VOLUME XVI NO. 1 FOR MUSEUMS, ASSOCIATIONS AND HISTORIANS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999

INSTITUTIONAL MEMBER NEWS Marine Historical DOOR COUNTY MARITIME MUSEUM Society finishes vessel data base This past fall, the Maritime Museum opened two temporary exhibits. The museum’s Mezzanine Gallery is hosting an exhibit entitled “The Coast Guard: 200 Years of History and Service” and features information on both the service’s national history, and its past and present ships and stations in Door County. In conjunction with that exhibit, works by Coast Guard artist Charles William Johnson are on display at the Maritime Museum. In addition, the museum recently replaced a model of the steamer South America, which was on loan from the Chicago Maritime Society, with a newly-built model of the ship by Larry and Bill Herbst. The Museum’s Board of Directors also recently announced a new campaign to raise $375,000 to payoff the debt remaining from construction of the museum’s new Sturgeon Bay Information on Great Lakes vessels, such as the U.S.C.G.C. Sundew, will be more readily available facility, and complete renovation of to researchers through the efforts of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society (photo by Tim Slattery). its Gills Rock facility, including the fishing tug Hope. Since 1994, the After an investment of over $120,000 founding in 1959. The data base museum has raised over $1.9 million and thousands of volunteer hours, the includes vessel information from a to fund new construction and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society number of sources including the U.S. renovation projects. recently completed work on one of the National Archives, National Archives region’s most comprehensive Great of Canada, and the Herman G. Runge ERIE QUEST MARINE Lakes vessel enrollment data bases for Index Card Collection. HERITAGE AREA the period 1815 to 1958. The Runge Card Collection includes During this past summer’s dive Completion of the work on the data over 98,000 documents with informa- season, volunteers working for the base comes as the Historical Society tion related to Great Lakes vessels. Erie Quest Marine Heritage Area th celebrates the 40 anniversary of its Continued on page 2 placed anchor blocks and buoys on 15 shipwrecks in the Pelee Passage area of Lake Erie. Divers also sank a 1950s cabin cruiser to ease diving Center plans new fishing exhibit pressure on another historic wreck. The Great Lakes Center for Maritime traveling exhibit is being underwritten A 38-foot, steel-hulled cabin cruiser Studies has recently announced plans by a grant from the Great Lakes is now located in 35 feet of water for creating a traveling exhibit entitled Fishery Trust and will open in March near the wreck of the George Stone, “Fish for All: Perspectives on the 2000. a wooden steamer that sank in 1909. History of Lake Fisheries The exhibit will focus on the roles of Preparation and placement of the Management and Policy.” cruiser was a joint effort of the sport fisherman, commercial fisher- Windsor Chapter of Save Ontario The Great Lakes Center is a partnership men, Native Americans, state govern- Shipwrecks, Erie Quest Marine of Western Michigan University and ments, the federal government, and Heritage Area, the South Shore Scuba the Michigan Maritime Museum, both environmental/advocacy groups in Continued on page 2 AGLMH institutional members. The Continued on page 2 PAGE 2 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999

diving visibility in the lower Great INSTITUTIONAL MEMBER NEWS Lakes. Other factors include a lack of new wrecks to dive in the Tobermory Continued from page 1 area, and the deterioration of existing Club and members of the Kent Divers wrecks. Association. Ivan Smith, acting supervisor of FATHOM FIVE Fathom Five, confirmed that diver NATIONAL MARINE PARK registration at the park has gone from In an effort to revive scuba diving in 8,1000 in 1988 to just 4,800 in 1997. The Association for Great Lakes Maritime Maritime Association officials are in History is an international organization of the Tobermory area, a local group plans on sinking the II, a 68- the process of raising the $40,000 to institutions, museums, societies, and individuals $60,000 needed to tow the dredge interested in preserving Great Lakes maritime year-old dredge, just outside the history. Membership includes a subscription to Fathom Five National Marine Park. from Port Maitland to Tobermory, and this newsletter and the opportunity to participate The Tobermory Maritime Association to meet the cleanup requirements of in Association activities. found the 66-meter dredge in a Port Environment Canada. In addition to publishing the newsletter, the Maitland scrap yard. GREAT LAKES Association sponsors an annual meeting MUSEUM and encourages research, the exchange of Diving in Fathom Five has fallen off information, and the publication of materials on dramatically in recent years, and local In conjunction with the Great Lakes Great Lakes maritime history. officials blame a number of factors, Lighthouse Keepers Association, the Annual individual membership is $35. including the spread of zebra mussels Great Lakes Annual institutional membership is $50. which have significantly improved hosted the first-ever Lighthouse To become a member or for a brochure containing more information about the Association, write to: Association for Great Lakes Maritime History Wisc. Marine Historical Society P.O. Box 7365 Milwaukee Public Library or at Bowling Green, OH 43402 Continued from page 1 Those documents include 32,000 university libraries that are part of the ASSOCIATION OFFICERS vessel index cards, 3,410 vessel name OCLC computer network. The Society change cards, 19,250 ship loss cards, will also respond to e-mail requests President for vessel information (address: Robert Graham, Archivist and 43,587 cards on marine-related Historical Collections of the Great Lakes events. [email protected]). Bowling Green State University The collection was part of the exten- In addition to the vessel data base, the Vice President sive marine-related papers, photo- Milwaukee Public Library’s Marine Open graphs and documents willed to the Room also provides researchers with Vice President Milwaukee Public Library (MPL) in access to the other resources of the Joyce Hayward, Individual Member 1958 by the noted Great Lakes anti- Marine Historical Society and the MPL’s Great Lakes Marine Collection. Secretary quarian, Herman G. Runge. Assisting Ed Warner, Individual Member the library in preserving those materi- Those resources include more than als was one of the primary reasons for 11,000 Great Lakes vessel files and Treasurer 33,000 vessel photographs. William O'Brien, Executive Director the Historical Society’s founding in Great Lakes Historical Society January 1959.

