New Exhibit at the Door County Maritime Museum

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Brian Kelsey (bkelsey@dcmm.org)
Mon, 19 May 2008 09:57:19 -0500



From: "Brian Kelsey" <bkelsey@dcmm.org>
Subject: New Exhibit at the Door County Maritime Museum
Date: Mon, 19 May 2008 09:57:19 -0500
Message-ID: <004301c8b9c0$a8d80d50$fa8827f0$@org>

DCMMFWFlogo.jpg

Prepare to Be Blown Away!

Freshwater Fury Rages at the Door County Maritime Museum Beginning May 24, 2008

 

Media contact:

Brian Kelsey

bkelsey@dcmm.org

920.743.5958

Photos available upon request

 

 

Freshwater Fury

"Erie, and Ontario, and Huron, and Superior, and Michigan - possess an ocean-like expansiveness, with many of the ocean's noblest traits . . . they are swept by Borean and dismasting blasts as direful as any that lash the salted wave; they know what shipwrecks are, for out of sight of land, however inland, they have drowned full many a midnight ship with all its shrieking crew."

  Herman Melville, "Moby Dick"

 

In his novel, Melville singles out the bitter defeat of sailors by nature and understood the ferocity of the lake's fury. Singly each lake is an inland sea, larger, more dangerous, and with dirtier weather than many. Their violent winter seas can lift a steel freighter as if she were a canoe and turn her over or set her broken on the shore.

 

In November of 1913, one of the worst storms in recorded history occurred. Not only chaos on the lakes, but also the disruption of communications and travel across seven states and Canadian provinces for days. In Cleveland, the city hardest hit of all, commerce, public utilities, and traffic came to a standstill.

 

The stories from this storm were many - some true, some false, some overstated, some understated, but all incredible. The men who lived through this storm never forgot the force of the wind, the blinding blizzard, the tumult of the seas, the staggering loss of lives and ships. How many lost will never be known - over 250 at sea and on land.

 

To this day, the secret of why many freighters foundered remains buried at the bottom of the lakes. Two weeks before the navigation season was to close and ships were safe in winter berths, practically without warning, Freshwater Fury sent a score of modern freighters to their doom. Twelve ships disappeared with all hands, leaving nothing to tell of their last battle with the sea.

 

 "There have been many storms in the past supposedly violent, but this one was unprecedented. It raged with uncommon force, especially on Lake Huron, and proved to be the most destructive in the history of the lakes. As nearly as can be traced, 235 sailors lost their lives in this storm, 44 of them on Lake Superior, 7 on Lake Michigan, 6 on Lake Erie, and 178 of them on Lake Huron. The storm threw a great pall over lake shipping and practically demoralized lake trade for the balance of the season."

                          Annual Report, Lake Carriers Association, Cleveland, Ohio 1913

 

The Door County Maritime Museum's staff and volunteers are finalizing the new exhibit "Freshwater Fury" which tells the amazing tale of the greatest storm ever recorded on the Great Lakes, which took place in November 1913. Many of us living in the Great Lakes region are all too familiar with the powerful weather we see in fall and winter. While this occurs with some regularity, there are probably a dozen storms noted for their severity, causing extensive losses of life and property. It is argued as to which is the more powerful or destructive, but is generally agreed the November 7-10th storm of 1913 was one of the worst on record - with a death toll of 235 or more, and upwards of 40 shipwrecks, 11 sinking with all hands. Freezing water, 35-foot waves, 75 mph winds, a lack of sophisticated communication and weather forecasting all played a part in the disaster. And in the wake of the storm were the dead, the stricken vessels, and the survivors. By presenting historic photographs, newspaper articles, and the personal accounts of lake masters and their crew, we will look at the ships and ask why they sank or how they survived. We invite visitors to step onto the deck of a ship about to sink; watch the storm's fury from a virtual pilothouse; or don a life-vest and telegraph a call in distress in hopes of a returning assurance of help.

Weather forecasters of the time did not have enough data or understanding of atmospheric dynamics to predict the storm's growth - data collected was already hours behind the actual weather event. With the help of Green Bay's WLUK meteorologist Tara Hastings, we will present a weather model recreating the storm's development and path as it happened in 1913. We will show images along the shore and in Cleveland where blizzards paralyzed the region under snow and ice, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage (1913 dollars). Power was out for days across Michigan, northern Ohio, and Ontario, cutting off telephone and telegraph communications.

