2008 Winter Speaker Series
The Door County Maritime Museum is pleased to announce the 2008 Winter Speaker Series program schedule. Mark your calendars as these events are sure to fill the house as they have in the past, therefore seating is on a first come-first served basis.
Rochelle Pennington - Endurance - The Shackleton Story
Thursday, January 24, 2008
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
FREE and Open to the Public
The Ship, Endurance, became trapped in the rapidly forming winter ice, 100 miles off the coast of Antarctica. The crew, stranded 11,000 miles from home, waited for the spring thaw through nine long months of blizzards, gales and temperatures nearing 100 degrees below zero. They were alone at the end of the earth. With food scarce, the men watched in horror as their ship finally succumbed to the pressure of the frozen ocean, breaking to rubble before sinking to the bottom of the sea.
Authors Rochelle Pennington and Nicholas Pennington traveled to the countries of England and Scotland to research the epic adventure of Sir Ernest Shackleton's "Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition," a true account of human strife and triumph. The story has inspired generations over the past century and has provoked management studies in leadership and motivational principles. Journal entries penned by crewmembers who served on board the Endurance pay tribute to the unique and effective leadership style Shackleton used to safely deliver every one of his men from two years of disaster and perils in the frozen world of Antarctica where danger threatened life, limb and sanity.
Join us on Thursday, January 24th as we kick off the Winter Speaker Series with acclaimed author Rochelle Pennington as she shares with us the true tale of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his amazing survival story.
Richard D. Smith - The Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes
Saturday, February 2, 2008
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Museum Admission Fee of $7/Adults and $4/Children Required for Non-Members, FREE to Members ONLY
Richard D. Smith, Curator/Co-Director, Port Washington Light Station Museum, will join us for our first Saturday of the Winter Speaker Series. Smith's slide presentation will view a number of ships that have been lost on the Great Lakes due to storms, collisions and fog. It will be followed by a short presentation about the United States Life Saving Service. If time allows under water footage of the steamer Niagara, car ferry Milwaukee and the schooner Rouse Simmons will be shown. This footage is gleaned from state and private hands with permission or museum use. There will be a display of artifacts from various shipwrecks to accompany this presentation.
Don't miss this presentation as you learn why ships slip to the Great Lakes murky bottom.
Fred Neuschel - Lives and Legends of the Christmas Tree Ships
Saturday, February 9, 2008
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Museum Admission Fee of $7/Adults and $4/children required,
FREE to Members ONLY
Author Fred Neuschel will discuss his book entitled Lives and Legends of the Christmas Tree Ships. This work brings the maritime heritage of the Great Lakes to life, using the tragic story of the schooner Rouse Simmons as a porthole into the robust but often forgotten communities that thrived along Lake Michigan from the Civil War to World War I.
Memorialized in songs, poems, fiction, and even a musical, the infamous ship that went down in a Thanksgiving storm while delivering Christmas trees to Chicago has long been shrouded in myth and legend. As a result, the larger story of the captain, crew, and affected communities has often been overlooked. Fred Neuschel delves into this everyday life of camaraderie, drudgery, ambition, and adventure-with tales of the Midwest's burgeoning immigrant groups and rapid industrialization-to create a true story that is even more fascinating than the celebrated legends.
Trygvie Jensen - Wooden Boats and Iron Men
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
FREE and Open to the Public
Trygvie Jensen, who grew up on Washington Island and came from a commercial fishing family will discuss his work entitled Wooden Boats and Iron Men. The inspiration for this book derived from the memory and spirit of Trygvie's Great Grandfathers Oliver Bjarnarson and Harry Hagen. Both were commercial fishermen at Washington Island, which during its zenith was the dominant industry in Door County. Trygvie is proud of his Scandinavian heritage and growing up surrounded by working class people in a small community. To preserve the history of the people that lived and labored on the land and lake at Washington Island and Door County has become a life's mission for Jensen and is worth all the time and effort to record a rich history and heritage.
Join us as Trygvie discusses the harrowing stories of fishermen caught in violent storms, ice shoves, and many other stories will that will give the listener insight to what a commercial fisherman went through and continues to go through today to eek out a living on the Great Lakes.
Martha and Larry Burris - Great Circle Loop
Thursday, February 28, 2008
7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
FREE and Open to the Public
The circumnavigation of the Eastern United States by water is known as the "Great Circle Loop." Great Loop cruisers usually travel the Loop counterclockwise, taking advantage of the downstream currents on the Illinois, Mississippi, Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers to Mobile, Al, and the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) to Florida and the Keys, then up the ICW on the East Coast of the US to arrive at New York, up the Hudson River, transit the Erie Canal, Welland Canal, or Trent Severn waterway and cruise the Great Lakes. To avoid summer hurricanes and winter ice, most Loopers head north in the spring, spend the summer in the Great Lakes region, and then head south on the rivers in the fall, arriving in Florida after the beginning of November.
Join us for the final presentation of the Winter Speaker Series and learn more about this wonderful journey touching many parts of the United States. Larry and Martha Burris, both licensed Captains, have completed the Great Circle Loop two times on various boats. In addition to delivering boats, they completed a South Pacific crossing in 2005 and a trans-Superior crossing in 2007.
The Door County Maritime Museum Winter Speaker Series will take place at the Museum's headquarters in Sturgeon Bay at 120 N. Madison Ave. Please note that two of these will take place during Museum hours and therefore an admission fee will be charged to all non-members. Following the presentation, attendees will have full access to the Museum and its exhibits. The evening sessions are free and open to the public but all galleries will be closed and unavailable for touring.
