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SFCTION
1
Tugboats
Many people owe their
lives to Donald Bert
MacAdam and
his fleet of tugboats
POSTSCRIPT
By Susan Hundertmark
BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK
In 1939, a five-year-old Donald Bert MacAdam went aboard
the J.T. Wing, the last schooner on the Great Lakes, with his
grandfather Bert MacDonald.
The three -masted schooner was in Goderich harbor with a
load of lumber for Beechler's (now Selinger Wood). Donald Bert
went on board after his grandfather had helped to turn the
schooner around with one of his work boats which he used as a
tug boat.
"That's the first time I remember being on a boat or ship. I
was a little excited and my grandfather was hanging onto my
hand," he says.
Since that time, Donald Bert can't remember a time when he
wasn't on board one boat or another. The owner of MacDonald
Marine since he bought the business from his widowed grand-
mother in 1957, Donald Bert practically grew up on the tugboats
in Goderich Harbor.
"All the time I was growing up, I was helping out my grand-
father. He was in business with small work boats and pleasure
boats since around 1916 and he used them as tugs," he says.
Starting in the 1930s or 40s, he helped his grandfather run peo-
ple to the breakwall in the harbor to fish for perch. That practice
stopped in the 1970s when the water bevel got too high.
And, since he was 10, he's been helping his grandfather rescue
disabled boats and drowning people in Lake Huron,
"The first rescue he ever did was when he and Sonny
Mallough (of Goderich, who also worked on the tugs) and a
friend Billy were out on a skiff and Billy fell over the side and
was drowning," says Donald Bert's cousin, Bruce MacDonald.
"He was maybe 10 when he saved Billy and he's been doing it
ever since," says Bruce.
Before the Coast Guard arrived in Goderich Harbor in 1973,
the MacDonalds, descendents of Captain John MacDonald who
settled in Goderich in the last half of the 19th century, were the
people to call when disaster happened on the lake.
"We went out on the lake" a lot before the Coast Guard came.
We were always ready to help—still are," says Donald Bert.
But, when asked to give an official count of people he's
rescued on the lake, Donald Bert declines.
"When you can give a hand, you give it. That's all. I don't like
to build up the rescue deal because everyone's willing to help,"
he says.
An article in Weekend Magazine published in 1963 gives a
rescue count for the MacDonald family of anywhere from 73 to
200. Donald Bert's grandfather has been credited with anywhere
from 38 to 60 rescues.
"Donald Bert and'his grandfather were on the lake so many
times, you can't count them. There have been countlesspeople
saved by theni," says Bruce.
"Because there were•nci lifeguards up to 1962, it was left up to
Bert to do all that for free. And, everytime there's been a search
and. rescue, even now with the Coast Guard, Donald Bert's out
there," he says.
Donald ,Bert remembers picking up a man, woman and child
at the mouth of the Maitland River when their sailboat tipped
upside down two or three years ago.
"Someone at a cottage saw them out there and phoned us and
we went out and picked them up. Lots of times motor boats will
conk out and need a tow in. If we happen to be passing by, we'll
tow them' in," he says. '
Another time, Donald Bert picked up two fishermen whose
boat had filled up with water. They were standing in their
snowsuits on a shoal up to their waists in water but they couldn't
move because the water was deep all the way around them.
Turn to page 2
egotiat
the faipily
peace talks
I feel much the same as I imagine
former US President Jimmy Carter felt
after winning a Nobel Peace Prize for
negotiating a peaetreaty between
Israel and Egypt.
After acting as chief negotiator recent-
ly between two family members who've
been warring for at least five years, I feel
good. Good and tired. Good and relieved.
Good and hopeful. But, good. See my
Jimmy Carter smile?
You see, the two "countries" have
never been on ideal terms. Their history
has been sprinkled with minor squir-
mishes, recently punctuated with a few
major battles and .followed by a lengthy
cold war.
