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.
MACKINAW (WLBB 30) Completes Inspection
October 19, 2024Tom Wenstadt, our Door County correspondent, reports that the USCGC MACKINAW (WLBB 30) departed the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding yard October 16th after completing its 5-year inspection and other maintenance and improvements. The vessel arrived at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding back on August 24, 2024. She was built by Marinette Marine…Read more
JAMES R. BARKER arrives in Sturgeon Bay
October 17, 2024Tom Wenstadt, our Door County correspondent, reports that the M/V JAMES R. BARKER arrived at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Wednesday, October 16th (2024). The BARKER was assisted by the tug DONALD J. SARTER and is docked next to the FBS graving dock. The BARKER was christened August 7, 1976, at the…Read more
Long Ships Passing – Launch of the MACKINAW
October 16, 2024By Chris Winters The Coast Guard's heavy icebreaker MACKINAW WLBB 30 is side-launched into the Menomonee River at Marinette Marine on April 2, 2005. The "New Mack"–unlike her beloved WWII-era namesake and predecessor– is capable of buoy tending, law enforcement and interdiction, search and rescue, and environmental remediation response. The U.S. Coast Guard…Read more
ONCE THEY DID IT BY HAND: THE HISTORY OF THE MACKINAC BOAT
October 13, 2024By James Heinz In a recent article about the Roger Street Fishing Museum, I noted that the original Great Lakes fishermen used a type of small sailboat called a Mackinac boat, a replica of which is on display at that museum. The Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) boat’s design begins with the…Read more
ANOTHER MEMORIAL TO ANOTHER FORGOTTEN SHIP – USS MILWAUKEE
October 13, 2024By James Heinz My previous story about the bell of the USS WISCONSIN being on display in front of the Wauwatosa, Wis., Fire Department told how proposals to move the bell to the War Memorial on Milwaukee’s lakefront were rejected by Wauwatosa officials. This is the story of another memorial…Read more
Long Ships Passing – Logging Engine Orders
October 13, 2024By Chris Winters The chief engineer is logging engine orders aboard the John G. Munson, which was departing Buffington, Indiana, In December, 2015. --------------------------------------------- The steel JOHN G. MUNSON was built in 1952 at Manitowoc, Wisconsin, by the Manitowoc Ship Building Co. for the Bradley Transportation Line a division of…Read more
Spoiler Alert – It’s Marilyn Monroe
October 13, 2024ONCE THERE WERE MANY, NOW THERE IS ONE: THE LAST COMMERCIAL FISHING BOAT OUT OF TWO RIVERS AND ITS CONNECTION TO A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE STAR By James Heinz In a previous article on the Rogers Street Fishing Village Museum in Two Rivers, Wis., I covered the history of the commercial…Read more
WHERE YOU CAN SEE ME ACHIEVING HOLLYWOOD STARDOM IN MANITOWOC WISCONSIN
October 13, 2024By James Heinz Ever since I told you the story of how I achieved Hollywood stardom aboard the World War II submarine USS COBIA at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, Wis., my adoring public has demanded that I let them see my cinematic triumph. OK, I made that part…Read more
ON THIS DAY A LAKE MICHIGAN WRECK FELL FROM OUTER SPACE
October 13, 2024By James Heinz Not all the wrecks at the bottom Lake Michigan are ships. Michigan state underwater archeologist Wayne Lusardi has compiled a list of over 1,100 aircraft that have fallen into the Great Lake, starting with balloonists who went missing in the 1870s. In a previous article, I wrote…Read more
A Lake Superior hurricane claimed the SUNBEAM
October 13, 2024On August 28, 1863, the passenger steam paddle SUNBEAM went to the bottom in a fierce storm on Lake Superior called by some as a hurricane. All on board, reportedly 30 crew and passengers, were lost except the wheelsman John Frazer. The following recounts the event in Beers History…Read more
The DANIEL J. MORRELL was launched on August 22, 1906
October 13, 2024On August 22, 1906, the DANIEL J. MORRELL was launched at West Bay City, Mich., by the West Bay City Shipbuilding Co. for the Cambria Steamship Company of the M. A. Hanna Company. It was a busy week for Great Lakes shipping. Just days before the MORRELL, the Chicago…Read more
We honor two World War II Coast Guard mascots for International Dog Day
October 13, 2024On August 26th we honored two World War II Coast Guard mascots for International Dog Day. The first is Spar. Featured here wearing her dress blues, complete with first class yeoman rating, campaign ribbons which she earned and wings for her plane jump. Spar in this photo is a two-year-old…Read more
