The Thirties Through The Nineties

Excerpts from the book "The Ships of Upper Lakes Shipping" published by Riverbank Traders Inc in 1994 E.B."Skip" Gillham author

The Thirties: There Was More To Upper Lakes Than Ships

Gordon Leitch was born in 1890 in Ridgetown, Ontario. He was energetic and ambitious and, at the age of sixteen, left town to find his fortune in the West. In 1907, he was joined by another young man and that fall they made their way up the Mackenzie River. Gordon returned alone the following spring after his friend decided to marry an Indian girl and stay in the Arctic.

During the next few years he took a series of jobs in lumber camps. There he learned to process and trade lumber and eventually made his way to Winnipeg, the centre of commerce in the West. During this period, he learned a great deal about playing poker and buying and selling commodities and began to show signs of being a natural trader.

Winnipeg was the centre of the biggest game in the country as far as trading was concerned. After trading on his own in the grain and lumber business for several years, Gordon took on a partner to assist in his growing business. Three years later his partner left without giving notice and so did most of the money. The company failed and it took four years to repay the bank.

Following the failure of the venture, Gordon took a job with the Manitoba Wheat Pool. This called for him to make periodic trips east to sell grain, and he eventually relocated to manage the Toronto office of the Canadian Wheat Pool.

At the time of Gordon's arrival in Toronto there were no grain elevators. The ships able to navigate the Third Welland Canal and the locks to Montreal were canallers capable of carrying around 2,200 tons. Western grain required by the flour and feed mills in Southern Ontario and primarily the Toronto area, was delivered by large upper lakes vessels to elevators located along the shores of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. There it was stored and then shipped, as required, by rail or truck to the final destination.

Construction on the fourth Welland Canal started in 1913 but it was interrupted by World War I. Work resumed in 1919 and was now nearing completion. It was obvious that this could result in reducing the cost of moving grain to Toronto. Thus, a grain elevator at the port would be a profitable project. Leitch's employer, the Wheat Pool, turned a deaf ear to the proposal so he approached James Playfair of Midland, Ontario, who, with two of Gordon's friends in Toronto, Harry Bawden of Dominion Securities and Peter Campbell a young lawyer with the firm of Arnoldi, Parry and Campbell, gave him financial, legal and political support.
Toronto Elevators Limited was incorporated in 1928 under the laws of Ontario as a public company and the stock offering which followed provided the funds required to build the facility. James Playfair was elected the first President, Gordon Leitch was appointed General Manager, Helen Carnegie, Gordon's sister-in-law became the Secretary and her husband, Andy Carnegie the Bookkeeper.

Land was acquired at the Spadina Quay on the Toronto waterfront where a grain elevator with a capacity of one million bushels was built by the Carter Construction Co. of Toronto. Provision for shipping and receiving grain by rail or truck, together with buildings to accomodate a feed plant, were provided immediately to the east and adjoining the elevator. A steam plant and office building were built at the north end to service the operation.

CJ. (Chick) Hughson was hired as the Superintendent along with Harry Wilson, George Hanna, Joe McCarthy and Alex McLeod as the Weighmaster. Toronto Elevators was now in business. The small steamer NORFOLK arrived alongside with the first shipment of grain on November 15, 1928, and a large group of dignitaries gathered on board to welcome the vessel.

Moving grain through the elevator was crucial to its profitability and, with a feed plant in the original planning, Gordon approached Fred Presant, a Professor in the agricultural section of a new College in his hometown of Ridgetown. He asked Fred if he could find a young fellow from the Ontario Agricultural college in Guelph who would be qualified to manage the proposed new feed mill in Toronto. After talking it over with his wife Norah, Fred decided that he would like the job.

Fred and his family moved to Toronto in January 1930. Fred was a quiet, conscientious man and he and Gordon worked well together in building up a feed division. With his experience, and help from friends at Cornell University, he soon formulated feeds registered under the brand name of "Master". Having worked as a professor in Guelph, he had many contacts and put together a formidable team. They set about establishing a "dealer organization" across Ontario. Gordon, an experienced grain man, had too much on his plate and hired Douglas Clark out of Winnipeg to manage the grain division. Doug proved to be an able and energetic grain executive.

