The grand old lady of the great lakes who survived collisions, storms and a sinking, the E.M. Ford 

It's a shame the engine wasn't saved that may have been the only one of its kind left in existence by that point

My grandfather on father’s side served aboard her on one of her last season’s as the Presque Isle. He’d been in the Merchant Marine during WW2 and the Navy in Korea, but eventually moved back home to Cleveland and took a job aboard her for a season. Not long after he started working as a public school teacher.

E.M Ford will always be my favorite lake boat. Growing up in Saginaw, I passed by her nearly every time I was out on the river. I remember how surprised I was when I bought a copy of “Know Your Ships: 2002” and found out she was over 100 years old. I was 14 when I bought that first book, and couldn’t believe a ship so seemingly ordinary in appearance & in such great condition, was actually a relic of the 19th century still serving a useful industrial purpose. That singular event (and boat) sparked my interest and forever branded me a “Boat Nerd”. Cant wait to see your video!

What a wonderful tribute. This must have been a well love vessel to have lived that long and that history. So sad that a museum or society could not have saved her.

Damn it Mr. Wes, you must be the greatest boat nerd of all time. Great story.

Nice video. I used to go on all the Huron boats when they came into St Joe. I mowed the grass at the Terminal. We would go on eat with the crew or Captain. One time when I was younger they let me pull the lever that engaged the engine. It was amazing to see the giant rods moving up and down. It ran so quiet compared to the diesel boats I’ve been on. Those boats sparked my interest in Great Lakes ships. Thanks for posting this. It brings back a lot of great memories.

She is beautiful ❤️

I know these are massive vessels, but damn it’s still sad to see them scrapped. Thank you for preserving their history!

Happy to help. Lol. So sad she went to the scrap heap. Those old triple expansion engines should’ve gone to a museum too. I saw a video awhile back on the the Ford when she was still in operation and that was very interesting.

Hi Wes, saw your books in a shop in Fish Creek, WI. Thanks for all you do!

Thanks Brother! Can't wait for the new video of the E.M. Ford. I love the nostalgia and the history lessons from these old workhorses!

Wes, my time to read is scarce and I just finished the first two chapters of “The Witch of November” and it is fantastic! What a pleasure; the level of detail brings it alive. When you listed the cargo which included 120 sharpening wheels I could just imagine the factories and workers using those tools and supplies. Our manufacturing base was thriving then. By the way, the book arrived faster than expected and thank you for the autograph! Rich

My dad worked at Bay Ship from 1978-1981. He was one of the guys tasked with repairing the E.M Ford, and with a chuckle or two recalled the thunderous sound of jack hammers breaking away leftover cement. lol

Wes - Have been watching your videos for the past few months, enjoy them. Glad I made you the extra 7 cents tonight - LOL. I'm not near the lakes but as an old retired mechanical engineer ships have always been of interest. Keep up the good work.

I am reminded of the J.B. Ford that is almost completely scrapped at Aztec in Duluth. And a short way down harbor the J.A.W. Iglehart is floating storage at LaFarge in Superior. It makes me grateful that these boats survive in memory through your research and books and videos. Thank you for not letting them be forgotten.

So glad i came across this. For years I've had a vague memory about a cement hauler that sank at the dock in Milwaukee, but i always thought it was a Medusa or St Mary's vessel. I was only 8 in 1979, so i didn't recall many details.

Nice Video,I met a fellow who was Oiler on the EM Ford in its early Years.. He told me some stories of being on the Ford and that he wished he would have stayed on her. He built many scale models of old tractors and they are in a museum in Mona Iowa. George Erbe was his name.

Thanks ounce again. The sentimental side of me has a tough time seeing this historical ship's being scrapped. Unfortunately this is the destiny for all man made things.... My grandfather's ship was scrapped for the World War all efforts. History can't be forgotten.😊😊

I remember visiting Soo Ontario when I was a teenager and stumbling upon the ship at her moorings. I had no idea of the significance of this ship that my family and I had stumbled upon until checking back to the most recent Know Your Ships book. By that point, she would have had a few months of life left before scrapping. What a neat piece of history!

Wes, you deserve every on of those seven cents!

I remember her tied up and lashed to another boat (name escapes me) in Carrollton for many years. She looked in great shape and ready for business. Then suddenly they were both gone never to be seen again. Didn't look at all like she was 100. But the 6th Street bridge sure did! A friend of mine was drunk at night, went off the side and into the river. Totaled a beautiful 68 Firebird.

What an interesting history! Thanks Wes.

Thanks Wes, great video.

Thank you for this touching story. A true Grand Old Lady of the Lakes.

Thanks , an excellent video of the history of these vessels.

Great video! My fave part was your note: "Reports of the exact collision location differ....so don't get on me about this illustration." Clapping slowly sir,.

Love it! I really enjoy the videos about the "other" cargo freighters(though I bet cement had to be pretty close in rank behind iron ore & coal). Especially when they're either lumber carriers, or ships of long service. Thanks Wes, this is great!

A dear favorite as a kid growing up and loving the Lakers. She'd make a great museum now like the Crapo.

Thank you for providing this very interesting content of just one example of the U. S.'s greatness

I like to call the Ford due to all of her modifications during her career and I just learned more about them today thanks for the great video

This is one of my favorite freighters.

Awesome video!

Wonderful video Wes. And you will always get the 7 cents :) YT is so generous :) I'm still badgering my son about the books.

