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Billie S. / Polygon

Canadian List of Ships 1945: Billie S. [C.158264] built at Fort Frances, Ontario in 1935. Registered at Port Arthur. Owned by Staratt Airways & Transportation Ltd., Hudson, Ontario. GAO Notes: Steel diesel workboat/tug Polygon [C.158264] built at Fort Frances, Ontario by Russel Bros. in 1935. ex- Billie S. Canadian List of Ships 1997: Steel tug/other Polygon [C.158264] built at Fort Frances, Ontario in 1935. Registered at Thunder Bay, Ontario. 12 meters; 20 g.t.; 13 n.t. Owned by Winfried Wiener, 144 Helen St., Lions Head, Ontario. N0H 1W0. ex- Billie S.

Don Capel notes:

  • 40' long
  • Present cabin built 1989 at Lion's Head, Ont.
  • In 1937 owned by American Can of Canada 1 International Rd. Rexdale, Ont.
  • In 1989 hauled out on dock at Owen Sound Elevator for repainting
  • One of the last Fort Frances built boats.
John LaBlance commented (Jan. 2016): "The Polygon went down off Stokes Bay in the late 90s, a guy from Cape Croker had her. She was a tug in the Pic River used for handling log booms before being "converted" to a fish tug."

Graphic from a newspaper clipping courtesy RBF.

 

 

1957 photo by Stan T. Cossey. Stan Johnson of M&DH Society identifies one of these tugs as Polygon. Gord Campbell comments (Feb. 1, 2018) "The vessel with the white superstructure I believe, was owned by McCuaig of Heron Bay. It was both a fishing tug, and a beachcombers tug. The dark coloured tugs were red. Usually the logging tug Mark Whitman was beached for winter at Camp 19 or about 8 miles up river above the first rapids on the Pic River. There is a logging road on the south end of the Airport that headed for the valley and it wandered down to the river valley."

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Leigh Cossey notes (Dec. 10, 2017): "Polygon photo courtesy of Marathon & District Historical Society.
No date or place but during her time at Marathon Corp."

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July 1955 photo of Edward Dampier (then age 28 or so), who worked on Polygon, sent along by his son Rick Dampier (Feb. 2019). Rick comments: "This is likely around Marathon and Heron Bay. Most of the Older Dampiers grew up on Lake Superior and the Nipigon River. My Uncle Charles (Ed's brother) owned The Red Rock and my grandfather Owned The Alda Gene tug."

 

Polygon photo courtesy of Marathon & District Historical Society.
No date or place but during her time at Marathon Corp.

 

Leigh Cossey notes (Dec. 10, 2017): "Polygon photo courtesy of Marathon & District Historical Society.
No date or place but during her time at Marathon Corp." Barb Rose Shea Markle comments (Oct. 16, 2018): "I am the young girl in the colour photo. I had shared it on the Hometowners site a few years ago. I believe I may have been about nine years old here, so it may have been 1959. This was taken at the mouth of the Pic River. We'd drive there with the family to have picnics, and sometimes fish from the side of the Polygon where it was docked. My dad, Edward Forget, worked on many of the boats at that time."

 

Rob Marchand notes (Dec. 26, 2018): "A photo from my Dad. My brother and I at the mouth of the Pic River, on the Polygon. We were about to depart to a camp at the mouth of the White River for a week of camping/fishing. The Polygon and Warper No. 1 were nose to nose (you can see a bit of Warper No. 1 in top left). This would have been about 1969 or 1970." Click to enlarge.

 

Stan Johnson of M&DH Society identifies two of these tugs as Martin E Johnson and Polygon. Gord Campbell comments (Feb. 1, 2018) "The vessel with the white superstructure I believe, was owned by McCuaig of Heron Bay. It was both a fishing tug, and a beachcombers tug. The dark coloured tugs were red. Usually the logging tug Mark Whitman was beached for winter at Camp 19 or about 8 miles up river above the first rapids on the Pic River. There is a logging road on the south end of the Airport that headed for the valley and it wandered down to the river valley." Photo courtesy Leigh Cossey.

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1982, working on the mouth of the Pic River. Photos courtesy of Frank Moses.

 

Frank Moses's brother, Polygon at the mouth of the Pic River, near Marathon, ON. Photo courtesy Frank Moses.

 

Marathon, Aug. 22. Leigh Cossey notes (Dec. 10, 2017): "Polygon and Martin E. Johnson bring
the last log booms into Marathon. Clipping from Stan Johnson's Home Towners group."

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Photo from above image.

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This is Polygon at Owen Sound right after she was converted to a fish tug.
Photo circa 1988. Shaun Vary Collection.

 

OSMRM Collection. Don Capel notes (Feb 2nd, 1993):
The boat was refurbished at Owen Sound in 1991, thereafter located in Lion's Head.

 

Polygon at the Soo. Buck Longhurst photo. Gerry Ouderkirk Collection.

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For more Russel exhibits visit Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum 1165 1st Ave West, Owen Sound, ON N4K 4K8
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