A GREAT LAKES SAILOR
John B. Cowle, Part 2
by Janis Stein

Join me in the continuation of this Great Lakes tale as our featured sailor describes his work aboard the John B. Cowle.

The following morning, breakfast was served at 7 AM, but the smells wafting from the galley had awaken the new sailor long before. Like so many cooks working aboard the freighters, the Cowle's cook was nothing short of excellent. The sailors ate their breakfast served family-style, passing around plates heaped with pancakes, eggs, bacon and ham. If a sailor didn't get his fill aboard this ship, it would clearly be his own fault!

Following breakfast, the new deckhand became acquainted with chipping rust away from the side of the boat and applying a fresh coat of paint, a task he quickly mastered. At 10 AM, the men stopped for a coffee break, and the galley table was laden with fresh fruit such as bananas, apples and oranges. After a few more hours of work, dinner was served at noon, and the sailors fueled up with meat, potatoes, and just about anything else a fellow could imagine. The afternoon hours were consumed with more washing and painting, and while it was by no means glamorous work, the young sailor found he was enjoying this new stage in his life.

Four days later, the anchor was lifted, and on the sailor's first trip, the Cowle picked up a load of iron ore from Two Harbors, which was about a two-hour run from Duluth. During the 1952 sailing season, the John B. Cowle, practically made a round trip every week hauling iron ore from Two Harbors to Conneaut, Ohio. Many times the Cowle's crew loaded a shipment of coal in Sandusky, Ohio, for the return trip north, though other times they traveled light.

As a deckhand, the young sailor from Huron County worked an eight-hour shift, unless of course, they were in port or traveling through the Soo Locks. If that was the case, the deckhands did what they needed to do to get the job done, whatever the time of day or night. A deckhand would be lifted over the side via the landing boom, and another would throw him a heaving line. From there, a cable would be hooked on a spile, and the deckhands would move forward, hooking and unhooking cables, as the ship advanced.

The Cowle could travel through the Soo in as little as 15 minutes if their timing was just right; it gave the Captain just enough time to walk over to the control room to pick up the mail. Every sailor relished news from home, and this sailor was no different. He also enjoyed reading mysteries in his spare time, and he, like many sailors, took advantage of the "sailor's library" at the Soo.

That first season was filled with many new experiences, and the sailor enjoyed checking out the scenery and visiting an occasional town while in port. When the sailors unloaded in Conneaut, Ohio, there wasn't much time to do anything recreational; since the dock there was equipped with Hewletts, the ship could be unloaded in as little as three hours.

The 1952 sailing season came to an end for the sailor shortly after Thanksgiving. Spending the Thanksgiving holiday aboard the Cowle was a treat in itself. The cook prepared a delicious feast with all the usual holiday trimmings, and the sailor was introduced to shrimp, a food he found very much to his liking!

The young man started his sailing career earning just 90 cents an hour, but he had experienced a different sort of life, and down the road he would realize he had created memories worth an amount far greater than gold. The sailor returned home for the winter months, helping his family with farm chores and resting up for what might lie ahead in the spring.

Near the end of March in 1953, the sailor received word he needed to report once again to the John B. Cowle where she was docked in Huron, Ohio, about 10 miles from Sandusky. Instead of traveling by train, this time he hitched a ride with another area sailor, Dennis Essenmacher, who planned to drive there and park his car. The duo did their share in fitting out the ship, and when Easter weekend rolled around, they hopped in the car for a hurried trip home to spend the holiday with their families. The weekend flew by far too quickly, and this time Essenmacher's brother drove them to Port Huron where they caught a Greyhound bus, which transported them back to Huron.

Though it was a whirlwind weekend, most sailors traveled home with each opportunity that arose. Being out on the water and away from home and family for months at a time proved to be a lonely life for some sailors, and homesickness was often as prevalent as seasickness. While this sailor never had been physically sick, there were many a time he was so nauseous he wished he was!

Be sure to look for the continuation in next month's issue where our sailor will reminisce about one of his most memorable jobs - cleaning out the Captain's spittoon!

Copyright © 2005 Janis Stein