The following excerpt is from an article in the 1 August 2016 Seattle Times. It has nothing to do with genealogy – but it’s a topic that many genealogists can identify with. That’s the tendency for many of us to drop lots of money on historic stuff… The story is local to where Patty and I live. I can identify with this guy.
PORT TOWNSEND — There is something about old, historic wooden boats that, for some, turns them almost into living beings.
Says Mike Luis, former executive director at the Center for Wooden Boats, “They stir your soul. Boats are inherently emotional. They are beautiful things. They have interesting stories, they did interesting things. They’re not a neutral object.”
This is the story of Patrol No. 1, a little-known but significant Seattle tugboat that a century ago guarded and watched our waters for more than four decades.
It’s not an overstatement to say Patrol No. 1 ended up taking over the life of its last owner.
Marc Landry, 58, has used up his savings trying to restore it over the past eight years. He’s now homeless, staying with various friends in town, going to the food bank.
Since the boat left service, he’s been among three owners of the boat who have spent some $300,000 in total restoring it. But only Landry has had this much emotional investment. The other two knew when enough was enough.
