Reader Comments > Stephen Hause
Stephen,
Thank you for your very kind comments about our book. We are very pleased to hear that you enjoyed it.
We would like to ask you for your permission to post your e-mail on the books web site.
Yes, the pictures were taken with kodachrome film back then. I also experimented with the new ectachrome (asa 64) film that Kodak came out with. Was not pleased with it, although it was a wee bit faster. And, after nearly 50 years it turns out that the ectachrome slides did not survive the test of time very well, but the kodachrome did. Both were stored under the same circumstances.
Where did you live that there was a MSP Post and who were some of the Troopers that you knew. My father was a volunteer firefighter with the Algonac Volunteer Fire Dept from 1948 until his death in 1970. He suffered a heart attack while fighting the very large fire at the Townsend Lumber Yard in Algonac on a very hot August day in about 1954. He was an Ass't Lt. at that time, however after his recovery he took the position of secretary/treasure for the remainder of his life. He also ran the Good Fellows operation each year.
How did you come about going to Algonac to watch the freighters? Do you have relatives there? I would be interested in their names. On my mother's side, a Cartwright girl, the Cartwright family was one of the first three families to be deeded land in Algonac back in 1803, I believe. Very old Algonac family. There was not any seat of government in that area in 1803 and the deed was issued out of Wayne County.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Nelson "Mickey" Haydamacker
Nelson Haydamacker
Mickey,
Good to hear from you. Yes, you do have my permission to post my e-mail on the web site.
That Kodachrome was great film, although slow. I have been to slide presentations where 50-year-old slides taken on Kodachrome were shown, and the colors were as rich as ever.
I posted a recommendation for your book on the boatnerd.com website a few weeks ago and immediately recieved a thank-you from the volunteer webmaster, Frank Frisk of Port Huron. Frank volunteers at the Vantage Point visitor center there and once sailed with Interlake Steamship.
I grew up in Clinton. The MSP post there was eventually combined with the Blissfield post and moved to Adrian. I knew a number of troopers there. Alan Houghton was our next door neighbor. He was later assigned to Metro Airport, then somewhere else in that area. I recall reading a news story about his retirement--as I recall, in 25 years he never had to draw his weapon in the line of duty. Also, he picked up a 10-year-old unsolved murder case and plugged away at it, eventually solving it.
Also, John Kopacz (who is about my age) dated my sister. She was also in law enforcement and became a deputy sheriff in Los Angeles County. John and his partner, Roger Adams, were involved in a bad accident while on duty. This was around 1970. The driver of the other car crossed the center line and hit them head-on. Roger and the other driver were killed and John went through a long recovery period and eventually returned to duty. The last time I saw him, he was a sergeant. I believe he now has a car dealership in Coldwater.
Also among the Clinton troopers I knew were Merv Mowery and Cliff Lambright. Cliff became police chief at Clinton after retiring from MSP, and Merv became police chief in Tecumseh and also, I believe, Clinton village president. Part of my training period on the Saginaw Fire Department was to spend a few weeks in Fire Prevention. At the time, two troopers from the Bridgeport Post (Roger Moore and Paul Butterfield) were assigned there as arson investigators and I worked some with them.
I used to watch the freighters pass Presque Isle 50 years ago when my family took vacations up there. A lot more of them then, and they all left a trail of black smoke from burning coal. I began photographing them in earnest here in Saginaw, as they come up the river almost daily during the shipping season. Almost every year, I head over to Algonac to camp at the state park and photograph them there. I have no family there, although a branch of my family settled around Memphis, Michigan, back in the 1800s. My own branches of the family (my paternal grandparents had the same last name) settled in Washtenaw and Lenawee Counties in the 1830s.
Right now, a couple of my photographs or on exhibit at the MDOT welcome center at Clare and I have an exhibit of about 20 photos that will open at the Midland Senior Center in a few weeks. I have discovered from this avocation (it's more than a hobby) that a great many people, especially the older generations, have some family connection with the Great Lakes shipping industry. A father, grandfather or uncle used to work on the lakes. It's a rich history.
Steve
Steve Hause
I, too, am getting frustrated with the amount of content that is now being offered in video form that should just be text.
-beaded bag charm
bggpig
Just a few comments, not a story of my own:
Thank you for sharing those experiences. I have just finished reading Deckhand and thoroughly enjoyed it. The stories give a realistic look at the "romantic" life of a Great Lakes sailor. Books that describe the day-to-day life of working people ("the troops in the trenches") are always of great interest. Their personal stories make our nation's history come alive. The photos were great also--not often you see color photos in a memoir like this (Kodachrome, I assume). I have taken the liberty of recommending the book to the followers of the Boatnerd.com web site.
My only sailing experience was as an officer in the U.S. Navy back in the late 1960s. Nothing particularly exciting happened during my two years of sea duty, but it was an experience I have always cherished. (I do work on occassion as a "deckhand" on a friend's steamboat, which gives excursions on the Saginaw River, and just got a call to report for the fitout cruise this afternoon.) Friends and acquaintances who have worked on the Lakes and have related interesting stories, and even those who left the Lakes after a few years to take jobs ashore still seem to relish the experience.
I have had a lifelong interest in Great Lakes shipping, starting in early childhoood and continuing today. Over the past dozen years or so, I have taken thousands of photographs of freighters and have given slide presentations to various groups and begun placing photo exhibits in local venues. Regrettably, I began that pursuit too late to photograph most of the classic older ships that have gone for scrap. I am a member and past board member of the Saginaw River Marine Historical Society and an associate member of the International Shipmaster's Association (Christine Rohn-Tielke is actively involved with the latter organization as the newsletter editor).
On some personal levels, I can relate to the author of Deckhand. I am only a couple of years younger, and grew up in a small town that once had a Michigan State Police post--I have known a lot of troopers over the years, some of whom he might also know. I was a volunteer firefighter for more than ten years and eventually became a career firefighter in Saginaw. I retired from that career as a captain and now can spend even more time at the Soo or Algonac watching the freighters.
Thank you again for the great book.
Stephen Hause
Saginaw, Michigan