My great-uncle Ole Julliesen owned a NY harbor tug in the 50s and 60s; as a treat my Uncle Johnny took my brother and me on a trip on the ''Leakin' Lena." We bested thick harbor ice and balky freighters for one whole day. I only appreciate now, decades later, the workload Ole must have carried, working the harbor 300 days a year, sixteen hours a day.

By Robert Frost

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Wow! What a photo. Can you imagine the noise! Ice grinding and cracking, paddlewheels thrashing, a fully loaded boat lurching this way and that as it forces its way through the ice, the steam engine hammering and, to top it all off, steam whistles shreaking in the cold, crisp air.