The GLSPS President Phil Kerber, traveled to Milwaukee Wisconsin to give a presentation at the Wisconsin Underwater Archeology Associations Annual Conference October 15, 2011. The Presentation was about one of the biggest Preservation Projects the GLSPS has ever been involved in. WUAA started the Project back in 2000 when Pat Labitie, the Lead Historian in the area, and Jeff Gray, current President of WUAA, had expressed a concern that the Meteor was loosing interest and attendance of the annual tours was dropping drastically. The fact is that the whale back ship the S.S. Meteor is falling apart piece by piece and the City of Superior was on a path to have it cut up and scrapped for the current price of metal.
Jeff Gray, and Pat Labitie conducted a special meeting and voiced their concerns. Then developed a plan to send a small group of people from WUAA to travel west to Superior Wisconsin and make an attempt to stabilize and help preserve this great piece of Maritime History.
The first Meteor project that Phil Kerber attended was April 2001. Russel Leitz was the current President if WUAA. I had an opportunity to get to know Russel throughout the next three years when I helped him for three years on this project.
In the spring of 2004 and after the project work weekend, Russel Leitz asked me if the GLSPS would take over the project. Graciously I accepted. So, the spring of April 2005 the GLSPS and Phil Kerber continued the S.S. Meteor Preservation Project. We had 25 people join us on the project the first year. It just grew from there.
The GLSPS has been in charge of the Preservation project for seven years and it has grown from 10 people to a record number of 72 participants. We have an average of 60 to 65 participants that join us on this project every year.
Please check out the 2011 Preservation project by clicking on the "Project reports 2011" and read more about the project. You can also see several photos by clicking on the "Photo Page List" on the left menu column of the website.
This is an above water Preservation Project and you do not need to be a diver, If you have any interest in helping on this project, please contact Phil Kerber by clicking on "Contact us" on the side menu of the website.
Have a super day,
Phil Kerber
GLSPS President
pkerber@glsps.org