With the two divisions in good hands, Gordon turned his attention to the supply problem. He was short of shipping tonnage and, although he was getting space on some ships owned by his friend Playfair, they were not sufficient to fulfill his requirements. In spite of the drain on this financial resources, he had no choice but to pursue the possibility of expanding the shipping side of the business which had now become crucial to the entire operation.

Jack Smith was the manager of the grain elevator located in Sarnia. This facility had been purchased by Toronto Elevators in 1928. Smith called to inform Mr. Leitch of an old lakes vessel, named SARNIAN, tied up in a salvage yard.

SARNIAN considered to be the first ship of the fleet

Gordon sent Captain Bruce Angus to Sarnia to survey the ship. He reported that SARNIAN could be made seaworthy and arrangements were made to purchase the vessel. Once again Gordon turned to his friends. This time, two gentlemen from Minneapolis, G.R. Martin of the Superior Feed Company and Jimmy Daynes, an Investment Banker, put up the money to buy the ship and they each would own one third of a shipping company. It was agreed that Gordon would pay for his share out of the earnings.

Northland Steamship Company was incorporated and Captain Angus was hired to restore the vessel. He became the first Captain and sailed the SARNIAN in April 1931 to load at the Lakehead. They were downbound through the new, but not yet officially opened Fourth Welland Canal, on June 17, 1931, enroute to Toronto. The SARNIAN provided some breathing space but it soon became clear that more ships would be needed.

Gordon headed for Chicago with Andy Carnegie, to meet with James Norris. He was not personally acquainted with Norris, but he was known to be wealthy, influential and affable. Norris liked Gordon's proposal and an agreement was reached to form a partnership, setting up the Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transportation Company Limited. Gordon was pleased and satisfied with the deal as he now had the financial backing for his ambitious program.

With the increase on the shipping side, more storage and handling capacity was required. A grain annex was built alongside the terminal in Toronto at a cost of fifteen cents per bushel, doubling the original storage capacity. The feed
plant was expanded to include a linseed oil mill to supply the protein supplement for the poultry and animal feeds. Gordon had earlier purchased a farm at Thornhill, just to the north of Toronto. This became the experimental farm for Master Feeds and was named Leitchcroft. Dr. E. Rendle Bowness from the Veterinarian College in Guelph joined the company to establish the feeds for fur bearing animals and R.L. (Tommy) Thompson was moved out of the lab to manage the Dog Food department.

On the shipping side, Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transportation Co. Ltd. leased property on the St. Lawrence River at Trois Rivieres and built the first of three elevators in 1936 to increase the efficiency and reduce the turnaround time of their canallers. From the original offices at 200 Bay St. in Toronto, the company moved to the Harbour Commissioners Building and then into their own premises alongside the first elevator on Queen's Quay. To emphasize how fast this company was growing, this building was overcrowded and in July of 1938, the old Hobbs Glass building at the foot of Spadina Ave was purchased and renovated to house the Shipping Division, Grain Division and Head Office personnel. The Feed Division remained in the original office at the base of the Elevators. Grain and Shipping offices were opened in Montreal and Winnipeg. All in all, this was a tremendous credit to Gordon Leitch. In spite of the adversity suffered by most other businesses of this decade, he produced his first profit for the year ending July 31,1938, and all employees received a Christmas bonus.

THE FORTIES: THE ROOKIE YEARS ARE OVER

While it was generally accepted that both Gordon Leitch and James Norris were highly regarded and professional grain traders, they were not known as ship managers. As the Forties began, there were thirty-one ships in the fleet and they provided a better than expected cash flow. This gave them the leverage to expand the grain, feed, flour and storage facilities. To start off the decade they merged Northland Steamships with Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence and bought shares in Toronto and Midland Simcoe Elevator Companies.

During the war years, Fred Presant went to Ottawa as Feed and Grain Administrator and Harold Cook moved from Sales Manager to become Manager of the Feed Division.

On December 9, 1943, the SARNIAN was abandoned to underwriters following a stranding on Pointe Isabelle Reef in Lake Superior. Following this loss, Captain Angus was appointed Manager of the fleet and was joined by Peter Kingsbough, former auditor with Clarkson Gordon Company, as Controller.

