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August 12, 2011
Hello again everyone!
Unfortunately this time, it is with
sad news. Kenny Horner phoned me
this morning, & shared the
news, that Mark Emery just passed
away:(. I don't have the yrs. Mark
worked @ Bob-Lo, but he did several
jobs/years. @ the Detroit dock,
before transferring to the Gibraltar
dock as a captain for Bob-Lo's final
yrs.
Kenny said that Judy & the kids are
overwhelmed & heartbroken. At this
time, Judy has not decided to do a
funeral, but is considering a
memorial service in the future. So,
once that is decided, we will share
the info. w/all of you! Mark's
sister is currently in Europe, & has
not been told. So, if any of you
have contact w/her, please don't
contact her about Mark @ this
time! It sounded like Judy, didn't
want to tell her until she returned
in a few wks.?
Karen
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MARK EMERY - Part 2
Me again......Guess I should have
read my e-mails, before sending
one:). Here is the e-mail I received
from Janice Smerigan, regarding
Mark, prior to Kenny's phone call.
Hey Karen,
I have some sad news to pass on to
the Bob-Lo Family and wondered if
you could help me out. Mark Emery
passed away Wednesday, August 10,
2011. He died at home with his wife
Judy and children with him. There
are no services planned at this time
but his obituary will be posted
later today on the Capaul Funeral
Home's website. Condolences can be
sent to the family through them at
www.capaulfuneralhome.com. If
you could get the word out to the
Bob-Lo family for us we would
appreciate it.
Thank You,
Janice Smerigan
(Sister-In-Law of Mark)
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July 23, 2011
Good morning everyone,
I just wanted to update everyone,
on a few details that have been
going on this summer.....
Last weekend,
Capt. Art & Woodie invited several
former Bob-Lo security alumni, over
to their home. It was a wonderful
afternoon, & a great opportunity for
many of them to view Capt. Art's
Bob-Lo museum for the first time,
enjoy some great hospitality/food &
to see Royce Carney for the 1st time
in 20 yrs.! Although, he had to
handle a few basement steps,
Anderson Tillman was extremely
thankful, to not be on a moving
boat, & to share all his old Bob-Lo
stories & memories! Although, when
looking through most of the photo
albums, his common response to "who
is that," was to say, "that was
before my time:)" So, please take
a look at
bobloreunion.com
to take a look
at the pictures Howard posted on our
site this week. Those that
attended; Anderson Tillman, Royce "Da
Bug" Carney, John Carney, Lloyd
Williams, Joe Banks & Keith/Karen
McCord.
Also, just a
reminder, that if you still want to
visit Bob-Lo Island, in a couple of
wks. (August 6th), there will not be
an "official" reunion being held,
but it is still "Nostalgia
weekend." You can still spend a
beautiful day on the island,
recapturing some memories & enjoying
food @ the island restaurant. For
more details, visit
www.boblo.ca,
or contact the restaurant directly
at 519-730-1967.
Richard Anderson & Lori Feret are
still working out details for
another S.S. Columbia fundraiser.
The Friendship & Captain, Sam
Buchanan @ Portofino's in Wyandotte,
has had a busy season. Therefore,
they are still checking into a
Saturday in latter Sept., but they
are also considering several Sundays
in Sept. as well. Once they have a
confirmed date & details, we will
let you know.
Finally, due to a little Bob-Lo
motivation last weekend, & having to
hibernate @ home most of this wk.,
due to the heat wave, we finally got
our e-mail listing & Bob-Lo crew
listing updated. So welcome, to all
our new crewmembers!!
I wanted to give a shout-out to
Capt. Art, who will be celebrating
his 82nd birthday this week! I also
apologize, for not getting to it
sooner, but Jim Kusinski informed me
after my last update, that Bill
Browning celebrated his 91st b-day
on June 1st!! And....Happy Birthday
this year, to the other 303
crewmembers, we have too:)!!
Looking forward to 70 degree weather
& a cool river breeze/cruise in Sept
Karen
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BOB-LO
2011
June 2, 2011
Hi Everyone!
It was a long & cold winter/spring here in
Michigan!! My intention was to begin
planning our biggest & best Bob-Lo reunion
at the first of the year. However, several
obstacles all happened right @ the starting
gate, that prevented that from happening:(I
was unable to get a confirmation on our date
of Aug.6th, when I tried to get that done in
late Dec./early Jan. Then, I was hit @ the
same time w/my first major MS attack since I
was diagnosed 6 1/2 yrs. ago, which is
either still lingering, or has caused some
perm. damage. I also had the unexpected &
quick illness & death of my dear grandma.
So, here we are @ June 2nd, & only 2 months.
away from the date. Although our 1st reunion
got planned & executed fairly quickly, I
really want our 5th one, to be done big &
right, & considering I have 3 kids home from
school next week, & stirring up the
schedule, I know I can't put things together
in the manner it should for this year.
So.............
It does appear now, that the Bob-Lo Island
website is listing Aug. 6th as Bob-Lo
Nostalgia day. So, I would encourage those
that would like to go over to see the island
to do so. However, there will be nothing
formally setup or done w/our group. but the
Island restaurant will be open & I saw on FB,
that some local unique goods are being sold
over there this summer. They are also open
all summer & into the fall as well, if you
can't make the weekend in August. You can
get more info. by going to
www.boblo.ca.
Lori Feret did contact me a couple of
months. ago, & it does appear that Richard
Anderson would like to do another SS
Columbia event on the Friendship @
Portofino's. We will forward that info. when
it becomes available, but he isn't looking
at doing something until Sept. after Labor
Day.
