Ore Carrier George M. Humphrey Prepped for Christening – Sept. 1954

Vintage postcard

Seventy years ago this month, the ore freighter George M. Humphrey, built at the Lorain yards of American Ship Building, was being readied for its early October christening.

Below is the full-page of photos that ran in the Lorain Journal on September 6, 1954. 

As the article notes, "The 710 foot freighter, largest ever built on the Great Lakes, is scheduled to be christened October 5. Ceremonies will be witnessed by George M. Humphrey, secretary of the treasury for whom the vessel is named.

"Humphrey is a former president of the M. A. Hanna Co. which will operate the new ship for the owners, National Steel Corp.

"The celebration will be in direct contrast to that day in June when the new vessel rode high and majestically into the water for the first time.

"Too large for the traditional side launching, the ship was built in dry dock." (I posted a photo of the then-unnamed ship under construction back here.) 

"The drydock was flooded June 19 and the ship took to the water without fanfare or crowd.

"When put into use, the Humphrey will carry more than twice as much iron ore in a season than possible on the standard 600 foot vessel which was the lakes giant of a few years ago.

"The carrier will take its place among 750 vessels, which makes up the lakes fleet with a total trip carrying capacity of 5,000,000 tons."

The George M. Humphrey was christened on October 5, 1954. Here is the front page of the Lorain Journal the following day with the story. That's Mrs. Humphrey christening the ship named after her husband with the traditional bottle of champagne. 

In addition to Secretary of the Treasury George M. Humphrey, there were quite a few members of President Eisenhower's cabinet on hand for the big event.

Here's the continuation of the above article. That was a big day for Lorain.

Courtesy greatlakesships.wordpress.com

Here's the link to the George M. Humphrey's page on shiphotos.com, which includes some history, and information about the ship's eventual scrapping in 1986.