09/11/2026
Good Friday afternoon folks... Busy day for me here today... my brother left this morning to go down to Toronto and isn't back until Sunday night so it's just me and the folks for a few days and I have work stuff to do, and of course things here to do as well! AND tonight is the big 2026 Marine Man of the Year dinner as the Kewadin Casino in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan! I'm VERY excited to be able to attend as Jim Weakley the President of the Lake Carriers Association is being inducted as this year's Marine Man of the Year! We do the awards dinner once every two years so the next one will be in 2028! Jim is retiring this year from the LCA so it's very fitting that he will be presented the award this evening. He was INSTRUMENTAL in getting the "New Lock at the Soo" project going and he has been a huge advocate of Great Lakes Shipping for decades. He is highly respected in the industry and there will be a lot of important people at this evening's event as a result. I consider myself VERY fortunate to be able to go and be one of the people there representing the Sault Historic Sites Board of Directors. Jim's plaque will go in the John P Wellington Hall of Fame aboard the Museum Ship Valley Camp alongside some amazing names in Great Lakes Maritime history.
Speaking of Great Lakes Maritime History, here is another one of my shots of the stunning classic S/S Alpena from her most recent trip upbound on the St Mary's River, headed for Superior, WI with a load of cement powder for the fleet's storage barge the JW Iglehart. Unfortunately she came back downbound in the middle of the night last night so I missed her return trip, making all the shots I got down at Johnson's Point and Stribling that much more important! I am HOPING she comes back again when the colors of the leaves turn and again when there's snow so I have all the seasons for my 2027 Alpena calendar!! Anyway, here she is approaching the turn at Johnson's Point. It was SUCH a perfect morning with no wind, so the water was like absolute glass and the sunlight was just ideal for getting some fabulous shots!
I will try to be back with a bit more before I leave to head over to Michigan for the dinner, but I have oodles to do here at home as well before then so we will have to see what I can do! I'll try to get some photos and post a few things during the dinner as well so stay tuned, more good stuff to come one way or another! ;-)
