by Cathy Dobson for the Sarnia Observer

(2003) Elmer Kleinsmith was just starting his work day at the Century Coal Company in Point Edward when fire broke out on the Hamonic luxury steamship docked at the CN freight shed. Kleinsmith quickly drove his coal crane over to the dock and hoisted his bucket to the bow of the Hamonic. As the ship burned that fateful morning of July 17, 1945, Kleinsmith loaded eight to 10 people into the bucket at a time and carried them to safety. In the Sarnia Observer published that afternoon, Kleinsmith was credited for continuing to load his crane until all the passengers in the bow were removed.

“It was a pitiful scene,” The Observer reported. “With the flames only a few feet from them, men, women and children huddled on the bow afraid to slide down the rope, yet fearful of being burned to death.”

The Hamonic, affectionately known as ‘The Hammy’ by locals, was one of three passenger liners operated by the Northern Navigation Company in the 1930s and 1940s. The Huronic and Noronic were sister ships and together they cruised the Great Lakes with frequent stopovers in Point Edward. Miraculously, none of the 300 or so passengers on board died when the Hamonic burned.

The Observer ran no less than five front page stories and three photographs that day. “Steamer and Sheds Burn” in two-inch type across the top was followed by a smaller headline reading: “Sarnia General Hospital handles One Hundred Cases from the Ill-fated Ship.’ Photos showed firefighters fruitlessly trying to extinguish the flames and passengers jumping over board.

“The 350-foot palatial steamer Hamonic, second largest of the Canada Steamship lines Great Lakes passenger fleet, under the command of Capt. H.L. Beaton of Point Edward, was aground in the St. Clair River this afternoon, its interior completely gutted by fire which swept the ship and the quarter-mile-long frame freight shed at Point Edward shortly after eight o’clock this morning,” said the lead story. Passengers were taken to Sarnia General Hospital, the Polymer Corporation Hospital and private homes in the village suffering from shock, burns and bruises. The Observer called it “the worst holocaust in marine history in recent years.”

“Passengers and members of the crew trapped when flames roared through the dining room, the main lounge, dance hall and cabins, made their way fore and aft. With all means of escape cut off, they leaped into the river to be rescued by boats from the United States Coast Guard at Port Huron, fishing tugs and by pleasure boats…”

The Observer hailed Kleinsmith as a hero along with Capt. Beaton, who quickly freed the ship from its cables at the dock and rammed his ship hard aground so that rescue from shore was possible. Several weeks later, on Aug. 1, 1945, the paper reported on a dinner in which rescuers were recognized by Port Huron officials, likely because many of Hamonic’s passengers were American. Nineteen men received certificates for heroism. “Speakers stressed the fact that Americans and Canadians had acted in complete accordance in a common struggle, demonstrating once again their close friendship,” the paper said. As well as Beaton and Kleinsmith, other honourees included Ronald T. Purdy, local fisherman and Alvin A. Bright, who worked with Purdy. Their boat was the first on the scene. A second Purdy boat was involved in the rescue and its operators Robert Roland, Daniel R. George and Earl Brissette of Kettle Point were also honoured. Robert King reached the fire in his boat as well and helped in the rescue work, The Observer noted.

Employees in the shed said the flames swept the huge building in two minutes and the fire couldn’t be stopped. When the adjacent ship caught fire, the intense heat made it impossible for the crew to cast off the lines. The Observer’s 4 pm publishing time served its readers well that day as there was time for numerous interviews and thorough reporting before the paper went to press.

What was to have been a pleasure trip for 300 passengers on a week’s cruise to Duluth, Port Arthur and Fort William was turned into a tragedy within a few short minutes,” the lead story lamented.