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{{Infobox company
| name           = Interlake Steamship Company
| logo           = Interlake Steamship stack markings.jpg
| logo_size      = 
| logo_alt       = Black trapezoid with angled orange stripe
| logo_caption   = Stack markings of Interlake Steamship Co. vessels
| logo_padding   = 
| image          = 
| image_size     = 
| image_alt      = 
| image_caption  = 
| former_name    = 
| type           = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| industry       = [[Ship transport|freighter and barge]] transportation of bulk [[commodity|commodities]]
| founded        = {{start date|1913}} in [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], U.S.
| hq_location    = 
| hq_location_city = [[Middleburg Heights, Ohio]]
| hq_location_country = United States
| area_served    = [[Great Lakes]] region of the United States and Canada
| key_people     = 
| website        = [http://www.interlake-steamship.com interlake-steamship.com]
}}
The '''Interlake Steamship Company''' is an American company that operates [[Lake freighter|freight ships]] on the [[Great Lakes]] in North America. Its predecessor was the '''Interlake Company''', organized in 1894. Founded in 1913 as a subsidiary of [[Pickands Mather Group|Pickands Mather]], it once owned the second-largest fleet on the Great Lakes. After several changes in ownership in 1968 and 1972, the company was spun off as a privately-owned independent corporation in 1987.

==Early Pickands Mather steamship operations==
Pickands Mather and Company was formed in 1883 to own and operate [[iron]] [[mine]]s in the [[Iron Range]] of [[Minnesota]].{{sfn|McKendree|1918|pages=215-216}} In the 1880s and 1890s, the firm rapidly added to their iron mine holdings, and expanded into coal mining, iron ore and coal shipping, [[Dock (maritime)|dock]] ownership, the manufacture of [[Coke (fuel)|coke]], and iron and [[steel]] [[Rolling (metalworking)|rolling mills]].{{sfn|Reynolds|Dawson|2011|pages=71-72}} Its lone investment in shipping consisted of a 13/20th interest in a single wooden ship,{{sfn|''Seaway Review''|1981|page=55}} the ''V. H. Ketchum''.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=11}}{{Efn|The ship, at {{convert|242|ft}} the largest vessel on the Great Lakes at the time, is sometimes spelled "Ketcham" in records.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=11}} Pickands Mather sold the ''Ketchum'' in 1892.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=12}}}}

In April 1886, the company hired local [[stenography|stenographer]] [[Harry Coulby]],{{sfn|Brown|2008|page=98}}{{sfn|Wicklund|2009a|page=9}} who swiftly worked his way up in the corporate ranks to become head of the company's Marine Department.{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=69}} Pickands Mather was shipping iron ore from mines in Minnesota to steel mills all over the Great Lakes. Coulby's fascination with the lakes and his interest in [[accounting]] led him to learn all he could about Great Lakes shipping: the type of boats in operation, port facilities available, weather, routes, cost, and more.{{sfn|Miller|1999|page=52}} He was quick to identify ways in which to cut costs and expand the company's business at minimal expense.{{sfn|Wicklund|2009a|pages=9-10}} 

===Management of other steamship fleets===
[[File:SS Sagamore.jpg|thumb|The ''Sagamore'' in 1892]]
In 1889, Pickands Mather partner and iron mine owner Jay C. Morse and others organized the Minnesota Steamship Company to meet the joint shipping needs of Pickands Mather and other companies. Within three years, the firm had a fleet of nine steamers and five barges.<ref name=seaway /> In 1892, Pickands Mather purchased the Huron Barge Company,{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=88}} whose fleet consisted of the [[whaleback]] steamer ''Pathfinder'' and the whaleback-turned-barge ''[[Sagamore (barge)|Sagamore]]'',{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=12}}{{Efn|Mather's mother was a descendant of [[James Fenimore Cooper]]. The ships were named for characters in Cooper's ''[[Leatherstocking Tales]]''.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=12}}}} and the following year established a steamship coal fueling business.{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=92}} Pickands Mather then organized the Interlake Company in 1894,{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=89}} and in 1895 took on management of the [[American Steel Barge Company]], which had constructed the largest whaleback shipping fleet on the Great Lakes.{{sfn|Wright|1969|page=52}} The American Steel Barge fleet consisted of seven steamships and 20 barges,<ref name=seaway /> while the Interlake fleet consisted of a single iron-hulled [[schooner]] and two steamships.{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1899|pages=21, 35, 57}}{{Efn|The Interlake fleet's vessels{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=12}} were the 1897 iron-hulled schooner ''Constitution'',{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1899|page=21}} the 1894 steamship ''Kearsarge'',{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1899|page=35}} and the 1895 steamer ''Victory''.{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1899|page=57}}}}

Pickands Mather lost the management contract for the American Steel Barge fleet when that firm was consolidated into the [[American Shipbuilding Company]] in March 1899.<ref>{{cite news|title=American Shipbuilding|work=The Economist|date=July 1920|page=92|accessdate=December 5, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gFVOAAAAYAAJ&q=%22American%20Steel%20Barge%22%20Pickands&pg=RA1-PA92}}</ref> Pickands Mather lost the contract to manage the Minnesota Steamship fleet in 1901{{sfn|Wright|1969|page=52}} when Minnesota Steamship became part of the Pittsburg Steamship Co. owned by U.S. Steel.{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=70}}{{Efn|By 1898, most of Minnesota Steamship's stock was owned by the Minnesota Iron Co.<ref>{{cite news|title=Steel Concerns|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 12, 1898|page=5}}</ref> Jay C. Morse was a major stockholder in [[Illinois Steel Company|Illinois Steel]], which merged with several other companies into [[Federal Steel]] in 1898. Federal Steel merged with [[Carnegie Steel]] and other companies in 1901 to form U.S. Steel.{{sfn|Telgen|2005|pages=90-91}}}}

===Creation of "partnership" subsidiary fleets===
Pickands Mather began to rebuild its fleet by using a new strategy. By 1904, the firm's two subsidiaries, the Huron Barge Company and the Interlake Company, owned a total of five vessels.{{sfn|Wicklund|2009c|page=13}}{{Efn|Wicklund appears to be referring to powered ships. Huron Barge owned the 1898 steamship ''Sagamore'' (formerly the ''David Z. Norton''){{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1904|page=209}} and the 1892 iron-hulled steamer ''Pathfinder'',{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1904|page=204}} while Interlake still owned the ''Constitution'',{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1904|page=180}}, ''Kearsarge'',{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1904|page=193}} and ''Victory''.{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1904|page=125}} Huron Barge also owned two non-powered vessels, the the 1890 barge ''Buffalo''{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1904|page=177}} and the the 1895 barge ''Tycoon''.{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1904|page=214}}}} To finance the construction of more ships, Pickands Mather needed investors. The company and interested investors created a jointly-owned steamship company which financed the construction of new ships and owned them after completion. Pickands Mather then leased the ships from this new company, and hired a third, independent company to run them. In cases where Pickands Mather executives committed capital to shipbuilding, the Pickands Mather Marine Department operated the ships.{{sfn|Wicklund|2009c|page=13}}

The first of these new "partnership" shipping firms was the Mesaba Steamship Company,{{sfn|Wright|1969|page=52}} created in June 1905.{{sfn|''Poor's Manual of Industrials''|1913|page=272}} Mesaba Steamship built the large freighters {{SS|Amasa Stone}} in 1905{{sfn|Greenwood|1984|page=339}} and [[SS Samuel Mather (1906)|SS ''Samuel Mather'']] 1906,<ref>{{cite news|title=At the Wyandotte yard|work=Iron Trade Review|date=August 16, 1906|page=18|accessdate=January 12, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3mo-AQAAMAAJ&q=steamer+%22Samuel+Mather%22+1906&pg=RA5-PA18}}</ref> and the {{SS|D. O. Mills}}<ref name=strikestop>{{cite news|title=Strike Did Not Stop Launch|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 13, 1907|page=8}}</ref> and {{SS|Jay C. Morse}} in 1907.<ref>{{cite news|title=Big Freighter Loaded By Crew|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 20, 1907|page=8}}</ref>{{Efn|These were the only four ships built by Mesaba Steamship.{{sfn|Beeson's Marine Directory|1914|page=181}} All were longer than {{convert|500|ft}}.<ref name=strikestop /><ref>{{cite news|title=Big Freighters Coming Fast|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 31, 1906|page=10|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Many Vessels Held In Port|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 21, 1907|page=7}}</ref>}} Pickands Mather also leased the fleets of the Acme Steamship Co.,{{Efn|This independent company was formed in 1903 by Benjamin Wolvin.{{sfn|Miller|1999|page=49}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Largest Boat On Fresh Water|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 10, 1904|pages=1, 9}}</ref>}} Peavey Steamship Co.,{{Efn|This independent company was formed in 1900 by [[Frank Peavey]], a [[Minneapolis]] grain merchant. Wolvin was a minority stockholder in the company.{{sfn|Miller|1999|pages=42-43}}}} and Provident Steamship Co.{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=70}}{{Efn|This independent company was formed in 1901 by Wolvin.{{sfn|Miller|2002|page=22}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Five More Steel Freighters|work=Iron Trade Review|date=July 24, 1902|page=35|accessdate=December 4, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o4Y-AQAAMAAJ&q=%22Provident%20Steamship%22&pg=RA17-PA35}}</ref>}} These three fleets were managed by [[Benjamin Wolvin]], and generally known as the "Wolvin fleet".{{sfn|Thompson|1994|page=92}}