The war in Europe ended May 5, 1945, and things began to return to normal. Fred Presant came back from Ottawa to become V.P. Feed Division. To better protect the feed distribution network, several of the former dealer operations were brought out and Master Feed branches established. Lindsay, Fenelon Falls, and Cambray were managed by Harvey Graham, Owen Sound by Cliff Bouwman, Arthur by Stuart Hall, Port Perry by George Sward and Chatham by Frank Archibald. Linseed oil was no longer the by-product of the flax mill and plans were made to expand and consolidate this division of the company.

Land and buildings on the west side of Spadina Quay were purchased in 1946 from the War Assets Corporation having served their purpose in the construction of Mine Sweepers for service in the Atlantic during the war. Blaw Knox Company of Pittsburgh was engaged in design and built a Vegetable Oil Refinery and at the same time Toronto Elevators engaged a local contractor to construct a much larger steam generating plant to service it and the expanding needs of the feed plant.

The vegetable oil refinery went into production in early February of 1948. The following year, Fred Perrin, owner of Hogg & Lytle Seed Company, approached Gordon Leitch as a possible buyer of his operation. Master Feeds was now actively expanding its branch organization to supplement the dealer organization now in place. Hogg & Lytle, with five sites strategically located around the province, was purchased and the partners were now in the seed business. Tib Tzego was appointed manager to run the new division from an office located in Oakwood, Ontario, just outside of the town of Lindsay.

Of the eight ships requisitioned for war service by the Federal Government in 1940, four were lost by enemy action, two suffered navigational accidents and were abandoned to Insurance Underwriters and two returned to service on the Great Lakes. In addition, the canallers JUDGE HART and WILLIAM C. WARREN were abandoned to underwriters following strandings on Lake Superior in 1942 and Lake Huron in 1947. These eight vessels, plus the loss of SARNIAN, were more than made up for with the purchase of three barges and four bulk carriers.

THE FIFTIES: ADJUSTING TO CHANGE

The fifties were expected to be a decade of growth and stability in the Canadian economy. The company had survived the crash of 1929, flourished through the Depression and war years and was in sound financial position to head into the next decade. As an added bonus for Gordon Leitch, his only son, Jack, had returned from the Navy.

A good start was made with the opening on May 1, 1950, of a new five story office building at 417 Queen's Quay West which again, brought together all the offices.

With soybeans and corn taking over the vegetable oil market and their expanding popularity as a cash crop for farmers in the southwestern region of Ontario, Doug Clark purchased St. Glair Grain and Feeds Company from Harold Webster to take full advantage of these markets. Frank Archibald was moved from the Master Feed's branch in Chatham, to manage the new company which had branches in Tilbury, Merlin and Wallaceburg. Frank became active in the development of hybrid seed corn in the area which led to the construction of an elevator at Wallaceburg for the handling of soybeans. A solvent extraction plant was built adjoining the grain elevators and feed plant at Toronto. This provided a better supplement for the Feed Division and a second oil base for the Oil Division. Rudy Goltz moved in as manager of Master Feeds in Chatham and the four locations of St. Glair Grain & Feeds Limited were added to the growing list of branches.

In March, 1953, Harry Bryant arranged for the purchase of the assets of a linseed oil plant located in Baden, Ontario, and previously owned by the Livingston family. The plant was reopened and operated until January 1954 when it was closed and the machinery sold. The plant was later converted into a feed manufacturing plant joining others in operation around the province at Prescott, Cavan, Komoka and Chatham. This was all part of a program to keep up with the changing patterns of the industry.
The St. Lawrence Seaway was planned and construction would soon begin. This news was disturbing to inland shipping companies as they would now face direct competition from foreign ships which enjoyed much lower operating costs. The 38 ships of the fleet purchased up to 1945 had all been second hand. That was about to change. A contract for two ships was signed with Midland Shipbuilding and construction of the first vessel for Upper Lakes was underway. The new ship would have an overall length of 663 feet and dwt. of 18,000 tons. It was not to full Seaway dimensions because of excess caution on the part of management. The first was christened JAMES NORRIS, recognizing the senior member of the partnership, and registered with Lloyds on April 10, 1952. While James was able to attend the christening ceremonies, he was in poor health and passed away later that year never to witness the sailing of his namesake ship.

