Canadian Pacific's S.S. Keewatin - Date/Photographer unknown.

3 October 2011

Return Planned for Historic Steamship

Port McNicoll Ontario - A plan has been launched to bring a significant piece of Port McNicoll's history back to town.
 
A foundation has been put in place to repatriate the S.S. Keewatin, a 104-year-old steamship that cruised the Great Lakes for nearly 50 years.
 
The vessel has spent more than four decades in Douglas, Michigan, as a museum and tourist attraction.
 
Tay Township Mayor Scott Warnock told The Mirror the idea has yet to come before council for discussion, but he believes the return of the Keewatin is an exciting possibility.
 
"Such a great part of the history for the municipality is attached to that ship. There are still generations living in this community that worked on that boat, so, from that point of view, it's really exciting," he said.
 
"To have it as part of our community would be wonderful."
 
Warnock said bringing the ship back has been discussed since 2007.
 
"I had the chance to go to Michigan for the 100th anniversary of the ship, and there was talk about it back then, but the municipality is not involved in this. It just happens to be something that would happen within the municipality," he said, adding the ship was decommissioned in the mid-1960s after serving as an integral part of Great Lakes shipping for many years.
 
"When it was running at its peak, that's when Port McNicoll was at its peak. It was all tied in together. When it was running and making the trips across the lakes, Port McNicoll was a thriving community. It would be an opportunity to recapture some of the past glory of Port McNicoll."
 
Eric Conroy is the man tasked by Skyline International Development Inc. to bring the ship home.
 
In addition to his nearly 30 years in fundraising (he has raised nearly $2 million a year for the Toronto Santa Claus Parade) and 15 years as a volunteer on the ship in Michigan, he also worked on the vessel as a teenager and penned a book about his experience.
 
Conroy said a not-for-profit foundation has been established consisting of people from the area who will manage the vessel upon its return.
 
He said his involvement in the project came about after Skyline officials somehow learned about his book.
 
"Out of the blue, (they) phoned me and asked if I thought we could get this ship and move it to Port McNicoll," he said, adding he has already secured a commitment from the current owner of the ship.
 
"It's my job... to make sure it's seaworthy, get it out of 45 years of silt in the harbour, get it to Port McNicoll and tied to the dock, and organize the museum and everything that goes with it. The chances of it happening are 97 percent... but we still have a 2,000-mile voyage on the end of a tow rope."
 
The challenge, he noted, is that the Keewatin has been grounded in the Kalamazoo River for 45 years.
 
"When they brought it there in 1967, the Army Corps of Engineers had dredged it out so it was easy for them to get it in and park it. The river has not been dredged in 45 years. Right now, it's sitting in about four feet of water and the rest is mud. We had to get dredging permits, find someone who could handle the job, work with environmental people down there, etc."
 
Dredging the river has already started, with the remainder expected to take place in March.
 
The hope is to have the Keewatin in Port McNicoll by June.
 
"It's important to bring it back because that's where it belongs. It's a huge piece of Canadian history. We think it will be a huge tourist attraction. It's five years older than the Titanic. To be able to bring this ship back... it's absolutely remarkable," he said.
 
"The Martyrs' Shrine gets 100,000 visitors in the summer alone, so it's a viable thing once it gets here. It will be a place where people can have fundraisers, find employment, volunteer. It really is an interesting proposition."
 
Nicole Million.