Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Scanner, v. 32, no. 5 (February 2000), p. 10

The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Ship of the Month - cont'd. 10. Last issue, we covered fairly exhaustively OSSIFRAGE's Algoma Central years and commented on her colours. And yes, photos prove that she did have the diamond on her stack the whole time, although the lettering changed slightly over time. And although for most of her Algoma service, the lower portion of the stack was buff, at least one view shows the stack to be all black, except for the diamond. We have only one item to add. The "Kincardine Review" of October 23, 1902, noted: "Str. KING EDWARD northbound on Tuesday 18th inst, with passengers and freight. Str. MINNIE M. northbound, on Saturday (the 25? -Ed. ), with passengers and freight. " From the same paper, on November 20, 1902, we have the following advertisement: "Algoma Central Steamship Line - Toledo-Sault Ste. Marie Division, Passenger and Freight. The steamer MINNIE M. will run on an irregular schedule for the remainder of the season. The KING EDWARD and OSSIFRAGE have been withdrawn. For rates and information, apply to H. T. Hurdon, Local Agent, or address W. B. Rosevear, General Traffic Manager. " A week later, on November 27th, the "Review" reported: "The steamer MINNIE M . , north bound, cleared on Tuesday (Nov. 25) with passengers and freight. " We have nothing more to add concerning the 1909 service of OSSIFRAGE for J. E. Rebstock on the excursion service between Buffalo and Crystal Beach so, as promised, let us move forward to her "senior years", when the aging OSSI­ FRAGE was owned by William Ball and operated by the Chatham Navigation Company as a day excursion boat between Chatham (on the Thames River) and Detroit. She underwent numerous changes in appearance during this period, but we will not try to describe them all. Let us hope that the photographs which we include in this issue will say more than words. But speaking of words, we cannot resist quoting most of a tongue-in-cheek report that ap­ peared in the "Wallaceburg News" on June 26th, 1913. The item was entitled "Excursion Boat Runs Aground on The Snye, Four Miles From Home; The Excursion Boat Found a Bed but 500 Excursionists Were Bed- less". We quote: "Despite the ominous weather signals about 500 moon light lovers crossed over the gang plank of the steamer OSSIFRAGE after planking down their 35 cents for the privilege of a saloon passage... The boat proud­ ly and gaily sailed out while the town band was rendering such inspiring and appropriate airs as 'Will Ye no come back again', and 'The Ship that never returned - or turned just in time' or something to that effect. "In the natural course of events, the boat happily reached Algonac, going on the principle that one good turn deserves another, when navigating the Snye, at least. Their leaving was a little belated, and the merry dancers who lin­ gered at the dance soaked up an appreciable quantity of rain before re-em­ barking on the return trip. The OSSIFRAGE made the necessary twists to fol­ low the kinkly Snye, until it came to seemingly the most baffling one of all near the home of Jack Scagel, when the boat apparently attempted to take a short cut across lots. "As the storm was brewing and boat curtains (along the sides of the open aft deck -Ed. ) were all down, the passengers were blissfully oblivious to the real situation, as the engine was pounding away desperately but uselessly, for the boat was making about as much headway as a horse on a treadmill. It was 12: 40 (a. m . ) when the boat grounded, taking to the bed of the river without a jolt. It was some time after before the passengers realized it. Above the terrible silence that followed could be heard the confidential whisper of those clasped in each other's arms. 'I believe we're not moving at all, dearest, but what's the hurry? ' "Although the passengers were allowed stop over privileges on their tickets till next day they did not seem to want to take advantage of this but deba­ ted on ways of getting back to their cot in the home roost. Then there was a great scurrying of home seekers, but dawn began to break before many got away. Telephone messages brought out the gasoline launches to carry home the

Powered by / Alimenté par VITA Toolkit
Privacy Policy