We were recently contacted by Patrice Lehman
who has a website of pictures for sale that
were taken on the island & boats from
1959-1974, so if you'd like to take a look,
you can go to Joe Stevens Photography
Also, if you are looking for some summer
fun/music, check out Steve King's website
for where he & the Dittlies will be hanging
out, over the next few months @
www.skdittlie.com
As more news or plans become available, I
will be in touch.
Have a great summer!!
Karen
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Nightmare Commercial & Other Brief Bob-Lo
News
December 10, 2010
The short & sweet Nightmare rollercoaster is
up and running on
www.bobloreunion.com site. So, don't
blink & enjoy!! It will also be up on the
www.boblo.ca
and
www.boblosteamers.com sites!
Also, Jim Kasuba had the honor of touring
the SS Columbia recently with Richard
Anderson. He has written an article about
the Columbia Foundation's stabilization work
on the Columbia for the Downriver News
Herald, which will appear on the front page
of the paper this Sunday 12/12! The article
will be available on-line sometime tomorrow,
and you can also view a video of the ship
tour Jim took, by logging onto The News
Herald.
Finally, not only did Royce "Bug" Carney
surface last week, but he also brought his
nephew, former DJ Security Sgt. Tony
Cornelius to us too!!
Have a great weekend and holiday everyone,
and we'll be in touch next year!!
Karen
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Bug
Update and Nightmare Video
December 1, 2010
Good evening everyone!!
We had (2) big Bob-Lo events happen today.
First, Royce "The Bug" Carney, Boat Security
in the 1980's, surfaced today on our
website!! Royce has been one alumni that I
personally have tried to track down since we
began our reunions in 2006, with no success.
However, in typical "Bug" fashion, he
finally showed up on his own terms:)! I
haven't heard back from him yet, but I know
a lot of other alumni are anxious to find
out what he has been up to the past 20
years, and which # wife he is on:)?! Also, I
learned that our Bob-Lo Nightmare Commercial
has been converted to DVD, and has been
shipped back from Indiana. I should be able
to pick it up tomorrow, but unfortunately
Chuck is in Spain, and between his jet lag
and a very busy weekend ahead, he probably
won't get it up for us until next week!
So, I don't have to send another e-mail next
week, I'd like to explain a little more
about the commercial before we post it......
It will be very short & sweet, as this
version is only the 10-second commercial.
Also, we have been advised by several
parties; the film storage facility, the film
conversion company and (2) copyright
attorneys w/a good friend's law firm, that
b/c this film has not been made public since
it was aired in 1988, that we need to keep
it exclusive & protected in order to keep
it's historical value, as well as our
$8/second investment:) Therefore, we are
only making (1) copy, which will be given to
Capt. Art later this month, so that it can
be added to his extensive Bob-Lo collection,
w/strict instructions that it not be copied
further:)! We will post it on our Bob-Lo
Reunion website, and we will also forward it
and approve to have it added and shown on
both the Bob-Lo Island and
Boblosteamer websites. These are the
only (3) websites that anyone will be able
to access the commercial, and we do not want
it copied & used for mass production,
personal use and/or YouTube access. Chuck
will be adding a copyright protection notice
along the bottom of the commercial, and if
it does get copied and used outside of these
3 websites, we have (2) attorneys and Capt.
Art on standby:).
Hope everyone in MI, Canada and the northern
part of the country is staying warm, and
enjoying the first snowflakes that surfaced
here in the Detroit area today?! Have a
wonderful holiday season, and looking
forward to seeing everyone in 2011!!
Karen
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NIGHTMARE COMMERCIAL/TOM O'NEAL
November 12, 2010
Hi Everyone!
I have to apologize, as I lost a
friend/neighbor a couple of weeks ago, that
kind of put my schedule/life in a little
tailspin. Our Mr., Mom of the neighborhood,
46 yrs. old, w/3 boys under the age of 9:(!!
So, the Nightmare commercial, I received on
the same day as he passed, has been sitting
here on my counter patiently waiting:)
Anyway, I just got around to finally getting
the commercial taken to someone today, to
have it converted to a DVD. However, I
realized that it wasn't going to be as easy
and quick as I thought:(.......Since it is a
commercial and not a family personal film,
it has to be sent out for a couple of
reasons, one that it is a professional film
and two, that copyright issues have to
verified as non-existent, before
copying/converting it. Therefore, it may be
up to 4 weeks., before we get it back. So, I
hoping that we have it back by mid-December,
it is posted to the Reunion site
Also, I have some info. and pictures passed
along to me by Tom O'Neal.....
My name is Tom O’Neal and we have visited
before by way of email but to refresh your
memory, I worked at: (Bob-Lo 1961 & 1962 –
Deckhand - Ste. Claire). Since 1963, the
attached pictures have been hanging on my
wall.
I would like to request a favor; the next
time you send something out to the “Bob-Lo
Community,” please put these pictures in the
email and tell everyone that I’m looking for
anyone who worked on the Ste. Claire during
the summers of 1961 and 1962. They can
contact me at: or 731-610-6681 (Cell )
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Hope every has a wonderful Thanksgiving on
the US side, and hope all of our Canadians
had a great one last month:)!!
Karen
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Bob-Lo
Nightmare Commercial
October 26, 2010
Question: Does anyone remember seeing a
commercial back in 1988 for Bob-Lo featuring
the then, new Nightmare rollercoaster?! We
know one was filmed, but are trying to
determine if it was ever aired?!
Hi Everyone,
Dan Aylward former General Manager of
Bob-Lo, solved our commercial mystery!!
