NEW FERRY MADONNA - PROGRESS REPORT 7.0

Ferry Madonna, constructed with hull inverted, taken bow-on. (Rich Ellefson photo)

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

Photos shown in this posting were taken by Ferry Line VP Rich Ellefson Monday and Tuesday of this week, and they indicate significant overall progress once again.

In the shot below, Rich stood on the bottom, straddling the keel and looking forward.



The bow shape is now well-defined and soon should be completely plated over.

Hull plating of 1/2-inch thickness is being added here to the framed
bow section.  Yellow cube is a weight suspended from overhead crane
 used to flatten shell plate until it can be welded to frames.

Below, the center trunk, or pedestal, shows more definition. It will join the main vehicle deck to the upper passenger deck.  A unisex toilet, engine room entry, a locker for the U. S. Mail, and fore and aft stairways are among the features within this main enclosure that will be offset to starboard, between vehicle lanes one and two.  The difficulty encountered in painting the enclosed foredeck overhang, a narrow space (port and starboard) just large enough for a man to crawl within, poses a problem.  All possible hot work will be completed, except the underside plating, so that 95 percent of primer painting can be accomplished before enclosure.


Shown below that photo is one of the engine room overhead.  Pipes, or stanchions, help support the main deck overhead while taking up minimal space around machinery and piping.  A ladder for crew access to the machinery space is shown resting in its approximate location, not yet attached.


 


Bulwarks that will become vehicle deck enclosures, and the larger side curtains that also provide rigidity to the hull while supporting the superstructure above the main deck, are being fabricated separately.  They'll be attached in location once the two hull halves are upright.  With hull steelwork easier to complete in the present upside-down configuration, roll-over for the two hull halves has now been pushed back until January 6th.

This shot from overhead makes it appear ship worker is scaling the heights
when, in fact, he's lying on his side, welding an angle stiffener to what
will be the side-curtain for the superstructure.
A designed opening can be seen at right.

Below are two photos taken in the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding machine shop, showing rudder attachments (quadrants) for a bar that will connect the two rudder stocks for steering purposes.
Below that is a photo of the two rudder supports, heavy plates that project both aft and slightly outboard from each shaft centerline, so that propeller shafts can be inserted/removed from the vessel without removal of the rudders.

White cylinders are Thordon rudder bearings machined of a hard ceramic material that will accept and support each rudder's pintle, the lower end of the rudder.  The final photo shows the two rudder stocks of heavy pipe that become the basis for each rudder plane.  Above each rudder are the "palms," flat surfaces bolted together that make removal relatively easy in dry dock, should it be necessary to repair a rudder.









One final note apart from new ferry construction, and one not substantial enough to warrant a separate blog:  the morning ferry today sailed to Gills Rock due to lake seas and surging at the Northport facility.  

This is a a change of pace, certainly, and the second time in the past month when Gills Rock has been used as an outlet.  This move creates confusion for travelers and some difficulties for our crews, too.  Crew must deal with freight delivered to Northport.  Tickets can't be sold at Gills Rock for lack of computer / printer there.   Incoming traffic (without cash) wishing to use credit cards are asked to stop at our Island booth to make transactions AFTER arriving at the Island.  So, it's a bit of a hassle, but only temporary.

Winds had dropped considerably by 10 a.m., with trips resuming to Northport by then.  Later today the storm will have passed, and high pressure will cause an equally strong flow from the N/NW, with gusts predicted to reach 40 mph.  That, too, may slow things down, with the possibility of overpowering winds and seas at Northport.

Robert Noble, with Eric Foss as Captain, returned to the Island
from Gills Rock on the first trip of the morning.  The additional
distance to Gills Rock plus time communicating and waiting for 
cars directed to Gills Rock, adds minutes to the round trip, making
the ferry behind for the subsequent departure.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-  Dick Purinton

ISLAND WATERFRONT - Then and Now - Richter Years Begin - Part XVI

Loading fish boxes aboard the little Welcome, in 1930s.  Believed
to be in the East Channel, with Detroit Island in background,
where the Welcome, along with other boats,
often anchored to the ice in winter.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Saturday, April 11th, marked the 75th year of Richter ferry service, a business owned and operated by Carl and Arni Richter, father and son, since 1940.   Not to be forgotten in this endeavor were Maggie (Gudmundsen) Richter, and Mary (Cornell), who were also willing to support this new family venture in its early days, before it could support them.

Why did Capt. William Jepson choose to sell to the Richters when he did?  We know he had considered a new and longer ferry route, the 20-mile run between Sturgeon Bay and Marinette-Menominee.  And, according to Arni, he and Carl had a preliminary design for a new ferry and planned to compete with Jepson.  Arni believed that word of their plan was a factor in Jepson's decision to sell.  We don't know how or if the build-up of U. S. industry to help European allies in their war effort came into play, but if timing was ever right to sell his Island ferry business and move on, for Jepson this may have seemed his best opportunity.

