My family ushered in the summer Memorial Day weekend with a day trip to Kelleys Island in Lake Erie. We closed it out Labor Day weekend with a day trip to Toledo and the National Museum of the Great Lakes. My takeaway from the visit: Immense respect for the role the Great Lakes region played in economy and nation building during the industrial era of the late 19th and first half of the 20th century. The work that happened here was dirty, dangerous, and with hindsight there are plenty of criticisms to lay at the feet of industrialization. But it was an era of ambition and sacrifice and this region, with a variety of rich resources, drove much of the growth and evolution. It was iron ore, coal and limestone that shifted the arc of the industrial age and the Lakes provided the means to move raw material as well as the steel that would build vehicles, railways, infrastructure and eventually skyscrapers across the United States. 

The museum has exhibits on exploration and settlement of the region, expansion and industry, safeguard and support, shipwrecks and safety, and maritime technology. Topics that particularly caught my interest and are worthy of their own posts: the history and role of the U.S. Coast Guard in the region; icebreaking in the Lakes to preserve shipping channels; and the Great Lakes most famous shipwreck – the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior in November of 1975. Stay tuned!

By coming in the summer months, we could also tour two boats docked in the Maumee River next to the museum – the Col. James M. Schoonmaker and the Ohio. The Schoonmaker particularly makes an impression. It’s enormous, austere, and stalwart. At 619 feet long and with a carrying capacity of 12,200 gross tons, it’s not hard to imagine the cavernous cargo hold filled with coal, grains and minerals as the boat plows through Great Lakes waters on routes from Duluth to Detroit to Toledo and back.

Before heading home we had a late lunch at the nationally famous Tony Packo’s Cafe. The restaurant is known for its Hungarian food and over 1,000 hot dog buns signed by celebrities and politicians over the past 50 years that adorn the walls (spoiler: the signed buns look real, but are fake). The restaurant was originally made famous by the character Corporal Maxwell Klinger in M*A*S*H, who referenced Tony Packo’s six times in the series (the actor Jamie Farr was from Toledo). 

The Midwest is often the brunt of jokes, overlooked, or underappreciated. It’s a region with numerous challenges of a wide variety. But it is a place – one with character, heart, and a rich history that I want my girls to know, analyze, and respect.