1952 Edward B. Greene
Steel Great Lakes bulk freighter
Built at Toledo OH by American Ship Building Co., Hull 189
Built in dry dock; floated Jan 10, 1952
647’ LOA, 629’3” LBP, 70’ beam, 36’ depth
1 deck, arch cargo hold construction, hatches @ 24’, oil-fired boilers, steam turbine engine, 7000 SHP
Enrolled at
629.4 x 70.2 x 31.3, 11726 GT, 8730 NT US 263980 to:
Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Co., Cleveland OH (home port Wilmington DE)
Entered service July 29, 1952 (maiden voyage delayed by steel strike)
Lengthened 1976 at Superior WI by Fraser Shipyards
Remeasured to 749.4 and 13899 GT, 10902 NT
Converted to self-unloader 1982 at Toledo OH by American Ship Building Co.
Remeasured to 11949 GT, 8940NT
Sold 1985 to Rouge Steel Co., Dearborn MI, Ford Motor Co., Mgr. and renamed Benson Ford (3) (home port to Dearborn MI)
Fleet sold 1988 to Lakes Shipping Inc., Cleveland OH, Interlake Steamship Co., Mgr. (home port to Cleveland OH)
Renamed Kaye E. Barker 1989
IMO 5097450
In service 2011 for Lakes Shipping (Interlake)
5204
I was on the E.B. Greene for her last trip of 1966. I was in the big storm that winter, and had quite an adventure. I took a lot of pictures with my Instamatic. Taconite Harbor was one of the coldest places i have ever been. A Great ship. I hated it when Cliffs got out of the Steamship business, but they are bigger then ever now.
My dad Albert Stein Junior sailed on the E.B. Greene from 1956,
I sailed on her when she was the Edward B. Greene owned by Cleveland Cliffs. About 1972.
Greetings…
We’d like to know who was the captain of the Green in the late 60’s or early 70’s…
He was a friend of my wife’s late father who was a chief lock master at the Soo Locks…
Thanks so much
H. C. Almstedt was captain 1968 thru 1972. Was on William G. Mather before 1968, not assigned 1973 (maybe retired?). E. D. Cheney was on Greene 1967 and K. W. Lowrie 1973.
He was a crusty Captain I was a wiper. He’d prefer his deckhands didn’t associate with engineroom lowlifes. I believe my Chiefs name Sheraton I believe. Great person. Wonderful scenery. @1971
John Campbell was skipper on her in 1959 and 1960. In 1962 Edward J. Scott was skipper on her for part of the season.
I believe my grandfather, Andrew Jackson Rathbun was the pilot on the EB Green at that time.
Ernie, do you remember me Bill Miller. Deck hand on the green when you were piloting for wild Bill. Remember the winter runs? My brother Ralph piloted wheelsmen with you and went to the srerling wr. miller @ hotmail
I worked as a deckhand / deckwatchman the summer of ‘64. The skipper was a Scotsman named Campbell (accent and all). The guy that hired me at the Cleveland office was named J.P. McHale (as in McHale’s Navy).
What I remember:
The 1st cook was a guy named Frank Swinghammer, who, in his earliy years, was the personal chef of Al Jolson, when Al toured the US via rail.
When we went through the locks a Sault Ste Marie, I was the guy they swung over the side to manage the cable. During one of the passages, we were featured on one of the early morning TV shows and were greeted by Hugh Downs and Barbara Walters. I remember Barbara had the skinniest legs I had ever seen on a woman.
Also, I don’t know if it was the same guy, but one of my crew mates was a guy with the last name, I remember spelled “Abergast”. Coincidently, one of the lost crew members of the Edmund Fitzgerald was a guy named “Armagost”? I remember Abergast as bearing a striking physical resemblance to the skipper on Gilligan’s Island, except he had black hair
and was much younger. I don’t know know how to reconcile the spellings of the last names.
I still have my coffee cup from the EB Green! I also recently downloaded a copy of a painting of the EB Greene.
I understand that the Greene underwent an overhaul in 1990, that included lengthening. Plus the name has been changed two times, the latest in 1990 to the “Kay E Barker”.
Can you send a photo of the painting of the Edward B. Green?
My father-in-law William E. Edwards was captain of the Edward B. Greene until he retired in the early 80’s.
We were guests on the E. B. Green in 1975. The Capt. that year was a Captain Edwards.
my parents were also aboard in the mid 60’s was the gally stainless steel? susan.beatty@bex.net
My dad sailed on the EB Greene in the mid to late 1950s. Robert Adams. Merchant Marine. Is there any record of the ship passing under the Mackinac Bridge on Nov 1, 1957? My dad was aboard that very night, according to his recollection.
Thank you!
My father-in-law, Alfred Ahrens, was Chief Engineer on the Greene and Cleveland Cliffs Fleet Chief until he retired. My wife remembers family trips during the summers. He also was Chief on the Willie G. now on display by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. When we go aboard my wife does the tour. My wife and I visited Cleveland during our honeymoon in 1965 and had breakfast aboard the Greene cooked by Frank Swinghammer.
Just happened by this web site and saw a post from my brother in law in 2018. Funny !
My dad was Capt. William E Edwards and sailed for Cleveland Cliffs from July 1936 to July 1980 and was the Captain at that time. At retirement the ships clock from pilot house was mounted and given to him as gift. I have it still and sits in family room. I was a passenger on the Greene, Victory, Champlain, and Mather once in a while, My dad was first mate, on Mather when Capt. Harry Anderson sailed her. Another top notch Captain!
Did the captain also paint the Christmas greetings on egg cartons?
I do not know but my mother used to make egg cartons in shape of Christmas trees and paint and decorate. When she passed we found boxes of empty Styrofoam egg cartons in basement. LOL
In 1952, I toured the Greene with my father, Warren Johnson, who was the stores foreman of American Shipbuilding – Toledo. I was eight, and remember the tour vividly, My father pointed out the turbines and the B-W boilers. The first time I saw radar was in the pilot house of the Greene scanning the Maumee River.
My uncle Richard Bruggeman, a farmer, worked at American Shipbuilding in Toledo from time to time in the off season, I believe. His son, my cousin Paul, was very young at the time the Edward B. Greene was launched. I remember that Paul came home and proudly announced that ” My daddy pushed the boat in the water!” I wish I had been able to tour her way back then.
Hi, my parents cruised on the ship around the early 1960’s with a few other couples because they knew the captain. I have a large painting of the ship signed by H. Almstedt that my dad purchased back then. Did he paint other pictures of the ship? Was Almstedt also the captain of the ship?
My Dad, Dyer McVey, was on the Greene as a Merchant Marine from 1953 to 1980 when he retired. I was on the Greene in the early 70’s and I couldn’t get over the size of that ship. My Father worked with a man he called Dutch, who painted greeting cards and painted pictures on his down time. He also worked with a man named, Don Carlson, who was originally from Minnesota and lived in South Carolina. When Dad retired, he was a night watchman. If any of you remember him, please let me know.