The METEOR

Whenever I make a trip to the Great Lakes I like to pick up books about shipping. Whether about shipwrecks or history, I can't put them down. One of the types of ships that I find most interesting are the Whalebacks. On a recent trip to the Duluth-Superior area I had to make a visit to the last remaining Whaleback ship. The Meteor.

Captain Alexander McDougall designed the whaleback to increase volume and seaworthiness. The decks were designed with a fair amount of tumblehome, to let the seas wash over them like a log floating in water. As the first one was being built the shipping community was very skeptical and called it " McDougall's Dream". Even his wife, as the first ship slid into the water, quipped " There goes our last penny."

The streamlined hulls had better fuel efficiency and handled well in rough weather. They also had their drawbacks. They sat low in the water and were sometimes hard to see. Many were involved in collisions. Sailors didn't like them. In heavy seas with a low freeboard men were washed overboard. Even with these problems, Alexander McDougall's whalebacks became a success. In all, 44 whalebacks were built.

The Meteor was launched in 1896 as the Frank Rockefeller. She carried iron ore until 1927 when she was sold and renamed South Park . She hauled sand and other fill for the site of the 1933 Worlds Fair in Chicago. Later it was fitted with a deck to haul automobiles. The South Park foundered off of Manistique, Michigan in 1942. Although she was heavily damaged, she was sold to Cleveland Tankers Corporation and renamed Meteor. She was refitted to haul oil and petrochemicals. She was retired in 1969. Being the last working whaleback, she was a novelty around the ports of the Great Lakes. In 1972 the Meteor was towed back to the city where she was built, Superior, Wisconsin. It was opened as a museum in 1973.

The triple expansion steam engine. She was originally coal fired and later switched to oil.

The steering engine

Dane Andree on the bridge.

The METEOR is the last Whaleback Ship

Even older Great Lakes ships have very sophisticated navigation systems like this gyroscopic compass and radio beacons.

The Meteor is "moored " on Barkers Island in Superior, Wisconsin. The tour was six dollars and was informative. If you're a boat nerd you need to check it out. For more info go to http://www.superiorpublicmuseums.org/ssmeteor/NewMETEORMAIN.htm

The Logging Boats of P.O.W. Camp 100

While hiking in Neys Provincial Park in Canada, Elaine and I ran across some abandoned wooden logging boats. We soon found out these old rotting boats had quite an interesting history.

After the outbreak of WWII, Canada found the need to open several German prisoner of war camps. In all, Canada opened 26 P.O.W. and Japanese internment camps that operated from 1941 to 1946. Three of the largest were along the Lake Superior north shore coast at Angler, Neys and Red Rock. The German prisoners were divided into groups, "Greys" were ordinary enlisted solders and "Blacks" were die-hard Nazis. Neys Camp 100 was housing mainly "black" Nazis. It was more secure with three layers of barbed wire fencing and guard towers. Escape by tunneling was difficult because of the loose sand; however it was attempted. One prisoner carved a set of wooden ice skates to skate away after the lake froze, but the lake didn't freeze enough that winter. Many of the native loggers enlisted or went to work in the factories to support the war effort. The nation still needed lumber, so the prisoners were put to work logging.

Each prisoner was payed a wage. The logging was done along the Pic River and the Little Pic River. The logs were cut and then floated down the rivers to the lake. Boats were used to transfer the prisoners to and from the work area and to help corral the logs as they floated down the river. After the end of the war the camp became a prisoner distribution center and the prisoners were repatriated with their homeland. Having found their treatment by the Canadians fair and having learned a trade many returned to the region to continue to log and work and raise families.

These boats were owned by the Pidgeon River Timber Company and were used in the region during the mid 1940's when most of the labor was prisoners. Made of wood with some tin sheathing, you can see they were work boats. Although they are rotting away, numerous repairs and patches are still evident. These boats can be found at Neys Provincial Park in Neys, Ontario, Canada.