Apparently (2) commercials were filmed, (1)
10-second one and (1) 30-second one. Both
were played on the air during the 1988
season promoting the new Nightmare
rollercoaster!!
We were contacted yesterday, by a film
storage facility in California that had the
10-second master edited commercial copy.
They were getting ready to dispose of their
20+ yrs. films, so we were able to pay
shipping costs to get the commercial before
it was destroyed :) !! We have contacted
them again, now knowing of the 2nd
commercial, and asked that they contact us,
if the longer commercial is located also.
The commercial is on 1-inch tape, so our
hope is to have it converted to a DVD. Then,
it can be officially added to Capt. Art's
extensive Bob-Lo collection, as well as be
put on the
bobloreunion.com website, so that all of
us can view it in the near future!!
Thanks Dan for your great memory and
detail!!
Karen |
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2010
Maritime Museum Inductees / Bob-Lo Steamer
Presentation
September 7, 2010
Good Morning Everyone,
Just wanted to let everyone know that the
pictures from the 2010 Maritime Museum
induction ceremony can be seen on the home
page of our
http://www.bobloreunion.com website.
Capt. Beattie, Ralph Browning & Paul
Leveck's uncle were our recent inductees.
Also, a reminder that Lori Feret will be
presenting her slideshow of the Bob-Lo Boats
this Thursday, Sept. 10th at 7:30 at the
Plymouth Historical Museum. Details are
listed below;
"The Bob-Lo Steamers: Matriarchs of the
Detroit River"
Bob-Lo Island Amusement Park was a getaway
from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Come listen to Lori Feret present a talk on
"The Bob-Lo Steamers: Matriarchs of the
Detroit River" on Thursday, September 9 at
7:30 p.m. at the Plymouth Historical Museum.
Feret has been working on a restoration
project for the Columbia, one of the Bob-Lo
boats. The talk will be held during the
Plymouth Historical Society's monthly
meeting. Admission is free to the meeting
and lecture; donations are appreciated.
Refreshments are served following the
meeting. The Plymouth Historical Museum is
located at 155 S. Main Street, Plymouth, one
block north of downtown. For more
information, call 734-455-8940.
Wishing everyone a safe and enjoyable fall!!
Karen
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More
Bob-Lo Activity
August 19, 2010
Sorry to bother everyone again, but you'd
think Bob-Lo was still up & running for the
summer, as we have another article to share
with everyone! |
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Kelli Jurich just sent a link for the summer
2010
Wayne State Magazine. Ron Kattoo is
featured in the magazine discussing the
restoration of the SS Ste. Claire. Click on
this link, to find the article on pages
26-28.
Also, I forgot to mention it again in the
past few e-mails, but Ralph Browning & Capt.
Beattie will be inducted this Saturday,
August 21st into the Great Lakes Maritime
Museum in Rogers City, MI!! Thank you Paul!!
Finally, Lori Feret will be doing a Bob-Lo
Steamers: Matriarchs of the Detroit River
slideshow presentation on Thursday, Sept. 9.
2011 at the Plymouth Historical Museum. The
museum is located at 155 Main. St.,
Plymouth, MI and will begin at 7:30 pm.
Thought things would calm down a bit, but
Ted & I are already working on some big
plans for next year!! Once we have some of
those things confirmed and get our e-mail
contact list updated, we will be in touch
w/a sneak peak and date for next year:)!!
To doenload the entire publication
click here
Karen
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Amherstburg Echo
August 18, 2010
Good evening everyone,
Just wanted to give you this link for an
article written in the
Amherstburg Echo.
Also, Howard posted all the images we have
gotten of the 2010 Reunion
Karen
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NEWS HERALD ARTICLE & VIDEO
August 14, 2010
Good evening everyone,
Here is a link to Jim Kasuba's article that
will appear in the Downriver News Herald
tomorrow! This article is a follow-up to the
Columbia Foundation cruise fundraiser held
on July 17th. It gives a great explanation
of what the Columbia Foundation is doing to
help save the SS Columbia, and the on-line
article also has a short video that gives
you some highlights of the cruise for those
that attended and/or didn't attend!
Click Here To View The Article and Video
By Jim Kasuba
Karen
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August
7th Bob-lo Island
August 8, 2010
Hello Everyone,
Could it have been a more perfect summer day
to spend Saturday on Bob-Lo Island?! We have
truly had a guardian angel on our shoulders
the past 4 years in regards to our reunion
weather, and we were blessed once again on
Saturday!!
It was a little different this year having
everyone arrive more sporadic then last year
with the bus, but it was great seeing all of
you, and we were glad to have had all the
former attendees with us, but were also glad
to see all the new crewmembers!! I hope
everyone got a chance to meet our (2)
Virginia's. Virginia Bondy worked in the
Dance Hall in the 1940's & Virginia Barkley
worked in the Roller Rink in the 1930's!
They were adorable and we were so happy that
they could join us and were able to see and
enjoy the island once again!! Wish we had
had more of our US crew over this year, but
we were glad some of you were able to join
us for the cruise on July 17th, and we hope
you'll have less passport and
vacation/family plans next year!! Thanks to
Mike & Lucy Cosgove and daughter Erin, Lori
Feret & Jim Kasuba who made both events this
year!! It was nice however, getting to know
more of the Canadian crew, and this year I
was able to spend a lot of time talking
w/the Amlin & Simone families, and went
exploring the island with the Scobie family!
I believe Becca is ready to adopt Sarah as
her new little sister, Lisa:)!
