A GREAT LAKES SAILOR
The Norway, Part 2

by Janis Stein

Join me in the continuation of our featured sailor's tale as he reminisces about his days on the Horace S. Wilkinson and the Norway.

At about 10 PM, the ship and her crew pulled out of Ashtabula, and the deckhands diligently worked while the Norway sailed onward toward Toledo. The young men stayed up all night working and when they arrived in Toledo, the deckhands continued their work as the boat shifted as it filled. As it turned out, all of the coal had frozen in the train cars so it took more energy and time than what was customary to load the freighter.

By this time, the deckhands had been awake for almost 36 hours, with breaks in between. When they had the chance, the men would crawl in the boiler room where it was warm. Lying down on the iron grates, they quickly grabbed 20 minute naps before they were awakened with the notification that it was once again time to shift the boat.
At long last, the Norway was loaded, and the deckhands had battened down the hatches before crawling into their beds at 9 AM. Though the sailors were exhausted, they were young and with a few hours of solid sleep, their bodies recovered quickly. At 4 PM the deckhands were awakened because steak was on the menu, and no sailor - no matter how tired - would ever willingly miss steak night! After their steak supper, the deckhands crawled back in bed and slept like babies until their shift began the following morning at 6:30.

During his first year on the lakes, the sailor learned people differed greatly. Aboard the ship was another novice sailor who had just been released from an Army Special Forces Unit. Because he was still feeling the aftereffects of the Army's training, he warned his fellow sailors to always talk to him to wake him up and to never touch him since he wasn't sure how he would react. His fellow sailors didn't want to find out either, so they always stayed an arm's length away, calling his name when it was time to go to work!

The summer was filled with new experiences at every turn, and the sailor was awestruck the first time he sailed through the narrow gap heading into Duluth. The weeks flew by quickly, and the young sailor learned a great deal during the time spent on the lakes. By mid-October, though, his first season was cut short due to a steel strike, and as a result, they laid the Norway up in Lorain, Ohio. Once she was tied up to the "dead men", as the spilings were called, the sailors climbed down the ladder and boarded the supply boat, which transported them back to dry land.

The sailor returned to the family farm, but instead of finding a bit of rest, there was work to be done. The family was relocating to another farm in Carsonville, so the young man's days were filled with moving equipment and preparing the new farmland for the following year's crop. The sailor was uncertain how long the strike would last, but he soon found his break from the lakes didn't last long. By mid-November, the strike had ended, and the freighters were once again gracing the lakes and filling the pipelines. The young man received word he needed to travel to Toledo, Ohio, where he would complete the 1949 season aboard the Horace S. Wilkinson.

For whatever reason, whether there was too much ice or too few contracts, the sailor's season in 1950 didn't begin until the end of April. Once again, he found himself back on the Norway, this time working as a deckwatch under the ultimate guidance of Captain Mooney. Although he only had one season under his belt, another sailor had left the ship, which opened up the position of deckwatch and earned the young man from Huron County his first promotion.

On one occasion when the crew was fitting out the ship, the sailor was given the job of painting the draft numbers on the stern of the freighter. All alone in a rowboat in about 10 feet of water, the sailor decided he needed to climb a stepladder to reach a bit higher. Before the sailor had time to consider whether this was indeed a good idea, he lost his balance and toppled into the lake. To make matters worse the sailor swam like a rock, and he had also failed to put on his lifejacket. Lucky for him he was able to grab the side of the rowboat and save himself. After he changed his clothes, his superior promptly put him on a different task!

After a hard day on the lake, the sailor retired to his sleeping quarters on the aft end of the ship. In the early days on the lake freighters before this young man's time, sailors worked six hours on, followed by six hours of off-duty time. As the years passed, labor laws eventually required a third shift on the boats. Some of the older boats like the Norway, didn't have the sleeping quarters to accommodate the increased number of sailors. The passenger quarters were reserved for the sole purpose of transporting company officials and the like, so the "doghouse" was built on the back of the ship by the fan deck. This addition contained three rooms and two bathrooms. The coal passers resided in one room, the fire men in another and the deckhands retired in the third. Four bunks filled the deckhands' room, which was located directly above the engine. Some sailors had a difficult time sleeping to the constant boom, boom, boom of the ship, while others slept like the dead because of her steady rhythm.

Very rarely did the sailors work on Sunday unless, of course, they had reached their destination or were traveling through the locks. Sailors enjoyed writing letters or reading, some had obtained the Sunday paper if they had gone through Port Huron, Detroit or Sault Ste. Marie. Free time for many was idled away playing cards at a table set up in the dunnage room while others preferred to play their card games in the mess hall. Pinnocle was the game of choice for some, though many more played poker and lost a good portion of their paychecks because of it. The sailor stayed away from the poker games for the most part, instead learning how to play cribbage while enjoying the companionship of his shipmates as he passed the time on the waters of the Great Lakes.

Cards weren't just a friendly game for all of the sailors - for some it was serious business. On one occasion during a heated pinnocle game, one fellow wound up with all eight aces! He couldn't believe his amazing luck, giving his partner a melt bid because he didn't have any trump. When his partner ignorantly passed, it infuriated the first sailor so much so that he grabbed the deck of cards and ripped them in half before throwing them in the air!

The sailor experienced much aboard the Norway, some of which had nothing to do with sailing. For the first time in his life, the sailor tasted spaghetti, a dish he'd never had at home before. The cook's name was Ray, and his wife held the position of Second Cook. Ray would have given Betty Crocker a run for her money, preparing wonderful meals consistently throughout the season. The cook purchased his beef by the half, and he had even gone to school to learn all the techniques involved in cutting meat. Simply put, to eat his food was reason enough for any sailor to sail!

After two seasons under his belt, the young man realized sailing was as good a job as any, so he dedicated himself to learning all he could aboard the boats. On March 26, 1951, the young man earned his keep working as a deckwatch aboard the Norway, with Melvin Edwards captaining the ship again. The sailor was down on the dock shifting cables when he happened to look at the stern and noticed a blade on the propeller was cracked. He immediately notified the Chief Engineer so a new blade could be installed while they were still in port.

Be sure to look for the continuation in next month's issue as our featured sailor realized his gift for tinkering while fixing the Norway's wringer washing machine.