The Colossus of Cleveland: His Name Was Eddie

On February 8, 1984, the Steamer William G. Mather was moored in Toledo along the Maumee River. A homeless man from Salt Lake City by the name of Eddie John Valdez had found his way onboard the abandoned ship. The Mather had not sailed since December 21, 1980 and her future looked rather bleak; the cutter's torch seemed very likely by this point. As such, security was not exactly tight and Mr. Valdez probably had little trouble getting onto the boat.

We don't know much about Mr. Valdez. The only reason we know his name is because he died aboard the Mather, the victim of smoke inhalation caused by a fire he had started. Not only did Mr. Valdez perish, but the dining rooms and galley of the Mather were left with severe damage.

Mr. Valdez was also the cause of something of a schism among those of us who served on the Mather after she became a museum. Some museum crew members painted a distasteful image of Mr. Valdez: here was a shiftless vagrant who intentionally set a fire on their beloved boat. Meanwhile, others onboard were less hostile toward Mr. Valdez: he was only 26 years old, probably cold as hell and looking for shelter, and the fire was most likely an accident (the BGSU database cites "an improperly discarded cigarette").

For me, the most important fact was that a man had died a horrible death. I doubted that anything Mr. Valdez had done in life made him deserving of such a fate. It is certainly possible that he was in fact a despicable person, but we did not have the evidence to prove that. The damage to the galley and dining rooms was eventually repaired (with significant help from the Junior League of Cleveland), but Mr. Valdez was gone. That such a noble vessel could have been the site of man's lonely death was a sad thing indeed.

Mr. Valdez is the only person that we know of who actually died aboard the Mather. For 55 years, she was an extremely safe workplace for her crew. Anecdotes appear from time to time relating deaths during her working career, but none are documented. Then there is the tragedy of Dr. John Carey, but for as horrible as that incident was, he technically did not die on the boat.

On more than one occasion while I served as the Mather's shipkeeper, I would say a little prayer for Mr. Valdez as I passed through the galley at night. Perhaps new facts will surface someday that indicate something criminal and/or unsavory in Mr. Valdez's past. Even in that event, however, I would tend to think that I would still find forgiveness for Mr. Valdez. I believe to act otherwise would be contrary to the spirit of Mr. Mather himself.

Sources: www.boatnerd.com: "Today in Great Lakes History-February 8"
BGSU Great Lakes Vessel Databse