Ahnapee Harbor and Johnny Doak - Straight Out of the Movies

A walk along Lake Michigan on Algoma's boardwalk on a warm summer's eve is a walk out of a romance novel. Add the glow of the lamps - reminiscent of the gas lights of an era long gone - casting reflections on the shimmering water of a moon lit night and the twinkling lights of returning fishing boats on the horizon, and the walk seems straight out of a movie.

If a movie had been made from scenes recreated from 130 -140 years ago , the view would have been equally breathtaking. There was no boardwalk then and gas lights had not yet been introduced in Ahnapee. The river's entrance was almost at the foot of Michigan Street from which it meandered in somewhat of an S curve to join the main channel. Before the U.S. Engineers straightened the channel and added the piers, a sand bar almost always caused problems for the boats trying to enter the river. But what a scene it must have been to stand on the lake bank seeing 15, 20 or even 25 sailing vessels  riding at anchor at once. It was the days of steam ferries and wind ships. There were piers, but not as they are known today.

Captain Frederick Pabst worked for Manitowoc's Goodrich company, ferrying passengers aboard such ships as the Cleveland and Comet, in the early days. The Enterprise mentioned Pabst being a favorite of the traveling public. It was always said Pabst made such good time as he was courting the daughter of Milwaukee brewer Jacob Best. He eventually married Miss Best and headed the brewery that won the blue ribbon at the World's Fair - Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Ahnapee was a popular port full of sailing vessels loading shingles, ties, posts, wood products, grain and more. As soon as stores were offloaded at one port, stores destined for another were loaded back on. Hard as it is to believe today, the sailing vessels were known to save the lives of ship-wrecked men whom they had found while criss-crossing Lake Michigan. That says something about the lake's commercial traffic.

One-armed John McDonald was one of those captains. He might have lost his good right arm at Missionary Ridge, but he continued sailing and doing the work of men with two arms. Captain William Henry's Lady Ellen lies today in her watery grave just west of the 2nd Street bridge. William Armstrong's Wren or John W. Wright, Mark Wenniger's William Finch, Capt. James Tuft's Mary Mills and Albert Sibilsky's Hinsdale were only a few of the local boats in port. Captains Zeb Shaw and Charlie Fellows captained numerous vessels, just as the others did. All the above have recognizable names in today's Algoma. Though his name faded from the community, it was Capt. Johnny Doak who was by far Ahnapee's most colorful captain. His boat, the Ella Doak, was frequently referred to as "the queen of the beach." That's where she often was! Whether or not Doak was as dashing as old movie heart throb Errol Flynn, Flynn could have done credit to Doak's exploits.

To read newspaper accounts and other histories, it would appear that perhaps Johnny Doak was the most foolhardy of captains, however that depended on one's perspective: Johnny was either a good one or a bad one. To read between the lines, it appears that Doak was more comfortable and more at home on the Great Lakes than anywhere. Add his favorite crew - his brother Alec, Sea Star Sibilsky, whose baptismal name was Albert, and Orange Conger - and there wasn't much the men didn't tackle.

Capt. Doak was something of a Robin Hood who made money in what only could be called salvage. He claimed rights to foundered ships that sometimes had saleable cargoes such as iron. Other times it was wet grain that was salvaged. Capt. Doak was not adverse to selling damaged goods, but was generally long gone before the buyers knew what they had. Author Fred Neuschel quoted an article from an early 1870s Racine Weekly saying that  to the Ella Doak all seasons were alike and that she "never furls her wings." While other captains spent the winter on land, Doak continued sailing, even when the rigging and sails froze. There were times when the vessel was frozen in the ice for days. Doak's ability was put to the test during the terrible winter of 1871-72 when he and his three-man crew carried hay, seeds, tools and other supplies to Peshtigo fire victims. As Neuschel points out, it was Doak's finest hour. One hundred and forty years later, there are those who are here today only because of Capt. John Doak's efforts in keeping their Red River and Lincoln Town ancestors alive.

During the summer of 1872, the Ella Doak was carrying a load of lumber for Hall's Mill when she sprung a leak. The lumber was thrown overboard. Sometime later, when loaded with brick, the Ella hit a sandbar near Port Washington. In October she was loading wood at Ahnapee and went ashore. A few days later she dragged anchor and went ashore again. Just a few days after that, still loaded, she hit Hitchcock and Mashek's pier in Kewaunee when winds blew her ashore. The mizzen mast was lost and the boat was hung up offshore. The tug Hagerman towed the boat to Milwaukee where damage was put at 600-700 dollars. Damage to the pier was about the same.

Ella Doak was in a collision in the Chicago River in fall and then a month later was aground at South Manitou Island. A year later she was approaching Sheboygan in a storm and hit the pier. It was in August 1875 that the boat met its demise. There were those who felt she'd come back so many times that she would then too. But it was not to be.

It was Capt. Johnny Doak who proved something to the residents of Ahnapee, something the optimistic had known all along. Residents knew the Ahnapee harbor was one of the finest on the western shore of Lake Michigan, but the sand bar at the mouth of the river was always a problem, hampering vessels from entering the river. In July 1873 those near the harbor could see a boat coming toward the harbor "hell bent for election." It was the Ella Doak coming in, jumping the sandbar and mooring near the brewery dock. Johnny brought the boat in for repair and painting. The point brought home was that if ships could enter the river, they didn't have to dock at the piers extending into the lake. If they didn't have to use those piers, they didn't have to pay exorbitant prices changed by the likes of  Charles Boalt, Ed Decker and their ilk. As it happened, harbor construction as we know it today began in 1873. Doak had another first that year. His boat was the first to over winter in the river since Capt. John McDonald's Amelia in 1856.

Doak's feat made the fledgling Ahnapee Record when it happened in July, however nearly 50 years later when George Wing, who wrote the first article, wrote his history, he told the story a little differently. He told about the terribly cold Christmas Day in 1873 and how the Doak came riding the crest of a wave to jump the bar of the Wolf. Wing told of using his marine glasses to watch the men in the cockpit, the icicles on the beards on the faces of the men set in pure determination as the boat was almost propelled toward the river. People talked about it as the Christmas miracle. It's a good story, but it really happened in July. George Wing said Johnny was trying to make it home for Christmas dinner, but reality is that when he tied up near the brewery, it was for repainting and repair.

The Record said Johnny Doak furnished more news than any other captain. He survived the wreck of the Ella Doak by 9 years, dying at Ahnapee on February 25, 1885 at age 45. At the announcement of his death, harbor flags were lowered to half-mast. The Doak brothers were all sea-related. The Ella, Lizzie Doak and Kate Doak were owned by the family. One of the boats was built by them. Alexander Doak captained the Evening Star and was a long-time lake captain. George sailed for years before dying of alcoholism. Robert drowned near Sheboygan.

Walking on the boardwalk on a summer evening is what dreams are made of. The dreams were just a little different in 1880. Move over Errol Flynn - Johnny Doak played Robin Hood first.

Sources: Viewed from starboard in the picture above, it appears Capt. William Armstrong's Wren is loaded with posts or ties.  The photo is a family picture, used with permission, from the files of Amstrong's great grandchild N.J. Harvey, Information comes from  An-An-api-sebe: Where is the River? c. 2001 and microfilmed copies of Ahnapee Record and Door County Advocate.