Soul of a Port: The History and Evolution of the Port of Milwaukee

by Leah Dobkin, Tom, Mayor Barrett (Foreword by)

Overview

Ever since her boat drifted up against the mammoth docks in Milwaukee's harbor, Leah Dobkin has been enthralled by the evolution of the port and the city so firmly moored to it. From an era when it was a Milwaukee Miracle to make landfall without losing luggage to a promising future powered by alternative energy, Soul of a Port is steered by that same sense of wonder. And since the port's story is not just one of nuts, bolts and cranes, Dobkin's narrative is also well crewed by the characters who have given the place such a fascinating legacy. Settle in for an entertaining passage that includes a longshoreman's poetry, the Milwaukee Clipper's recipe for prime rib, a tugboat ghost story and much, much more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609490812
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	11/29/2010
Series:	Landmarks
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Leah Dobkin is a freelance writer on environmental, social and consumer issues. Prior to freelance writing, Ms. Dobkin was in the aging and nonprofit field for more than thirty years. She has a master's degree in gerontology and nonprofit management from Columbia University. She lives three blocks from Lake Michigan in Shorewood, Wisconsin. Being a Pisces, she naturally spends a lot of time around water. You can read some of her articles at www.leahdobkin.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Mayor Tom Barrett 9

Preface 11

Acknowledgements 15

Part I Milwaukee's Best-Kept Secret

Getting Acquainted 17

Not Your Ordinary Port 23

Honest Ethics, Highest Values 23

Unparalleled Cooperation 24

Part II Meeting Place by the Water

The "Berth" of the Port 27

The Wheat Connection 34

The Sweetness and Tragedy of Old Memories 36

Part III A Twentieth-Century Port

Staying On Their Toes 43

Milwaukee's Foundation for Foundations 46

Hibernating Giants 49

Size Counts 52

Sewer Socialists: Thinking Outside the Pipe 53

Good Bugs 55

Historic Place Pushes the "Green" Envelope 56

Part IV And Away We Go: Milwaukee Ferries

A Whale of a Time 57

"The Queen of the Great Lakes" 59

"Rails Across the Water" 64

Full-Speed Ahead 66

Running a Tight Ship on a Fast Track 69

Part V Heavy-Duty Lifting and Pulling

Crane Operators 71

Longshoremen 74

The Smell that Could Send You Packing 78

Can You Dig It? 80

Feathers Never Ruffled 83

Industrial Artisans 83

Meeting a Global Demand 85

Working the Wheel 85

Part VI Intermodal in Action

Complicated Logistics 90

Moving Vital Commodities 92

Salt of the Earth 95

Part VII Peeking through the Porthole of the Federal Yukon 101

Part VIII Sunken Ships, Ghosts and Rescues

Shipwrecks 107

The Mud Puppy 109

Ghost Tales 112

Rescues 114

Man Overboard? 116

Water Rodeo 118

Part IX Steering the Port in a New Direction

Culture Change 121

Energy Shifts: The New Fuel in Town 127

Shifting Winds 130

Eye of the Wind: The Port's Future 131

Bibliography 133

Resources 141

About the Author 143