Clinton News-Record, 1950-10-19, Page 71'HURSD AI , OCTOBER 19, 195,6
CLINTON NEWS -RECORD
�amQus Schooner
Now In Detroit
(By Luey, R. Woods, Bayfield)
Lewis, It. D. MacLeod;Bay-
field, "• familiarly known as
"Loire',," . captain of the , "Helen
MacLeod ''II",.'.stood on the dock
at Bayfield Beside his youngest
son Malcolm and bade farewell
to his boat ,
And .from the Signe' Point,
Mrs. MacLeod'evetched her sail
oft likeca, greateerhite bird skim-
ming the water.,, leennew dwner
John Morris, .Grosse Pointe, was
et the helm and Louden Wilson,
Fair Haven, Mich., aboard. She.
was bound 'for. Detroit boat yards
to be rejuvenated end will be
used as, a Pleasure boat..
In 1925 when the"d•'IIelen Mace;
Lend," built by their father,
Hugh MacLeod, was aging, Louie,.
assisted by his brother, the late
W. J. MacLeod, built the "Helen
MacLeod II," aZ'
A Huron (square0sterned) boat,
two -masted clipper type built on
schooner lines, her like is fast
disappearing from the Great
Lakes,
A model once used by YHenry
•Mar'iton, one-time designer, God-,•
erioh, was used: (Built of red'
•beech her keel is 30 feet longe
ten inches wide and seven' laches'
.thick. Length of boat overall
is 36 feet. Beam, ten feet,- carry-
ing her sides pretty well down
three feet six inches draft with-
out centreboard, over six feet
with it lowered. Angle irons
were bent to patterns and fitted
three feet apart then the plank-
ing was bolted to them and af-
ter nerds steamed oak frames
were bent in six inches' apart.
Planking is cypress ire, inches
thick gunwhale white oak two
Inches by two inches, wale
stroke white oak two inches by
two inches. Stem and stern post
are four inches thick and 12
inches wide.
Into her Was built a piece of
white oak deck planking from
the old sailing vessel, • "Malta,"
which was wrecked at Bayfield
In November 1882, and also a
similar piece from the "Helen
MacLeod," where the masts went
through. She is decked over and
the cabin • accommodates three
men.
A stew Marine engine was in-
stalled and a Ritchie English
compass 'which was purchased
from George Smith, Kettle Point,
That compass has a history. It
hadbeen salvaged off a'schoon-
er, "John Kelderouse," whicia
was shipwrecked in Lake Super -
or, by the Reid Wrecking Comp-
any end sold to George Smith.
As a lad of 12 years, Louie was
fishing with, Kenny Murray out
of Port Franks. He learned to
steer George Smith's boat by
this same compass.
The "Helen MacLeod II" is
seaworthy and when she was
finished, Louie would have lik-
ed nothing better than to have
gone to Nova Scotia and given
"The Bluenose" a run for her.
money.
Widely known in marine air -
teles as one .of the best sailors an
Lake Huron and also for his
knowledge of lake lore, ea well
as to many readers of Prof.
Fred Landon's book, "Lake
:Huron," .love of the water and
boats is in Louie's blood. His
father was born on the Isle of
Lewis where for generations
members of the Clan MacLeod
had been deep sea fishermen
with a knowledge of boat build-
ing.
uilding.
As a child Hugh MacLeod came
to Canada in 1834 with his par-
ents who settled at Inverhuron,
He end a brother Dan settled in
Bayfield as young men. Dan end
his family later moved back to
Inverhuron. (He and his wife
and son Malcom who with other
crew members were on their way
to Golden Valley for the herring
run were lost when his two
boats, "Hailstorm" and "Sweep-
stakes" were lost in a squall
October 4, 1889).
Hugh MacLeod's wife died
childless and in 1879 he was
married again to Miss Anne Mac-
Leod, daughter of Highland Jack
MacLeod, Ripley. They raised a
family of five sons and four
daughters in a house whicie still
is standing on the flats back of
Junior; Farmers Visit Famous "Empress"
Canadian Pacific Railway Photo
David Cox, an officer aboard the .20,000 -ton Canadian Pacific liner "Empress of Can-
ada," explains the workings of the ship's steering gear .and compass apparatus to a group
of young Ontario farmers who inspected the ship at its berth in Montreel Harbor on Octo-
ber 4. In all some 19 girls and 26 boys from eleven Western Ontario farms visited the vessel
and were shown the ship from, stem to stern.