For the Richters, starting up a competing ferry operation from scratch would be difficult:  raising the capital for a new ferry; modifying Island and mainland piers for landing purposes;  and providing a schedule of service with a single vessel that would gain public support.  All this when it was questionable there be enough business volume to support two competing ferry operations.

Buying Jepson's ferry operation made more sense to the Richters.  For one thing, they would take over an established and progressive business.  Besides having the right boats, equipment and docks, there was also the recently dredged West Channel into Detroit Harbor (thanks, in large part, to Bill Jepson's urging) that made navigation to and from the Island safer than ever before.

Photo taken in Kenosha or Waukegan, when Arni was a young man
of perhaps 19 or 20.  He called this photo, "The three Arnis."  Shown are
Arni Paulson, with the Icelandic consulate
in Chicago;  his grandfather, Arni Gudmundsen, and Arni Richter.
The April 30, 1930 Advocate reported:  "Arni Richter arrived home
Monday and wil fish with his father, C. G. Richter, this summer."

The Richters weren't without experience when they decided to go fully into the ferry business, although Carl was really the one with past water experience.

In Arni's words, from Over and Back (WIFL - 1990):

Dad had sailed as a young boy on several schooners, the Walhalla, Iris, Madonna and the Flotilla among them. He was sixteen when he got his first job as a cook's helper aboard one of the sailboats which called frequently in Detroit Harbor. His mother instructed him how to make bread in the one hour he had before the boat departed, while he packed his "turkey," as he called his sea bag.  He also spent several seasons sailing the lakes on ore boats of the day, and later fished commercially, mostly from the St. Ignace area.  …The Shine On was getting sort of old, and Dad was looking for a different boat around 1930.  I was buying fish at the time but also doing some fishing.  We bought the little Welcome from the Hansen brothers, Art and Hans.  She was 40 feet long, and ironed off.

This series of photos from the Richter album shows the little Welcome, sawed free
from the ice,  then towed by truck on bobsled runners to the East Channel, the beginning
of freighting operations for Carl and Arni Richter in 1931.

During the season, the fishermen could ship their fish with Mr. Jepson's ferries, the Welcome, built in 1929, or the North Shore, built in 1931.  But in the winter, they had to take a day from fishing to transport their fish to the mainland as there was no winter ferry.

They asked me if we would haul the fish with the little Welcome.  At the time, it was frozen in the west channel in Detroit Harbor, not far from what is now the Island Outpost dock, the Cornell dock back then.  I talked to George Hanson, and asked what he thought about skidding it over the ice to the east channel, where there was open water.  Thinking it would not be too difficult, we sawed her out, pulled her up onto the ice with trucks, and got sections of a bobsled under her.  We towed her across the ice to the east channel (off what is now the Shipyard Marina), and waited until the fish boats came in for the day.  They broke the ice around her and she floated right up.  From there, we made the winter trips, hauling fish and whatever else needed to be hauled, mostly fresh produce, as the stores stocked up in the late fall with canned goods.  There wasn't a lot of fresh produce in those days, either.  Besides fish, there was a lot of cheese being shipped from the Island cheese factory, sometimes as much as a ton a and a half, in ten or fifteen pound horns,.  It was a very good cheddar cheese, and many places in Green Bay and the area used to give them as holiday gifts.

In 1931, we got our first mail contract. In those days it was a four-year contract.  That was a year around contract.  At times, when we couldn't take the Welcome because of ice, we could go over the ice, which was actually a faster trip most days.

In the thirties, we didn't have a good dock on the other side for winter.  Gills Rock was our landing spot in summer, but we'd go into Europe Bay and anchor the Welcome in winter, and take our rowboat ashore, tying up to the ice banks.  I remember as many as 112 boxes of fish on the Welcome (about 115 pounds apiece with ice, plus fish, over six tons!).  On some occasions, boxes were put on the upper deck. But quite commonly, there would be 50 or 75 boxes.  I was handling thirty-five accounts in those days, there were so many making a living fishing.  It was a real trick sometimes to row ashore, twelve fish boxes or so in the rowboat, and throw the boxes up on to the ice banks where a truck was waiting to pick them up.

Ted Jessen once described Carl Richter (1871-1962) as
"snappy," in terms of his wit and personality.
In this photo taken in Oct. 1941, he's snappy
in appearance, too, posing in the wheelhouse
of the ferry Welcome.

Carl Richter, with Ford pulling bobsled, alongside
rough ice.  When they bought the Ferry Line
from Wm. Jepson in 1940, Carl was 68 and Arni was 29.   

