Badger featured in American Airlines magazine

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief.

The SS Badger is featured in the current edition of American Way, the in-flight magazine of American Airlines. The six-page full-color spread begins with an interview with Capt. Dean Hobbs and mates Allan Chrenka and Dan Short. In true Capt. Hobbs fashion, it features some of the captain’s famous tales of the Great Lakes.

The article then describes passenger experiences on the 60-year-old steamship. The author talks about entertainment director Todd “Scoop” Hansen’s interactions with the passengers and how the mix of ages enjoy listening to Hansen’s jokes and stories while he calls Badger Bingo.

The story then goes into a brief history of the Badger and the other Ludington carferries. It talks about the reason carferry service was started, its peak in the 1950s and its demise. It then describes how the Badger operates, burning coal, and the latest challenge of facing shut-down by the Environmental Protection Agency. The article also discusses the recent consent decree with the U.S. government allowing owner Lake Michigan Carferry two more years to come up with a solution to stop discharging coal ash into Lake Michigan.

Ludington Mayor John Henderson is interviewed along with Norma Bishop of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc. Both talk about how essential the Badger is for the economies of both Manitowoc and Ludington. On the opposite side, the article also interviews a couple environmentalists.

Terri Brown, spokeswoman of Lake Michigan Carferry, said freelance writer Stephen Lyons of Chicago contacted her last fall regarding writing a story for the magazine. “He traveled on the Badger with me from Manitowoc to Ludington,” she said. “He was very impressed with the historic significance of the ship and the positive stories that were shared by those he interviewed on board.

“We are told that the publication will be on every American Airlines flight in the Midwest for the entire month of May. We are honored that American Airlines recognized the significance of the S.S.
Badger and chose the Badger for a featured article.”

The magazine article can be found here.