2012 Chicago Maritime Festival Presenters

The Battle for the Great Lakes: How the War of 1812 Fractured the Unity of the Great Lakes Basin, Destroyed One Nation, and Created Two Others – Professor Theodore Karamanski

Theodore J. Karamanski is Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago. He is author of seven books on Midwestern history including Schooner Passage: Sailing Ships and the Lake Michigan Frontier (2000), Maritime Chicago (2002), and North Woods River: The St. Croix in Upper Midwest History (2009).

Bicentennial: A Reading of Essays by Young Authors and Presentation of Essay Awards

Individuals representing such institutions as Great Lakes Young Writers, Michigan Council of Teachers of English, Discovery World, Canadian Heritage, and Niagara University began developing Arts Across the Water (AAW) in 2010. Over its two-year mission, AAW’s cross border and cross cultural focus looks to the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 as a means to expand the creative horizons of Canadian, First Nation, and U.S. youth by putting them in touch, both digitally and personally, with vast number of cultural arts and humanity-based resources, adult mentors, and young artists from throughout the Great Lakes. AAW’s history and language arts working groups are currently developing K-12 curriculum which focuses on the cultural life (the music, ceremonies, dance, folktales, etc.) of Native and Frontier peoples living in the Great Lakes regions during the early 19th century. To stay abreast of AAW’s ongoing activities, contact AAW’s project director, Tom Leonard at glyoungwriters@yahoo.com.

Ships and Ship Carving of the 1812 Era: A View in Miniature From Both Sides – Glenn Braun

Glenn will show examples, and discuss the history and techniques relative to researching and creating ship models, miniature figureheads, and shipboard decorative work of the time period.

Glenn has been building ship models for almost fifty years and his works have been on exhibit at several maritime museums. Visit him in the exhibit hall where he will demonstrate various aspects of the ship model builders art, including ships-in-the-bottle, and other current projects.

Of Rivers and Lakes: Lesser Known Battles of the War of 1812 – Ralph Frese

Popularly known as “Mr. Canoe,” Ralph has paddled the same waterways that carried the canoes of Native Americans, explorers, and the founders of Chicago for more than a half a century. He has devoted his life to keeping rivers and lakes clean for all to enjoy and educating people about the importance of waterway conservation. Over the last 60 years, Ralph’s outstanding accomplishments have included founding the Chicagoland Canoe Base (his business where he builds handcrafted canoes and practices as a fourth generation blacksmith), teaching local Boy Scout troops how to build their own canoes, helping the Cook County Clean Streams Committee transform Chicago Rivers, organizing the annual Des Plaines River Canoe Marathon (now in its 53rd year) to help draw attention to the scenic Des Plaines River as a valuable resource to preserve, and serving as a charter member and the current vice-president of the Chicago Maritime Society. In 2010 he was the recipient of the National Rivers Hall of Fame Achievement Award. He was the first recipient of the American Canoe Association’s “Legends of Paddling” award in 1994, inducted into the Illinois Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2006, and has received awards from the Cook County Board of Commissioners the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Bureau of the Interior, to name just a few. And recently, a stretch of the wooded upper Chicago River has been declared the “Ralph Frese Canoe Trail.”

Captain William Bainbridge – Hero, Victim or Con Man? – Nicholas Ivor Martin

Nicholas Ivor Martin is a published author and speaker primarily in the field of opera. He is Director of Operations at Lyric Opera of Chicago, but is also an enthusiastic amateur sailboat racer and naval historian with a particular affinity for the age of fighting sail.

Great Lakes Schooners: A Preview – Eric Forsberg

Travel back in time and see the great lake schooners during the 1800s. Eric will discuss the historical background, research, and techniques regarding his paintings that depict schooners. Some of the painting shown will be part of a one man show Eric will have at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum (Manitowoc, WI) that will run for 7 months from June 3 thru December 31,2012

Eric is one of Chicago's very own established artists. He grew up with a passion for art and attended the American Academy of Art. He studied with the famous Charles Vickery for a period of 10 years and also received guidance from Thomas Hoyne III. To further Eric's understanding of the relationship and rules between sky and water, he took to the sea working on lobster boats, fishing trawlers, tall ships, and sailed the Great Lakes allowing him to paint water with great conviction and knowledge.

His passion and excitement for historical and modern day ships is evident as their stories unfold on his canvas. Whether in the Great Lakes, the Indiana Dunes or out at sea -- Eric captures the moment!

Naval Architecture and Engineering – Mark Mitchell

The structural and technological evolution of the sea-going vessel across the millennia

The Romans built the greatest navy in the ancient world by copying a wrecked Carthaginian trireme and teaching their sailors how to row on dry land. The Byzantines were the first to use crude oil on their ships, but not for propulsion. The Norse reached America with their snekkja and sunstone 500 years before the Spanish with their carraca and compass. In the initial two decades of the 20th Century, an Irishman engineered the first submarine for the American navy, British engineers built the most powerful warships of all time, the dreadnaughts, of which the German version was sunk by an American pilot with nothing more than a one-man biplane and a single bomb. Throughout history, the boat has developed into shapes both marvelous and menacing as humans have endeavored to master travel over, under, and through the waves. Trace the structural evolution and scientific innovations of the world’s most important vessels from the Greek fast attack dromon of Constantinople to the Russian ballistic missile akula of Severomorsk.

