:   The first of two fires suffered by the Grand Trunk car ferry GRAND RAPIDS occurred. The cause of the fire was not determined.

1993
1993:   INDIANA HARBOR received major hull damage when she struck Lansing Shoal in Lake Michigan. The ship was repaired at Sturgeon Bay, WI.

Data from: Skip Gillham, Max Hanley, Joe Barr, David 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.

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