Bill & Evelyn Matthies

I've had a couple of interesting weeks and it had nothing to do with fishing. I hightailed it down to Minnesota to attend a 60th wedding anniversary celebration for my in-laws, Bill and Evelyn Matthies. Shortly after that, I was off to Las Vegas.

Family and friends were treated to lunch and stories about their 60 years of marriage.  If you wait to the end of this post I'll share with you my favorite story.

Not long after the anniversary celebration, I had the privelege of travelling with Bill to the Dive Equipment Manufacture Association (DEMA) convention in Las Vegas. He was being honored by the Professional Association of Dive Instructors (PADI) as the oldest, active dive instructor in the world. You read that right, THE WORLD.

Over the course of a couple of days I was amazed how many complete strangers would walk up to Bill and thank him for being a pioneer in the dive world. Heck, even one group of divers from Texas bought his (our) dinner. He took this award and the accolades in stride and would respond to people by saying he hasn't done anything special, he's just old. Well, after listening to what others had to say, it's much, much, more than that. A side note, thank you Theresa Kaplan, Christine Grange, and Drew Richardson from PADI for making this all happen. From the award to the accomodations, it was an experience that neither of us will forget.

So, the 60th wedding anniversary and the PADI award are tied together by a story Bill likes to tell. I'm not doing justice to the way he tells it, but here it goes.

In his early years, Bill was working as a lifeguard and a man from Hawaii asked if he could use the pool to try out scuba gear. Bill said he could but he had to try it as well. He was instantly hooked and decided right there he wanted to buy gear.

Trying to figure out a way to pay for the gear, Bill stopped at a bank to see if he could borrow money to purchase the equipment. They said yes.

Bill went home and told Evelyn about what had happened and what his plans were. She said, "we're in college, we have a baby, we live in a small trailer, we eat spaghetti every night and we can't afford it. If you're that selfish and want to buy scuba gear, I will leave you." Bill said, "go ahead."

Evelyn said, "we have no room to store the equipment, where will you keep it?"

"I'll keep it in bed, where you use to sleep."

Bill finishes the story by saying he couldn't have had a better partner in life. She has supported him all the way.

That, my friends, is an enduring story of love and I couldn't be more proud to be their son-in-law.







Beaver Creek Cabins & Guide Service

Duluth: A Closer Look

 aerial lift bridge...icon of Duluth

I'm often asked why do we do so many sport shows in Minnesota.    From a business standpoint it makes perfect sense;  the highest per capita fishing licenses sold in the United States are in Minnesota.  In other words, "we're fishing where the fish are."   But, there other reasons why we love to come to Minnesota:   1)  the beauty of the state, 2) it is where we grew up, and 3) it is where our families live today.

Of all the shows we do, the Duluth/Lake Superior area definitely needs a little more attention on this blog.  It's also because I took a lot of photos and this is the best place to share them.   Anyway, here's a little historical background on the area. Duluth is the 4th largest city in Minnesota with a population of 86,265.  It's claim to fame is that it is the largest and farthest inland freshwater seaport in North America (2300 miles from the Atlantic Ocean). The main exports transported out of Duluth include coal, iron ore, and grain.  Other little tidbits to know about Duluth is that it's affectionately called "the San Francisco of the Midwest" and "the Air Conditioned City".   

  lighthouse near Canal Park

 

       

Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes, and is considered the largest freshwater lake in the world.  The Ojibwe call it "Gichigami", or, as Gordon Lightfoot called it in his 1976 hit song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,  "Gitche Gumee".    No matter how you spell it still means "big water."                  

An area that I really enjoy is Canal Park.   It's located at the harbor entrance of Duluth/Superior.  One of the many attractions in Canal Park is the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center which is operated by the US Army Corp of Engineers.   If you like maritime history, and who doesn't,  this is the place you'll want to visit.

Just outside the entrance to the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center there's a self-guided, walking tour of shipwreck recoveries from the lake.   When we came upon this anchor Jane said, "hey, my dad recovered that anchor!"   Pretty neat that my father-in-law, and diver extraordinaire, Bill Matthies, plays a part in the history of Lake Superior.   Since 1959 he's been a diver and has explored and documented many shipwrecks throughout the lake.   Because of his efforts, in 2011, he was given the Diving Community Contribution Award by the Great Lakes Preservation Society.

