Capt. Ed Wiltse in command of the Badger
Part 6
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — Bernard “Bunny” Robertson, Bjoruin “Lindy” Johnson, Ernest Barth, John Bissell, Bruce Masse, Gregg Anderson, Dean Hobbs, Kevin Fitch. Those are just some of the men who have been the masters of the S.S. Badger, the last of a long line of car ferries based out of Ludington. In 2023, another captain joined that list of legends, Ed Wiltse.
While Capt. Wiltse may seem new to the Badger, the date is deceiving, as his working relationship with Lake Michigan Carferry goes back to 1996. While his early sailing career with the Badger was short, just one season, his next role with the company very likely helped keep the legacy of cross-lake service between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wis. alive.
MCP Contributing Writer Mark Varenhorst and myself had the honor of visiting with Capt. Ed (as he is more commonly known on the boat) a couple times during a recent voyage. Our goal was to tell the stories of those who work to keep the legacy of the ship alive and to also raise awareness in our community on the employment opportunities at Lake Michigan Carferry and its parent company Interlake Maritime Services. Capt. Ed clearly understood our mission.
As we entered the pilothouse of the S.S. Badger we were greeting by Capt. Ed, who at first was surprised to see us and then apologetic.
It seemed that word of our pre-planned visit had not reached the captain.
“Had I known you were coming I certainly would have greeted you when you boarded,” he told us. Capt. Ed quickly made up for the hiccup in protocol and treated us with the type of hospitality any visitor would expect on board the historic steamship.
Capt. Ed speaks with Junior Engineer Scott Rogers onshore in Manitowoc.
We visited Ed during both the Ludington and Manitowoc departures and both incidences were made to feel welcome on his bridge. He told us sea stories and praised his crew, employers, and, the ship that he loves, and most importantly, the passengers who make it all possible.
“Ed Wiltse is a perfect example of a ship’s captain,” said Chuck Leonard, general manager of Lake Michigan Carferry and Interlake Logistical Solutions. “He is a high quality boat operator and also knows the value of treating the crew and visitors with dignity and respect. I’m also proud to call him my friend.”
More about that friendship in a bit.
Ed’s sailing career began after he graduated from Portage High School in Portage, Ind. in 1983 when he enrolled at the Great Lakes Maritime Academy in Traverse City.
“I didn’t want an office job,” he said. “I wanted to work outside, in nature. I just didn’t want to spend my life working behind a desk and working for the weekend. I decided to go into the maritime industry. I had always been interested in ships and maritime history.”
He met his wife, a Traverse City native, while he was attending the academy.
Following three years at the academy he earned a license as a Great Lakes mate and first class pilot; the program now takes four years. A week after graduating he was offered a job.
“Great Lakes shipping had really suffered in the early ’80s,” he said referring to a downfall in the American steel industry. “When I graduated, it still wasn’t that great. But, I was offered a job on the Armco.”
The M/V Armco was built in 1953 by American Shipbuilding Co. in Lorain, Ohio for the Columbia Transportation Division of the Oglebay Norton Company of Cleveland, Ohio, the same company that operated the Edmund Fitzgerald. The 647-foot ship is now called the American Valor and is currently laid up at Toledo.
Ed worked on the Armco as a relief mate until the end of 1987. He then began working for Inland Steal Co. of East Chicago, Ind. on the 730-foot M/V Edward L. Ryerson (built in 1960). There, he served as a full time mate. Following a stint on the ships, he was offered a shore position as the assistant to the fleet manager. He spent a total of eight years at Inland Steel.
“My wife and I decided that we wanted to move back to the Traverse City area to raise our daughter,” he said. “Plus, that’s where my wife was from.”
In 1996, Ed was hired by Lake Michigan Carferry to serve as a mate and eventual captain on the Badger.
“Capt. Bruce Masse was getting ready to retire, for the second time. So, I was hired to eventually replace him.”
The tug/barge Undaunted/Pere Marquette 41 on the Grand River in Ferrysburg earlier this year.
Though Ed did skipper the Badger as a relief captain during the 1996 season, he was then given another task. LMC president Bob Manglitz asked Ed to find an alternative solution to scrapping the beloved S.S. City of Midland 41.
