By Pamela Cameron

Sport – Ship Dog of the Great Lakes

Children’s Book

In 1914 crew members of the lighthouse tender Hyacinth rescued a stray puppy from the Milwaukee River and named him Sport. For the next twelve years, this charming Newfoundland-retriever mix lived the life of a ship dog, helping the Hyacinth crew as they carried supplies to lighthouses and maintained the buoys and other safety features around Lake Michigan. Sport quickly became a valued companion to his crew and a recognizable mascot of the lake—making friends in every port.

In this beautifully illustrated children’s book based on historical documents and photographs, readers share in Sport’s adventures while discovering the various ways lighthouse tender ships helped keep the lake safe for others. Helpful diagrams, a map, and a historical note supplement this engaging story for young readers.

When Sport stood on the Milwaukee dock as a storm brewed, he did not know what lay ahead for him. He did not know he could swim; he did not know that he would be rescued by the tender Hyacinth, and he couldn’t have imagined that he would spend 12 years on the ship being part of a crew.

When I talk to children, we often have a dialogue about such themes as how do we know what we are capable of doing, and is being part of a crew or team part of that plan? Little did we know that those children and the adults in their lives would be asking the same questions as they created new ways of living.

Sport is working to create a new life for himself. We are working with the Library of Michigan. the Sable Points Lighthouse Association, Lighthouse Digest, Kalamazoo Valley Museum, bookstores and schools to continue to tell Sport’s story. Please contact us if you are interested in a virtual event. We know the future will bring the opportunity to visit in real “real” time.

Best to all as we watch and wait,
Pamela Cameron