If Arni seemed short on actual water experience when he started freighting with his dad on the little Welcome (he would have been 20 in 1931), he soon learned how to handle a boat and adjust to different situations.  He seemed to possess, however, a good business sense, along with an optimism for the future.

Carl and Arni continued using the little Welcome when the conditions allowed to carry freight and mail.  If an occasional passenger wanted to ride along, they were invited to sit on a fish box.  By 1939, they looked at making a substantial change.  

Early Ferry Line experiences were remembered in this interview with Arni Richter, published in Over and Back:


CROSSING THE DOOR ON ICE WITH SNOWMOBILE…early forties…as related by Arni Richter…

We bought the Ferry Line from Mr. William Jepson in 1940.  We had operated the little Welcome continuously since 1931, carrying mail, freight and passengers until April 11, 1940, at which time we bought the Line.  I sold Mary's (wife Mary Richter) new Ford V-8 automobile which she had just bought with her earnings as a teacher, to come up with some of the cash needed in the purchase.

Arni recalled when he and his dad first applied for a Coast Guard license
in 1940 in Milwaukee, soon after they purchased Jepson's passenger ferries.
 Carl was nervous and not used to taking exams, but he and
Steamboat Inspector Henry Erickson got along quite well after they
discovered they both had a background in sailing vessels.
Carl happily came away with his license to operate.
Shown here is the Feb. 1956 issue.

The deal included the ferries WELCOME, NORTH SHORE, and two snowmobiles, a model A and a Model T with tracks, the present Island dock property, and one half-ownership of the Northport property.  Roy Voight owned the other half.

When I think of some of the things we used to do as a matter of necessity…and no one ever thought anything of it, because that was the only way.

One time, in winter, we couldn't land at Northport.  Europe Bay was out (impossible to land), and Gills Rock was full of ice, near Ellstrom's bluff.  Dad stayed aboard, and I went ashore with the sleigh and the mail. On the way back, we had some passengers for Plum Island.  Among them were a young Coast guardsman and his wife with their newborn little baby.  In those days families lived on Plum Island, and the station was open year around.  On the way back to the WELCOME, I had the young mother by the arm.  Her husband was following with the baby in his arms.  As we were nearing the boat, I heard a crash and turned around to see him go down through the ice with the baby.  I got the mother aboard the WELCOME, then ran back and grabbed the baby from the father.  It was just luck he came back up in the same spot he went down.  I ran the baby to the mother, while someone else helped the young man out of the water.  When the baby's wet blankets were unwrapped, luckily the water hadn't penetrated through.        

[At the Ferry Line's 50th celebration, Rudy Bahlert came forward and told Arni that he was that baby rescued years ago.  His father served in the Plum Island Coast Guard at the time, and his family later lived in a home just south of Gills Rock.]

Walking over the ice wasn't too uncommon, and many times it had to be done to get ashore.  I recall a mainland basketball team leaving the Island.  We tied a rope from one boy to another, in case one boy went through.   Sure enough, one boy did break through the ice, but I wonder if he hadn't been fooling around and not paying attention.

Carl Richter and Lucien Boshka (who had also worked for Bill
Jepson's Ferry Line) exchange freight, including fish boxes.
Location appears to be near a low bluff on the Peninsula.

If we couldn't go by ferry, we'd take to the ice, using the snowmobile and a big bobsled we had built to haul freight.  One trip Dad and Lucien (Boshka) drove in the snowmobile, and I took my car, a 1941 two-door Chev, because of the passengers we had along.  We went into the mainland at Door Bluff, where we were usually met by a truck with mail and freight, saving us time.  On this occasion, with a strong southwest wind blowing, the trip to the mainland went fine.  But on the way back, with about a ton of feed on the bobsled, we noticed the whole field of ice was breaking loose from Door Bluff all the way to Lehman's on the west side of the Island.   A large crack had opened up with the strong southwest wind.  I scouted ahead with the car and found a spot where the two fields of ice were together, and I backed up, with my door open, just in case, to jump the crack.  I made it across that crack, all right, but I came down so hard on the other side that the ice broke under the weight of the car.  I made it up onto solid ice, but the back rims of the car were flattened, and the door was bent on its hinges.  I kept going toward the Island, near Denny's Bluff, and could see big ice shoves with cakes piled up in the air, but the field was starting to slow down, pressed against Washington Island.  I went back to where Dad and Lucien were.  We found a crack which wasn't too wide and built a bridge of logs and planks.  We had to disassemble the bobsled, and carry it and the feed, and whatever other freight we had that day, across the crack, then reassemble and reload the sleigh.  The snowmobile was the last thing to go across.  We wound up near Denny's Bluff as it was getting dark, and I don't think anyone had an idea where we were.



