Island Dock Porters Share Challenges, and Rewards, of the Job
By Sean Ely

A dock porter is likely to be the first person a visitor sees when arriving at Mackinac Island. The dock porters greet hotel guests, get their luggage to their rooms, usually by bicycle, and see the guests off at the end of their stay here.

It can be grueling work during the height of the summer season, trying to meet boats from three ferry lines that operate from both St. Ignace and Mackinaw City.

Collecting and tagging baggage, transporting high stacks of suitcases in bicycle baskets, rushing from hotel to dock, from dock to dock, and back to the hotel is a routine repeated from the time the first boats arrive in the morning to the last leave at night.

That amounts to six boats arriving and departing every half hour for 11 hours a day. Tips can be good, and most porters look forward to one day off a week.

"A lot of guests don't realize how much work we really do every day," said Tim Kmiecik, a first-year dock porter for The Island House. "Being a dock porter takes a toll on your body. My legs are chewed up, and that is the same with everyone's. When you are walking your bike, you will hit your shins on the pedals. You are constantly riding.

"From Star Line to the Island House is just under a half-mile, and if you think about it, doing that 15 to 20 times a day averages out to about 10 miles. You definitely have to be in shape for it, but if you aren't, this job will put you in shape."

Zack Ray, another firstyear dock porter who works for the Harborview Inn, agrees that the job has its challenges, especially trying to keep up with the boat schedules.

"We do departures, as well," he said. "We go to the rooms and take the guests' bags to the dock for them, and sometimes you really get swamped with tons of different things all at once. You have to do your best to keep moving."

Besides the intensity of the job, dock porters all agree that the camaraderie that comes with it makes the days pass by much more quickly.

A dozen porters working for the various hostelries ensures that everyone is looked after.

A hotel with only two dock porters can only cover two docks at once, so the others pitch in when needed.

Such is the case at the Iroquois, where third-year porter Adam Matelski might cover the Star Line dock while old-timer Keith Leverton, who has been a porter here since 1984, scans the Shepler dock for guests, leaving the Arnold dock unattended.

A guest arriving via the Arnold ferry, however, will be greeted by a porter from another hotel, who will then notify the Iroquois porters by radio.

"Everybody helps each other out like that," Mr. Matelski said. "That keeps it running smoothly. We don't really see anyone from our hotel, because we are always working with all of these other hotels. They are our staff, almost. When everyone is making money and working hard, everyone is happy."

"Probably the best part, other than the money," Mr. Ray said, "is the fact that everybody gets along. It's almost like a fraternity."

This close-knit group is in constant communication to ensure the arrivals and departures of guests are as carefree as possible.

Messrs. Matelski and Leverton both agree that pleasing their guests is the most important aspect of their job.

"We always put a smile on our face. Usually, the guests are friendly, but if not, we just keep talking to them until they become friendly, or until we just scare them away completely," Mr. Leverton said jokingly.

Tips comprise the bulk of a dock porter's income, and the best days for tips are Friday, when guests arrive for the weekend, and Sunday, when they leave and a new group comes in for the week.

"A lot of guests don't realize we live off of our tips," Mr. Kmiecik said. "They think we make a lot of money an hour doing this, but in reality, we don't. It is all about the tips. But when I think about it, I wouldn't know to tip a dock porter if it was my first time coming to the Island."

Many of the porters make about $2.65 per hour, and rely heavily on the tips. Mr. Kmiecik at The Island House says he can make $60 to $90 a day, has made as much as $150 in a day, and was once given a $60 tip by one person.

Mr. Ray has made more than $200 on good days this summer.

"When it's busier, it's better," he said.

Most porters, by their nature, enjoy doing little extra things for guests.

"It feels good when I earn my tip," Mr. Kmiecik said.

Being a dock porter, he added, is the Island job that best suits his personality

"I am selling myself to the guest," he said. "I am a physically active person, and I love doing it and being outdoors, and, believe it or not, I love to ride luggage. I never thought I would be able to put that many bags on my bike."

While some hotels provide drays to get luggage to and from the docks, most porters, like Mr. Kmiecik, rely on bicycles, sometimes to the good-natured taunting by dray-supported porters.

The two things he said he has learned this summer are that a basket on a bike is one of the most important accessories on Mackinac and that a bungee cord used wisely will help keep a heavy load in the basket, where it belongs.

Earlier this summer, he took some big falls with the luggage, but quickly learned that the job isn't about strength, but balance.

He'll sometimes load bags on The Island House shuttle, even ride with them, but admits that it is more fun to load the bags on his bike.

"When I tell first-timers that I am going to put their seven suitcases on my bike and take them to the hotel," he said, they don't believe it. "I like to ride it because . . . guests immediately get a good impression of the Island. They are awestruck about everything they are seeing, and being able to observe that is great."

On busy days, the porters catch a break when they can. They might order food from a restaurant, go out and catch a round of boats, pick up the food at the restaurant, then catch another round of boats before taking the time to eat.

"During the peak season, my food has definitely sat on the dock for quite a while," Mr. Kmiecik said.

If there could be a change, Mr. Kmiecik has a suggestion. He believes that some painted lines on the street might relieve some congestion.

"I wish we had our own lane on Main Street, because tourists get in the way, taxis sit two to three deep in the road, and we have big loads on the front of our bikes, so having our own lane to ride in would help out a lot," he said.