JAMES NORRIS

With the untimely death of Norris, the partnership was restructured. Jack Leitch was appointed President and the two sons of James Norris, Jim and Bruce, were made Vice Presidents with all three becoming Directors. Gordon Leitch replaced James Norris as Chairman of the Board. The second of the ships was christened GORDON C. LEITCH at a ceremony on November 11, 1952.

GORDON C. LEITCH

Early in 1953, Lawson Kaake moved from Clarkson and Gordon and was put to work on special assignments reviewing all phases of the operations of both Upper Lakes and Toronto Elevators. Some divisions were not living up to expectations and it was to these that Lawson focused most of his attention.

Following the death of James Norris, the health of Gordon Leitch began to deteriorate. He died at Toronto on June 2, 1954. The sudden passing of his father left a very heavy load on Jack's shoulders. At the time of Gordon's death, the tanker IMPERIAL REDWATER had just been converted to a bulk carrier and was renamed R. BRUCE ANGUS to honour the first captain to sail for the company.

Next, the minority shareholdres of Goderich Elevators were bought out and its capacity more than doubled to 1,600,000 bushels. The company had earlier taken ownership of the Midland Simcoe Elevator from James Playfair. Slowly but surely, the shipping company was strengthening itself as an independent operator and seriously challenging those who in the beginning forced Gordon Leitch into the shipping business. The company now owned elevators at Trois Rivieres, Goderich and Midland and, with control of Toronto Elevators and Maple Leaf Milling, their elevators at Toronto, Sarnia, Wallaceburg and Port Colborne.

With the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway connecting Lake Ontario to Montreal scheduled for the end of the decade, Jack Leitch negotiated a long term contract with Dofasco to move iron ore from the north shore of the St. Lawrence to Hamilton. This eventually became a very significant contract for the shipping company.

As Dofasco's ore consumption increased, the company required additional carrying capacity. They called for tenders to build a new bulker and Port Weller Dry Docks failed to return a bid. Jack Leitch was curious and called Charlie Ansell, the General Manager. Charlie confided that he was not well and did not want the responsibility of building another new ship and suggested to Jack that he buy out Port Weller and build his own ship.

Such a thought had not entered Jack's head but control of the shipyard could bring many benefits to the Company and the purchase was completed on August 1, 1956. Ansell stepped down in December and Jack Vaughan replaced him as General Manager. The yard was reorganized and the building shelf was lengthened to 750 feet in order to accommodate the larger lakers that would soon be using the Seaway and a 1,200 foot fit out berth was constructed along the east bank of the canal. On May 31, 1958, the first of their own ships to be built at the newly acquired shipyard was christened FRANK A. SHERMAN after the Chairman of the Board of Dofasco. A second ship, the SEAWAY QUEEN, was christened on May 30,1959, the year the Seaway was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

THE SIXTIES: CHANGING TIMES AHEAD

RIDGETOWN above Lock 1 of the Welland Canal on March 30, 1964

Hal Banks and the Seafarers International Union were well established on the ships and waterfronts around the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River when the WHEAT KING sailed from Port Weller Drydocks on April 17, 1961. The ship was crewed by sailors belonging to the S.I.U. and the officers were certified with their respetive officers union. Refusal by the company to sign with the SIU set the stage for problems in the months and years ahead. The events that followed have been well documented in the press and, as recently as August 1993, on television. All that will be recounted here is, "Upper Lakes Shipping survived and its ships are still sailing, but its unlicensed crews are not members of the Seafarers International Union of America."

In light of what Jack Leitch and his loyal employees endured, being named "Great Lakes Man of the Year" in 1965 by a group of his peers, who quietly sat back and watched the battle, gave him little satisfaction. It was a very serious and costly confrontation!
In the same month of April, 1961, Upper Lakes Shipping Limited, having control of Toronto Elevators Limited and Maple Leaf Milling Company Limited, voted with the joint Boards to merge the two companies. Effective April 1, the two became Maple Leaf Mills Limited.

