Wolverine was a launch powered by a gasoline engine that operated on the Coquille River on the southern coast of Oregon, United States, from 1908 to the 1920s. Later the boat operated on Coos Bay, and, in the mid-1930s, was transferred to Eureka, California. Wolverine is principally known for its early service as a high-speed passenger vessel.
Design and construction Wolverine was built in Marshfield, Oregon in 1908 at the boatyard of Max Timmerman.”Gasoline Launch Wolverine, Now On Coquille River Run, and Young Woman Who Christened Her”, (Date line: Marshfield, Or. May 5), ‘’Morning Oregonian’’, May 6, 1908, page 5, col. 2. J.F. Haehnel was one of the builders."Inspects Wolverine", Coos Bay Times, August 21, 1908, page 3, col.5.
The original owners of were Capt. Orsan R. "Ott" Willard and Capt. E.D. Stuller, who were also to operate the boat themselves. Willard had commanded the steamboat Antelope when that vessel was operating as a fishing tender on the Coquille River in 1906.
The plans for Wolverine showed the boat to be (or ) long, with a beam of feet. and depth of hold of . Officially the dimensions of the boat turned out somewhat different. In 1911, the registered measurements for Wolverine were long, beam, and depth of hold. U.S. Treasury Dept., Statistics Bureau, Annual List of Merchant Vessels (for year ending June 30, 1911), at page 324. Wolverine was 14 gross and 10 net tons in overall size.
Passenger capacity was reported to be 75. Total required crew was only one. Power was to be supplied by a 50-horsepower Wolverine engine, which was reported to have been able to drive the boat at "a speed far beyond anything ever turned out on Coos Bay", or according to another report, 15 miles per hour."Splashes and Splurges", Motor Boat, Vol. 5 (1908), page 44, col. 2. The official merchant vessel registry number was 204972.
Launch and delivery
Wolverine was launched late in the afternoon of April 2, 1908."Launch New Boat", Coos Bay Times, April 3, 1908, page 3, col. 5. The boat was christened at its launching by Miss Mary Peterson, of Marshfield. With the boat having been built in Coos Bay, it was necessary to take it out into the open ocean to the Coquille River to be placed into service, which "attracted much attention, as it was built for river rather than open sea work."
On April 22, 1908, Wolverine ran from Empire, Oregon south down the coast to Bandon in about 2.5 hours, much better time than had been expected."Wolverine makes fast run from Bay to Bandon – New Boat Covers Distance between Empire and City by the Sea in about Two Hours and a Half", Coos Bay Times, April 23, 1908, page 1, col. 5. A number of Marshfield men were taken on the trip, including Mayor Straw.
Wolverine departed Empire at 5:20 pm. The seas were reported to have been heavy. Wolverine safely passed both the Coos Bay and Coquille River bars, and arrived in Bandon at about 8:00 p.m. Hundreds of people came to the Bandon docks to see the arrival of the new vessel and greet the people from Coos Bay. One of the passengers found a telephone station in Bandon and placed a telephone call back to Marshfield to report the boat's arrival.
Operations
Once in service, Wolverine met the morning train from Marshfield at Coquille City. Wolverine made the river trip from Coquille City to Bandon in two hours, making a substantial improvement in the overall traveling time from Marshfield to Bandon, which had previously taken an entire day. The improved service was expected to greatly benefit the business interests of Bandon and also the smaller inland towns. In January 1909, Wolverine was described as a "popular" boat.
The distance on the river from Bandon to Coquille City was 26 miles.Advertisement, "The Success of the Wolverine Engine Abroad”, The Rudder, Vol. 23 (1910), page 36. (publishing a letter dated April 30, 1910 from O.R. Willard.)
In April 1910, Wolverine made one round-trip per day on this route, for a total of 52 river miles travelled daily.
On February 9, 1913, it was reported that Wolverine and the steamboat Coquille carried about one-half of the passengers traveling between Coquille City and Bandon."Grown of City Bandon Keeps Steady and Atmosphere of Prosperity is Prevalent", The Sunday Oregonian, February 9, 1908, page 14, col. 2. The other four vessels then operating on the river accounted for the rest. From June 1912 to January 1, 1913, Wolverine carried 13,000 passengers, compared with Coquille 21,000 (about 100 per trip) during the same period.
In January 1913, there were four vessels operating on the Coquille River that transported both passengers and freight."Better Transportation Service Makes Bandon Travelers' Mecca", Sunday Oregonian, January 26, 1913, section three, page 10, col. 1. Of these, two ran from Bandon to Myrtle Point and the other two covered only the route from Bandon to Coquille. In addition, there were two passenger-only boats operating on the river between Bandon and Coquille. These were the steamer Coquille and the motor vessel Wolverine.
Ownership changes
In July 1908, Orsan R. Willard bought out the one-half interest of E.D. Stoller in Wolverine, which the newspaper described as "that neat little boat.""Order New Boat -- Powerful Small Craft for the Coquille River", Coos Bay Times, July 28, 1908, page 8, col. 6. On August 1, 1908, it was announced that F.F. "Eli" Swearingen of Coquille had bought a one-half interest in the Wolverine.Item, Coos Bay Times, August 1, 1908, page 3, col. 5. In January 1909, Willard had bought out Swearingen's share, and had returned to being sole owner of Wolverine."Briefs of Bandon", Coos Bay Times, January 15, 1909, page 4, col. 1. By April 1910, O.R. Willard was the sole owner of Wolverine.
