Steamer Charles McVea document, 1904
Object/Artifact
Three-page document written by a passenger aboard the Steamer Charles McVea. At a glance the document looks like a photocopy on aged paper but the ink appears to have soaked through the paper, suggesting it may be an original.
The unfinished, unsigned draft begins "A goodly number of the members of the Marquette Club of Chicago are aboard the steamer Charles McVea bound for Ottawa Beach, Michigan and other points on the East shore of Lake Michigan. They left Chicago on Saturday, Aug. 6th, 1904 at 1:00 P.M. for a few days outing and recreation. Many have taken their wives and children -- always a happy addition to a Marquette Club congregation." After another paragraph about the pleasures of the cruise, the next four paragraphs are ruminations about politics, specifically the U.S. Presidential campaign's 1904 Republican candidates Theodore Roosevelt and Charles W. Fairbanks.
The last two paragraphs return the cruise itinerary. "Our first landing place is Ottawa Beach, arriving there at 8:30. After dinner a very enjoyable dance will be a source of entertainment with [text in fold unreadable] they will find rest in the comfortable berths on the steamer. On Sunday, August 6th, [sic] Saugatuck and other points will be visited. Monday morning, August 8th, at 7:00 A.M. we will be due at Chicago, ready to do battle for the Republican party and to widen the sphere of usefulness of the Marquette Club."
2022.88.01
Example of a fruit-hauling steamer repurposed to harvest the more lucrative tourism trade and how even the loftiest of Chicagoans look pleasure in Saugatuck.
1880 Tourism steamship era -1930
Winthers, Sally
politicspolitical divisionsvacationsrecreationtourims
13 in
8-1/2 in
005 A+B Nautical History
Poor
The short ends of the pages are frayed and the ink is worn away in areas.
Charles McVea (ship) 1888-1928
11/26/2022
11/30/2022