Left to right: Mr. Cox; $.ester' Bechtel, Preston; Harry Misener, Cainsville; Marie Aberle,
Elmira; John Miller, St. George; Mtarjorie Tattle, Oakland; Arnold Alton, Lucknow; and
Doug Watterson, assistant farm editor of the Family Herald end Weekly' Star, which Spon-•
sored the trip.
the fishermen's shanties on the
north shore. (Years age a little
community of fishermen lived
there including MrNeils, August
Toms, Dressers, and Donald Bea-
ton. They all kept cows, pigs,
geese, ducks, and Hugh Mac-
Leod kept sheep, too, in a long
barn),
Hugh MacLeod fished and
built boats for himself and also
for sale and he taught his sons
the trade Three of his boys --
the': late Dan MacLeod; Port
Dover, the late W. J. MacLeod
and "Louie' —followed in their
father's footsteps.
For 20 years the "Helen Mac-
Leod II" rode the waves with
Louie at her helm.. He never
usedw-the engine except when
there was no wind or extremely
rough weather. They were part-
ners in fair weather and foul.
and on occasions went to the
rescue of other boats in distress.`
Louie recalls that the year 1932
was very rough, That year he
rescued the occupants of a big
canoe off Kettle Point. Again
in rough weather a call came
from Drysdale, to rescue an
American boat which had drift-
ed helplessly all night. Their
engine had gone dead and they
couldn't get their sails up (Louie
said that they didn't know hop
to sail.
He sailed down, took the men
ru
nShfZlII YMRS 71/1, dYH
il&VKITJ/I1Jil 171/1 iiii
r
/isuta� su SY
seeveritteeteelleeetel
eiseve
t
r1T
::::?`^.':`i:>i''!`:;:t<;t:ii'oti::tw�'„\',.::'`..:•:.;:;>;+:.:i,:i''#`{i3Ep.'s�!.'k}is!.•.:.v,..''.;{.<.4.:•.:.r',"'.''-n•.':).'
":: �'v'.r..:t•`}2?'.^:'G::'��"n':<y:)��y',•' �:7::':Y�:��.•2:. ?..';y,. Y;�.Fs:.:y:F, k.
JusT alATustALLY, the car that started first, is the car that's ahead
right now in the march of motoring progress! Yes, Oldsmobile
brings you the benefits of its extra experience in such revolutionary
advancements as llydra-Matic Drive*—the pioneer no -shift
drive that's hncest because it was first in the field, and has been
proved and improved: through actual' billions of miles of driving in
the past ten years!
The great new Oldsmobile "Rocket" F,ngine is another first
from the continent's most experienced car maker. Pioneered two
years ago, it has already started a major automotive trend toward
valve -in -head engines of much higher compression—but the
"Rocket" is by far the greatest because it's first, it's backed
8
LO
by many more years of research, development and perfecting!
And all through every model of the 1960 Oldsmobile "88" anti the
"76", powered by its iwproved "Big:Six" Engine, there's example
after example of Oldsmobile qualityy-leadership ... advantages
that comm to Oldsmobile owners because Oldsmobile, the car that
was first in the field of all cars made on this continent today, has
the good habit of keeping the lead!
So, go ahead—go years ahead—with an Oldsmobile!
*HYDRA-MATIC DRIVE ... The may automatic drive that outmodes the
clutch pedal entirely 1 Proved by billions of miles of driving since Olds
pioneered it more than 10 years ago. So simple, so relaxing . eneb a thrill I
Standard equipment on Itoeket•Powered Olds "88', optional at extra cost on
"76" 6 -cylinder models.
OBILE
A GENERAL MOTORS VALUE
a.
rt
0.5708
LORNE BROWN MOTORS LIMITED
•'
QUILT IN CANADA PROVE4 1M �� t CA • FOR CANADIANS
aboard the "Helen MacLeod II,"
get a tow line aboard the 'other
craft and sailed back to Bay-
field. Later he towed that' boat
Bay -
to Belle We.
Ib November 1932, when the
late R. McDool was fishing with
him, and they were leaving the
fishing grounds at Kettle Point
in the efiternoon, the weather
became rough. His brother Jack's
boat "The Donald Mac" with
John (Rip) MacLeod and George
Sturgeon aboard, broke her rud,
der. Louie got a tow line to
them. Six times it broke and
finally when he was running out
of - gasoline, he came back to
Bayfield at midnight.,
In two Hours he was back to
the "Donald Mac" with a fresh
,supply of gasoline and anchor`
chains. Jphn MeoLeod had lost
considerable blood. when the
mast, to which he was holding
broke and lacerated the palm of
his hand, Louie got the two
boys aboard "The Helen Mac-
Leod II" and the "Donald Mac"
in tow.
Just at the mouth of the Par-
bour 4 3 a,m: the " tow line
broke again and the Donald
Mac" plunged to the bottom,
tearing a hole in her bow. ^ It
had been a fight against great
odds for 12 hours but the boys
were safe,. And later the "Don --
aid Mac" was raised and re
-
In
In 1945, on the Same day that
the late President Roosevelt -was
strickepairedn, Louie suffered a stroke
which partially paralyzed his
right side. His sons, Robert,
John and Malcom, were with the
RCNVR and might have taken
over -the "Helen IVIalbLeod II"
after their discharge, but Louie
was afraid for his boat and also
for his sons. They do not be-
long to the old school of sail
days in which he was trained.
