In the second episode of the Great Lakes Now monthly show, come aboard a boat that delivers mail to ships on the Great Lakes. Learn about life on a Great Lakes freighter, and dive into some incredible shipwrecks that you don’t necessarily need a scuba tank to see in the Great Lakes’ only national marine sanctuary.
WHERE WE TAKE YOU THIS MONTH
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Watch Live on DPTV
Tuesday, December 29 at 7:30 PM
STATIONS CARRYING THE SERIES
DPTV
Detroit, Michigan
WEAO
Akron, Ohio
WNEO-TV
Alliance, Ohio
WCML-TV
Alpena, Michigan
WDCP-TV
Bad Axe, Michigan
BCTV
Bay County, Michigan
WBGU-TV
Bowling Green, Ohio
WNED-TV
Buffalo, New York
WCMV-TV
Cadillac, Michigan
WTTW-TV
Chicago, Illinois
WVIZ-TV
Cleveland, Ohio
WKAR-TV
East Lansing, Michigan
WQLN-TV
Erie, Pennsylvania
WCMZ-TV
Flint, Michigan
WGVU-TV
Grand Rapids, Michigan
WPNE-TV
Green Bay, Wisconsin
WGVK-TV
Kalamazoo, Michigan
WHLA-TV
La Crosse, Wisconsin
WHA-TV
Madison, Wisconsin
WNMU-TV
Marquette, Michigan
WHWC-TV
Menomonie-Eau Claire, Wisconsin
WMVS-TV
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
WCMU-TV
Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
WLEF-TV
Park Falls, Wisconsin
WNIT-TV
South Bend, Indiana
WCNY-TV
Syracuse, New York
WGTE-TV
Toledo, Ohio
WDCQ-TV
University Center, Michigan
WNPI-TV
Watertown, New York for Ontario signal
WPBS-TV
Watertown, New York for U.S. signal
WHRM-TV
Wausau, Wisconsin
This Month on Great Lakes Now
Click the tabs to read descriptions of each feature in Episode 2.
You’ve Got Mail
SEGMENT 1 | ABOARD THE J.W. WESTCOTT, DETROIT RIVER
Come aboard the tugboat that delivers to Great Lakes freighters
This segment won First Place in Feature Reporting in the Society of Professional Journalists – metro Detroit chapter 2020 contest, received an Award of Merit – Documentary Short, Award of Recognition – Concept, and Award of Recognition – Creativity/Originality from the Impact Doc Awards, and was recognized in the video presentation category by the Michigan Press Association.
Since 1874, this family-owned company has made deliveries to commercial ships on the Detroit River. Great Lakes Now Host Ward Detwiler goes aboard the J.W. Westcott II while mail and crew get to today’s passing freighters.
Brian Heikkuri, a deckhand with the Westcott company, shares stories about his work.
“They’ll order from the pizza joint right down the street,” Heikkuri says. “We take it, put it into their delivery box and send it right up the side of the ship on a rope.
More on the Westcott from Great Lakes Now:
- Letters, Packages, Pizzas: The duties of the mail boat have changed with the evolution of delivery
- Boat Life: The ups and downs of life as a mail boat captain
- A Little Boat in a Big River: The J.W. Westcott ll
Life Aboard a Freighter
SEGMENT 2 | WPBS-DT | EASTERN LAKE ONTARIO, NEW YORK
Meet the captain and crew and learn what life is like on a Great Lakes ship
Board a vessel in the Welland Canal, the series of locks that allow ships to bypass Niagara Falls, and travel with the captain and crew into the stunning Thousand Islands region east of Lake Ontario.
In this segment from partner station WPBS-TV in New York, Great Lakes Now introduces the men who work on board.
“If you do a job that you love, you don’t feel like you’re working,” says Wilson Walters, captain of the CSL Welland.
Got a question for a Great Lakes freighter captain? Ask it HERE. >>
Watch the full WPBS documentary HERE. >>
WPBS produced this segment in part with support from a Great Lakes Now Local Station Production Grant.
Read more about life aboard a freighter >
Since this original airing, WPBS and Great Lakes Now have partnered on several stories and events:
WATCH: Freighter Technology segment
WATCH: Water Damage Episode Facebook Watch Party
REVIEW: Dateline Brockville, Ontario: Free screening of “Ships and Shipwrecks”
Wrecks Within Reach
SEGMENT 3 | ALPENA, MICHIGAN
The Great Lakes only national marine sanctuary brings underwater history up close
This segment received an Award of Recognition – Documentary Short and Award of Recognition – Nature/Environment/Wildlife from the Impact Doc Awards.
Whether you’re in a glass-bottomed boat, looking down from a kayak, or diving underwater, the shipwrecks at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary give you a haunting look at the past.
Start your visit at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center, the sanctuary’s museum in Alpena, Michigan, and continue on the waters of Lake Huron to see the wrecks.
