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Page 87 A Voice Falls Silent on the St. Clair River Capt. Morgan Howell (left) of the S.S. Aquarama and Capt. J. E. Johnston of the Museum of Great Lakes History inspect map presented to the vessel by the museum. Anyone traveling along the St. Clair River monitoring their marine radio or shoreside residents listening to their scanners, would hear commercial vessels talking "sea stories" with Capt. Morgan Howell when passing the town of St. Clair. Drawing upon his vast knowledge from over seventy-five years of sailing the Great Lakes and oceans, Capt. Howell's stories would range from his early days aboard the SS CORUNA in the 1920's, dodging German U-Boats in the North Atlantac during World War II, piloting salt water vessels in the Seaway or perhaps his best known commands aboard the passenger ships PUT-IN-BAY and AQUARAMA. This famous voice fell silent when Capt. Howell passed away on 15 August 2000 at age 96. Upon returning to the Great Lakes after the war, Capt. Howell piloted canal-sized vessels through the old St. Lawrence River Canal System. In 1950/51, he served as the last skipper of the excursion vessel PUT-IN-BAY, which made regular trips from Detroit to Lake Erie Islands and Cedar Point. When the AQUARAMA began service in 1956, he served as Second Mate and was given command the following year. Making daily trips from Detroit to Cleveland, the highlight of the week was the Friday trip up the St. Clair River to fuel at Sarnia. He remained Captain of the AQUARAMA until she was withdrawn from service after Labor Day, 1962. Because the PUT-IN-BAY and AQUARAMA were "summer" ships, Capt. Howell used the remainder of the Great Lakes season to pilot vessels along the newly opened St. Lawrence Seaway from Cape Vincent/Lake Ontario to Chicago. Photo from Dossin Museum Collection