There’s a classic 1970s Columbo episode in which the good lieutenant is vacationing on a cruise ship with his wife but ends up having to investigate a murder that occurred onboard. During the entire show, Columbo repeatedly mixes up the use of the two words: ‘ship’ and ‘boat’ and is corrected by the ship’s crew, much to his frustration.
For some reason, I think of that episode every time I write about one of the large ore carriers or vessels coming into Lorain’s harbor. I guess I’m trying not to make the same mistake.
And with that introduction, here’s a photo and caption annoucing the arrival of the first ship in the Port of Lorain during the 1971 shipping season. It appeared in the Journal on April 5, 1971.
It conjures up a lot of nostalgic feelings of the days when Lorain was an active port and a steel city, with ships coming and going regularly, and forcing us to wait on the opened Bascule Bridge until they were out of the way. It reinforced Lorain’s nautical and industrial heritage and made it an interesting place to live.
Now, when you get trapped on the bridge, it’s often just a little motorboat with an unusually tall mast, putt-putt-putting on its way. It’s just not the same.
