C. Patrick “Pat” Labadie has spent a career seeking out, gathering, preserving
and protecting vast quantities of Lake Superior maritime history and stories.
As director of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lake Superior Maritime
Visitor Center in Duluth, Minnesota, Pat has become an invaluable and oft-tapped
resource for the entire lake.
His career started back in his native Detroit at the Dossin Great Lakes
Museum, beginning its current era when he was appointed director of the
visitor center since just before its construction in 1973. Last year the
Duluth visitor center earned Class A status within the Corps, having grown
as a focal point for preservation of history and artifacts.
The Lake Superior Magazine Achievement Award is given to a community,
organization or person who has made a lasting contribution to the whole
of Lake Superior. In the past, the magazine has given the award to international
organizations, cooperating groups, cities and individuals. That an individual’s
accomplishments can benefit the lake is personified in Pat Labadie, who
26 years ago organized the now 500-member Lake Superior Marine Museum Association.
He has worked for the Detroit Historical Commission and the Saugatuck Marine
Museum in Douglas, Michigan, and served as a consultant to the Great Lakes
Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio, the U.S. National Park Service for
Isle Royale and Pictured Rocks and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National parks,
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Michigan Bureau of History,
Smithsonian Institution, National Geographic Society, Minnesota Historical
Society, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Ohio State University.
Patrick’s is a lifetime of building trust among people around Lake Superior
and the two surrounding countries. Pat knows whereof he speaks when he
speaks about Lake Superior’s maritime history. And if he doesn’t know,
he knows who knows and can direct you there. Those “wood sticks” most fascinate
Pat, with pre-Civil War wooden vessels his particular interest.
Pat often spends evenings and weekends collecting artifacts, speaking to
groups, instructing divers on underwater archeology or working with environmental
protection groups. He spreads the word of preservation and remembrance.
Not all of his service has been above water. As a certified diver, Pat
has gone below the surface to wreck sites for preservation of the vessels
and the story of the sailors who once served them.
In the past, he has received many honors, including being named Great Lakes
Historian of the Year by the Marine Historical Society of Detroit, receiving
the Ancient Mariner Award from the Marquette (Michigan) Maritime Museum,
earning the Presidential Award for contributions to regional history from
the St. Louis County (Minnesota) Historical Society, being selected as
the North Central Division “Take Pride in America” winner in the individual
category and receiving the Corps of Engineers Hiram M. Chittenden Award
for Interpretive Excellence. These show his lakewide influence.
In awarding C. Patrick Labadie the Achievement Award this year, we know
that his lifetime of service will probably not end with his pending retirement
in March 2000. However, it is an appropriate time to call attention to
a selfless individual whose main desire is to “get it right” and help others
discover the stories about the wood that sticks out of the water.
Past Award Winners
1998 John and Ann Mahan, Authors/Publishers
1997 North of Superior Marina Marketing Association
1996 Cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan & Ontario
1995 Lake Superior Binational Forum
1994 Craig Blacklock, photographer
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