That was a stunning revelation at the very end. Everyone needs to watch that ;)

I grew up in the vicinity of Milwaukee Harbor, Bay View to be exact. Christmas day 1979 found me home on leave after finishing Navy boot camp and apprenticeship school. My Dad was a deck hand for Great Lakes Towing and had spent all of Christmas Eve, and Christmas Morning working in the inner harbor keeping a laid up 1000 footer (Presque Isle if I remember right) safe at it's berth. After sun up they were cut loose and went out to the outer harbor to see if there was anything to be done with for E.M. Ford. There wasn't. Her stern was already on the bottom and the bow was smashed as the video showed. The winds and seas had repeatedly smashed her bow into the corrugated iron sea wall. Dad called us early Christmas Day, and told us to come down and "watch the Ford sink." We all loaded in the car, putting Christmas on standby for a bit and watched the Ford for a while. The following day found me in San Diego, reporting to my first ship, USS FOX CG-33. Seeing the Ford in extremis was a somewhat ominous start to what turned into a successful 37 year Navy/Merchant Marine career. As a post script, MV Photinia a British bulker, got washed ashore the spring of 78, basically across the street from where I was attending high school. I spent a lot of time practicing one of my future trade's main functions, staring out the window, as I watched the salvage operation wear on for months.

She should have been preserved donated to a museum or something similar. A grand old lady over 100 years old deserved better

Nice encapsulation of the transformation of lake steamers with the pilot house literally moving forward … the photo at 1:10 looks like a Frankenstein even tho it was the ‘old normal’

Great video of a piece of history. So how many boats even came close to sailing that long? All the best Wes.

Great Stuff

Nice Vid!

Thanks Wes. Wish I could have that steam engine, would have made a great generator power unit for a remote northern community.

Can't wait for the video on the EM Ford

feels like just yesterday i could see the old lady herself docked up at algoma across from sherman park in the soo.

I was an engineer on her in 1995 when she laid up in Green Bay WI after her last run.

Since you have years of experience researching great lakes ships, how do you find the specific designs/blueprints for the ships you cover. I seem to only find the usually ships dimensions and points about the ships service.

You should do a video on the Cliffs Victory. She had a pretty interesting profile for a lake freighter.

I went to Duluth back in 2019 for a vacation. It was very painful to view the E.M Ford at the Azcon Metals dock in the process of being scrapped. Unfortunately Wes I still have that image etched in my mind. And I'm serious about this.

Thanks Wes, my father was Captain at one time if all four of the Wyandotte Chemical vessels. I would like to do a story of the forgotten fleet of those ships. The Wyandotte, Alpena, Huron, and Coneaut, I like your presentations and where is the best place to start to get the old details?

WLLL, here In the UK I got my 10c s worth - lol - thanks for the video - Ian --UK

Great video as always! I got you 7 more pennies!!

It's fascinating how cement carriers, even if they're self-unloaders, look like they have relatively straight decks.

Interesting video. Thanks for documenting her history. One comment… The audio in this video has a lot of “clunking“ sounds, almost like you’re bumping the table that your microphone is sitting on. It quickly gets distracting. You might want to find the source of that noise and eliminate it. It will definitely improve your audio quality!

Great vlog! Try not to spend the whole 7 cents at once. Lol!

When I go downtown this afternoon to give an estimate I'll see if the Manistee is still laid up next to American Valor here in toledo. I heard it was to be scrapped along with Ojibway and Mississagi. I haven't been past the slip they're moored in since last year so we'll see.

My Dad was alongside her overnight aboard a Great Lakes tug trying to hold her tight alongside the pier. We had breakfast Christmas morning on Jones Island, eating crullers and drinking chocolate milk and looking over the damage to both the Ford and the seawall she smashed into all night. Officials closed the I-794 Hoan Bridge over concerns that the damage to the seawall had undermined the bridge piers.

Hey, Wes..great video on the FORD. One correction...the A.M. BYERS was owned by the Reiss (pronounced RICE) Steamship Co., not Reese. Nothing pissed off Reiss sailors more than the mispronounced name of their company, and I new 2 REISS Captains and 1 Chief engineer on their boats, including THE BYERS, later the CLEMENTS A. REISS, better known to her crew as the CLEM.

Can you do a video on the S.t crapo fan from Sweden

Do you have any info and history or footage on the John Leitch formerly Canadian Century?

The No. 35211 is the seriol no. of my 1920 Case 80 HP Steam Traction Engine. Hence the connection to Steam. I have a tape of the Whale Back Erickson when my Friend was engineer on the Erickson. No sound but good Video

Hello Mr. Oleszewski, I have a photograph taken in the late 1960's in lake Huron of a vessel and I wondering if you could perhaps identify it, how could I get in contact with you to send it to you? thank you. Love the videos!!

was in hannibal missouri and watched a 1300 foot barge roll on by

Wes, I sailed on her for 90 days in 1979. With Capt. Gallagher. Pat Gallagher, his son, was the C/M. Great crew.

Quick question about the Cleveland Cliffs fleet. Why were their pilot houses green and white? Was it so they could stand out?

i was a oiler on the the em ford

Was the Cement Barge "Integrity" and ATB type (Articulated Tug-Barge)?

Wes, everything I find concerning height only give depth, do you know complete height? I,m seriously thinking about 1/48 scale..

Makes me sick every time i hear that the engine wasn’t saved.

Very interesting. One correction, however. The town name, and so the name of the ship, is French, therefore pronounced "Presk-Eel"

Where can I buy your books at? Live in lower Michigan

I truly wish some with the finances would start a museum park ! For the history of the ore boats. That would feature after there retired such as Author Anderson , Ryerson, and other classic lakers still around and cut off bow sections about three hatches back from bridge cabins and land lock them in a circler pattern and make them museum with different displays in the holds . If i ever win mega million i would try and make this happen .

They didn't even save that classic engine? Shame, any number of steam museums would have loved it.

Maybe this is where the US Navy learned about bumper boating.

Well you got me! Enjoy an additional 7 cents!

Presque Isle pronounced Presk-eel.