Those early Ferry Line times were often days with long hours, filled with uncertainties over whether the business would provide enough revenue to eventually plan for a new ferry.  The war years also delayed this venture by restricting travel for motorists, through gasoline and tire rationing, and by making ship materials scarce.   Building a new ferry of steel was still a goal, however, to replace the aging ferry Welcome and improve the safety of the winter operation.

This goal would not be met until 1946 with the building of the Griffin, but even then, obtaining the financial support for such a project proved difficult.

-  Dick Purinton

ISLAND WATERFRONT - Captain William Jepson - Part XII

Capt. William Jepson, from wheel house window.
Photo taken June, 1932 by A. H. Fensholt of Chicago and
made available for publication in book Over and Back
by Millie Jacobsen.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

When perusing the Island waterfront, then and now, it is impossible not to bestow a great deal of credit upon William Jepson, who not only was an early ferry operator, but also dock builder, and to an extent, a visionary of for transportation services and how they could be ably fulfilled.

I've seen only a couple of photos of Jepson, somewhat strange, since so many of the older, glass plate photos were credited to him.  The photo above appeared in my book, Over and Back (1990) and it was passed to me by the late Millie Jacobsen.  Captain Jepson looks back toward the photographer from the window of the wheel house.

The other photo of Jepson I happened on is in the Wisconsin State Historical Society archives, (and which I published with permission for a fee) in the book, Thordarson and Rock Island.   In that photo, Jepson stands in front of his Ford snow machine, which is hooked to a bobsled used for hauling freight and mail.  He stands in front of the Island post office (across the street from what is now the Red Cup), smoking a cigarette while in apparent conversation with C. H. Thordarson.  I supposed that Jepson could have been discussing ice conditions that morning, or perhaps he was being propositioned for a ride to the mainland by Thordarson.

The point I made in that winter photo was to show that in the ice months, Jepson and helper made regular trips to the mainland to exchange mail and freight.  His Ford conversion snow rig and bobsled appear to be the same used by his successors, Carl and Arni Richter, who likely purchased those assets in 1940 when they bought the Welcome and North Shore, when they took over ferry operations from Jepson.

Anyone who ventures out regularly across the Door on ice will, sooner or later, encounter conditions he may wish he didn't have to face.  Underscored in my March 10 blog entry was the danger encountered when crossing ice that shifted quickly or deteriorated from currents and wave action.  If anything, it's a wonder more fatalities didn't occur during those years.

This news clipping from March 24, 1936 (newspaper source unknown) recounts one example of a close shave by Jepson in his efforts to deliver the mail:

THREE ESCAPE AS TRUCK BREAKS ICE - Death's Door Gives Warning to Capt. Jepson -

Captain William A. Jepson and two other persons narrowly escaped death yesterday when the Washington Island mail truck, with the island's mail on board went through the ice on the trip froth mainland to the island over honeycombed ice.

The mishap occurred over the passageway known as Death's Door where several persons died last winter and where many lives have been lost.

The truck was about a quarter mile from shore at Loebel point (sp) when the back end of the vehicle sank.  Besides the captain those on board were his son, Gordon, and Charles Hagen.  By putting on all the motor's power and turning the wheel the captain managed to reach firmer ice.

Three passenger cars following saw their peril and avoided the danger.  All reached the mainland safely, but there will be no more passages over the ice this spring.

For about two months the mail route to the island led over the ice.  Tonight Captain Jepson had launched his ferry and was attempting to clear the Detroit Island passageway so mail might be delivered by ferry boat. 

It was Jepson who worked out a mainland docking spot with Gills Rock property owners, Voight and Johnson family members, a landing that while far from being a perfect location was still a decided improvement over the more distant Ellison Bay.   It was Jepson who, after operating from the Gislason dock at the far eastern shore of Detroit Harbor for a number of years, shortened up the ferry's run considerably by improving the shore land he purchased from Ole Christiansen on Lobdell Point.  The development of this location for future auto and passenger services was a natural, given the shorter distance to the mainland and the elimination of crossing a somewhat shallow harbor.  But this shift entailed a considerable amount of fill to be placed in a lowland, plus construction of a pier and landing suitable his two ferries.

In this postcard photo Jepson's Welcome moors at an
Ellison Bay pier, likely near where Cedar Grove is
located today.

Prior to the 1930s, according to bits of information passed down from J. W. Cornell to Arni and Mary Richter, there had been at first only a walking path out to the Point from the Main Road area, then a two-track buggy route through the swamp.  By 1930, we assume, a stone and gravel road led through woods and wetlands connecting Jepson's ferry dock with the rest of the Island.

