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Ship of the Month - cont'd. 14. snout off at the Vickers yard at Montreal and repositioning it at the Great Lakes Engineering Works at Ashtabula. BAY STATE was converted in 1923 to a sandsucker, the work being done by the Interlake Engineering Company, Cleve land. The ship passed through the ownership of A . E. R. Schneider, of Lakewood, Ohio, to the Progress Steamship Company, of Mentor, Ohio. Over the winter of 1925-1926, BAY STATE had self-unloading gear added by the Leatham D. Smith Company at Sturgeon Bay, and on May 27, 1926, she was acquired by the Smith-Truby Sand Company, of Sturgeon Bay. From October 4, 1930, until September 9, 1931, she was owned by the Sound Gravel Company, and she then reverted to the Progress Steamship Company. Her certificate was surrendered at New York on May 22, 1935, the vessel reportedly "abandoned", but it is said that she was scrapped in 1936, although we do not know where. The barge 110 apparently returned to the lakes in 1896 with the COLBY, and no doubt suffered the same indignity of having her nose cut off to pass the canals. She went through the same ownership changes with Bessemer, Pittsburgh, Boutell and White Oak, and was renamed (b) BADGER on March 28, 1905. The barge, however, left the lakes again as early as 1905. She was owned for three days (September 11-13, 1915) by David C. Reid, of New York, and then was sold to the Freeport and Tampico Fuel Oil Transportation Corp. She was converted to a tanker in 1916, 1296 Gross and 1218 Net Tons. BADGER was sold to the Sinclair Navigation Company on February 26, 1920, to the Sabine Towing Company Inc., of Port Arthur, Texas, on April 16, 1927, and to the Sabine Transportation Co. Inc. on October 14, 1931. She was renamed (c) PURE LUBWELL on September 4, 1927. On March 3, 1932, she suffered an explosion while at the dock of the Cities Service Export Oil Company at St. Rose, Louisiana. One crew member was killed, and the barge sank after the explosion and resultant fire. Her registry was officially closed on March 23, 1932. * * * Ed. N o t e : We thank Ron Beaupre for preparing the original version of this feature, and we hope that he approves of the additions penned by the Editor. Ron acknowledges the assistance of fellow T. M. H . S. member, Ivan S. Brookes, for giving him the idea for this article, for it was he who supplied Ron with the 1891 newspaper report of the COLBY's run down the rapids. We should note that three books are "required" reading for those interested in the history of the whalebacks: The Autobiography of Captain Alexander McDougall , published in 1968 by theGreat Lakes Historical Society; McDougall's Dream, The American W h a l e b a c k , 1969, by T. M. H . S. member John H. W i l terding, Jr., and P i g b o a t , 1981, by Ryck Lydecker. One last comment; the top photo on the back side of our photopage shows BAY STATE in what we have described as Pittsburgh Steamship Company colours. That they were, but as the photo was taken in 1905 after her renaming, she was owned by Boutell at the time. It is entirely possible that she might have been chartered back to U . S. Steel for a period of time after Boutell acquired the steamer. We may never know for certain. * * * * * KEEL LAID FOR NEW PELEE ISLAND FERRY On Friday, October 4th, a keel-laying ceremony was held for PortWeller Dry Docks Hull No. 76, the new 207'4", $26 million, passenger and auto ferry being built for the Pelee Island service. Attending were municipal authorities from Pelee Island Township, Leamington and Kingsville, as well as the mayor of St. Catharines and Niagara-area Members of the Provincial Parliament. Present plans call for the ferry to be delivered in May of 1993. She will operate from Kingsville and Leamington to Scudder and West Dock, on Pelee Island, and from the Island to Sandusky, Ohio. * * * * *