In 1971, an unassuming sailboat was towed into Panama Canal waters. Little did anyone know that it would cause quite a stir, take blood, sweat, and tears, and win the hearts of the Canal Zone community.

There is a bit of mystery surrounding the exact details of its arrival, arrest (yes, arrest), and change of ownership. Stories and documents don’t always line up, so the “truth” could be lost to us, but this year’s fall blog series will do a deep dive into the collection to explore the journey of the Chief Aptakisic, a 53-foot ferro-cement schooner, from construction, to its restoration and second life in the Canal Zone, and finally its participation in Operation Sail ’76 to celebrate the Bicentennial of the United States.

But lets start at beginning of Chief Aptakisic‘s story, 2019 nautical miles from the Panama Canal, in Illinois.

Chief Aptakisic was launched near Chicago in 1970 by Russell Thomas Ekelman and his son Tom. They were both carpenters and built the boat themselves. While working on this blog post we tracked down an August 1968 article from the Highland Park Herald, their local newspaper, that revealed a great deal about their project.

Expand to learn about the naming of Chief Aptakisic.

In a newspaper article from the Highland Park Herald on August 6, 1969, Russell explained his understanding that schooners were traditionally named after Native Americans.

In a letter from our collection dated April 26, 1976, Russell Ekelman described the story of naming the boat after Chief Aptakisic. Included in our files with the letter were pages from the book Indian Place Names in Illinois by Virgil J. Vogel that offer additional information. The village Aptakisic in Lake County, Illinois near Chicago was “named for a Potawatomi chief who lived in various localities west and north of Chicago. He had a reuptation as an orator, and his name appears in five treaties between 1827 and 1846. His name means “Half Day,” alternatively rendered as “sun at meridian” or “center of the sky.” The name was reportedly given him because he performed in a half day some tasks or journey normally requiring a full day.”

In a news story posted on their website for National Native American Heritage Month on the website of Trinity University elaborates even further:

The main campus of Trinity International University is situated on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois. If you ask most locals, they’ll tell you its name comes from the days of horse-drawn transportation when it took half a day’s ride to get there from Chicago. Actually, the name is much more significant. Half Day Road was named for Chief Aptakisic, a Native American leader of the Potawatomi Nation. His name was translated literally as “Center of the Sky,” “Sun at Meridian,” or “Half Day,” so he became known to early Illinois settlers as Half Day. Lake County’s first permanent white settler, Daniel Wright, wrote that Chief Half Day and his tribe were kind and welcoming. They helped the settlers build their homes, plant and tend their crops, and even care for ill family members. Chief Half Day embodied the traditional Indigenous value of welcoming others. Henry Blodgett, the son of an early Illinois pioneer, wrote that Chief Half Day saved the lives of his family and other settlers from an attack during the Black Hawk War in 1832. He wrote the following:
There had been a council held that night at West Valley where Aurora now stands, between Black Hawk and a band of chiefs of the Potawatomi and Winnebago. They had been urged to join with Black Hawk’s tribe in a general attack upon the white settlements in northern Illinois, but they refused. As soon as the council broke up, [Chief Half Day] had mounted his horse and [rode] as fast as he could by way of Naper Settlement to give the alarm so we might get away.

Chief Aptakisic (“Half Day”) was also present at the signing of the Treaty of Chicago, negotiating for his people and reluctantly accepting the terms to move them to lands west of the Mississippi River. This treaty forced Indigenous people from three nations to give up their homelands. While they were promised compensation, this final land grab was a mortal blow to the heart and soul of the regions’ Indigenous peoples. Blodgett recalled the painful goodbye he and his family exchanged with the chief before the tribes were removed, writing, “I well remember the sad face of the old chief as he came to bid our family goodbye…we all shed tears of genuine sorrow.” First Nation leader Chief Half Day is remembered this National Native American Heritage Month. Trinity International University stands today upon traditional Potawatomi land. We’re honored that our main campus is located in a place that bears the name of the remarkable chief. – https://www.tiu.edu/news/chief-half-day-a-friend-to-northern-illinois-settlers/

Letter to Dr. Chuck Latimer April 26, 1976. Alice McGann Collection, Panama Canal Museum Collection. 2003.076.001.013

Russell had started researching boat design when Tom was stationed in Vietnam during the war. Although their original plan was to build their boat of wood, after Russell wrote to builders and designers all over the world, they shifted to a ferro-cement construction. They felt the cost savings during construction and long-term maintenance was worth the switch.

Our collection includes a copy of the original plans and this little bit of information explains why they refer to the vessel as a “wood boat.”

