G. A. Boeckling Retires – July 10, 1952

I'm too young to have taken the Steamer G. A. Boeckling to Cedar Point, but the article below kinda chokes me up just the same. It's about the steamer's retirement and sad departure from Sandusky Bay, and it ran in The Lorain Journal on Friday, July 11, 1952 – 61 years ago today.

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Farewell For 'Old Lady'

More than 300 Sanduskians turned out 'neath the blue skies yesterday and bid farewell to an old friend who has been with them for many years and had served them well.

Handkerchiefs waved as the "old Lady," the Steamer G. A. Boeckling, ferry which commuted between Sandusky and Cedar point, was towed away by a huge tug.

The Boeckling was retired from active service this spring and was replaced by two smaller diesel ferries to handle the throngs from the Bay City to the big amusement park.

Purchaser of the "old lady" was the Peterson Shipyards Company of Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The Boeckling was under tow today, behind the tug, for Sturgeon Bay where the new owners will put her into service as a waterfront warehouse.

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The story didn't end there, however. A local group purchased the steamer from the Peterson Shipyards Company, and it was towed back to Sandusky in 1982 (see clipping below).

June 12, 1982 Toledo Blade article

Unfortunately, it burned to the ground several years later before it could be restored. All in all a sad tale.

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Click here to visit the fascinating Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay website to learn about the man – George A. Boeckling – for whom the steamer was named.