Events

Mike Fornes will give an entertaining, informative presentation about Michigan’s two iconic ships that became known as the “Queen of the Great Lakes”. Since 1944, the Mackinaw has been on guard through gale-force winds, the pressure of crushing ice flows and blinding snowstorms. The original ship broke ice with brute force, and the new version does the same job with finesse and technology. The Mackinaw has always moved ships through ice-clogged passages and served as the public relations face of the U.S. Coast Guard. Today the ship also tends buoys, serves in a law enforcement capacity and can answer the call for an oil spill. Take a trip through the first six decades of the ship’s history and experience unusual missions, drama and comedy. The new ship continues the legacy of the original as a Halloween “ghost ship,” Chicago’s “Christmas Tree Ship” and the star of the annual Coast Guard Festival. Hear the stories, see the photos and meet the people who have twice made this engineering wonder a symbol of strength and safety on the Great Lakes!

Enjoy this Lifelong Learners program on October 24 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the room G129 of the Ash TLC Building on the Greenville campus. The cost is $5 and can be paid at the door.