,.� try, I've the
As the neutral CULi11L8 y, I've heard the
complaints and weighed the evidence for
both sides. But, as ineffective as the
United Nations, I've not been able to ac-
complish much other than wait until both
parties were ready for peace talks.
Now that they've lived through the first
round of successful peace talks, I'm hop-
ing relations between them will get
warmer. But, it all depends on them and
whether they choose to continue to work
at a lasting peace.
As the process evolves, I've been
struck by the similarities between the
way we deal with our families and the
way we deal with our international rela-
tionships between countries.
Parental "superpowers" take care of
and take over the more childish
"colonies" until the colonies reach a
rebellious adolescence and demand their
freedom and autonomy.
During the first minor incidents, the
superpowers use disciplinary action such
as a show of force (a spanking) or
economic sanctions (removal of
privileges such as allowance). But,
autonomy is eventually achieved
whether through cooperation with the
parent country or all-out war.
And so, depending on our cir-
. cumstances we become adults --
developing and promising like Canada or
over -burdened and helpless like many
third world countries. We become power-
ful or powerless,negotiators or warriors
largely as a result of how we've been
treated by others and therefore, how
we've learned to interact.
Many families communicate with the
same ineffectiveness as the United
States and the Soviet Union. We know all
about each other through spying and con-
tinued dialogue with our allies (.a
talkative sister) and the rest of the world
(family). But our opinions and beliefs
(which are often misconceptions) stop. is
from coming close to any sort of
understanding of each other.
Instead, we build our arsenals of
slights, real and imagined, in prepara-
tion for a war that's inevitable since we
can't wait to try out the ammunition
we've accumulated.
In the meantime, we either engage in a
cold war (stop speaking to each other),
communicate in brief, diplomatic
messages which say nothing ("Please,
pass the butter") or increase the
likelihood of war by hurling insults like
well -aimed bombs over Libya.
Like the United States and the Soviet
Union, we often hurt ourselves by our
stubborn refusal to work towards peace.
The rest of the family (world) pays for
the disharmony emotionally,
psychologically and sometimes even
physically.
The same way the environment, social
programs and the poor in the United
States suffer from an ever-increasing
defence budget, the rest of the family suf-
fers when its merhbers refuse to work at
getting along. These tensions may result
in increased stress, emotional storms,
depression, decreased financial support
to dependent family members or even
family violence.
Of course, if the family war finally
comes to pass, its members do not usual-
ly risk death as the rest of the world
would with nuclear annihilation in the '
event of another world war. But, depen-
ding on the damaging effects of the bat-
tle, a family could no longer be a fatally
once the smoke clears.
Rather than going to battle at all in the
first place, I think it's much better to
work at our negotiating and com-
municating skills.
When we use a warlike mentality for
solving family problems, we go into
family discussions with the need to
dominate other members, do some
damage to their egos with our insults and
name-calling, take prisoners with our
guilt trips and ultimately come out of the
discussion with winners and losers.
Such a process does little to solve pro-
blems. It leaves some family members
triumphant, others bitter and vengeful.
Often the losers work harder at building
up their personal arsenals for the next
time when they hope to emerge
triumphant.
If instead, in our personal relation-
ships, we could solve our problems
without drawing the lines between
enemies and allies, without' intending to
strike before we are attacked ourselves,
we might ,find some satisfaction and
lasting peace.
And, since most cultures will agree
that the family is a microcosm of a na-
tion, who knows...our new, cooperative
and positive ways of problem -solving
might catch on in international circles,
Rescuing disabled boats and drown-
ing people and turning freight ships
around in the Goderich harbor are
family traditions for Donald Bert
MacAdam, owner of MacDonald
Marine. He followed in the footsteps
of his grandfather Bert MacDonald
who founded the company in 1916.
(photos by Susan Hundertmark)
The Ian Mac and Debbie Lynn push" the lake fireightert igoviood of
aunt Ste. Marie into place
r