SS Boyer's value to city sizable, official believes

6/1/2007

The SS Willis B. Boyer holds a historical significance to the Toledo area, and it is important that the museum ship remains in International Park, the museum's executive director said during a taping of The Editors television program.

Paul LaMarre III, who was recently hired as a special assistant to Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority President James Hartung, is working out the details for control of the ship.

The port authority recently took responsibility for the ship from the city of Toledo to save it from the scrap yard.

The plan is to have the port authority lease the ship from the city and in turn lease it to a nonprofit advisory board that was recently re-established to support the Boyer.

Mr. LaMarre said he has spent a lot of his time working on the floating museum's stability and will now be able to focus on sustaining it for the future.

The 617-foot-long Boyer is located in the same place where it loaded its first cargo of coal in 1911. When launched, it was the largest bulk freighter of its time.

"We really have a historic vessel here on many different levels," Mr. LaMarre said.

Mr. LaMarre was interviewed by Thomas Walton, vice president and editor of The Blade.

The Editors will be broadcast at 9 tonight on WGTE-TV, Channel 30, and at 12:30 p.m. Sunday on WBGU, Channel 27.