In October 1906,{{sfn|''Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States''|1909|page=1608}} Pickands Mather and the [[Lackawanna Steel Company]] jointly formed the Lackawanna Steamship Co.,<ref>{{cite news|title=Lackawanna Steamship Co.'s Bonds|work=The Marine Review|date=March 12, 1908|page=29|accessdate=December 5, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KbIcAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Lackawanna%20Steamship%22&pg=RA6-PA29}}</ref> with Pickands Mather managing the firm to benefit both companies.<ref name=lackorders>{{cite news|title=Lackawanna Orders Boats|work=The Iron Trade Review|date=October 11, 1906|page=12|accessdate=December 5, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1RFAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Lackawanna%20Steamship%22&pg=RA13-PA12}}</ref> Lackawanna Steamship then purchased eight steamers from the [[American Ship Building Company]].<ref name=lackorders /><ref name=contract8>{{cite news|title=Contract for Eight Steamers|work=The Marine Review|date=October 11, 1906|page=23|accessdate=December 5, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sdo-AQAAMAAJ&q=%22Lackawanna%20Steamship%22&pg=RA14-PA23}}</ref><ref name=LakeItems041907>{{cite news|title=Lake Items|work=American Marine Engineer|date=April 1907|page=27|accessdate=December 5, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kv1YAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Lackawanna%20Steamship%22&pg=RA14-PA27}}</ref> To help pay for these vessels, [[Moses Taylor]], a major investor in the new shipping firm, transferred the Ship Owners Dry Dock Co. of Chicgao to American Ship Builiding.<ref name=contract8 />{{Efn|This gave American Ship Building control of all but one [[drydock]] on [[Lake Michigan]].<ref name=contract8 />}} The eight ships, all delivered in 1907, included the {{convert|440|ft|adj=on}} vessels SS ''Calumet'',{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1907|page=154}} SS ''Crete'',{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1907|page=158}} {{SS|Cyprus}},<ref>{{cite news|title=Lake Items|work=American Marine Engineer|date=September 1907|page=23|accessdate=December 5, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kv1YAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Lackawanna%20Steamship%22&pg=RA19-PA23}}</ref> SS ''Elba'',{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1907|page=161}} SS ''Hemlock'',<ref>{{cite news|title=Lake Items|work=American Marine Engineer|date=August 1907|page=23|accessdate=December 5, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kv1YAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Lackawanna%20Steamship%22&pg=RA18-PA23}}</ref> and SS ''Odonah'',{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1907|page=180}} and the {{convert|500|ft|adj=on}} vessels SS ''Adriatic''{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1907|page=149}} and SS ''Verona''.{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1907|page=180}}{{Efn|All the ships were named for mines or mining companies operated by Pickands Mather.<ref name=LakeItems041907 /> The {{convert|440|ft|adj=on}} ships had a capacity of {{convert|7000|ST|MT}}, while the {{convert|500|ft|adj=on}} ships had a capacity of {{convert|8000|ST|MT}}. The original order called for three {{convert|500|ft|adj=on}} ships,<ref name=contract8 /> but this was changed to two. The SS ''Cyprus'' was lost with all hands in a storm on [[Lake Superior]] on October 11, 1907.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lake Ship Lost, Crew of 23 Drowned|work=American Marine Engineer|date=November 1907|page=18|accessdate=December 5, 2018|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1gc0AQAAMAAJ&q=%22Lackawanna%20Steamship%22&pg=RA8-PA18}}</ref> The ''Cyprus'' was not replaced, and no more ships built for Lackawanna Steamship between 1907 and its 1913 merger into Interlake Steamship.{{sfn|''Blue Book of American Shipping''|1913|pages=29, 34, 37, 40, 59, 71}}}}

==Creation of Interlake Steamship==
In April 1913, Pickands Mather orchestrated the merger of a number of smaller independent and subsidiary steamship lines into a new firm, the Interlake Steamship Company.<ref name=bigmerger>{{cite news|title=Big Great Lakes Merger|work=The New York Times|date=April 26, 1913|accessdate=March 15, 2016|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/04/26/100262607.html}}</ref> It was the greatest expansion of a Great Lakes shipping fleet ever seen at that time.{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=69}} The adoption of the [[Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|16th Amendment]] (which allowed Congress to impose a national [[income tax]]), the desire of investors to protect their personal fortunes through the legal mechanism of incorporation, the ability of a corporation to raise far more capital than individual investors could provide,{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=15}} and the ability of a corporation to [[Self-insurance|self-insure]]<ref name=bigmerger />{{Efn|The company issued $3 million in bonds to create its first insurance fund.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=15}}}} were the impetus behind the incorporation of Interlake Steamship.

The merger included the Acme Steamship Co., Gilchrist Transportation, the Huron Barge Co., the Lackawanna Steamship Co., the Mesaba Steamship Co., the Provident Steamship Co., and the Standard Steamship Co.<ref name=interlakeforms>{{cite news|title=Interlake Steamship Co.|work=Marine Review|date=May 1913|pages=184–185|accessdate=January 12, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jpLlAAAAMAAJ&q=Pickands%20%22Lackawanna%20Steamship%22&pg=PA184}}</ref> Gilchrist Transportation provided by far the largest contribution of ships (17 steamers).{{Efn|These were the ''Frank J. Hecker'', ''Frank W. Gilchrist'', ''George H. Russel'', ''Gilchrist'', ''Henry S. Sill'', ''James B. Wood'', ''J.L. Weeks'', [[SS John Sherwin (1906)|''John Sherwin'']], ''Joseph C. Gilchrist'', ''Jupiter'', ''Lake Shore'', ''Lewis Woodruff'',  ''Neptune'', ''Perry G. Walker'', [[SS Hydrus|''R.E. Schuck'']], ''R.L. Ireland'', and the ''Venus''.<ref name=bigmerger />}} Lackawanna Steamship Co. brought seven steamers,{{Efn|These were the ''Adriatic'', ''Calumet'', ''Corona'', ''Crete'', ''Elba'', ''Hemlock'', and ''Odonah''.<ref name=bigmerger />}} Mesaba Steamship Co. four steamers, Acme Steamship Co. three steamers,{{Efn|These were the [[SS Augustus B. Wolvin|''Augustus B. Wolvin'']], ''J.C. Wallace'', and ''Ward Ames''.<ref name=bigmerger />}} Provident Steamship Co. three steamers,{{Efn|These were the ''James H. Hoyt'', ''D.G. Kerr'', and ''J.H. Reed''.<ref name=bigmerger />}} Interlake Co. one steamer and one barge, Huron Barge Co. one steamer and one barge, and Standard Steamship Co. one steamer.{{sfn|Beeson's Marine Directory|1914|page=181}}{{Efn|The Standard Steamship Co. was incorporated in Minnesota in Feburary 1907.{{sfn|State Auditor of Minnesota|1908|page=134}} The company's lone vessel was the freighter [[SS H.P. Bope|''H.P. Bope'']]. Standard Steamship was part of the "Wolvin fleet", like Acme and Provident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Refuses Longer To Hold Office|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 8, 1911|page=11}}</ref>}} The Gilchrist organization had gone into [[receivership]] in January 1910,{{sfn|Mills|2003|page=292}}<ref name=bigmerger>{{cite news|title=Big Lake Vessel Merger|work=The Marine Review|date=April 1913|page=152|accessdate=February , 2019|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jpLlAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Lackawanna%20Steamship%22&pg=PA152}}</ref> and was unable to resolve its credit problems. The company sold its assets at cost (which was only two-thirds of appraised value)<ref name=bigmerger /> to the new Interlake Steamship, and ceased to exist.{{sfn|Blume|2012|page=191}}{{Efn|The other incorporators received stock in the new company: Mesaba, $1.33 million in stock; Lackawanna, $1.33 million in stock; Interlake, $229,000 in stock; Huron Barge, $203,000 in stock; Provident, $468,000 in stock; Acme, $761,000 in stock; and Standard, $181,000 in stock.<ref name=bigmerger />}} [[Henry G. Dalton (businessman)|Henry G. Dalton]] was elected the company's first president.<ref name=interlakeforms />

Interlake Steamship issued 65,000 shares of stock at a par value of $100 per share.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=15}} Pickands Mather now controlled and managed<ref name=coulbyagain>{{cite news|title=Coulby Again to Head Fleet of Lake Boats|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 18, 1925|page=13}}</ref>{{sfn|Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor|1939|page=9893-9894}}{{Efn|All of Interlake's officers were partners in Pickands Mather. Pickands Mather thus not only managed but controlled Interlake Steamship.{{sfn|Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor|1939|page=9893-9894}}}} a company which had 37 freighters and two barges and was the second-largest shipping fleet on the Great Lakes next to the Pittsburgh Steamship Co.<ref name=interlakeforms />{{Efn|Most of the vessels which formed the Interlake fleet in April 1913 were renamed. The the ''Frank J. Hecker'' became the ''Perseus''; ''Frank W. Gilchrist'' became the ''Cepheus''; the ''George H. Russel'' became the ''Canopus''; the ''Gilchrist'' became the ''Lupus''; the ''Henry S. Sill'' became the ''Cetus''; the ''J.L. Weeks'' became the ''Corvus'';  the ''James B. Wood'' became the ''Arcturus''; the ''Joseph C. Gilchrist'' became the ''Cygnus''; the ''Lake Shore'' became the ''Indus''; the ''Lewis Woodruff'' became the ''Argus''; the ''Perry G. Walker'' became the ''Taurus''; the ''R.E. Schuck'' became the ''Hydrus''; and the ''R.L. Ireland'' became the ''Sirius''. The ''John Sherwin'', ''Jupiter'', ''Neptune'', and ''Venus'' retained their existing names.<ref name=interlakeforms />}}

