Meet Fred

Fred A. Busse was the Mayor of Chicago from 1907 to 1911. He died at the age of 48 in 1914 and is buried in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago.

Built in 1936 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company of Bay City, Michigan, she is 92 feet in length with a beam width of 23 feet and depth of 8 feet. This boat served in the Chicago Fire Department for a good long time. (click on image to enlarge)

This boat is similar to two other fire fighting vessels - the Joseph Medill and the Victor Schlaeger – which were both constructed in Sturgeon Bay immediately following World War II.

Learn more about the history of this boat here.