J.B. Conrad rose from oiler to chief engineer of carferry flagships

August 29, 2026

Digitally reconstructed image of J.B. Conrad. Original image was from a newspaper clipping.

This Great Lakes History Log is presented by Filer Credit Union, the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum and Sable Points Media.

Editor’s Note: Until now, the Masters of the PM Steamers series has focused on the captains of the vessels in Ludington’s cross-lake railroad ferry fleet. Today, we introduce the first feature about those who were nearly as important to the operation of the vessels: the chief engineers. One of the best-known chief engineers was J.B. Conrad. Notable in his own right, he also was the father of Charles Conrad, who ultimately purchased the last three car ferries and helped preserve Ludington’s car ferry legacy by reinventing the purpose of the SS Badger.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

Long before James Burton “J.B.” Conrad became chief engineer aboard the flagship of the Pere Marquette Railway carferry fleet, he began near the bottom of the engine-room hierarchy, working as an oiler aboard Pere Marquette 15.

J.B. was already a Mason County native. He was born Jan. 6, 1875, in Amber Township, just southeast of Ludington, the son of James Hazzard Conrad and Clarissa Pooley Conrad. In January 1902, after receiving his engineer’s papers, J.B. began working aboard the Pere Marquette carferries based at Ludington.

He worked as an oiler for only a month before receiving his first appointment as an engineer, according to a profile published by The Ludington Daily News in 1934. He later advanced to first engineer aboard Pere Marquette 15.

Pere Marquette 20

By 1907, vessel personnel records listed J.B. as chief engineer of Pere Marquette 20. Over the next three decades, he served aboard several of the railroad’s most prominent Lake Michigan carferries and helped oversee the transition from the fleet’s earlier steam-powered vessels to its larger turbo-electric ships.

While the captain commanded the vessel and directed its navigation, the chief engineer was responsible for the machinery that kept it moving. The chief supervised the engine-room crew and oversaw the boilers, engines, pumps, electrical systems and other mechanical equipment. On a carferry operating year-round through Lake Michigan storms and ice, it was one of the most important positions aboard the ship.

J.B.’s father, James Hazzard Conrad, was born in Wayne County in 1834. His first wife was Mariah L. Hall, whom he married about 1855. Their son, Francis James “Frank” Conrad, was born in Detroit in April 1857. Mariah died less than three months later at age 23.

James Hazzard Conrad later married Clarissa Pooley, who was born in England in 1832. The family moved from Wayne County to Mason County by the early 1860s and settled in Amber Township. J.B. was the youngest of at least six children born to James and Clarissa.

J.B. married Ella Julia Munson on Nov. 22, 1899, in Grand Haven. The couple began married life in Grand Haven and was living there when the 1900 federal census was taken. They later established their home in Ludington, where J.B. was recorded as the head of the household in the 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses.

J.B. and Ella were the parents of at least eight children: Emma, Hazel, Irma, Frances, Dorothy, William Burton “Burt,” Helen and Charles Frederick. Two of their daughters died during childhood. Dorothy died in infancy in 1908, and Hazel died in 1912 at age 9.

Their youngest son, Charles Frederick Conrad (1918-1995), also worked aboard the Ludington carferries as a teenager. Decades later, Charles would play a central role in saving the remaining ships and restoring cross-lake service.

Contemporary vessel registers trace J.B.’s career through much of the Pere Marquette fleet. He was listed as chief engineer aboard Pere Marquette 20 in 1907, Pere Marquette 19 in 1908 and Pere Marquette 15 in 1909 and 1910. He later returned to Pere Marquette 19 and Pere Marquette 20 before serving aboard Pere Marquette 17 from about 1918 through the early 1920s.

By September 1924, J.B. was chief engineer of the new Pere Marquette 22 when it arrived in Ludington on its maiden voyage. The ship had been launched July 22, 1924, at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Pere Marquette 22 and its sister ship, Pere Marquette 21, cost a combined $1.75 million and were built to improve the railroad’s cross-lake freight service.

The Ludington Daily News identified Capt. Esten Bahle (1881-1946) as master of Pere Marquette 22 and J.B. as its chief engineer when the ship entered service. Vessel registers continued to list J.B. aboard Pere Marquette 22 through 1929.

City of Saginaw 31. Photo from the Mason County Historical Society Rose Hawley Archives.

His next assignment placed him at the center of another major expansion of the Ludington fleet.

Pere Marquette management approved an ambitious improvement program in 1928 that included new docks, repair shops, a passenger depot and two new carferries. The railroad ordered City of Saginaw 31 and City of Flint 32 from Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. on Dec. 6, 1928, at a cost of $1.25 million each.