The Association is incorporated as a nonstock, nonprofit The first organizational meeting of corporation under the laws of the State of Wisconsin. The United the Society coincided with the MPL’s States Internal Revenue Service has ruled the Association to be Fishing exhibit under Sections 507(a)(l) and 170(6)(l)(A)(v) – EIN 39-148496. opening of the Herman G. Runge Marine Collection to the public on Continued from page 1 The AGLMH Newsletter (ISSN 1081-4744) is Feb. 19, 1959. In April of that year, the the Great Lakes fishery over the past published bi-monthly by the Association for group’s first evening meeting was 150 years. How each group handled, Great Lakes Maritime History. The submittal of held and the speaker was the noted governed, monitored, and culturally articles, letters, news, photos, drawings, research requests, etc. that pertain to the Great Lakes maritime historian Fr. valued the fish resources of Lake maritime history of the Great Lakes is welcomed Edward J. Dowling, S.J. Michigan will be examined. from members or nonmembers. The early meetings of the Marine According to its organizers, the All items will be considered for possible Historical Society were presided over traveling exhibit will rely principally publication and should be sent to the editor. by its first president, Edmund on photographs and a select number Written material may be submitted as text or in a Fitzgerald. On July 22, 1959, Society of artifacts to convey each group's Macintosh-compatible or IBM-ASCII format on members had an opportunity to tour management history. 3-1/2" computer disk. Edmund Fitzgerald the S.S. , as guests Institutions and individuals who Editor: of the ship’s owner, the Northwestern know of materials that might be Bob O’Donnell Mutual Insurance Co. of Milwaukee. 1406 Prospect Avenue, Wausau, WI 54403 relevant to the exhibit are encouraged 715-842-1762 (home); (715) 261-6206 (office) Researchers can access the Historical to contact Paula Lange of the Great e-mail: [email protected] Society’s computerized vessel data Lakes Center for Maritime Studies at base in the Marine Room of the (616) 321-9323. PAGE 3 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999

Winter Festival at Mackinaw City its historic tug LT-5. The vessel was HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS during the weekend of February 13-14. last dry docked almost 20 years ago, OF THE GREAT LAKES This event included a variety of family and fundraising is continuing to raise The U.S. re- activities and a snowmobile trip to the an additional $60,000 required to cently awarded one of the first round St. Helena Lighthouse. match the state grant and complete the National Maritime Heritage Grants to Engineering work on the proposed overhaul. the Historical Collections of the Great site of the Great Lakes Lighthouse On October 12, officials from the City Lakes (HCGL) at Bowling Green State Museum has already begun, and of Oswego unveiled a new wrought University. preliminary results show that the iron arch marking the entrance to The $24,850 grant will allow the former State Ferry Docks at Mackinaw Oswego’s new Historic Maritime HCGL to begin work on creating an City are basically sound. An applica- District. The district encompasses the image data base of Great Lakes vessels tion to fill approximately 1.67 acres waterfront area that is the home to the for the period 1850-1980 using materi- north of the docks for the museum H. Lee White Marine Museum, als from its collection of more than project is expected to be filed shortly. Oswego Maritime Foundation, and 90,000 images. Grant funding will Meanwhile, Dr. Sandra Planisek, the the Port of Oswego Authority. support vessel data sheet entry, image new museum’s director, and museum According to local officials, the new scanning and linking, and acquisition supporters are continuing to work on historic district is the site of over 300 of equipment. Estimated project raising the $40 million needed to make years of community history beginning completion date is March 2000. the proposed facility a reality. Sandra with the arrival of the Jesuits at the HURONIA MUSEUM is the former publisher of the Macki- mouth of the Oswego River in 1654. naw Journal. The district was once occupied by the The Huronia Museum continues to Goble’s Shipyard & Drydock which add items to its collection from the GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECK Midland Shipbuilding Co. of Ontario. HISTORICAL SOCIETY built a number of Great Lakes vessels between 1856 and 1912, including 30 Continued on next page The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical schooners. Society has selected U.P. Engineers & Architects to design and oversee the $2 million in new construction and restoration work at the Whitefish UPCOMING EVENTS Point Light Station. The work will be financed by the Society’s Great Lakes Mariner Memorial Capital Campaign. Feb 25 Guardian of the Great Lakes: the U.S.S. Paddle Frigate Michigan, a presentation by Dr. Bradley Rodgers for the annual Current plans call for adding two new meeting of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. Site: Manitowoc, wings to the Historical Society’s Wis. For more info., call (920) 684-0218. Shipwreck Museum Gallery. A new west wing will house the Great Lakes Feb. 27 Sail, Steam and the Profit Margin sponsored by the Wisconsin Mariners Memorial along with a Underwater Archeology Association, State Historical Society of multi-media theater and lecture hall. Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. Site: The gallery’s new east wing will house Manitowoc, Wis. For info., contact Tom Villand at (608) 221-1996. a changing exhibits gallery, collections storage area and conservation lab. Mar. 13 Mid-Year Directors Meeting of the Association for Great In addition, a new multi-purpose Lakes Maritime History. Site: Michigan Historical Center, building will be constructed near the Lansing. For more info., contact Bob Graham at (419) 372-9612. present museum store to house rest rooms, inventory storage, a larger Mar. 27 Great Lakes Underwater II sponsored by New York Sea Grant sales area and administrative offices. and the Oswego Maritime Foundation. Site: Oswego, N.Y. For Tentative plans call for the multi- info., contact the Oswego Maritime Foundation at (315) 342-5753. purpose building to be built in 1999 and the two new museum wings in May 15-16 Sixth Annual Door County Lighthouse Walk. Site: Door 2000. County, Wis. For more info., contact the Door County Maritime Museum, 120 N. Madison Ave., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235; Restoration work will include the (920) 743-5958; web site: www.dcmm.org Whitefish Point crews quarter build- ing and the boathouse that was used May 18-19 40th Anniversary Celebration and Symposium on the Great for the station’s rescue surf boat. The Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System. Site: Montreal, Quebec. Historical Society has already restored For more info., contact the Great Lakes Commission, Argus II the site’s lookout tower and light- Building, 400 Fourth St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103: (734) 665-9135; house keeper’s quarters. e-mail: [email protected] H. LEE WHITE MARINE MUSEUM The H. Lee White Marine Museum Information on upcoming events should be sent as soon in advance as recently received a matching grant of possible to: Bob O’Donnell, AGLMH Newsletter Editor, 1406 Prospect Ave., just over $26,000 from the State of Wausau, WI 54403; e-mail: [email protected]; fax: (715) 261-6333. New York to dry dock and overhaul PAGE 4 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999

