10th Annual McDougall's Dream

McDougall’s Dream – Saturday September 27, 2014

Morning: 10-11 a.m. visit the Duluth Forging Community ($5.00)

Daytime Presentations: 1-5 p.m. at the Bong Veterans Historical Center ($15.00)

The Thomas Wilson: The whaleback vessel Thomas Wilson sank off the Duluth piers on June 7, 1902. Diver and historian Elmer Engman will revisit the events that led up to this disaster. Denise Wolvin, Director of the Lake Superior Marine Museum Visitor Center in Duluth, will share details of the process for creating the Thomas Wilson exhibit that is currently on display at the Marine Museum.

Superior’s Tugs and How Globe Shipyard Supported D-Day: Emeritus Professor of History and member of the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association Board, Jerry Sandvick will focus on the V-4 oceangoing tugs built by Superior’s Globe Shipyard during World War II. These were large U.S. Navy vessels that did essential work during the war, much of it unheralded. Three Superior-built tugs played an important role in the June 1944 D-Day landings. The story is a fascinating one and will be well illustrated with original photos and 16mm film taken at the shipyard.

Lost and Forgotten—Tales of Whaleback Wrecks: Neel Zoss, of Hamilton, Michigan, who has researched and written about Alexander McDougall's whaleback steamers and barges for the last thirty years, will tell tales of six specific whalebacks that met disaster in locations around the world. The wrecks occurred on the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Gascony (off Spain's northwest coast), and the Pacific Ocean.

Superior Site on Puget Sound–Alexander McDougall and the Rise of Everett, Washington (1889-1898): Professor Matthew Daley of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, will examine the construction and growth of the city of Everett, Washington, where Alexander McDougall opened a shipyard in 1892. Daley will discuss the similarities between Everett and Superior, Wisconsin.

Evening Program: 5-9 p.m. at the Bong Veterans Historical Center ($40.00), includes a hearty buffet dinner catered by Famous Dave’s BBQ, silent auction, and keynote speaker.

Keynote Presentation: Minnesota’s Iron Range: the Key to U.S. Industrialization by Pamela Brunfelt

The discovery of vast iron ore deposits in Minnesota ensured that the United States became a world power in the twentieth century. It is no exaggeration to state that the history of the U.S. would be different without the iron ore produced by the people who lived and worked on the iron ranges of Minnesota. The Mesabi, Vermilion, and Cuyuna ranges produced the billions of tons of high grade iron ore used to manufacture the steel that built America and resulted in victory in World War I and World War II. Iron Rangers were at the center of the economy throughout most of the past century, and this program will illustrate why industrialization in the United States was largely the story of Minnesota’s Iron Range.

Pamela Brunfelt is a historian who teaches at Vermilion Community College in Ely. She specializes in the history of the Minnesota iron ranges and their importance to the industrialization of the United States in the early twentieth century. In addition to publishing numerous books and articles, she was recently featured in the documentary Iron Range: Minnesota Building America, which won a regional Emmy for Best Cultural Documentary.

Combination ticket (for daytime presentations and evening program) is $45.00

Sponsored by Superior Public Museums. Call 715-394-5712 for more information.