An expert in maritime history and admiralty law, Mark Mitchell directs the Chicago Yacht Club Foundation’s Maritime Education Program, which aims to increase knowledge of and appreciation for the nautical arts in the Chicagoland community and beyond. When he is not giving presentations on naval science or writing about the history of life at sea, Mitchell is General Counsel for Team Rubicon USA, an international disaster response and veterans service organization.

Pacific Dances and Voyaging Chants – Lanialoha Lee (See featured performers)

Traverse City Lighthouse Shipwrecks: The Chicago Connection – Stef Staley

Stefanie is the Executive Director of the Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum in Northport, Michigan and has been for the past twelve years. She recently completed her Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation at Eastern Michigan University. She is currently working with the newly formed Grand Traverse Bay Underwater Preserve to locate and document the Grand Traverse Lighthouse shipwrecks.

The Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and restoring the Grand Traverse Lighthouse and its surrounding property. In addition, the Museum provides educational opportunities that enhance the understanding of the area’s maritime history.

The Long-Lost Life of James Sears Dunham – Thomas J. Lutz

Lutz, a former historic preservation professional is the author of Shaping Chicago: James S. Dunham’s Crusade for the River.

Shipwreck Tales of Chicago – Joan Forsberg

Joan Forsberg is a well-known maritime historian, scuba diver, author, lecturer, and videographer, and, with her husband Cris Kohl, forms a Chicago-area husband-and-wife team who love to explore shipwrecks, particularly those in the Great Lakes. They are underwater archaeologists certified by Great Britain’s Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS).

Joan has a degree in History and has been the Chairman of the Shipwrecks and our Maritime Heritage Room at Chicago’s Our World – Underwater Show since 1996. She is the author of the scuba celebrity cook-and-tell book, Diver’s Guide to the Kitchen, and articles in magazines such as Immersed, Great Lakes Boating, and Wreck Diving (for which she works as Copy Editor). Joan appears behind the camera shooting underwater video, and in front of the camera as Cris’ underwater model. She has been President of Seawolf Communications, Inc., a maritime books publishing company, since 1998. During her three terms as the President of the Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago, she worked on several significant maritime history projects for that group, including the sinking of the Buccaneer, creating Lake Michigan’s newest scuba dive site.

She and her husband have authored or co-authored a total of thirteen books, and produced nine commercial DVDs, with more books and DVDs in production. Their most recent publication was the book “Our World – Underwater, The First 40 Years,” a history of the largest scuba dive show in the Great Lakes region, held annually at Chicago.

Joan was inducted into the International Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2010, and in 2011 was elected to the Board of Trustees of that organization. She was also the 2011 recipient of the Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago Award for “many years of leadership and dedication.”

Diving and Underwater Surveying On a Budget, Using Small Private Boats and GPS/Sonar Units – John T. Bell

John Bell has been diving since 1990 and conducting amateur underwater archaeology since 2004. An officer of the Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago, UASC, John will soon complete part II of the Nautical Archaeology Society program in Foreshore and Underwater Archaeology. John owns a small personal dive boat, the Diving Belle, from which he conducts sidescan sonar and underwater surveys of wreck sites in southern Lake Michigan. Professionally, Dr. Bell teaches Computer Science at UIC.

Diveheart: No Limits – Dawn Engler

It is the “CAN DO” spirit that Diveheart hopes to instill in all its participants by giving then the confidence and independence that allows them to face their own life challenges and overcome barriers that before might have seemed insurmountable. Through SCUBA diving, the Foundation supports and facilitates programs that teach children and adults with disabilities to fly -- thanks to the wonder of the water column, the oceans and lakes of the world become the forgiving weightless environment of outer space, providing perfect buoyancy to a child or adult who would otherwise struggle on land.

History Over the Horizon X – Kris Habermehl

Future Underwater Shipwreck Detectives – Eugene Hasiak

Eugene has been a member of the Underwater Archeological Society of Chicago for the past 18 years, is an ambassador as well as buddy diver for Diveheart, and has presented at conferences, schools, and festivals throughout the Midwest.

Chicago Portage – Jeff Carter and Gary Mechanic

Jeff Carter, President of Friends of the Chicago Portage, will begin the presentation with a brief history of the Portage followed by the DVD documentary. Gary Mechanic, who founded the organization in 2001 and is the Steward of Portage Woods Forest Preserve, will conclude the presentation by describing how the Chicago Portage is still alive and driving the economic engine of Chicago today.

The Friends is a volunteer not for profit organization that presents free public tours of the Chicago Portage National Historic Site Spring through Fall and conducts monthly work days throughout the year in Portage Woods Forest Preserve.

Friends of the Chicago Portage promotes the historic interpretation, ecological restoration and appropriate development of the Chicago Portage National Historic Site through volunteer advocacy, public events and other projects that raise public awareness of its history and significance. More at www.chicagoportage.org

Weather for Sailors 2012 – Amy Seeley

Hands-On Safety 2012 – Jay Crissey

Bawdy Sea Songs

Maritime Careers

The Chicago Maritime Museum* Resource Center

*Formerly known as the Chicago Maritime Society.

How to Be an Underwater Detective - The Underwater Archeological Society of Chicago

Learn about a schooner, its parts, and why these tall ships were important in Chicago's history. See and learn about scuba diving equipment used to be a shipwreck detective and how they find shipwrecks around the Great Lakes and the ocean. Then try to draw the shipwreck like an underwater archaeologist!

The Art of Knots – John DeWilde & JP Honeywell (Exhibit & Demonstration

Make Your Own Monkey's Fist Key Chain

Model Boat Building For Kids