2005 Senate Joint Resolution 44
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: designating the state of Wisconsin's maritime museum.
Whereas, the Manitowoc Submarine Memorial Association was formed in 1968 to bring a World War II Manitowoc-built submarine to the city of Manitowoc to show to the world the fine work done by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company and its employees during World War II; and
Whereas, a dedicated and visionary group of community leaders founded the Manitowoc Maritime Museum in 1969 to receive a submarine from the Department of the Navy; and
Whereas, USS Cobia, a submarine of the type built in Manitowoc, arrived in Manitowoc on August 17, 1970, and hosted onboard the first submariners' memorial service on August 7, 1971; and
Whereas, now, on the 35th anniversary of its arrival in Manitowoc, USS Cobia is the "nation's most completely restored World War II submarine" and the maritime museum, now named Wisconsin Maritime Museum, is acknowledged as the finest maritime museum on the Great Lakes, having been visited by more than 1 million people; and
Whereas, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of local, state, and regional maritime history; and
Whereas, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum will honor the maritime heritage of the state's Native American people, who first developed the region's rich fisheries, water transportation, and fur trade; and
Whereas, the founders, veterans, volunteers, and community of Manitowoc have created, as a gift to the nation, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, a facility of 60,000 square feet with a state-of-the-art computerized classroom, the "Learning Adventure Center"; the Children's Waterways Room, a unique watercourse model of the Great Lakes and locks system; 12 exhibit galleries; a climate-controlled, state-of-the-art 1,500 square-foot library and archives facility containing 350 ship's logs and 200 maps, a photographic collection of 40,000 images, 2,000 blueprints, 8,000 books, and approximately 2,000 periodicals, and one of the largest intact collections of World War II submarine blueprints; a film library of more than 800 items, including one-of-a-kind World War II color film footage; and
Whereas, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum's library and archives annually responds to more than 150 research and photo requests from scholars, authors, historical institutions, and other individuals and hosts interns and researchers from a variety of graduate and undergraduate programs throughout the state of Wisconsin and elsewhere; and
Whereas, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum, its archives, collections, and "Wisconsin-built boat gallery" preserve and honor the great craft and tradition of boat building in Wisconsin, as exemplified in the past by such manufacturers as Thompson Boat Company of Peshtigo, Dan Kidney Boat Company of De Pere, Dunphy Boat Company of Oshkosh, Tomahawk Boat Company of Lake Tomahawk, Mirrocraft of Manitowoc, and Melges Boat Works of Zenda and as represented by present-day manufacturers such as Burger Boat of Manitowoc, Cruisers, Inc., of Oconto, and Palmer Johnson of Sturgeon Bay; and
Whereas, in 1990 the Wisconsin Maritime Museum was awarded accreditation by the American Association of Museums, the highest professional designation a museum can receive, and was the first maritime museum on the Great Lakes to be so honored; and
Whereas, in 1991, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum was elected into membership of the International Congress of Maritime Museums and is a member of the Council of American Maritime Museums; and
Whereas, in 2005, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum became the only museum in Wisconsin and in the north central states and the only maritime museum on the Great Lakes to be named an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, earning access to Smithsonian national collections and its expertise and ability to develop educational and programmatic initiatives; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That from this day henceforth, the Wisconsin Maritime Museum shall be known also as the "State of Wisconsin's Maritime Museum," bestowing honor on all those who have had a hand in its creation and care and expressing to the nation the museum's role in preserving and displaying the unique heritage of the people of Wisconsin and their relationship with our Great Lakes and inland lakes, rivers, and streams.
