“Marina has full facilities” from the February 8, 1968 Door County Advocate
ANCHOR SAM is shown above in front of his Sister Bay Marina. The story of how the former coast guardsman went into the small boat business is told below by Keta Steebs. — Hagedorn
Marina has full facilities
By KETA STEEBS
Any young man who can parlay two empty vacuum bottles into 20 Samurai swords is bound to be a success.
Such is the case with Sister Bay’s Sam Subin, The “Anchor Sam” of Anchor Sam’s Yacht Harbor, Incorporated; also President of the Nor-Door Medical Center and active member of the Door County Chamber of Commerce. As an enterprising coastguardsman, he swapped two Stanley thermos jugs for the above mentioned swords. This profitable exchange was at the request of fellow officers who wanted an impressive souvenir to bring home.
Sam still has his Samurai sword (useful for opening government-sized envelopes) and a lot of memories. Like most Horatio Alger type stories, Sam’s starts in his boyhood when as a city-bred youth he dreamed of some day owning his own boating business, and if Emperor Hirohito hadn’t interfered he would have done it a lot sooner.
“I’ve loved boats and the water ever since I was a kid,” Sam says reminiscently. “I spent every summer working around boatyards and later on operating boats for hire.”
Fortunately for Sam, his dad owned a cottage at Northern Illinois “Chain Of Lakes” and he was able to indulge his youthful ambitions uninhibited by the usual restrictions of city life. It was during those halcyon days that Sam first glimpsed Door county.
“We came to Ephraim for the first time in 1926 and it was ‘love at first sight’ for all three Subins,” he recalls. Proof of that statement lies in the fact that the family returned again in 1934 and every year since then until 1941 when Sam joined the coast guard and was unable to convince Uncle Sam of the salubrious benefits of a Door County summer vacation.
Having tasted and enjoyed island life (Washington — ’37, ’38 and ’39), Sam’s superiors thoughtfully sent him on an expense paid cruise of the South Pacific enabling him to sample the exotic beauty of Okinawa, New Guinea and the Philippines.
First, however, his little LST (on which he was an assistant engineer) was asked to perform such mundane tasks as first delivering a few troops to Africa and then a few more to Normandy. After crossing the English Channel a total of 14 times (during the invasion) Sam admits he was a little tired of island hopping but had lost none of his love of the sea.
This experience proved invaluable in furthering his chosen career. What Warrant Officer Subin didn’t know about boats when he went in, he learned before being sent overseas; Sam learned how to repair every type of craft afloat. He also experimented with landing equipment and was in charge of training future officers.
After his discharge in 1946, Sam lost no time in purchasing Door county property. He loved Washington Island, but for the type of business he had in mind, it was just a bit too inaccessible. He compromised by building his home on the northernmost tip of Gills Rock and, 10 years later, building his marina in Sister Bay.
In 1951, Sam and his bride, Martha, were here to stay. So were Sam’s folks, who purchased the first home he built, while Sam and Martha built a new one and laid plans for their future. From 1951 to 1956, Sam alternated between working for the Christy Corporation in Sturgeon Bay and helping his dad in the building trade. In 1955, his big break came when he was able to purchase the ideally situated site of the original Fruit Growers cannery complete with dock and located within strolling distance of Highway 42.
Sam has been a busy man ever since. In 1959, Anchor Sam’s incorporated and immediately started expanding by ambitiously building a large storage shed which was filled to capacity before it was completed. This unprecedented development necessitated purchasing an old machine shop in Ellison Bay which is still used for overflow storage space.
Like Topsy, Anchor Sam’s just “grew and grew.” In 1961 it included the picturesque Eagle Inn docking facilities in Ephraim with space for 60 more boats. These facilities are completely sold out by the time July 1 rolls around. In 1962 with storage space still at a premium, a second, commodious boat housing structure was built only to be in the same spot its predecessor was in three years before, filled up before it was finished.
It’s enough to discourage a lesser man, but Sam never gives up. Someday, he’s going to be able to accommodate everything that floats come Hades or high water. In the meantime he’s storing approximately 100 boats and docking 75 with plans to double that amount in the very near future.
“Boating is big business and getting bigger every year,” says with the air of a man who should know.
It’s also good business. Sam’s continued growth has enabled him to employ six full time personnel and an additional six more in summer. Every time a boat docks in the harbor our economy gets a boost, be it the sale of a gallon of gas, a bag of potato chips or overnight housing.
Thanks to Anchor Sam, more and more boats are docking, more and more people are discovering the manifold pleasures of fair Door county and more and more people are telling their friends.
His list of services puts Conrad Hilton to shame. In Sister Bay boat owners are able to obtain almost everything but pedicures and Ephraim isn’t far behind. Both harbor divisions offer, in addition to excellent launching facilities, overnight dockage supplies (including ice, water, fuel oil and groceries); mail service laundry pickup and bus service.
Repairs, propeller service, painting, outboard motor overhauls and a complete marine supply are available in Sister Bay, plus an excellent bakery and grill next to the premises.
To top it all, Sam has an artesian well on this property which has the “best water in the county.” So, if you only stop long enough for a drink of water, your trip to Anchor Sam’s will be more than worthwhile.
Boat owners everywhere can thank this ex-coast guardsman for anticipating their problems and catering to their needs. As the owner of a 12 foot rowboat, I say “Ex-Warrant Officer Subin, we who are about to sail, salute you”
Courtesy of the Door County Library Newspaper Archive
Articles about boating
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Articles by Keta Steebs
https://doorcounty.substack.com/t/keta-steebs