We would like to apologize for the nostalgia
treat mix-up!! The new company that came in
to run the island restaurant this summer,
had a big menu of summertime treats planned,
but they left last month, and apparently
they and the island management forgot to let
the new company know about the Nostalgia
weekend/treats:( We will be sure to have
that either worked out at the restaurant in
the future, or bring other snack/treats from
our end, as we did last year. Hopefully
everyone was able to stay hydrated through
Scott and you were able to get an afternoon
ice cream once you went back to Amherstburg.
I did notice that they did have ice cream on
the menu, as we stayed after for dinner
w/Capt. Art & Woodie, so I guess we all
could have gone over to the restaurant as a
group and sat down and gotten our sugar
fix?!:)
Thank you to Ted & his crew for all their
help prior to the reunion & yesterday!!
Thank you also to Scott Shuttleworth & his
brother Doug for all the great food
yesterday and help w/ticket sales!!
We did get quite a few new e-mail addresses
yesterday, but I know we are still missing
some, so if you know of anyone that attended
or would like to attend in the future, that
isn't currently on our listing, please have
them contact us! FYI, Jim Amlin, I forgot to
mention to Larry yesterday he needs to
either send me his new e-mail, or I have to
finally remember to go onto FB, and get it
off there, as he keeps bouncing back to me.
Finally, if anyone took pictures yesterday,
please forward them to us and we will get
them on the bobloreunion.com website. By the
way, this is finally where my duties get a
little easier, but my husband has to make
updates to the website crew list, and Howard
has to organize pictures and get them
posted. So thank you Chuck & Howard!! We
missed you yesterday Howard, but I know you
were with us in spirit and thinking of us
all day in your "Bob-Lo Reunion" t-shirt in
that miserable Florida heat:)! Also, I
forgot to mention since so many of the crew
are moving to FL, Howard is now in charge of
the Winter Bob-Lo Reunion:)!!
Have a great rest of the summer everyone,
and thank you for making yesterday great!!
Karen |
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Reunion 2010 - USA
July 18, 2010
Good morning everyone!!
Yesterday was a beautiful day on the Detroit
river!! A full boat, sun, lots of wind to
make the 90 degree weather seem far cooler,
pizza delivered by the Wescott mail boat and
of course stories, laughs & hugs shared with
Bob-Lo friends, which included several new
alumni this year!! Joe Walker and his wife
who worked in 1949, Colleen & Liz Tighe from
our 70's crew as well as John Stafford. Then
a couple from our 80's crew, Beth
Bovitz-Lyke & Jill Lezotte!! As always the
day went by so quickly, but a great time was
had by all of us!
A huge thank you to thank-you to the
following people that made yesterday such a
success!!
The Columbia Project and especially
president, Richard Anderson who made
yesterday's event possible!! Be sure to
periodically check their site for updates on
the progress of the Columbia!!
Capt. Sam Buchanan & his Friendship crew for
a wonderful, safe & memorable Bob-Lo
cruise!!
Anderson Tillman who had a stroke a few
years ago, but was such a trooper climbing
that staircase to sit on the top deck w/all
of us, and going w/o liquids for 3 hrs. to
avoid a bathroom trip downstairs;) So glad
we were able to enjoy your smile and "ho-ho"
laugh again yesterday!!
Joe Banks for dragging Tillman out of his
apartment yesterday to let him enjoy the day
w/us!!
Kenny Horner, who besides just being a great
guy & genuine friend for helping us to
locate so many of our alumni & especially
for convincing the majority of our newbie's
yesterday to join us!!
Keith & Karen McCord for bringing their
granddaughter and allowing my little one to
be entertained the entire cruise:)!!
To all our Bob-Lo crew for joining us for a
beautiful day on the river!!
Last but not least, Lori Feret, our
unbelievable organizer & planner yesterday!!
I know what a difficult yet rewarding job
that can be, handling all the details,
getting everything to the boat and worrying
that last couple of weeks on whether costs
will be met and if everything will be a
success!! It was a success Lori, and we
thank you w/full Bob-Lo hearts!!
For anyone that took pictures yesterday,
please forward them onto us, and we will get
them posted on our website shortly. Although
most of my usual duties were not necessary
for this reunion, I was supposed to
temporarily adopt the duty of "photographer"
yesterday. Howard moved to Florida last
month, and was not able to come this year
due to just getting settled down there,.
However, I realized shortly into the cruise
how difficult this responsibility can be,
especially when I made sure the camera was
in the bag w/it's battery charged, but
omitted the camera's memory card on the
list, that was still in my computer from
downloading images last week! FYI, internal
camera memory only holds "25" pictures :( So
I'll have an additional item on my list for
the island reunion, and look forward to
Howard returning next year!! :)
Finally, Just a reminder that tickets for
the reunion on Bob-Lo Island on August 7th,
should be purchased over the next (2)
weeks!! Forms/instructions can be downloaded
off the bobloreunion.com site. I sold
several yesterday, and Ted/Scott said sales
are going well on that side, and they are
coming in as far as Quebec!!
Have a great week everyone!!
Karen |
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Royal
Oak Boat Article
July 12, 2010
Hi Everyone,
Take a look at this
Royal Oak Daily Tribune article printed
yesterday!! Great picture of Capt. Art &
Woodie w/memories shared by them, Paul
LeVeck & Cindy Sine-Polisena!! Make sure you
read it entirely Steve King, as Cindy
plugged you good!!:)
Karen |
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Time
Magazine
July 9, 2010
Hi Everyone,
Here is the Time Magazine
Bob-Lo Blog link once again. The purpose
of the blog is to share your Bob-Lo
memories, so please sign-in and share your
own personal memories of either working at
Bob-Lo or your trips to Bob-Lo!!
