LeLievre Article in "Inland Seas"

[Guest1]

BV, I remember that time, in the late 60’s, when you could go the Toledo docks for extra work available. I was at the TOT dock, with friends, on weekends a couple of times. The dock boss would be at the gate choosing the best help available for the work to be done for the day. I wasn’t one chosen. Sometimes, I think those were the best days in our generation. I have one thought to add your memories. The late 60’s were a time before OSHA, the hazards of asbestos and confined spaces were recognized, without safety equipment such as harnesses and hard hats, and with other job hazards. We survived to our retirements, because of the old-timers, who took us under their wing, and taught us how to perform our work safely, quickly, and correctly. I’m thinking you looked after your new/younger workers when you became an old-timer, and they remember you well, because they still let you take a few pictures for us.

[bvboatnerd]

Yes, Roger a great article. It did bring back memories. My first job out of high school was working the extra board at the C&O Toledo Docks. They had 3 coal machines (#2, #3 and #4) and one ore dock with three iron ore unloading huletts. June 22, 1969 was my first offical day on the job. I broke in on different jobs before being called out. One job I could do was called Deck boss. His job was to come on board the vessel and give signals to the winch men to move the boat up and down the wall to place the single car dumper Chute in the middle of the hatch so that the boat could be loaded. One of those boats you mentioned, Henry Ford II, I loaded many times both as a Deck Boss and as a Chute operator. I got pretty good piling the 24 foot center hatches on that boat. Another boat mentioned was the Edmund Fitzgerald. I can still visualize that boat around the corner and coming up the slip and slowly maneuvering under the ore dock. We always had to hand a cable from the dock wall to the guys on board. Another boat mentioned Cliffs Victory. I always thought that boat was strange, having hatches back behind the aft deck house and yes, guys would say that boat was one of the fastest boats on the lakes. My first job called out was for an ore dock shoveller. Since, there was no ore boat that night (6pm shift), they assigned a couple of us to go over to #2 machine and help replace the haulage line on the mechanical pig. My only regret is I didn't take an pictures back then.

[Dave F]

Would love to read this but I'm not a member. Is there anywhere to read this online?

Of course we'd all prefer to have free access to everything we are interested in via the Internet, but please consider joining the Great Lakes Historical Society. I belong to several non-profit historical groups and every one is despendant upon memberships to stay afloat. For US residents, a GLHS senior membership is $35 and a regular family membership is $54. Not everyone can afford that in today's uncertain economy, but you can also order single issues of "Inland Seas" when their on-line store is back up and running.
http://www.inlandseas.org

[Guest]

Would love to read this but I'm not a member. Is there anywhere to read this online?

[Les Weston]

Great article, Roger. It brought back a lot of memories for me also.

My first job on a freighter was Porter, on the J.H. Sheadle, and I took care of the guest quarters, as well as the Captain's quarters.

[BigRiver]

Thanks! Enjoyed writing it, brought back a lot of memories.

[pcolachap]

It's a gem! I really enjoyed it. Don't miss it. Mike

[Al]

Our friend Roger LeLievre has a wonderful article about his sailing career in the latest "Inland Seas", the quarterly journal of the GreatLakes Historical Society.