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Oil Vessel Is First Ship to Enter Hamilton Harbour ..::.^--.¦¦'¦*¦¦," v--^. i TRADITIONAL SILK HAT WON X BY SKIPPER OF JOHN IRWIN CAPTAIN OF OIL VESSEL IS WINNER OF SILK TOPPER TO-DAY <£ With a group of harbour and civic officials waiting on the pier, the lfi|||LjBWi5 owned by the McColl-Frontenac Oil company, and captained by Isadore L. Mateer, docked at the wharf of the Canaa^ur^riaultries, limited, shortly before 10 o'clock this morning, to be the first ship into the local port after the opening of navigation at midnight last night. The boat came up from Toronto. The above photo shows the vessel moving into her berth, and inset, Mayor William Morrison shaking hands with Captain Mateer, who is wearing the silk hat, symbolic of bringing the first ship into the port. Navigation Season 1936 Formally Opens Here of COMMISSION WELCOMES Delay at Beach Canal-Railway Bridge Not Ready After being a lake captain I for 14 years, Captain I. L. Mateer, skipper of the John Irwin, of the McColl-Frontenac fleet, won his first silk hat this morning by being the first captain to bring a ship into the local harbour in the 1936 navigation season. Bedecked With Flags The vessel, bedecked with flags, slid into her moorings at the Canadian Industries, limited, at 9.45 o'clock this morning with 8,600 barrels of gasolene from Toronto. On the pier Mayor William Morrison, Ellis Corman and A. G. Gaul, harbour commissioners; Adam Beaumont, U.S. vice-consul; Captain A. H. Bell, harbourmaster, stood waiting to welcome the first captain to dock at Hamilton, together with many other city officials. "It is with great pleasure that I bestow upon you this hat," said Ellis Corman, in welcoming Captain Mateer, "and may you ever have smooth sailings." Mr. Corman congratulated the oil boat captain on being the first skipper to tie up in -the local harbour and placed on his -head the 96-year-old "topper," the reward for the master of the premier craft to arrive. With it I ' Delayed at Canal Captain Mateer told the Spectator that he started from Toronto at 5 o'clock this morning and would ! have arrived at Hamilton earlier I but for the fact that he was held I up at the Burlington canal. The operators of the railway bridge had not taken up the winter rails when : the vessel hove in view and she was forced to wait half an hour before the bridge could ce swung open. There was no trouble experienced with the jack-knife highway bridge. May Set Record The captain is anxious to clear from Hamilton just as soon as he can and thus stand a chance of ;' winning two hats in one day by sail-j ing back to Toronto and being the first ship to enter that port. Captain Mateer expects to leave here about 4 o'clock and should arrive in Toronto at 7 o'clock this evening. Unless a ship steams up from the Kingston end of the lake the skipper ! of the John Irwin stands a good I chance of setting a silk hat record, ! as the Welland canal is still closed ; to navigation. j Among the officials who welcom-| ed the captain were Colonel H. D. Fearman, industrial commission«r; | David McLean, traffic manager of li the Hamilton Chamber of Com-!' merce; F. H. White, traffic manager of the Hamilton harbour commission; Walter Burrow, official of the McColl-Frontenac company; G. G. Vincent, official of the Canadian Industries, limited. Close Second It is anticipated that the second ship to dock in the harbour will arrive to-morrow and that the honour will go to the Imperial Oil Co., as there are several ships tied up at Port Colborne, ready to sail when ice conditions allow. The John Irwin beat the arrival of the Im-peroil, last year's winner, by a day. In 1935 the first ship came in on April 16. _j______________—------------- a; © .<0