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Hewlett presents Great Lake Shipping Adventures at PLDL

HOUGHTON – The Portage Lake District Library of Houghton will host another of Roger Hewlett’s Great Lakes shipping video presentations. “Great Lakes Shipping Adventures: Sailing the Freighters 1956 – 1957” is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at the library. The presentation will discuss the ships SS R.E. Moody, the SS Charles W. Galloway and SS L.P. St. Clair of the Columbia Transportation Co. and the SS Seatrain Texas of the Seatrain Lines of the New York.

This is the third Houghton Public Library presentation, having previously discussed the Edmund Fitzgerald and the South American and North American cruise ships.

In his latest presentation, “Great Lakes and Coastal Shipping Adventures,” Hewlett will take attendees along with his teenage self, fresh out of high school, on a person shipping-out adventure, utilizing 8 mm movies Hewlett took himself. Hewlett’s videos will include unloading at the Lake Erie steel plants, locking through the Soo and ice convoys in Lake Superior’s Whitefish Bay during the 1957 ice jam.

At the time Hewlett shot his movies, he little dreamed he was actually recording Great Lakes maritime history.

“I never dreamed that my simple little 8mm movies that I took so casually 60 years ago would become so dear to me,” Hewlett said. “They are a window to the past and I am happy to share them with others who love the good ‘ol historic days of the Great Lakes ‘steam-boating’ legend.”

Hewlett has a U.S. Coast Guard 200-ton Master of Towing license, as well as an unlimited horsepower marine engineering license, which qualifies him to sail 3rd Assistant Engineer on any steam or diesel ship in the world.

For more information on the PLDL presentation, please call the library at (906) 482-4570. Hewlett can be contacted at hewlett-juntunen@sbcglobal.net.

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