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MARINERS' CHURCH OF DETROIT

mariners

CAPTAIN LEWIS LUDINGTON AWARD

In 1994, Mariners' Church of Detroit established the LEWIS LUDINGTON AWARD, in honor of Captain Lewis Ludington.  Lewis Ludington was born July 9, 1858 in Euclid, Ohio, and came to Detroit with his parents in 1860.  His grandfather, Jeremiah Ludington, was a lumberman and his father, Philo Ludington, was Captain of a lumber schooner.  As a young man, Lewis Ludington moved to Harbor Beach and entered the lumber business.  In 1878, he married Fandira Hemenger of Algonac, and the couple became the parents of three sons and three daughters. Lewis Ludington continued in the lumber business until 1881, when the Great Fire of 1881 destroyed his business.  In 1882, he moved to Alpena and began his sailing career; obtaining his Masters' license by 1887.  In the following years, he owned a fleet of vessels engaged in the lumber trade, including the lumber hooker Alaska, a model of which is on display at Mariners' Church.  In 1904, the Ludingtons moved to Detroit and Captain Ludington became a member of Detroit Lodge No. 7.  He was assigned pennant number 1644. 

Captain Ludington retired from sailing at the end of the 1909 season.  He then founded the Ludington News Company, a wholesale magazine distribution agency in Detroit.  He operated this business until 1928, when he turned management of the company over to his sons. 

Captain Ludington died on August 14, 1934 at his country estate near Harbor Beach.     

The Ludington Award Program is under the auspices of the Rector and Board of Trustees of Mariners' Church, and the Ludington Family, with the nominations and election of the honorees by Detroit Lodge No. 7 of the International Ship Masters' Association.

The honorees must be members of the ISMA and licensed Masters or Engineers who have been active in a career-long commercial practice of their professions.

Primary consideration for the Award is given first to the active members of the Detroit Lodge, but the Board of Governors may also consider all other active members of the ISMA.

The criteria used for the appraisal of the candidates are:  

a)  The virtues promoted by the ISMA.

b) The values lived by Captain Ludington as described in the poem written about him by Edgar Guest (see below).

The Award is presented at the Annual Great Lakes Memorial Service with the Blessing of the Fleet held in Mariners' Church on the Second Sunday in March at 11:00 a.m.

A member of the Ludington Family makes the Presentation.

The award consists of a gold Mariners’ shield lapel pin (shown above) with an accompanying and appropriate certificate.  

The design of the certificate is germane to the layouts of official documents of the ISMA.

A copy of Captain Ludington's license with ISMA Pennant No. 1644, the Guest Poem, and the Criteria are also presented to each honoree.
PAST RECIPIENTS OF THE CAPTAIN LEWIS LUDINGTON AWARD:
                                           
Unless otherwise noted, all recipients of the award are from Detroit Lodge No. 7

1994
POSTHUMOUS
ROBERT L. BENKERT
MARVIN B. DONALDSON
SVEN A. FAGERSTROM
HAROLD B. FERRISS
SHIREL D. FERSON
GUSTAV GORANSSON
WILLIAM L. JAGENOW
TAYLOR M. LARSON
JACK P. LYONS
BERNARD OLSEN 

RETIRED
EDWARD C. BAGANZ
THEODORE A. COGSWELL
MELVIN EDWARDS
DONALD E. ERICKSON
ROBERT R. GREEN
MORGAN L. HOWELL
LAWRENCE W. HUSTON
JOHN F. LECORN
H. JAMES O'HARA
JAMES A. VAN BUSKIRK

