Speakers Available
Below is a list of individuals available for speaking engagements provided courtesy of the Northeast Minnesota Historical Center and St. Louis County Historical Society. Please contact the speaker at least one month in advance to schedule a presentation. Honorariums or fees may be required. Consult the speaker for further details.
BECK, WILLIAM
Topics for High School and Adult Audiences: Author of Pride of the Inland Seas,
his history of the Duluth-Superior Port; Port and Maritime History; Iron
Ore and Mining History; Logging and Timber Harvesting History; Hydroelectric
and Electric Utility History; Radical Labor History; and St. Louis County
History
Contact information:
Bill Beck
Lakeside Writers' Group
653 N Ritter Avenue
Indianapolis IN 46219
317-358-1832
BeckoIndy@aol.com
BUEHLER, KEN
Topic: Trains, trains, & more trains.
Contact Information:
Ken Buehler
Executive Director of the Historic Union Depot
Executive Director of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum
506 Michigan Street
Duluth MN 55802
218-727-8025
kenbuehler@aol.com
EVANS, MARY
Topics: Author of A Twentieth Century Lady, which covers the life of one woman
who lived in all the decades of the 20th century; searching family history;
and volunteering
Contact Information:
mevans@d.umn.edu
HOLDEN, THOM
Topics for Audiences 4th Grade thru Adults or family groups: Lake Superior
Shipwrecks, Isle Royale Shipwrecks, MATAAFA Storm of 1905, Wreck of the Edmund
Fitzgerald, Twin Ports Lighthouses, and “Dead End Street: A Brief History
of the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center”
Contact Information:
Thomas R. Holden, Director
Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
600 Lake Avenue South
Duluth MN 55802
1-218-720-5260 ext 35271
Thomas.R.Holden@LRE02.usace.army.mil
HUDELSON, RICHARD
Topics for Adult Audiences: “A Labor History of Duluth”, “Four
Duluth Women,” and Radical Politics in the Lake Superior Region
Contact Information:
Richard Hudelson
Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Wisconsin – Superior
715-394-8476 (office); 218-724-3865 (home)
rhudelso@uwsuper.edu
LAMKIN, DENNIS
Topics for High School Students and Adults Audiences: The history and contributions
of Bernard Silberstein, a pioneer settler of Duluth and one of the first
Jewish settlers; a slide presentation called "Behind the Scenes at Glensheen"...
not just the beautiful rooms, but some of the infrastructure which makes
the home function; and a history of Duluth
Contact Information:
U.S. Bank Corporate Real Estate
Vice President-Senior Property Manager
Mail Station EP MN 0400
630 U.S. Bank Place
Duluth MN 55802
Work 218-720-1027
Home 218-728-0350
dennis.lamkin@usbank.com
MEIERHOFF, WILLIAM
Topics: History of Canal Park, Ship building in Duluth/Superior (Coast Guard
Cutters, Sundew, etc.), Marshall Wells Company, and Duluth’s greatest
lies
Contact information:
William Meierhoff, President
Marine Iron & Ship Building Company
Available June-October
218-722-5484
218-722-0571
marineiron@aol.com
MERSHART, RONALD V.
Topics: Author of several books including Frontier Village, published in February,
2003; William Morrison and the discovery of the headwaters of the Mississippi;
Mary Clara Post and Ellen Norton Ashton--pioneer women journalists; Stephen
Bungo and western identity; Edmund Franklin Ely, Indian Educator and pioneer
of Duluth/Superior settlement; Thomas Clark of Beaver Bay, MN state senator
in 1858-1859; The Superior Chronicle, first newspaper at the head of the
lakes; Robert C. Mitchell, founder of the Duluth Tribune; and other topics
that relate to the earliest days
Contact Information:
Ronald V. Mershart, PhD
Professor Emeritus of History, University of Wisconsin--Superior
Sesquicentennial Committee Chair of Superior/Douglas County (celebrated in
2004 )
rmershart@chartermi.net
REES, WILLIAM H., LT. COL. USAF (RET.)
Topics for Junior High Students through Adults: “The Fantastic Story
of the Cold War air defense systems – from the viewpoint of the Northland
of the U.S., and also of Canada.”
Contact Information:
William H. Rees, Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.)
C/O St. Louis County Historical Society
506 W Michigan Street
Duluth MN 55802
218-733-7586
history@thehistorypeople.org
RYAN, MARK
Topics for Mid-level Elementary School Students through College and Adults:
The history of Seven Bridges Road, Skyline Parkway, and former Duluth mayor
Samuel Snively's involvement in their development, construction and promotion
Related Topic Information:
Published two magazine articles on the subject: "Snively’s Road" (Minnesota
History vol. 54 no. 4, Winter 1994/95) and "Mr. Snively: Roadbuilder,
The History (and Mystery) of Seven Bridges Road", (Lake Superior Magazine,
Sept 1998); produced a documentary entitled Snively’s Road; and created
2 Websites in 1999: The History of Duluth, Minnesota’s Seven Bridges
Road: www.amitycreek.com/sevenbridges and The History of Skyline Parkway: http://www.amitycreek.com/sevenbridges/skyline1.html
Contact Information:
Mark Ryan
5604 Upton Ave S
Minneapolis MN 55410
612-926-6095
mark@amitycreek.com
mark_ryan@earthlink.net
SUNDQUIST, CAROLYN
Topic: "Historic preservation--public policy and trends"
Contact Information:
Carolyn Sundquist
President of the Duluth Preservation Alliance
Member of the Board of Advisors for the National Trust for Historic Preservation
2510 E 6th St
Duluth, MN 55812
(218) 724-4143
carolyns@cpinternet.com
