Manitowoc, Wisconsin - Part II
As we headed north across the Manitowoc River on 8th
street, I recall getting very excited. I had read about two Manitowoc
police officers being close to the intersection of 8th and Park streets
back in
September of
1962. As a kid – in 1957 – I remember going out into our back yard
at night to watch a tiny speck of light as Sputnik I streaked across the
sky. "There it is, that's Sputnik", my dad used to say. I had no idea at
that point in time what the significance of that event was going to be.
But as I watched the TV twelve years later and saw America's first man set
foot on another celestial body, the impact of Sputnik on all of us
suddenly became much clearer.
To most people, what I saw in the
street in Manitowoc would probably go totally unnoticed; many would find
the small brass ring in the very middle of the street, marking the
location of the event, to be of little interest – if they even noticed it
at all. But here is where part of that Russian satellite Sputnik IV fell
to earth so many years ago. And even though the original piece was
ultimately returned to the Russians, there is an intensely realistic piece
of it protected in a glass case inside the Rahr-West Museum. The museum
is housed in a Victorian Mansion that was originally the home of Joseph
and Mary Villas, one of Manitowoc’s Pioneer families. It is a marvelously
magnificent and unique part of history. And you should go to Manitowoc…
if for no other reason than to see and share in that history.
The Museum holds many other treasures
and works of art: works by Georgia O’Keeffe, Picasso, Andy Warhol and
others. There are also hands-on activities and exhibits for youngsters –
at least on the day that we visited – that are worth seeing. And although
it is definitely true that art is defined in the eyes of the beholder, the
Rahr-West holds some very fine examples of art. While you are there,
don’t skip the modern exhibition wing that was added in 1975 with
donations from John and Ruth West and the Rahr Foundation. The woodwork
alone represents an example of craftsmanship that is rarely found anywhere
anymore. But when you see these examples and realize that all this was
done without the aide of “modern” and electric equipment, I know that that
you will be impressed. The many rooms are filled with a permanent
collection of American art and are well worth the time taken to see it.
An amazingly event-packed day was
trying to wind down, but there was still one place that we were going to
stop. We bid farewell to the Rahr-West and headed back the short distance
toward the river and the Maritime Museum. From the outside, the building
certainly appears nothing like the “typical” museum. It is bright and
clean and beckons you inside. Upon entering and checking our watches, we
discovered that our time was shorter than we had anticipated. But we did
have the distinct pleasure of meeting the Museum’s Curator and Assistant
Director, Dr. William Thiesen. He gave us a quick tour, starting with
the fact that the museum has recently doubled in size to its current
60,000 square feet. The “new” Maritime Museum is a combination between
the traditional ‘read and see’ format that is found in most museums, and
the newer ‘hands-on’ or interactive style that allows the visitor to
actually become part of the exhibit. Some quick examples that we noted
were the buttons one could push to either see actual routes followed by WW
II submarines or to hear the blast of a steamboat whistle. One could even
perform an actual spot-weld! But my favorite of this interactive type
exhibit was a special room downstairs, Wisconsin Waterways – designed for
kids of all ages – where the visitor could actually build a small model of
a boat from various parts available and sail it through some locks and
canals or navigate it through the waterfalls of the Wisconsin River to
obtain a better understanding of how those things work. It is a great
opportunity to play in the water and learn at the same time.
Bill showed us many of the boat
exhibits and other parts of the huge building, including the special and
newly completed WW II exhibits, the Permanent Gallery, where one can walk
the streets of a recreated Great Lakes Port, and the centerpiece of the
Wisconsin-Built Boat Gallery, the 44-foot luxury yacht Lady Isabel. I
only wish we had been able to stay longer. Bill was an incredible wealth
of knowledge. He was extremely personable and I could have listened to
him all day. Manitowoc has a rich maritime legacy and the Wisconsin
Maritime Museum is a wonderful place at which to learn it. Unfortunately,
our schedule was too tight to even take the pictures we needed, let alone
take the tour of the Cobia – a WW II submarine moored just outside. We
promised to return on Sunday to finish our tour and take pictures, thanked
Bill for his time and headed back to the hotel for a quick shower. We had
a reservation for dinner at the Courthouse Pub, an incredibly well
restored building just across from the Manitowoc Courthouse. We had heard
some very good things about this restaurant and my stomach gave a growl of
warning that it was just about time for dinner.
We had come a long way and still been
able to accomplish much on this jam-packed day of touring… but there was
still much to come, both tonight and tomorrow morning.
Make sure to read
about our mouth-watering experience at dinner – special thanks once again
to owner John Jaggeman and his excellent staff for a superb experience –
and stop back for my final installment of our Manitowoc Excursion!
R. Karl
rkarl@onthelake.net