Karen |
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Great
Lakes Maritime Museum
June 9, 2010
Good evening everyone,
Paul LeVeck has been busy once again
nominating and providing bios and other
information for more great Bob-Lo personnel
to be inducted into the Great Lakes Maritime
Museum in Rogers City, MI!!
This year's Bob-Lo inductees will be Ralph
Browning and Capt. Beattie, as well as
Paul's uncle, John LeVeck! The induction
will be held this year on Saturday, August
21st. If you would like more information
and/or would like to attend, please contact
Paul @ plev40anch@yahoo.com. It is a
great event and a wonderful museum if you
haven't been there before!
Also, Paul provided me with the e-mail below
that includes membership rates to help keep
this great museum going to not only honor
our Bob-Lo crew, but all the great & brave
sailors of the Great Lakes! Again, if you
are interested contact Paul! I can attest
that Kathy's strawberry jam bonus is well
worth it!!
Karen
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Once again Bob Lo is well represented in
Rogers City. However no one except my family
has joined. We now have all the Browning's,
many LeVeck's as well as Capt's Saharasky,
Herrala, Beattie and Horner on the ''Wall of
Honor".
The purpose of me underwriting the costs of
the wall of honor was to stimulate
memberships. I sincerely hope others will
consider joining this extremely worthy
endeavor. It's probably my fault for not
emphasizing regular membership. If you are
on the Wall of Honor you are a permanent
member.
Membership confirmation will include a
wonderful jar of Strawberry Jam.
Membership Rate Info:
Wall of Honor - $70 - Must meet
requirements.
One person or family - $30
Student - $5
Sustaining - $50-99
Contribution - $100-199
Benefactor - $200-499
Patron - $500-999
Life - $1000 or more
Special - Any
Karen
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Bob-Lo
Office Staff - Where Are You?
May 22, 2010
We are still working on locating some office
staff from when Bob-Lo was owned by AAA.
Does anyone have any information on where
Dave Brown is today? Also, looking for
Debbie Harriman. We believe she married
after Bob-Lo's closure, but no one seems to
remember that name, and I have extensively
searched for her under "Harriman," with no
success. We believe that may have not been
her maiden name, but her !married name,
which once she re-married she would not have
gone back to. Anyone remember her young
son's name? We are thinking he'd now be in
his 30's and we could maybe locate her
through him on Facebook? Also, does anyone
remember her assistant's name who would hand
out paychecks in the office? I think her
first name was Pam, but I'm not positive,
and I can't recall a last name.
If anyone has any other names w/as much
info. you can give me, I'd be glad to try
and locate others before the reunions this
summer!
Still waiting to schedule a date for the US
reunion incorporating the Columbia and
Friendship cruise from Portofino's. Hoping
to work that for mid-late July or later in
August so as not to be in conflict w/the
island get together on August 7th. Will try
to get everyone updated soon, once I get
date confirmation from the Columbia's owner
and Portofino's.
Thanks!
Karen
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September 21, 2009
Hi Everyone,
Howard's pictures of the Columbia fundraiser
cruise are posted on the
bobloreunion.com
site.
It was a beautiful day on the river, and
besides Brian Pattison, Lloyd Williams, Joe
Banks, Mike Mouradian, Capt. Art and Woodie,
who we knew were going to be there, we were
also surprised to meet, Paul LeVeck, Mark
Connelly, Jim Kasuba, Karen Byrd-McCord and
Keith McCord at the dock as well!
We got to see the Ste. Claire and Columbia
up close from the water again and than
headed up the river to the Ambassador Bridge
and back to Wyandotte. The day was relaxing
and very enjoyable! I learned a couple of
things on Saturday... One being, that I
don't know how today's kids would handle an
all day boat shift on the river-lol I took
my 2 daughters, and besides being wigged out
at the bees checking out their soft drinks,
they were initially tortured by the thought
that they would have to remain on a boat for
3 hours. However, once the wind was whipping
through their hair, and later when the
Wescott delivered pizza to the boat, things
got more fun for them, and for me! Secondly,
I'm not sure what was more of a deja vu
moment, having Brian Pattison sit next to me
during the cruise, not looking a day older
than he did in 1989 or coming up to the
Clark Street-Bob-Lo Island dock area and
feeling like it was only yesterday that I
last had made that trip instead of 20 years
ago?! If Brian hadn't been sitting next to
me, I would have expected to see him
standing at the dock with his dock crew
waiting to tie up the boat and bring on more
concessions! What a wonderful and missed
memory!! Although I'm also thinking that
after seeing Howard's pictures, that the
memory of the 80's aqua net plastered
non-moveable hair was not a bad thing or
memory either:)
Thanks to Richard Anderson, Lori Feret and
Sam Buchanan for a great day and
opportunity!
FYI, Mr. Lee who operates the boblosteamers
and bobloboat sites, is looking for anyone
that may have pictures of the LR Beattie
when she sailed from Gibraltar. If anyone
has some former pictures of the boat, I'd
appreciate it, if you could scan them and
send them to Lee at mrlee@mrleeonline.com.
Karen
Click here to view
SS
Columbia Project web site |
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September 6, 2009
Hi Everyone,
Here is an article written about the
Columbia yesterday by Jim Kasuba at the
News Herald.
Click here to read.
If anyone is interested in attending the
Columbia fundraiser I mentioned last
week (details are also given in the
newspaper article), please purchase
tickets ASAP! Ticket sales had been slow
prior to the weekend, but will probably
pick up now with the public awareness
from the article and only being 2 weeks
away! Brian Pattison, Howard Wright and
myself have already purchased 3 of the
tickets. I also spoke with Joe Banks and
he and Lloyd Williams were planning on
attending as well, but they were trying
to reach Tillman, Ted and Bernadine
before purchasing tickets. So, for all
you alumni and current crew that
couldn't make the reunion this year due
to schedule conflicts and/or passport
issues, here is a 2nd chance to have
some fun, enjoy a boat ride on the
river, meet up with some friends and see
the Ste. Claire, Columbia and
Friendship!!
