Wrecking Crew: Winter, as we've learned, is the time when the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society folk have time to go over hours and hours of footage taken with Marine Sonic Technology from their wreck hunting seasons on the water. The news out of the society this week was about two more finds of two ships lost near Grand Marais, Mich., on Nov. 18, 1914, when 28 crew died. The SS C.F. Curtis was towing the schooner barges Selden E. Marvin and Annie M. Peterson from Baraga, Mich., to Tonawanda, N.Y., all loaded with lumber when howling winds, snow squalls and roaring waves hit them. None of the vessels and none of their crew were seen again … until the wreck hunting season of 2021 and 2022, when they were captured on remote operating vehicle (ROV) video from the society's research vessel, captained by Darryl Ertel. "In 2021 GLSHS located nine lost vessels including the C.F. Curtis," the society announced this week. "This discovery was a huge highlight for the team that summer. This ship that went missing over 100 years ago, was only a piece of the puzzle though … what about the Marvin and the Peterson? One year later in the summer of 2022, after a lot of work and a hint of luck, the crew in the shipwreck society’s research vessel, David Boyd, came across another shipwreck within a few miles of the Curtis. After putting the organization’s ROV on the wreck, it soon became apparent that the Marvin had been located!" What's up next? According to GLSHS Executive Director Bruce Lynn, “The combined losses of the C.F. Curtis, Selden E. Marvin and Annie M. Peterson have comprised one of the more tragic stories of shipwreck on the Great Lakes and certainly became one of the Lake Superior’s enduring mysteries. To locate the Curtis and Marvin in a space of two years has been amazing … now we just have to find the Peterson!'
A Second First: We're thinking it's a rare occasion when the same ocean-going vessel is the first saltie of the season for both the Duluth-Superior and Thunder Bay ports. But that's exactly what the Federal Dart is this year. The ship arrived under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge at at 3:30 p.m. Mar. 28 with about 23,000 short tons of Turkish cement to unload at Rice's Point in Duluth. It is the earliest spring arrival recorded of a saltie under the bridge to open the maritime season. Then last Friday, Apr. 7, the 5-year-old Marshall Islands-
flagged bulker berthed at Superior Elevator to take on a load of Canadian wheat. As is tradition, Capt. Anuvarat Arora, seen in this Michael Hull photo with Chief Engineer Samit Sachan, was bestowed the ceremonial Top Hat. (Michael also took the photo of the Dart with tug in Thunder Bay.) Port Board Director Pat Bushby, Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff and Christeann Hryb of Thunder Bay Shipping were on hand for the ceremony. Canon Ed Swayze of the local chapter of Mission to Seafarers provided a blessing. The Federal Dart left this past Sunday for the United Kingdom. The Port of Thunder Bay reports that visits from ocean-going vessels are up by 43% in the past decade.
More Ore: Lake Carriers' Association announced today that shipments of iron ore on the Great Lakes totaled 1.3 million tons in March, more than double their volume of a year ago. Loadings also topped the month’s 5-year average by 10.6%. Year-to-date the iron ore trade stands at 3.7 million tons, an increase of 53.5 percent compared to 2022. Iron ore shipments are 17.4 percent above their 5-year average for the first three months of the year.
Buy into an Island: Lake Superior’s largest privately owned island is for sale and the Nature Conservancy of Canada hopes people will help them buy it. NCC has reached a purchase agreement with the current owner of Batchewana Island south of Pancake Bay and and Batchawana Bay Provincial Parks. The island boasts 27 kilometres of shoreline encircling more than 2,000 hectares of mature and intact forests and wetlands. Its local residents include wolves, black bear, moose and more than 30 provincially significant bird species that "prowl, forage, den, nest and fly through the island’s woods. Many fish, including endangered lake sturgeon, spawn in the shallows offshore. The intact old-growth forests and wetlands that cover the island provide nature-based solutions to slow the pace of climate change by storing carbon, filtering water and supporting biodiversity," NCC reports. NCC has already raised 80% of the $7.2 million needed to purchase and care for the island property, but is hoping donors will cover the remainder.
Make Plans: Here are a few events coming up soon to put on a fun-do list:
Michigan
Saturday, Apr. 15: Join in the Festival of the Angry Bear to celebrate (and hasten) spring. The festival, hosted by Ore Dock Brewing Co., turns downtown Marquette into a block party with music, fun and, of course, new craft brews to sample.
