WHERE THE ALLIGATOR ROAMS –“We need to build an alligator,” said steam enthusiast Dr. Bill Burwell of Arnprior who did just that over the course of a few years, relying on photos, old plans and his team's ideas for design and operation. It was full steam ahead for the replica alligator tugboat, Alice May, at Haughton's Bay in Bristol, September 30.
     Alligators, also known as steam-powered amphibious warping tugs, were used to haul log booms across lakes and haul themselves over land when necessary. Invented in 1889 by West and Peachey of Simcoe, Ontario, business boomed and steam alligators roamed the rivers and lakes for more than fifty years. Eventually, they began being replaced by diesel-fueled boats and other methods of log transport.  A refurbished West and Peachey alligator made a recent appearance on the Ottawa River in 2015.
     The Alice May, named after the boat featured in the famous poem ‘The Cremation of Sam McGee‘, will be "hibernating" at Haughton's Bay for the winter.