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been a matter of intriquing specu- lation to me. The haze of yester- year has produced a number of con- flicting stories. All were from re- liable sources, Yet, the flour that was washed ashore in 1915, the ear- ly 20's, and during the first year of the Second World War no one act- ually knows where it came from, During my years of interest in legends of the Lakes it has been a genuine pleasure and appreciated privilege to chat with ship masters and crew members who handied canvas or fired or wheeled on the wooden ships of a bye gone era. Always at some time during these conversat- ions I have asked two questions. Where were you during the storm of 1913 and what do you know about the flour washing ashore at Inverhuron? My interest in the flour stories was re-kindled by the discovery of the MORRELL relics that were found clear across the lake. Now, by reason of sheer logic of the fact that aman rarely forgets the year of his marriage (though he may ocassionally forget some of the anniversaries) we will fol low through the story of the flour floating ashore in 1915. Neil 'Skipper' McKinnon of the Tenth Concession of Kincardine Town ship, wheeled on the passenger and package freighter SUSQUEHANNA be- fore the turn of the century. Apro- pos of my perenial question, he re- plied: "I was married in 1914. The next year, in the summer, I rememb- er taking the team hitched to the gravel box, down to the _ beach at Inverhuron to buy a load of flour. A custom's officer, I think it was Mac McPherson, had set up shop in an old shack to sell the bags of flour which were washing up on the shore. Some said the flour was out of the old schooner AZOV which had foundered out on the lake. Some said not. Personally I didn't think it was. I never did hear for sure what ship the flour was off. The MAY -JUNE Page 95 water made a paste about half an- inch thick inside the bags. The flour bebeath the paste was dry and as good as when it was milled. We used it until we ran out of it about three years later. The bags were of two sizes. The big bags were pretty fancy. They were white bags decorated with a big red star over a green cresent," a AZOV C.P. Labadie Collection "No! He's right! That flour did not come off the AZOV", chimed in Malcom 'Mac' McDonald, oldtime shooner man of Goderich. "I know. The AZOV belonged to my father. She foundered in Lake Huron, right enough, and drifted ashore at Inver huron, but she drifted off again and was found bottom up near Port Elgin and she's still there. Be- sides, on her last trip we loaded lumber at Meldrum Bay on the Mani- toulin. She had a hold full of dry pine and a deck load of green hem- lock. I know! I was her mate and helped load her, But I didn't sail with her, When we finished loading there was quite a stiff onshore