Fall Lecture Series — Iron Diamond: The Living Legacy of the Shenango Fleet

Join us for the our 2025 Fall Lecture Series, presented by Impact Employment Solutions. Offered as a hybrid event, participants can choose when registering to take part in person at the museum or online via Zoom. Please select in-person or virtual when selecting tickets.

Join us for a program previewing the new book, “Iron Diamond: The Living Legacy of the Shenango Fleet.” “Iron Diamonds” is a story a century in the making. The five vessels of the Shenango Furnace Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were arguably the finest “lakers” ever constructed. Commissioned to haul iron ore and coal cargoes between 1906 and 1911, the five boats of the “Diamond Line” were engineering pacesetters, built with guest quarters to rival the finest trans-Atlantic liners of the day. Improbably, the stories of two of the five Shenango ironboats now converge at the National Museum of the Great Lakes 120 years after the fleet set sail from the Great Lakes Engineering Works of Detroit.

Captain Paul C. LaMarre III and award-winning photojournalist Christopher Winters tell the tale of the founding of the National Museum of the Great Lakes, the resurrection of NMGL’s marquee exhibit, the S.S. Col. James M. Schoonmaker, the last days of her former fleet mate S.S. St. Mary’s Challenger, and the creation of the museum’s new 5,000-square foot expansion that features the pilothouse of the Challenger and an extensive exhibit chronicling her unprecedented 107-year career on America’s Inland Seas.

This lecture is free, but registration is required. Donations are always happily accepted.

About the Presenters

Capt. Paul C. LaMarre III is the Port Director of the Port of Monroe, Michigan. Under his leadership, the Port has secured tens of millions of dollars in federal and state investment, executed long-term cargo development agreements, and completed complex environmental permitting. Capt. LaMarre serves as President of the American Great Lakes Ports Association. He was appointed by the Secretary of Homeland Security to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Great Lakes Pilotage Advisory Committee. In Michigan, he chairs the Governor’s Port Authority Advisory Committee and serves as a maritime advisor to the state’s Commission for Logistics and Supply Chain Collaboration.

He also involved in the founding and development of the National Museum of the Great Lakes, leading the restoration of multiple historic vessels and securing more than fifteen million dollars in capital funding to preserve and promote the region’s working maritime heritage. His love of lake boats and the Col. James M. Schonmaker has led to this passion project – Iron Diamond.

Christopher Winters is a lifelong student of Great Lakes maritime history. A photojournalist by training and veteran shipwreck explorer, Chris is a board member of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and an officer of the Wisconsin Marine Historical Society (founded by Edmund Fitzgerald in 1959).

His award-winning books, Centennial: Steaming Through the American Century, chronicling life aboard the century-old lake steamer St. Marys Challenger, and Schooner Days were published in 2008 and 2015 respectively. He and his wife, Jessica, live with their three children in the Fitzgerald’s home port of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Meet Our Sponsor

Impact Employment Solutions (IES) stands as a beacon of opportunity, offering a comprehensive suite of employment services tailored to meet the diverse needs of clients and job seekers alike. Specializing in temporary labor, temp-to-hire workforces, and direct hire permanent placements in HR, engineering, and technical trades, IES exemplifies dedication to facilitating seamless transitions into fulfilling employment opportunities.

Headquartered in Toledo, IES has forged enduring partnerships with numerous esteemed clients across Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, and Canada. Their tailored approach ensures that each client's unique operational landscape and requirements are met with precision and excellence. With a track record of success and unwavering commitment to client satisfaction, IES continues to shape the employment landscape, one successful placement at a time.