A Hero's Cutter: Thursday the U.S. Coast Guard commissioned into service the 154-foot USCG cutter Edgar Culbertson in Galveston, Tex., its home port. The vessel has a close tie to our Lake Superior region. Boatswains Mate First Class Edgar A. Culbertson posthumously earned the Coast Guard Medal, the guard's highest peacetime recognition of heroism, after he died April 30, 1967, while trying to rescue three teenage brothers swept from the Duluth Ship Canal pier in a storm. Edgar also was swept over the side by a huge wave, and though he had been tied to two other
Guardsmen, Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Richard R. Callahan and Fireman Ronald C. Prei, who also volunteered in the rescue attempt, Edgar did not survive. All three were awarded the Coast Guard Medal. Eric, Nathan and Arthur Halverson were never recovered. Edgar's friend, Capt. Tom Mackay, a now retired Vista Fleet captain, spearheaded placement of a bronze memorial plaque to him and the boys on the north pier. Cap't Tom, as he's nicknamed, did a story about the 1967 tragedy and establishment of the now annual commemoration for Lake Superior Magazine. The new cutter crew’s primary missions will be living marine resources, search and rescue and other law enforcement along 900 miles of coastline for the Coast Guard’s Eighth District, from Carrabelle, Flo., to Brownsville, Tex. The vessel photos show the cutter's crew assembling for the manning of the rails during the commissioning ceremony. Also pictured is retired USCG Master Chief Petty Officer Charles "Skip" Bowen presenting a plaque to Cristin Alpert, the vessel's sponsor and Edgar's daughter. A video shows the full 1-hour ceremony.
High Sweetwater Seas: Thanks to Tropical Storm Cristobal, we're told, Lake Superior kicked up a few waves along the south shore this week. Jeff Goff in Michigan's Upper Peninsula photographed this shot of the Big Lake "kicking up her heels pretty good" on Thursday. "I believe the temperature went from the 70s to the 40s by the water," Jeff noted. He also noted, sadly, an abundance of trash at the site (please practice social responsibility as well as social distancing!). Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released another high-water warning (with a beautiful sunrise photo of Duluth's north pier lighthouse) and announced lakes Lakes Michigan, Huron, St. Clair and Erie all set high-water records for May. That broke previous 1986 records for Michigan and Huron and 2019 records for St. Clair and Erie. (Lake St. Clair, of course, is part of the Great Lakes system, a waypoint between Lakes Huron and Erie.) "As we enter the summer months, all of the lakes are either in their period of seasonal rise or are reaching their peak, except Lake Ontario, which will likely begin its seasonal decline this month," the Corps notes. Higher than average May rainfall in some Great Lakes' basins caused the record-breaking highs. "The water level of Lakes Michigan and Huron has now risen above the peak level that was reached last year,” John Allis, chief of the Great Lakes Hydraulics and Hydrology Office, Detroit District, said in the release. The Corps predicts other monthly records broken for those lakes this year. The new release had no mention of Lake Superior, which experienced a May rise of water level about half of its usual because of an unusually dry May, according to a release through the International Lake Superior Board of Control.
As the Wave Turns: Diver/photographer Christian Dalbec posted a series of photos along with a short explanation of a Lake Superior water curl (aka wave) as it plunges back under the surface. "The sequence of a vortex underwater. When the wave tip crashes down back to the water surface, it pushes air under with force and makes these awesome formations we call a wave vortex. Cool eh!" Eh yeah, cool indeed, and check out the full series.
Posthumous Pardon: The Minnesota Board of Pardons gave its first posthumous pardon today, pardoning Max Mason, an African-American man wrongly convicted in 1920 of raping a white woman in Duluth. Her accusation sparked the arrest of six black men, three of whom were lynched on June 15, 1920. Only Max Mason was later convicted and sentenced to 30 years, though he was released after five years on promise of leaving the state, reports Faith Karimi for CNN this morning. The pardon came with the full support of the St. Louis County Attorney Mark Rubin, who said the case would not be prosecuted today. None of those involved in the lynchings were charged with murder. A memorial plaza to Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson and Isaac McGhie, the men lynched, was dedicated in 2003 in Duluth. Most commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary have been postponed until 2021 because of COVID-19, but a mural painting memorializing George Floyd and Breonna Taylor took place at the plaza on Monday along with filming of a documentary that will be shown Monday on the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial site's Facebook page. Some online sessions about the lynchings also continue on the Minnesota Historical Society Facebook page.
