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The Great Storms of 1913- About two of the large ships lost
Joe Wooden
This is the fifth of a series of arti-
cles covering the Great Storm which
devastated the Great Lakes area in
1913.1he St. Joseph and Area Histor-
ical Society is providing these arti-
cles and in November, the Historical
Society will be offering a dinner the-
atre event at Hessenland to com-
memorate the Great Storm.The
etlauses of the weather conditions
ve been described in various
ways. This report uses some recent
work by Jaynes Clary of St. Clair MI,
using US weather service
information.
The ships lost, foundered,
stranded or wrecked are listed under
such headings but some listed as
stranded are ships that were sunk or
lost. One of these, for example, was
the Northern Queen, which we
wrote about earlier. About 41 ships
were lost or essentially wrecked.
This story is about two large ships:
The Isaac M. Scott and the John A.
McGean.
The Isaac M. Scott was one of four
sister ships, The Ilydrus, The Argus,
The Charles S. Price and The Isaac
M. Scott. James Clary writes about
the hex that brings bad luck to sister
ships and the 1913 storm sank all
four of these sister ships.
'Ihe Scott was built in 1909; it was
launched in Lorain, Ohio on June
12, 1909. She was 6,372 tons, 524
feet long and 54 feet in the beam and
was owned by the Virginia Steam-
ship Company. Less than a month
after she was launched she collided
with another ship on Lake Superior,
not an auspicious beginning. Her
bad luck got worse in November
1913. Early Sunday morning,
November 9, the Scott headed up
bound through the Detroit River,
Lake St. Clair, and the St. Clair River
with a load of coal for Milwaukee. By
loam the weather was worsening
and by noon a number of ships on
Lake Huron were "making bad
weather." James Clary writes that the
H.B. Hawgood, the Charles S. Price,
the Regina, the Northern Queen,
and the Isaac M. Scott were all
observed to be in trouble. The Scott
was observed heading into Lake
Duron about six miles north of Port
Huron. The observer thought the
Scott's captain was a fool to leave the
St. Clair River.
In the late 1980's there was likely
only one survivor of the 1913 storm
left, James Ceary writes that this
roan, in his 90's, recalled the "scary,
black, spooky looking sky, with seas
like mountains. " Edward Kanaby,
this last survivor, had been a wheels -
man on the Hawgood which had
sailed north and eventually turned
around and ran aground on the
beach near Point Edward. Kanaby
had seen the other ships up the lake
in the storm and knew they were
lost.
According to James Clary, not a
single crew member of the Scott was
ever found. A Scott life boat and hits
of wreckage were found off South-
ampton but there was no certainty
that the Scott had sunk. It was 1976
when divers found the Scott upside
down in 180 feet of water off Alpena,
Michigan which is thirty to forty
miles north of'Ihvas Point on Michi-
gan's Lake Huron shore. The state of
the ship suggested that it had sunk
very quickly. Captain Archie
McArthur, from Owen Sound, and
the entire crew of 28 were lost. The
families of the crew and officers of
the Scott waited and waited and
never did find out what had hap-
pened to the Scott. As Clary sadly
comments, " for some the waiting
ended only with their own passing."
The John A. McGean was
launched, like the Scott, in Lorain,
Ohio, on the 22nd of February, 1908.
She was a 5,100 ton ship, 432 feet
long and 52 feet in the beam. The
ship was named after sixteen year
old John Andrew McGean, son of
one of the owners.
The story of this ship's last day is
much the same as the Isaac M. Scott
and other ships that went down on
Lake I luron. The McGean sailed into
Lake Huron at 2am on the morning
of November 9, 1913 with a cargo of
coal bound for Chicago. The
McGean carried a crew of 28; the
From the Countryside
John Russell
Fourth in a Series on Guiding Beacons
of North Lambton
Currently featured in Shine: Spotlight on
Women of Lambton exhibit at the Lamb -
ton Heritage Museum
This week we will be honouring and fea-
turing a young woman, Tuesday Lee Suth-
erland -Moons, who was recently taken
from her family and her community in the
prime of her life. Instead of telling her
story, I have asked Tuesday's mother, her
nominator, if it was possible to use her
wonderful words of nomination and
remembrance in the column. Dianne
agreed and in her words, here is Tuesday's
story.
