A lake of tragedy and mystery
- On 01/08/2012
- In Museum News
- 0 comments
From the Chronicle Journal
The waters of Lake Superior are known for being deceptive.
Great Lakes mariners have watched walls of water appear out of nowhere and swallow ships whole.
Diane Robnik, community resource officer at the Thunder Bay Museum, wants to put you in the mariner’s shoes to experience the cold wind and the icy waves, and the sheer terror the power of the lake evokes.
Robnik is collecting first-hand accounts of shipwrecks on the lake that will become part of a travelling exhibit next year.
She said that when she was looking into creating a travelling exhibit about the lake, she noticed much interest in the shipwreck stories.
“There have been some spectacular tragedies just on our side of the lake,” Robnik said. “So I think that those are important to highlight at this point.”
The exhibit will focus on shipwrecks that have taken place in Canadian waters and around Isle Royale. The exhibit is to open next summer in Thunder Bay and travel throughout the North Shore and Ontario.
Robnik said she hopes to collect artifacts and historical photos of ships and shipwrecks, but the exhibit will focus on first-hand accounts from survivors and family members.
“I think it creates more of a personal tie to people and more of an emotional bond when someone reads a first-hand account,” she said.
“It gives you an idea of what it’s like to be there rather than just a static reading of the event.”
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