September 19 & 20, 2017 Tuesday & Wednesday
It was a bit of a disappointment that we were not able to leave the past two days but we had an enjoyable time exploring the small town of Kewaunee, population 2,869. The main industry of this area is tourism and sportfishing, our small Marina has at least a dozen charter fishing boats with boats going out in the early mornings and late evenings, except for the last couple of days. Yesterday a few went out but came back early and today they have all stayed in.
Aside from water sports, the two main attractions in town are the Tug Ludington and Kewaunee County Jail Museum, both closed for the seasons. The museum is home to the Kewaunee Historical Museum and although the museum was closed we found someone working at their overflow building that invited us in for a brief tour. Tom was very knowledgeable and shared with us much of the history of the area. Like Sturgeon Bay, it was also part of the World War II Emergency Shipbuilding Program.
During our tour, I noticed a picture where the land mass reminded me of the peninsula that helps create the harbor we are staying in. Tom told me that indeed it was the same peninsula and that from 1892 – 1990 it had been the home of “car ferry,” which is where railroad cars full of merchandise were loaded on ships to be shipped across Lake Michigan. The first ferry, Ann Arbor No. 1, made her maiden voyage filled with railroad cars full of flour. The rail tracks and docks are gone the peninsula is now covered by very upscale homes.
Tug Major Wilbur Fr. Browder was fourth in a series of eight seagoing tugboats constructed specifically for World War II. The tug participated in the D-Day invasion of Normandy, towing ammunition barges across the English Channel after which it went to Cherbourg, France to assisted harbor operations until being sent to Plymouth, England for the duration of the war. In 1947 the tug was transferred to Kewaunee to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was renamed the “Tug Ludington,” too bad that it was closed for the season, we would have loved to go aboard. It seemed strange to be in a harbor with a ship that played a significant role in WW II.
It is a good thing that we like to hike, neither Sturgeon Bay or Kewaunee had any public transportation or for that matter a taxi. By the time we left Sturgeon Bay we had walked close to twelve miles and then walked another ten miles in Kewaunee. Kewaunee had a boardwalk along the harbor and a Marshland Walk to view the wetlands and river marshes. The people here have been great, the captain of Fishin’ Again even offered us the use of his car for the weekend, but hopefully, we will be gone by then. The owner of the boat we shared the finger pier with gave us a King Salmon filet he caught in Lake Michigan.
The weather forecast is good for tomorrow morning and we are hoping to make it to Sheboygan before the wind shifts in the afternoon. Wish us luck.
