May 20-12

Past-E-Mail: Cam Notes - 2012: May: May 20-12
Revisiting the Stone Boat    ...scroll down to share comments
Photo by Jon Hopper
Plaque (hear audio)    ...scroll down to share comments
Photo by Jon Hopper


By
Charlie at Pasty Central (Chopper) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 09:09 am:

In the first year of the Pasty Cam the old stone boat in Kearsarge appeared here, and has on several occasions since, including yesterday's mention on Armed Forces Day:

Sat
Today's top photo is a Shoebox Memory from our archives, one Jonathan took in December of '99. We don't have a good picture of the nearby plaque, so here is a quick audio version.

There are several mysteries about this subject. The discussion yesterday pointed out that this was not a CCC project, as first was posted. It is instead known as a "WPA Project". In his book, Clarence Monette incorrectly identifies WPA as "Administration of Public Works". The only agency which bore this title during the Roosevelt alphabet-soup years was the PWA (Public Works Administration, a.k.a. Administration of Public Works). The dates of construction of the boat are listed 1933-1934. However, according to the Congressional Record, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) formally came into existence on April 8, 1935, the year after the boat was built.

It would be interesting to know if there are any pay records held by workers (or their families) who were employed on the project. I'll wager that the funds actually came through the FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration), the forerunner of the WPA. Anybody out there with any first-hand knowledge?

Have a good week :o)
By
Shirley Waggoner (Shirlohio) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 09:14 am:

Oh, it is a 'stone' boat....first time I remember seeing an up-close photo. I assumed it was concrete. Very interesting, Charlie, thanks!

Here's also a picture from the MTU Archives:

from MTU

By
Thomas Baird (Thomas) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 09:20 am:

Interesting piece of work.


By Shirley Waggoner (Shirlohio) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 09:51 am:

I agree, Thomas.
Thank you, Charlie.


By Sdcferndale (Sdcferndale) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 11:11 am:

My grandparents told me my grandfather had worked
on this boat for the WPA program. I don't know what
year he worked on it or what he got paid for
working on it. Its a great looking monument.


By FRNash/PHX, AZ (Frnash) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 11:38 am:

Charlie at Pasty Central (Chopper):
… The dates of construction of the boat are listed 1933-
1934. However, according to the Congressional Record, the
WPA (Works Progress Administration) formally came into
existence on April 8, 1935, the year after the boat was built.


Good sleuthing, Charlie!

Another possibility: It might have been the Civilian
Conservation Corps — established on April 5, 1933 — that
built the "stone boat", USS Kearsarge. They did a number of
other projects in the UP, and in the Copper Country.


By richard strauss (Jjfuzzy2001) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 12:08 pm:

i remember seeing something like this at the "old"muesuem that was just south of calumet on hwy 41 as a kid- is it the same one or were there 2?


By Sconie (Sconie) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 12:17 pm:

FWIW, Civilian Conservation Corps projects were in almost all cases 'federal' work projects related to forestry, park, natural resources and water conservation-type projects. In a limited number of cases, CCCs were assigned to 'state' projects, however, these were primarily forestry in nature. From studying FERA, CCC, PWA, WPA, etc., type work projects during the Great Depression of the 1930s, I have never encountered a case where CCCs were assigned to work on a purely "local" project----as I suspect that the stone boats would have been classified.

If the stone boats were built during the 1933-34 period, I would bet that Charlie is right----that it was accomplished as a FERA project; if it (they) were built sometime after mid-1935, they almost certainly would have been done under the auspices of the WPA.

Regards to all, Paul LaVanway


By Henry C. Lehtola (Kalle) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 12:23 pm:

I'm so glad to see this area preserved and turned into a Veterans Park and Memorial. I will visit it again soon.


By Donna (Donna) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 12:38 pm:

Impressive..thank you Charlie and Pasty!


By jbuck (Jbuck) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 01:44 pm:

Thomas, who is that cute little critter on your
profile?


By Charlie at Pasty Central (Chopper) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 02:16 pm:

Neil Harri sent a much better shot of the plaque, and you can see it in greater resolution by clicking here:plaque


By FRNash/PHX, AZ (Frnash) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 07:46 pm:

Well, it looks like we all got it wrong; as indicated on the 
plaque, it was apparently
the Civil Works Administration that built the "Stone Boat".
See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Works_Administration


By Capt. Paul (Eclogite) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 08:19 pm:

I know it's too cloudy UP there and you're not in the correct location, but we're getting ready for the solar eclipse soon in SE Texas. It won't be a full eclipse, but I'm going to try for some photos anyway.


