Page 51: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 1998)

Highlander and Nassau where they were berthed at 155th Street on the Henry Hudson River. Grand

Republic and Nassau sank, and

Highlander burned to the main deck. Daniel began to rebuild

Highlander with a $500,000 con- tract with the Federal

Shipbuilding Company, and then renamed the vessel Bear

Mountain.

In 1931, Daniel won a contract to provide ferry service for tourists to the Statue of Liberty, outbidding 10 other harbor operators. The government contract helped him through the financial crises, but he was outbid for the contract in 1937. In 1938, he suffered a stroke, and passed away a year later.

Upon his death, equipment was auctioned off to satisfy creditors.

Six months later, Bear Mountain, acquired at the auction for $50,000, was resold for $350,000.

The growing popularity of the automobile, coupled with the mas- sive destruction of the Great

Depression, signaled the end of the steamboat era. Long Island Sound service that had been provided by companies including the Fall River

Line, the New London Line, the

New Haven Line, the lines to

Providence, the Montauk Line, and of course, the McAllister

Steamboat Company, all ceased to exist. All that remained were the

Bridgeport & Port Jefferson

Steamboat Company, which ironi- cally, was sold to the McAllister

Tugboat Company in 1961.

The depression also brought

McAllister Brothers, the towing company, to near ruin, but the third generation of McAllisters:

Anthony, James and Gerard are credited with pulling the company through the difficult years.

The Fourth Generation

In 1969, McAllister Towing and

Transportation (MT&T) was formed by Brian, his brother

Anthony, and cousins Neill and

James, as a vehicle for the acquisi- tion of McAllister Brothers. The prior generation, Anthony Sr. (father of Brian and Anthony) and

James P. (J.P.), the father of Neill and James, owned and operated the company, and had expressed an interest in retiring by the late 1960s. The junior McAllisters wanted to carry on the family busi- ness, but the senior McAllisters wanted to liquidate their equity interests, and sell the company.

Several buyers began negotiating

November, 1998 to purchase McAllister Brothers.

The junior McAllisters, especially

Brian, did not want to work for a "Wall Street outfit," and began try- ing to put together an offer to pur- chase the company.

In the early 1970s, Brian invit- ed William Kallop to join MT&T, to strengthen the offer. Kallop was working with another group that was also trying to purchase

McAllister Brothers. Kallop agreed to join MT&T as an equal stock- holder. Finally, Brian and

Anthony's brother Bruce was added to the group. Bruce was an attorney practicing maritime law, and didn't work for the corpora- tion. With Bruce leading the nego- tiations, MT&T purchased

McAllister Brothers.

However, a rivalry between J.P. and Anthony Sr. complicated the deal. If all stockholders had equal

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