• Sunday-What'sUP March 17 - 09:18 pm

We received lots of comments on our Pasty Cameo earlier this month about the U.P. in World War II. A number of other regions in the midwest and throughout the U.S. have caught the vision to document the unique contribution of their area to the war effort. One such notable town is Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where the local paper - The Herald Times Reporter - provides today's Cameo appearance of Jerry Pilger with his account of the shipyards during the War, and their contribution to the fleet. Our thanks to George Thurner for alerting us to the story, produced by Jaslyn Gilbert.

The HTR website also has a video with Jerry Pilger, taking us inside a submarine.

Thanks for stopping by Pasty Central, and let me take a moment to thank all the sponsors who have kept us "on the air" all these years, with an ever-expanding archive of rich content about the Great Lakes region.

Have a good week :o)

It would be difficult for younger folks to imagine the high level of shipbuilding in the Great Lakes during WWII. Other than submarines, there were destroyers, LST's, various cargo ships, PT boats, and many other small craft....at places like Bay City, MI.. Toledo, OH...Sturgeon Bay, WI....Kewaunee, WI.....etc., etc. Of special note is the USS Pueblo which was built (1943) in Kewaunee as a US Army cargo ship, but later converted by the USN into an intelligence gathering ship. Most seasoned citizens can remember when the Pueblo was in the news. Yes, indeed. The Great Lakes area was certainly humming along those days.

Excellent video links posted today, Charlie! I've been through the USS Cobia many times, and it's well worth the tour if one would like just an inkling what life was aboard a WWII sub. If one is claustrophobic....I'd highly recommend not taking the tour.

I had no clue, as I'm sure countless others had not, of the history of the submarines built in Manitowoc. Thanks to Pasty Central for bringing this very important enlightenment to all. :) How wonderful that we've been able to share in all that Pasty Central has had to offer us.

Marquette's Submarine Memorial for Darter/Dace and our own Capt. Dave McClintock has a Manitowoc connection in that the entire crew of the lost Darter returned to Manitowoc in 1944 to commission the Menhaden and was on the way back to the Pacific when the war ended in August 1945. The Upper Peninsula has a large number of submarine veterans in part because they knew a neighbor who served earlier. I served my enlistment on the Sablefish which was the boat that came back to the Great Lakes to celebrate the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Thanks for the great video.

Since we are talking about WWII and the ship building in th Midwest, how many of you know about the two converted paddlewheel aircraft carriers that trained pilots on Lake Michigan. George Bush senior being one of them. USS Sable and USS Wolverine were the names.
http://www.lakelandboating.com/glenview/
This has a small article about them, if you search for "paddlewheel aircraft carrier" all kinds of stuff comes up

Made my day.

It's nice to see that Jerry Pilger has hit the big time (pasty.com). He's my sister's father-in-law.