Day 45-47: August 8th-12th

I have spent the entire time in the museum up on the second floor in the library/office. I finished reading and typing up all the information that would aid me in creating the exhibits from “The Fleet Histories Series” book. I have now been able to plan how to organize the iron ore boat exhibit. I want to separate the boats into three different categories: people, places, and companies. 

Day 42-44: August 3rd - 5th

Due to two staff members being on vacation, including my boss, the museum was short of staff. Only two people were scheduled for each day. During the time I was not giving lighthouse tours, I continued to research iron ore boats. I got half way through the book that Fred Stonehouse loaned to me. 

Day 39 - 41: July 25th- 28th

On Monday morning I watched the Tall Ships leave the lower harbor to head to their next port. 

 The museum received a wonderful thank you gift from the Pride of Baltimore II. It is a signed poster of the ship. Many of the crew listed their positions on the ship. 

After the ships left, Allison and I headed to the museum for work. 

Later in the week, the President of Board of Directors for the museum, Fred Stonehouse dropped off a book to help me complete my research for the exhibits. 

"The Fleet Histories Series, Volume Six, The Cleveland-Cliffs Detroit and Cleveland Navigation, Hawgood and Traverse City Fleets" By John O. Greenwood

When I started to flip through the book, I realized it is completely filled with the exact information that I have been looking for. I am planning on spending the next week finishing reading and typing up the information that will help create the exhibits. 

Tall Ships Sail - Marquette, MI

Days 33-38: July 18th - 24th

Tall Ships Week: Preparation, Arrival, Tours, Sails.

The week leading up to the Tall Ships arrival was filled with poster making, advertising the ships, selling tour and sail tickets, and organizing all of the items that would have to be brought down to Mattson's Lower Harbor Park.

I made all of the signs that were hung up by the ticket sale tent.

I also created the staff and volunteer tags that were worn by the workers at the Lower Harbor Park.

I was asked to arrive earlier at the museum on Friday the 22nd to help the other staff answer the phones. The Maritime Museum was receiving so many phone calls, it was difficult for to answer the phones while helping with customers and giving tours. Around 4 p.m. I headed down to the park to help set up the tables, tents and merchandise before the arrival of the ships.

The ships did a Parade of Sails at 6 p.m. before entering the harbor. The two tall ships, Marquettes resident tall ship: the Coaster II, and many other sail boats was an exciting sight to see entering the harbor. 

The lower harbor was packed with spectators. Everyone cheered and clapped their hands when the ships set off their cannons. 

I spent the rest of the weekend with the ships. I sold tour and sail tickets, merchandise, punched tickets, and ran errands. I enjoyed getting to know different crew members from their ships and the captains. It was interesting to learn how the crew members began working on the ships, and if they planned to crew tall ships for a career. Most of the members of the crew on the Pride of Baltimore II work on tall ships as a career. The crew on the Lynx America's Privateer were mostly summer employees. 

I was able to tour the ships when they were in the harbor. The tours of the deck of the ships were self-guided. The crew was available to talk to and answer questions. 

On Saturday night I was lucky enough to be able to sail on the Pride of Baltimore II. The crew invited the visitors to help with the raising and lowering of the sails. 

My parents were on the sail Saturday night. My dad pitched in to help raise the sails. 

Sunday was a relaxing day at the harbor. The ships were open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for tours. At the end of the day I went with my boss, Carrie, to pick up pasties for the crew of the ships as a thank you.

The weekend was filled with meeting new people, talking about maritime history and tall ships, sunburns and an amazing sailing experience.

Days 28-32: July 11-15th

PREPARATION FOR TALL SHIPS WEEKEND!

Pride of Baltimore II



Lynx America's Privateer



The staff at the museum have been busy selling and advertising the tickets for the Tall Ships tours. On Tuesday July 12th it was decided that the ships would also sail on Saturday July 23rd. That was when the excitement really began. Tickets and prices had to be created for each of the ships sails, the maximum number of passengers had to be determined, what would be allowed on the ships, and we had to start advertising the sails.

I was put in charge of creating Facebook events for the Tall Ships visiting/tours and for the sails. It was amazing to see the reactions of the and excitement of all those who said they would attend the event.

When we were not working on preparing for tall ships, life went on as usual in the museum. Tours and research filled the rest of my time at the museum.

Days 23-27: June 27th - July 4th

The week before the Fourth of July was hectic at the Maritime Museum. The time I spent at the museum consisted in helping prepare the museum for the Fourth of July parade. I helped create a lighthouse for our float, designing our staff t-shirts, posters announcing the Tall Ships weekend, and the daily activities for the museum including giving lighthouse tours and research for the exhibits.

 [Painting the lighthouse]

 [The completed lighthouse]

 [Staff picture]

 [Marquette Maritime Museum Fourth of July Parade Float]

 [The back of the staff shirts: "We'll leave the light on for you"

The museum also hosted a book signing by Dennis Hale on Friday, July 1st. He is the sole survivor of the DANIEL J. MORRELL which sank in Lake Huron in November 1966. He wrote 'Shipwrecked', an autobiography. I also had the honor of meeting Mr. Anderson who was the second mate and last surviving member of the crew of the ore boat ANDERSON. The ANDERSON was the ship following behind the FITZGERALD and the last ship to have communication with them before the wreck.

 [Getting my copy of his book signed] 

 [Staff picture with Dennis Hale and Mr. Anderson.]

Day Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-One and Twenty-Two: June 20th, 21st, 23rd, and 24th

During the beginning of the week, Allison and I alternated turns giving solo lighthouse tours. One of the tours I gave was to a several people from the Netherlands. They were in town because they were performing at a Scandinavian Festival on Presque Isle. Another tour I gave was one of the most enjoyable tours. Every fact that I told them they found fascinating, both families were very excited about going inside the lighthouse and going past it on the catwalk. We also have three visitors from Iceland that were on vacation in the United States. 

I also continued working on the outline of the museum with Allison, we finished the Coast Guard section of the museum. Once the museum began to fill with visitors, I went up to my desk on the second floor and continued my research on ore boats. I found the Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping News Archive online. I found information about the DOUGLAS HOUGHTON iron ore boat. As a break from researching on the internet, I looked through the museum's library. I found over fifteen books that contain information about the Great Lakes ore boats. 

 [The Douglas Houghton Ore Boat]

I also created an event on Facebook for the Tall Ships Weekend. [http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=219067751447589] 

There was also an article in The Mining Journal about the event.