Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Scanner, v. 30, no. 5 (February 1998), p. 9

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9. Ship of the Month - cont'd. ARLINGTON was commanded from 1936 through 1939 by Capt. Roderick Graham, and in 1940 she was taken over by Capt. Fred "Tatey Bug" Burke, with Capt. Junis Macksey as her first mate. ARLINGTON passed her government inspection at Midland on April 20th, 1940, and set out shortly thereafter (reports vary as to whether it was on the 20th or the 21st, so we must assume that she sailed during the night), en route to the Canadian Lakehead to load grain. She completed her first trip of the 1940 season in safety. On Tuesday, April 30th, 1940, she departed Port Arthur with 97, 778 bushels of wheat, bound for Owen Sound, Ontario. She encountered incredibly nasty weather out on the open lake and, when twelve miles east of Superior Shoals in mid-Lake Superior (about half-way between the tip of the Keweenaw Penin­ sula and Heron Bay), at approximately 5: 15 a. m. on May 1st, the ARLINGTON foundered, sinking by the stern and rolling over onto her port side as she went down. All of the steamer's crew of 16 men were able to escape the sink­ ing ship by lifeboat, and they were taken aboard the Canada Steamship Lines freighter COLLINGWOOD, which had been sailing in close proximity to the AR­ LINGTON as the two boats made their way down the lake. Only Capt. Fred Burke perished in the accident. ARLINGTON'S registry was closed on May 15, 1940. Saved were: first mast, Capt. Junis Macksey, Midland; second mate, Arthur Ferris, Penetang; wheelsmen Charles Paradis and E. Callan, Midland; wireless operator and watchman, W. J. Lee, Toronto; watchman, Geo. Braithwaite, Pene­ tang; deckhands, Francis Swales and Ted Brodeur, Midland; chief engineer, Fred Gilbert, Midland; second engineer, Lester Woods, Midland; oilers, Arthur Nolan and Jack Dempsey, Midland; firemen, Lester Hall and Dan Ques­ nelle, Midland; first cook, Fred Martell, Little Current, and second cook, Maurice Ferry, of Hillsdale. Although the ARLINGTON carried wireless radio equipment, no calls for assis­ tance were made. The rescuing steamer COLLINGWOOD (then a bulk carrier and not rebuilt as a package freighter until ten years later) did not carry wireless or radio-telephone, and so the first news of the accident was not received until COLLINGWOOD reached Sault Ste. Marie on May 2nd, and her master, Capt. Thomas J. "Tommy" Carson, provided details of the tragedy. COLLINGWOOD was bound with grain from Fort William to Midland, and she con­ tinued on her journey. The dock at the C. S. L. elevator at Midland was crow­ ded with townsfolk when the COLLINGWOOD arrived there on Friday, May 3rd, and local residents tearfully welcomed home their rescued family and friends from the ARLINGTON. But there was nothing but extreme grief for the Burke family and their many friends over the fact that "Tatey Bug" was not amongst the rescued. Capt. Carson wept openly as he was met on the wharf by Captains Ed and David Burke, Fred's brothers. Amongst those who were on the dock when COLLINGWOOD was made fast was Capt. Fred S. Slocombe, supervising examiner of masters and mates in the Inland Division of the Department of Transport. Assisted by W. L. Mackenzie, go­ vernment steamship inspector for the Midland district, he held an immediate enquiry and, after questioning all of the parties involved, he determined that a formal investigation should be held. There was much press reporting of the circumstances of the accident, but ma­ ny of the details were conflicting. We feel that the best version of the events can be obtained by quoting reports carried in "The Evening Telegram", Toronto, over the next few days. "Midland, May 9 (Special). - Captain Thomas J. Carson of the C. S. L. steam­ ship COLLINGWOOD testified tonight before a court of inquiry that he had to install searchlights on the deck of his vessel to keep watch on his hatches, so heavy was the gale early May 1 when the Midland freighter ARLINGTON foundered in Lake Superior... "The court, sitting under F. H. Barlow, K. C., master of the Supreme Court of

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