Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1505735
12 | NORTH STAR PORT | SUMMER 2023 ORE AND OARS Built in West Duluth at a cost of $3 mil- lion, the concrete-and-steel DM&N Ore Dock No. 5 opened in 1915 with all the latest technology, including electric-pow- ered spouts for faster ship-loading and trimming. McGonagle said the DM&N docks were excelled by none in the world, and who could argue with 15.4 million tons of iron ore shipped in a single season? Feeding those docks required approx- imately 30 ore trains daily, one every 48 minutes, night and day, on average. McGonagle predicted even more for 1916, specifically the heaviest sin- gle-season haul in the company's his- tory—20,000,000 tons of iron ore. To achieve that goal, the DM&N was set to unleash 1,000 new 50-ton steel ore cars, 200 new gondola cars and eight new locomotives. The DM&N also planned to open 15 miles of new track, a new roundhouse and weighing scales in Proc- tor, Minnesota, plus seven new mainline bridges. It was truly an awe-inspiring deployment of resources. When the Peter A.B. Widener arrived in April 1916 as the season's first freighter at Dock No. 5, she swallowed nearly 9,000 tons of iron ore in about an hour, then sailed for the lower lakes. It marked the beginning of a busy campaign. Not far from the ore docks, the Duluth Boat Club also pulsed with activity. Bol- stered by national-level rowing victories in 1915, the club convinced the National Association of Amateur Oarsman to host its 1916 national championship regatta in Duluth. More specifically, it was Barnes, the club's benefactor and grand poohbah, who did the convincing. According to Michael J. Cochran in his book "Invincible," the club invested nearly $23,000 (about $650,000 in today's dollars) in preparation for the event, including construction of a new waterside grandstand one-eighth of a mile in length. The city would host its annual water car- nival in conjunction with the 44th annual championship regatta, the enthusiasm for which inspired two Duluthians—Donald Wade and D.J. Michaud—to write a song published in the Duluth News-Tribune. The chorus: SEASONS OF YORE A banner year for McGonagle and Barnes orn 12 years and 1,000 miles apart, William McGonagle and Julius Barnes rest today in Duluth's Forest Hill Cemetery. The proximity is apropos. In their day, McGonagle and Barnes were parallel pillars in the Zenith City, leading citizens who shared a belle époque. McGonagle, the railroader, moved iron ore. He was president of the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway. Barnes, the exporter, moved grain. He was in business for himself, building the nation's largest grain-exporting enterprise. Both were members of several prestigious societies, including the Kitchi Gammi Club and the Duluth Boat Club, and in 1916, with Duluth nearing its peak and America inching toward World War I, these two Head-of-the-Lakes lions enjoyed a very good year. 1916 B | By Jayson Hron