The Badger is more than a job, it’s a family

Lake Michigan Carferry Office Manager Shari Vandervest knows a thing or two about the car ferry operation. She has worked for LMC for three decades.

“I was hired as a temporary worker with Manpower in 1994. I was only supposed to be here for six months,” Vandervest said. “Thirty-one years later, I’m still here and I absolutely love it.

Working at LMC is more than just a job. This is my second family.”

Lake Michigan Carferry, under the ownership of Charles Conrad, with partners Jim Anderson and Don Clingan, began in 1991 following the bankruptcy of locally-owned Michigan-Wisconsin Transportation, which had operated the car ferries since 1983 after the Chessie System (C&O Railroad) abandoned cross-lake ferry service. Car ferry service resumed with the S.S. Badger in 1993 as a six-month service concentrating on passenger and automobile and commercial vehicle service rather than rail cars. Conrad turned over the leadership of the company to his son-in-law, Robert Manglitz in 1993, though he remained involved until his passing in 1995.

“At the end of my first season, everybody got laid off,” Vandervest said. “Then two days later Bob (Manglitz) called and offered me a full time position as a secretary.”

Vandervest eventually advanced to executive assistant. When LMC was purchased by Interlake Maritime Service in 2020 she was promoted to office manager.

“For almost 31 years, every day when I get up I am not going to work. I am coming to my second home. The people at this company are not co-workers. They are my brothers and sisters.

There is such amazing teamwork here that I have not seen elsewhere. Everyone is dedicated to ensuring the tradition of the Badger continues to serve Ludington and Manitowoc. You just can’t describe the passion that people here have. It’s a passion that extends into our communities. The 200-plus employees here are the keepers of the Badger and that’s such a privilege and honor.”

Vandervest said the highest priority of the Badger crew is to ensure that passengers have the best experience when on their Lake Michigan crossing.

A 1988 graduate of Ludington High School, Vandervest’s family is part of the Ludington-based car ferry tradition. She is the third generation of her family to work for the boats. Her grandfather, Larry Comstock Sr. served as a chef on the C&O car ferries. Her uncle, Jim Bailey, worked in the C&O marine shop then later worked for LMC.

“The first time I rode the Badger I believe I was 5-years-old,” Vandervest said. “I remember walking up the ramp to the upper car deck, which is how you would embark on the boat back then. I can remember taking a trip to Milwaukee where my family visited the Milwaukee Zoo. We took the Spartan (the Badger’s sister ship) back to Ludington.

“In those days, in the 1970s, the chefs wore the traditional high chef’s hats and there were waiters in the dining lounge. The tables had linens. It felt like first class.”

The car ferry business has changed with the times but the tradition remains, thanks to Interlake Maritime Services, based out of Middleburg Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Interlake owns one of the largest freighter fleets on the Great Lakes, along with the Original Soo Locks Boat Tours in Sault Sainte Marie, Mich.

“I fully believe that the car ferry service would no longer be here if it weren’t for Interlake,” Vandervest said. “The company has made major investments into the Badger and its dock and they also respect the knowledge of the Ludington-based team. They trust what we do and it’s been a great relationship, extending our work family even more.”

Lake Michigan Carferry operates the S.S. Badger, the largest cross-lake passenger and car ferry service on the Great Lakes. Designated a National Historic Landmark, the Badger is a key part of US-10 highway connecting the cities of Ludington, Mich., and Manitowoc, Wis. A vital link across Lake Michigan, the Badger can accommodate 600 passengers and 180 vehicles, including RVs, motorcycles, motorcoaches, and commercial trucks and oversized loads in one single trip. www.ssbadger.com

Interlake Maritime Services is a family of companies with nearly 300 years of collective service on the Great Lakes. A family-owned and -led company in its second generation, Interlake Maritime and its more than 50 shoreside employees manage The Interlake Steamship Company, Interlake Logistics Solutions, Lake Michigan Carferry, Soo Maritime Services and Interlake Port Services from its corporate headquarters in Middleburg Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and additional regional offices in Ludington, Mich., and Sault Sainte Marie, Mich. www.interlakemaritimeservices.com