In 1910, the American Shipbuilding Company built and launched the William C. Moreland in their Lorain, Ohio yard. In 1951, the Pioneer Steamship Company purchased the Moreland and renamed it the Gene C. Hutchinson. This twenty-nine-foot-long swallowtail flag was used during the vessel’s christening ceremony to celebrate the occasion. 

Pioneer had been managed by Hutchinson & Company since 1901. Hutchinson was a family owned business that regularly named their vessels after family members. The vessel was named after a son of the original founder of the company. Gene would go on to be the president of the company in 1958 / 1959 after his older brother John passed away. 

Pioneer and Hutchinson came to an end together in 1962 due to the exhaustion of iron ore from the Mesabi range, the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and increased costs in operations and labor.