==Early expansion==
Just seven months after its formation, Interlake Steamship lost the {{SS|Argus}} and {{SS|Hydrus}} in the [[Great Lakes Storm of 1913|Great Lakes Storm of November 1913]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Save Large Sum Insuring Vessels|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 15, 1914|page=15}}</ref>

Growth dominated the company at first. It purchased the {{convert|445|ft|adj=on}} {{SS|William B. Davock}} from the Vulcan Steamship company for an undisclosed sum in October 1915,<ref>{{cite news|title=Buys Large Boat As Rush Adds to Values of Ships|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 5, 1915|page=14}}</ref> and then on the last day of 1915 purchased the 13 vessels of the Cleveland Steamship Co. for $3 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3000000|1915|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars).<ref name=buysfleet>{{cite news|title=Inter-Lake Buys $3,000,000 Fleet|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 31, 1915|page=13}}</ref>{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=99}}{{Efn|Cleveland Steamship was also known as the "Mitchell fleet" after the builder of most of the vessels, Captain John Mitchell.<ref>{{cite news|title=Line Boat Merger To Be Known Soon|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 7, 1916|page=17}}</ref>}} This gave Interlake Steamship 52 boats.<ref name=buysfleet />{{sfn|Wicklund|2009c|page=16}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Shipping News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 2, 1922|page=18}}</ref> At the end of this seven-year period, the company sold the barges ''Constitution'' and ''Sagamore''<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 2, 1923|page=12}}</ref> and the steamer {{SS|Cetus}} in 1923.<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 25, 1923|page=12}}</ref>

During this period, Interlake also built seven {{convert|600|ft|m|adj=on}} freighters.{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=101}} The first of these, the {{SS|Henry G. Dalton}}, launched in March 1916.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cornell|first=Arnold E.|title=First of 600-Foot Ships Is Launched|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 26, 1916|page=36}}</ref>{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=99}} The {{SS|Charles M. Schwab}} followed in June 1923,<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=News of the Great Lakes|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 1, 1923|page=13}}</ref> the {{SS|Col. James Pickands}} (a duplicate of the ''Charles Schwab'') in January 1926,<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 17, 1926|page=28}}</ref> the [[SS Samuel Mather (1926)|SS ''Samuel Mather'']] (another duplicate of the ''Schwab'')<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 3, 1926|page=18}}</ref> in February 1926,<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 14, 1926|page=20}}</ref>{{Efn|The steamer ''Samuel Mather'' was renamed ''Pathfinder'' to accommodate the name of the new vessel.<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 19, 1925|page=11}}</ref>}} the {{SS|William McLauchlan}} in October 1926,<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 8, 1926|page=25}}</ref> the {{SS|Robert Hobson}} (a duplicate of the ''William McLauchlan'') in October 1926,<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 28, 1926|page=11}}</ref> and the {{SS|Harry Coulby}} in May 1927. The ''Coulby'' was at the time the largest bulk frieghter on the lakes, with a length of {{convert|620|ft}} and a capacity of {{convert|13800|ST|MT}}.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 1, 1927|page=49}}</ref>

As the company's freighter construction effort ended, Henry G. Dalton resigned as Interlake's president in December 1925, and Harry Coulby was elected to succeed him.<ref name=coulbyagain />

With the large new freighters complete, Interlake began to divest itself of many of its older, smaller, less efficient steamships.<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 24, 1926|page=35}}</ref> It leased the steamer {{SS|Youngstown}} from the Youngstown Steamship Co. in January 1926,<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 26, 1926|page=13}}</ref> but sold seven steamships{{Efn|These were the ''Cepheus'', ''James H. Hoyt'', ''Indus'', ''Lupus'', ''Mars'', ''Sirius'', and ''Uranus''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 20, 1926|page=16}}</ref>}} to Paterson Steamships, Ltd. in April. This left Interlake with 45 vessels with an average tonnage of {{convert|8100|ST|MT}}.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 11, 1926|page=29}}</ref> The {{SS|Harry R. Jones}} sank in July 1926 after colliding with another vessel,<ref>{{cite news|title=Ship Sunk in Collision|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 22, 1926|page=1}}</ref> sold the [[SS Hendrick S. Holden|SS ''Argus'']]{{Efn|Built as the SS ''Hendrick S. Holden'' in 1898, she was renamed SS ''Vandoc'' after her 1926 sale.{{sfn|Devendorf|1996|pages=88, 215}}}} and [[SS John J. Albright|SS ''Regulus'']]{{Efn|Built as the SS ''John J. Albright'' in 1901, she was renamed SS ''Fort Willdoc'' after her 1926 sale.{{sfn|Devendorf|1996|pages=95, 215}}}} to [[Norman McLeod Paterson|Paterson Steamships]] in October 1926,<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 14, 1926|page=24}}</ref> and sold the [[MS Windoc (1899)|SS ''Hydrus'']] and {{SS|Moses Taylor}} to Paterson in November 1926.<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 20, 1926|page=11}}</ref> At the end of 1926, [[RCA]] equipped entire fleet with [[radio direction finder]]s. RCA also installed [[Wireless telegraphy|radio telegraph]] transmitters in 12 of the fleet's vessels.<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 24, 1926|page=15}}</ref>

The steamer {{SS|Lagonda}} was reconstructed to carry scrap in 1926, and the [[SS Venus (1901)|SS ''Venus'']] followed in early 1927.<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 15, 1927|page=19}}</ref> In October 1927, Interlake repossessed the {{SS|Cetus}} (which had been renamed the ''Samuel H. Squire'' by its new owners).<ref>{{cite news|title=Appointed Receiver for Boat|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 4, 1927|page=25}}</ref> Although sales and wrecks left the company with just 44 vessels by this time, it was still second largest fleet on the Great Lakes.<ref>{{cite news|title=Newest Lake Freighter Is Richly Fitted|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 30, 1927|page=63}}</ref> At the end of the year, the company had $1.847 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1847000|1927|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) in [[net profit]]s, the most in any year since its founding.<ref name=showsgain>{{cite news|title=Interlake Shows Gain in Profits from Record Year|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 1, 1928|page=27}}</ref>

Interlake began the year 1929 by installing [[gyrocompass]]es on 18 of its boats.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 24, 1929|page=14}}</ref> With 45 vessels carrying an average of {{convert|8444|ST|MT}} each, it was still the second largest fleet on the Great Lakes (where about 340 ships made up the American and Canadian fleets).<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 24, 1929|page=10}}</ref> Interlake president Harry Coulby died unexpectedly on January 18, 1929,<ref>{{cite news|title=Harry Coulby Is Dead|work=The New York Times|date=January 19, 1929|page=11}}</ref> and Henry G. Dalton was elected president again in June.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=Guy T.|title=H.G. Dalton Again Elected Head of Interlake Fleet|work=The Plain Dealer|date=June 8, 1929|page=13}}</ref> Board member Henry S. Pickands died on August 10,<ref>{{cite news|title=Pickands, Steel Leader, Is Dead|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 11, 1929|page=A18}}</ref> and Elton Hoyt II was elected to the board as his replacement a month later.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=Guy T.|title=Interlake Calls Meeting to Vote New Stock Split|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 10, 1929|page=13}}</ref>{{Efn|Throughout the depression, Dalton oversaw financing and contracts for shipping while Hoyt supervised the day-to-day operations of the Interlake fleet.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=19}}}}

On September 23, 1929, the large [[Steelmaking|steel manufacturer]] [[Youngstown Sheet and Tube]] signed a contract under which it agreed to have all its coal, limestone, and iron ore carried by Interlake Steamship rather than its own subsidiary, Youngstown Steamship. The contract ran for 20 years. The rationale for the surprise move came on October 3, when Interlake delivered 5,261 shares of the steelmaker's stock to Youngstown Sheet and Tube's control.{{sfn|Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor|1939|page=9879}}{{Efn|Youngstown Sheet and Tube owned only 9.6 percent of Interlake stock.{{sfn|Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor|1939|page=9879}}}} Pickands Mather now became the manager of the Youngstown Steamship company.<ref>{{cite news|last=Callahan|first=George V.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 29, 1929|page=14}}</ref>

Just five days after the Youngstown Steel & Tube contract was signed, Interlake Steamship officials announced a two-for-one [[stock split]], increasing the company's stock from 250,000 to 610,000 shares.<ref>{{cite news|title=Faultless Gives Stock Rights and Calls Preferred|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 28, 1929|page=17}}</ref> The stock had hit an all-time high of 200 on the Cleveland Stock Exchange on September 10.<ref name=alltimehigh>{{cite news|title=Interlake Soars to Another Peak|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 11, 1929|page=15}}</ref>

