GREAT LAKES SAILOR
Remembered, Part 3
by Janis Stein

Join me in the continuation as Matilda's attempt at visiting her sailor in Toledo ends in a car accident, and on a happier note, reminiscences of Thanksgiving traditions upon her sailor's return.

From time to time, Matilda and her daughters traveled to Toledo during the shipping season to reconnect with their sailor while he was in port. Such was the case in 1938 when their sailor's ship was in dry dock. Together, Matilda and her little ladies made the trip and were welcomed with opened arms upon their arrival.

Annabell was impressed with the size of the ship, and looking up she was mesmerized as she walked under the boat, the workers welding sheets of steel and inspecting any possible flaws. Annabell's dad then invited them aboard, all three daughters swallowing the lump in their throat as they stared in fear at the height of the ladder. With her dad leading the way, the ladies in his life followed suit, climbing ever upward with Matilda bringing up the rear.

On another occasion, Matilda and her daughters attempted to make the same trip to Toledo, only this time their efforts were unsuccessful. On a dreary rainy day, they were traveling through Muttonville, Michigan, when an oncoming Dodge crossed the centerline, crashing into Matilda's car in a head-on collision. Fortunately, the crash wasn't fatal, but the injuries to the sailor's family were so substantial, the collision ensured they'd be returning home rather than completing their trip to Toledo. The brand new green Oldsmobile Matilda was driving was no longer in the best of shape either. When Matilda's sailor heard of the accident, he sent a prayer up in thanksgiving for their well-being, and wished the months would pass a little quicker so that he could hold them all safely in his arms again.

By the time Thanksgiving rolled around, Matilda and her daughters began to look for their sailor's return. On Thanksgiving Day, if the sailor had made it home, he always took his family to see the show at the Harbor Beach theatre, and the children watched in delight as Shirley Temple's curls bobbed across the screen!

Some years the sailor returned in time to see his daughters perform their Christmas program at the Linwood one-room schoolhouse. Many years, though, he regrettably missed their songs and skits and had to settle for making up for lost time when he did return. During the winter months he would drive the family Olds to school, stopping at several homes along the way for the area children to pile in and catch a ride. After so many months of being cooped up on a freighter, Annabell's daddy liked wide-open spaces, and he delighted in the room his Oldsmobile provided.

In the late 1930s, the sailor had electricity installed in the family home, and to his daughters' delight, he promptly installed floodlights on the side of the house overlooking their snow-covered hill. The girls could then go sledding safely down the hill even after the sun went down and the stars showed their appearance against the night's darkened sky. The sailor looked on with pleasure as the sounds of his daughters' squeals and laughter drifted back up the hill.

Another decade passed and Matilda's sailor continued to travel the Great Lakes; as soon as he achieved the rank of Third Assistant, Matilda was permitted to take the occasional trip with her husband. Her sailor was elated to have her on board, and Matilda, too, thrilled at the thought of spending a little extra time together.

Over the years, Matilda's husband encountered weather both calm and stormy. The sailor eventually earned the title of Chief, and he faced many a harrowing experience; with waves so high in the mighty lakes, the freighter could make little headway, moving backward instead of forward during the stormiest of seas as sailor and crew fought their way to a safe harbor.

On the home front when the weather was bad, Matilda and her daughters thought longingly of their sailor, for they knew that stormy weather on land meant danger for their loved one at sea. Wringing her hands with worry as she paced, Matilda always prayed the worst of the storms would end quickly. During one particularly nasty wind storm, Matilda refused to even light the stove, fearing the chimney would blow down, and as bad as it was on land, it was worse on the lakes, her sailor later commenting his crew fed many a fish during that particular gale.

Be sure to look for the conclusion in next month's issue when our featured sailor's name is revealed!

© 2006 Janis Stein