Our Blog
Wisconsin Marine Historical Society is a self-supported nonprofit organization committed to collecting, preserving, archiving, and sharing materials that illuminate the rich heritage of the Great Lakes maritime industry. Check out our blog to dive deep into the fascinating narratives and events that have shaped the Great Lakes maritime legacy.
THE GREATEST SHIPWRECK DIVER I NEVER HEARD OF: CONSERVING THE KLOPP COLLECTION – Part 1
March 18, 2023By James Heinz In a previous blog post I recounted my Great Lakes shipwreck diving adventures, which began in my youth in the 1970s. It was the time of the beginning of shipwreck sport diving. As is the case with most human endeavor, this kind of diving was advanced by…Read more
Long Ships Passing – Breakfast is Cooking
March 13, 2023By Chris Winters The JAMES R. BARKER’s Steward Jodi Bouchard checks on breakfast in the ship’s galley, upbound on Lake Superior, July 2017. ———————————- The JAMES R. BARKER was built in 1976 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Shipbuilding Co. for Pickands Mather & Co. of Cleveland, a subsidiary of…Read more
AN INUIT PRESENCE ON LAKE MICHIGAN
March 6, 2023By Richard E. Silberman MD Lake Michigan has been the stage for many maritime events, many of which made headlines. Sinkings and races have shared headlines while the Inuit presence on the Great Lakes has gone unnoticed by most people. It is interesting that people at the beaches and along…Read more
BORN IN FIRE, DIED IN FIRE: THE GREAT LAKES FREIGHTER ROGER BLOUGH
March 4, 2023By James Heinz Most modern Great Lakes freighters live uneventful lives. With the exception of the EDMUND FITZGERALD, most of them are built, serve, and are scrapped without much incident. They serve out their lives in quiet anonymity. But one modern freighter was unlike all the rest. She died the…Read more
Long Ships Passing – An Attentive Captain
February 16, 2023By Chris Winters Captain Eric Treece “in the window” aboard the WILFRED SYKES inbound on the Saginaw River, September 2002. ———————————- The WILFRED SYKES was built in 1949 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Inland Steel Co. Her namesake was the President of Inland Steel. …Read more
Mother Nature Freezes Carferries
February 12, 2023By Suzette Lopez On February 19, 1936, the steel carferry PERE MARQUETTE 22 got stuck in an ice field about two miles west of Ludington, Mich., along with the CITY OF FLINT 32. PERE MARQUETTE 18 was stuck about nine miles out in Lake Michigan and the CITY OF SAGINAW…Read more
THE BOAT THAT KEEPS MILWAUKEE SAFE
February 5, 2023By James Heinz In April of 2022 the WMHS blog posted my five part series on the history of the fireboats of Milwaukee entitled, “The Boats That Kept Milwaukee Safe.” I now conclude the saga of the Milwaukee fireboats by describing the boat that currently keeps Milwaukee safe. The book Milwaukee…Read more
Long Ships Passing – Hauling in a Heaving Line
February 2, 2023By Chris Winters A deckhand hauls in a heaving line at the Pittsburgh & Conneaut dock, Conneaut, Ohio, onboard the ARTHUR M. ANDERSON, January, 2015. ———————————- The ARTHUR M. ANDERSON was built in 1952 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. a division…Read more
Long Ships Passing – ROGER BLOUGH Deckhand
January 9, 2023By Chris Winters A deckhand returns to fresh air and sunlight after mucking out a ballast tank aboard the M/V ROGER BLOUGH, downbound on Lake Huron, October 2013. ————————— The ROGER BLOUGH was built in 1971 at Lorain, Ohio, by the American Ship Building Co. for the US Steel Corp.…Read more
The ARCTICUS’ Galley Is Home to the Only Arctic Grayling on the Great Lakes
January 1, 2023By James Heinz This is the story of a research vessel, named for a Great Lakes fish that no longer inhabits the Great Lakes basin, which does fishery research for an organization that studies rocks, and all of this because of the spotted owl. As you may have guessed, something…Read more
THE CHRISTMAS TREE SHIP LIVES ON IN MANY PLACES
January 1, 2023By James Heinz On November 23, 1912, what has become known as the Christmas Tree Ship foundered in Lake Michigan with all 16 people on board near Two Rivers, Wisconsin. She went on to become a true legend of the lakes. She was a three-masted wooden schooner built in 1868…Read more
Long Ships Passing – Gumby on board
December 30, 2022By Chris Winters The galley crew of the steamer EDWARD L. RYERSON don neoprene “Gumby” survival suits during a weekly lifeboat drill, upbound on Lake Superior, November 2006. Survival suits became required lifesaving equipment aboard lake freighters after the loss of the EDMUND FITZGERALD in November 1975. ———————————- The EDWARD…Read more