For example, the museum recently pleted, giving the replica at least the education and preservation missions acquired a builder’s half-model of the appearance of a vessel again. During of the Padnos Boat Shed. The new S.S. War series of ships built at the the coming months, the hull will be facility will also offer hands-on classes shipyard by James Playfair during sanded, caulked and painted for in wooden boat building, sail making, 1918-1919. eventual return to the water. canoeing, and other maritime tradi- In August, the Huronia Museum The last trip of the season for the tions. acquired a Canadian Pacific Railway Madeline was to Grand Haven and In October, as part of the Maritime fleet commodore’s tunic, vest and cap Muskegon, Mich. in mid-September. Museum’s Lake Lore series, AGLMH from Capt. Jamie McCannell of Port The vessel is now in winter lay-up and member John Summers presented a McNicoll. Capt. McCannell sailed on off-season work projects include program “Small Boats, Big Ideas: The the Assiniboia from June 1913 until replacing the ship’s rail which will Role of Historic Small Craft in the his retirement in November 1936. require an estimated 1,000 hours of Preservation and Interpretation of This past fall, the Huronia Museum work to complete before spring. Maritime History.” John also dis- hosted several art exhibits including MACKINAC ISLAND cussed his ideas for small craft pro- an exhibition of large color photo- STATE PARK COMMISSION gramming at the museum. graphs entitled “Northern Images” by The Mackinac State Historic Parks has A second Lake Lore program was photographer Peter Marreck. Several been selected as the host for the presented by Tracy Marsh and Peter works by artist Gord Smellie, who Michigan Museum Association’s 2000 Watts, co-authors of Watts & Sons specializes in the Georgian Bay Annual Meeting. The meeting will be Boat Builders, Canadian Designs for and landscapes, were on held October 10-13 at the historic Work and Pleasure, 1842-1946. Their display through mid-November. Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. The slide presentation was entitled: “From KEWEENAW COUNTY Mackinac State Historic Parks include Skiffs to Schooners: Snapshots of a HISTORICAL SOCIETY Mackinac Island State Park and Fort Premier Canadian Boat Building Family.” Following its successful efforts last Mackinac on Mackinac Island, and year to obtain title to the Eagle Harbor Historic Mill Creek and Colonial MICHIGAN Light Station, the Keweenaw County Michilimackinac near Mackinaw City. HISTORICAL MUSEUM Historical Society is now developing a MARINE MUSEUM The Michigan Historical Museum commercial fishing exhibit to be OF THE GREAT LAKES recently acquired a display board installed in the assistant light keeper’s The Marine Museum of the Great from the ore carrier Edward B. Greene house at the station. Lakes at Kingston recently opened a showing Cleveland-Cliffs' iron ore In other news, over 20,000 people, a new exhibit entitled “The Shipwrecks shipping routes and steel mill loca- record number, visited the Historical of Kingston & Western Approaches.” tions circa 1870. Society’s sites throughout the The exhibit examines the more than 40 Other recent donations to the Histori- Keweenaw Peninsula during 1998. In wrecks that lie in the waters surround- cal Museum include a lighthouse lamp addition, the Society recently pub- ing Kingston, and which range from modified for electricity, which was lished a new book entitled Central War of 1812 vessels to latter day donated by the family of a former Mine: Years of Hard Work, Lives of steamships. keeper of the Copper Harbor Range Pain and Hope documenting that The core of the exhibit is the surveys Light. historic Keweenaw copper mine and and digital images done by underwa- MOORE MUSEUM the people who worked there. ter archeologist Jonathan Moore, with The Moore Museum recently received LAKE ERIE ISLANDS the support of the Preserve Our donations to its capital campaign from HISTORICAL SOCIETY Wrecks organization. That informa- The Shaw Foundation and Montell With the opening of its new 6,000 tion is supplemented with artifacts, Canada Inc. Recent events at the square-foot museum facility last photos and archival material from the museum included a re-opening of the season, the Lake Erie Islands Histori- Marine Museum’s collection. opening of the Basswood Block of cal Society is preparing its original MICHIGAN MARITIME MUSEUM historic structures at the museum in facility and nearby pole building to The Michigan Maritime Museum October and a Christmas Memories house displays of historic boats, recently received a $5,000 grant from program in December. commercial fishing artifacts, lifesaving the Frederick S. Upton Foundation to During the past summer, the Moore service materials, and natural history. develop exhibits for its new Padnos Museum had a college intern, Jen The Historical Society also recently re- Boat Shed. When completed in the Newman, working as a collections issued a paperback version of Robert Spring of 1999, the 1,300 square-foot assistant. Newman is a student in the Dodge’s book Isolated Splendor. The facility will serve as a center for intensive museum studies program at book tells the story of how Put-in-Bay, restoration of small craft in the Algonquin College, and her internship Ohio developed as a community, and museum’s collection. was funded by the Young Canada its role in Great Lakes shipping. Museum Director Kristin Szylvian and Works in Heritage Institutions pro- MARITIME HERITAGE ALLIANCE a museum studies class at Western gram. Heritage Alliance volunteers continue Michigan University will use the In addition to transferring the working on the sloop Welcome whose Upton grant to develop exhibits that museum’s entire textile collection to hull re-planking was recently com- will familiarize visitors with both the acid-free boxes, Newman also partici- PAGE 5 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999 pated in the Moore Museum’s sum- Thom Holden, assistant director of the hopes to restore it for River mer season programming activities, Maritime Visitors cruise service. The Sainte Claire is and had an opportunity to learn first- Center in Duluth, discussed the ship’s owned by a sister organization the hand about cataloging in a small loss and other Lake Superior ship- Steamer Sainte Claire Foundation. institution, on a limited budget. wrecks in the exhibit area of the Following the Detroit River cruise, OWEN SOUND Historic Site’s history center. In program participants returned to the HISTORICAL SOCIETY addition, a video on the Fitzgerald Dossin Museum to hear a presentation was shown throughout the afternoon. The Owen Sound Historical Society’s entitled “Architecture Afloat” by Bill Rail and Marine Museum recently At dusk, at the base of the Split Rock Worden and marine historian Gordon acquired a high-quality model of the Lighthouse, the names of the 29 men Bugbee. Their presentation discussed steamer Asia which was lost with all who loss their lives on the Edmund the blend of architecture and technol- hands and untold passengers during a Fitzgerald were read accompanied by ogy represented by the sidewheel fierce storm on Georgian Bay in 1882. the ringing of a ship’s bell. Following steamers designed by Frank E. Kirby The wooden steamer was built at St. the ceremony, the Split Rock Light- and Louis E. Keil, both of Detroit. Catherines in 1873. house’s beacon was lit in memory of WESTERN LAKE ERIE the freighter’s crew. The newly acquired 1:72 scale model HISTORICAL SOCIETY was built by Marshall Webster. STATE HISTORICAL Following the success of its War of Another Great Lakes model, a 1:96 SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN 1812 display, the Western Lake Erie scale model of the self-unloader E.B. The Underwater Archeology Program Historical Society recently developed Barber, was recently lent to the of the State Historical Society of a “Disasters at Sea” exhibit for display museum by its builder, Capt. Bruce Wisconsin, in cooperation with the at the Toledo-Lucas County Public Sheppard. The Barber was built in Wisconsin Sea Grant program, has Library’s downtown location. 1953 and scrapped in 1985. published a “Historic Shipwrecks of The exhibit focused on the loss of the In other news, the Owen Sound Lake Superior” series of waterproof, RMS Titanic and was opened in Historical Society held its 19th annual plastic wreck site guides for divers. conjunction with a special program at banquet and meeting on Oct. 28, 1998. The guides cover the wrecks of the the library by underwater explorer The featured speaker was Les Coffinberry, , , Robert Ballard. The centerpiece of the MacKinnon, who has extensively and . exhibit was a 9’2” model of the ship, researched a group of 350 freed black The Historical Society also recently created by Historical Society member slaves and United Empire Loyalists presented the Wisconsin Maritime Ed Gould. who formed one of the first non-native Museum with a 1998 Local History WLEHS members are also helping the settlements in the region south of Certificate of Commendation for its museum ship Willis B. Boyer raise Owen Sound in the 1800s. special exhibit entitled: “Wisconsin $60,000 in private donations to begin S.S. MILWAUKEE CLIPPER Shipbuilders: 150 Years.” Accepting repainting the 672-foot vessel’s hull PRESERVATION INC. the award on the Maritime Museum’s beginning this spring. To-date, the behalf were Museum President Harry “Paint the Ship” campaign has re- Great Lakes Clipper Preservation Inc. Phillipsen and Curator Jay Martin. recently changed its name to S.S. ceived a number of corporate dona- Milwaukee Clipper Preservation Inc. STEAMER COLUMBIA tions including funds from Oglebay (MCPI) to make it clear that the FOUNDATION Norton Co., and the Ford Stamping group’s primary goal is the preserva- In September, the Steamer Columbia Plant at Maumee, Ohio. tion of a specific vessel, the former Foundation and the Saarinen Chapter WISCONSIN