By kosk in Toronto (Koskintoronto) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 08:36 pm:

Hope you get those photos, Captain. Also hope you'll share them
with your Pasty Cam friends.


By Capt. Paul (Eclogite) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 09:16 pm:

Well, I managed to get a few before the sun went down; this was one of the best:

eclipse


By Ken ja Mimi from da UP (Kenjamimi) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 11:06 pm:

There were 3 of the stone boats UP there. 1 at Kearsarge, 1 at Centennial Hts., and 1 on 41 not too far out of Laurium, close to the Paradise location? I read this on the Pastycam a few years ago. The one on the way to Hancock was in pretty bad shape then.
Hei Capt. Paul, I enjoyed the partial eclipse pic. thanks


By Ken ja Mimi from da UP (Kenjamimi) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 11:07 pm:

There were 3 of the stone boats UP there. 1 at Kearsarge, 1 at Centennial Hts., and 1 on 41 not too far out of Laurium, close to the Paradise location? I read this on the Pastycam a few years ago. The one on the way to Hancock was in pretty bad shape then.
Hei Capt. Paul, I enjoyed the partial eclipse pic. thanks


By Ken ja Mimi from da UP (Kenjamimi) on Sunday, May 20, 2012 - 11:09 pm:

Whoops! Sorry 'bout the double exposure. :o)


By kosk in Toronto (Koskintoronto) on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 06:36 am:

That's a fantastic photo, Captain. Thanks for capturing it.


By Robert Woodland (Robwoodland) on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 10:56 am:

An elderly friend who has since passed told me that her father had worked on the boat during its construction. She grew up in the area. I do not know her maiden name unfortunately.


By Janeth Medved (Jlmedved) on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 11:07 am:

Hi...getting back to yesterdays picture of the stone boat.it was a WPA project which my dad worked on...


By Robert Woodland (Robwoodland) on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 11:14 am:

The battleship USS Kearsarge (BB5) was launched on 24 March 1898 and became the flagship of the North Atlantic Fleet. On 10 December 1903 her crew presided as the U.S. took possession of Guantanamo Naval Reservation in Cuba. She was a part of Teddy Roosevelt's Great White Fleet which sailed around the world as ambassadors in his "Speak softly but carry a big stick" policy. In 1915 she landed Marines at Vera Cruz, Mexico. During WWI she was a training ship. On 10 May 1920 she was decommissioned as a battleship but was refitted for other duties.


By FRNash/PHX, AZ (Frnash) on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 01:58 pm:

Janeth Medved (Jlmedved):
Hi...getting back to yesterdays picture of the stone boat. it
was a WPA project which my dad worked on...


However, it still remains a mystery how that "Stone Boat" was
completed before the WPA even existed!


By lookielu (Eyeswideshut) on Monday, May 21, 2012 - 04:24 pm:

Look out Houghton! I'm coming home!


By Diana P. (Diana) on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - 08:09 am:

Charlie's enlarged and readable sign accompanying the stone boat seems very helpful in clearing up the mystery of which agency was responsible for overseeing the construction. Looks to me like both the CWA (1933), and the renamed WPA (1934), were involved in this project, which spanned two years. :-)

It seems that Harry Hopkins was instrumental in facilitating work projects, especially in the UP, which no doubt assisted thousands of families during the Great Depression. Thank goodness for him. People in those days really had SISU!


By Janeth Medved (Jlmedved) on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - 03:28 pm:

I don't know where you got your information frnash there are two of us here who's family member worked on the boat...


By FRNash/PHX, AZ (Frnash) on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - 07:35 pm:

Janeth Medved (Jlmedved):
"I don't know where you got your information frnash there are two of us here who's family member worked on the boat..."


You dont? Have you read any of the above material? How about …

1. From Charlie's first post on this page, quoted here in part:


Quote:

"The dates of construction of the boat are listed 1933-1934. However, according to the Congressional Record, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) formally came into existence on April 8, 1935, the year after the boat was built."


and …

2. the Wikipedia link in that same post, from which I quote, in part:

Quote:

"Created by order of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the WPA was funded by Congress with passage of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 on April 8, 1935."



By
Diana P. (Diana) on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - 12:50 am:

Seems to me that more research is in order. The information written on the "Copper Country WPA" plaque might have come from a different source than those already cited. Or, is it in any way possible that the stone boat was built in 1934-1935, rather than 1933-1934?


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