Part of the business of the new directors was to ratify the purchase of the FEDERAL MONARCH, a forty thousand dwt. oil tanker, from Federal Commerce and Navigation Company of Montreal. This ship was built, under the provisions of the Canadian Vessels Construction Assistance Act, at Davie Shipbuilding in Lauzon, Quebec. The vessel was launched on June 19, 1959.

Fednav soon realized that they could not meet all the requirements of the Act and approached Jack Leitch to see if he could arrange to take over the ship. He could and he did. FEDERAL MONARCH was under a fifteen year charter to Imperial Oil Limited of Toronto, and running crude oil from Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, to the pipeline at Portland, Maine, for transfer to Montreal. Through a side agreement with Fednav, the operating side of the deal was flat to Maple Leaf Mills but the cash flow was significant making it quite attractive. With the cash flow benefits exhausted in 1965, Maple Leaf sought out a buyer and the ship was sold in January 1966 to the Oswego Unity Corp. of New York, New York.

Still in 1961, an ocean class bulk carrier equipped with self-unloading gear, was launched from Akers Mek Verstad yard in Oslo, Norway, and christened ATLANTIC TRADER. She sailed under British Registry, crewed with Bristish seamen and owned by the Gulf Stream Trading Company of Bermuda. This was a subsidiary of Maple Leaf Mills Limited. Shortly after sailing, the name was changed to INVEREWE.

During her short career with the company, INVEREWE made 18 trips into the Great Lakes. Many were under charter to Fednav. The self-unloading gear left much to be desired but led the way for further development in this field. The ship was sold to a Liberian flag company in 1968. This signalled the end of the shipping business for Maple Leaf Mills.

In the meantime, the problems of the merger were gradually being solved. The office building on the waterfront was enlarged and became the head office for the new company. The Port Colborne flour mill, ravaged by an explosion and fire in 1960, was rebuilt and reopened on September 26, 1962. In 1963, Maple Leaf shared with Canadian Mills the largest ever export order of flour for delivery to Russia/Cuba. A new flour mill was opened in Montreal and Almonte Flour Mills was purchased in 1963. The latter came from Phil Strickland. He later joined the company and was appointed Senior Vice President, Flour Division together with Bill Archibald, who, at the same, was appointed Senior Vice President Feed Division. Steele Briggs Seeds Limited was purchased in 1966 and resold to A.E. McKenzie Limited in 1971.

In spite of all the positive signs, ill winds were beginning to blow. Late in December 1969, Jack Leitch received a phone call from Bruce Norris advising him that he would be in to see him the following day. Jack, sensing something was up, arranged for Jim Lewtas to be on hand. Bruce arrived with Bob Vincent, his legal council, and, without any formalities, said he would like to introduce Jack to his new partner who was waiting down the hall. It was Jimmy Pattison, owner of Neonex International Ltd. What went through Jack's head at that moment is difficult to imagine, but with Jim Lewtas of the law firm of Campbell, Godfrey and Lewtas, they sat back and tried to figure some way they could head off the inevitable. All efforts failed and, at a meeting on December 23, 1969, it was formally announced that Bruce Norris had sold the Norris family share in Upper Lakes Shipping to Jimmy Pattison in exchange for stock in Neonex International Ltd. Shares of Neonex were trading in the ten dollar range and the closing date was set for September 30, 1970.

With the union problems, the changes brought about with the opening of the Seaway and the merger, things had been hectic and expensive and Jack realized that Bruce was generally unhappy with the situation. Sharing the profits was one thing, but sharing the losses was something else and, with an opportunity to get out, Bruce had decided to take it.

After a busy Christmas season, including unprecedented actions by the Upper Lakes Board of Directors, and an outside bidder for the shares of Maple Leaf Mills, an agreement was reached that ended in a frustrated contract on the closing date.
The matter was finally settled in the courts in 1978 when the shipping company was separated from the milling company under new owners.

