When the passenger ship SS Eastland rolled over on the Chicago River in 1915 she was tied up at the Clark Street bridge, two blocks behind the Arthur Orr. Little did anyone know when this picture was snapped that the tug shown here, the Rita McDonald, would play a significant role in saving the lives of those thrown into the river when the Eastland went over on her side. As one online source put it: Three people were down at the Dunham Towing and Wrecking Company plant along the Chicago River, Superintendent F. D. Fredericks, Charlie Hart, and Johnny Benson. Though they didn't have a license and none were a regular engineer, they commandeered the tug Rita McDonald. "Come on boys, I can run that old engine!" Supt. Fredericks shouted to Hart and Benson. According to Fredericks' testimony, it's estimated that they pulled approximately 50 people from the water.

Fredericks was quoted as saying after the fact: “On the way upstream we got in where the people were the thickest. Then we started picking 'em up. I don't know how many. Too busy to count. I'm tickled to death to think we were able to help as many as we did."