Right: Plans for Chief Aptakisic. The plans date from 1954 to 1967. George Brisbin Papers. II.2020.10.1

The letters father and son exchanged while Tom was stationed with the Navy were filled almost exclusively with “talk about boats.” After Tom returned, they officially began work in August 1968. Tom spent every free moment and spare dollar on the boat building. The article states that their plan was to launch Chief Aptakisic and sail either through the St. Lawrence Seaway or the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico where they planned to begin a journey around the world. However a note attached to our copies of the original construction plans for the vessel describes a different purpose.

Do you know if one version is more accurate than the other?

Their hard work was finally realized when the boat was launched in 1970. Use the arrows to scroll through the slideshow of photographs from Chief Aptakisic‘s launch.

After this happy moment, our trail of Chief Aptakisic goes cold until March 1971 when it pops up on our radar on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal heading to the Galapagos Islands.

A group of documents in our collection give detailed descriptions that piece together a series of events. Click through the tabs below to follow the story.

Dr. Charles Latimer, Deputy Superintendent of Schools in the Canal Zone and Scoutmaster for Ship 8, is the key figure in the next few years. He is the one that worked with the owner and took legal possession of Chief Aptakisic.

Can you share any additional information with us about Dr. Charles Latimer, Jr.?

Did you know that vessels get arrested?

This brings us to Chief Aptakisic‘s residency in the Canal Zone under the umbrella of Sea Explorer Ship 8 but also opens the door for two new questions.

1. What is a Sea Explorer Ship?
2. What happened between 1971 and 1974 when the Sea Explorer’s restoration started and why did it need to get fixed?

Question 1: What is a Sea Explorer Ship? A Sea Explorer Ship refers to a local group of Boy Scouts or Sea Scouts that focus on maritime activities. Ship 8, the group that took ownership of Chief Aptakisic was based in Balboa.

Right: Scout Membership Certificate for Merritt Bender. Sea Explorer Ship 10, Gamboa, Canal Zone. Gift of Merritt Bender. 2007.57.8

This 1955 booklet from a Scoutcapade identifies the locations of other Sea Explorer Ships in the Canal Zone. Use the arrows on the sides to move through the two Sea Explorer slideshows below.

Question 2: What happened between 1971 and 1974 when the Sea Explorer’s restoration started and why did it need to get fixed?

In a formal letter written in 1976, well into the Chief Aptakisic‘s revival, this gap in action is addressed, “During the period of dispute the “Chief Aptakisic” was left to rot and at the end of that time was in need of new sails and completely new rigging, in fact, she was just a shell.”

Here the blame is placed squarely on the legal dispute of ownership that began in 1971.

However, this hand-written account suggests a different or perhaps additional issue. It states that the donation of Chief Aptakisic came, “with the stipulation she will be used to train young men in the way of the sea. Not many adults in the program knew how to sail her and through neglect she started to deteriorate.” Basically, there wasn’t anyone capable of sailing it, and it fell into disrepair.

Perhaps it was a little bit of both.

The last sentence in this excerpt, “Fortunately, George Brisbin, a traffic engineer with the Panama Canal Company, stepped in to help out,” sets the stage for the next leg of our journey.

Right: George Brisbin on board Chief Aptakisic, 1976. Chief Aptakisic Scrapbook. II.2020.10.1

George Brisbin, a lifelong sailor, and his family arrived at the Panama Canal in 1974. His son John Brisbin became a member of the Sea Explorer Ship 8 when they settled into Canal Zone life. George tells the story in his book The Chief and I: A Concrete Dream about John seeing Chief Aptakisic bobbing in the water at a dock at Rodman Naval Base and encouraging him to consider captaining it for the Scouts.

Father and son set their minds on a trial sail and one sunny afternoon raised the sails to dry them out. These original sails were made of cotton and the tropical climate had taken a toll on their integrity. A sudden wind shift caused the mainsail to split! The Chief was now completely un-sailable.

George talked to Charles Latimer about a repair, but Charles told him the group of Sea Scouts simply didn’t have the money. This meant they would have to raise the funds, and needed a worthy cause to justify asking people for their support…Operation Sail 76, a part of the planned celebrations for the bicentennial of the United States, and Project Windjammer became the answer.

Keep an eye out for the next post that will celebrate the community-wide fundraising effort that supported Chief Aptakisic.

This post is the first in our fall blog series that will run between October and December. Our goal is to raise awareness of our digitization campaign and some of the materials that are now available as a direct result of your support.