THE SEVENTIES: CONFUSION AND COMPROMISE

Wiile the Sixties had been difficult, there was still nore to come. As may have been predicted, the shares of Neonex had fallen from the ten to the two dollar range when the closing date came around September 30, 1970. This was a major blow to Norin Corp., the Norris family owned company, and Norin defaulted and failed to close. This left Pattison in an awkward position with Leitch Transport Co., the Leitch family company, as he now was unable to close his deal with them. The matter ended up in the courts. However, before long, things returned to almost normal and it was business as usual for Upper Lakes Shipping and Maple Leaf Mills Limited.

In order to expand their presence in ocean shipping, Upper Lakes entered into a partnership with U.S. Steel in 1968 to build a 70,000 dwt. self-unloader in Japan. This ship, the PHOSPHORE CONVEYOR, sailed in December 1969 to begin trade on the East Coast and Gulf of St. Lawrence. The second partnership venture was between Leitch Transport and Wilh. Wilhelmsen of Oslo, Norway. They formed Open Bulk Carriers, a Bermuda company, and traded on the Atlantic. Voyages were long, ports were many and this drove operating costs to the limit. It was good experience but did not bring good returns.

At home, the Darling Report brought some Government assistance. It led to a law preventing foreign ships from trading port to port in Canada and re-inforced Jack Leitch's desire to expand in the ocean business.

While the partnership was going along peacefully, it was obvious that Bruce Norris still wanted out. On July 18, 1974, the two agreed to a dissolution. The Leitch family would get 100% of Upper Lakes Shipping and the Norris family would gain control of Maple Leaf Mills. It took Norin Corp. until 1979 to acquire full ownership of Maple Leaf Mills and on doing so, sold the Company to Canadian Pacific Enterprises Limited of Montreal. Jack and his family were now on their own with no one looking over their shoulder other than possibly their friendly banker.

With a contract in hand to carry iron ore from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Sorel, Quebec, Upper Lakes bought two second-hand bulk carriers. One was of 50,000 dwt. and renamed CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDER. The other was a 70,000 dwt. bulker named CANADIAN TRANSPORT. The latter and was sold for scrap in 1978 when the contract with Q.I.T. in Quebec was not renewed.

Encouraged with the progress on the East Coast, Upper Lakes also bought two more second-hand ships, bringing the ocean compliment to seven.

The Great Lakes operation was not being ignored. The company purchased five bulk carriers built to Seaway dimensions for Prixos Papachristidis who had decided to abandon his Great Lakes operation. The beauty of these ships was they were standarized. Each was powered with 9,000 HP Canadian General Electric steam turbine engines and had a service speed of 14.5 knots.

A government assistance program, initiated in 1971, provided a full work program for Port Weller through 1975. The WHEAT KING returned to Port Weller and was converted into a maximum size Seaway bulk carrier.

It was about this time that the Federal Government joined forces with Leitch Transport, C.S.L. and Fednav to form the Northwater Navigation Company and Port Weller Dry Docks won the contract to build Canada's first ice breaking bulk carrier to work in Arctic waters. This was to have been the beginning of what was thought to be a Canadian Arctic Fleet. But as this is being written, it was both the beginning and the end.

Jim Hartford, the manager of the Lakes Operations took over following the death of Captain Wilfred Hookey in 1970. Jim joined Upper Lakes in 1948 and sailed nineteen ships of the fleet from deckhand to Captain. He received his Master Mariner ticket in 1966 and took command of the WHEAT KING which he sailed until 1970 when he came ashore as Lake Fleet Manager. Jim managed all the ocean and lakes ships for the company with the assistance of Tom Coulter, a Master Mariner in his own right. In December of 1978, ULS Marbulk Inc. was incorporated with Captain Tom Coulter as President and offices in Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

In anticipation of the Neonex closing on September 30, 1970, Jack Leitch purchased a small office building on Jackes Avenue adjacent to the Balfour Park in the Yonge-St. Clair section of Toronto. His move was timely because the Federal Government expropriated the waterfront lands including the Maple Leaf Building at 417 Queen's Quay West in 1972. Upper Lakes moved to Jackes Avenue and Maple Leaf Mills went into a new office tower at the corner of Bloor and Yonge, which was named "Maple Leaf Mills Tower". One way or the other, the two companies were obliged to move.

The disagreement between Jack Leitch and Bruce Norris had very little or no effect on the operations of the companies. Like Upper Lakes, Maple Leaf continued with business as usual.