One aspect of operating passenger vessels that Jepson faced that might easily be taken for granted were the requirements to meet government certification for operation under the regulations of the day.

A letter from the Wm. Jepson file in the Island Archives, dated December 7, 1938, from U. S. Local Inspector Henry Ericksen of the Milwaukee office, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation, addressed a fire safety issue:

Dear Sir:    The matter of protecting your two vessels, the NORTH SHORE and the WELCOME with sprinkler systems was referred to the Supervising Inspector of the Sixth District and it is his opinion that both vessels should be equipped with an approved type of manually operated sprinkler system as follows:

NORTH SHORE -  The sprinkler system should be installed overhead on the main deck, extending from the forward side of the upper deck to the stern on port and starboard sides.

WELCOME - Should be equipped with an overhead sprinkler system on the main deck the entire length.

It will be necessary for you to furnish this office with blue prints in triplicate fully descriptive of the type of sprinkler system that you intend to install, showing plan and profile, also power pump location, size of pump.  We believe that the open head system would be advisable for those two vessels.  It will be necessary to have this installed, approved, and tested by this Board before the issuing of a Certificate next spring.

We are herewith enclosing Supplement 51, and calling attention to the requirements on Page 79, as marked, relating to the requirements to manually operated sprinkler systems to be installed on ferry boats;  also Page 82-83, which will give your the information regarding such types of systems as have been approved.       Respectfully,   Henry Ericksen

Satisfaction of this requirement would have necessitated, we imagine, a trip off the island to visit a naval architect or a shipbuilder in Sturgeon Bay, and the production of a satisfactory plan outlined on blueprint - in triplicate for approvals - and then the purchase and installation of pump and piping.  These were likely unforeseen cost in material and labor that fell into the cost of vessel operations.

Pennants signal a special occasion -
North Shore at the Burger Boat yard prior to launch in 1931.
Vessel was built for a Milwaukee owner, used in service there
for two years before Jepson purchased and placed it into
Island service.  This vessel remained in service until the Griffin
was built in 1946.

It could be that the mounting expenses faced in operating, the winter challenges, and wooden vessels that grew more problematic with age, caused Jepson to look toward a new design.   He had a basic plan in place by 1939, and whether or not he came close to acting on that blueprint is unknown.  By early February of 1940 he had reached an agreement with Carl and Arni Richter to sell his operation, and when the season more or less began, April 11th 1940, that transaction officially took place.

North Shore on the ways, after conversion
to auto/passenger service.

Even as late as 1951, Jepson was very much involved with commercial vessels.  According to the Dec. 27, 1951 Door County Advocate, Jepson initiated a double trade of vessels, the Velox for the Lester H. Smith with Murray Cornell, and then the Velox was traded to Glenn and Alvin Sorenson for the fish tug Sorenson Bros., an all-steel boat.   According to the story, Jepson used the fish boat Lester H. Smith the previous four years to "carry mail."     [A sign of brisk commercial fishing enjoyed during that era, in a related note below the Jepson reference it was reported that for the winter, "There are now 17 tugs moored at the ferry, Standard Oil and Cornell's docks at Lobel's (sp) Point.]

Jepson was a true entrepreneur, starting up a number of businesses, and planning others that may never have gotten off the dock, such as vessel service from Sturgeon Bay to Marinette.  He operated at least one supper club, the Mill, an establishment still operating today near the "Y" north of Sturgeon Bay.

He was married three times (Karen Sorensen, Esther Orman and Dorothy Young) to wives who preceded him in death.  His daughters were Jane Jirtle (who was married to attorney Don Jirtle of Kewaunee) and Hazel Flaherty.   His sons were Gordon and Earl.

Jepson was born March 25, 1881 and he died May 23, 1978.   Pall bearers at his service were:  Cecil Anderson, Jim Anderson, John Hanlin, Ed Marsik, Lloyd Orman and Arni Richter.  His funeral service program read:

Captain Bill was a man who was at home upon the water. He was a member and served in the U. S. Life Saving Service.  He sailed on the Great Lakes, owned and pilot dthe Lucile, Minnie S., Wisconsin, Welcome and the North Shore.  Captgain Bill owned and operated the Washington Island Ferry Line, the Ship Yard, two night clubs and the Hotel Washington.       He will be remembered for his stories of the sea, his longevity, his generosity and his love of our island.

-  Dick Purinton

ISLAND WATERFRONT - Then and Now - Part V

Charles Hanson's freight boat Marion also served as one of the
early Island ferries.  Photo probably taken around 1919-20.  
Location? 

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Previous posts in this series on the changing Island waterfront referenced the early days of ferry operation and Captain William Jepson.  Jepson wasn't the only ferry operator, but his operation succeeded in outlasting his competition by providing regularly scheduled service, and, it may be,
by employing a better vessel with superior docking facilities/location.