LAKE SCHOONER cross-lake ferry Milwaukee Clipper. of the Society of Architectural Histori- EDUCATION ASSOCIATION MCPI and the Musekgon Mall recently ans co-sponsored a special program In September, Tom Farnquist, director teamed up to establish the S.S. Mil- entitled “Architecture Afloat & the the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical waukee Clipper Store. The store, Bob-Lo Boats Revisited.” Society, presented a program on the which was open from November 1 The day-long event started with a wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald to a thru December 31, included a small presentation entitled “A History of meeting of the Wisconsin Lake Schoo- museum containing vessel artifacts, a Bob-Lo and its Steamers” by Bill ner Education Association. Tom has theater, and souvenir items for sale. Worden, president of the Steamer participated in three expeditions to the Sales totaled over $3,000 for the first Columbia Foundation. The presenta- wreck. five weeks of operation. tion was made at the Dossin Great This past summer, several thousand SPLIT ROCK LIGHTHOUSE Lakes Museum, and followed by a people had an opportunity to view the HISTORIC SITE cruise down the Detroit River aboard progress that the Association is the Diamond Queen of Diamond Jack making on building a replica of a 137- On Tuesday, November 10, the Split River Tours. Rock Historic Site held its annual foot, three-masted schooner during commemoration of the 1975 sinking of At the cruise’s destination of Ecourse, the Wisconsin Sesquicentennial the Edmund Fitzgerald. This year’s Mich., program participants were able Maritime Celebration. The event was commemoration coincided with a to view the former Bob-Lo steamers held on Milwaukee’s lakefront, and storm that generated near hurricane- S.S. Columbia and S.S. Sainte Claire. hosted by the Wisconsin Lake Schoo- force winds in the upper Great Lakes The Columbia is now owned by the ner Education Association. and brought shipping to a halt. Steamer Columbia Foundation, which Continued on next page PAGE 6 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999

All 47 frames of the ship’s hull are maritime equipment manufacturers in PERSONNEL NEWS now in place, and artisans and volun- Wisconsin, and is best known for its Jay Martin has been named director of teers are in the process of planking the marine engines and air horns. the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, ship’s hull. Association officials are In October, Tony Esposito discussed replacing Isacco Vali who has left the confident that they will be in a posi- the history of Mercury Marine of Fond museum to pursue other interests. Jay tion to put the schooner in the water du Lac, Wis. Mercury is one of the has been curator of the museum since during the Summer of 1999, and world’s leading manufacturers of 1997, and received a doctorate degree recently passed the half-way mark in outboard motors. Also in October, in history, with an emphasis on Great their campaign to raise $3 million for William Nimke gave an update on the Lakes maritime history, from Bowling the ship and its educational programs. work of the Wisconsin Lake Schooner Green State University in 1995. WISCONSIN MARINE Education Association, which is Sandra S. Clark, director of the HISTORICAL SOCIETY building a replica of a wooden schoo- Michigan Historical Museum, has In December, the Wisconsin Marine ner on the Milwaukee waterfront. been appointed president of the Historical Society and the Milwaukee In November, Howard Wilsman, a American Association for State and Yacht Club co-hosted their 18th annual genealogist from Manitowoc, pre- Local History (AASLH). Christmas Tree Ship Holiday Lun- sented a program entitled “Finding Gene Harrison has retired from the cheon. AGLMH member Lee Murdock Great Grandfather” which discussed position of editor of the Wisconsin provide the musical program for the using the Maritime Museum’s re- Marine Historical Society’s quarterly event, which also included a wreath sources in researching a family’s Soundings newsletter. Gene will be laying ceremony at the anchor of the maritime history. Also in November, replaced by long-term newsletter Rouse Simmons. the public had an opportunity to have contributor Victor Plantico. their maritime objects appraised by Built in Milwaukee in 1868, the Nicole Henderson is the new exhibit/ Simmons was a three-masted schoo- Janice Kuhn of Chestnut Court Appraisal Associates of Milwaukee. collection manager for the Huronia ner that was lost with all hands and a Museum, replacing Hilary Lawrence load of Christmas trees on Nov. 23, The program series ended with a who left the museum in February to 1912. The ship’s anchor was later presentation by AGLMH member Pat return to school. recovered and placed near the en- Labadie of the Lake Superior Maritime trance to the Milwaukee Yacht Club. Visitors Center in Duluth. Pat dis- Capt. John W. Sharpe, an associate The Marine Historical Society is cussed the history of whalebacks on member of the Port Colborne Histori- currently considering how to restore the Great Lakes, and the construction cal & Rail Museum’s board of direc- the anchor which has become badly of several of William McDougall’s tors for the past twelve years, passed deteriorated in recent years. “pig boats” in Duluth and Superior. away recently. As a former Great Lakes captain, Sharpe was an invalu- In January, the Wisconsin Marine WISCONSIN UNDERWATER able marine consultant and advisor to Historical Society hosted a presenta- ARCHEOLOGY ASSOCIATION the Museum. tion by David Zeni, author of a new During the 1998 diving season, the book entitled Forgotten Empress at Wisconsin Underwater Archeology the Milwaukee Public Library’s Association continued working on WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Centennial Hall. Zeni’s presentation documenting three shipwrecks near included slides and underwater video Sturgeon Bay: the Empire State, Ida of the wreck of the passenger steamer Corning and Oakleaf. Despite poor Institutional Members: Empress of Ireland . weather, work on the wrecks was able Great Lakes Lighthouse Museum, On May 29, 1914, the Empress was to start in May this year. P.O. Box 712, Mackinaw City, MI rammed amidships by the Norwegian WUAA volunteer divers also assisted 40701-0712; (616) 436-7870; contact: ship S.S. Storstad in the St. Lawrence the State Historical Society of Wiscon- Sandy Planisek, director. River. The ship was carrying 1,492 sin survey several submerged lumber S.S. Milwaukee Clipper Preservation people and sank within fourteen mill sites and place two permanent Inc., P.O. Box 1370, Muskegon, MI minutes of the collision, leading to the mooring buoys this past season. Those 49443-1370; (616) 722-1611; fax: (616) loss of over 1,000 lives and rivaling the buoys were placed on the wreck of the 728-3707; contact: James C. Plant, loss of the liner Titantic. 195-foot schooner Lucerne in the president. WISCONSIN MARITIME MUSEUM , and the wreck of the Wisconsin Lake Schooner Education The Wisconsin Maritime Museum’s passenger steamer Niagara in . Association , 500 Harbor Dr., Milwau- 1998 Fall Family Program Series kee, WI 53202; (414) 276-7700; fax: featured a number of speakers that In July, WUAA divers finished (414) 276-8838; contact: Kim Haines, complemented the museum’s new detailed documentation of the wreck executive director. “Wisconsin Shipbuilders: 150 Years” of the Christina Nilson in Bailey’s state sesquicentennial exhibit. Harbor. The Nilson wreck’s site plan Address Changes: The series started off in September and a report of the documentation Fred Neuschel, 77 Esther St., Crystal with a presentation by Karl W. work will completed this winter. Lake, IL 60014; (815) 356-7041. Kahlenberg, president of the During the July survey trip, divers also had an opportunity to visit the Jay C. Martin, 1711 Meadowbrook Kahlenberg Bros. Co. of Two Rivers, Dr., #104, Manitowoc, WI 54220; (920) Wis. The company is one of the oldest wreck of the steamer Frank O’Conner to view its current state. 787-9842. PAGE 7 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999

