This story is part of Mornings in Michigan, our series about morning rituals from across our state.
Another Great Lakes shipping season comes to an end on Monday when the Soo Locks close for annual maintenance. Massive freight ships are icons of the Great Lakes and they're woven into the identities of Great Lakes port towns.
In one town on Lake Michigan, folks show their appreciation by greeting almost every big ship and crew that comes to harbor with a sweet treat, free of charge.
That's how St. Joseph, Michigan has earned the nickname St. Joughnuts by sailors in the know.
Small port, big ships
The first thing you need to know about St. Joseph is it’s a boat-watching haven. It’s located on the shoreline of Lake Michigan south of Muskegon. The St. Joseph River runs between St. Joseph and neighboring Benton Harbor near downtown. When freighters hundreds of feet long and dozens of feet tall come through, it’s a tight fit, so the views are great.
“One thing I like about our port is just how small, and I would say, intimate it is,” said St. Joseph harbormaster Mike Moran. “You’re up close to the freighters. No matter where they’re at, you’re up close and can see them very easily.”
We were driving in Moran's truck on a snowy cold morning. He keeps detailed records at the port. And he posts constant updates for his 8,500 boat-watching followers on Facebook.
On that cold November morning, the ship Manitowoc was sailing toward us to deliver its freight. But before we headed down to meet her at the docks, Moran had an errand to run. We headed to a bakery.
A sweet welcome
On April 2, 2021, Moran started a new tradition. When a big boat comes to town, he hand-delivers fresh, free doughnuts to the crew.
"It first started out, one of the boats was getting ready to leave one morning. It was one of the cement barges. And I asked the folks at the cement terminal, 'Hey, can I get them some doughnut holes or something? You know, something for the road.' And they're like, 'Yeah, sure, why not?' So I grabbed a box of doughnut holes from Dunkin' Donuts and they lowered down a bucket because they'd already raised their gangway," Moran said.
"I put the doughnut holes in the bucket and they hoisted it up and took off, off to their next port. And I thought, well, that was kind of cool.”
He’s kept doing it for the past two and a half years. These days almost every freighter that comes to St. Joseph gets doughnuts, unless Moran is busy with his day job at the hospital. Moran volunteers his time as harbormaster and was paying for doughnuts out of pocket. Folks started donating when they noticed he kept making the deliveries. A ship captain referred to the town as "St. Joughnuts" once, and the nickname has stuck.
A local supplier
These days, Moran sources his freight from a nearby bakery called Red Coach Donuts. Sam Ring was working behind the counter when we got there. His wife Stephanie owns the place. She’s also the baker.
Ring likes that St. Joughnuts is all about acknowledging blue-collar workers with a tough job.
“They're away from their families … they have to go out (on the Great Lakes). It's treacherous out there. They risk their lives,” Ring said. “Doing something sweet was all Mike’s idea. But as soon as I found out about it, I was more than happy to jump on. I mean, it really makes our day.”
Ring loaded us up with a fresh couple dozen. There’s chocolate, red velvet, the classic pink icing with sprinkles. We loaded up in Moran's truck and drove down to the dock.
The hand-off
When we got down to the river we could finally see the big boat nosing toward us.
The freighter went slow and seemed almost too big to move as gracefully as it did. The radio in Moran's truck let us hear the crew talk about how they were going to pull off docking the 630-foot-long vessel.
Workers in high-visibility gear and hard hats scurried on the ship’s deck. Some of them swung out on a rope with a harness tied to it, and landed on the dock to tie the ship down. A big mechanical boom on the deck swung over and started dumping tons of black trap rock into a huge pile. Trap rock is used in construction and paving.
With the boat tied up, workers milled about all over the dock. Deckhand Carl Chevalier yelled out to Moran asking if he had the goods. Chevalier jogged over to the truck, and reached through the window for the first St. Joughnuts delivery of the day: one with sprinkles.
Chevalier's been here before. He’s a deckhand from Jacksonville, Florida. It’s his second season working the lakes. He said he appreciates that the St. Joughnuts community appreciates him.
“I love it, I love it. You know, it’s definitely a lot of northern hospitality up here. Everybody is really nice to us," he said. "People love us. They spoil us, you know, and we continue to do a good job and put on a show.”
Another worker took the bag with the rest of the doughnuts and climbed back onto the boat to drop them off. Moran snapped a pic to post to his Facebook groups.
Moran said enough people donate to St. Joughnuts to almost fully pay for 50-60 dockside deliveries a year. He still chips in too.
And when the next boat arrives, Moran will be there, to make sure they get a warm St. Joughnuts welcome.
