Ship Captain's Daughter: Growing Up on the Great Lakes

by Ann Michler Lewis

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Ann Lewis's childhood was marked by an unusual rhythm. Each year the thawing and freezing of the Great Lakes signaled the beginning and end of the shipping season, months of waiting that were punctuated by brief trips to various ports to meet her father, the captain. With lively storytelling and vivid details, Lewis captures the unusual life of shipping families whose days and weeks revolved around the shipping industry on the Great Lakes. She paints an intriguing and affectionate portrait of her father, a talented pianist whose summer job aboard an ore freighter led him to a life on the water. Working his way up from deckhand to ship captain, Willis Michler became the master of thirteen ships over a span of twenty-eight years. From the age of twelve, Ann accompanied the captain to the ports of Milwaukee, Chicago, Toledo, and Cleveland on the lower Great Lakes. She describes sailing through stormy weather and starry nights, visiting the engine room, dining at the captain's table, and wheeling the block-long ship with her father in the pilot house. Through her mother's stories and remarks, Lewis also reveals insights into the trials and rewards of being a ship captain's wife. The book is enhanced by the author's vintage snapshots, depicting this bygone lifestyle.… (more)

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This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Great biography about growing up by the Great Lakes. Ann Lewis tells her story of growing up as the daughter of a Great Lakes shipping captain. As a frequent visitor to the Duluth area for family vacations, watching the big ships come under the lift bridge was an exciting event and it was interesting to see the perspective of someone connected to those ships. The stories of Ann's life traveling with her father were engaging. I especially liked the story about her getting to drive the ship! She tells of going aboard to visit while her father was in port, traveling on the ship with her father, and also of her father's last command. The book is short, but a wonderful read and I would have loved to hear more! (

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purplethings | Mar 5, 2016 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

It's a collection of incidents about Ann Lewis' father's captain life based on recollections from her childhood and the photos she has from that era. The anecdotes do not necessarily have a point, they're just memories. They're all matter of fact recollections, there's no agenda here other than to recount this lifestyle that is from a bygone era. There's no story arc other than her early memories to her final relevant ones. It's just ordinary life with no flashes or surprises. Probably interesting from a historical perspective, but not from a literary perspective.

I received this book from LibraryThing ER. (

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LDVoorberg | Feb 17, 2016 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

A brief memoir of the author's life, the book mainly covers the 1950s and 60s and what it was like for the author to grow up with a ship's Captain for a father. The author describes her memories and gives an idea of what it was like to sail the Great Lakes and also delves into her relationship with her father and her understanding of who he is. The book is filled with pictures to further the reader's understanding, but I think it would have been beneficial to have a map of the Great Lakes detailing the ports, locks, etc. (

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Maripacs | Feb 12, 2016 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

This was a wonderful read. The memoirs of Ann Lewis growing up as the daughter of a Great Lakes ship Captain. I live in the mountains so this was pretty much all new to me. I have never been to the Lake Superior but the author transported me there through her stories. She tugged at my heart strings talking about missing her father when it was shipping season and how she and her Mom would go to other ports to meet up with him. The author did a great job of putting her memories to paper and bringing the reader along for sail through her past.

I was given a copy of this book for the purpose of review. (

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WillowOne | Feb 8, 2016 |

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Ann Lewis, through this book, has opened my eyes to the shipping industry of the Great Lakes, especially in Lake Superior. Since I love new experiences through reading, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Lewis's work. She tells the story of her father, a dedicated sea man who became a ship's captain in due time. It's interesting to have her point of view, so I got a glimpse of not only life on the ship but also the life of the captain's family on land. I particularly enjoyed reading her personal experiences sailing on her father's ships. I pulled out my phone and looked up maps when needed, as I am not very familiar with the Great Lakes area. Some of the technical terms left me puzzled, so I would have liked a little clarification that could have helped this land lubber understand a little more fully. (

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hobbitprincess | Jan 27, 2016 |

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Ann Lewis's childhood was marked by an unusual rhythm. Each year the thawing and freezing of the Great Lakes signaled the beginning and end of the shipping season, months of waiting that were punctuated by brief trips to various ports to meet her father, the captain. With lively storytelling and vivid details, Lewis captures the unusual life of shipping families whose days and weeks revolved around the shipping industry on the Great Lakes. She paints an intriguing and affectionate portrait of her father, a talented pianist whose summer job aboard an ore freighter led him to a life on the water. Working his way up from deckhand to ship captain, Willis Michler became the master of thirteen ships over a span of twenty-eight years. From the age of twelve, Ann accompanied the captain to the ports of Milwaukee, Chicago, Toledo, and Cleveland on the lower Great Lakes. She describes sailing through stormy weather and starry nights, visiting the engine room, dining at the captain's table, and wheeling the block-long ship with her father in the pilot house. Through her mother's stories and remarks, Lewis also reveals insights into the trials and rewards of being a ship captain's wife. The book is enhanced by the author's vintage snapshots, depicting this bygone lifestyle.

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Ann Lewis's childhood was marked by an unusual rhythm. Each year the thawing and freezing of the Great Lakes signaled the beginning and end of the shipping season, months of waiting that were punctuated by brief trips to various ports to meet her father, the captain.

With lively storytelling and vivid details, Lewis captures the unusual life of shipping families whose days and weeks revolved around the shipping industry on the Great Lakes. She paints an intriguing and affectionate portrait of her father, a talented pianist whose summer job aboard an ore freighter led him to a life on the water. Working his way up from deckhand to ship captain, Willis Michler became the master of thirteen ships over a span of twenty-eight years. From the age of twelve, Ann accompanied the captain to the ports of Milwaukee, Chicago, Toledo, and Cleveland on the lower Great Lakes. She describes sailing through stormy weather and starry nights, visiting the engine room, dining at the captain's table, and wheeling the block-long ship with her father in the pilot house. Through her mother's stories and remarks, Lewis also reveals insights into the trials and rewards of being a ship captain's wife. The book is enhanced by the author's vintage snapshots, depicting this bygone lifestyle.

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