James R Stevens

Writer/editor James R. ‘Jim’ Stevens was raised on a dairy farm at St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. Like many Canadian youth he was a hockey player and in 1960 he went off to Ithaca, New York on a scholarship at Cornell University. He has had published a wide range of non fiction books in Canada that vary extensively in their subject matter.

 “As an author with the blessing or curse of a Gemini construct in personality many things interest me passionately, however, my bottom line is that a book of mine must have insight and have an enduring quality for readers. A good non fiction book will be valuable long into the future.”  At present Stevens has five books in print in Canada and one of them has been moving off of booksellers shelves for thirty-two years.

Strawberry Hill Werkshop: A History and Collector's Guide, by Wayne Pettit, is a book designed to be a reference source for collectors of Strawberry Hill Pottery, ceramics, offering a bit of history for those interested in what were some of the cultural influences of the Thunder Bay area in the 1970s, 80s and the early 1990s. It also provides information to the reader on how this local company developed and what went into the manufacturing of their products. In the pieces produced by the Werkshop, can be seen a folk art like representation of the animals and birds of North Western Ontario and a few other northern animals such as the Mountain Goat and Muskox. Also can be seen the influence of the Mexican, South African and Slavic cultures on the artists, Liz and Peter Powlowski. The book comes with a CD disc with over 400 photographs of the pieces produced over the years, showing two to four sides of each one as well as variations in colour, style and design. An ideal Christmas present, The book can be purchased through the author at Vanderwees Green Houses Antique and Craft Sale on Saturday, November 1st and 2nd, through the publisher, Lake Superior Art Gallery in Victoriaville Mall, The Thunder Bay Museum Gift Shop, Chapters and Black Cat Antiques.

Wayne Pettit was born in Port Arthur and raised in Fort William. The two cities later amalgamated into Thunder Bay. He lives with his wife Mary, in Shuniah Municipality, just east of Thunder Bay. A retired Thunder Bay Police Officer with 30 years of service, Wayne is the owner of Paper Chase Antiques on Lake Shore Drive in Shuniah. He has been active in the antique business for the past 30 years, both locally and in Southern Ontario, having taken part in shows over the years in Christie (near Dundas), London,  Milton, Mississauga, Ottawa, Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto and Woodstock.  As well, Wayne has conducted antique appraisal clinics in the Northwestern Ontario Towns of Geraldton, Hornepayne, Red Rock and Rainy River as well as in Thunder Bay

Shipwrecked - Vessels Meet Doom on the North Shore
by Ronald Wrigley

Born in Fort William in 1951, Mr. Wrigley Graduated from Lakehead University with a degree in Geology. His interest in shipping history led to research into shipwrecks in a part of Lake Superior from which there was little information. From this research came many magazine articles as well as this, previously unpublished, manuscript detailing most of the unknown shipwrecks of Northern Lake Superior. He lives today in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

"I have written this book to fill what is an obvious gap in the history of shipwrecks in Lake Superior. Many books have described in great detail the wrecks that have occurred in other parts of the lake, but none have written of the sorrow, hardships and heroism of those in northern Lake Superior."

Buy Now

Highways

The Lake Superior Circle Tour in northern Wisconsin (highway 13), loops around Lake Superior state highways in the US states of Michigan, Minnesota (highway 61) and Wisconsin and provincial highways in the Canadian province of Ontario (highway 17). These highways are usually the closest to the lake.