RESEARCHING GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston The following is the third in a new series ity, the Alexbow, an icebreaking scow The Canada Steamship Lines Collec- of columns designed to promote the use of designed for harbor work. tion is composed of the business institutional members’ maritime history The Canadian Vickers Shipyards records of Canada’s largest shipping research resources. Collection is composed of 50 linear company and, to date, consist of over The collections of the Marine Museum feet of records including 12 feet of 300 linear feet of material. The mate- of the Great Lakes at Kingston are machinery manuals. This material rial dates from 1913 to 1985, with a extensive, and document Canadian begins at an undetermined date and slight bias towards postwar material. marine heritage on the Great Lakes continues to 1966, with most items Complementing the records which from the mid-19th Century to the dating to the 1950s. document the construction and repair present. The documents are almost exclusively of a vessel, this collection’s materials With a steady flow of new material engineering records, relating mostly to illustrate the business of operating a arriving from the Canadian marine repair work. Herein is represented the vessel (or fleet) for a profit. Also of industry, the Marine Museum’s greatest variety of vessels of any single particular note are early records archives continue to growth in terms collection in the museum’s holdings, documenting the rise of trade union- of both collection breadth and re- with a strong contingent of foreign ism in the shipping industry. search use. and oceangoing, bulk and package The Calvin Timber and Shipping Co. In addition, the museum, with the freighters. Collection consist of 55 linear feet of assistance from Queen’s University at The J&R Weir Collection consists of material, including 45 feet of bound Kingston, has created a Web site that 94 feet of material and is one of the ledgers, diaries and logs. Dates range provides researchers and the public Marine Museum’s largest and most from 1836 to 1918, with the bulk with both detailed description of its comprehensive collections. The falling between 1890 and 1910. collections and on-line access to records date from 1927 to 1982, The collection’s records consist of several catalogs (address: although the bulk pertains to the administrative, financial, operational, www.marmus.ca). period 1940 to 1965. and personal records and papers. The TEXTUAL RECORDS J&R Weir, as a repair and refit com- breadth and scope of the material is impressive and documents, in micro- The Marine Museum’s Collingwood pany, specialized in the installation and repair of boilers, engines and cosm, the freewheeling entrepreneur- Shipyard Collection includes 30 ship of the Victorian period. linear feet of textual records. Dating Seaway gear. Engineering, financial, from 1914 to 1968, the bulk of the administrative and personnel records The Port Arthur Shipbuilding Collec- collection’s material falls into the are represented including specifica- tion comprises 130 linear feet of 1940s and 1950s. tions, estimates, account ledgers, and corporate records documenting the general correspondence. engineering, accounting, payroll and These records include engineering, The German and Milne Collection personnel activities of the company. financial and administrative papers, Dating from 1910 to 1980, the bulk of which can provide insight into the comprises 373 feet of material dating from 1937 to 1985 with the bias falling the material is from the World War II change from steam to diesel technol- and pre-war periods. ogy. The records also reflect the towards the 1960s. As a naval architec- change from riveted construction to ture firm, the material differs in nature While the engineering department is all-welded hulls, the obsolescence of from that of the shipbuilder’s records, relatively poorly represented, manu- the canaller-sized carrier (250') with focusing on the drafting room rather facturing information is well-docu- the advent of Seaway sized vessel than the shipyard. mented in the collection's accounting (730'); and the development of the Design calculations, tenders, inspec- records. This comprehensive collection new self-unloader technology. tion reports, contracts and design also contains rare material document- specifications in particular, are this ing the hiring of female replacement The Kingston Shipyard Collection workers during World War II. maintains 38 feet of material. Engi- collection’s strong suits. The collection neering, financial, and administrative is well worth examination by research- The Canadian Shipbuilding and departments are all represented with ers of the Canadian Merchant Marine. Engineering Collection consists of 63 the earliest records dating back to the German and Milne’s activity in linear feet of financial records dating company’s beginning in 1910. wartime merchant marine and naval from the 1940s through the 1970s. As the parent company of five major The bulk of the material relates to production of Victory ships, corvettes, and naval trawlers is well documented shipyards on the Great Lakes, Cana- repair work, reflecting the normal dian Shipbuilding and Engineering activity of the Kingston yard. As a as is the close relationship between Canada’s premier naval architects and received comparative financial state- result, a great variety of Great Lakes ments from all its subsidiaries and is a vessels are covered within the collec- the Department of Defense during the war years. prime source for an overall economic tion, including a technological curios- Continued on next page PAGE 8 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999 assessment of the shipbuilding by foreign and ocean going hulls, but vessels consists of 281 glass plate industry during this period. there are also plans for a number of negatives documenting vintage The Upper Lakes Group Inc. Collec- Canadian Coast Guard vessels. navigation aids as used in the early tion includes records pertaining to The J&R Weir Collection includes part of the 20th Century. what is currently the second largest 2,500 plans dating from 1925 through The Canada Steamship Lines Collec- Canadian shipping company on the 1977. The strength of the collection lies tion has over 900 black & white Great Lakes, and its subsidiary with its Victory ship plans, which positive prints documenting the corporations: Upper Lakes Shipping number over 700. The collection also evolution of the company fleet from and ULS Marbulk Ltd. has repair plans for many older the 1920s to 1980. Included are most of The material is relatively recent dating vessels including the Cayuga, Red- the passenger vessels from the “Great from 1951 to 1971, and 1988. As an water, and the whaleback Ericsson. White Fleet” as well as canallers, bulk initial accession, it holds potential to The Bateman Collection comprehends carriers and modern self-unloaders. become one of the Marine Museum’s 1,611 plans from the Canada Steam- The C.C. Calvin Collection includes best collections documenting the ship Lines fleet of the 1960s and 1970s, 252 black & white negatives dating history and growth of a shipping and document the working life a from circa 1890 to 1930. The collection company whose genesis is surpris- vessel. Used in the ships’ engineering documents the corporate and private ingly different from that of other office, these blueprints record post- life on Garden Island - site of the Canadian shipping companies. construction modifications and repairs Calvin companies. Although family SHIP PLANS carried out under the instruction of pictures predominate, the companies’ the vessel’s chief engineer. fleet of steam tugs and schooner In addition to its textual collections, The Canadian Shipbuilding and barges are captured as well. Contact the Marine Museum has amassed a print indices are available. collection of more than 30,000 ship Engineering Collection plans consist plans and related documentation. of 824 plans from all of its subsidiary The Carson Collection is a private These plans and documents include shipyards at Collingwood, Port photographic collection consisting of both builder’s plans from a number of Arthur, Davie, and Kingston. Included 441 black & white negatives with a Canadian shipyards and working are four General Arrangements dating date range from approximately 1880 to plans from shipping companies. to 1929, for proposed Canada Steam- 1960. The Lovelady Collection is ship Lines passenger vessels which another private photographic collec- In the Collingwood Shipyard Collec- were never built. tion comprised of 285 black & white tion, there are 9,368 plans covering the negatives ranging in date from circa period from 1902 to 1980. Almost all The German and Milne Collection is constituted of naval architect’s design 1880 to 1955. Subjects vary from early common Great Lakes vessel types are vintage passenger steamers including represented: canallers, upper lakes plans rather than builder’s plans. They number 5,616 and date from 1942 the famous Huronic and Noronic to and Seaway size bulk carriers, pack- bulk carriers of the 1920s. age freighters, passenger ships, self- through 1981. Canadian Coast Guard unloaders, scows, tankers, ferries and icebreakers such as John A. The Campbell Collection is com- naval vessels. Macdonald and ocean going tankers prised of 382 black & white negatives. such as the record-breaking Emerillon Being a private collection, its subject The