The USS Edson in tow on Lake Huron.
Recently I made a trip to the “thumb” of Michigan. It was just a go-see-what’s-there kind of trip without any particular agenda or expectations. I spent a great afternoon and evening in Port Huron where I visited the headquarters for boatnerd.com (a great website to follow Great Lakes shipping). I’ve always been interested in the Great Lakes. As a kid, I loved to watch the ships come and go from the beach near Fairport Harbor, Ohio, and as a college student, I worked a year on an iron ore boat.
To continue . . . the next day I drove along the shore of Lake Huron and stopped at some wonderful picturesque roadside rest areas overlooking the lake. Scanning the lake, I noticed the silhouette of a naval warship up bound on Lake Huron. At the next roadside stop I found out the ship was the U.S. S. Edson, being towed by a tug from the Philadelphia shipyard to Bay City where it will become a floating museum. I pulled out my camera, rested it on a fence post, zoomed in as much as I could and took the photo you see. Pretty cool. A random trip turns into a chance to see a chunk of history go by.
Maybe one day I’ll visit the museum. In the meantime I continue to look for books on Great Lakes shipping, especially the plethora of shipwrecks that dot the bottom of all the lakes. And, now and again, I’ll write more stories like “Ten More” which you can find here.