The 381.5-foot ships differed considerably from the earlier Pere Marquette carferries. Each had a single smokestack, raised forecastle and turbo-electric propulsion. They were capable of about 18 mph, making them the fastest carferries then operating on the Great Lakes.

J.B. was selected as chief engineer of City of Saginaw 31. Before the ship entered service, he studied turbo-electric propulsion in Schenectady, New York, and Lynn, Massachusetts. He went to Manitowoc in August 1929 and remained there while the ship’s new machinery was installed.

“Responsibility of presiding over the engine room” during City of Saginaw 31’s maiden trip would go to J.B., The Ludington Daily News reported on Nov. 22, 1929. The newspaper described his appointment as a distinction and noted that he had spent practically his entire maritime career aboard Pere Marquette carferries.

City of Saginaw 31 entered service Nov. 24, 1929, with Capt. Charles E. Robertson (1880-1944) as master and J.B. as chief engineer. However, J.B. soon received an assignment aboard the vessel’s sister ship.

City of Flint 32. Photo from the Mason County Historical Society Rose Hawley Archives.

City of Flint 32 entered service April 9, 1930, with Bahle as master and J.B. as chief engineer. On its first trip from Manitowoc to Ludington, the ship crossed Lake Michigan in three hours and seven minutes, setting a speed record for the route.

The ship established another record during its first year. When City of Flint 32 underwent its government inspection on April 6, 1931, records showed it had crossed Lake Michigan 1,010 times and traveled 101,000 miles since entering service. Although the accomplishment involved the entire vessel and its crew, maintaining that pace placed considerable responsibility on J.B. and the men working under him in the engine room.

J.B.’s service was interrupted briefly by illness in early 1931. A newspaper report stated that he had been ill for six weeks at his home at 310 E. Foster St. and expected to return to City of Flint 32 in late March.

By 1934, City of Flint 32 was considered the flagship of the Pere Marquette fleet. A special Daily News feature published that March described J.B. as “chief on flagship” and credited him with 32 years of service. The newspaper stated that he had “spent practically his entire marine career on the Pere Marquette carferries.”

Vessel personnel records continued to list J.B. as chief engineer aboard City of Flint 32 through 1936. His career had extended from the comparatively modest engine room of Pere Marquette 15 to the turbo-electric machinery of the largest and fastest carferries the railroad had yet built.

J.B. died March 25, 1937, in Ludington at age 62. He was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Ludington in Block 9, Lot 7, Grave 4. Ella died in 1952 and was buried beside him in Grave 5.

Charles Conrad. Photo by Rob Alway.

The Conrad family’s connection to the Ludington carferries did not end with J.B.’s death.

Charles eventually moved to Holland and built a successful career in refrigeration and environmental testing equipment. He founded Conrad Inc. in 1951 and Thermotron Industries in 1962. The company manufactured environmental test chambers used by the automotive, aviation, defense and aerospace industries. Charles sold Thermotron in 1980.

Following the end of railroad carferry service in November 1990, the remaining Ludington ships – SS Badger, SS Spartan and City of Midland 41 – sat idle as Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Co. entered bankruptcy.

In 1991 and 1992, Charles led an effort to acquire the three carferries through bankruptcy proceedings and formed Lake Michigan Carferry Service. He invested his own money in converting SS Badger from a railroad carferry into a seasonal passenger, automobile and commercial-vehicle ferry.

SS Badger returned to service between Ludington and Manitowoc in 1992. Charles later transferred ownership of the company to his son-in-law Robert “Bob” Manglitz, Jim Anderson and Don Clingan, who continued operating the ship.

J.B. spent more than three decades keeping the Pere Marquette fleet operating across Lake Michigan. More than half a century after he began as an oiler aboard Pere Marquette 15, his son helped ensure that Ludington’s carferry tradition survived.

The ships and technology had changed, but the Conrad family’s connection to the engine rooms, docks and carferries of Ludington had come full circle.

Masters of the PM Steamers series to date:

In search of information

Editor’s Note: I am seeking historical artifacts and stories from people whose family members worked as ship captains or in Ludington’s maritime industry. While this project focuses on the Ludington carferry fleet, I am also interested in items related to anyone from Mason County who worked on the Great Lakes or oceans.

This series has three goals:

To share Ludington’s rich maritime history with readers of the Mason County Press.
To publish a biographical book about the Ludington fleet captains.
To create an interactive kiosk exhibit at the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum for historical research.

I am looking for artifacts such as photographs, written documents, or digitized materials. Items will be placed in the Mason County Historical Society archives, and donors will receive documentation of their contribution.

If you have items or stories to share, please email editor@mediagroup31.com or call/text 231-757-3202.

Note: I am also interested in collections related to the Mason County railroad industry.

If you would like to financially contribute to the book project, please click here for more information.