Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-07-10, Page 5Wednesda , Jul 10, 2013 • Lakeshore Advance 5 community 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