In 1972, Maple Leaf Mills extended their presence in the Caribbean as a partner with Trinidad Government in National Flour Mills Limited, Trinidad.

With the expropriation of the Queen's Quay lands, all facilities were obliged to relocate. Maple Leaf joined with Lever Brothers and commenced the construction of a major vegetable oil plant at Windsor, Ontario. The following year, 1976, they purchased the Pilsbury flour mill in Calgary.

All the while, Norin Corp, was aquiring shares of Maple Leaf Mills and reached 100% in 1979. They then sold ou to Canadian Pacific Enterprises in 1980.

THE EIGHTIES: UNFETTERED AT LAST

Thornmark Capital Corp. was now the Leitch family holding company. As full owners of Upper Lakes Shipping Ltd., they could proceed with their plans for the future.

Jack, with his vision of an ocean fleet of self-unloading phips, could now forge ahead with his plans. This would not be easy with the ever-changing flow of trading patterns. It was now further complicated by the time frame required to build or convert a ship suitable for a specific situation. For elxample, the CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDER, an ocean ligoing bulk carrier, was laid up in Tampa without any prospects for employment. But, as a self-unloader there was plenty of work available. Management made the decision to move her to the Saint John, N.B., shipyard for conversion to an ocean going, self-unloading bulk carrier renamed CANADIAN HIGHLANDER. In 1983, she was again renameda nd transferred to ULS Marbulk Inc., as CITADEL HILL lalongwith a new 74,250 dwt. Panamax self-unloading bulk tiarrier built in Korea and named NELVANA.

As further illustration, the vessels ST. LAWRENCEN AVIGATOR and ST. LAWRENCE PROSPECTOR, were both bulk carriers built to ocean classification. But their trades on the East Coast Gulf of St. Lawrence were not in demand. Again, management faced the situation and converted the ST. LAWRENCE PROSPECTOR to a longer Seaway laker, and, the following year, the ST.
LAWRENCE NAVIGATOR received similar treatment. On entering the lakes service, they were renamed CANADIAN PROSPECTOR and CANADIAN NAVIGATOR.

The demand for self-unloading bulk carriers, both on the lakes and the oceans, was proving Jack's vision to be well focused. In 1986, the CANADIAN AMBASSADOR, built at Port Weller in 1983, was renamed AMBASSADOR, registered under the flag of Vanuatu and transferred to the management of ULS Marbulk Inc. for ocean service. The next year CANADIAN PIONEER received similar treatment and was added to the ULS Marbulk fleet. The CITADEL HILL and NELVANA were also reflagged under Vanuatu bringing the total capacity of the ocean fleet of self-unloading bulk carriers to 199,000 dwt.

Back on the Great Lakes, with the ingenuity of Captain Charlie Pole, the cargo area of the NORTHERN VENTURE was connected to the stern section of CABOT and likewise the fore body of HILDA MARJANNE was joined to the stern section of CHIMO. The CABOT/NORTHERN VENTURE sailed October 31,1983, as CANADIAN EXPLORER and the CHIMO/HILDA MARJANNE April 6,1984, as CANADIAN RANGER.

With time a major factor in the success of the shipping business, far too much of it is wasted in the bunkering operation. Moving ships about and delays at the bunkering stations use up a great many hours. Again, Charlie Pole set about to alleviate this situation. A small tanker, built for Shell Oil overseas interests in 1965, was acquired and converted into a fueling barge with capacity of 1,200 dwt. The former Halco tanker, UNGAVA TRANSPORT and the IMPERIAL SARNIA were also purchased and moored at Hamilton, Ontario, to serve as storage barges. They were renamed PROVMAR TERMINAL and PROVMAR TERMINAL II respectively. The small tanker was christened HAMILTON ENERGY and owned by Provmar Fuels Inc. This became a jointly owned subsidiary of ULS Corporation and Canada Steamship Lines, with Captain Charlie Pole as its President. Ships no longer waste precious time at bunkering stations as the HAMILTON ENERGY comes along side the ship while unloading and not one minute of their time is wasted. In 1993 Upper Lakes purchased 100% of the company.

