Wrecking Crew: The crew of the RV David Boyd (in photo), the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society's research vessel, has discovered three shipwrecks on the bottom of Lake Superior this summer. The Marine Operations team, linked to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, does sonar scanning in summers to search for sunken vessels that remain lost. The crew searched more than 700 underwater miles this season. This year Marine Sonic Technology, a supplier of side scan and collision sonar, aided the search. Corey Adkins of 9&10 News reported on the summer job of the David Boyd. "This has been a phenomenal year," society Executive Director Bruce Lynn told Corey. "In a few weeks, we found three shipwrecks. That's not usual, that's not normal for us." And the discovered wrecks are: the schooner-barge Dot, lost in 1883; the schooner-barge F.W. Wheeler, lost in 1885; and the schooner-barge Michigan, lost in 1901." Of the Michigan, a double-deck vessel, Darryl Ertel, director of the historical society's Marine Operations, told Corey, "It was unique and I looked for this one for 35, 40 years and so did others."
Flag over Minong: The flag of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa now flies beside the U.S. flag at Isle Royale National Park. Isle Royale, originally called "Minong" by the Ojibwe people, translated to "The Good Place," according to Tim Cochrane, former superintendent of the Grand Portage National Monument and author of a book that outlines the Ojibwe spiritual, cultural and physical history on the island. Tim's book quotes the late Norman W. Deschampe, who was chairman of the Grand Portage Band, about the island and that quote was reprinted in this Tuesday's ceremony program: "Isle Royale is part of our territory, part of our history, and part of our families. We continue to fish there. Grand Portage Ojibwe lived, died, and were born there. … That history does not fade in a few generations. We remember." To celebrate the flag raising, representatives of the Grand Portage Band, including Chairman Bob Deschampe, joined National Park Service representatives, including Isle Royale Superintendent Denice Swanke, in a ceremony and celebration. Tim also spoke. The Stone Bridge provided drumming and singing. Ojibwe historian Mary Ann Gagnon, who took these photos, also did a video of the flag raising. Rhonda Silence did a story about the event for WTIP radio. Rhonda notes the meaning of the colors and symbols on the Grand Portage flag: There are four symbols in the seal, a turtle, an arrow, a caribou and a pipe. Gagnon said each symbol has a different meaning. The turtle represents “Turtle Island,” which is the center of the universe for the Anishinaabe. The arrow represents hunting for subsistence for the survival of the Grand Portage people. The caribou represents the caribou clan, of which many Grand Portage band members are members. The pipe is a sacred emblem of peace, representing the smoking of tobacco and spiritual practices. The colors of the flag have meaning as well. The color green represents the land and forest. The color blue represents Lake Superior, water and sky. White represents the moon and yellow represents the sun. Finally, the circle on the flag is the circle of life and the white lines represent the Four Directions." The flag raising represents a change of direction, too, for the island park, since the National Park Service designated Isle Royale as a "traditional cultural property" in 2019 to recognize its Ojibwe heritage.
Rescue Dogs: These aren't the usual dog rescues, but the dog sled community has come to the aid of other mushers whose teams are in danger from the fire in the Superior National Forest. Manitou Crossing Kennels took in 18 evacuee pups and posted this update from veterinarian Jennifer Freking on Tuesday: "We are very relieved and grateful to everyone who helped evacuate the sled dog kennels who were in the fire's path at this point. It was absolutely amazing. 48 hours ago, Blake (Freking) informed me of a fire at Greenwood lake that was ripping. I wasn’t sure exactly where that is but was driving to the Ely Vet Clinic to tend to some emergencies when it was very clear to me where it was and where it was headed. A few phone calls placed to mushers in the region and in only 3 hours there were more then enough dog
trucks to move the over 200 dogs in the area out as soon as needed. At that point, it was about 5 miles away and calming for the night. 40 dogs were evacuated. Monday afternoon and evening the remaining dogs were moved safely and efficiently. I have to commend all the mushers and their dogs on the obvious good health and socializing of these dogs. Not a hackle raised or any tension between all these dogs. It shouldn’t surprise me as I know the time, love, and commitment we mushers pour into our dogs, but it was remarkable." You can see a video of the happy pups and read a story by Baihly Warfield of WDIO about more than 100 dogs evacuated from the White Wilderness Sled Dog Adventures kennels. With the Greenwood Fire threatening his home and kennel, Peter McClelland said he did the first thing on his fire plan Greenwood Fire, detected Sunday afternoon, was about 15 miles southwest of Isabella, Minn., and estimated to be around 4,000 acres.
Big Screens by the Big Lake: The 11th edition of the Duluth Superior Film Festival gets under way this afternoon through Sunday with plenty of local screenings, discussions with film-makers and those all important after parties. The festival revolves around the Zeigeist building in downtown and brought together a number of interesting film sponsors featuring films linked to their missions … including the American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO), the area NAACP, the Twin Ports Asian Pacific Islander Desi Americans (the APIDA Collective) and the Duluth News Tribune (for a film on a small town newspaper.). See the full line-up online.