=="Silent Years" of the Great Depression==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right; font-size:88%; text-align:center; margin-right:1em"
 |+ Interlake Steamship financial indicators during the Great Depression<br><br>
!| Year
!| Stock high
!| Stock low
!| Net profit/loss
|-
| 1929
| 200<ref name=alltimehigh /><br>(pre-split)
| 78{{frac|1|4}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Many Good Gains Spot Local List|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 23, 1929|page=12|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Quotations|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 20, 1929|page=14}}</ref><br>(post-split)
| $2.6 million<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|2600000|1929|r=-1}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=finances1930 />{{Efn|It made $2.4 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|2400000|1928|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) in 1928.<ref name=finances1930 />}}
|-
| 1930
| 87<ref name=1930stockpr>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Exchange Transactions for the Past Week|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 17, 1930|page=23}}</ref>
| 60<ref name=1930stockpr />
| $1.6 million<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|1600000|1930|r=-1}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=rockwellgoldbalance>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=Guy T.|title=Gold Balances May Aid Trade|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 14, 1930|page=B5}}</ref>
|-
| 1931
| 60<ref>{{cite news|title=Steel Group Up in Local Trading|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 20, 1934|page=14}}</ref>
| 26<ref>{{cite news|title=Small Recovery Rules Local List|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 19, 1931|page=14}}</ref>
| $705,000<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|705000|1931|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=1931profit>{{cite news|title=Profit Or Loss|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 8, 1932|page=11}}</ref>
|-
| 1932
| 9{{frac|1|2}}<ref name=1932low>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Exchange Transactions for the Past Week|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 26, 1932|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=Guy T.|title=Utility Stocks in Market Lead|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 27, 1935|page=25}}</ref>
| 26<ref name=1932low />
| -$317,771<br>(-${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|317771|1932|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=1932loss>{{cite news|title=Interlake Steamship Reports 1932 Profit|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 1, 1933|page=12}}</ref>
|-
| 1933
| 29<ref name=1933stockhigh>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Quotations|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 27, 1933|page=11}}</ref>
| 14<ref name=1933stockhigh />
| $446,337<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|446337|1933|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=showsnet1933 />
|-
| 1934
| 33<ref>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Quotations|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 10, 1934|page=8}}</ref>
| 20<ref>{{cite news|title=Sherwin Shares Go to New York|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 6, 1934|page=8}}</ref>
| $463,128<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|463128|1934|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars).<ref>{{cite news|title=Interlake Steamship Finances|work=The Nautical Gazette|date=March 9, 1935|page=34}}</ref>
|-
| 1935
| 38<ref name=1935buyback />
| 20{{frac|3|4}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Exchange Transactions for the Past Week|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 16, 1935|page=10}}</ref>
| $664,374<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|664374|1935|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=1935profit />
|-
| 1936
| 63<ref name=1936stock>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Quotations|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 30, 1936|page=7}}</ref>
| 34{{frac|2|3}}<ref name=1936stock />
| $1,514,181<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|1514181|1936|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=bestprofit>{{cite news|title=Best Profit in 9 Years|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 30, 1938|page=7}}</ref>
|-
| 1937
| 73<ref name=1937stockhigh />
| 40<ref>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Quotations|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 18, 1937|page=13}}</ref>
| $2,540,783<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|2540783|1937|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars).<ref name=bestprofit />
|-
| 1938
| 44{{frac|1|2}}<ref name=stockexc12041938 />
| 27<ref>{{cite news|title=Electric Controller Votes 75 Cents|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 25, 1938|page=10}}</ref><ref name=stockexc12041938 />
| $428,308<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|428308|1938|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=1938netprofit />
|-
| 1939
| 49<ref name=stock1939>{{cite news|title=5,867 Shares Traded Here|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 29, 1939|page=8}}</ref>
| 38{{frac|1|2}}<ref name=stock1939 />
| $1,631,584<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|1631584|1939|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=1940netprofit>{{cite news|title=Interlake Profits Dip Due to '40 Ore Rates|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 20, 1941|page=12}}</ref>
|-
| 1940
| 44<ref name=cliffstrong>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Cliffs Is Strong|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 25, 1940|page=42}}</ref>
| 34{{frac|3|4}}<ref name=cliffstrong />
| $1,496,827<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|1496827|1940|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=1940netprofit />
|-
| 1941
| 43{{frac|1|2}}<ref name=prices1941>{{cite news|title=Prices Up in Broad Trading|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 31, 1941|page=9}}</ref>
| 38<ref name=prices1941 />
| $1,853,264<br>(${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|1853264|1941|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref>{{cite news|title=Interlake S.S. Net in 1941|work=Skillings' Mining Review|date=April 4, 1942|page=10}}</ref>
|-
|}
The Great Depression is known as Interlake Steamship's "silent years" because the company did so little business during this time.{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=166}}{{sfn|''Seaway Review''|1981|page=59}} The depression had a tremendous effect on all Great Lakes shipping. While there were roughly 350 shipping firms on the lakes in the 1920s, by 1938 the depression had whittled these down to just 21.{{sfn|Joachim|1994|page=19}}{{Efn|The 21 shippers in 1938 operated 308 ships, of which 79 were owned by the largest shipping firm, Pitttsburgh Steamship.{{sfn|Joachim|1994|page=19}}}} It was during the depression that, on October 28, 1931, Interlake incorporated as a [[Delaware General Corporation Law|Delaware company]].{{sfn|Barnett|1992|page=79}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Will Change Charter|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 7, 1931|page=13|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Interlake Plan Approved|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 26, 1931|page=18}}</ref>

===Initial optimism===
Although the Great Depression began with the stock market crash of October 1929,{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|page=12}}{{Efn|Some areas of the economy, like agricuture{{sfn|Kennedy|1999|pages=17-18}} and rural banks,{{sfn|Olson|2001|page=26}} had been in depression throughout the 1920s.}} by the end of the year Interlake Steamship executives were still optimistic that the national economic setback was temporary. The company set aside a significant portion of its profits in the 1920s to build up a $2.45 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|2450000|1930|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars)<ref name=finances1930>{{cite news|title=Financial News|work=The Times of Munster|date=April 2, 1930|page=15}}</ref> reserve fund,{{Efn|The news media reported that the reserve fund had been as high as $3.618 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3618000|1927|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) at the end of 1927.<ref name=showsgain />}} a $2 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|2000000|1927|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) insurance fund (invested in [[Liberty bond]]s),<ref name=showsgain /> a $3.8 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3800000|1927|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) investment fund reserve,<ref name=showsgain /> and a $1.6 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1600000|1934|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) ship construction fund.<ref name=rockwellretirestock /> It had no debt, its expenses were minimal, and it had never issued [[preferred stock]] (which tended to absorb profits first and leave holders of [[common stock]] frustrated).<ref name=reserve>{{cite news|title=Local Stock List Up During Week|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 14, 1934|page=24}}</ref> Its corporate leaders felt the firm was in a good position to weather any downtown.{{Efn|A majority of business and political leaders felt the October crash was temporary and that recovery would occur in 1930.{{sfn|Schlesinger|2003|pages=161-163}}{{sfn|Cannadine|2008|pages=394, 396}}}}

Executives were so bullish on the company's outlook that, at the end of 1929, Interlake bought all five remaining freighters belonging to Youngstown Steamship. The transaction became effective January 1, 1930.{{sfn|''Moody's Manual of Investments Domestic and Foreign''|1930|page=675}}{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=102}}{{Efn|Youngstown Sheet and Tube, which had the majority interest in Youngstown Steamship, effectively shuttered its shipping line.{{sfn|Select Committee on Small Business|1950|page=32}} Havighurst{{sfn|Havighurst|1958|page=69}} and Barnett{{sfn|Barnett|1992|page=79}} claim that Pickands Mather actually bought Youngstown Steamship, but this appears to be an error.}} With 49 boats,<ref name=marineportion>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 19, 1931|page=C12}}</ref> Interlake was the largest independent fleet on the lakes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=Guy T.|title=Two Companies Vote to Pay First Dividend|work=The Plain Dealer|date=June 12, 1930|page=15}}</ref>

===Finances during the depression===
Interlake Steamship continued to turn a profit in 1930<ref name=rockwellgoldbalance /> and 1931,<ref name=1931profit /> but showed its first loss ever in 1932.<ref name=1932loss /> The flurry of legislative activity in [[First 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency|President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Hundred Days"]] buoyed business confidence somewhat in 1933, creating a rise in shipping activity<ref name=sherwinshares>{{cite news|title=Sherwin Shares Go to New High|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 23, 1933|page=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Local Stocks Up in Big Turnover|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 28, 1933|page=20|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Turnover Drops in Local Stocks|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 28, 1933|page=11}}</ref> Despite dipping into reserves to continue to pay its regular dividend, the company still had $3 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3000000|1933|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) in cash on hand, $4 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|4000000|1933|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) in its investment reserve, and almost no debt.<ref name=showsnet1933>{{cite news|title=Interlake Steamship Shows Net for 1933|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 30, 1934|page=11}}</ref>

