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Ship of the Month - cont'd. 12. her hull had been painted all black, and at least the top of her smokestack as well, and that her cabins had been white, albeit severely stained with rust by this late point in her career as her demise became imminent. It seems odd indeed that after all the effort that went into rebuilding M A RUBA for lake service after her return, and presumably when the two sections of her hull were rejoined at the Ashtabula shipyard after her tow up the canals in 1923, she does not appear to have operated at all. This may have been due in part to the strong opposition in the auto-carrying business that Thompson was experiencing from the Nicholson shipping interests of Detroit. In addition, much of Captain Thompson's effort undoubtedly was directed toward his litigation (eventually successful) against the insurers for payment of the loss incurred when Thompson's steamer LAKELAND foundered in Lake Michigan in 1924. We would be interested to know if any of our readers have any further infor mation concerning MARUBA in the years between her return to the lakes in 1923 and her demise in 1932, which may shed light on whether she ever saw any operation during this period. Of particular interest would be any addi tional photographic record of the steamer during this final period of her c ar eer . * * * Ed. N o t e : We should like to express our sincere thanks to Ron Beaupre and to Capt. Gerry Ouderkirk, and to Rev. Hart, the owner of the MARUBA Cleveland photograph, for the use of same and for the inspiration that led to the creation of this feature. We would never have thought of featuring MARUBA otherwise, and so we are grateful for the "suggestion", even though it came in a very unusual manner. We wish that we had more details of the latter years of MARUBA's career, but sometimes a feature article that asks questions can serve the historical r e cord more than one which presumes to tell all, particularly if it stirs up the discovery of more information. Accordingly, we shall now leave the story of MARUBA in the hands of our readers, and we shall see whether it can be expanded any farther. * * * * * SHOREWORDS In "Scanner", we normally review only books written or published by T. M. H . S. members. This time, Ye Ed. has exercised his prerogative to broaden our scope to include "family" - which in this case is his "cousin", or more pro perly, the elder daughter of his late godmother, whatever relationship that creates between himself and Anne Duke Judd, proprietor of The Brucedale Press division of Broad Horizons Books, of Port Elgin, Ontario. Sh orewords, Brucedale's first offering, is a little (124-page) softcover edited by Corinne Robertson-Brown and featuring 23 pieces of fiction, n o n fiction and poetry produced by Bruce County writers, a number of which are of specific marine interest. The cover features an appealing colour photo of a section of rugged Bruce County shoreline. Those interested in the shore of Lake Huron and the history of the Bruce can obtain the book for $14. 95 (plus G. S. T . ) from The Brucedale Press, P. O. Box 2259, Port Elgin, Ontario N 0H 2C0. * * * * * And to close this issue, we can think of nothing more appropriate than to repeat our wishes to members for a Very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.