By Chris Winters

SOUTHDOWN CHALLENGER unloading a split load of Type I Portland cement under the light of Milwaukee’s inimitable “Polish Moon.” Kinnickinnic River terminal, November 2003.  

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The SOUTHDOWN CHALLENGER was built in 1906 at Ecorse, Mich., by the Great Lakes Engineering Works for the Shenango Steamship Company as the WILLIAM P. SNYDER.  She was a 530 foot steel bulk cargo steamer.  Rebuilt in 1966 as a cement carrier, she has had six names throughout her career.

WILLIAM P. SNYDER;  ELTON HOYT II – 1939; ALEX D. CHISHOLM – 1952;  MEDUSA CHALLENGER – 1966; SOUTHDOWN CHALLENGER – 1999;  ST. MARY’S CHALLENGER – 2005.  

The summer of 2014 the ST. MARYS CHALLENGER reentered service as part of an articulated tug/barge unit, having her engines and pilothouse removed.  As a steamer she needed 25 people to operate her.  As a tug/barge unit only 11 were required.  Her pilothouse is on display at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo.

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Chris Winters is a Trustee and Vice President of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society, a well-known author and has been a photojournalist for over 25 years.  He and his cameras have enjoyed a privileged glimpse into the lives of merchant mariners aboard some of the Great Lakes best-known and best-loved vessels.