To help the stock price, the company's directors approved a plan on December 5, 1934, to [[Share repurchase|repurchase]] 10 percent of the outstanding shares on the market.<ref>{{cite news|title=Interlake Stock Being Turned In|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 7, 1935|page=12}}</ref> The $1.6 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1600000|1935|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) needed to buy the 60,000 shares came from the company's construction fund. In May 1935, shareholders approved a plan to permanently retire the 60,000 shares.<ref name=rockwellretirestock>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=Guy T.|title=Local Companies Announce Plans to Retire Stock|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 14, 1935|page=8}}</ref> The stock repurchase was so successful, and the company's business doing so well, that in early December 1935 the firm announced another buyback of 8 percent of the stock (40,000 shares) at $35 a share.<ref name=1935buyback>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Quotations|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 5, 1935|page=B13}}</ref> This second repurchase was completed by the end of the year.<ref>{{cite news|title=Securities in Mather Will up $3,808,368|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 31, 1935|pages=1, 4}}</ref> Interlake's 1935 profit of $664,374 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|664371|1935|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) was its best since 1931.<ref name=1935profit>{{cite news|title=Interlake Has Profitable Year|work=Marine Engineering and Shipping Review|date=March 1936|page=280}}</ref>

In 1937, the country entered the [[Recession of 1937–38|"Roosevelt Recession"]].{{sfn|Daniels|2015|pages=346-348}} In March, shippers envisioned an unusually active season ahead, and Interlake's stock reached 73—its highest price since 1929.<ref name=1937stockhigh>{{cite news|title=Local Exchange Stocks Surge Up During Week|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 7, 1937|page=B8}}</ref> When the recession hit in early September,{{sfn|Daniels|2015|pages=346-348}} the price collapsed 20 points<ref>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Quotations|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 19, 1937|page=27}}</ref> and fell another 13 points by November.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Quotations|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 18, 1937|page=13}}</ref> A near-complete shutdown in shipping occurred in October and lasted the rest of the year.<ref name=bestprofit /> In May 1938, as the company's stock continued to sink due to recessionary pressure, Interlake executives spent $1.2 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1200000|1938|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) to retire another 31,000 shares.<ref name=rockwellstandard>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=Guy T.|title=Standard of Ohio Plans Financing|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 11, 1938|page=8}}</ref>

A significant upturn in shipping business occurred toward the end of the 1938 shipping season, signalling the end of the recession.<ref name=jaegeradds>{{cite news|title=Jaeger Machine Adds Point|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 30, 1938|page=18}}</ref> Despite more than eight years of depression and having to use reserves to maintain dividends, Interlake Steamship still had $3,292,718 (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3292718|1938|r=-5}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars) in cash on hand at the end of 1938.<ref name=1938netprofit>{{cite news|title=Interlake Reports $428,000 Net|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 28, 1939|page=8}}</ref>

By the fall of 1938, the economy was not only recovering from the sudden, deep 1937-1938 recession but was well on its way out of the Great Depression as well.{{sfn|Kindleberger|1986|pages=273-275}} The economy (as measured by [[gross domestic product]]) grew by a meager 0.2 percent in 1939<ref name=fred>{{cite web|title=Gross Domestic Product [FYGDP]|website=Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis|date=May 6, 2019|accessdate=May 6, 2019|url=https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYGDP}}</ref> and unemployment (as a percentage of the total civilian workforce) was 17.2 percent.<ref name=blsunempl>{{cite journal|author=Division of Employment and Occupational, Bureau of Labor Statistics|title=Technical Note. Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment, 1929-39: Estimating Methods|journal=Monthly Labor Review|date=July 1948|page=51|accessdate=May 6, 2019|url=https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1948/article/pdf/labor-force-employment-and-unemployment-1929-39-estimating-methods.pdf}}</ref>{{Efn|In comparison, economic growth in 1938 was 1.5 percent,<ref name=fred /> and would have been much higher had not the contraction occurred. Unemployment that year was 14.3 percent.<ref name=blsunempl />}} Growth soared to 8.6 percent in 1940,<ref name=fred /> even as unemployment remained stubbornly high at 14.6 percent.<ref name=blsunempl /> Full recovery was under way by 1941, as growth soared to 18.3 percent<ref name=blsunempl /> and unemployment fell dramatically to 9.9 percent.<ref name=fred />{{Efn|In the first year of World War II, growth would soar to 27.1 percent<ref name=fred /> and unemployment would drop to just 4.7 percent.<ref name=blsunempl />}}

===Layups during the depression===
As fewer firms shipped coal, grain, and iron ore in late 1929 and early 1930, some Great Lakes freighters began to make return runs empty. By late July 1930, business had slackened so much that many firms began keeping boats laid up in their home harbors.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stocks Firmer in Local Market|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 27, 1930|page=B9}}</ref> Layups kept the ship ready to sail with a few days' notice, unlike [[Reserve fleet|mothballing]] (which takes several weeks to reverse).{{Efn|Mothballing affects the engines most. After all fluids are removed, it is partially dismantled, cleaned, and portions packed in grease. The ship's fresh water and sewage systems are emptied and dried, the interior is fumigated, equipment is installed to maintain the interior atmosphere at about 30 percent humidity, electronics are partially dismantled and storing in special preservative packing, and protective coatings are applied to the hull and deck, among other measures. Certain ship's systems, like the [[bilge pump]]s, are run at intervals and the ship checked and repaired for rust or damage.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bukzin|first1=Elliot A.|last2=Reid|first2=James C., Jr.|title=Bearings|journal=Bureau of Ships Journal|date=October 1954|pages=8–11|accessdate=May 6, 2019|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x5ckAQAAIAAJ&q=ship%20mothballing%20hull&pg=RA13-PA8|postscript=none}}; {{cite journal|title=Dehumidification Keeps "Mothball" Fleet in Readiness|journal=Bureau of Ships Journal|date=January 1955|pages=14–16|accessdate=May 6, 2019|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x5ckAQAAIAAJ&q=ship%20mothballing%20hull&pg=RA16-PA14|postscript=none}}; {{cite journal|title=Mothball Fleet at Philadelphia|journal=Compressed Air Magazine|date=April 1957|pages=22–24}}</ref> Long layups (without mothballing) can damage a ship.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=19}}}} The iron ore shipping business was particularly slow in the spring of 1931,<ref>{{cite news|title=Lower Level Hit by Local Stocks|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 6, 1931|page=10}}</ref> and a portion of the Interlake fleet remained tied up for the entire shipping season.<ref name=marineportion /> Interlake used the downtime to put the {{SS|Harry W. Croft}} into drydock for repair and upgrades in October.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 28, 1931|page=7}}</ref> Bulk shipping remained at a low level in 1932.<ref>{{cite news|title=Early Gains Lost by Local Stocks|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 21, 1932|page=10}}</ref> Interlake Steamship had 49 freighters that year,{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=19}} and was the second largest bulk freighter fleet on the lakes.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 12, 1932|page=13}}</ref> Yet, it put just 23 boats in the water,<ref name=29of27>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 17, 1933|page=28}}</ref> and these only operated for a few weeks, just long enough to keep them from over-long layups.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=19}} Interlake hauled {{convert|3000000|ST|MT}} coal, and a "pitiful" {{convert|29000|ST|MT}} of iron ore during the year.{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=19}}

A substantial improvement in shipping occurred in 1933.<ref name=sherwinshares /> By July, eight times as many ships were on the lakes compared to the previous year. Ore tonnage reached {{convert|20000000|ST|MT}}, compared to just {{convert|3367000|ST|MT}} in 1932. Pittsburgh Steamship, the largest U.S. lakes fleet, had 71 boats in operation (up from 31 the year before),<ref>{{cite news|title=Forty More Ships to Join Ore Fleets|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 20, 1933|page=1}}</ref> while Interlake had 29.<ref name=29of27 />{{Efn|Of these, 27 vessels were involved in the lucrative iron ore trade. The other two were involved in coal and grain shipping.<ref name=29of27 />}} Many ships, however, did not serve the entire season. The {{SS|Harvey H. Brown}} did not enter service until mid-July.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 11, 1933|page=17}}</ref> The {{SS|Robert Hobson}} left layup in late July,<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 20, 1933|page=16}}</ref> the SS ''Harry W. Croft'' not until early August,<ref name=croft1933>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 8, 1933|page=17}}</ref>{{Efn|The ''Croft'' had been in layup for two years.<ref name=croft1933 />}} and the {{SS|Arcturus}} not until late September.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 26, 1933|page=7}}</ref> By September, shipping was slack again. Five boats (the ''Croft'', [[SS Jupiter|''Jupiter'']], [[SS Neptune|''Neptune'']], [[SS Perseus|''Perseus'']], and [[SS Saturn|''Saturn'']]) were tied up in non-home port harbors, serving as grain storage ships.<ref name=29of27 />

