Under (Eye) Pressure
Saturday, February 27, 2021
You know you are dedicated to something when you put in over two straight hours conducting research while under physical duress. I dunno but I have been feeling the pressure, behind my left eye that is. (I guess allergy season has started early). And yet I found myself in the attic mid morning, searching for information on the tugmen (that term still rings/reads strange…) Ironically, I was inspired to do something after receiving a brief and kind response from TimBatSea, who unfortunately was unable to offer any assistance but I appreciated his articulation of support for the project. Instead of feeling deflated and succumbing to “back to square one-ness”, I figured I should try my amateur research skills out. I found my list and got started.
I learned that Chief Engineer Elias Haaland passed away in 2005. Here is his Obituary: https://www.recordonline.com/article/20050319/news0301/303199948. He had several living kin at the time but that was over fifteen years ago. I never know quite how to approach family members of deceased individuals, especially individuals who I did not know. But I am going to have to give it a try.
I got stuck in my search for deckhand Bob (Robert) Rooney. His name appeared in a NY Times article about a trial that occurred as a result of the sinking of a cabin cruiser on the LI sound in August of 1981. I believe a tugboat that Rooney worked on was involved in a collision with the cruiser and so he had to testify regarding the event and the actions of the Captain. Here is a link to the article: https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/03/nyregion/tug-captain-backed-at-inquiry.html I was not able to find anything else about Bob Rooney.
I also struck out with Captain Albert Ellis nd Captain Bill Caughlin.
And clearly, there isn’t much I can do with the first name only cook, Joe, who served on the Margaret McAllister. Or is there…Apparently, some of the McAllister line of tugs are still alive and in business. I went to the website, McAllisterTowing.com and filled out the “Contact Us” fields, asking if anyone knew any information about the cook who served on the Margaret McAllister in the early 1980’s. I am hopeful that I will receive a response.
I used a similar strategy regarding Carl Varga, a cook who served on the Barbara Moran. Apparently that company, Moran, not only survived but thrived and bought up some of the other tugboats Lenny photographed. I emailed them as well and included the list of names that I have. Fingers crossed that there are folks who work there as part of a long line of engineers/captains/tugmen. I feel as though that is how things used to be. It’s worth a try.
And so, as Bob Marley said, “I’m Still Waiting” (one of my fave tracks by him) but I have created some cracks of possibility. And that feels good.
I also found a jewel on the internet called tugboatinformation.com. It was put together by tugboat enthusiasts who, as they state on their site, wanted to create a “one stop shop” for information on tugboats. They are going to save me a lot of time and energy because they seem to have a fairly thorough inventory of tugboats. When they were built, bought, renamed, decommissioned…and they have the specs, which of course are gibberish to me at this point but exist as a testament to their commitment to immortalizing the details of these historic vessels. Being an old home preservationist, I can understand how important this is. And so I am grateful to the folks who put the site together and maintain it. I have already created an excel sheet and have listed all of the tugs Lenny photographed. Slowly, I will compile information. Why, you ask? Well, because I have an idea for Chapter Nine of the book. It will be a sort of, “Where Are They Now?” that will trace the tugboats Lenny photographed and spent a fair amount of time on. I am not sure if I will be able to include them all. I may just focus on the tugs that Jan Stacy explicitly names in the chapters and the photo captions. We’ll see. But it’s a way to bring things to a close without dishonoring Lenny & Jan’s focus/intent for the final chapter.
What they say about a passion is true. When you have one, time is often forgotten. You just want to do the work. But part of me has to admit that I am more motivated to push forward with his project so that I can begin my own. Another part of me knows that if this gets stretched out, I will be more likely to lose my nerve and avoid a return to my past loves: architecture and photography. Because I am scared of starting, of not “getting it”, of being unable to maintain focus and faith. I need to remind myself not to try to do it “alone.” I need to keep reaching out. Isn’t that what we humans are supposed to do?