A venture into the oil drilling business was short lived. After joining in a partnership with Houlder Offshore Limited of London, England, and JOSAM, they built a heavy duty semi-submersible oil drilling platform. However, after several unsuccessful years drilling in the North Sea, Upper Lakes sold out its interest.

On June 6, 1986, a new joint venture company was incorporated by Upper Lakes and Canada Steamship Lines amalgamating Port Weller Dry Docks, Hamilton Marine Engineering, Canal Electric and Pictou Industries with Port Arthur Shipbuilding of Thunder Bay. Head offices were established at St. Catharines and the name Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd., was adopted.
This was the same name of the former Collingwood shipyard, now demised. Port Arthur has been reduced to a ship repair yard while Port Weller Dry Docks is now the only remaining Canadian shipbuilding and repair facility in the Great Lakes system. (Changes here have also taken place as of 2007).

Productivity was the operative word as the Eighties came to a close. The fleet had been reduced in numbers but not in quality. The latest in ship design and technology was introduced to Port Weller Dry Docks and, through its subsidiary ULS Marbulk Inc., was well established in ocean trading with four self-unloading bulk carriers sailing the oceans of the world. The Lakes fleet was well balanced to meet most any eventuality with six self-unloaders and ten straight deck bulkers.

THE NINETIES: SIXTY YEARS COMPLETED

The optimism of the Eighties has disappeared and pessimism seems to be taking over. The world economy has slowed down and most businesses with it. In 1990 ULS joined with Algoma Central Marine to pool their straight decks freighters under " Seaway Bulk Carriers", ownership of the vessels did not change but marketing and traffic was coordinated to improve efficiency. In 1993, it was announced that a similar arrangement had been made for their self-unloaders as "Seaway Self-Unloading Bulk Carriers".

Also in 1993, Captain Tom Coulter, President of ULS bulk Inc., reported the purchase of two 38,000 dwt. ocean class bulk carriers. Delivery of the CHENNAI PERUMAI, renamed THORNHILL, was completed in September. CHENNAI OOKKAM, a sistership to be renamed RICHMOND HILL, was purchased in November 1993. With the growing popularity for self-unloading bulk carriers, conversion may not be too far down the road.

Late in 1993, an agreement was reached for Seaway Bulk Carriers, pending government approval, to acquire en ships from Great Lakes Bulk Carriers. All were of full Seaway size and built in the sixties. They were owned by C.S.L., Misener Shipping and Pioneer Shipping and were to be divided between the Algoma and ULS fleets.

CANADIAN CENTURY

CANADIAN CENTURY leaving Lock One of the Welland Canal in May 1989

Stern view of CANADIAN CENTURY in the Welland Canal, May 1989

This Great Lakes, self-unloading bulk carrier was built by Port Weller Dry Docks, St. Catherines, ON (hull #41). She was christened CANADIAN CENTURY for Upper Lakes Group, Inc., Toronto, ON on April 15, 1967

The unique design of the CANADIAN CENTURY makes her an easily recognizable ships on the lakes. It is a maximum size seaway self-unloader with a carrying capacity of 31,600 tons.

The main loading ports that this ship will enter include Conneaut, Ashtabula, Sandusky and Toledo with the cargo being coal. Early in her carreer she would venture as far east as Sept Ilse where she would rendevous with running mate ONTARIO POWER for transfer coal from Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The CANADIAN CENTURY was typically out early in the season and officially opened the Welland Canal in 1968, 1969, 1979 and again in 2001.. She broke several coal records early in her career.

Since this vessel was commissioned during Canada's centennial year (1967); Upper Lakes deemed it appropriate to name the vessel in honour of Canada's "CENTURY" of confederation. The word "CANADIAN" was in keeping with the fleet's theme.

CANADIAN CENTURY underwent a $25 million (CDN) mid-life refit at Port Weller Dry Docks, St. Catherines, ON. The refit, took place during the 2001/2002 winter layup.

The CANADIAN CENTURY currently sails under the management of Seaway Marine Transport, St. Catherines, ON (partnership of Algoma Central and Upper Lakes Group). With the exception of the converted steamer JAMES NORRIS, the CANADIAN CENTURY is now the oldest self-unloader in the Upper Lakes fleet.

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