Shipping improved on the Great Lakes in 1934<ref>{{cite news|title=General Uptrend Rules Local List|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 4, 1934|page=11|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Firmness Rules in Local Stocks|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 6, 1934|page=11|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Declines Rule on Local Board|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 19, 1934|page=8}}</ref> and again in 1935,<ref>{{cite news|title=Cleveland Stock Quotations|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 25, 1934|page=10|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Ohio Industrial Shares Make Good Advances|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 12, 1935|page=32|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Ohio Securities Set Slower Pace in Local Trading|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 18, 1935|page=22}}</ref> but by late June 1935 Interlake still only had 12<ref name=Gravatttiedup>{{cite news|last=Gravatt|first=Q.M.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=June 23, 1935|page=A24}}</ref> of its 49 ships<ref name=rockwellretirestock /> making runs. The company's strategy now was to put as many ships in commission as the market would bear, then switch them out with ships on layup so as to prevent tied-up boats from suffering damage due to inactivity.<ref name=Gravatttiedup />{{Efn|Interlake did not, however, hire new crews. It merely moved crews from one boat to another.<ref name=Gravatttiedup />}}

The 1936 shipping season was even more active, with the [[Lake Carriers Association]] predicting that as much as 85 percent of all Great Lakes freighters would be active during the year.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=Guy T.|title=Political Hand Delays Market|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 17, 1936|page=45}}</ref> Interlake still engaged in switching-out when market conditions warranted, such as when the ''Arcturus'' began making runs in mid-August to replace the ''Victory'' (which went into drydock for repair and upgrades).<ref name=Gravattvictorydrydock /> Thirty-seven of Interlake Steamship's boats were active by the middle of August.<ref name=Gravattvictorydrydock>{{cite news|last=Gravatt|first=Q.M.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 19, 1936|page=20}}</ref> The ''Elton Hoyt II'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Gravatt|first=Q.M.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 27, 1936|page=7}}</ref> ''Canopus'', and ''Harry R. Jones'' went into service in the fall, so that 40 of Interlake's 48 vessels were now on the water.<ref name=Gravatt40of48>{{cite news|last=Gravatt|first=Q.M.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 19, 1936|page=9}}</ref> The company sold the ''Jupiter'' (which had sat idle for five years) in March 1936<ref>{{cite news|last=Gravatt|first=Q.M.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 17, 1936|page=24}}</ref> and the similarly idle ''Neptune'' in October.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gravatt|first=Q.M.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 16, 1936|page=6}}</ref> This left the company with 48 vessels. It was still the second-largest bulk cargo shipping firm on the Great Lakes, capable of moving {{convert|412600|ST|MT}} at once in its boats.{{sfn|Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor|1939|page=9877}}{{Efn|Interlake Steamship had 15 percent of the total carrying capacity of the 321 ore freighters on the lakes.{{sfn|Subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor|1939|page=9877}}}}

Interlake put all its vessels into service at the start of the 1937 shipping season,<ref>{{cite news|title=Steel and Electric Stocks Stronger on Local Board|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 23, 1937|page=A37}}</ref> and kept them active throughout the year.<ref name=stock47moving /> As part of a technology upgrade, 11 Interlake ships were outfitted with [[radiotelephone]]s.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Great Lakes Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 19, 1937|page=44}}</ref> As the "Roosevelt Recession" hit, the ''McLauchlan'' was drydocked on September 2 to receive a new [[rudder]] and for sight-and-survey inspection and repair.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Marine News of the Great Lakes|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 3, 1937|page=8}}</ref> With only four ships in the ore trade by late September, the company drydocked the ''Calumet'', ''Col. James Pickands'', ''Harry Coulby'', and ''Vega'' in late September.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Shipping News of the Great Lakes|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 22, 1937|page=5}}</ref> The shipping slump hit in October, and company brought its ships in rather than keep them on the water searching for business.<ref name=votes250 /> Interlake drydocked the ''Saturn'' and ''William B. Davock'' in late October<ref>{{cite news|title=Great Lakes Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 26, 1937|page=6}}</ref> and the ''Venus'' at the end of the season.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 29, 1937|page=16}}</ref>

The recession continued into 1938, keeping shipping at a low ebb.<ref>{{cite news|title=Peerless Stock Gets Play|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 14, 1938|page=8}}</ref> Interlake kept bigger ships like the ''Harry W. Croft'', ''C.H. McCullough Jr.'', ''J.A. Campbell'', and ''Jay C. Morse'' tied up, while putting older, smaller vessels like the ''Crete'', ''Odaonah'', ''Taurus'', ''Vega'', and ''Verona'' into the water.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Lake Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 29, 1938|page=29}}</ref> As business picked up, Interlake began laying up these smaller ships and sending the large ones out.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Lake Shipping News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 13, 1938|page=15}}</ref> Technological upgrades continued as eight more vessels received radiotelephones.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Lake Shipping News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=August 3, 1938|page=5}}</ref> At the end of September, only 21 Interlake ships were plying the lakes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Lake Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=September 30, 1938|page=11}}</ref> With the recession ending, business improved dramatically in October,<ref name=jaegeradds /> but Interlake vessels only moved {{convert|19260000|ST|MT}} of iron ore, the lowest total since 1932 and the second lowest since recordkeeping began.{{sfn|Joachim|1994|page=23}}

As the economy began to move out of the Great Depression in 1939, Interlake ships moved {{convert|45000000|ST|MT}} of iron ore, a level not seen since 1926.{{sfn|Joachim|1994|page=23}}

1940 was even more active. Initially, Interlake Steamship put just 18 ships in the water at the start of the season on May 1.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 1, 1940|page=15}}</ref> Shipping needs increased so rapidly due to the recovering economy that within 24 days all of its 46 ships were making runs.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 25, 1940|page=17}}</ref> By June 3, the company had shipped more ore than it had in 1937, and had delivered the second-largest number of ore tons since 1929.<ref>{{cite news|title=Interlake Gains 1 1/4 Points|work=The Plain Dealer|date=June 4, 1940|page=10}}</ref> The positive outlook for the year<ref>{{cite news|title=Interlake to Pay 25 Cents|work=The Plain Dealer|date=June 5, 1940|page=14}}</ref> improved strongly by late June,<ref>{{cite news|title=Interlake Up Point to 40|work=The Plain Dealer|date=June 27, 1940|page=12}}</ref> and by the end of October there was such a backlog in ore shipment business that Interlake officials pledged to keep all their boats out as long as the ice permitted.<ref>{{cite news|title=Interlake SS Stock Rises|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 2, 1940|page=14}}</ref> By the end of 1940, Interlake had shipped the largest tonnage of coal and the third-largest tonnage{{Efn|The figure was {{convert|63700000|ST|MT}} tons of ore, the most since 1929.{{sfn|Joachim|1994|page=32}}}} of iron ore in its history.<ref>{{cite news|title=Interlake Votes $2 Dividend|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 11, 1940|page=14}}</ref> Interlake made these achievements despite selling the ''Victory'' to the A.G. Campbell Co. of Canada in April.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=March 12, 1940|page=9|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewel R.|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 25, 1940|page=24}}</ref>

===Corporate events and shipwrecks===
Early in the Great Depression, Interlake Steamship narrowly avoided being the subject of the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] case. The [[Pillsbury Company]] had shipped grain in 1927 on the ''E.A.S. Clarke'' from [[Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]], to [[Buffalo, New York]]. The grain arrived in good condition, and Pillsbury stored the grain aboard the ''Clarke'' for five months. When the grain was unloaded in April 1928, the company found much of it was damaged. Pillsbury sued. A [[United States district court|federal district court]] ruled against Pillsbury, holding that there was no recourse under [[United States admiralty law]]. The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|2d Circuit Court of Appeals]] upheld the verdict in October 1930, and the Supreme Court denied [[certiorari]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=October 17, 1930|page=9|postscript=none}}; {{cite court|litigants=Pillsbury Flour Mills Co. v. Interlake S.S.|vol=36|reporter=F.2d|opinion=390|court=W.D.N.Y.|date=1929|postscript=none}}; {{cite court|litigants=Pillsbury Flour Mills Co. v. Interlake S.S.|vol=40|reporter=F.2d|opinion=439|court=2 Cir.|date=1930|postscript=none}} ''cert. den'd.'' {{cite court|vol=282|reporter=U.S.|opinion=834|date=1930}}</ref>

Henry G. Dalton died of [[pneumonia]] on December 27, 1939, just seven days after an operation for [[appendicitis]].<ref>{{cite news|title=H.G. Dalton, Steel Industrialist, Dies|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 28, 1939|pages=1, 3}}</ref> Elton Hoyt III was elected president of Interlake Steamship on January 30, 1940.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rockwell|first=Guy T.|title=Hoyt Elected head of Interlake Steamship|work=The Plain Dealer|date=January 31, 1940|page=8}}</ref>

