 |
| Images courtesy of the Public Broadcasting Corporation |
For over eighty-five years the Canadian set Boblo Island, which
was one of America’s oldest and earliest island amusement parks (opening in 1898)
with its two ferry boats SS Columbia (built 1902) and Ste. Claire
(built 1910) which were the longest standing steamboats in the country,
provided Metro Detroit residents with their very own backyard getaway escapist paradise. Originally named Bois Blanc by the French but
mispronounced into Boblo Island (canonized officially in 1949), the island
transformed into an amusement park included a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, a
funhouse and so much more than can be named in one sitting.
An integral piece of Michigan history that also was among
the first places to break segregation in the country with Sarah Elizabeth Ray’s
lawsuit with the NAACP that led to the Michigan Civil Rights Act and subsequent
integration, Boblo Island and particularly the two boats helped define Michigan
social change while being a meeting ground for many happy young and old couples
and families who bonded over their mutual love for the Boblo Boats. In 1991 however, the oldest steamboats in
America ceased operations and two years later the park closed its doors
permanently while the rides were sold to other parks and the boats became
dormant derelicts slowly deteriorating with time.
Which brings us to local Michigan filmmaker Aaron
Schillinger’s PBS documentary film Boblo Boats: A Detroit Ferry Tale which
originally began as a series of short documentary films including but not
limited to a psychic, former employees, a doctor who purchased the boat and the
story of Sarah Elizabeth Ray before eventually being comprised into one full
theatrical feature. Shown at the 2021
Freep Film Festival as well as playing in theaters across Michigan, Illinois,
Indiana and Wisconsin, this homegrown regional documentary film narrated by Motown
artist Martha Reeves also aired on PBS television and recently made its official
debut on disc and digital platforms.
An ongoing saga still being fought to save both boats from
being scrapped and disposed of concerning a cornerstone of Michigan history
most modern generational residents (myself included) knew nothing about, Boblo
Boats includes a wealth of archival as well as newly conducted interviews
with those who lived to tell the tale, preexisting footage of the park and
boats themselves and stop-motion animated dramatizations of key events to weave an impassioned plea for help to preserve the boats
from disintegration. On the official
website for the film including the merchandise shop, all proceeds go to helping
to fund the full restoration of the boat which, as we see in the film, is hit
with everything from crooked business dealings to possible arson to local
ordinances that led to the island being sold from the public to private
owners.
Among the characters we meet are Dr. Ron Kattoo, a married
man who in addition to surviving bladder cancer and a brain tumor who made the
unthinkable decision of purchasing the Ste. Claire. There’s Kevin Mayer, a married gay man who is
obsessed with Boblo Island and steps up to become Kattoo’s right hand man in
spearheading the restoration of the boat who built his own model version of the
amusement park and owns one of the actual former rides. There’s a psychic who claims she can talk to
the boats who have their own unique personalities. But there’s also commentary from residents of
Detroit who, yes, would like to see Boblo Island resurrected but also take into
consideration far greater social problems that need addressing.
Engrossing, poignant and somehow hopeful despite the obvious
Sisyphean task of taking on the Boblo Boats restoration, Boblo Boats: A Detroit
Ferry Tale is a testament to the intrinsic value of the amusement park and
its titular steamboats while also being a promotional tool to try and drum up
fundraising and social events to perhaps one day get the Boblo Boats on the
water again. While one of them, the SS
Columbia, ended up in the Hudson River with an uncertain future, the Ste.
Claire despite numerous setbacks including but not limited to a fire to the
topside seems to be headed towards completion and eventual deployment back on
Detroit waters. Regardless of what
ultimately does or doesn’t happen with both ships, Boblo Boats: A Detroit
Ferry Tale ensures the uninitiated viewers and the veterans of the park
never forget how much it defined the Detroit, Michigan character and ultimately
expresses how badly we want it back.
--Andrew Kotwicki
