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PLAYFAIR PORT OF REGISTRY Readers will recall that w h e n we f e a tured the hist o r y of the Wolvi n c a n a l ler JOHN CRERAR some months ago, we puzzled over the r e g istry of the steamer when she opera t e d for the P l a yfair interests as GLENGARNOCK. She and her sisterships did not appe ar in the C a n adian register w h e n Playfair owned them, and Lloyd's showed only that they were "British" and gave no specific port of hail. Several read ers later wrote to advise that the ships were r e g istered at N e wcastle, the River Tyne port at w h i c h m any of the 1920s-built canallers were regi s t e r e d w h e n they first came to the lakes. That even the older Wolvin boats were r e g i s t e r e d there is not s urprising in view of the close r e l a t i o n s h i p betw e e n P l a yfair and the New c a s t l e s h i p b uilder Swan, H u n ter & Wi g h a m R i c h a r d s o n Ltd. We did note, in one of our f o l l o w - u p s to the G L E N G A R N O C K story, that we had no stern vie w of any of the P l a yfair canallers that w ould p o s i t i v e l y i d e n t i fy the port of registry. In response to this, member Vern Sweeting, of Midland, has g e n e r o u s l y sh a r e d w i t h us several photos taken around M i d l a n d Harbour by p h o t o g r a p h e r J. W. Bald. One of them is p a r t i c u l a r l y in t e r e s t i n g and shows the port during the w i n t e r of 1923-1924. B r e a k i n g ice in the foreground of the photo is the big tug LUCKNOW. Behind LIVET, course, is the of the the tug is a row of laid-up steamers w hich are, left to right, G L E N GLENDOWAN, G L E N S T R I V E N and GLENFARN. The G L E N D O W A N and GLENFARN, of were W o l v i n boats, and c l e a r l y visible on the counter stern of each r e g istry port Newcastle. Thus we have p roof positive of the r e g i s t r y Wolvin boats during their P l a yfair years. The photo shows some other i n t e r e s t i n g ships. In the background is a string of Playfair steamers inc l u d i n g GL E N M A V I S and GLENLYON. The two stacks v i s i ble over G L E N F A R N ' s p i l o t h o u s e b e l o n g to P l ayfair's yacht PATHFINDER. On the other side of the dock fro m the yacht are two b l a c k - h u l l e d steamers; they are J. A. M c K E E and THOMAS J. DRUM MOND, r e c e n t l y p u r c h a s e d by the P a t erson fleet but still w e a r i n g the colours of the C a n a d i a n G o vernment Merchant Marine. We thank Vern S w e e t i n g for p r o v i d i n g Bald's Midl a n d harb o u r panoramas. this photo, copied for us from one of * * * * * W I N O N A YET A G A I N While on the subject of things h a v i n g to do wit h the port of Midland, we must admit that we could not resist sharing w ith our members two a d ditional photos of the p a s s e n g e r steamer WINONA, the subject of a recent "Scanner" feature and several follow-ups. Both photos show W I N O N A w h e n she was o p erat ing out of Midl a n d for the Playfair and White interests. One view, supplied through the c o u r t e s y of V e r n Sweeting, is one of several small p h o tos on a J. W. Bald postcard, and shows W I N O N A on what appears to have been a regular trip. Bald took m a n y exc e l l e n t photos of the vessels w hich were seen around the M i d l a n d area dur i n g the first third of the century. The second W I N O N A photo, a g a i n by Bald, is an absolute gem, shared w i t h us by member G o r d o n Wendt, of Sandusky, Ohio. It shows W I N O N A at the M i d l a n d town dock, and it is obvious that it was the day of a v e r y special occasion. Note the crowds on steamer and dock, and the lodge regalia w o r n by m a n y of the men in the picture. W e ' d love to know more about what was going on w hen Mr. Bald snapped the shutter of his camera. While spea king of WINONA, we must a p o logize for an error w h i c h crept into the follow-up item that a p p e a r e d in the M arch issue, where it was stated that the big steamer RAPIDS KING had run an e x cursion from W a l l a c e b u r g to Detroit in Sep t e m b e r of 1903, before W I N O N A a p p e a r e d on the S y d enha m River. We must have bee n dozing not to have n o t i c e d this little problem; RAPIDS KING was not built until 1907!