Karen
Click here to view
SS
Columbia Project web site |
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August
18, 2009
Hi Everyone,
It was a long and hot weekend up north, but we
left with great memories and exhausted, so the
Bob-Lo Crew can say we had another successful
and entertaining gathering, and here is a
glimpse for those that were not able to join
us....
Our "adventure" started Fri. afternoon, as we
headed up to Rogers City. Chuck and I insured
Kenny's attendance by driving him up with us,
and although we had him safely seat-belted in,
we didn't have to tie him down, or stop him from
getting on a plane to Florida. Taking a road
trip for the first time in many years without 3
children, had me thinking it was going to be one
of the quietest, easiest and fastest trips we
ever took? However, I learned we still took as
many potty breaks as a 7-yr-old does, and even
though I didn't have to listen to the movie Cars
or Pirates of The Caribbean for the 100th time,
I instead got to listen to Chuck and Kenny
watching and analyzing Slumdog Millionaire for 2
hours in the backseat, and of course heard lots
of hysterical Horner stories!
We finally arrived about 5pm, and met up with
Capt. Art and Woodie, who beat us by 3hrs,
checked in, than checked out our accommodations
for the next 2 days. The motel was very clean
and the owner was very nice, but none of us had
stayed in a roadside motel for many years if at
all-lol. Had we had our original early week
forecast of mid 70's and not the 88 degrees and
humidity that followed us up that day, we may
not have laughed as much as we did, when we
learned that older motels, especially in
northern Michigan, often don't have air
conditioning. However our laughter turned into
humble smiles, when we saw our thoughtful
"welcome" baskets, dropped off by Paul LeVeck!
We than headed downtown, got a glimpse of the
Maritime Museum, than had a nice dinner,
compliments of Kenny, down the street. We were
than off to see Lake Huron, and back to the
motel to await Cindy and Dawn Sine's arrival.
The pool located right in the front of the motel
was a perfect spot to sit and wait for their car
to pull in, but we all gave up after the
mosquitoes came out, and realized the pool was
supposed to be closed and were in bed before
they arrived at 11pm. Very early the next
morning we were awakened by one of the largest
rainfalls Rogers City had ever seen, and thank
God our windows pushed out at an angle and
didn't have to be closed! We learned that
"Thelma and Louise" aka Cindy and Dawn had
arrived safely, than got ready for the big day.
We were all excited to see Paul LeVeck when he
arrived to escort us to the KofC Hall for the
induction ceremony. We were also excited to
escape the heat and humidity that kicked up a
notch after the storm ended, especially Art and
Kenny who were wearing long sleeves and suit
jackets, as we thought we were off to a nice
cool, a/c afternoon. However, not all halls in
northern Michigan have a/c either.
At the hall we were surprised by Capt. Mike
Surgalski, his wife Mary and their youngest son,
who drove over from Traverse City to see his
fellow captains! Art and Kenny were so glad to
see him after all these years and spent time
catching up and posing for all of our cameras.
Art and Kenny were inducted with about 26 other
men that sailed the Great Lakes, and they were
without a doubt, the best dressed, and
distinguished sailors in the room!! We were all
so proud of them without even adding in the fact
that they sat there for almost 3 hours in their
formal dress wear in a hot room full of 200
guests!
After the ceremony and luncheon we headed over
to the Maritime Museum, where we got to enjoy a
building with a/c and most importantly got to
see Art and Kenny's newly hung honorary frames!
We also learned, that they were not the only
Bob-Lo alumni honored on it's walls...Bill
Browning, Capt. John Sahorski, Capt. Rod Graham
and Bob Engelman were also past inductees! If
you ever get a chance to visit the museum,
please do!! Like all Maritime Museums in the
country they display artifacts and share the
history of the ships that have sailed our
waters, but it is the only one that honors and
shows the men and women that served on those
ships, including six of our own!!
Once we left the museum, we all headed back to
the motel, to change out of our dripping clothes
and pick up some cool refreshments. Than we were
off to Paul's cottage where he, his wife Kathy,
son Nick and several kind and entertaining
neighbors had a wonderful evening of visiting
and one very big and delicious backyard
barbecue! We left very full, stopped at a Lake
Huron marina, than finished the
day/party/talking back at the motel pool, until
we were sent to bed at 11pm after having our
pool curfew extended 1 hour.
Big hugs and thank you's go out to the Maritime
Museum and Paul LeVeck family, for giving us a
great weekend and induction ceremony for Art and
Kenny!! Paul is looking at nominating Capt.
Beattie, Capt. Mike and Tim Traynor and possibly
others next year, so we may be going back up,
and hope you might consider joining us for a lot
of fun and laughing until your belly hurts! We
had a great "adventure" (Cindy, Dawn and I's
term we adopted while laughing and making the
most of our humidity hair and sweat dripping
bodies and warm rooms) at the Huron Shores
Motel, but we might look into seeing if any
motels have installed air conditioners, just in
case Rogers City has it's hottest day of the
year again next August!
Check on the bobloreunion.com website to get a
view of our very handsome inductees, as well as
Capt. Mike and Dawn who have been MIA the past 3
summers.
Congratulations Captain Art and Captain Kenny!!
Karen
August 2, 2009
Hi Everyone,
Only 2 thoughts come to mind as we look
back at yesterday, and try to process
the day.... WOW and THANK YOU!!
