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Page 147 Vessels in the background make the turn at Ballard's Reef before turning into the Livingston Channel. Today most of the material dredged from the channel has been removed from Stoney Island, however the hand-laid stone wall still exists near the Dunbar & Sullivan dock. between Bob-Lo and Windmill Point were lights at Grassy Island and Mamajuda. In 1873 some enterprising gentleman placed a float on Ballard's reef which displayed a red light that could be seen under favorable weather conditions about 500 feet. Collections were taken from the vessels, and as this showed a good profit, several other citizens hung up lamps at intervals all the way up to Fort Gratiot and the good work of collecting went on until Mr. Livingston prevailed upon the government to forbid the use of private lights. As late as 1880 there was no official gauge at the Lime Kiln Crossing. Duff and Gratfield displayed a red flag from a pole on the dock when the water looked low. On making inquiry about the probable depth, you were told that Johnny Coder struck going over yesterday or George McLeod struck this afternoon, but not quite so hard, and there you were. If you wanted to take the chance, there was always a small tug to assist you in making the attempt! Detroit was one point on the voyage in the sixties and early seventies that no vessel could get by without making a call at the Marine Post Office, located at Trowbridge and Wilcox Store. Anything in the way of ship supplies from a needle to an anchor was available there and a tow stopping at Detroit at six in the morning seldom got under way until six in the morning. This was all changed by the advent of large sail fleets in the early seventies. The masters, as a rule, making contact with the tug to go through without stopping unnecessarily. "Good old days! We frequently hew of the good old days. That is a mistaken idea. If there were good old days, it was only for some boy whose father was in a position to send him to college. There were no good old days for the sailor boy. The crew handled the cargo at one end of the trip and lumber and other coarse freight at the other. The hours were continous in some instances and seventeen to eighteen working hours in most all cases at loading ports. "The crew's quarters in the handsomest vessels were dungeons in comparison with the quarters on a modem steel ship. Everything in the so-called good old days on board ship was done by main strength and hard labor. The watch below was subject to call at any minute to take in or shorten sail. The Dossin Museum Coll.