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Dinner supports museum’s Fisheries Heritage Exhibit

Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan is hosting its fourth annual Fisheries Heritage Fundraiser Whitefish Dinner. The event will take place Aug. 18 from 5-8 p.m. at the museum. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at the museum, or by calling 356-2202.

This year’s festivities will include dinner cooked and served from the well-known Rogers City Kiwanis Club Fish Wagon, which is famous for its delicious whitefish meals. Local musician Dan Ager and friends will provide musical entertainment for the evening.

There also will be a cash bar, door prizes and silent auction items for guests to bid on. Museum board member Tuffy Cross will give guided tours of the recently restored 1928 Katherine V.

During the late 1920s, two Native American brothers from Garden Island in Lake Michigan journeyed to Rogers City at the request of Charles Vogelheim, a young Rogers City businessman. He wanted them to construct a wooden vessel for use in the commercial fishing trade.

On the shores of Lake Huron, using native white oak, brothers Henry and John Vincent constructed, equipped and launched the Katherine V, named for Charles’ wife, Katherine Vogelheim. The Katherine V fished out of Rogers City from 1928 until 1970

Guests will be able to stroll down a boat dock flanked by faux building fronts reminiscent of an old fishing village. The dock will allow views of the Katherine V from all angles, both outside and inside the vessel.

Cross also put together a presentation showcasing the accomplishments made over the past four years by the volunteer crew, whose average age ranges from 75 to 85 years. Their accomplishments will be celebrated at the dinner.

Retired DNR fish biologist and museum board member Jim Johnson will provide guests with insight into the plans for the recently retired Chinook Research Vessel. Both he and Cross worked aboard the Chinook for over 20 years.

These two men worked to secure the Chinook as a museum artifact as soon as she was retired.

The Chinook will be added to the Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Exhibit to educate visitors on how scientific research helps maintain sustainable fisheries.

The mission of the museum’s Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Exhibit committee is to foster awareness of the fisheries heritage, share information and data about Great Lakes ecosystems, and enable better stewardship of Great Lakes aquatic ecosystems.

The exhibit will focus on Great Lakes stewardship, particularly on sustainable fisheries and related issues, using resources and artifacts principally obtained from Lake Huron and its watershed. The exhibit will represent Northeast Michigan fishery heritage spanning from pre-Columbian to present – a heritage largely shared by all regions of Michigan.

The exhibit will provide hands-on, scientific activities and will educate visitors of all ages on the importance of maintaining sustainable fisheries in the Great Lakes.

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