Bernie Hellstrom will talk about his adventure finding and identifying two civil war era shipwrecks in 2019 – the St. Andrew and Peshtigo. The two shipwrecks lay silent for 140 years, between Beaver Island, North Fox Island and Charlevoix before Hellstrom’s discovery. The Peshtigo, a 161-foot-long schooner, was hauling coal to Chicago. The St. Andrews, a two-masted schooner 143 feet in length, was carrying corn from Chicago to Buffalo. The ships collided at 1 a.m. after a confusion in signal torches between the passing vessels. Two men were lost, with the rest of the crews picked up by another schooner.

Hunting for sunken ships and other Great Lakes flotsam and jetsam is Hellstrom’s hobby.  “I’m pretty much exploring the Great Lakes because you never know what’s down there,” Hellstrom said. “There’s a little bit of everything on the bottom of the Great Lakes.” Steel rails, locomotives and train cars that fell off barges have been found. Hellstrom has seen cars, shopping carts, fishing shanties and even a sewing machine.

Hellstrom’s talk takes place at 5:30 pm on the second floor of the Harbor Springs History Museum. Admission is $10 per person and advanced registration is strongly encouraged. Register using the button below or call 231-526-9771.

All proceeds benefit the nonprofit Harbor Springs Area Historical Society’s community campaign to develop and preserve a historical corridor at the eastern approach to Main Street, including creation of a Shay House Innovation Museum and new exhibit installations in the History Museum.