But it’s not just tourists who benefit from the work of the archaeologists and historians. Sanctuary staff help local students learn about the Great Lakes in a “Science and the Sanctuary” class that’s required at Alpena High School.
“It’s kind of changed a career course for me,” says freshman Jillian Pilarski. “I really enjoy science and never had an opportunity to learn about what I want to learn about. … This right now is really what I’m into.”
- See similar sanctuaries on the Great Lakes or learn more about other potential national marine sanctuaries on the Great Lakes.
Here is additional Great Lakes Now work about shipwrecks since this segment first aired:
- Sanctuaries in Sight: The solo national marine sanctuary in the Great Lakes could be joined by three more
- The Age of Nature: Humanity’s relationship with nature in the Great Lakes region and beyond
- Shipwreck Life: How fish and other aquatic species utilize Great Lakes shipwrecks
- What Grows: “Shipwrecks and Ecosystems” watch party for Great Lakes Now and “The Age of Nature”
- What Grows: Shipwrecks become ecosystems, even at nuclear testing sites
Previous Episodes
Freighters on the Move
Freighter food, mail delivery, and the life of a Great Lakes freighter pilot.
Deep Dives and Rising Waters
The future of rising lake levels, Great Lakes shipwrecks, and the secret lives of fish.
Old Boats and New Adventures
Heritage sailing on Lake Huron and a historic passenger ship returns to its former glory.
Protecting the Lakes from Pollution
Updates on Lake Erie algal blooms, Flint’s water, and coal ash regulation.
Reef Rescue and Wild Edibles
Cleaning up toxins caused by copper mining, and foraging for Great Lakes wild foods.
Saving Whitefish and Navigating Niagara
Teaching Lake Whitefish to thrive and getting up close at Niagara Falls.
Warming Waters and Mutant Crayfish
Sounding the alarm on an invasive crustacean and rising temperatures in Lake Superior.
Ski Slopes and Saunas
A skier’s paradise on Lake Superior shores, Great Lakes sauna culture and more.
Big Fish and Gray Skies
Great Lakes muskellunge, optimizing solar panels for snow, and another short winter.
Buried Relics and Falling Water – Episode 2401
A Great Lakes archeological dig site and power generation along the Niagara River.
Surf and Slide – Episode 2203 Rebroadcast
Sailing on ice, Lake Ontario winter surfing and three Lake Michigan news stories.
Rivers of Water and Sand – Episode 2311
Explore Indiana’s shoreline erosion dilemma and Michigan dam removal efforts.
Wild Islands and Salty Visitors – Episode 2310
Tracking wolves and moose on Isle Royale, and piloting Great Lakes freighters.
Trails and Wetlands – Episode 2309
Mountain biking Great Lakes trails and the U.S. Supreme Court’s impact on wetlands.
Ancient Rocks, Tender Fruit – Episode 2308
Rock hunting along Great Lakes shorelines and Niagara farmers adapt to water scarcity.
Featured Articles
Points North: Complete With His Language
Kenny Pheasant first became a teacher of Anishinaabemowin at 14 years old. Now, it’s his life mission to get more people speaking the Great Lakes’ original and endangered language.
The Right to Consciousness
On the 134th Anniversary of Wounded Knee, columnist Staci Lola Drouillard reflects on all that’s happened and all that’s been lost, as it’s being recaptured through the vision of Anishinaabe painter, Rabbett Before Horses Strickland.
Climate takes its toll on the “cherry capital of the world”
In partnership with Grist, a look at how northern Michigan’s famous industry is coping with a changing climate.
Walleye Numbers are Down in Lake Erie
Numbers for walleye are down but up for perch with steelhead fishing soon in Cleveland — according to Ohio Division of Wildlife 2024 trawl survey.
Waves of Change: Meet creative, organizer and educator Antonio Cosme
As someone who has been working in environmental justice for almost 10 years, Cosme said it all began with trying to stop the water shutoffs in Detroit.
Energy News Roundup: Wisconsin reacts to oil spill as pipeline fight continues
Catch the latest in Great Lakes energy news.
Wolves could expand across the eastern U.S. — but they might need help
Gray wolves could thrive in the eastern United States well beyond their current range in the Great Lakes region, but they might have a hard time reaching other suitable habitats.
Invasive Species Control in the North American Great Lakes
An excerpt from the newly published book Beyond the Sea: The Hidden Life in Lakes, Streams, and Wetlands.
Digital Credits
The Great Lakes Now Series is produced by Rob Green and Sandra Svoboda.
Digital Designer: Shelby Jouppi
Digital Video and Photography: Rob Green, Zosette Guir, Matt Ilas, Zachary Irving, Sandra Svoboda, Jim Toscano, Barry Walton, Jordan Wingrove and Courtesy of WPBS-TV, NOAA/Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Captain Neil Schultheiss, the J.W. Westcott Co., Andy Morrison, Canada Steamship Lines, Tom Weldon, Thousand Islands International Council.
Website Writing: Natasha Blakely, Rob Green, Sandra Svoboda