Just a Boat Note: Lots of vessels coming and going across Lake Superior this week, as can be expected in the height of the maritime season. But one special ship made it all the way across to Duluth for an overnight stay on a training run. The State of Michigan, based in Traverse City, Mich., is a training vessel for the Great Lakes Maritime Academy there and it headed out of the Twin Ports this morning. These images of the vessel at Sault Ste. Marie (we believe) were actually taken by an alumnus of the program serving on the Walter J. McCarthy Jr. A story about the ship and its history was posted by Craig Manning for The Ticker. Also this week, the Chamber of Marine Commerce released figures about the maritime trade in general to date for the season (showing, we think, it's a good career to consider). According to the chamber, latest figures show St. Lawrence Seaway cargo volumes from March 22 to July 31 totaled 16.7 million metric tons, up 5% over the same period last year. Total grain shipments from Canada and United States are down about 12% from 2020, but the uptick in overall totals reflects the diversity of the Great Lakes–Seaway system, the chamber press release notes. Within the dry bulk cargo category, petroleum coke shipments are up 93%. 'Pet coke is being exported from the Port of Duluth-Superior and the Port of Toledo to the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and other countries for both steel and cement production,' said Bruce Burrows, president and CEO of the Chamber. Year-to-date iron ore shipments through the Seaway hit 3.5 million metric tons through July, an increase of 23% from a year ago. Cement shipments topped 1 million tons, up 25% from 2020. 'Cement is being transported from manufacturing plants in Ontario and Quebec to ports across those provinces, as well as across the border to Cleveland, Buffalo and Toledo. We are even seeing cement imported from overseas to Duluth-Superior,' Burrows added. At the Port of Duluth-Superior, 4.2 million tons of cargo was transported in July, the largest July tonnage since 2015, putting the port at a 40% total increase over last year’s pace and 6% above the five-season average. “It’s been a good first half of the shipping season and a vigorous rebound from the COVID challenges of 2020,” said Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. “It’s been especially good to see iron ore tonnage jumping back above the five-season average, because it’s a bellwether of positivity for our port and our region as a whole. Each ore ship carries between $7 million and $8 million in ore value, so while they’re moving a key raw material of everyday life, they’re also moving a sizable amount of commerce for our communities and the North American economy.” For the season, iron ore shipments have topped 9.5 million tons to finish July 12.6% above the five-season average and 31% above the same time period a year ago.
On the (Tropical?) Shores of Big Lake: One hardly connects the sound of the ukulele with the chilly waters of Lake Superior, but today through Sunday, that's what you'll hear at the Silver Creek Music Pavilion. The Two Harbors Ukelele Group is sponsoring the Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival throughout the weekend. Events start at 4 p.m. today with a Facebook Live broadcast (this photo is the Facebook Live performance from 2019) at Silver Creek. There will be food, fun and large groups playing their ukuleles. Find the full schedule online from the today's openers through the Gospel Strum on Sunday.
Tidbits from the Tip: This weekend at the Copper Harbor Art in the Park on Saturday and Sunday brings a double whammy of good stuff for the Copper Harbor Trails Club. The club joins the multitude of vendors near the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula and will be selling this poster by Amanda Manders and other fund-raising items heading into its 28th Annual Copper Harbor Trails Fest over Labor Day weekend. The group also gets to tout its new major sponsor for the event, announcing a four-year partnership with the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. Besides that announcement, the lodge, which is repositioning itself as a year-round outdoor-activity oriented venue, also released a review of its 2020-21 winter season, only the third winter opening in the lodge’s 87-year-history. Needless to say, the lodge anticipates a fourth winter opening later this year. Oh, and after you stroll thorugh the Art in the Park, which is at Grant Township Park, drop by Grandpa’s Barn on Saturday where our author, Kathy Groth, will be signing her book, SUNKEN, from 1-3 p.m. Tell her we sent ya!
Music at Lakenenland: One of the funkiest free attractions in the Lake Superior neighborhood is having a free music fest this weekend. Lakenenland Sculpture Park, created by Tom Lakenen's metal sculpting skills, blossomed on Tom's land just east of Marquette. It now boasts about 100 sculptures echoing Tom's own fun-loving vision (like these sunflowers posted by Courtney Kay on the Lakenenland fan page). Doug Garrison of Word on the Street did a great feature on the place this week, and he asked Tom about that free entry fee. “I just want people to come out and enjoy the place,” Tom told him. Doug notes this is a place worth paying for ... even though you don't have to. "Refreshing? Absolutely. It’s almost unheard of. But that’s the real deal, as is Tom Lakenen," Doug writes. "As a member of Boilermakers Local 627, Tom knows his way around a hunk of iron and an oxy acetylene torch (whatever that is), but that doesn’t explain the motivation behind building a sculpture park boasting more than 100 pieces, and still growing. … Some two decades ago, Tom, with the 'encouragement' of his wife, Lisa, decided it was time to makes some life changes … like discontinuing the practice of drinking as many as 30 beers a day. Every day. Unsurprisingly, he suddenly had a lot of extra time and energy on his hands. As a result, Tom cranked up his tools, hauled in some donated material and became what he calls a 'junkyard artist.' In 2003, Lakenenland opened to the public." This weekend will give you the perfect excuse to visit Tom's unique sculpture garden. The Lakenenland Music Fest opens 4 p.m. today and offers a solid line-up every hour. On stage starting at 5 p.m. today are Backroads 906, Trailer Hitch and Flat Broke Blues Band, Saturday, starting at noon, enjoy Jake Johnson, Sarah Shingeck, Freda Shingeck, Just the Two of Us, Derrell Syria Project, Jerry Mills, Paul and Annie and closing with Whiskey Ryan. There will also be a food truck, carry-ins welcome and you can even do rustic camping. The event, like the sculpture park, is free, but donations always help.
Photo & graphic credits: Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society; Mary Ann Gagnon; Manitou Crossing Kennels; Duluth Superior Film Festival; Great Lakes Maritime Academy; Two Harbors Ukulele Group; Amanda Manders/Copper Harbor Trails Club; Courtney Kay