Once established, Jepson called his ferry operation "The Gills Rock Ferry Line," an attempt to closely associate his service with the peninsula port from which his ferries departed.  Earlier, Ellison Bay and Garrett Bay (across the harbor from Gills Rock) were two other points of departure for early ferry runs.
The facility at Gills Rock (the Voight/Johnson dock, where ferries continued to land for many years afterward) although exposed in W to N winds, was superior to Garret Bay, and to the more distant Ellison Bay.   (Northport was developed later as an alternative to Gills Rock, at times when winds prevented landing there.)

Jepson ferry schedule (year unknown)

Information from old newspapers show that the first efforts were wishful thinking with a fair amount of public support, but without resulting in an actual ferry service.  Columnists promoted  the need for a regular ferry service, repeatedly making the case on behalf of island and mainland citizens.

From the Door County News (DCN) 24 Nov. 1915, it was reported that "The value of such a ferry boat to the people of the island and also to all others concerned would be unestimable, and would work toward the rapid advancement of that place."  Just who the originator of the idea might have been was kept under wraps, described only as "…a gentleman from outside…", a businessman of mystery.    The broad backing needed to start such an enterprise was repeatedly solicited, along with the convincing arguments such improvements would bring, linking the island with the rest of Door County.

The 12 July 1916 The DCN reported efforts that had yet to get off the ground.

The people of Washington Island have been talking ferry so long that now action is going to be taken to see what can be done with the project…a meeting will be called for the purpose of launching a movement.  The people of the island are interested in anything that will bring the island closer to the mainland and their people nearer to the people on the peninsula...  The project has passed the stage when anyone can check it by throwing cold water on it.  The people want a ferry and are ready to listen to any plan that is feasible and not too expensive.

But plan specifics were still lacking, other than that such a ferry must serve the needs of islanders, "…must operate at least during the months of June, July and August and September, and longer if practical;  that some arrangement be made with the local mail carrier to have the mail [transported] in connection with the ferry if possible."  The ferry must transport autos, horses, cattle, etc., and the toll must be "reasonable."

As of July 1916, the newspaper's efforts remained of a cheerleading nature.  No firm commitment to offer such service had as yet surfaced.  The Wednesday, 16 August 1916 issue of The DCN reported that a new association was being formed "for the purpose of promoting or urging the building of a ferry across the Door."  About 170 islanders were reported to have attended at Tom Nelson's hall "together with tourists and people from different townships of the peninsula."

Man at left holding one end of the fish stringer is Judge Herbert,
according to label on reverse.  One or more Herschberger
family members who had a home in Jensenville are
believed to surround him at the Gislason (shipyard)
 dock.   No information is available on the
Caroline moored at left.
(Photo is from the Bell Collection, and Bill Jepson
is believed to have been
the photographer.  (Year unknown)

"Judge Herbert was the principal speaker of the evening and in a very able manner addressed the audience, first calling attention to the remarkable growth of industries on the island through their own work."   Judge Herbert cited the telephone exchange and the difficulties overcome in establishing the island-wide phone service, and the island "creamery" for its prosperity.

The newspaper reported: "At the conclusion of his talk the bell rang with hearty applause and there was no question but what Judge Herbert had sensed the voice of the islanders on the subject.  Other men were called on for remarks, among them Attorney Wagener, A. A. Minor and Frank Graass.  Local men also raised their voice.  George Mann, it was reported, "…hit the nail on the head when he said, 'We want it to come,' and Lawrence Gislason was willing to do anything, 'To see that it gets here'."

A new committee was named "The Island Ferry Company"at Bo L. Anderson's suggestion.  Names for committee leadership were nominated and voted on, with a band playing during deliberations.  The following men were elected:  Will Jess, president;  Geo. O. Mann, vice-president; Lawrence Gislason, treasurer;  Earl M. LaPlant, secretary.   Mr. Laplant appears to have been the only non-islander to join the committee's officers.  With optimism, another meeting was announced two weeks hence, with the expectation that in the meantime they would get a membership of five hundred people, each paying dues of $1.00 per year.

Under the column heading "From HERE AND THERE" in the 29 Nov. 1916 DCN came this report:
   "The ferry project went a step forward when the county board saw the necessity of aiding the movement by a donation of $500."
Bo L. Anderson had made a pitch before the County Board, followed by a successful resolution.  Part of Anderson's reasoning was for the County to find some way to connect the peninsula's northernmost road with the "county highway on the island."  A suggestion was also made - the news story wasn't clear by whom - that ferry rates be set at $2.00 for autos and $0.50 for passengers.

