Byron Burmeister was heavily involved in lake transportation with the Burmeister fleet, hauling tan bark, cordwood and agricultural products to ports around Lake Michigan.
The scow- schooner Mishicott was at the Pankratz Lumber Mill in Sturgeon Bay on April 4, 1907 and sank during a storm. Later, in July, Captain Thomas Isabel raised the scow-schooner and towed it to the Leathem-Smith shipyard in Sturgeon Bay. The Advocate July 18, 1907: "Diver Thos. Isabell and his associates,are engaged in the work of raising the schooner Mishicoit, which lies sunk in one of the slips at the Pankratz mill. The vessel belongs to the Sturgein BayStone Co." The Advocate July 27, 1907: "The scow schooner Mishicottis now lying near the R. & W. dock where she is resting."