Save the Dates, Apr. 21-22: The Keweenaw Dark Sky Park is hosting its first-ever event during Dark Sky Week with two days of workshops at the Upper Peninsula Dark Sky Festival. Stargazers and astrophotographers welcome.
Minnesota
Saturday-Saturday, Apr. 15-22: Cook County, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa; and the city of Duluth all have signed proclamations acknowledging International Dark Sky Week to bring attention to light pollution. Grand Portage's proclamation may be the first such by an Indigenous nation in the world, according to the announcement by Starry Skies North. Watch for events during the week, including an online showing Apr. 16 of the new documentary, “Northern Nights, Starry Skies,” at 7 p.m. Saturday (Apr. 16) featuring Travis Novitsky, Grand Portage Ojibwe, and directed by the vice president of Starry Skies North, Bob Foucault.
Apr. 15-16, 20-23: Enjoy the classic tale of Alice in Wonderland as performed by the Grand Marais Playhouse at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts in Grand Marais. Besides 7 p.m. evening performances, there will be Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. The performance this Sunday afternnoon is donation at the door, pay any amount. After the final performance the afternoon of Apr. 23, there will be a celebration of graduating seniors.
Sunday, Apr. 16: Drury Lane Books and Cook County Higher Education in Grand Marais hosts author Diane Wilson for a free community conversation on Zoom about her her award-winning book The Seed Keeper. "The Seed Keeper is a masterfully written story of reawakening, remembering our original relationship with seeds and, through them, with our ancestors," the organizers write. "The story follows three generations (1862-2002) of Dakota women as they struggle to preserve their way of life and their sacrifices to protect what is most important." Register online.
Sunday, Apr. 16: The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Spring Fundraiser takes place from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at the AAD Shrine Hermantown. The event will host a multitude of raffles, all donated by local establishments supporting local law enforcement, plus an egg smash for kids, a DJ and photo booth. The organization offers support to officers and their families in case of injury, illness or death. The funds also allow training seminars for members and their families.
Tuesday, Apr. 17: Tuesday Night Author Talks with Lorna Landvik & Vince Wyckoff will be at The Bookstore at Fitger’s in Duluth, where they will talk about their work, the writing process, upcoming projects. Light appetizers will be served and beverages will be available for purchase.
Wisconsin
Thru Apr. 29: Washburn Cultural Center's exhibition of I SEE, I PAINT: Paintings by Mati Palm-Leis continues through Apr. 29. The exhibit features Palm-Leis's large paintings on paper.
Friday, Apr. 14: Help Coco - Artisan Bakery & Good Eats in Washburn to celebrate 14 years (on the 14th - its golden anniversary) with a free slice of cake. You choose from gluten-free lemon, vegan chocolate, carrot cake, chocolate cake, red velvet cake or lemon cake.
Ontario
Saturday, Apr. 15: The Northland Barbershop Chorus returns with Life on the Farm at the Sault Community Theatre Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. The Yonge Guns Quartet will perform and Charlie Smith features his rural poetry.
Tuesday-Thursday, Apr. 18-20: The Brass Bell in Nipigon will hold a gently used clothing exchange for children in the George O'Neill School. The Brass Bell Family Resource Centre serves in Nipigon, Dorion, Terrace Bay, Manitouwadge, Schreiber, Red Rock and Marathon.
Editor's Choice in Duluth: Here's the advantage of editing an e-newsletter ... I get to help promote the organizations with which I'm involved. I hope to see you – because I'll be there – for a few sea shanty songs, good brews and great company at the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association's fun-raising gathering at Bent Paddle Brewing Co. starting at 6 p.m. Then on Saturday, all of you writers and would-be writers, come out for a workshop on Getting into Your Character's Head by writer and retired psychologist Doug Lewandowski at the Duluth Public Library, starting at 10:30 a.m. Both are free and open to all.
Photo & graphic credits: Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society; Michael Hull; Lake Carriers' Association; Gary McGuffin/Nature Conservancy of Canada; Ore Dock Brewing/Grand Marais Playhouse/Washburn Cultural Center/The Brass Bell