[An unrelated but interesting aside in the same column was another newsworthy item from Washington Island:    "Measles are still in evidence.  Likewise, the itch which is as bad if not worse."]

By the time the 17 Feb.1917 Door County News was published, the County Board's action regarding the earmarked funds to help a fledgling island ferry service was called into question.  An opinion of District Attorney W. E. Gaede stated the county board's action had appropriated the $500  "...beyond its powers and consequently is illegal and void."    But following this announcement, another route was suggested by then assemblyman Frank N. Graass, who offered to introduce a bill that would legalize the action of the county board.  His bill later passed the Wisconsin Assembly and was signed by the Governor.  But these efforts did not immediately, or directly, bring about ferry service.

In November of that same year (DCN 22 Nov. 1917) a headline read:  "People of Washington Island Still Hopeful of Securing Service.  May Be Established Next Spring."   The ferry project was
"…dormant, but not dead by any means."

Meanwhile, it was reported that in Ellison Bay a Mrs. Andrew Nelson offered "the required timber and stone from her holdings…for the construction of a suitable pier for the boats to land, providing it is built at her place.  There are a number of boats owned on the island that could be utilized for the service and the people of Washington Island are confident that the enterprise would be a profitable one."

On 17 Dec. 1917, the DCN reported that the Weborgs of Gills Rock had offered their dock, "for the upkeep," should a ferry service there be established.

It wasn't until the 21 March 1918 issue of The DCN that names of possible ferry operators were first mentioned.  The start of ferry service, it appeared, would be dependent upon entrepreneurs.

There is every indication that the ferry line across the Door to Washington Island will be inaugurated the try first thing this spring.

The gasoline boat Wisconsin has been secured to do the work and Capt. Carl Christianson and Wm Jepsen (sp) who own the craft will handle her in the business.  The promoters consider themselves fortunate in having secured the Wisconsin, she being one of the best boats of her kind on Green Bay.  She is staunch, safe and speedy and capable of carrying 3 autoes (sic) as well as passengers and freight.  She is 59 feet long, 15 feet wide and 7 feet depth of hold and is equipped with a 40 h.p. engine.  She is only a couple of years old, having been built in 1916 in Green Bay.

The landing at the island will be at the Lawrence Gislason dock and it is planned to have the place of landing on the mainland at Garrett Bay.  This part has not been definitely settled upon, however, but it is not anticipated that there will be much trouble in securing a suitable place.  [Garrett Bay had a deep water pier used for loading stone onto ships.]

The owners of the Wisconsin have agreed to take their chances on the amount of business that they will do, feeling confident that there will be plenty of travel during the summer months.  They are both excellent seamen and hustlers from the word go, so that it will be no fault of their's if they do not make a success of the undertaking.

The ferry will be a great drawing card for tourists desiring to make the rounds of the county and should be the means of bringing much trade to hotels on the island.   It is planned to make the fare nominal for the round trip, so that there will be no objection on this score.

The 22 MAY 1919 DCN reported:

Capt. Carl Hanson, owner and master of the gasoline freighter Marion, was in the city the latter part of the week, at which time a reporter asked him concerning the proposed ferry line across the Door to Washington Island.  

Capt. Hanson says that he plans on starting along about June 1st to 10th.  He will make a round trip in the morning and one in the afternoon, and will have time to make a special trip should it be found necessary and desirable.  The schedule he has laid out is to leave Detroit Harbor at 7:30 a.m. and arrive at Garrett Bay at 8:10; leave again at 9 and arrive at Detroit harbor at 9:40.  In the afternoon he will leave Detroit Harbor at 2:15, arriving at Garrett Bay at 2:55; leave again at 4 and arrive at Detroit Harbor at 4:40.

The fare for the round trip will be $5 for an ordinary car and driver, or $3 for one way;  large cars will be charged $7, or $4 for one way.  Passengers will be charged $1 for the round trip.

An ad for the Marion's service appeared in the July 10 DCN, but the mainland location listed was Ellison Bay (beyond Door Bluff and several miles south of Garret Bay).  A paragraph that accompanied the ad stated:

The Washington Island ferry line is now operating on scheduled time between Ellison Bay and Detroit Harbor.  In another column will be found the time table and rates.  The line promises to become a popular mode of travel when brought to the attention of the outside world.  There has been a demand for transporting autos across the Door passage and the ferry Marion is fitting the long felt want.

But Hanson's ferry service, it appears, actually began July 1st, from Gills Rock to the island, as reported in the 20 June 1918 DCN.  The name "Carl" Hanson had been changed to "Hans" Hanson.  (I believe "Carl" was also referred to as "Charles" Hanson.)