Shipwrecks among the Interlake fleet were few during the depression years. The ''Odonah'' ran aground near [[Erie, Pennsylvania]] in December 1937, but was soon refloated and sustained little damage.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dean|first=Jewell R.|title=Lake Marine News|work=The Plain Dealer|date=December 7, 1937|page=22}}</ref> Interlake lost the ''William B. Davock'' and her entire crew of 32 during the November 11, 1940, [[1940 Armistice Day Blizzard|Armistice Day storm]]. At the time, maritime experts believed she collided with the {{SS|Anna C. Minch}} off the [[Little Sable Point Light]] on the [[Michigan]] side of [[Lake Michigan]], and both boats went down.<ref>{{cite news|title=70 Feared Dead in Gale on Lakes|work=The Plain Dealer|date=November 13, 1940|pages=1, 2}}</ref>{{sfn|Van der Linden|Bascom|1984|page=159}} The wreck of the ''Davock'' was located in 1972, and that of the ''Anna C. Minch'' in 2008.<ref name=champion>{{cite news|last=Champion|first=Brandon|title=The Rise and Fall of 3 Freighters Lost in Armistice Day Storm of 1940|work=Michigan Live|date=November 10, 2015|accessdate=May 8, 2019|url=https://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/2015/11/a_tale_of_3_ships_the_rise_and.html}}</ref> After diving on the wreck several times, experts with the [[Michigan Shipwreck Research Association]] concluded in 2015 that the vessels never collided. The ''Davock''{{'s}} rudder jammed against its propeller, breaking off one or more blades. Without steering or propulsion, the vessel foundered in the high seas.<ref name=champion /><ref>{{cite news|title=Divers Solve Mystery of William B. Davock Shipwreck|work=Detroit Free Press|date=March 12, 2015|accessdate=May 8, 2019|url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/03/12/william-davock-shipwreck-lake-michigan/70205320/|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|last=Hettinger|first=Jim|title=The Davock and the Minch, Armistice Day 1940|work=Battle Creek Enquirer|date=October 29, 2016|accessdate=May 8, 2019|url=https://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/opinion/columnists/2016/10/29/jim-hettinger-davock-and-minch-armistice-day-1940/92880352/}}</ref>

==World War II years==
in 1941, LCA adotped a centralized dispatching system for all fleets, remvoing them from each corporate control
{{sfn|Joachim|1994|page=34}}
80.1 m tons of ore in1941
{{sfn|Joachim|1994|page=35}}

On December 18, 1941, FDR established the Office of Defense Transportation (ODT), which was granted authority "over all railroads, motor vehciles, inland waterways, pipe lines, air transport, and coastwise and intercoastal shipping withih the continental United States. 
January 16, 1942, FDR established the War Production Board (WPB)
WPD exercised general direction over the nation's war procurement and production program and to dtermine the policies, plans, procedures, and methods of Government agencies in respect to war procurement and production."
ODT was placed under WPB Josehp B. Eastman named director fo ODT
{{sfn|Joachim|1994|page=37}}
WPB set a goal of 88 m ore tons for 1942
{{sfn|Joachim|1994|pages=37-38}}
Eastman threatened federal regulation and takeover if lake carriers could not get their act together
on April 24, 1942, lake carriers met in Clevlenad and elected seven of their own as the Lake Vessel Committee
{{sfn|Joachim|1994|page=38}}



Hoyt successfully advocated for private control of shipping during the war, guaranteeing American carriers would meet government requirements for iron, ore, and steel shipments.
{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=19}}
Hoyt formed the Lake Vessel Committee to self-regulate Lake shipping during WWII. 
iron ore mining and lake shipping were the only major American industries to avoid government control during the war
Interlake owned 50 ships during the war years
{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=20}}







Congress established the U.S. Maritime Commission in June 1936 after passing the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1936]].{{sfn|Lane|2001|pages=10-11}}
government pays 50 percent of cost, funds 25 percent with low-interest loan, owner puts up 25 percent
U.S. Contract, Ship Bill Signed By President: Walsh-Healey Measure Establishes 'NRA' in Government Deals.
The Washington Post (1923-1954); Washington, D.C. [Washington, D.C]01 July 1936: X28.

Commission financed 16 ships, known as "Maritime freighers"
eah 620 ft long, 60 ft beams, 16,000 tons, powered with older steam reciprocating engines
companies were able to trade, ton for ton, older ships to the maritime commissino for the Maritime boats
{{sfn|Thompson|1991|page=}}
MC built Interlake's 
E.G. Grace, 1943, 604 ft, scrapped 1984
Frank Armstrong, 1943, 603 ft., converted to oil 1973, renamed Samuel Mather 1976, scrapped 1987
Frank Purnell, 1943, 603 ft, sold to Bethlehem Steel in 1966
{{sfn|Haydamacker|Millar|2009|page=111}}


April 1944, Interlka'es James H. Reed went down after colliding with the Ashcroft


==Post-war years==

June 23, 1948, the Crete collided with the Morgan
In November 1948, Frank Armstrong collided with the John J. Boland


SS Elton Hoyt II launched in 1952


early 1950s Interlake began modernizing its fleet
began building new, longer ships
began converting coal to oil
began giving all ships radar
{{sfn|Whelan|2014|page=21}}



Services for Elton Hoyt II, Industrialist, Are Tomorrow
Plain Dealer (Published as CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER.) - March 17, 1955Browse Issues
Page: 6



27 of 35 ships to go to sea immediately
Gayner Virgil L.
Great Lakes Marine News
Plain Dealer (Published as CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER.) - April 6, 1955Browse Issues
Page: 26



John Sherwin named PM senior managing partner and interlake pres
Bryan John E.
Pickands Mather Puts Sherwin at Helm With Jackson and Chisholm
Plain Dealer (Published as CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER.) - April 8, 1955Browse Issues
Page: 1, 34



The SAMUEL MATHER (4) was transferred on March 24, 1965 to the newly formed Pickands Mather subsidiary Labrador Steamship Co. Ltd. (Sutcliffe Shipping Co. Ltd., operating agents), Montreal, Que. to carry iron ore from their recently opened Wabush Mines ore dock at Pointe Noire, Que. to U.S. blast furnaces on Lakes Erie and Michigan.



merged into Pikands Mather on August 31, 1966
{{sfn|Barnett|1992|page=79}}


In 1968, Sherwin engineered the sale of Pickands Mather to the Diamond Shamrock Corporation, a Cleveland-based shipping, [[Chemical industry|chemical manufacturing]], and [[Oil refinery|oil refining]] and [[Filling station|consumer sales]] company.<ref name=whelan>{{cite news|last=Whelan|first=Ned|title=Ruling the Waves|work=Inside Business|date=November–December 2012|url=http://ibmag.com/Main/Archive/Ruling_the_Waves_12253.aspx|accessdate=January 17, 2016}}</ref> Beginning in 1970, Interlake began to dispose of a large number of its smaller ships. and built three {{convert|1000|ft|m|adj=on}} long Great Lakes freighters: the ''James R. Barker'', the ''Mesabi Miner'', and the ''[[MV Paul R. Tregurtha|William De Lancey]]''.<ref name=whelan />

Diamond Shamrock held the company for just four years.<ref name=whelan />  In December 1972, Diamond Shamrock sold Pickands Mather for $66 million to the Moore-McCormack Company, operator of a large fleet of international freighters and some of the last American-owned passenger ocean liners. (The sale did not include Pickands Mather's chemical manufacturing arm.)<ref>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=William D.|title=A Cure for Mooremack|work=The New York Times|date=September 2, 1973|page=T5}}</ref>

Moore-McCormack, however, retained control of the Interlake Steamship Company.  
In 1981 Interlake's fleet contained 151 vessels, and was capable of carrying over three million tons of cargo at one time.{{sfn|Thompson|1994|page=203}}
In early 1987, Barker resigned from Moore-McCormack and bought the Interlake Steamship Company from Moore-McCormack. Paul R. Tregurtha joined Barker in managing the company, which was now a [[privately held company]].<ref name=whelan />{{sfn|Bawal|2011|page=25}}

About April 2018, Interlake established a subsidiary service known as Interlake Logistics Solutions. Although its existing freight services were focused on bulk raw materials, the new service offered shipping on finished goods. The Barker and Tregurtha families, owners of Interlake Steamship, [[Chartering (shipping)|chartered]] the {{convert|418|ft|m|adj=on}}, {{convert|14000|ST|MT}} barge ''Montville'' from Moran Towing (also owned by the Barker and Tregurtha families) to provide this new service on an as-needed basis.<ref>{{cite news|last=McCafferty|first=Rachel Abbey|title=Interlake Steamship adds new barge to fleet|work=Crain's Cleveland Business|date=April 30, 2018|accessdate=May 1, 2018|url=http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20180430/news/159911/interlake-steamship-adds-new-barge-fleet}}</ref>

In April 2019, Interlake Steamship announced construction of a {{convert|639|ft|adj=on}} long, {{convert|75|ft|adj=on}} wide River-class self-unloading bulk freighter. The vessel, to be built by Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in [[Sturgeon Bay]], [[Wisconsin]], will be the first ship built for the U.S.-flagged Great Lakes fleet since 1983, and the first built by Interlake since 1979. The as-yet unnamed ship is expected for mid-2022 delivery.<ref>{{cite news|last=Schuyler|first=David|title=Freighter to be built in Wisconsin shipyard will be first new U.S. flagged bulk carrier in 35 years|work=Milwaukee Business Journal|date=April 9, 2019|accessdate=April 10, 2019|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2019/04/09/freighter-to-be-built-in-wisconsin-shipyard-will.html}}</ref>

==Leadership==
The presidents of Interlake Steamship were:

* Henry G. Dalton, April 1913-December 1925
* Harry Coulby, December 1925-January 1929
* Henry G. Dalton, June 1929-December 1939
* Elton Hoyt II, January 1940-March 1955
* John Sherwin, April 1955-October 1968


In 1968, Sherwin engineered the sale of Pickands Mather to the Diamond Shamrock Corporation, a Cleveland-based shipping, chemical manufacturing, and oil refining and consumer sales company.

