Celebrating 60 Years on the Great Lakes
June 2020 marked Malcolm Marine’s 60th year in business. We’re sure our dad and mom – Keith and Barb Malcolm – could never have foreseen how much this business would have grown when Dad decided to take his diving skills to the next level and they started a little family business from their Marine City home. A home that they would re-mortgage, pay off, re-mortgage, pay off and re-mortgage, pay off again. Anything to keep the business going and eventually growing. Family businesses take a lot of sacrifice and hard work. Long hours, doing most everything yourself to save a few bucks. They even had to pawn Mom’s wedding rings once to put food on the table. All that hard work paid off though, eventually and Keith Malcolm soon gained a reputation for taking on the tough jobs that no one else wanted – always completing them and on time. During this time of growth, Dad was assisted by a gentleman who quickly became a mentor and great friend. Harlow Meno a local marine surveyor took Dad under his wing and taught him a lot of valuable lessons on the business end of things. Dad was also helped by his brothers and cousins during this time. He came from a family of 11 siblings and too many aunts, uncles and cousins to count. Family was most important and always welcome. Soon tugs and barges were purchased; diving expanded into seawall and dock construction along the St. Clair River; bigger equipment and larger tugs were purchased; salvage operations got larger; tug operations became more frequent, including barge tows and icebreaking on the Great Lakes. Also, during this growth, us kids joined in on the family business. Always starting at the bottom and having to work hard and prove ourselves, cuz’ Dad wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Fast forward to 2020 – 60 years after Dad and Mom decided to forge their own way and now Dad has been in Heaven 13 years and Mom, unfortunately, is in assisted living. The business continues with their children, Capt. Dave, Don, Debbie and Diane. 60 years is after all quite an accomplishment for a second-generation family business. Especially in our line of work. Marine work is tough, hard physical work; long hours; time away from family; always keeping an eye to the skies and a respect for mother nature; worrying about your employees – who’ve become your family – staying safe. But once you’re in it, this work just gets in your blood, pulls you in and you’re forever tied to the water. Missing it when you’re away, somehow.
2020 has brought about a new concern – Covid 19 has turned the world upside down. Tough things are tougher. We just couldn’t let 60 years slip by without celebrating it though. So, with Covid slowing down, and with safety protocols in place, the decision is made to go ahead with our 60th Anniversary Celebration, held on August 15th, 2020, at our St. Clair yard. The weather was gorgeous. Dinner was provided by Black & Bleu BBQ here in St. Clair and Jimmy’s Custard from Port Huron scooped out the most delicious desserts! We served 130 dinners this day to family, friends, employees – both past and present. Our good friends and classmates from Marine City High School brought their own special magic with their band – Burnwood and when Joe DeHaneau got out his fiddle for Orange Blossom Special, we couldn't have enjoyed it more. We were honored to have Ken Beaudua and his wife Julie fly in from Florida. Ken and Dad started out together diving back in 1960. We appreciate each and every one who came to join us to celebrate what our parents started. Our only wish is that they could have been here to join us. We are so proud of our mom and dad and what they accomplished through hard work and perseverance. We only hope that they are proud of us also. We continue to use the values they taught us. Hard work. Honesty. Integrity. Innovation. Perseverance. Family.