plans in the Kingston Shipyard predominate. matter is extremely varied and indis- Collection total over 4,000, dating PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVES criminate with over 250 Canadian from 1943 to 1967. The majority are ships captured. It serves well as a repair plans. The lines of many older The total number of photographic general photographic survey of Great vessels are thus preserved, including images held by the archives currently Lakes vessels operating during the several ships of historical significance stands at over 14,000 distributed 1920s through 1940s. including the early self-unloader among twenty major collections. REFERENCE LIBRARY Collier (b. 1924) and the Mapleheath The Kingston Shipyards Collection (b.1911), the first diesel on the lakes . includes 3,367 black & white positive The Marine Museum’s reference Port Arthur Shipyard Collection prints and 354 negatives documenting library is international in scope, and plans number over 6,000 and date the construction and repair of vessels currently maintains over 8,000 vol- from 1911 to 1958, with the bulk at the shipyard dating back to the umes in its holdings. The library also belonging to the 1940s. Well known 1950s. The Collingwood Shipyard receives serials with over 250 titles vessels represented in the collection Collection includes 3,461 black & currently on file. include: the infamous Noronic and the white negatives and 600 black & white A data base of the library is online at Mathewston, the largest upper laker positive prints from 1927 to 1965, with Queen’s University and can be ac- of its time (b. 1922). Repair plans the material bulking in the 1940s and cessed directly from many universities capture older technologies, such as 1950s. with reciprocal library privileges or that of the Paipoonge (b.1888). The German and Milne Collection through the museum’s Web site. On The Canadian Vickers Shipyard has 484 positive prints dating from site, a vertical file is maintained with Collection maintains 4,429 plans approximately 1925 to 1965. The over 1,000 subject headings listed. dating from 1921 to 1965, with a focus photographs document the final SHIP DATA BASES on the period 1945 through 1965. As builds of German and Milne designs. The Marine Museum maintains a ship might be expected of a Montreal The Marine Museum’s photographic register, in both hard copy and shipyard, this collection is dominated collection of Canadian Coast Guard PAGE 9 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999 computerized formats, with records activity at Bay Shipbuilding Co., Port NEW PRODUCTS & PUBLICATIONS on over 13,000 vessels. The register is Weller Drydocks, Marinette Marine, accessible to on-site researchers, and and the Quebec-based shipyards of covers the period of 1760 to 1930. Ocean Industries and Davie Industries Editor’s Note: Unless otherwise noted, the description of items in this column is In addition, there are three ship data Inc.; and business profiles of the Seaway Port of Duluth-Superior, based solely on news releases from the bases linked to the museum’s web site: supplier. Prices shown do not include the Mills List of Canadian Steam Hannah Marine Corp., and Lower Lakes Towing Ltd. applicable state or provincial sales taxes. Vessels 1817 to 1930; the Wallace List Institutions should contact the supplier of sailing vessels from 1760 to 1920; In the November 1998 issue of The directly to review samples and for quan- and a collection of Canadian Great Superior Signal published by the tity pricing information. Lakes port registers. Keweenaw County Historical Society ARTWORK ACCESS INFORMATION (for more info., call (906) 482-6560): “Lac La Belle and the Mendota Light” The National Maritime Historical Researchers interested in using the by Donald L. Nelson; and an article on Society is offering a new print from Marine Museum’s collections are the 1882 opening of the Wolverine William G. Muller entitled “New York advised to contact the museum prior Mine in Michigan’s Keweenaw Harbor Salutes America’s Celebrated to their visit. In addition, the museum Peninsula by Tauno Kilpela. Tall Ship Eagle.” The limited edition encourages potential visitors to search In the November 1998 issue of Lake print costs $140 plus $10 P&H. For their web site's on-line collections more info., contact National Maritime catalogues and detailed collection Superior Magazine, an associate AGLMH member (for more info., call Historical Society, P.O. Box 68, descriptions to make sure they fit well Peekskill, NY 10566; (800) 221-6647. with the researcher's needs. (218) 722-5002): “The Lighthouse” by Frederick Stonehouse. CATALOGS For more info., contact the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, 55 In the December 1998 issue of The Inland Seas Maritime Museum Ontario St., Kingston, ONT Canada Wisconsin’s Underwater Heritage Store has issued its 1998-99 catalog. K7L 2Y2; (613) 542-2261; fax:(613) 542- published by the Wisconsin Underwa- New items at the store include two 0043; web site: www.marmus.ca; e- ter Archeology Association (for more videos of trips aboard lakers by John mail: [email protected] info., write WUAA, P.O. Box 6081, Burke ($19.95 each), a “Lake Erie: Madison, WI 53716): “Christmas Tree Graveyard of the Great Lakes” ship- Ship” by Phil Sander; and “Gifts from wreck chart ($18.95), and a wooden RECENT ARTICLES the Past: Reflections on Studying the collectible image of the Inland Seas Niagara: Part I” by John Jensen. Museum building with lighthouse The following is a brief listing of recent ($10.95). For a catalog or ordering articles that may be of interest to Great info., contact Inland Seas Maritime Lakes maritime historians and researchers: INDIVIDUAL MEMBER NEWS Museum Store, P.O. Box 435; Vermil- In the Fall 1998 issue of Soundings ion, OH 44089; (800) 893-1485. published by the Wisconsin Marine Cris Kohl has published a new two- ______volume set entitled the 100 Best Great Historical Society (for more info., call A.G.A. Correa & Son is a Maine- (414) 286-3074): “Wisconsin’s Lake Lakes Shipwrecks. The volumes cover Great Lake shipwrecks from 1856 to based designer of high-quality nauti- Michigan Shipwrecks: The Brig cal jewelry and sailing trophies. For a Mahoning joins Wisconsin’s Sunken 1996, and include over 250 color and black & white photos (see New copy of their jewelry or trophies Fleet” by Brendon Baillod; “Steel Bulk catalogs, contact A.G.A. Correa & Son, Carrier History: Part 27” by Victor Products & Publications Section for more info.). P.O. Box 1, Edgecombe, ME 04556; Plantico; “My Sailor Dad” by Lois (800) 341-0788. Lawrie Rehberg; and “Great Lakes Lee Murdock performed at five Winds in the Rigging: Conclusion” by Christmas Tree Ship events in the COLLECTIBLES Kathy Warnes. Great Lakes region this fall, including The Wisconsin Maritime Museum In the September-October 1998 issue the Wisconsin Marine Historical and the U.S. Submarine Veterans of of the Nor’Easter published by the Society’s annual luncheon on Decem- World War II-Manitowoc Chapter are Lake Superior Maritime Museum ber 5. Lee was also featured on a offering a 50th anniversary medallion Association (for more info., call (218) Chicago-area radio broadcast celebrat- collection which commemorates the 727-2497): “The Advent of the ing the New Year which was also submarines that were built in Whalebacks of the Great Lakes” by broadcast on the Internet. Manitowoc during World War II. Both Ken Thro from the writings and Joyce Hayward and Pat Labadie gold and silver sets are available. For correspondence of Robert Clark; and helped organize and conduct a cost and ordering info., contact the “Memories of Keeping Ship” by program entitled “Shipwreck Archeol- Wisconsin Maritime Museum, 75 Donald J. Blain. ogy and Biological Studies for the Maritime Dr., Manitowoc, WI 54220; (920) 684-0218. In the October-December 1998 issue of Recreational Diver” last October at the Great Lakes/Seaway Review published Inland Seas Maritime Museum in EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS by Harbor House Publishers Inc. (for Vermilion, Ohio. The program was funded, in part, with a $6,800 grant The State Historical Society of more info., call (616) 582-2814: “Ship- Wisconsin, in cooperation with the building ‘98” which profiles current from the Lake Erie Protection Fund. Continued on next page PAGE 10 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999

