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McHenry County News DISPLAY ADVERTISING & CLASSIFIEDS: 815-654-4850 • CIRCULATION: 815-654-4854 • E-MAIL: McHenryNews@RVPublishing.com
VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 13
11512 N. 2nd ST. • MACHESNEY PARK, IL 61115
THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018
Sampler lectures series continues at MC Historical Museum Rochelle Pennington credits the timing, more than anything, for interest in arguably the most celebrated shipwreck of the Great Lakes. The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, which dove deep into our collective memory just over 40 years ago, still affects us. It certainly had an effect on Rochelle Pennington. Pennington, a historical researcher from Kewaskum, Wis., presented “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on Monday, March 19, at the McHenry County Historical Museum, 6422 Main St. in Union. It was part of the McHenry County Historical Society’s 32nd annual Sampler Lecture Series. “I found the connection that people have to Gordon Lightfoot’s song was really extraordinary,” she said. “It made by job easier in many ways because it was recent. I was able to get ahold of many of the locals, who remembered what the storm was like or who were on the [trailing] ship.” Conceived as a business enterprise of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Milwaukee, the 729-foot freighter was named after the company’s president and chairman. When the 13,632-ton vessel was launched on June 8, 1958, in River Rouge, Mich., she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. And the Fitzgerald retained that title until 1971. On the afternoon of Nov. 9, 1975, the Fitzgerald set off from Superior, Wis. with 26,116 tons of iron ore pellets in her hold. She soon was soon joined by S.S. Arthur M. Anderson – a 640-foot cargo ship that had left Two Harbors, Minn. Its captain, Bernie Cooper, soon struck up radio contact with Capt. Ernest M. McSorely aboard the Fitzgerald. Before long the duo were being battered by 18- to 25-foot waves and winds reaching 80 miles per hour. The wind and waves from the west, hit the freighter broadside as it made for Whitefish Bay and safety. Superior, by surface area, is the world’s largest freshwater lake – spanning 31,700 square miles. It is about 350 miles long, 160 miles wide and drops to a depth of 1,300 feet. “For me, the driving force behind my attention and my efforts is my love of Lake Superior,” said Pennington, who has written 10 books. “As part of the program we take a circle tour of Lake Superior. We see the sites the men onboard ship saw. That is a powerful piece.” Nearly five hours into the ferocious storm, the Fitzgerald and her crew of 29 disappeared from the Anderson’s radar. During a 1980 diving expedition into Lake Superior, marine explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau (son of famed underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau) conducted the first submersible dive to the Fitzgerald. That team concluded she had broken up on the surface. But that, along with pretty everything else connected with the Fitzgerald, remains in dispute. “As is the case with anything, opinions vary and opinions are strongly held. There are a grab bag full of theories,” Pennington said. “Some say she hit a shoal and then was taken down by two or three massive waves. I break the thing down and allow my audience members to decided what did or did not happen.” Upcoming Sampler programs include:
• 3 p.m. Monday, April 2 – From Our Own Back Yard: A Woman Empowered. Presented by Craig Pfannkuche, at retired history teacher and genealogical researcher from Wonder Lake. McHenry County was the home of a goodly number of women who made a difference in American history. One of them was Lillian Donovan, a Harvard resident who befriended Franklin Delano Roosevelt and later was appointed as a federal revenue collector in Chicago when Roosevelt became president in 1933. Learn about this interesting woman and her connection to one of the world’s most influential leaders. • 7 p.m. Monday, April 16 – How Corn Changed itself and Then Changed Everything Else. Presented by Cynthia Clampitt, an author and food historian from Palatine. About 10,000 years ago, a weedy grass growing in Mexico that possessed a strange trait known as a “jumping gene” transformed itself into a larger and more useful plant: the cereal grass that we would come to know as maize and then as corn. Illinois is second only to Iowa, as an American corn-growing state. And McHenry County outpaces all other Collar Counties in corn production. Illinois and corn are inexorably linked, yet few realize its historic impact and why it remains so vital today. Made possible by a grant from Illinois Humanities. A $10 donation is requested for individual programs, all of which are at the county history museum. For information, call 815-923-2267 or visit www.gothistory.org.
Young visitors
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On March 12, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Dept welcomed students from Crystal Lake District 47. They learned about forensics, 911, and the crowd favorite, our K-9 Officers.
Conservation District to present ‘In My World Series’ Drop-in for the In My World Series and learn about the lives of animals that call Pleasant Valley Conservation Area home. Each month will feature new exploration activities that will examine the life and habits of a local featured creature from 2 to 3 p.m.: Red Winged Blackbird – Sunday, March 25; Chorus Frogs – Sunday, April 29; Muskrat – Sunday, May 20. Meet at Pleasant Valley, Shelter #1, 13315 Pleasant Valley Road, Woodstock.
Festival of Sugar Maples
These free programs are suitable for Adults and Families. No registration is required for these free drop-in programs BUT Check Before You Go, cancellations may occur due to weather or staff emergencies. Check under Site Advisories at MCCDistrict.org or in the online registration system. For more information call Prairieview Education Center, (815) 479-5779 or visit www. MCCDistrict.org.
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Nearly 100 Canterbury parents, students and staff members hopped on a bus for the second Family Field Trip of the year on Saturday, March 10. The group, led by District 47 parent liaison Jacki Rubio, went to the Festival of the Sugar Maples in Marengo where they were treated to a guided maple syrup tour by the McHenry County Conservation District. The day started with a half-mile hike where the group learned about the history of maple syrup in the area and the many steps involved in making it, and ended with a taste-test and opportunity to purchase maple syrup, cookies and candy. The Festival of the Maples is a free, annual event open to the community. Bus transportation was paid for using Title I funds.