Katahdin Steamship 100th Anniversary
Celebrate the ‘Grand Lady of Moosehead Lake’ – the SS Katahdin
By Shelagh Talbot
GREENVILLE — The 100th birthday of a grand old lady — a steamship nicknamed the Kate in Greenville — will be celebrated in style this week.
This venerable craft is officially known as the Katahdin and she sails the waters of Moosehead Lake every summer.
Shelagh Talbot photo
KATE AT SUNSET — The Katahdin rests in her berth at East Cove in Greenville on a soft summer evening.
Her birthday celebration begins Wednesday, Aug. 13 with a presentation at the Center for Moosehead History at 7 p.m. on the role of steamboats during the years when the logging industry was humming.
On Friday Aug. 15, the Moosehead Yacht Club (www.mlyc.com) will hold a boat show and parade in East Cove, near the Kate’s berth.
The show promises to be special this year, according to the club’s vice-commodore Juan Galan. “It is expected that we will have many antique boats on display … but with some centennial gems as well, floating or on a trailer,” Galan said. Best of all, the Kate will lead this exciting centennial parade.
On Saturday, Aug. 16, there will be a birthday party open to the public from 5-7 p.m. Following this, the birthday cruise will leave at 7 p.m. for two hours of celebrations ending with fireworks.
The weekend’s activities conclude with a family brunch on Sunday, Aug. 17 at the dock from 9:30-11 a.m. Cost is by donation.
The Kate has quite a history. Her original wood hull burned and that inspired her owners, the large tourist resort at Mount Kineo, to commission a young shipyard — Bath Iron Works — to build the steel hull. It was brought in sections, first by train and then hauled by teams of oxen to East Cove where the new hull was installed.
Her sumptuous seating area comfortably transported visitors to hotels and resorts all over Moosehead Lake while supplies and even animals were ferried from one spot to another on her lower decks.
At one time, there were as many as 50 steamboats sailing up and down the lake.
The popular invention of the automobile and the building of roads contributed to the demise of many large resort hotels and train-to-boat transport on Moosehead Lake.
By the late 1930s many families had their own automobiles; and of all the steamships that plied the waters, only the Kate was left. Her engines were converted to diesel and she became a workhorse – towing huge rafts of logs up and down the lake. Her beautiful seating area languished.
In 1975 she was a participant in the last log drive in the United States.
Conservationists had deemed log drives bad for lakes and rivers; so in August of that year, the Kate worked for the last time, towing rafts that were acres and acres of four-foot logs chained together by log booms. It was quite an event and photographs of the Kate, diminutive in relation to the huge islands of logs, are on display at the Moosehead Marine Museum.
When the Moosehead Marine Museum was founded in 1976, a year after the last log drive, the Katahdin was acquired as the star exhibit.
From the start, considerable sums of money had to be raised to repair the Kate and turn her into the cruising vessel she is today.
With a maximum capacity for 225 people, the Kate provides the perfect venue for a leisurely cruise on Maine’s largest lake.
Liz Cannell, executive director of the Moosehead Marine Museum is very busy with all the preparations.
“Come to Greenville and join the special centennial celebration if you are able. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, and everyone is invited,” she said.
For information about the Katahdin’s 100th birthday, visit www.katahdincruises.com or stop in at the Moosehead Marine Museum.
When the Moosehead Marine Museum was founded in 1976, a year after the last log drive,
the Katahdin was acquired as the star exhibit.
‘Save the Depot’ celebration Aug. 16
By Mike Lange
Staff Writer
GREENVILLE — Two milestones in Greenville will be celebrated next weekend: the 100th anniversary of the steamship Katahdin (see separate story) and the 125th birthday of the Greenville Junction railroad depot.
The Junction Depot Friends will host its third annual celebration on Saturday, Aug. 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. as efforts continue to raise enough funds to renovate and relocate the historic railroad station.
Photo courtesy of Jane Hall
RIDING THE RAILS — Bob Roberts and Jill Wiese are shown pumping the velocipede while George Wiese plays a railroad tune at last year’s Save the Depot celebration.
Thanks to the contributions of some major businesses, the underpinning, sill stabilization and leveling project is now complete, according to committee chair Jane Hall. Jewett Builders from Gardiner replaced the sills and leveled the station, and the building was stabilized with pads donated by Auburn Concrete, lumber from Hammond Lumber and steel beams donated by Cianbro Corporation.
More than 35 volunteers have been involved in the fundraising and 125th anniversary celebration. The estimated cost of renovating and moving the building is around $100,000. Save the Depot was granted nonprofit status by the Internal Revenue Service in 2011.
Saturday’s festivities include a railroad workers’ reunion, a display from the Moosehead Historical Society, model train exhibits, a display from Maine Operation Lifesaver and a concert by the H.J. Crosby Community Band from Dexter at noon.
Retired section foreman Bob Roberts will return with his velocipede and visitors will have the opportunity to “ride the rails” with him on Saturday.
The Grillmaster General will be cooking mooseburgers with condiments by the Northwoods Gourmet Girl and desserts from the Depot Lady.
There will also be a special parking area for a cruise-in for those who want to bring their classic cars to the celebration and art work will be on display by Milt Christianson and Bill Crosby.
The Greenville Junction station was built in 1889 by the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the unusual “witch’s hat” was added to the roof sometime between 1900 and 1910, according to the railroad’s archives.
The last regular passenger service using this station ended on Dec. 17, 1994 with discontinuation of VIA Rail Atlantic service.
The Junction Depot Friends have been working to save the structure from further decay since 2010 and move it to a new location.
The building was owned by the former Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway who agreed to turn the building over to the non-profit organization, provided that they move it.
The structure weighs an estimated 85 tons. The new owners, Central Maine and Quebec Railway, plan to honor the commitment, according to Hall.
Updates will also be posted on the “Save the Depot in Greenville Junction, Maine” Facebook page.