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John Randall as a 21-year-old newly-minted Great Lakes Merchant Marine pilot.

HONORING SAILORS: Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum Slates Fall Events

Dr. John Randall Among Inductees in Great Lakes Hall of Fame

July 24, 2014       Leave a Comment
By: Dave Rogers

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The late John Randall, Bay City orthodontist, is one of several of mariners honored in the fall of 2009 at the Great Lakes Lore Museum in Rogers City.

Dr. Randall went on the lakes as an 18-year-old Port Huron high school graduate, receiving his Coast Guard sailing card in 1950, and by age 21 had earned his pilot's license.

Although never an enthusiastic student, with no initial ambitions beyond high school, he found that sailing in the Merchant Marines gave him a new outlook on life and he soon hung up his sea bag and went to dental school.

He financed his college education at Port Huron Junior College and the University of Michigan by summer sailing ventures in the Merchant Marines, starting as a deck watchman and moving up to wheelsman (3rd mate). His ships included the General Orlando M. Poe and his favorite, the Henry Phipps.

He contracted tuberculosis during his service in the Army Dental Corps in Alaska during the Korean War. John had part of a lung removed at an Army hospital in Denver to rid himself of the TB, buoyed by his hardy Scottish ancestry inherited from his immigrant parents.

After discharge from the Army, John went to Northwestern University for graduate work and continued on the lakes In 1965 he was on the Steamship Irving Olds.

He completed his master's degree in orthodontics at Northwestern University, where he met his wife, Judy (Semmer), a South Chicago girl who was studying dental hygienics.

He established his dental practice in Bay City in 1965, and with Judy's assistance continuing until 1998. "He enjoyed everyday that he worked and loved using his hands to create many beautiful smiles," she recalled.

For many years John taught celestial navigation and boating safety for the Saginaw Bay Power Squadron.

Five years ago, John summarized his 11 years sailing on the lakes to qualify him for induction into the museum's hall of fame.

He died April 11 at age 82 and is buried in Elm Lawn Cemetery.

Dave Erickson, director, explains the museum:

"First, who we are. We are a group of professionals living in different cities all over Michigan interested in the history of the men and women who served the Great Lakes shipping industry.

"Like with most areas, most of our sailors have had their final bells and/or are enjoying their lives in the Great Lakes states and wintering in Florida or Arizona.

"We are a preservationist group committed to keeping this great part of maritime history alive and well.

"Second, what we are. We are the first maritime museum that honors the people who served the shipping industry. We honor them by inducting each one into the "Great Lakes Lore Maritime Museum" on a very special day called The Gathering."

Every third weekend in August the "Lore" hosts "The Lake Lore Celebration" a Friday and Saturday full of maritime stories, speakers, and entertainers, climaxed with the induction of the men and women who served, along with the information about them that we have processed.

Each inductee is honored with a collage that features their picture, history, and the ships they sailed on. The framed collage is then placed on the walls of the museum, to remain for many years to come.

The season's schedule of the museum begins next month:

Friday, August 15-Tour of the largest limestone quarry in the world -Carmeuse Co. - in Rogers City. We then have a maritime presentation in the evening.

Saturday, August 16th - Luncheon and the induction ceremony for new members to our Hall of Fame - those men and women who made their livings from the Great Lakes.

Saturday, November 8th: Ringing of Bell to honor those who lost their lives in the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald - 2 p.m. at the museum;

Saturday, November 15th: Ringing of Bell to honor those lost in the sinking of the SS Carl D. Bradley - 2 p.m. at the museum;

Saturday, November 22nd: Ringing of Bell to honor those lost in the sinking of the SS Daniel J. Morrell - 2 p.m. at the museum. ###

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Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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