Wisconsin Sea Grant program, has more info., contact Abacus Associates, Magazine. The 100-page book contains published a Historic Shipwrecks of P.O. Box 103, Kewaunee, WI 54216. a wide variety of legendary tales and Lake Superior series of waterproof ______includes numerous photos. Cost is site guides. The guides cover the $12.95 plus $1.75 P&H from South wrecks of the Coffinberry, Lucerne, Lighthouses of Michigan – Historic Village Museum, 104 Limerock St., Ottawa, Pretoria and Sevona. For Landmarks is a new book by John Rockland, ME 04841; (207) 594-0311. Penrod and contains a selection of his more info., contact the State Historical VIDEOS Society’s Underwater Archeology color photographs of historic Michi- Program at (608) 271-1382. gan lights. The 73-page book is “coffee A three-video series of the six-hour, table” size at 8-1/2 x11 and contains PBS documentary “Legendary ______photos of 76 lights. Cost is $14.95 plus Lighthouses” is now available. The The Sea Grant program $2 P&H from South Village Museum, video serie's titles include “Light- has produced a CD version of its 104 Limerock St., Rockland, ME 04841; houses of the Atlantic and Maine award winning Nonindigenous (207) 594-031 Coast,” Lighthouses of the Great Species Web site. The CD contains ______Lakes and South Atlantic Coast,” and maps, color images, video clips and “Lighthouses of California and the other educational materials on the Public Ports for Indiana: A History of Pacific Northwest.” Each video is spread of non-native species in the the Indiana Port Commission is the available for $19.98 plus $1.75 P&H, or Great Lakes. The disk is both IBM and title of a new book by Ralph D. Gray. the entire set is available for $59.95 Mac compatible, and costs $14 for one The book profiles the Clark Maritime plus P&H, from South Village Mu- copy or $10 per copy for orders of 20 Center at Jeffersonville, International seum, 104 Limerock St., Rockland, ME or more. For more info., contact Port at Burns Harbor, and the South- 04841; (207) 594-0311. wind Maritime Center at Mount Vern. Minnesota Sea Grant at (218) 726-6191 ______or at its web site: www.d.umn.edu/ It was published jointly by the Indiana seagr/ Historical Bureau and the Indiana Port Leben Productions is offering three Commission. For more info., contact new titles. “The Lighthouse Keepers” ______the Port Commission at (800) 233-7678 is an award-winning video of a The Wisconsin Sea Grant program is or by e-mail: [email protected] sailboat voyage to 13 historic Michi- offering a new 36”x24” poster of ______gan lighthouses. The 56-minute video native Great Lakes fish. Used as part costs $19.95 plus $4 S&H. “The of the Madison School District's Author Fran Reynolds has used two Ludington Carferry” examines the JASON education project, the poster famous Great Lakes shipwrecks of the 100 year history of Lake Michigan features five detailed, full-color fish mid-1800s as the setting for her latest carferries. The 56-minute video costs profiles, and a quiz (with answers). novels. Griffith is 308 pages in length $19.95 plus $4 S&H. “The Badger: The cost is $9 plus S&H. For more and costs $16.90 plus P&H. Pewabic is Flagship for a Dream” details the info., contact the Wisconsin Sea Grant, 168 pages in length and costs $11.95 operation and history of the carferry 1975 Williow Dr., 2nd Floor, Univer- plus P&H. For more info. or to order, Badger. The 30-minute video costs sity of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706- contact Sarge Publications, P.O. Box $19.95 plus $4 S&H. Package video 1103; (608) 263-3259. 1200, #351, Alpena, MI 49707; (517) pricing is also available from Leben 354-7837; e-mail: [email protected] PUBLICATIONS Productions, P.O. Box 8, Sagatuck, MI ______49453; (800) 353-2232. The 100 Best Great Lakes Shipwrecks is the title of a new two-volume set by Ghostly Lights – Great Lakes Light- Chris Kohl. The two volumes contain house Tales of Terror by Anne AROUND THE GREAT LAKES 150 color photographs and 106 black & Hivert-Cathew contains 21 fictional stories set in actual Great Lakes white photos. Each volume is 284 Editor’s Note: This column features both pages long, and costs $21.95 plus lighthouses. Cost is $14.95 plus $1.75 P&H from South Village Museum, 104 items related to the maritime heritage of P&H. To order or for more info., the Great Lakes and news from institu- contact Sea Wolf Communications Limerock St., Rockland, ME 04841; (207) 594-0311. tions that are potential members of the Inc., P.O. Box 66, West Chicago, IL Association for Great Lakes Maritime 60186; (630) 293-4020; e-mail: ______History. [email protected] The Professional Mariner is a bi- WAR OF 1812 BATEAUX ______monthly maritime industry journal. A Following its discovery by sport The Upper Midwest Historian is a one-year subscription costs $22.50 and includes the annual issues of American divers in 1997, a wreck located near new journal that focuses on the history the Navy Hall dock at Niagara-on-the- of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minne- Tugboat Review and American Ship Review. For more info., contact Profes- Lake was videotaped by a team of sota, North and South Dakota, and professional divers this past summer. Wisconsin. The publication's debut sional Mariner, P.O. Box 569, Portland, issue’s cover story was entitled ME 04112; (207) 772-2466. According to officials from Parks “American Great Lakes Defense: the ______Canada, the vessel appears to be an U.S.S. Michigan and the Cornbelt admiralty bateaux of the type used for Fleet.” The bi-annual journal costs $15 Haunts of the Upper Great Lakes is a hauling cargo during the War of 1812. per year, and single copies of the first new title by Dixie Franklin, a long- Several such vessels were known to issue are available for $5 per copy. For time contributor to Lake Superior have been lost in the waters near Navy PAGE 11 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999

Hall dock during the Battle of documents the shipwreck history of to a location near the former carferry Queenston Heights in October 1812 Door County, the Williams sank with slips at this Lake Michigan port. and the later burning of Niagara-on- a cargo of iron ore in the general ATLANTIC ARTIFACTS the-Lake in 1813. Although the vicinity of the wreck site in 1895. Mike Fletcher, who first discovered presence of scattered wreckage in the HULETT UNLOADERS area has been known for years, the the wreck of the steamer Atlantic in 1997 find was the first vessel structure Four of the last six remaining Hulett Lake Erie, is urging the Canadian ever discovered. ship unloaders on the Great Lakes government to allow public display of appear to be heading for the history some of the artifacts recovered from LIGHTHOUSE TENDER ASPEN books. The Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port the wreck. Over 600 items have been According to an item in Great Lakes/ Authority has come to the conclusion recovered over the years by both Seaway Log, the 93-year-old lighthouse that the four unloaders at the Cleve- Fletcher and Mar Dive, a California- tender Aspen has been acquired by a land Bulk Terminal (CBT) dock are based salvage company. new owner and moved to the port of preventing necessary expansion of the The wooden paddle-wheeler sank in Alpena, Mich. facility and must be removed. 50 meters of water off Long Point in Art Reibel of Charlevoix, plans to The Huletts at the CBT were recently August 1852 after colliding with a refurbish the vessel as an environmen- put on the National Register of freighter. Fletcher, Mar Dive and the tal research ship. A former owner, Historic Places. As part of a Historical Ontario provincial government battled Maury Taylor, started restoring the Preservation Mitigation Plan for the in court for several years over owner- Aspen almost 20 years ago for the dock, the Port Authority has proposed ship of the wreck and its artifacts, with same purpose. preserving a portion of one of the the courts finally ruling in the OSWEGO MARITIME Huletts as part of a public interpre- government’s favor. FOUNDATION tive/educational exhibit at another GREAT LAKES location and then dismantling the rest. Work continued this past summer on In a cost cutting move, the U.S. Coast the Maritime Foundation’s schooner DETOUR REEF LIGHTHOUSE Guard is proceeding with plans to OMF Ontario with volunteers using The DeTour Reef Light Preservation disconnect 18 foghorns on the Great laminate construction to fashion the Society continues to work with the Lakes in the coming months. Foghorns vessel’s masts, booms, gaffs and spirit. U.S. Coast Guard to acquire a long- slated to be disconnected include In November, the schooner was lifted term lease to the DeTour Reef Light- those at LaPoint and Kenosha, Wis.; out of the water for U.S. Coast Guard house. In September, the Coast Guard Ashtabula and Cleveland, Ohio; testing and winter work, which will asked the Society to prepare an Buffalo and Sodus Point, N.Y.; and include interior woodworking, and asbestos management plan for the 67- Michigan City, Ind. hull sandblasting and painting. year-old light as a condition of the The Coast Guard will also eliminate lease negotiations. THIRTY MILE POINT LIGHT foghorns at Cheboygan, Thunder