Duluth, Minnesota - September 18, 2002

For a quiet guy, Elmer Engman has started some powerful conversations about Lake Superior and the Great Lakes.

He began an annual gathering - the Gales of November - for divers to talk shop; it’s grown into a chance for hundreds of Great Lakes lovers of every ilk to discuss the latest thing on diving, maritime history and the lake environment. He provided food for thought and discussion by making public his 4,000-plus volume collection on all things aquatic.

For generous efforts to promote enthusiasm and protection for Lake Superior and its history, Lake Superior Magazine presents Elmer Engman with its 2002 Achievement Award.

“Elmer is an inspiring example of how individuals can contribute to the preservation of our maritime culture and natural resources,” says Editor Konnie LeMay.

The Duluth, Minnesota, man has taught people - young and old - diving skills to enhance their enjoyment of Lake Superior and other waters. His Innerspace Scuba Center offers advice as well as equipment, and he has guided divers around the world. He has served on countless boards and advisory committees charged with the care of maritime treasures like the SS Meteor, the Lake Superior Marine Museum and the Great Lakes Aquarium & Freshwater Discovery Center.

Elmer has always had a passion for waters both fresh and salt. Although he grew up literally beside Lake Superior, it was a Frank Sinatra movie, “Assault on a Queen,” that inspired him and a teen-age friend to take their first diving class. Diving the lake later, they found two unopened bottles of champagne. Being from Minnesota, they weren’t tempted to tipple - “we were underage,” Elmer says - but the bottles reinforce what Elmer loves about diving: “You never know what you’ll find.”

A man of few words, Elmer speaks with actions, says Dennis Medjo, also in the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association. Medjo points to Elmer’s hybrid electric/gas car as an example. “He’s a real solid environmentalist.” Elmer simply calls the car “the right thing to do.”

The aquatic collection that Elmer donated to the University of Wisconsin-Superior holds materials on diving, archeology, oceanography, marine life, maritime history and even a few children’s pop-up books on marine topics.

“We get contributions constantly, but one that is so focused and of this quality, you don’t get one more than every 20 years or so,” says UWS archivist Laura Jacobs. UWS also holds archives of Lake Superior Marine Museum Association. 

Elmer is most known for creation of the Gales of November, now in its 15th year. When he started Gales, Elmer wanted to bring together Great Lakes divers and to promote the SS Meteor museum. Over the years, program proceeds aided many lake groups, and it has developed into a forum for information on diving and maritime history and research. The program discourages dive scavenging, which cannot be justified in fresh water that preserves wrecks, Elmer says. Last year, Elmer officially passed the Gales torch - and fund-raising benefits - to Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, co-sponsors with Lake Superior Magazine. Last year more than 600 people attended.

The Gales of November program and other such Great Lakes-wide conversations go a long way toward recognizing and preserving our special resources. For his part in this conversation, we honor Elmer Engman with our Achievement Award, given each year to a community, organization or person for making a lasting contribution to the whole of Lake Superior.

The award is announced in the current issue of Lake Superior Magazine, a full-color consumer publication issued six times a year in Duluth, Minnesota. The magazine is available by subscription, at newsstands and from the publisher's office at 325 Lake Avenue South, Suite 600, Duluth, Minnesota 55802. For more information, call 888-BIG LAKE (244-5253). www.lakesuperior.com/