IMMEDIATE RELEASE             August 27, 2004

Duluth, Minn., U.S.A.—Pride of the Inland Seas, an Illustrated History of the Port of Duluth-Superior, will be launched at a 1 to 3 p.m. book signing on Saturday, August 28, at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitors Center in Duluth’s Canal Park.

The 288-page hardcover book is the first comprehensive history written about the Great Lakes’ largest port. The Duluth Seaway Port Authority entered into an agreement in December 2001 with Afton Historical Society Press, Afton, Minn., to publish the book.

“Set against a backdrop of the key industries that helped build North America: iron and steel, forest products, grain and coal, Pride of the Inland Seas tells the fascinating tale of the development of the Twin Ports during three centuries of economic, technological, political and social change,” said Afton Press.

The manuscript was written by one-time Port Authority president Bill Beck, now based in Indianapolis, Ind., and former Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center director C. Patrick Labadie, now of Alpena, Mich. It was edited by former Duluth Port director Davis Helberg. All three will be on hand at the book signing event, which is sponsored by the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, Afton Press and the Port Authority. Northern Lights Books of Duluth will sell the book on site.

Helberg, who launched the project with Port Authority board approval in the late 1990’s, said the book “will appeal to regional historians, scholars, maritime industry professionals, general readers and the ubiquitous marine buffs who line the shores from Duluth to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.”

Beck, the chief author, has written nearly 30 company and organizational histories as well as literally hundreds of magazine and newspaper stories on trade and transportation. For Pride of the Inland Seas, he interviewed about 50 local and national maritime personalities in addition to researching the Lake Superior Marine Museum’s collection at the University of Wisconsin-Superior Library, the St. Louis and Douglas County Historical Societies’ files, and numerous books, trade publications, newspapers and letters. Photos and illustrations—many published for the first time—were made available through the same sources as well as from private collections.

Books may be ordered on-line via the Port Authority’s website at www.duluthport.com.

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