2013 Assembly Joint Resolution 92
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: commemorating the Great Lakes shipping industry and those whose lives were lost in shipwrecks on the Great Lakes.
Whereas, dating back to the seventeenth century, Wisconsin has enjoyed a strong and prosperous Great Lakes shipping industry, providing commercial ports from Kenosha to Superior; and
Whereas, Wisconsin's shipping industry has its historical roots in the days of the fur trade, in which large quantities of beaver pelts, wool blankets, and hats eventually made their way to Europe and other parts of the world through Canada and other maritime ports; and
Whereas, the state's shipyards played a vital role in assisting the war effort during the 1940s by manufacturing submarines and surface vessels in cities like Manitowoc and Sturgeon Bay; and
Whereas, Wisconsin continues to follow its rich shipping heritage by participating in international trade via the Saint Lawrence Seaway as well as supplying the Upper Midwest with an array of goods and resources; and
Whereas, the Great Lakes shipping industry has had a tremendous impact on Wisconsinites for generations by providing innumerable jobs that have gone on to support many families; and
Whereas, along with great prosperity there has also been considerable tragedy on the Great Lakes and an estimated 6,000 vessels and 30,000 lives lost through shipwrecks and other accidents; and
Whereas, November 10, 2014, will be recognized as Great Lakes Shipping Industry Day in remembrance of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which was owned by the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee and sank on November 10, 1975; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commemorate the rich history of the Great Lakes shipping industry and honor the memory of the many thousands of lives lost in preserving Wisconsin's maritime heritage.
