GUEST POST by Cec Mitchell 

It was approaching the middle of December, 1972 and there was a buzz in the air. No…It wasn’t Christmas, it was another historic event.

Relatively few people alive today remember a time when the shipping season meant traffic tie-ups as the bridges went up to allow the passage of the ships. But at last, the end was in sight. The new canal channel east of the city was almost ready, waiting for the old canal to close for the season so the plug could go in and the rail lines graded to meet ones in the new tunnel.

In the early evening, December 15, throngs of Wellanders converged on the downtown to see the last boat pass under Main Street bridge. It was bitterly cold and it was snowing but still they turned out. The bridge had been raised about an hour before the ship could be seen. There was excitement in the air. Two searchlights, one at each end of the bridge sent pencils of light into the sky adding to the festive mood.

The siren sounded to signal the boat’s approach. Normally this would lead to many groans but that night it led to cheers. Everyone jockeyed for position to get a good look. I had picked a spot in the parking lot at the end of Division Street along the canal. I already had my photo idea in my head, the ship passing under the bridge with the two searchlight beams crossing overhead. Now if only they could all come together.

Slowly the Georgian Bay appeared, slowly moving under the bridge. My luck was with me…I got the searchlight beams where I wanted them. Slowly the ship moved on to much applause and cheering and singing from the thousands who had gathered.

Next the bridge started its slow descent. When it was down and the gates went up a sea of Wellanders flooded onto the bridge deck, shoulder to shoulder. No more waiting for ships!

Festivities continued into the night. The Kiwanis Club who organized the event had “Last Boat” souvenir mugs made for the occasion and they were put to good use, toasting to that last boat!

There were a couple of boats after that but they were canal service boats.

Now the big job begins. Connect the rail lines to the tunnel at Townline Road, remove the sections on the new canal that couldn’t be excavated until the rail lines were rerouted. And then the new canal had to be flooded, a very slow task, all before the new shipping season opened in the spring of 1973.

There was much celebration that night but then the following year nostalgia took over. As much as as they were glad to see the unimpeded traffic flow, many Wellanders expressed missing seeing the ships of the world pass through their city.

(Cec Mitchell is a long-time Wellander and former Tribune photographer who retired from the newspaper in 1995.)

Source: Article originally published by Joe Barkovich in his fromareportersnotebook Blog)

PHOTO CREDIT: Cec Mitchell shows his photo taken the historic night of December 15, 1972 of the Georgian Bay as it passed under Main Street bridge. It appeared on page 1 of the next day’s Tribune. /Joe Barkovich file photo.