Contributed by a reader, from a 1934 South Haven paper. ----- These are exciting days in good old Lake Michigan and what merriment. So let the orchestra strike up, and joy reign supreme for the famed "sea serpent" has bobbed up in the lake. You do not believe it? But listen my children and you will understand. Two good and true seamen and residents of our own city saw it with their own eyes. We refer to Capt. G. E. Stufflebeam of the S. S. Theodore Roosevelt and Harry J. Cook, 1053 Ireland avenue, known here for years for the truth and nothing by the truth. But let the Associated Press dispatch tell the story: "We were about four miles off shore," said Capt. Stufflebeam last night, "when Donald Steele, the lookout saw it." "I ordered two floodlights thrown on the creature and there he was -- wriggling and twisting around and going faster than the ship. We kept it in sight for five minutes. "The passengers on deck cried, `What is it?' but I didn't know nor did H. J. Cook, former steamship line official, who was with me. "Then it flipped its tail and the creature -- about 60 feet long -- started toward Benton Harbor, Mich." That's Captain Stufflebeam's story and he said he'll stick to it. Now, is there any doubt in your mind that a sea serpent is roaming Lake Michigan frightening women and children? There should not be, and can be none in view of the circumstances, especially if you know Mr. Stufflebeam and Mr. Cook. And if it has been your misfortune not to know them, there is something missing in your life. Two more truthful and jovial sailors never sat around the kitchen table and spun yarns of their daring and the sea. They are the life of the party. Capt. Stufflebeam commanded the steamer Alabama for years and later was commodore of the state ferry fleet at the Straits. In and out of marine circles, no captain is considered a more able pilot or a more charming host. If Capt. Stufflebeam's friends, or even the passengers, insisted on a sea serpent, a sea serpent it would be. Capt. Stufflebeam is that way. The steamer Roosevelt is operated out of Chicago daily on excursions to Benton Harbor. It is to be noted that it was toward Benton Harbor that the serpent was headed. Naturally with the double holiday at hand, Capt. Stufflebeam will expect thousands of Chicago people to board his ship in the search for that serpent. And with Capt.. Stufflebeam and Mr. Cook there to entertain them, what fun there will be. Maybe a reporter or two will go along. The captain likes reporters and reporters like him, and there is nothing a reporter enjoys more than a sea serpent chase on lake Michigan with Captain Stufflebeam and his aide, Harry Cook. [It's hard to tell if this newspaper story is an "in" joke, perhaps to advertise the cruises, the reporter mocking some unusual event that took place on a previous trip, or a case of legitimate (albeit light-hearted) reporting.]

This information was OCR text scanned from SDHS newsletter supplements. A binder of original paper copies is catalog item 2023.50.01