Kalakala demolition crew saving souvenirs of iconic ferry

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) Amid demolition, crews scrapping the ferry Kalakala are saving bolts, pieces of distressed metal with rivets, some railing.

The brass trim of windows.

Maybe the pistons and connecting rods from the big engine.

And they can use it, considering that the office phone at Rhine Demolition Inc. has been ringing non-stop with calls from people seeking those sorts of souvenirs.

"They just want a piece of the Kalakala," said Mike Lano Sr., who's running the demolition crew. "Everybody wants a little trinket."

Workers towed the ferry to a graving dock on the Blair Waterway in Tacoma on Thursday to be scrapped. It had been sitting in the Hylebos Waterway nearby for more than a decade.

Something like 600 people have called and emailed the company seeking the mementos of the ferry.

The company doesn't know when it'll be ready to sell souvenirs, but the office is compiling a list of people who are interested.

Lano said it's hard to guess, but he thinks they're about 10 to 15 percent done with demolition of the boat, which he expects to finish no later than Feb. 7 or Feb. 8.

They've been methodically working their way through, seeing what they can salvage.

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Kalakala demolition crew saving souvenirs of iconic ferry