In May 1914 Captain Charles Ashton, and Captain O.R. Willard and associates took over operation of Wolverine, Coquille and the motor vessel Charm."Boat Line Change", Coos Bay Times, May 15, 1914, page 3, col. 6. Captains Thomas White and Gurley Doak would take over operation of the sternwheeler Dispatch and were going operate it in freight service between Bandon and Coquille.
In 1925, Carl W. Egenhoff, of Marshfield, was shown as the owner of Wolverine.U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Navigation Bureau, "Annual List of Merchant Vessels" (for year ending June 30, 1925)., at pages 542–543. Ownership changed by 1926, to Ed Sprague, of North Bend, Oregon.U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Navigation Bureau, "Annual List of Merchant Vessels" (for year ending June 30, 1926)., at pages 548–549. Ownership passed to Philip J. Keizer by 1927.U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Navigation Bureau, "Annual List of Merchant Vessels" (for year ending June 30, 1927)., at pages 532-533, line 50.
Collisions with Coquille On the Saturday before January 19, 1909, the steamer Coquille collided with Wolverine."Briefs of Bandon - News of City-by-Sea as Recorded in the Recorder", January 19, 1909, page 4, col. 1. Wolverine pulled up to the landing at Rocky Point to pick up some passengers. Coquille, a boat owned by the competing Coquille River Transportation Company, was closely following Wolverine and became caught in the river current, causing Coquille to butt into Wolverine before Captain White, of Coquille, could regain control of his vessel. Wolverine was badly damaged, but the full extent could not be estimated until boat could be evaluated, which the two companies concerned agreed to settle by arbitration.
On September 16, 1909, there was a second collision between Coquille and Wolverine, this time at Johnson's Mill.U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service, Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General to the Secretary of Commerce, Vol. 15 (1910), at page 271."Charges Filed Against Capt. Panter", Morning Oregonian, October 5, 1909, page 16, col. 4. Capt. W.T. Panter had been in charge of Coquille at the time of the collision. Capt. O.R. Willard was in charge of Wolverine.”Will Probe Boat Trouble — United States Inspectors to Investigate Coos Bay and Coquille Collisions” (Dateline: Portland, OR Oct. 18), Coos Bay Times, October 18, 1909, page 1, col. 3. No damage was sustained by either vessel. However, by October 5, 1909, Orsan R. Willard, owner of Wolverine, had filed a charge with the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service against T.R. Panter, owner of the river steamer Coquille to the effect that while Wolverine had been docked, Panter had deliberately rammed Coquille into Wolverine. Several affidavits from passengers on the Wolverine were included with the charges.
On or before October 18, 1909, two steamboat inspectors and a secretary had departed Portland, Oregon, bound by steamer to the Coos Bay region to investigate, among other things, the collision of September 16, 1909, between Wolverine and Coquille, and the charges that had been brought.”Captain Edwards Blamed”, (Dateline; Marshfield, OR Oct 23) Sunday Oregonian, October 24, 1909, page 7, col. 1. The hearing on the Willard accusation was scheduled to be held on October 23, 1909, in Coquille, Oregon. On October 28, 1909, the Steamboat Inspection Service announced its decision. The license of Orsan R. Willard, master of Wolverine, would be suspended for 30 days, and the license of Thomas W. Panter, master of Coquille, would be suspended for 60 days.
Accidents In November 1909, Captain Willard was keeping Wolverine tied to a floating log boom on his place on the Coquille River."News of Coquille", Coos Bay Times, November 29, 1909, page 4, col. 1. The previous Monday night the river rose rapidly in what was called a "freshet". A log raft came down the river and somehow jammed into Wolverine and tore off the vessel's propeller.
On February 21, 1910, it was reported that in a driving rain Wolverine collided with a smaller gasoline boat that was occupied by a Coquille physician, but due to the maneuvering of Captain Willard at the wheel, Wolverine barely struck the smaller boat, so the damage was much less and no one was hurt."Culin's Boat Smashed -- Coquille Physician in Collision on the Coquille River", Coos Bay Times, February 21, 1910, page 4, col. 2.
Further charges against owners In 1915, another Willard-operated boat, Dora came into fierce competition with the gasoline launch Charm run by the Panters. In January 1915, there was a collision between Dora and Charm, and the captains of the vessels, O.R. Willard, of Dora, and Allen Panter, of Charm, each claimed the collision was the other's fault."Steamboat Controversy May Be Brought to Head", Semi-weekly Bandon Recorder, January 29, 1915, page 1, col. 6.
Following the collision, the crews of the two vessels exchanged intemperate words, and someone was said to have thrown a gaspipe through a window on one of the vessels, while it was also claimed that someone had heaved a can of coal oil at the Dora. Someone concerned about passenger safety contacted Sheriff Johnson, who in turn referred the matter to the Steamboat Inspection Service. The inspectors instructed captains Willard and Panter to each submit written reports of the incident.
On February 3, 1915, following a two-day trial before inspectors Edwards and Fuller, the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service suspended, for 20 months each, the licenses of Captains Walter Panter and Allen Panter, as well as that of engineer William Panter, all of the Myrtle Point Transportation Company, as well as the licenses of Capt. O. R. Willard and engineer Elmer Willard, both of the Coquille River Company."Riverboat Men Get Vacations", Bandon Recorder, February 5, 1915, page 1, col. 6. Both the Panters and the Willards were barred from operating any vessel on the Coquille River or anywhere else.
Later years