JFK to retire in Michigan? Well, no.
February 11th, 2010 | Carriers Historical Life at Sea | Posted by Phil Ewing
The retired aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy won't be moved to Port Huron, Mich., as one local booster suggested. // PA3 Ann Marie Gorden / Coast Guard
Scoop Deck first visited Port Huron, Mich., in the year 2003, on a frigid but pleasant trip that included viewing the Army-Navy Game (Navy won!) and an excursion to Windsor, Ontario, where the then-mighty U.S. dollar made American tourists into pashas. Scoop Deck returned in 2008, when the littoral combat ship Freedom, on its way through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean, made an unscheduled stop so Italian technicians could repair the Isotta Fraschini diesels that provided ship’s power.
It’s clear that some mysterious ley lines connect in Port Huron. Could Scoop Deck return again to see the retired carrier John F. Kennedy installed as a museum ship on the St. Claire River? Well, no. The ley lines aren’t that powerful, but Port Huronites have been discussing acquiring the JFK this week in the Port Huron Times-Herald, a corporate cousin of Navy Times.
The discussion began when Les Bauer, of Knockee Township, wrote in to say that if the federal government could pay for “a grape train” for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “and her friends,” it should pay to help Port Huron boost tourism with the JFK, consarn it!
Not so fast, cautioned maritime consultant Frank Frisk, who said there was no way to tow such a large, deep-draft ship down the St. Lawrence Seaway and through the freshwater channels that connect with Port Huron.
It’s odd, though: At first the JFK couldn’t buy a new home, and now it’s become the belle of the museum-ship ball.