Bay, In other news, the Great Lakes Histori- Frankfort, Manistee, Ludington, The Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse near cal Society has agreed to provide the Pentwater, Muskegon, Grand Haven, Barker, N.Y. was re-lit for the first Preservation Society with the original Saugatuck, South Haven and St. time in 40 years this past summer. from the lighthouse. The Joseph, Mich. In a related note, the Since 1995, The Friends of Thirty Mile DeTour foghorn was in the collection Coast Guard has decided to maintain Point Lighthouse, a volunteer group, of the Historical Society’s Inland Seas the fog horn at the north entry to the has been working to restore the 70- Maritime Museum, and is currently Keweenaw Waterway at 1/4 mile foot stone tower which was replaced being restored by AGLMH member power. by a steel tower in 1958. The steel Jeff Laser. tower was decommissioned on July Earlier this year, the foghorn’s sound 12, and The Friends group used the LONG POINT BAY WRECK level was reduced to that level after a occasion to re-light the old lighthouse In another sign of improving water single Houghton-area resident com- with a replica six-sided . clarity on Lake Erie, divers recently plained of the noise and filed a 25- th signature petition. Despite the fact that LAKE MICHIGAN WRECK confirmed the location of a 19 century sailing schooner. The wreck is supporters of the former sound level According to recent items in both the located in just six meters of water off subsequently filed a petition with Great Lakes/Seaway Log and Green Bay Long Point Bay, and was first located several thousand signatures on it, the Press-Gazette, divers my have found during an aerial survey of the area in Coast Guard has been unwilling to the wreck of the schooner E.R. Will- 1997. The identity of the 30-meter reverse its decision. iams in Lake Michigan near Poverty vessel, which is being researched by GREAT LAKES CRUISE SHIPS Island. Save Ontario Shipwrecks, has not yet According to press reports, a second The wreck was first located in 1997 by been discovered. Great Lakes cruise ship is being built sport divers. The nearly-intact schoo- TUG LUDINGTON in France and hopes to follow up on ner is located in 110 feet of water, but The former U.S. Army Corps of the success of Hapag-Lloyd’s C. its exact location is being kept secret Columbus. When completed, the 95- until the site can be videotaped. Engineers tug Ludington has report- edly been acquired by the City of passenger Le Levant will reportedly According P.J. Creviere, author of Kewaunee (Wis.) for use as a floating be used for two cruises between Wild Gales and Tattered Sails which museum. The tug was recently moved Continued on next page PAGE 12 ASSOCIATION FOR GREAT LAKES MARITIME HISTORY NEWSLETTER JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1999

Chicago and Toronto, with stops at Proc of the HMCS Haida Naval Mu- Highway 2 and State Highway 13, on eight ports, between July and Sep- seum in Toronto by e-mail at hrc@ the main route to the Apostle Islands tember 1999. sympatico.ca National Lakeshore, the Center was In related news, the Columbus made THOUSAND FOOTER TURNS 25 attracting almost 500 visitors per day even before its official opening. five Great Lakes cruises this past fall. In 1998, the Stewart J. Cort, the first In anticipation of the ship’s visit, the thousand-foot Great Lakes freighter, dock behind the Duluth Entertain- completed its 25th year of service. At BOOKS OF INTEREST ment and Convention Center was the time of its maiden voyage in 1972, dredged this past summer, after the the vessel exceeded the size of all other vessel encountered some draft- Lakes vessel by 270 feet in length and The Marsh Collection Society of related mooring problems in 1997. 35 feet in width. Amherstburg, Ontario recently CARFERRY BADGER published its first two volumes of One memorable aspect of the ship’s Echo Soundings, a new publication The carferry Badger has been offi- construction was the building of its series based on maritime news from cially named a spur route of the Lake bow and stern sections at a shipyard in the pages of the Amherstburg Echo Michigan Circle Tour. The circle tour Pascagoula, Miss. The two sections newspaper. was first created by the Great Lakes were then joined to form a 184-foot Commission in 1990 to promote “mini-vessel” which traveled under its Located at the point where the Detroit tourism. The Badger can haul up to own propulsion to Erie, Pa. for the River enters Lake Erie, Amherstburg 180 cars per trip, and currently addition of the ship’s mid-section. was a thriving Great Lakes port in the late 1800s. The first two volumes of carries an average of 100,000 travel- AVRO ARROW MODELS ers during its five-month sailing Echo Soundings contain items from season. During this past summer, an expedition the Marine News column and other was mounted on Lake Ontario to sections of the Echo for the period 1874 LAKE CHAMPLAIN recover nine one-eighth scale models of thru 1877, along with an index and MARITIME MUSEUM the Avro Arrow jet fighter. The models regional map. As part of $2 million donation by J. were launched into the lake aboard The Marsh Collection Society has a Warren and Lois McClure to the Nike missiles as part of a program to complete microfilm collection of the Lake Champlain Basin Science develop Canada’s first supersonic jet newspaper, which has been published Center project, the Lake Champlain fighter in the 1950s. regularly since November 1874. The Maritime Museum will receive Although one Avro Arrows succeeded Society was formed in 1983 to create a $500,000 for interpretive and pro- in breaking the sound barrier in 1957, research facility based on the historical gramming work at the Center which Canadian Prime Minister John collection of John Marsh and his sister will be located on the waterfront of Diefenbaker later ordered the fighter Helen, owners and operators of the Burlington, Vt. The Maritime program shut-down and the eleven Amherstburg Echo for over 50 years. Museum’s facility is located approxi- aircraft produced by the program mately 30 miles south of Burlington. The Society’s research center opened destroyed. The “baby Arrows” lie in 67 in 1994, and its resources include LAKER GOES CYBER meters of water off Point Petre. photographs, books, documents, The Canadian Steamship Lines self- LAKE SUPERIOR MARINE AREA postcards, artifacts and other items related to the Town of Amherstburg, unloader Atlantic Erie recently came Parks Canada is continuing its study of out of the Verrault shipyard with its the Lower Detroit River district and a proposal to create a national marine the Great Lakes. parent company’s Web address of conservation area along the North “www.csl.ca” painted in seven-foot- Shore of Lake Superior. The agency is A large part of those resources relates high letters on both sides of its hull. working with communities throughout to maritime history, and officials hope The 125-foot long address, which has the region to get public input on the to someday use it as the nucleus for a attracted considerable media atten- proposal, and is publishing a newsletter marine museum. Other Marsh Collec- tion, replaces the traditional bill- for the study process. tion Society publications include With board painting of CSL’s name on its the Tide: Recollections and Anec- vessels sides. For a copy of the newsletter or more dotal Histories of the Town of info. on the marine conservation area Amherstburg and the Lower Detroit CANADIAN TRIBAL proposal, contact Parks Canada, Dept. ASSOCIATION River District (131 pp., $C25). The of Canadian Heritage, Third Floor, 214 Society also offers a limited edition The Canadian Tribal Association is Red River Rd., Thunder Bay, ONT P7B print of the tug Atomic by Rocco an active supporter of efforts to 1A6; (807) 346-2904; web site: DiPasquale ($C25). restore the HMCS Haida, one of only parkscanada.pch.gc.ca Plans call for future Echo Soundings two World War II Tribal class GREAT LAKES VISITORS CENTER destroyers still in existence. The volumes to be published on a quar- Association publishes an e-mail In late September, the Northern Great terly basis with each volume covering newsletter that recently contained a Lakes Visitors Center near Ashland, a two-year period. The cost is $C10 feature story with pictures of the Wis. was officially opened. The 36,000 per volume plus S&H. For more info., Marine Museum of the Great Lakes’ square-foot visitors center includes an contact the Marsh Collection Society, icebreaker Alexander Henry. For exhibition hall, 100-seat auditorium, 235A Dalhouise St., Amherstburg, more info. on the Association or its and 58-foot high observation tower. ONT N9V 1W6; (519) 736-9191; e-mail: electronic newsletter, contact Jerry Located near the intersection of U.S. [email protected]