❖ ANNA AND HER CHIEF ❖ 1948

Mrs. Anna G. Grimison
SKAGIT CHIEF,
10 January 1939.
Click image to enlarge.
Original photo from the archives of the
Saltwater People Historical Society©

"The Pacific Northwest has had a big year for tourists. Although the weather was not as warm and sunny as it normally is in summer, the highways were dotted with cars from other states, and sight-seeing tour entrepreneurs were more than busy. As the No. 3 industry of this part of the country, next to lumber and fishing, the tourist business did well. Of course, while they were here, many out-of-staters took to the water, one of the most beautiful attributes of the Evergreen Playground. Charter boat operators had a good trade to the San Juan Island area and on north along the Inside Passage. Tom Hamilton reported a busy season at his swank Malibu Club at the mouth of picturesque Princess Louisa Inlet.
      Tourists in Seattle waterfront gazed with interest at the modern steel freighters and mighty Army transports moving in and out of Elliott Bay. But the vessel they went home talking about was the SKAGIT CHIEF.

SKAGIT CHIEF
1935-1956
502 tons
165' x 40' x 6.4'
Original photo by James A. Turner
from the archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society©

She is a broad-beamed dowager, pushed around the bay by a large paddle-wheel slapping at her stern, and she is the only sternwheeler still in action in the harbor. Oddly enough though, she is no sentimental hangover from the good old days of steamboating on Puget Sound. She was built at Lake Union Drydock & Machines in 1935 for the Skagit River Navigation Company and specifically for service on the Skagit River. This river, if seen from the air can easily be distinguished by its meandering course and muddy channel as it flows into Puget Sound near Mt. Vernon. The shallow draft and stern-wheel propulsion of the SKAGIT CHIEF are made to order for skimming over the snags and flats of this wide but shallow river run.

      Normally sightseers would have seen her younger sister, the SKAGIT BELLE, around the Sound too, but she was temporarily out of service this summer. "Head man" of the Skagit River Navigation Co is a woman, efficient Mrs. Anna Grimison, who has been at the helm since 1924. She has always loved ships but makes it clear that she does not want to be typed as a waterfront character or a "Tugboat Annie!"

For another post including the salty Anna and her company please click HERE

The above text was published in Motor Boating Nov. 1948

❖ WIND WRECKAGE OF 1934

The 15,000 ton liner PRESIDENT MADISON
windswept into steamer HARVESTER,
Smith Cove, Seattle, WA. 
October 1934.
Original out-of-focus photo by Marine Photo Shop.
from the archives of S.P.H.S.©

The arrow indicates the keel, partly submerged,
of the sternwheeler HARVESTER,
that plied between Seattle and Mount Vernon.
The crew leaped to safety aboard nearby barges.
The NORTH HAVEN (L), and the tug ROOSEVELT
also were damaged as they pounded against the
side of the MADISON during the fierce
70-mile an hour gale, taking a toll of 17 lives,
in the Puget Sound area.

One of the worst gales in many years swept the Puget Sound area on 21 October 1934; southwest winds up to 70 miles-an-hour causing damage in the millions of dollars to ships, buildings, and standing timber. The American Mail Line's liner PRESIDENT MADISON figured in another spectacular mishap at Seattle when she was torn from her moorings at the outer end of Pier 41 (now Pier 91) and went drifting across the harbor, crashing into the sternwheel steamer HARVESTER of the Skagit River Navigation & Trading Co and sinking her in deep water. She also collided with the steamship NORTH HAVEN of the Northland Transportation Co inflicting considerable damage to that vessel. 
         

The HARVESTER
After being righted, 12 November 1934.
Heavy cables were run under the vessel and carried
across the deck to the outer rail where they were made fast.
Original photo from the archives of the S.P.H.S.©

      The HARVESTER was built in 1912, at Stanwood, WA, for Capt. H.H. McDonald for 30 passengers as well as greater freight capacity than previous vessels in this service.
      She was 638 t. / 152' x 36.2' x 6.8', a larger steamer than the GLEANER, built by McDonald in 1907. She was of shallower draft and was able to navigate the shallow Skagit and Stillaguamish Rivers more successfully than her elder running mate.
Above text: H.W. McCurdy's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Gordon Newell, editor. Superior (1965.)  

Ship model of the sternwheeler HARVESTER
with Mrs. Anna G. Grimison.
Her son, "first mate" Harry E. Grimison, is the suspected builder.
Location of this fine model???
Original photo from the archives of the S.P.H.S.©

      President of the Skagit River Navigation Co, Mrs. Anna G. Grimison was at the helm of the line for almost forty years. The line was started by her father, Capt. H. H. McDonald. Her last two freight boats were the sternwheelers SKAGIT CHIEF and SKAGIT BELLE. Mrs. Grimison, who made it clear she did not want to be compared to 'Tug Boat Annie,'  retired in 1962 and passed away in Seattle in 1964.