After much consultation and head scratch-
to the potential for the ship to become stuck in
ing, it was decided that the most cost effective
the middle of the river—not to mention the en-
option was to dredge the river. This, confirms
suing negative press this would cause—the
Blutrich, was a “huge dredging challenge” in-
team decided they’d come too far to turn back
volving clearing a swath of riverbed some 50ft
and pressed on.
wide and almost a mile in length. In addition to
“So much time and money had gone into it,
the physical work, a mountain of paperwork
we had to try,” says Blutrich. “We simply
also needed to be dealt with, ranging from as-
couldn’t give up. Then, the moment the ship ac-
sessments of environmental risks associated
tually began to move, it was amazing.”
with such important factors as fish habitats to
Although the disappointment of the previous
THE SHIP AND THE RENAISSANCE
approvals for the ship’s removal from various
day had meant few people actually witnessed the
The coming home of the SS Keewatin symbolizes a very real renaissance for Port McNicoll. Devastated and deserted when Canadian Pacific ceased operations there, the community soon stagnated as families who’d worked the ships for generations were forced to uproot and relocate in search of work. At last, almost 50 years after the fact, Port McNicoll is about to experience a change of fortune. With the Keewatin once again moored on the shoreline and ownership transferred to a not-for-profit group (Diane and RJ Peterson Great Lakes Foundation and Keewatin Museum) led by the lad from the ship’s dining room, Eric Conroy, the vessel itself has already undergone something of a transformation. Repairs and renovations are underway, much of it done by a team of close to 150 volunteers from within the local community, and tours of the big ship were conducted throughout the fall. Even now, clean up crews are finding relics from the ship’s heyday, and items such as Edwardian chamber pots, CPbranded tableware and boxes of never-used items such as British-made teapots turn up regularly. Future plans include using the ship’s cargo deck as rentable community space, and reopening its elegant first-class dining room as a restaurant and special events venue for weddings and other functions. Once moved to her final berth adjacent to the community’s new waterfront park—just steps from her original docking location—the Keewatin will be joined by a replica of the town’s original train station, complete with a number of restored rail cars. As for the planned long-term development of which the Keewatin will be the centerpiece, much has already been achieved. The massive grain elevator that once dwarfed the huge ships it served has been demolished and the land cleared to make way for future construction of the much-anticipated Port McNicoll Resort Village, the 1,126-acre master planned destination community being developed by Skyline. Encompassing some 6½ miles of Georgian Bay waterfront, half of the 825-acre development will be devoted to preserved wetland including a protected swan nesting area, while the remainder—on the harbour side—will be home to docking space, restaurants, cafés, shops, accommodations and housing.
levels of government.
ship being moved from her berth in the US, it was
12 | SkyLife Winter 2012
quite a different story back in Canada. June 23rd, 2012, was not only warm and sunny, it marked the 45th anniversary of the Keewatin’s departure from Canada as well as being 100 years to the day that it had begun working from the same dock. As expected, a crowd of thousands turned up for the big day, an event that was covered by all the major news networks in Canada. A 200-voice choir consisting of local residents sang boisterously, competing with the honking of countless horns from a huge flotilla of over 700 Canadian vessels that turned out to escort the old lady of the lakes home. It was a memory that Blutrich won’t soon forget. “I saw the ship through the same eyes as that young lad who saw them leave in 1965, when everybody thought they’d left for good and they closed the port, taking away people’s jobs. The day the Keewatin came back, it was The lad from the dining room: The Keewatin has been a part of Capt. Eric Conroy's life for 50 years.
almost like a universal justice. You have to understand how deep rooted this old ship and
With approvals firmly in hand, work finally began
Port McNicoll are in the history of the families
over the winter of 2011, and by June the ship was
that live in this area. People came to me that
ready to begin her voyage home. But it became
day and showed me photos of family grave-
clear almost immediately that even the best of
stones on which the ship had been carved. It
plans don’t always go the way they’re expected.
was their whole lives, for generations. It’s the
“There was such huge interest in the States
history and the pride of the region.”
that thousands of people showed up to watch
And, predicts Blutrich, it will be this same
the two big tugboats try to pull the ship out,”
deep-rooted connection to the Keewatin—
says Blutrich. “But it didn’t budge. We tried for
once the crown jewel in the Canadian Pacific
hours, but at the end of the day, we’d failed. She
Railway’s mighty Great Lakes Steamship fleet—
didn’t move.”
that will ensure the ship remains much more
An overnight consultation led to a dramatic
than just another tourist attraction. As it was for
change of plan. This time, instead of placing the
their ancestors, and as it will be for generations
tugboats at the bow of the ship, they were
to come, this historic vessel will remain an inte-
placed at the stern. Despite warnings from the
gral part of the fabric of their lives, their com-
US Coastguard that the maneuver was risky due
munity, as well as their hearts. SL