Walk the Point Trail for about 1 Km. to the rocky point above the lake. Bathe in mosquito repellent before you go. The boats are up on the rocks. For more information go to http://www.ontarioparks.com/

Save The DELTA QUEEN

I remember seeing, as a young boy,the River Queen resting on the bottom of the Mississippi on the St. Louis riverfront. I can still picture that once grand boat and imagine the levee filled with steamboats. Loading and unloading the raw goods that helped build this nation. At low water, her hull can still be seen, a little bit north of the Eads Bridge. Most of our great steamboats have disappeared and the ones that remain are in need of help.

The historic steamboat Delta Queen ceased operations at the end of 2008. An Act of Congress is needed to give the Delta Queen permission to run as overnight passenger vessel after 2008. Help us save this National Historic Landmark, an important part of America's history, by going to http://www.save-the-delta-queen.org/.

Video featuring Dan Landau's theme song "Godspeed, Delta Queen".

Vacationland

State of Michigan auto ferry Vacationland

For as long as I can remember, on one of Grandma's bookshelves was a old, dusty copy of a book written by David B. Steinman titled "Miracle Bridge at Mackinac". Inside the front cover Grandma had written.

December 1957
Dear Squire,
Will you remember the crispy early morning rides on the Mackinac ferry, and the scarlet and gold sunsets, or the black fury of a windy night's storm? Even a miracle bridge cannot give the moments of sheer delight I've had with you, on the trips we've enjoyed over the waves of these northern straits.
All my love Sue

Grandma loved to write.

Although I was born after the time of the great straits ferries, I can imagine the thrill of crossing into the wilderness of the Upper Peninsula. As I am today, when I board the ferry to Mackinac Island.

The Vacationland was one of the State of Michigan automobile ferries that shuttled over the Straits of Mackinac between the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. Built in 1952 at Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, Michigan, she became the last ferry to join the State of Michigan Highway Department fleet. Being a roll on roll off car ferry ( or Roro ) she was equipped with two bridges and a tunnel that linked the two. Cars would drive on one end and drive out the other. Not having to turn the boat around saved valuable time when docking.

The Mackinac Bridge opened on November 1,1957. The automobile ferries at the straits were put up for sale immediately after so they wouldn't compete with the new spans revenue.

Uncle Allen, Grandma, and Uncle Neil on a trip across the straits

In 1959 the Vacationland was sold to Detroit-Atlantic Navigation Corporation and renamed Jack Dalton. In 1960 it was seized for non-payment. It was then sold to Canada and rechristened Pere Nouvel . She worked on the St. Lawance River between Rimouski and Baie Comeau. In 1967 B.C. Ferries purchased Pere Nouvel. She was sailed to Vancouver through the Panama Canal and renamed Sunshine Coast Queen. After being retired in 1977 due to high operating cost she was sold and was to be converted to an oil drilling support vessel. Renamed Gulf Kanayak. She was sold for scrap in 1987.

On December 3, 1987, while being towed to Japan to be scrapped, the Gulf Kanayak sank in 12,000 feet of water during a storm about one hundred miles from the mouth of the Columbia River.
One of the my great regrets in life was not being able to see that beautiful vessel in my ( and Grandmas) beloved straits.

L.O.A. 344' 6"

Beam 75'

Passenger capacity-600

Automobile capacity 150

The S.S. PRESIDENT

Built as Cincinnati in 1924 she ran as a passenger packet steamer from Cincinnati, Ohio to Louisville, Kentucky. In 1929 she was bought by Streckfus Steamers. In 1932 she was moved to St. Louis for conversion to the largest excursion boat in America. Her two year conversion added a bandstand and a ballroom that was two decks high. She was advertised as the "New 5 Decked Super Steamer, Biggest and Finest on the Mississippi." She was renamed the President. In 1941 it was moved to New Orleans. Around 1978 her steam engines were replaced with 1000 hp diesel engines in each paddle box. She returned to St. Louis in 1985, and was designated a National Historical Landmark in 1989. It opened as a casino in 1990. In 1991 it was moved to Davenport, Iowa. She ran until 1999 and was retired. She is being dismantled and moved to St. Elmo, Illinois to become a hotel. If you are traveling on highway 70 the President is on the north side of the road and can be seen from the highway.

The pilot house and one of the smoke stacks.

The upper deck

One of the stairways that led to the upper deck.

It looks like an impossible job, but I hope one of our last remaining steamboats can be saved.