Across the Wide Lake

       More Letters From Paradise
         Across the Wide Lake  

During the Great Depression, FDR's New Deal found jobs for many people, including writers and artists. One such artist must have painted a picture I will always remember. The painting was in the post office of Frankfort, Michigan, and depicted the the open stern of a car ferry in a wild storm with a boxcar tearing loose, and going over the side. The subject and location was just perfect, as Frankfort, Michigan, was the hub of the Ann Arbor Rail Road, carrying boxcars and autos across Lake Michigan.

The Ann Arbor Railroad was not the only car ferry service, there were others. Boxcars full of freight could avoid the rail yards of Chicago, and the endless delays.

The Ann Arbor ferries, unlike ocean vessels, were numbered one thru seven, with one exception, one named "Wabash."

These car ferries sailed the entire year. The big enemy was ice. They could carry 32 freight cars or a combination of freight cars and autos. Loading was made using a switch-engine with a spacer car between the freight car and engine, because if the engine came aboard the vessel, it would cause the ship to sink.

These car ferries also carried passengers, for the 60 mile trip across Lake Michigan. The crossing time varied according to the weather at a speed of 14 mph, four to seven hours. Trips were also made to Wisconsin, with Indian sounding names: Manitoc and Kewaunee. Also in upper Michigan: Menominee and Manistique.

The ferry "Wabash," was the most beautiful of the Ann Arbor boats. It was 366 feet long, 58 feet wide and 19 feet deep. It carried a crew of 60 men who were involved in loading and unloading. the ship had steam-driven engines, using 70 tons of coal daily.

The Wabash had 40 staterooms with wood paneling, steam heat, electric lighting, a cooler for the galley, and an ice machine. There was also room for 360 passengers on deck in good weather.

The era of car ferries came to an end due to loss of profits, and insurance costs. The Wabash was retired in 1974, and was sold to a salvage company in Ontario, Canada. It was filled with scrap steel and sent to Spain where it ended its life.

The last car ferry from Kewaunee, Wisconsin, to Ludington, Michigan, was in November 1990. Today only one ferry named "Badger," carries only passengers, during the summer, from Ludington, Michigan, to Chicago.

I remember as a young boy living in Frankfort, watching the ice climbing the sides of the lighthouse, and wondering where my father was, working on the Wabash, somewhere out on the great lake.

     Aloha
     Grant