It could not have been a more perfect
day, between the # of attendees
(including 2 US attendees, one with no
passport and one with no birth
certificate, who did arrive back without
too much hassle:)), the weather and the
location with it's beautiful grounds and
pavilion!
We hit a minor glitch early on, when our
fun, very friendly & brave bus driver,
Bob got to Amherstburg and realized he
had to take his Greyhound bus over on
the ferry. He initially was adamant
that he was not putting the bus on the
ferry as he had no doubt he and his bus
were going to end up in the river!
After several phone calls with my
husband and ferry personnel on the dock
to Karyn Anderson and I on the island,
the captain of the ferry was able to
convince Bob that he had handled bigger
and heavier loads before:) As we
learned at the end of the day, Bob did
not know how to swim, so we really
appreciate Bob facing such a personal
fear yesterday in order to get everyone
over to the island and back:) Thank you
to Mr. Lee again for securing us the bus
and our great driver Bob!!
It was so nice seeing so many of the
faces from the past 2 years, as well as
so many new ones!! Having Capt. Rod
Graham and his daughter Lori join us,
after driving across the state of
Michigan yesterday morning, was such a
treat, and it was nice having our last
captain of the S.S. Ste. Claire and
Capt. Art Herrala the last captain of
the S.S. Columbia with us! We also had
a last minute addition with Dave
Anderson, the Bob-Lo Island
Groundskeeper from 1959 to it's closure
in1993! I could go on and on, but it
was special having everyone there,
whether in the past, you served
food, operated a ride, worked in an
office, ran a game, wore a Bob-Lo Bear
costume, secured the island or boats,
operated a boat, or are currently
restoring a boat!! You are all a part
of Bob-Lo's past, present and future!
We were able to wish Capt. Art a Happy
80th b-day, and he was able to inspire
all of us to look and feel that "80" can
be pretty darn good! Thank you to all
who sang Happy Birthday, shared in his
cake and signed his picture mat!
We had lots of Bob-Lo explorers! From
those that visited the Dance hall and
area around the pavilion, to others that
embarked to other areas such as the
space needle, old dock and the old
putt-putt area. Some were even braver,
renting bikes to explore the island, and
"three amigos," I hear were in areas
with weeds up to their faces,
maybe feeling like the early
settlers seeing Bob-Lo Island for the
first time:)?!
Our own Scott Shuttleworth grilled some
great burgers, brats and hot dogs and
The General Store offered some extra
treats and many enjoyed ice cream, snow
cones and cotton candy back near the
marina which really brought back the
smells and enjoyment of the old
amusement park!
Ron Kattoo
and Saqib Nakadar spoke about the
progress of the Ste. Claire and hope for
the 2010 season, and Ron even got a
chance to be reunited with a couple of
childhood schoolmates who were residents
on the island and visiting the pool
nearby when Howard announced his name:)
Ron and Saqib mentioned that they will
be getting wood in the next few weeks to
begin re-building her decks, but what
they didn't stress, is if anyone has
some time, motivation and especially
some carpentry skills, they could really
use your help over the next few months
to get her ready to be pulled out next
season for her 100th b-day!! Sign-up
for the volunteer list on
Bob-Lo Boat
site, and you'll be notified of
volunteer days and times.
Paul LeVeck spoke about Capt. Art
Herrala and Capt. Ken Horner's induction
into the Maritime Museum in Roger City,
MI on August 15th, and discussed how
others could be considered and selected
for future inductions..
In addition to Jim Kasuba, the Downriver
News Herald Reporter who is also
considered a Bob-Lo Crewmember due to
his extensive support and past articles
about the Bob-Lo boats, we had a
surprise visit from a Windsor Star
reporter and photographer, so hopefully
with some more media exposure, our
Bob-Lo Family will only continue to
grow! I will let you know when the
articles will be printed and/or send you
the links. Jim besides reporting on so
many pressing issues each day, is
looking to incorporate the island, Ste.
Claire and Columbia info. and progress
in one article, and the Columbia's
contribution won't be obtained until an
event tentatively scheduled for next
month. So thank you to Jim, and also
thank you to Karyn Anderson at Bob-lo
who apparently tipped off the Windsor
Star:)!
We introduced our own Karen McCord, who
is running for Detroit City Council, so
if you are able to vote in Detroit's
primary on Tuesday, be sure to add
in her vote, as besides being a great
gal, she's a Bob-Lo supporter, and could
possibly pull some strings for Ron and
Saqib in the future!!
Finally,
we were able to get a full group picture
at the end of the day, minus a few that
had to leave early, and that along with
the other photos that Howard took
throughout the day should be posted on
bobloreunion.com
in the next couple of days. If anyone
would like their photos to be submitted
on the website, please send an e-mail to
Karen Winkler
bobloreunion@gmail.com
Dates for next year will be
forthcoming. Looks like we may be doing
(2) next year. One on the island, as
it's a perfect site for a reunion and
our Canadian alumni increased
drastically over the past couple of
months, and one on the US side hopefully
incorporating the Ste. Claire and
honoring her 100th b-day (attendance
will be open to all for either
reunion)!! After next year, we'll
determine if we will continue with (2)
reunions or alternate sides each year?!
THANK YOU AGAIN for those that made
yesterday possible, and for those that
were not able to attend, we hope you'll
re-join us or come for the first time
next year!
Karen, Howard, Ted, Scott Shuttleworth &
Lori Voutt-Morin
(as you can see, we recruited a couple
more greatly needed and greatly
qualified planners yesterday !!!
