This craft is one of a fleet of rowboats that were rented for recreation and fishing by the Hiestand Livery in the 1930s-40s. The lapped sides, double oar locks, color scheme and swept silhouette were typical of the Hiestand fleet. The Hiestand Livery was located on the river near the Coral Gables. Hiestand charged $3 a day for a boat and oars and also rented canoes, considered a more romantic alternative. Donated by the Shanahan Family.

Former Employer Identifies Rowboat in Archives As Style Used by Hiestand Livery Don Webster who grew up in Saugatuck was recently asked to examine a large rowing boat that the society is considering refurbishing to serve as an outdoor exhibit. He was asked because he was an employee at the Hiestand boat livery in the middle 1940s. Webster said the boat that was given to the society was almost certainly a Hiestand boat. The red and white color scheme was that used by Hiestand, Webster said,as well as the lapped sides that had to be caulked every year, the double oarlocks (two pairs of oars were furnished with each boat) and the swept silhouette. He said when he was working at the yard he recalls that the charge was about $3 a day for boat and oars. The Hiestand livery was located across Mason Street from Coral Gables. The two story building now used by The Bentley is the last of the houses built by the Hiestand family. Near the water stood Edgewater Inn, a popular restaurant featuring Louise Hiestand's home-style cooking, especially her pies and fancy cakes. The first Hiestand business was in an old blacksmith shop that had been used to create the iron work for boats built in Saugatuck. This building was destroyed by fire in 1922 when a kerosene lamp, being used because of an electrical outage, ignited gasoline fumes as Charley Hiestand tried to fill a gasoline can. The boat livery also rented canoes, a more romantic alternative to the row boat and favored by many vacationers. "We would tell them that it was important to step into the center of the canoe, but they'd just jump right in and flip it over, Webster said. Novice boaters and their antics were a favorite entertainment to restaurant customers. Webster said that Charley Hiestand was a remarkable man, "a true intellectual with only a third grade education." He would read encyclopedias in the evening, Webster said. And nearly anything else he could find. Webster is the son of David C. and Irene (Robinson) Webster and now lives in New Mexico. He was in Saugatuck recently visiting his sister, Peggy Boyce, and other family members. [Although boats are still rented, even today, in the past the rental of boats for fishing and recreation was a big business. Doc Heath had a livery near the old Tourist Home and Ross Phelps, ran the R. R. P. boat livery business near Hoffman and Water Streets and by the bridge to Douglas.Hiestand bought out Phelps in 1935.]