Molly Kool - Alma Heroine

Molly Kool is a genuine Alma heroine. Her father, Paul Kool, was a Dutchman who married an Alma girl. They had five children. He operated a scow (a vessel driven by an engine and sails) that plied the Bay of Fundy carrying goods to all ports. Molly was born in 1916.

Adventurous and determined like her father, Molly decided to acquire formal qualifications for operating sea-going vessels - something unheard of in the 1930's. She passed her exams as a mate from the marine school in Saint John. This required an amendment to the Canadian Shipping Act, to read "he or she".

Her next step was to obtain her masters' certificate. This she achieved from the navigation school in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Her telegram back home told of her success with her famious words "Call me captain from now on". She was the first female sea captain in North America and the second in the world.

Molly sailed the waters of the Bay of Fundy, summer and winter, in often dangerous conditions. Her vessel was aptly named "the Molly Kool". A fire eventually gutted her vessel and Molly almost lost her life.

Molly now lives in a retirement home in Bangor Maine - and is admired by all for her achievements and her life.

Until next time.

Alan