And so this graceful craft lay
up on land until this year when
Louie was finally tempted to sell
her to a good sailor who knows
her worth.
The , tithing industry in Bay-
field has literally gone to the
wall. The trout left their feed-
ing grounds, the high cost of
nets and equipment and the trend
of the times to shorten working
hours have all contributed to its
decline. Louie says that the trout
will come back—they've gone
before. (Hugh IylacLeod with
William L. Ferguson and the
late Andrew Fowlie, both of
whom later held their lake
Captain's papers, fished off the
Bustard Islands fur ,the three
seasons 1888-90.
The MacLeods and others fish-
ed for trout and whitefish off
Kettle Point, the reef in the
middle of the lake and off Point
Clark. But these spots are 27
miles distant and in days gone
by they got up and left at four
o'clock in the morning and were
home at 4 p.m, under normal
conditions. And if a bad storm
were brewing they could make
for another port.
There are whitefish out there
now if the men would go after
them, Louie asserts.
When the "Helen MacLeod II"
put into Sarnia on her way to
Detroit, the port authorities
PAGE SEVEN
--'---^-'—^ter,
looked herover and said: "Act
old schooner. pont see many
of :them now -a -days."' And Louie
is glad that his pride and joy
has left this port for now he
won't know when she is out in a
storm and won't worry.
The only .Huron boats of this
elippereschooner type on the
east shore of Lake Huron are to
be found 'in' Goderich. One is
owned .• and operated by Capt.
Mac MacDonald and the other
by Capt. Reddy MacDonald, and
are drawn up on the bath. They
are giving way to . the steel
motor -operated fishing tugs.
But , some marine ' authorities •
think that with the rising cost
of equipment, the old sail boat
may yet Dome back into her own.
Once he sailed down to Kettle
Point without an extra hand on
board and lifted 800 pounds of
trout. '
And on another occasion he
went out to the reef in the middle
of the lake and took 700 pounds.
of trout off hooks with only his
eight-year-old son John aboard.
"Why did you go alone?" we
asked.
Mrs. MacLeod answered for
him: "Just took a notion to go
and off he went."
Louie smiled a bit sheepishly
at the concern still in her voice
over the risks he had taken.
CONGRATULATIONS! "
EGMONDVILLE—Henry Weil-
and, who marked his, 93rd "birth-
day here on Sunday, Oct. 8, has
one main interest, reading the
newspaper; and despite h I s
years, Mr. Weiland's eyesight
does not interfere with his fav-
orite pastime. He also enjoys a
friendly chat. Born on the same
property where he now resides,
but in a different house, Mr.
Weiland has spent his entire life
in this district. A cooper, or
barrel -maker, by trade, he re-
tired from this work a number
of years ago.
ORDER RESERVED
:SEATS NOW!
ROYAL
WINTER FAIR
au= NOI/. =WO
As the supply is Iimited, resecmral!
seats must be obtained immetti.
ateiy'by our -of -town visitors.
RESERVED SEATS AFTERNOONS
Tuns. Nev. 14, Fri. Nov. 17 to Wed. Nev. 22
$1.00 Including general admission
RESERVED SEATS NIGHTS
$1.50 - $1.75 - $2.00
twdeding amara$ admission
Enclose a ctrl -addressed ea8elope oS*ie
Year cheque or money order to—
ROYAL AGRICULTURAL WINTER Fill
Royal Coliseum, Toronto, Oat.
1 • The ,neuriehi.g gloss of .milk
from Grandma is she happy ending
to this story. It started Who.
Nature pot aluminum in the earth
i self. That ie why this important
.sinerat is right ist the milt: we drink.
3. Prow' farm to dairy ... from
country to city ... rich, wholesome
C nadien milk is being increasingly
carried, in. aluminum containers
to reach you fresh' and pure.
•
2. And Nature gave aluminum
qualities that make it ideal is
carom with food. Many milk pails
many parte of modern mitkiik
machines are made of ldnn*5eum.
,sa
4. And to cap it all, many betel**
of milk'. are'protectionsealed with
shining aluminum foil taps,.
Aluminum assures cleanliness for
this most sensitive of all foods.
am .... r...am..Amaloe ire ......—..Y,.r+r.s
No other 'material is more "food -friendly"
than aluminum. 'Whenever you see
aluminum on the outside of a food or a
drink, there's an "inside story" of perfectly
protected flavour, quality and purity.
ALUMINUM COMPANY, OF CANADA, LTD.
Milts to the ,'[ o+ Seoife'r
Some natural minerals in food and water
leave dark deposit on cooking utensils. 'These
deposits are harmless and are easily, re
by standard cleans er steel mad mooed
soap.