 ACTIVE
RONALD R. INGRAM
PATRICK F. OWENS

1995
RETIRED
MICHAEL A. GERASIMOS
RICHARD R. RILEY

 G. VICTOR CHAMBERLAIN,
Cleveland Lodge No. 4

1996
POSTHUMOUS
JOSEPH J. HOGAN

 ACTIVE
THOMAS J. LEINWEBER

WILLIAM E. CLINE,
Port Huron Lodge No. 2

1997
RETIRED
HENRY R. COWAN
ELMER V. DUNN
ROGER A. STAHL

KURTH R. GRAINGER,
Green Bay Lodge No. 18

 ACTIVE
JOHN G. TANNER,
Grand Traverse Lodge No. 23

1998
ACTIVE
WILLIAM J. GRAHAM
STEPHEN E. HAMMARSKJOLD

1999
POSTHUMOUS
RICHARD J. BEAUVAIS

ACTIVE
MINDAUGAS BALANDA

 RETIRED
GEORGE R. SKUGGEN,
Cleveland Lodge No. 4

2000
ACTIVE
THOMAS R. McMULLEN

GERALD M. GREIG,
Georgian Bay-Huronia Lodge No. 15
  
RETIRED
HARRY A. ANDERSON,
Cleveland Lodge No. 4
                                                  
2001
ACTIVE
JOHN A. CORK,
Twin Sault Lodge No. 22

WILLIAM H. CRAIG,
Cleveland Lodge No. 4

ROBERT F. KERR

2002
RETIRED
ROBERT W. GASIOR,
Cleveland Lodge No. 4

FREDERICK D. LEETE III,
Chicago Lodge No. 3

ACTIVE
JAMES L. NUZZO 

2003
RETIRED
ALAN J. FLOOD
CONSTANTINE MARKAKIS

HICKS P. McBETH,
Port Huron Lodge No. 2

2004
RETIRED
MICHAEL S. CAPSER,
Toledo Lodge No. 9

ACTIVE
TIMOTHY J. DAYTON,
Cleveland Lodge No. 4

2005
ACTIVE
JOHN F. CALLAHAN
WILLIAM A. HOEY
PHILIP J. KNETCHEL

JOHN P. WELLINGTON,
Twin Sault Lodge No. 22

2006
ACTIVE
RONALD L. BREZENSKI,
Chicago Lodge No. 3

JOSEPH C. RUCH,
Port Huron Lodge No. 2

RETIRED
JAMES E. RAY

2007
ACTIVE
THOMAS R. OCHS
ROBERT A. SANDERSON

RUSSELL D. BROHL,
Cleveland Lodge No. 4

2008
ACTIVE
MELVIN E. RIECHER

GEORGE P. HAYNES,
Port Huron Lodge No. 2

2009
ACTIVE
LUTHER L. CLYBURN

JEREMIAH BISSETTE,
Niagara District Lodge No. 20

RETIRED
ARTHUR S. HERRALA

2010
RETIRED
THOMAS J. SCHNELL

ACTIVE
WILLIAM G. BARNHARDT,
Port Huron Lodge No. 2

ALBERT M. TIELKE,
Cleveland Lodge No. 4

2011
ACTIVE
DALE K. MASON

MICHAEL PRATT,
Niagara District Lodge No. 20

JOHN A. SARNS

2012
ACTIVE
SAMUEL D. BUCHANAN

JOHN S. FROST

RETIRED
WARREN F. FULLER

2013
ACTIVE
LEONARD BARTLETT
KEVIN P. CONNOLLY
PAUL C. LaMARRE, JR.

 

A Beacon Soul

"First Out; Last In"
Sailed in the path of honor and virtue
"Faith alone, when sight forsaketh, Shows true hearts the mystery."

For forty years or more he trod
   the decks of ships and came to be,  
I'm sure, on closer terms with God
   than men who never go to sea.

Long nights when men upon the shore  
   were fast asleep he pondered things
and gained that wealth of nature's lore
   which patient observation brings.

Thought made him tender, friendly, wise,
   and gave him faith no hurt could shake.
He found within the starry skies
   marvels which only God could make.

Now home at last he seems to be
   A beacon soul of gleaming white
unmoved by wind or angry sea
   to guide us safely through the night.  

So ere his resting day be done
   and he again must put to sea
I write of Captain Ludington
   whose faith so oft has strengthened me.

-Edgar A. Guest (1881-1959)

                                                                                                       

ISMA Values

A Lodge member:


Seeks the blessing of God.
Shows brotherly affection and loyal duty.  

Practices the Golden Rule:
'As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.'

Expresses gratitude to 'Our heavenly Father' for divine mercies, loving-kindness, and truth.

Holds the blessed hope of 'casting anchor in the haven of eternal rest.


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William Lyon Phelps (1865-1945) was a Professor at Yale University and foremost Shakespearean Scholar of his day.  He wrote the following about Captain Lewis Ludington:

"I have never known a man who had lived an outdoor active life on sea and land for so many years, and yet was so well-read.  He read only the best books: he cared nothing for trashy reading, or even for light fiction.  He read works on philosophy, theology, religion, economics, history, sociology, and mediated deeply on everything he read.  Above all, he was a fine conversationalist.  He had a genius for friendship, was a hearty lover of his fellow-men, and enjoyed congenial company.

He had a truly original mind; and everyone who talked with him always learned something interesting and valuable.  He was brought up as a child on the Bible, knew it thoroughly, and his comments and interpretations were acute and penetrating and full of wisdom.  His mind was so interesting, so full of thought, that during the last year of his life, when for most of the time, he was confined to his bed, he entertained himself by his memories and reflections and made no complaints.  He was extremely fortunate in having his loving and devoted wife with him, as well as his sons and daughters and their wives and husbands and his grandchildren.  He was the head of a great family.

Captain Ludington was a sincere and devoted and convinced Christian; he fully believed in the life after death; and his calm and serene demeanor during the last 14 months of sickness made a sermon more effective than rhetorical eloquence."
A Scripture Lesson by Captain Ludington, entitled 'Moral Navigation,' can be found HERE.