Harry Bishop

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HWawasee Marine Supply Company: Harry Bishop (b. 1928, Syracuse – d. 2005); 1993 taped interview w/ Bill Spurgeon’s son; paraphrased in 2013 by Ann Vanderford Garceau

“The lake area was tied to the B&O Railroad in the early part of the 20th century. (B&O railroad people – mostly from Garrett – settled in his North Shore neighborhood – houses still there) ” Charles E. “Charley” Bishop (Harry’s grandfather, 1904-1957) was encouraged to come to the lake area by Mr. Lilly. He had built steam engines in his younger days. He was a great machinist with a good mind. Jess Sargent originally came up here to repair sailboats Mr. Lilly had and later on built the hotel adjacent. Charley bought in the Lilly 1st addition in 1910. The boathouse (built porch on front and donated it to the Wawasee Yacht Club) was on lot #9, the marine railway on lot #10 that led to a 50’x200’ storage building across the road and their house on lot #11. They were about the only outfit on the lake doing marine repair. Charley rented rowboats and power boats to guests/conventions in the hotels on the lake. When Harry was a kid, they’d tow a string of rowboats to and from the hotels with an old putt-putt. Mocks was doing the same thing. Later Mr. Bishop built houses on lots 1, 7, and 9.

Harry’s father, Charles Irving Bishop, had a good mind for gasoline engines. Irving Bishop (Harry’s father) was 6 years old when his father moved here. Irving went on to work for Allison Engine Co. in 1938-’39. He was loaned to the Air Force to troubleshoot airplane engines. He also worked for Spurgeon’s Muncie Gear Works.

Macy’s was established in the protected Slip; in 1929 Harkless established Wawasee Boat Co. in another protected area; Ross Greenwalt died and Griffith bought Wawasee marina (Ross Boat Livery) in another protected area. Bishop’s was at a disadvantage because it was not in protected area.

Around 1929/1930, Bishops had 4 high speed, passenger boats that gave speedboat rides. Irving Bishop bought the 1928, 28 foot Blue Streak directly from Gar Wood for $4,000. Gar Wood said, “I’ll put it in here (Bishops) and you’ll pay for it in the first year.” It did pay for itself. The Blue Streak lasted for 10-12 years when Bishop traded it for an airplane and hauled passengers in that.

Harry worked for Ken Harkless in the early war years, then he came back from WWII service around 1945 and couldn’t get the business going again so he sold it to Ken. Harry went to Goshen and got involved in truck sales. In 1974, Harry bought Wawasee Boat Co. back, got it going better and then sold it to Doug Anderson.

History of boats and engines:

During the 1920s – 1940s boats were big – 26’, 28’, 30’ wooden boats were common. After WWII boats were 18-20’ then started making metal boats, then making fiberglass around 1969/’70. Harry thought Century made the best glass (fiberglass) boat.

The Harkless mind – “designed things to make job easier.”

Harry describes very well different engines used in boats. Johnny Sudlow has quite a bit (archives) on old engines – airplane engine; Liberty engine (400 HP, one on lake, only boat on lake that could go faster than the Blue Streak, lucky if you made one trip around lake before you’d twist off the propeller shaft – humongous horsepower). Everybody wanted to go fast that’s why they’d convert airplane engines.

Boats were for the rich people; didn’t use them too much – kids didn’t really run them, once in a while the old folks would get the boats out to be seen; couldn’t go out and buy a modest priced boat; middle class people just didn’t own boats. Nolls were some of the most aggressive boating people around; made a lot of money in Prohibition days – product called Pinex Cough Syrup – about 80% alcohol; had Flash, a 30’Hackercraft – best boat you can buy for its time – 225 HP overhead cam Kermath engine 6 cylinder; story of explosion (Bill Noll was friend of Irving) – gas in bilge – blew boat in little pieces – story goes that Bill ended up sitting in 3’ of water with the steering wheel in his hand and the rest of the boat was gone; then Nolls boat Flash II (30’Hackercraft, 3 cockpits, 2 windshields) and Irving Bishop bought it from them.

Boat races –Harry too little to remember. Harry had a Silver Cup that had Irving’s name on it for winning something. Mark Honeywell had a fast Gar Wood. Big rivalry between Chris Craft and Gar Wood. John Hacker started building a boat out of Detroit. Frank McKinney, Jr. bought a 30’ Hackercraft the year before he died – Harry thought it was beautiful – 2 tailpipes revealed it was a reproduction (V8 engine) – Harry often wondered what happened to that boat.

Evidently, there were some wooden boats that people never claimed that were busted up and burned at Bishops. Harry wished he had some of those now.

Harry Bishop living in Vawter Park at time of 1993 interview. Had lived there for 6 or 7 years at the time of the interview. Bought old cottage, no heat, no insulation so started fixing it up himself – fun for a while; “Gold Coast” of South Side; Elstrods (#475) must have been next door – 2 story turn of the century house that was there and house where Bishop was (#474) burned and burned windows out of (Episcopal) church (#473); people who owned Bishop’s lot just took the insurance check and built the best house for the money they had – wasn’t that great (1200 sq. ft.) – house sound but finishing touches not too good. Harry looked to live there the rest of his life.

Winter: In Winter, it was dark around lake; rode school bus and first stop they made was on the end of Ogden Point – the Mason family lived out there, Xanders kids and caretaker lived in Pickwick, Donna Galloway married Dick Workman, Emerson’s Grocery’s 2 girls. Somebody said the only light they could see on the north shore was the Bishop light. Sail ice boat – Jay Rigdon gave Harry one of his old iceboats if Harry would promise to go iceboating with him; ice skate; even had a pair of runners rigged out for my bicycle – didn’t work out too well.

Fires: Remembered when the Tavern (Hotel) burnt, and South Shore (Inn) burnt – witnessed both of those; Pickwick Park – 2 or 3 houses burnt down; fire dept. strictly volunteered; fire station burned down – burned up their trucks

Syracuse: Had a city band – block off 13 at where the light was later – built a bandstand on a wagon chassis and pulled out – sat on chairs and played – Sat. night was always a big night in town, there was always something going on – there was a street fair; parades, bands, Depression times –people would do what they could do that wouldn’t cost anything.

I remember watching them cut ice at the old ice cream place –had a conveyor that hauled up cut ice into a big 2 story barn filled up with sawdust to hold that ice all summer – sold ice out of it – the ice cream place must have owned it – Jody Snavely sold homemade ice cream (house today belongs to Rich Bawlicki (sp.?) then he sold it to someone else; used a one-man cross cut saw, saw ice into blocks, take big ice tongs and hook them on to a horse, horse would drag ice out onto shore, then get it up on that conveyor belt and take it on up in the building.