Off the Tracks: There have been cancellations of a lot of tour services this year, notably no ferry service to Isle Royale from either Minnesota or Michigan, but another sad note came this week with the announcement that the Agawa Canyon Tour Train out of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has been cancelled for 2020. The trains, which run once daily in summer, travel 228 miles round-trip between downtown Sault Ste. Marie and the canyon. Currently, travel between the United States and Canada continues to be restricted, with no non-essential border crossings expected through June and into late July, according to a story this week by Suzanne Rowan Kelleher for Forbes.
Grounded: The U.S. Coast Guard's Sault Ste. Marie Sector responded to the grounding of 302-foot barge in lower St. Marys River near Sweets Point this week. The owner of the barge, Purvis Marine, enacted its vessel response plan and was developing a salvage plan for Barge PML2501 to be submitted to the Coast Guard for review, according to the Coat Guard. The barge was being towed by the 132-foot Anglian Lady. Coast Guard marine casualty investigators and pollution responders also investigated the incident. A Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Traverse City conducted an overflight of the area and did not identify any release of pollution from the barge. The USCG reported Wednesday that the barge had taken on water in a ballast tank and was currently stable. The Coast Guard established a safety zone around the navigable waters of the barge PML2501. All vessels are required to remain 500 yards from it. The barge is carrying 3,622 metric tons of coal tar and approximately 6,340 gallons of diesel fuel. Their last port of call was Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., en route to Burns Harbor, Ind.
Helping the Helpers: Duluth's Damiano Center, which serves people in need, endured many broken windows during violence amid peace protests over the death of George Floyd. Now a local window provider, Heritage Window & Door, has kicked off a campaign to replace those windows. "Serving as the largest emergency meal provider in Northeastern Minnesota, they have continuously showed up for their community, even throughout these unprecedented times," Heritage Window & Door said about the Damiano Center in a press release today. "The center provides meals 13 times a week to anyone who is hungry in their parking lot and four meals a week with activities for children and their families at their Kids' Kitchen entrance. … Heritage Window & Door is stepping up to give back by donating their labor and raising money to help cover the cost of materials to replace the center’s broken and shattered windows." The company encourages donations from $5 and up at the center's donation site. The center also has been featuring the stories of its workers and volunteers. Today's was Executive Director Seth Currier (in photo), who started working in the center's kitchen. "For 38 years Damiano has been providing essential services to anyone who needs them. Because the Damiano is here people have been fed, clothed, and received so many services that they need for daily life. And they have received these essential services without judgement and with a smile. That is so important."
End to Activity (Sheets, That Is): The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore posted its last Friday Activity sheet as classes also ended this week in Wisconsin schools. This sheet calls for you to match tracks to the English and/or Ojibwe names for the critters that make them. The lakeshore, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has a complete online listing of all Home Activity sheets. "Ojibwe animal names are very descriptive," the post notes. "In the Ojibwe language, many words and their definitions are largely based on observation. The meaning of these animal names relates to their actions, sounds, appearance or characteristics. Whenever you see animal tracks, try to imagine what they were doing or how they felt. Were they running, frightened, mad, jumping, digging or limping? You can also study the tracks that you make. Look at your tracks, examine them closely and ask those same questions. Consider where and what type of tracks you will make in the future." And the final challenge for these kid trackers: What track most closely resembles the prints you would make if you were barefoot? Hint ... it's not the deer.
Photo & graphic credits: USCG Officer Trainee Marissa Skidmore; side photos by USCG Petty Officer 3rd Class Paige Hause; Jeff Goff; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Christian Dalbec; Agawa Canyon Tour Train; U.S. Coast Guard Sault Sector; Damiano Center; Apostle Islands National Lakeshore