Shipwreck Museum Announces Winter Events in Sault Ste. Marie
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society will sponsor a wintertime speaker/lecture series event in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, on Monday, January 30, 2012, at the Soo Brewing Company, 223 West Portage Avenue, at 7:00 pm. Admission is free.
Speaker for this first 2012 winter event is Mr. Mike Fornes of Cheboygan, Michigan, who will be talking about his highly popular book, USCG Mackinaw: An Illustrated History of a Great Lakes Queen. The original Mackinaw (WAGB-83) was based in Cheboygan from 1944 to 2005 when she was replaced by the new Mackinaw (WLBB-30). The original vessel is now docked in Mackinaw City, Michigan, as a celebrated museum ship; and Cheboygan remains home port for the new vessel.
Fornes first published the book in 2005 and has dedicated it to the late Gordon Turner, perhaps the most beloved local newspaper editor ever known around northern Michigan.
The next scheduled event in this series will be historian Brian Jaeschke, on Monday, March 19, who will present Black Angels of the Ice: The Straits Railroad Ferries Sainte Marie and Chief Wawatam. This event will also be presented at Soo Brewing Company at 7:00 pm.
The public is cordially invited to attend; further events will be announced as the winter series is finalized. Please contact the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society at 635-1742 (or 800-635-1742) for more information.
Michigan Humanities Council Funding Restores Shipwreck Museum Panels, adds New Exhibits
The Shipwreck Society is pleased to report that a 2010 Major Grant from Michigan Humanities Council was successfully concluded at the end of November, 2011. This funding has supported professional restoration of selected exhibit panels in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Building, and also funded the addition of new exhibits.
Visitors to the museum in 2012 will enjoy an exciting presentation using new interpretive panels and a video display about the famous shipwrecks Carl D. Bradley and Daniel J. Morrell; a video display featuring Edmund Fitzgerald crew members and unique footage of her as she sailed, compiled from the Shipwreck Society’s collection of historic films of the Fitz; a new animated projection display depicting the location of the many shipwrecks around Whitefish Point; and complete restoration of many existing panels that had suffered the effects of time. This is the first time many Shipwreck Museum exhibits have undergone restoration since their original installation in 1987.
Our thanks go particularly to David Kronberg of Van Abel & Kronberg Design for his dedicated effort during the fall of 2011. We also thank Bruce Lynn, Society Operations Manager, Terry Begnoche, Site Manager, and Sean Ley, Development Officer for their time and expertise applied to completing this project. Steve Brisson, Deputy Director of Mackinac State Historic Parks served as the official Project Evaluator.
The Shipwreck Society extends sincere gratitude to Michigan Humanities Council for this funding. The Shipwreck Museum will open for the new season on May 1, 2012, when the new and restored exhibits will officially open for public viewing.
Emotional Ceremony Remembers the Edmund Fitzgerald
Dennis Hale, sole survivor of the Daniel J. Morrell disaster, was Keynote Speaker at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society’s annual Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Ceremony.
Dennis, now a very popular professional author and lecturer about his experience on Lake Huron in November of 1966, has developed a way of bringing crowds to understand the emotional significance of shipwreck with him, unparalleled by other speakers. He travels extensively throughout the country, telling his story, and his thrilling presentation at the Shipwreck Museum on November 10 was one of his best. He invited audience members to participate; the first individual to get up and offer her own reflections was Cheryl Rozman, who lost her father on the Fitzgerald. The audience was greatly moved by the power of these presentations.
The Shipwreck Society thanks Mike Fornes and the Whispers of the North band; Rev. Francis J. Ricca; the Newman Navy League of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario; U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, in particular Chief Marvin Lalone; Society Vice-President Bill McLeod; Operations Manager Bruce Lynn; and our many staff who worked so hard to make this event a success.
Please click directly below to see a brand-new video created by Society Board Member Corey Adkins of TV 9 and 10 News to remember the Fitz in 2011.
Through the Eyes of Captain Cooper: The Night the Fitzgerald Went Down
Shipwreck Museum Closes for Season
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum closed for the season on Monday, October 31. We thank our many visitors in 2011!
Normal operating hours resume on Tuesday, May 1, 2012.
Restoring the Whitefish Point Light Tower
The famous Whitefish Point Light Tower is exactly 150 years old in 2011. It is the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior, providing its life-saving beacon across the waters continuously since 1861. Today, this lighthouse remains a fully commissioned U.S. Coast Guard Aid to Navigation. Shipping companies firmly state that while modern electronic navigational methods as GPS and radar are of great help, it is still very important to be able to see this lighthouse as they approach the relative safety of Whitefish Bay.
While the U.S. Coast Guard operates the light, it no longer owns the historic tower. The tower, and its upkeep, are the responsibility of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society.
The Shipwreck Society is addressing Light Tower Restoration in three phases. Phase I, that included the Lantern Room, Watch Room, and all interior and exterior areas above the watch room deck, was completed in 2010.
The Society is now raising funds for Phase II. Phase II includes restoration work from the foundation up to the middle horizontal structural plane just above the walkway roof. Phase III, scheduled for 2012-2013, will complete the remaining upper skeletal structure.
A generous grant of $40,000 from the Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program partially supported Phase I, and a second $40,000 grant is partially supporting Phase II. The Shipwreck Society is selling Light Tower Stair Designations at $250 each for those who wish their names associated with the preservation of this historic lighthouse. Please click here to visit an area of our web site that provides more detailed information.
Please click here to visit our Donations Page to make a contribution to Save the Whitefish Point Light Tower. All contributions are welcome and are tax deductible. It is not necessary to login nor be a member of the Shipwreck Society to make a donation.
Light Tower Stair designations are also available at $250 each for patrons to remember or honor someone. To find out more about this opportunity, please call the Development Office, Great Lakes Shipwreck HIstorical Society, at 800-635-1742.
