Lake Superior Journal by James R. Marshall

---

SEGLEM FAMILY COLLECTION

Thorwald and Mabel Seglem with sons Dick and Bob on Isle Royale
before moving to Duluth to join an ill-fated fishing partnership.

---


 

It was still the darkness of middle night as the 35-foot fishboat Hannah moved from her slip on the west side of Lake Avenue toward Duluth’s Aerial Bridge. The dangerous dark clouds that the sunrise would reveal were still shielded as Gust Torgerson added power. The glowing bridge lights illuminated the suspended passenger carrier, and Gust, avoiding it, sought open passage into the lake.

The darkness also concealed the significant waves marching through the piers, but they embraced and tossed the Hannah quickly. What the other three men who had entrusted their safety to Gust were thinking we can only surmise.

Accustomed as we are to the span on the Duluth Aerial Bridge which raises and lowers, most of us “more mature” folks have long forgotten the “basket” which served to carry carriages, cars and cargo across the Duluth entry for so many years. It would soon be replaced, finally connecting Park Point with a solid road.

The others aboard the Hannah were already working to prepare the herring nets, following Thorwald Seglem’s curt instructions. At age 31, Thorwald had finally left the lonely fishing of Isle Royale, joining a Knife River, Minnesota, partnership. He, his wife, Mabel, and their two young sons were now settled in Duluth, and he had joined a fishing partnership to improve their circumstances. Though Gust’s Hannah had been built by house carpenters, and thus (in the local opinion) wasn’t much of a boat, Thorwald didn’t hesitate. He mentioned its odd reactions to rough water over several evening meals, but he elected to stay with the group.

Boat helper Carroll “Kek” Bergeson had used his 19 years carefully and was now a full-time student at Superior State Teachers College. A good herring season would yield enough cash to finish the year, making this effort worthwhile.

 

 
 
 

---

SEGLEM FAMILY COLLECTION

Thorwald Seglem (left) and “Kek” Bergeson set nets in happier times.

---

Kek's helper was a quiet young Norwegian, Knute Hartvik, who had emigrated from Norway. All this hurried activity was foreign to him, but Gust’s mixture of language along with repeated demonstrations were sinking in. His stoic countenance became a smiling grin as more and more of these unfamiliar customs became familiar.

Clearing the Duluth piers, the clumsy Hannah and its limited seaworthiness was noted and later remembered by the lighthouse crew who watched it pass. There was no real sunrise, just an increase in the gray light of an overcast day. The Hannah pressed eastward, climbing wave after wave, miles of open water falling slowly behind, until it became a lost dot on the horizon.

We’ll never know just what happened to the Hannah on that day - she has never been found.

What we do know is that other fishermen, in succeeding days, recovered 16,000 pounds of herring from nets with Gust’s license identification attached. Sadly, four bodies, clad in life jackets, were later found on Wisconsin’s shore. At the time it was decided that the boat had foundered some 10 miles east of the Duluth entry, conclusions drawn from the net locations.

The “real” experts were quick to claim that the Hannah was less than seaworthy. Marine tragedy was commonplace and such events rarely made the front pages of the newspaper.

But the year was indeed 1928, and Thorwald Seglem’s widow was facing a cold winter with two young sons in a rented flat. Bob and Dick would remember their father, she knew, but warmth and food on the table were the pressing need.

In the midst of her grief she remembered Thorwald’s insistence that he become insured. “Just in case” was his reasoning. Though modest, the payment was indeed a godsend, blunting to a degree the economic travail of the oncoming depression.

Gaining skills as her sons grew, she earned a secretarial job at the DM&IR railroad, which rewarded her efforts over many years. For those more mature readers, she was Arthur “Safety” Roweder’s right writing hand for many years.

Following a tour in the Navy in World War II, son Bob Seglem married Mary Ellen after joining the Northern Pacific Railroad. Later this became the Burlington Northern, from which he retired.

Son Dick had a wartime career in the U.S. Navy as a coxswain, and a second four-year Navy hitch for the Korean War. One thought just wouldn’t leave him. No matter what he did, he gradually recognized he would have to build a boat, an urge that almost became a directive from - he wondered - where?

In 1954, Dick gained access to a small garage and construction of a few ribs was accomplished. It would be 22 feet long, he decided. A good “herring boat,” just like those he knew from his childhood.

 

 

---

LAKE SUPERIOR MAGAZINE

Today, Dick Seglem poses in front of the “Ark.”

---

 

 

In 1955, his mother bought a home, gaining a larger garage into which Dick quickly moved the pieces and ribs of his “boat-to-be!” Without heat, work progressed slowly, but his daughter, Carol, urged him on. She had developed boating skills and loved sailboats, but for a long time the “herring boat” concept was so predominant she didn’t challenge it.

In 1986, access to the garage terminated, so the vessel, now looking much more like a sailing craft that a fishing boat, made yet another journey. This was to brother Bob’s home, where the “ARK,” as it had been named, found shelter. Alas, Bob and his wife moved to a new home just a year later, necessitating removal to yet another enclosure.

And there it lies today. With bow sprit and jib boom it will now be 30 feet long, a fully found sailing craft. Water should surround it soon, but by now its oak, fir, cedar and pine components must be accustomed to patience as a way of life.

The finished boat has always been a way to honor the memories of Gust Torgerson, Thorwald Seglem, Carrol Bergeson and Knute Hartvik. Dick Seglem has spent a lifetime building this floating monument.

Feedback: jrm@lakesuperior.com