In December 1972, Diamond Shamrock sold Pickands Mather for $66 million to the Moore-McCormack Company, operator of a large fleet of international freighters

Moore-McCormack sold the iron and coal mining businesses of Pickands Mather to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in November 1986

In early 1987, James R. Barker resigned from Moore-McCormack and bought the Interlake Steamship Company from Moore-McCormack.






==Fleet==
As of 2018, the Interlake Steamship fleet consists of 12 active vessels, one active tug, and one inactive vessel.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Interlake fleet
|-
! image || name || launch<br>date || notes
|-
| [[File:Herbert C. Jackson docks in the upper harbor Marquette, Michigan - Sept. 2009.jpg|75px]] || ''[[Herbert C. Jackson]]'' || 1959<ref>{{cite news|last=Hendrickson|first=Homer|title=689-Foot Ore Carrier Launched At Detroit|work=The Plain Dealer|date=February 20, 1959|page=38}}</ref> ||
|-
| [[File:The Hon. James L. Oberstar iron ore freighter at the Presque Isle Ore Dock, Marquette, MI 01.jpg|75px]] || ''[[The Hon. James L. Oberstar]]'' || 1959<ref name=shipsmonthly>{{cite news|title=What's In A Name?|work=Ships Monthly|date=June 2011|page=19|accessdate=October 12, 2017|url=https://issuu.com/kelseypublishing/docs/ships_monthly_june_2011}}</ref>{{sfn|Bawal|2011|pages=22, 91}}  ||
* Built as ''Shenango II'';<ref name=shipsmonthly />{{sfn|Bawal|2011|pages=22, 91}} renamed ''Charles M. Beeghly'' in 1967; renamed ''Hon. James L. Oberstar'' in 2010.<ref name=shipsmonthly /><ref name=wallbank>{{cite news|last=Wallbank|first=Derek|title=Introducing the new, super-sized 'Hon. James L. Oberstar'|work=Minnesota Post|date=March 7, 2011|accessdate=October 12, 2017|url=https://www.minnpost.com/dc-dispatches/2011/03/introducing-new-super-sized-hon-james-l-oberstar}}</ref>
|-
| [[File:USCGC Mackinaw assists M-V James R. Barker 130326-G-ZZ999-003.jpg|75px]] || ''[[James R. Barker (ship, 1976)|James R. Barker]]'' || 1976<ref>{{cite news|last=Blossom|first=Stephen A.|title=1st 1,000-Footer Built On Lakes Almost Ready|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 16, 1976|page=B1}}</ref> ||
* Third 1,000-foot vessel on the upper lakes.
|-
| || ''[[John Sherwin (1958 ship)|John Sherwin]]'' || 1958{{sfn|Bawal|2011|page=91}} ||
* Conventional dry bulk Lake freighter
* Not functional; serves as a grain storage ship in Chicago, Illinois.{{Efn|The vessel's propeller has been removed and has been loaned to the [[National Museum of the Great Lakes]] in [[Toledo, Ohio]], where it is on display.<ref>{{cite news|title=Pride of Toledo|work=Toledo Blade|date=December 3, 2013|accessdate=December 4, 2018|url=https://www.toledoblade.com/local/2013/12/03/Pride-of-Toledo.html}}</ref>}}
|-
| [[File:Coast Guard breaks ice in St. Marys River 140422-G-ZZ999-073.jpg|75px]] || ''[[Kaye E. Barker]]'' || 1952 ||
* Formerly the ''Edward B. Greene''; renamed ''Benson Ford'' in 1985; renamed in 1989.
|-
| [[File:Lee A. Tregurtha-2011.jpg|75px]] || ''[[Lee A. Tregurtha]]'' || 1942 ||
* Formerly the ''Chiwawa''; renamed ''Walter A. Sterling'' in 1960; renamed ''William Clay Ford'' in 1989; renamed in 1989.
|-
| [[File:Downbound_Mesabi_Miner.jpg|75px]] || ''[[Mesabi Miner]]'' || 1977<ref>{{cite news|title=Miner|work=The Plain Dealer|date=June 12, 1977|page=Section 7—4}}</ref> ||
* Fourth 1,000-foot vessel on the upper lakes.
|-
| [[File:Tug Dorothy Ann and SS Pathfinder.jpg|75px]] || ''[[J. L. Mauthe (ship, 1952)|Pathfinder]]'' || 1952{{sfn|Bawal|2008|page=6}} ||
* Formerly the freighter ''J. L. Mauthe''; converted in 1998 to self-unloading barge ''Pathfinder''.{{sfn|Bawal|2008|page=8}}
* Powered by tug ''Dorothy Ann'', also owned by Interlake.
|-
| [[File:Paul_R._Tregurtha.jpg|75px]] || ''[[Paul R. Tregurtha]]'' || 1981<ref>{{cite news|last=Widman|first=Richard C.|title=On View: Biggest Vessel to Sail Great Lakes|work=The Plain Dealer|date=April 24, 1981|page=Plain Dealer Magazine 18}}</ref> ||
* Thirteenth 1,000-foot vessel on the upper lakes.
* Formerly the ''William J. De Lancey''; renamed in 1990.<ref>{{cite news|title=M/V Paul R. Tregurtha—The Largest Vessel to Sail Great Lakes|work=Marine Insight|date=December 28, 2015|accessdate=September 22, 2017|url=http://www.marineinsight.com/types-of-ships/mv-paul-r-tregurtha-the-largest-vessel-to-sail-great-lakes/}}</ref>
|-
| [[File:Stewart J. Cort in rain at sunrise.jpg|75px]] || ''[[Stewart J. Cort]]'' || 1972 ||
* First 1,000-foot vessel on the upper lakes.{{sfn|Bawal|2008|page=9}}
* Owned by [[Mittal Steel Company]]; leased by Interlake since June 2005{{sfn|Bawal|2008|page=15}}
|}

==See also==
* [[List of Pickands Mather ships]], a list which describes vessels owned by Interlake Steamship Co., and others owned by Pickands Mather, through 1987.

==References==
;Notes
{{notelist}}

;Citations
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
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*{{cite news|ref={{sfnRef|''Seaway Review''|1981}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=In 1883 Pickands Mather opened for business with 13/20th interest in a wooden steamer|work=Seaway Review|date=Summer 1981|pages=55, 58–61}}
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*{{cite book|last=Lane|first=Frederic Chapin|title=Ships for Victory: A History of Shipbuilding Under the U.S. Maritime Commission in World War II|location=Baltimore, Md.|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|date=2001|isbn=9780801867521|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PxlXegsimNcC}}
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*{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Al|title=Tin Stackers: The History of the Pittsburgh Steamship Company|location=Detroit|publisher=Wayne State University Press|date=1999|isbn=9780814328323|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCidgMSm6m4C}}
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*{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Mark L.|title=Steamboats and Sailors of the Great Lakes|location=Detroit|publisher=Wayne State University Press|date=1991|isbn=9780814323595|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KRLZDXIEWCsC}}
*{{cite book|last=Thompson|first=Mark L.|title=Queen of the Lakes|location=Detroit|publisher=Wayne State University Press|date=1994|isbn=9780814343364|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DU8DwAAQBAJ}}
*{{cite book|last1=Van der Linden|first1=Peter J.|last2=Bascom|first2=John H.|title=Great Lakes Ships We Remember|location=Cleveland|publisher=Freshwater Press|date=1984|isbn=9780912514246}}
*{{cite book|last=Whelan|first=Ned|title=The Interlake Steamship Company: In Service to America Since 1913|editor-last1=Matisak|editor-first1=Anna|editor-last2=Rohn-Tielke|editor-first2=Christine|location=Middleburg Heights, Ohio|publisher=Interlake Steamship Company|date=2014|oclc=933388245}}
*{{cite journal|ref={{sfnRef|Wicklund|2009a}}|last=Wicklund|first=Dick|title='Yes, Mr. Coulby!' Part One|journal=Lake Huron Lore|date=May–June 2009|pages=8–13|url=http://www.lakehuronlore.com/PDF/NewsLetters/Volume%2030,%20%20No%203%20%20May-June%202009.pdf|accessdate=January 12, 2016}}
*{{cite journal|ref={{sfnRef|Wicklund|2009b}}|last=Wicklund|first=Dick|title='Yes, Mr. Coulby!' Part Two|journal=Lake Huron Lore|date=July–August 2009|pages=8–11|url=http://www.lakehuronlore.com/PDF/NewsLetters/Volume%2030,%20%20No%204%20%20July-Aug%20%202009.pdf|accessdate=January 12, 2016}}
*{{cite journal|ref={{sfnRef|Wicklund|2009c}}|last=Wicklund|first=Dick|title='Yes, Mr. Coulby!' Part Three|journal=Lake Huron Lore|date=September–October 2009|pages=13–18|url=http://www.lakehuronlore.com/PDF/NewsLetters/Volume%2030,%20%20No%205%20%20Sept-Oct%202009.pdf|accessdate=January 12, 2016}}
*{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Richard J.|title=Freshwater Whales: A History of the American Ship Building Company and Its Predecessors|location=Kent, Ohio|publisher=Kent State University Press|date=1969|isbn=9780873380539}}



{{DEFAULTSORT:Interlake Steamship Company
[[Category:Transport companies established in 1913
[[Category:Shipping companies of North America
[[Category:1913 establishments in the United States