On Friday, June 21, two tugs will be formally christened at the National Museum of the Great Lakes in Toledo, Ohio. The first tug to be christened is the Museum Tug Ohio, which was donated to the museum by The Great Lakes Towing Company in 2018. The museum of the Great Lakes has spent the last nine months restoring the tug.
The second boat to be christened is The Great Lakes Towing Company’s new Damen 1907 ice tug, also named Ohio. This tug will serve as a member of the towing company’s fleet of tugs that operate across the Great Lakes and on the Maumee River.
“We believe this event is the first of its kind on the Great Lakes and perhaps beyond — the christening of a museum tug that shares its name with the tug built to take its place in the commercial towing fleet!” says Christopher Gillcrist, executive director of the National Museum of the Great Lakes. “The past meets the present and future all in one wonderful event.”
To christen the museum tug, a bottle of beer will be broken over the bow rail instead of the traditional champagne bottle. According to Gillcrist, when the boat was christened the first time in Chicago in 1903, beer was used because the boat was going to serve the city of Milwaukee — the city that made beer famous.
Weekend activities following the christening include onboard tours of the museum tug and dockside viewing of the Tug Ohio.
To purchase tickets to the christening, visit inlandseas.org/event/museum-tug-ohio-dedication-and-new-tug-ohio-christening.
