Right out of high school, then 18-year old Thomas Garvey started working on-board the freighters to earn some money for college.
The pay was good, but that was working seven days a week.
Fifty years later, at age 68, Garvey will be retiring after this shipping season as captain of the Joseph L. Block. He has been captain since 2021.
Garvey started with the Hannah Mining Company in 1974 on the steamer, Leon Faulk. Then he worked at the Interlake Steamship Company for five years and then eventually moved onto Inland Steel, which eventually turned into Cleveland Cliffs Company which is currently operating the Joseph L. Block freighter.
The 48-year-old Block was the first freighter through the Soo Locks Friday evening as it officially opened up for the 2024-25 shipping season.
"I have never been on the first ship before. It's kinda like hitting the lottery. You always think you will get there first. It's been a good lifestyle for me the last 50 years and it really means something special being the first one through," Garvey said.
Garvey and his crew welcomed in several dignitaries and special guests to his pilot house Friday afternoon.
They presented him with gifts for being the first ship of the season.
"I have been through the Soo Locks here in my career almost 4,000 times coming and going. Getting these items will help me remember today, and it's a special day for me, and I appreciate everything they have done," Garvey said.
The 728-foot long Block is not the biggest freighter on the Great Lakes but it still takes all workers on board to make each cargo run a success.
"We have 23 sailors on the Block. I am an anomaly here. Most of them have come up through a maritime academy. I started a the very bottom as a deckhand and worked every job getting up to captain. I think I have a good grasp of what everybody on this boat is doing, feeling, thinking. What I try to do is pass on to them what I have learned and usually you learn and I like to pass it on to the younger sailors. They appreciate it and sometimes they teach me a few things," Garvey said.
One such sailor, aboard the Block, is Bob Haworth.
He appreciates Capt. Garvey, but also all those on the mainland that follow the freighters.
"It's cool to see people follow us. What I like is that it gives me a chance, especially through social media, to show those on land what this is really like out here, or to at least give them a glance at it. There's alot of romance that everyone who's never been out here before has, and it's not always sunsets and blowing salutes out here.
"I do enjoy interacting with people though and answering questions. Back when I was young, quite a few sailors took the time to talk and show me what it was all about and I try to pay that forward," Haworth said.
"It's been a good life. It's time to let the younger people move up and get into this industry," Garvey said.
