A GREAT LAKES SAILOR
Remembered, Part 1
by Janis Stein

While sailing on the lake freighters may have been a bit different in the early 1900s, the beauty of the Great Lakes - and their fury - are remarkably the same. Join me now in a sailor's tale that is a bit different than my sailor stories of the past. Our featured sailor's tale was told to me through the memories of this sailor's little girl, his daughter now 80 years young.

Lake Huron beckoned to many a lad over the centuries, and in 1912 a young man from Sanilac County answered the call of the lake like so many before and, indeed, so many more after. Born in 1894, the young man was just a teenager when he began his sailing career, earning his keep as he went, a career that would last 47 years and take him on adventures as great as they were grand. Being a single man with no ties to hold him down, he eagerly left the farm and embraced the beauty and the fury of the Great Lakes.

Employed with Interlake Steamship Company for the duration of his sailing career, this Sanilac County sailor quickly learned to call the lakes his home away from home. His sailing career was interrupted shortly after it began, however, with the outbreak of World War I, where he served in the 125th Infantry. After his tour of duty, he resumed his work aboard the lake freighters, picking up where he left off.

Just over two decades of working on the lake freighters would pass before he found himself inclined to share the company of a lady named Matilda whenever he returned home and, so struck by her was he, in February of 1925 the two became one.

Matilda was barely wed, it seemed, when the ice thawed and it was time for her sailor to depart. She kept her tears at bay as best as she could and her fears, too, for that matter. It was decided the couple would live with the sailor's parents for it made little sense to set up another household with him being gone more months than not. Matilda would live with her in-laws, and assume whatever household chores she was assigned. She looked forward to keeping busy on the farm, too, for it would help the time pass until her sailor's return. Before long, Matilda realized with great delight she would have something else, or rather someone else, to help her occupy her time in her husband's absence. She was with child, and her first daughter would be born before the year's end.

Little Annabell was her daddy's pride and joy, and Matilda could see from the start her sailor would spoil their baby girl without reservation each winter when he returned home. As the years passed, Annabell was joined by two more sisters, and the sailor's three daughters waited in eager anticipation for their father to return each and every season.

The 1930s brought with it The Great Depression, and freighters on the lakes were greatly reduced as the need for the products they hauled all but evaporated. For a few years, Matilda's sailor only put in a half a season as Interlake Steamship Company tried their best to rotate the men, giving as many men as possible at least a little work. When the sailor was sent home he no doubt enjoyed reuniting with his family back in Sanilac County, though times were more than a little grim. He picked up a little money working as the janitor for Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Ruth to help make ends meet, and the animals in the barnyard did their part to supply milk and fresh eggs daily.

Matilda's sailor always watched for landmarks as he traveled the waters of Lake Huron, thinking of his family even more so as he neared the vicinity of his family's farm. In April of 1933, the sailor's brow creased with worry as he stood on deck and watched a fiery ball of flame light up the western sky. Something was burning on land and, though he didn't know the exact location of the fire, he did know it was a little too close to home. When he arrived in port, he contacted his family and learned the Ruth church had burned, the fire wreaking havoc on some of the surrounding buildings as well.

Back at home, Annabell was supposed to make the sacrament of First Holy Communion in April, but with the church building in ruins, the event was postponed until December. Annabell made her sacrament on December 24th, and the sailing season had ended in time for her father to attend as well. Like so many years when he returned, he came with gifts, sometimes a doll and always candy but this time to Annabell he presented a gold crucifix dangling from the daintiest of chains.

Each spring the sailor's telegram would arrive at the Western Union station in Minden City; the station master then contacted the sailor by telephone, relaying to him the instructions sent by Interlake Steamship Company. Though the sailor's family had a telephone, there were no less than 20 others on the party line, and everyone knew, day or night, whom the first of the 20 would be to reach for the phone and listen in whether the call was intended for them or not!

Join me in the continuation next month as our featured sailor's little girl keeps his sailing memories alive. Many times this sailor's family traveled to Port Huron and even Toledo in hopes of seeing their sailor, a quick glimpse or a short visit enough to sustain them until their sailor returned home for the winter.

If you are currently, or have been, a Great Lakes sailor and are willing to share your experiences, please contact the writer at The Lakeshore Guardian, 9697 Purdy Road, Harbor Beach, MI 48441.

© 2006 Janis Stein