Spirit of Lake Superior

Spirit of Lake Superior. Artist: Kirk St. Maur, also, Medium: bronze /1992. , Kirk St. Maur's Spirit of Lake Superior celebrates the Anishinabe (Ojibwa, American Indian) culture., The artist's interpretation is based on illustrations and photographs from the Minnesota Historical Society Archives, Eastman Johnson's drawings and paintings documenting mid-19th century Indian life on the lake's north shore, and consultation with Ojibwa elders. The girl is wearing old style puckered moccasins and carries a birch bark tray for winnowing wild rice., Kirk St. Maur, who lives in Payson, Illinois, is internationally recognized for his naturalistic, often heroic, themes in sculpture. Among his many commissions is a major work for the Church of San Michele, Buriano, Italy., A Link to the Past. The large anchor chain at the edge of this platform is an artifact from Duluth's shipping heritage. In June of 1973 four area scuba divers led by Elmer Engman recovered a kedge anchor along with a 60 foot length of anchor chain 70 feet beneath Lake Superior's surface., The anchor and chain had been attached to the whaleback steamer Thomas Wilson, sunk in a freak collision with the steamer George Hadley less than a mile straight out from the ship canal on a calm morning in 1902., Heavily laden with iron ore, the Wilson sank in minutes after being struck and dove bow first to the bottom carrying nine crew members to their death., The Wilson rests on an even keel on the lake bottom while modern ships many times her size cut the waves directly above., The anchor is displayed outdoors at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center by the ship canal. A whaleback steamer, the Meteor, can be seen at Barker's Island across the bay in Superior, Wisconsin., photo: , The dive team that recovered the anchor. , Left to right: Dave Anderson, Paul von Goertz, Elmer Engman and Dan Goman.