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February 28, 2009
It is with a heavy heart, that I inform our
Bob-Lo family, that Don Reid passed away this
morning.
For those of you who did not attend the first
Bob-Lo reunion, Don was an oiler on the S.S. Ste
Claire from 1942-1944, and flew from the state
of Washington just to be able the see the Ste.
Claire again. This was not an easy task for him,
due to some medical difficulties that required
him to use a scooter. However, he made it to
Detroit, and several of us, will forever
remember the emotion and tears in his eyes, when
he first saw the Ste. Claire from the deck of
the Detroit Princess and again when he went down
to the engine room on the Ste. Claire and took a
moment to touch the levers and remember the
engine and his 2 summers on her!
For those of us on his e-mail list, we received
lots of e-mails about his activities out west,
his beloved dog Sammi, and often he would talk
about his desire to come back to Detroit again
once the Ste. Claire was running again on the
river. I'm sad that he won't be here to share
that day with us, as I don't think anyone would
have been more ecstatic about her being on the
river again, even including Ron.
Per his daughter Cheryl, Don was on his
motorcycle this morning with his dog Sammi when
they were involved in an accident. It was a
beautiful sunny day, in AZ (his winter home) and
her dad was doing what he loved and was with his
best friend. He will be greatly missed!
Karen
Don Reid's Bob-Lo Crew Menbers page. |
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I'm
sad to report that my father, Don Reid, passed
away as the result of a motorcycle accident this
morning. His beloved dog, Sammi, joined Dad on
their next journey. Dad knew Sammi for19 years
and this great little dog was blind, deaf,
diabetic and arthritic, but could still wag his
tail. My family and I are at Dad's home in
Arizona and we are extremely touched by how many
people have reached out to us in this sad time.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. One of
my Dad's greatest joys was the many friends he
shared on-line and we are thankful you have been
there for him. My family and I are comforted in
the fact that Dad spent his 81 years living life
to its fullest, even to his last day. He left us
on a sunny day, riding on his bike. It was his
request that no services be held, but instead,
memorials can be sent to your local Humane
Society.
All the best to you and yours,
Cheryl Reid and Family
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December 5, 2008
Hi Everyone,
Tyron Hurd sent us some great You Tube Videos of
the ships. The sound is a little distorted and
old, but it definitely will give you some chills
and make me feel like you were standing on the
Ste. Claire or Columbia as it sailed down the
river, like it was yesterday! So take a trip
down memory lane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1DFAP_XWMAS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG8HT7S9Vsl
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK_RkEmKOXE
May you and your family have a wonderful holiday
season!
Bob-Lo Crew Reunion Committee
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October 25, 2008
From Brian Pattison
I am saddened to report the passing of Tim Dagg
on Monday October 2008. Here is a link to the
funeral home.
www.walkerfuneralhomes.com
Brian Pattison |
Hi Everyone,
Here is an e-mail we received this week from
Brian regarding the unfortunate and saddened
passing of our fellow crewmember, Tim Dagg. Tim
was the Marketing Director for Bob-Lo Island
from 1986-1992 and his wife, Heidi was a ticket
seller at the Gibraltar dock in 1987. Tim
contacted us in Feb. and was really looking
forward to this year's reunion and was a great
help in helping us to find some of the
crewmembers that were located and/or attended
this year!! Unfortunately, I was aware that he
was going through chemo, and had to opt out once
the reunion got closer, but I had no idea how
serious it was and just told him to get healthy
and we would see him and Heidi next year.
If anyone would like to acknowledge Tim and his
family, there are several options; there is a
guestbook on the funeral homes website which is
listed in Brian's e-mail below, donation info.
for the family is also listed on their website,
and if you would like to send a personal card or
letter to Heidi and her girls, the address I
have for them is; P.O. Box 140243, Toledo, OH
43614-0243.
Also, is was a unusual oversight that I didn't
get this info. until after the funeral occurred.
If in the future, anyone has info. that needs to
be passed along to the crew quickly, still
e-mail us, but as a backup, please write my home
phone # (248) 620-1445 down and contact me that
way as well.
Thanks!
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L.R.
Beattie |
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September 11, 2008
Hi Everyone,
In case you are interested, I had been trying to
locate the L.R. Beattie to determine where she
was. I finally located the owner who purchased
her in 1994, and received this response from him
today. Anyone up for a Bob-Lo field trip to San
Francisco
Karen
RESPONSE:
Dear Karen
To fill in some missing pieces of the
L.R.Beattie, I will explain.
I bought the Beattie in September of 1994 and
moved it to Burlington, Vermont to operate on
Lake Champlain and renamed it the Spirit of
Ethan Allen 2.
I made it into a 500 passenger dinner boat. In
2002 I moved it to Plattsburgh, NY, renamed it
Spirit of Plattsburgh.
I sold it in 2005 and moved it to San Francisco
where it now takes people to Alcatraz. it is now
called the Islander.
I hope this helps.
Mike
PS: A picture of L.R. Beattie himself hangs on
our wall of fame in our office. It was on the
boat when I bought it. It shows him on one of
the old boats in dress uniform.
By the way........the Beattie was a great
boat!!!!!!!!!
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June 19,
2008
It is with great sadness,
that I inform you that Alton Boyd passed away in
NC on May 13,2008. His step-daughter stated he
was 81 years-old and passed away quickly after
his prostate cancer returned this spring. She
stated that the many cards he received over the
past few months were both appreciated and
enjoyed by Alvie.
We were so looking forward to sending him a card
signed by all of us at our next reunion, but
instead we will have to make a lemonade and/or
gin toast to him and hope he's watching and
smiling over all of us!
Karen
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