From the aftermath we have stories of those sailors who weathered the storm, photographs, newspaper accounts, and personal mementos. We will show the taped interview of wheelsman Ed Kanaby of the stranded freighter H.A. Hawgood, and actual footage a life-saving team's drill of 1914. There were also several long-tem consequences of the storm resulting in more accurate weather forecasting and better communication of proper storm warnings. Criticism of the shipping companies and shipbuilders led to safer designs for vessels with greater stability and strength. Even today, as improved as technology has become, storms act with an unpredictable violence on the Lakes - and we have the stories and footage of those freighters still fighting the freshwater fury of November's Great Lakes.

Freshwater Fury opens to the public on Saturday, May 24, 2008 and will run through Tuesday, January 20, 2009. Museum hours are 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. beginning May 24, 2008. Admission is $7 for adults and $4 for children. The Museum's Sturgeon Bay headquarters is located at 120 N. Madison Ave., Sturgeon Bay, WI and can be reached by phoning 920.743.5958 or via our website at www.dcmm.org

The Door County Maritime Museum was founded in 1969 and preserves the rich maritime heritage of Door County, Wisconsin and the Great Lakes. Headquartered in Sturgeon Bay, WI, the Museum operates seasonal facilities at the Cana Island Lighthouse and in Gills Rock, offering visitors a comprehensive view to the County's local maritime legacy. Museum information can be obtained by email at info@dcmm.org or by accessing the Web site at www.dcmm.org <http://www.dcmm.org/> .

 

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This exciting exhibit includes the following:

 

. Large listing freighter that visitors will be able to board (photo attached). Details include:

o a touch screen enabling visitors to view the wrecks of the ships that didn't make it through the storm

o a period-specific radio room where guests will be encouraged to learn Morse Code and send a distress signal to another part of the exhibit

o replicas of the lifebelts wore by both survivors and those who perished in the storm

o ability to step into a life boat for a wonderful photo opportunity

 

. View a informative video production by WLUK (an exhibit sponsor) on what caused this amazing storm to occur

 

. Two custom designed, computer-based, interactive components

o Interactive Storm Simulation. This interactive "game" will temporarily grant the viewer "god-like" powers. The purpose is to let the user determine different elemental choices in the simulation which ultimately will determine the fate of the virtual ship in the storm. How much wind, what direction is the wind coming from, how much wave action, how much snow, what is the temperature all come together to create the perfect storm and ultimately determine what happens to the ship in the simulation.

o "Captain Your Vessel in the Storm". This will be an interactive, side by side, arcade style game pitting the player against an approaching "Fresh Water Fury" type storm. The play will engage the "captain" in choosing a correct path to lead their vessel from Sault St. Marie to the safety of The St. Claire River. Throughout the simulation a storm and storm effects are approaching without pause. The "captains" must navigate their vessel properly and quickly to avoid such pitfalls as shallow water, reefs, and of course the storm itself that is bearing down on them.

 

. 1913 Storm Survivor Stories. This is a video production that chronicles the stories of chosen survivors of the storm.

 

. Over 25 highly designed and informative reader boards including images and detailed information on the storm day by day and what occurred in the aftermath of the storm

 

. Artifacts from across the Great Lakes from wrecks of the storm

 

. A custom-built 16' scaled replica of the Charles S. Price. This model will rest above the visitors heads in a flipped fashion as that is how she was found prior to ultimately sinking to the bottom of Lake Huron.

 

. "Fury on Land" - a pictorial view of the damage the storm caused on land. This portion of the exhibit will be housed in the Reddin Bridge Room.

 

As you can see, this is a detailed and intricate exhibit built and created by the Museum staff and an incredible group of volunteers. This exhibit is certain to please, educate and surprise individuals of all ages.

 

 

 

 

 

Prepare to Be Blown Away...Freshwater Fury is Coming!

 

Brian Kelsey

Executive Director

Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc.

120 N. Madison Ave.

Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

(920) 743-5958

(920) 743-9483 (fax)

bkelsey@dcmm.org

www.dcmm.org <http://www.dcmm.org/>

 

 

 

Prepare to Be Blown Away...Freshwater Fury is Coming!

 

Brian Kelsey

Executive Director

Door County Maritime Museum & Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc.

120 N. Madison Ave.

Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

(920) 743-5958

(920) 743-9483 (fax)

 <mailto:bkelsey@dcmm.org> bkelsey@dcmm.org

 <http://www.dcmm.org/> www.dcmm.org

 

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