The City of Midland was built at Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co. in Manitowoc, Wis. in 1941. She was the last carferry built for the Pere Marquette Railway, which a few years after she debuted was merged into the C&O Railroad. Along with the Badger and Spartan, she was purchased in 1983 by Ludington-based Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation Co. and operated as the company’s main vessel, transporting mainly rail cars from Ludington to Kewaunee. In 1987, U.S. Coast Guard inspections showed that the 41’s boiler mounts had deteriorated and needed replacement. The repairs were waived a year but in 1988, M-WT made the decision to lay her up and utilize the 410-foot Badger. The three vessels were then purchased by retired Holland businessman Charles Conrad, a native of Ludington, in 1991 with the formation of Lake Michigan Carferry. However, the Badger remained as flagship while the Spartan and Midland remained moored. The Spartan was spared from conversion because she was a nearly identical twin to the Badger and used for parts.
“In the winter of 1996, we came up with the idea of converting the 41 into a barge,” Ed said. “There was a need for a bulk ship to handle materials that the larger self unloaders couldn’t handle, a niche market for a vessel.”
The concept was to convert the City of Midland 41 into a barge and pair it with a tug creating an articulated tug/barge operation.
After the financing was secured, the 41 was towed away from Ludington harbor to Muskegon on Oct. 1, 1997 where the superstructure was reduced and renamed Pere Marquette 41.
Ed was then tasked with finding a tug. He found the MT Undaunted in Escanaba, a 133-foot-long tug that was built in 1943 for the U.S. Navy. The tug, then known as ATA 199, had been assigned to the Pacific Theater during World War II. In 1993, the tug had been owned by Basic Marine Incorporated of Escanaba and was named the Krystal K.
The captain’s view from the pilot house of the Badger.
The name Undaunted is in honor of the name it had received while it served in the naval reserve fleet and briefly for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In 1998, Pere Marquette Shipping started operating the tug/barge with Ed serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer. The new company helped to create a valuable additional revenue stream to the carferry service.
Today, that company is known as Interlake Logistics Solutions and, like the Badger, is owned by Interlake Maritime Services of Middleburg Heights, Ohio.
Ironically, Ed’s assistant at Pere Marquette Shipping was Chuck Leonard, who is now his boss.
“When I left Pere Marquette Shipping in 2001, Chuck took over the operation and continues in that capacity today,” Ed said. “This summer he was also assigned the duties of general manager of Lake Michigan Carferry. I am honored to serve under Chuck’s leadership, which has helped solidify that both operations will be successful for years to come.”
Like many ship captains, the sea was calling.
“My career seems to alternate between sailing positions and working ashore,” Ed said with a chuckle. He next became a captain for Grand River Navigation, a division of Rand Logistics, Inc. of Jersey City, NJ. Soon he found himself on land again serving as fleet captain. However, he would only take the job if he could stay in northern Michigan.
The captain sends commands to the engine room using engine order telegraphs.
“I said I wouldn’t work in Ohio,” he said. “I needed to stay in Traverse City. That’s one thing that has been a priority to me throughout my career, being in a place where I could be with my family, living a lifestyle that we enjoy and cherish. That has been more important to me.”
Following a five year career at Grand River Navigation, Ed’s job brought him to Port City Marine Services in Muskegon where he served as president and then later as vice president of operations for VanEnkevort Tug & Barge Inc. in Escanaba.
But, the sea came calling, as did the Badger. The ship that he never quite got to master. An opportunity arose in 2023 for him to become one of the ship’s two captains.
“It’s kind of funny that it took that long for me to finally become captain of the Badger,” Ed said. “But, this is where I want to spend the rest of my career; on the water, captain of this incredible, historic steamship. The Badger is so unique. There is nothing else like her around. Operating the Badger is not like sailing on a laker.
“She is historically significant. I’ve always been a history buff and being a part of a sailing history that began in the 1890s is just a true honor. Her Skinner Unaflow reciprocating engines are the only ones I am aware of that are still in operation. I am just really proud of what I do and am happy to finish my career here. My hope is that when I leave the Badger’s legacy is even stronger than when I began back in the 90s. I think under the current leadership and owners, that is a sure thing.”
Editor’s Note: This concludes the first volume of our series, Working on the Badger: Keepers of the Legacy. I would like to thank General Manager Chuck Leonard, Capt. Ed Wiltse, Senior Chief Engineer Andy VerVelde, Chief Engineer Kevin Diedrich and the rest of the crew of the S.S. Badger for their kindness and hospitality. They understand the importance of sharing these stories, not only to promote the current service but also for historical preservation. Both Mark and I appreciate the access we were given, the camaraderie that was shared, and that we were trusted to tell these stories. We look forward to future sailings as Sunday is the Badger’s last day of sailing for the 2025 season.
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