I'm not sure what this is but I think it's a shackle from an anchor.  I took this photo because it looked like a really large RL Kenai River anchor.   As a perspective, this chunk of iron is about as long as my river boat.

Here's a propellar from who knows how big of ship.

Here's another one.  Since Jane is in this photo you'll get a better idea of it's size.







                                                                    

Right alongside the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center (DECC) in Canal Park, the SS William A. Irvin is moored.   It is 610 feet long with a beam of 60 feet.   To give you an idea of the size, it would be at least 5 times the length of many of the crab boats featured on the television show, Deadliest Catch.  The SS William A. Irvin is owned by US Steel and was retired from it's lake fleet in 1978.   It is now on the  U.S. National Registry of Historic Places and is currently open daily for tours.   



Thought I'd include this photo.  Everyday during the sport show we had to walk from our hotel room through the skywalks to the DECC.  Adjacent to the DECC is the Duluth Curling Club.   This club was first organized in 1891 and moved into this building in 1976.  It is the largest curling facility in the United States and trust me, they are serious about their sport.   In the last winter Olympics the Duluth Curling Club represented Team USA.

 Lester River

Okay, I lied.  I may have taken a lot of photos during the sport show, but this obviously was not one of them.    The Lester River is a tributary of Lake Superior and it's located just north of town (thank you wikipedia for the use of a summer photo).

Jay Cooke State Park

 

Neither was this photo (thanks again wikipedia).   Jay Cooke State Park is located 10 miles south of Duluth.   It's the starting point for the Willard Munger State Trail.   You can bike, hike, in line skate, ride horse, and snowmobile on this trail.

 

Additional things to explore in Duluth and the surrounding area include:

•  hitch up your dog team and run the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon (Iditarod qualifier)
• put on your shoes and run  Grandma's Marathon (Boston Marathon qualifier)
• hike the Superior Hiking Trail (Duluth to Canada)
• drive the North Shore in the fall to view the fall colors (this is huge)
• fish Lake Superior and it's tributaries.....duh!
• groove out to the Bayfront Blues Festival
• visit the Historic Union Depot Railroad Museum

Hope you enjoyed my little tour of Duluth.  It was a great sport show and it was nice to get reacquainted with an area that both Jane and I spent so much time in as kids.    Jane pretty well summed it up.  As we were leaving she said, "I could live here."   You know what, so could I.   

 

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Bill Matthies

I know this topic is not "all things related to the Kenai" although he has been to Alaska a couple of times, but today I wanted to write about Jane's father, my father-in-law, Bill Matthies, and the week that he had. On Tuesday a couple of things happened. In the morning Bill was interviewed by Alix Kendall of KMSP Channel 9 about ice diving in Minnesota. The five minute interview was informative and it was a nice tribute to his career. Then, later that evening, Bill was reappointed to the Civil Service Commission for the City of Brainerd, Minnesota. That makes 19 years of self less giving to the city in which he lives. Finally, at the end of the week and the creme de la creme, Bill was awarded the Diving Community Contribution Award by the Great Lakes Preservation Society (acceptance photo above). He jokingly said that all you have to do is get old to receive these accolades. Be that as it may, it is impressive and a fact that my father-in-law is the oldest PADI certified instructor in the WORLD. Way to go Bill!

I thought I'd share one quick story about my father-in-law and this has something to do with fishing. Several years ago in the fall, Bill picked me up at the Brainerd airport. I was flying in from Alaska to go fishing in Ontario for a week. When he met me he said he didn't get it that I would "take a break from fishing to go fishing." You have to understand this comment came from a non fisherman. Anyway, I said "Bill, when you aren't teaching commercial diving what do you do for fun? Dive, I bet." He agreed and I told him we both enjoy what we do and we're lucky. You know, as I think about that conversation I realize that doing what I do for a living is not the only thing that makes me lucky. Marrying his daughter and being part of his family makes me lucky as well.

Make sure to check back tomorrow to read about "all things related to the Kenai."