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

Page 59 Remembering the Elton Hoyt 2nd In the past decade we have watched the number of Great Lakes vessels decline as the shipping industry follows the economic downturn. However, not all vessels withdrawn from service are destined for the scrapyard as smaller US-flag vessels are sold to Canadian owners and remain in service on the lakes. One such example is the ELTON HOYT 2nd. She was originally built for the Interlake Steamship Company when fleets were expanding rapidly in the early 1950's. Orders for new ships kept the Great Lakes shipyards working to capacity, so the shipbuilding contract was made with an east coast firm: Bethlehem Shipyard at Sparrows Point, MD. She measured 626 x 70 x 33.7 with 10,576 gross tons and 7043 net tons. She was launched on March 7, 1952, and shortly after seatrials, she began the three thousand mile voyage from the east coast thru the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi River to Chicago. In order to pass under the bridges, all forward and stem superstructures had to be removed and tied down to the deck. For those watching along the banks of the Mississippi River, they would remember another lake freighter CLIFFS VICTORY making the same voyage the previous year. The HOYT arrived at the American Shipbuilding yard in Chicago on July 29,1952. After the superstructure was reassembled and a short seatrial, the HOYT sailed to Superior, WI to load iron ore. ELTON HOYT 2nd downbound - Soo, Michigan-July 1999