Tales from the Great Lakes: Based on C.H.J. Snider's Schooner Days
This collection preserves the maritime heritage of the Great Lakes through C.H.J. Snider's celebrated "Schooner Days" articles. Combined with Robert B. Townsend's writings, this book documents the sailing era that defined Ontario's waterways and shaped the region's commercial and cultural development.
Historical Maritime Documentation
C.H.J. Snider's "Schooner Days" articles represent decades of research into Great Lakes shipping history. These stories capture the working lives of sailors, the construction and operation of schooners, and the economic networks that connected ports across Ontario and the broader Great Lakes region. The compilation provides primary source material for understanding 19th and early 20th century maritime commerce.
Dual Author Perspective
Robert B. Townsend introduces Snider's work while contributing his own accounts of Great Lakes sailing. His forty-year career on Bay Street preceded his retirement to the Bay of Quinte, where he dedicated himself to preserving Ontario's marine heritage. Townsend compiled a comprehensive database of Snider's articles, ensuring these historical records remained accessible for future research and enjoyment.
Content and Coverage
The book examines schooner operations, shipbuilding techniques, and the personalities who worked the Great Lakes waters. Stories detail specific vessels, navigation challenges, port operations, and the transition from sail to steam power. The narrative spans the post-Confederation period, documenting how maritime transportation evolved alongside Canadian industrial development.
Publication Details
Published by Dundurn Press in July 1996, this paperback edition makes Snider's extensive work available in a single volume. The compilation serves historians, sailing enthusiasts, and anyone interested in Ontario's regional development and transportation history.
Coupled with C.H.J. Snider's writings are those of Robert B. Townsend, who, besides introducing Snider's stories, adds some of his own about the "Schooner Days" on the Great Lakes.
