Jay Brandow got more than he bargained for when he purchased a dilapidated Victorian home in Bay City with ambitions to restore the house to its former elegant state.

The idea for Brandow's first book entitled, The Captain's Chair, came about quite by accident and is a story unto itself. In an attempt to find a place to run telephone cable from the attic to the basement without tearing the walls apart, Brandow popped out a section of the wall to see what he had to work with. Staring back at him from behind the wall was a hidden photograph taken at the turn of the century. In the photo was a man standing on the deck of a freighter along with a little girl and three boys.

Stunned, Brandow removed the picture and found he was wondering who the people in the photograph were, whether they had lived in his house and what other treasures might be awaiting his discovery. Now along with his mission to restore his once-grand and historic Victorian home, Brandow found himself simultaneously on another crusade: finding out more about the people pictured in the hidden photo.

Employed with WNEM-TV5 since 1984, Brandow's reporting instincts took over as his desire to find out more about the photo grew. Almost a year passed, though, before he obtained the phone number of an elderly woman who used to live in his house: Alexandra 'Sis' Johnston. With nothing to lose and valuable information to gain, this roving reporter called the woman at once. Brandow found the lady at the other end of the line to be a bit short with him, seemingly disinterested with his barrage of questions and dismissing him almost immediately. Brandow, however, would not be deterred, and her disinterest only caused his fascination to grow.

Another year would pass, and in 1992, two years after Brandow purchased the house, Sis Johnston finally began to respond to Brandow's pleasant but persistent inquiries. His initial mission was to obtain a photograph of the house in its glory days - a photo he could hang in his foyer, along with a brief history of his home.

As Alexandra 'Sis' Johnston's trust of Brandow grew, what he got was far more than he first imagined. Sis was, indeed, the little girl in his mystery photograph, and as it turned out, Sis's father, Alexander Johnston, her grandfather, William Neal, and her uncle, Walter Neal, were all sea captains on the Great Lakes.

Over the next few years, Brandow continued to visit Sis, more often than not bringing her trinkets he found stashed under the attic's floorboards, relics of her childhood hidden by her brothers so long ago. In turn, Sis told tales of the three sailors in her world and what life in Bay City was like during the early 1900s.

While the first half of The Captain's Chair lays the groundwork, the book comes alive as Brandow writes about Sis's recollections of the tales told to her by her beloved Uncle Walter. With a good deal of experience under his belt, Uncle Walter captained the Myron, "a small, but proud, wooden steamer, hand made of white oak." The Myron was built for a heavy load, and all sailors knew the season's last run could be the most profitable. Likewise, the season's last run often came with great risk, as the Myron's crew would soon discover. Lake Superior raised her ugly head as she had in days gone by and would again in the years ahead, and in a great and mighty gale, the Myron and 16 of her crew met their demise in 1919, near Whitefish Point. Like any respectable Captain, Walter Neal would stay with his ship - a decision that inevitably saved his life, making him the Myron's sole survivor.

The Captain's Chair shares the account of a young girl praying for the safe return of her favorite uncle. The book is reflective of maritime families living anywhere. Readers will be captivated with all Uncle Walter endured - a story he proudly told to his favorite niece and to anyone else who cared to listen. So intriguing is the tale, readers may think it is the work of fiction, but Brandow grounds his audience, continually throwing in historical facts about Bay City during the early 1900s, as well as mentioning events happening worldwide.

The Captain's Chair isn't just another shipwreck story. Rather, Brandow digs to the heart, bringing feelings and emotions to the forefront of maritime history.

If you would like to purchase The Captain's Chair, it is available online at jaybrandow.com, or you may call 1-888-795-4274. According to Brandow, individuals wishing to obtain his book will save a few dollars off the retail price by purchasing his book from the website or calling the above telephone number. Brandow's book is also available at the Bay City Historical Museum (989-893-5733), amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and the Saginaw Castle Museum. The cost of the book is $21.95, soft cover, or $31.95 for a hard cover version. Retailers, museums, libraries or tourist shops who wish to sell the book can call the publishing company, Xlibris, at the above toll free number to receive a proper discount. Happy reading, and as Jay Brandow said, "Enjoy the journey."