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GREAT MEN OF THE GREAT LAKES #2 James Playfair Born in Scotland, Playfair came to Toronto as a boy with his parents and in 1880, at the age of 19, became a $12-a-month employe of the Tor= onto Lumber Co. which had large timber holdings in Simcoe County and mills at Collingwood. He moved to Midland in 1883 and in 1888 formed a partnership with his friend, D. L. White, Jr. Lumbering contracts were the first activ- ity of this partnership but Mr. Playfair branched out in 1896 by enter- ing the grain trade between Port Arthur and the lower lakes. He bought an ll-year-cld wooden freighter, the Str. W. B. HALL, had her rebuilt at St. Catherines and renamed her ST. ANDREW in honor of the patron saint of his native Scotland. Four years later she became a total loss when wrecked on Passage Island in Lake Superior on Sept. 25, 1900. In 1901 Playfair and White incorporated the Midland Navigation Co., which had the steel canaller MIDLAND QUEEN built in 1901 at Dundee, Scotland. They had the 366-foot MIDLAND KING built at Collingwood in 1903 and the 486-foot MIDLAND PRINCE built there in 1907. With the operational profits from this company, Mr. Playfair in 1912 began buying old American steamers and formed his Great Lakes Transpor- tation Co. and the Glen Line. These two fleets were listed in DMH Vol. 2; No. 5 (January, 1949) and reprinted with some illustrations snd a very brief biographical note in the Midsummer Supplement of 1957. The records of our fellow member Ivan Brooks, of Burlington, Ont., give us the history of Mr. Playfair's activities in the Midland Drydock Co. It was founded in 1910 by Mr. Playfair, D. S. Pratt, F. W. Grant, D. L. White, T. C. Luke and James Wilkinson. Hull No. 1 was the tug D. S. PRATT, built in 1911. The scow TANGO, built in the same year, was Hull No. 2. In 1913 the tug LYNN B. was Hull No. 3 and in 191) Hull No. ) was the tug F. W. GRANT (now GLENEALY). In 191) the company re- fitted the wrecked Str. HOWARD M. HANNA, JR. after she had beenrepaire ed in the Collingwood drydock. She was renamed GLENSHEE (Hull No. 5) and is now the GODERICH. One year later the firm was reorganized as the Midland Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., and acquired property for a large shipyard which was comp- leted in 1917. At that time the company obtained an Imperial Munitions Board contract for three ships. The first of these was the WAR FIEND (Hull No. 6) which was launched Oct. 2, 1918. She was followed by WAR MAGIC and WAR FURY, the last being launched Oct. 16, 1919. WAR LEVERET was fitted out at Midland after being built by Canadian Allis-Chalmers, Ltd., at Bridgeburg. The next contract the company got was from Mr. Playfair for the can- aller GLENCOVA (now GEORGE HINDMAN) launched Nov. 21, 1920, and after her came the contract from eee Canadian Government for the CANADIAN LOGGER, launched June 8, 1921 Meanwhile Mr. Playfair had decided to build steamers at Midland for his Great Lakes Transportation Co., instead of buying old American ves- sels. The following were launched: GLENCOVA, Nov. 21, 1920; GLENELG, May 12, 1923; GLENIFFER, Nov. 18, 192); GLENEAGLES, Aug. 26, qari tug A. M. GERMAN, Nov. 4, 1925; LEMOYNE, June 23, 1926; @ scow, the Om S. NO. 1, in 1926; tug T. J. SCOTT, July 19, 1927, and CITY OF MONTREAL on Jans=12,° 1927. Continued on Third Page 2 ©