 It was noted that:

"The auxiliary schooner Marion, owned and commanded by Capt. Hans Hanson, will be utilized as the ferry.  She is a staunch craft and in charge of an able and experienced seaman.  She is equipped with a 25 h.p. engine and will make the run across the Door in about an hour.  The transportation of autoes from Washington Island to the mainland will be of great convenience to the owners of cars, as it will make it possible for them to leave the island in the morning, come to this city and return home the same evening after transacting business."

Schedule and rates for Hanson ferry Marion,
as it appeared in the 10 July 1919 DCNews.

The fits and starts that seemed to accompany the first island ferry service(s), are confusing to piece together.  They're made even more confusing because of what appears to be mix-ups as reported in the newspaper.

The 26 June 1919 DCN carried the following story, giving the ferry operator's name as William Jepson, but the ferry name Marion, rather than Wisconsin.  Jepson's peninsula location at Gills Rock, which was developed on the eastern shore (where the highway in Gills Rock ends today) would prove considerably shorter and faster than the proposed ferry run of Hanson's to Ellison Bay.  

FERRY STARTS - The first trip of the Washington Island ferry was made on Thursday, June 19th.  This was when the gasoline carrier Marion, Capt. Jepsen (sic) carried the first automobile across the Door to Washington Island from the mainland.

A dock is being built at Gills Rock for the ferry to discharge the autoes (sic) conveniently and expeditiously and the work will be competed by the end of the week.

On the patronage of the public depends the success of the undertaking.  It is confidently anticipated by promoters that it will be a paying proposition as soon as the fact becomes generally known that trips can be made back and forth.  The large increase in the number of autoes during the past and first of the present season augurs well for the ferry line.  The fare is reasonable and service of the best.

Jepson's Wisconsin, on the ways.  Sheets of metal
fastened to the wooden hull to give greater durability.
(Believed to be a Wm. Jepson photo,  from the Bell Collection.)

Finally, we add in one more name of an early ferry operator and his DCN.  The new aspirations were Pete Anderson's, who held the mail contract between the island and the mainland post office in Ellison Bay, which he fulfilled in non-ice months with his vessel named Volunteer.

Passengers aboard the ferry Wisconsin, during teens or early 1920s.
Photo likely taken by Wm. Jepson (from Bell Collection).

FERRY TO WASHINGTON ISLAND - Pete Anderson, the Mail Carrier, Will Carry Cars Across the Door In His New Boat.

Washington Island is to have a ferry service again during the coming summer for the accommodation of the inhabitants of that part of the county as well as the tourists trade.

Pete Anderson, the hustling mail carrier, is the man behind the proposition and he will combine it with his regular business of handling Uncle Sam's mail and carrying passengers back and forth.

During the past winter Pete purchased the gasoline yacht Navarre which formerly belonged to Judge Turner, now deceased, and during the past couple of weeks, he with Thos. Johnson and George Jorgenson have been busily engaged at Two Rivers in converting the craft into a business boat.  She was thoroughly overhauled below the water line and is now as good as new.  

On Monday, Mr. Anderson, accompanied by Messrs. Johnson and Jorgenson, arrived in the city with the boat on their way to Washington Island, stopping only long enough at the yards of the Fuller Goodman company on the west side to take on a load of material with which to finish the craft.  It is the intention to put in exceptionally heavy beams and decks for carrying automobiles.   The upper works and decks will be put in at Detroit Harbor during the ensuing month, it being the intention to have her ready for commission along about the first of June.

The Navarre is 56 feet long and 15 feet wide and will be capable of carrying three cars handily.  She is an exceptionally fine boat.  The owner will also have accommodations for passengers as well.

Mr Anderson has not as yet figured out just what schedule he will run on, but this will be announced at a later date.

There are a large number of autoes owned on the Island, which together with those of people who wish to visit the place should provide a good business for the ferry.

Mail carrier Pete Anderson's Volunteer (nearest shore) and the vessel
he purchased and converted in order to start up a ferry service, Navarre.

This is all the information I currently have on the very first motorized ferries (and all or nearly all of it comes from The Door County News clippings provided me by Eric Greenfeldt) but it is my assessment that these three ferry operations struggled in these first few years. Not only did they compete for customers, but the operators battled against weather elements using piers that were, given their haste to get started, probably somewhat make-shift and exposed.  Of the three announced operators, Jepson appeared to have developed superior landings at the best locations.  With his vessel Wisconsin he seemed to have the best craft, and the combination of boat and landings provided a consistent service.   Successful ferry operations and increasing traffic over the next few years led to Jepson's ferry Welcome, built in 1929 Sturgeon Bay, the first vessel built specifically for island ferry service.  His Wisconsin was then sold to Chris Andersen, who used it as a freight boat.

-  Dick Purinton