Archives

October 2005
S M T W T F S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  

One of the great old steam ships that used to sail the great lakes was the S.S. Hamonic. The Hamonic and her sister ship were owned by the Northern Navigation Company.

All of the photos below were kindly scanned and donated from the collection of Thomas R. Anderson II.

The steamer Hamonic heading south on the St. Clair River towards Detroit, passing under the Blue Water Bridge

Another shot of the Hamonic. This sporting the dual titles of both the Northern Navigation Company & Canada Steamship Lines.

The business card of T.R. Anderson, Purser of the Hamonic.

A view of the main dining room on the S.S. Hamonic.

A photo of two of the three sister ships of the Northern Navigation Company, The Hamonic (on the left), the Noronic (on the right) and the Huronic (not pictured). The Noronic burned in her berth in Toronto in 1949, with the loss of 118 souls. The Hamonic burned at Point Edward in her berth in 1945. However due to the quick reaction of her heroic Captain, there were no fatalities. The Huronic ran aground in 1928, was refloated and converted to cargo use in 1930’s, and was scrapped at Hamilton in 1950.

Andrew

View Comments

  • Wow, you know so much about big boats!

    So I am your first comment.

    Job well done. How come you can see that code at the bottom of the screen?

  • Was Warren Dupke ever a passenger on the Hamonic maybe in about 1943????????? I his daughter has pictures of him on the hamonic. Please contac me if you con. Iwould like to khow the history of the ship. Why he was on it and where he went. Patty Collins e-mail gpcollinsrj@yahoo.com Patty Collins

  • Do you have a picture of a solid oak deck chair that was on the Hamonic ship?
    I need a picture to verify that the chair I have was on one of those cruise ships.

  • I have pictures taken on that ship in 1927 if anyone is interested. The pictures have people in them but you can see some of the ships deck in them. My grandmother made the trip west from Ontario with 3 other girls and a chaperone.

    You can contact me at dewdrop@shaw.ca

  • I had aunts and uncles who worked on each of the three ships, one uncle was an oiler or a fireman - I can't remember which, and the other was chief engineer.

    I remember an old photo that hung in my grandmother's parlor in Sarnia and she had clippings on the fire.

    I think my parents took a honeymoon trip on either the Hamonic or Noronic - wish I had asked more questions as a child...

    Denise

  • I have a commeritive plate from the S S Hamonic. If anyone is interested in a purchase please send an email.
    Thanks,
    Bill

  • When the Hamonic burnt, was the only person killed one of the dock workers or one of the passengers.
    Other question is The NOronic burned rather quickly did the Hamonic burn as quickly?

  • We took our 1949 Senior Trip to Mackinac on the Hamonic. That was the Senior Class of Lincohn High School of Ferndale, Michigan. Before our trip, we were shown a movie in our High School Auditorium about cruises and about the etiquette observed, especially relative to dining.
    I don't understand how this article describes the Hamonic as burning in 1945. I thought both the Hamonic and the Noronic were still operating in the late 40s. Or?

  • The Hamonic did burn in July of 1945 (the 17th, I think). It only took about 20 minutes to burn the entire ship and the single casualty was a dock worker (heart attack). A short article can be found at http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,801665,00.html . Maybe you were on the Noronic, which burned on September 16, 1949 in Toronto at Pier 9. She only took 15 minutes to burn. By that I mean from the start of the fires to a point that they were completely engulfed in flames. Although both were steel-hulls the superstructure and interiors were all wood. The cherry and oak panelling was hand rubbed each day with lemon oil, which was as flamable as fuel oil!

1 2 3 4

Recent Posts

Crescent Lanes – 871 Ottawa

Crescent Lanes first opened on Ottawa Street in 1944 at 1055 Ottawa Street, opposite Lanspeary…

2 months ago

1156 Ouellette – Oswald Janisse House

Above is a photo of the home of Mr & Mrs Oswald Janisse, located at…

3 months ago

White’s Restaurant & The Elbow Room – 33 Pitt Street East

in 1917 two Greek brothers Gus & Harry Lukos purchased a one story building on…

4 months ago

4219 Wyandotte Street East

Photo from Google Streetview A long time reader sent me an email the other week…

5 months ago

841 Ouellette – Final Days

An unremarkable end to a part of Windsor's history. The large vacant house at 841…

6 months ago

Joseph L. Reaume House – 1924

One for the lost Windsor files, is this house that once belonged to Joseph Reaume…

7 months ago