I believe Tuesday is deserving of being
nominated for the upcoming 2013 exhibi-
tion at the Lambton Heritage Museum.
Tuesday's goal in achieving a career in
healthcare was a journey of several years.
During this time she honoured her roles as
an important part of her family. Tuesday
always made time for the important things
in life.
After she graduated with a Bachelor of
Science in Nursing, she worked in various
hospitals and doctor's offices. She enjoyed
the challenges and the learning aspects of
her work. Where she shone in her chosen
Ai
According to James
Clary, not a single
crew member of the
Scott was ever found.
A Scott life boat and
bits of wreckage were
found off Southampton
but there was no
certainty that
the Scott had sunk
master was Captain Chauncy R.
"Dancing" Nye of Cleveland. As the
ship sailed up hake I luron the winds
were increasing in force. A letter,
written by Captain Iler of the steamer
Crawford describes conditions as
they were at 315am at the far south
end of Lake Huron; the winds were
light and from the west. By 1 lam,
the wind was from the north and
with increasing force. iter goes on,
"by 4pm the sea was miming so high
and wind so strong that we were not
going ahead and were having trou-
ble to keep head to wind. At 4301m
she blew around in a trough of the
sea. 1 could not get her head to wind
career, was in her love and appreciation
for those in her care. Tuesday challenged
herself again and did the work necessary
to become a Nurse Practitioner and was
employed at the North Lambton Commu-
nity Health Centre in Forest and Kettle
Point,
During these years of achieving her
career goals, Tuesday battled breast can-
cer. She refused to let it defeat her and she
lived fully, encouraging others with cancer
concerns to stay positive. Eventually she
was unable to work as a Nurse Practitioner
due to her health and she put her energies
into her relationships with family and
friends. Tuesday was blessed with her first
granddaughter, named in her honour.
When she passed away on January 29th,
2013, her family was comforted by the sto-
ries shared by those who had been
again, so 1 put her before the wimt!
and checked to slow speed but had
to keep ringing up half and full
speed every few minutes to keep her
out of the trough of the sea. Could
not see anything. Snowing very
hard." I lis description goes on about
heavy snow for 26 hours. 'the Craw-
ford made port somewhere beyond
Pointe Aux Barques at the top of the
Michigan 'Thumb. This letter
describes what other ships would go
through but so many did not make
it.
Like the Scott, the Mc(;ean
hugged the lee shore until the winds
changed to the northeast. The
McClean then changed course and
possible ran aground on a shoal in
the middle of lake 1 luron. She went
down sometime on Sunday. It was
1985 that the John A. McBean was
found 9 (miles off I !arbour Beach on
Michigan's lake 1 luron's shore. On
Thursday three sailors, lashed to a
raft, came ashore south of (ioderich.
Thomas Stolle and George Stitith
and Iohrt OIse,l were frozen to death.
Later that day more victims washed
ashore. One body, the twenty-sixth
found along Kintati Beach was
labelled "Kintail 26': Captain Nye's
body was never found although it is
said he is with his shit) just a few
utiles Wills birth place, Port 1 lope,
just north oil !arbour Beach.
Joe Wooden is (4 local author and
historian
touched by 'Tuesday's grace and love of
life. She had embraced the growth of a
beautiful spirit and had accomplished in
her fifty years much 01' what was important
to her.
"It is not the years in your life that count.
It is the life in your years that matter." -
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln was not known for his spiritual
or for that matter, religious allegories. lie
believed that when we leave this place, our
life continues on in the stories and remem
prances of those that carry on after. In
tnost cases, Lincoln's famous words were
formed from the eloquence and action of
those that cattle before. Words awaken and
remind us of possibilities. Stories create
the ties that bind our common forst into a
better future. Remembrances grace mu
humanity.
LET'S MAKE CANCER HISTORY
For information about cancer,
services or to make a donation 1.888.939.3333 • www.cancer.ca
Canadian
Cancer
Society
Soci(rtF
canadienne
du cancer