Put In Bay
South Bass
Island
Lake Erie
off Ohio
May 25th, 2000
Not far
from Sandusky Oh, reaching out into Lake Erie,
stands a group of islands. One of these land masses, but by far
not the biggest, is South Bass Island, and here you can find a
most famous port of call. The small community of Put-In-Bay. It's
name rumored to have derived from frequent visits from ship as
they held up for one of the lake's infamous storms. The Islands
are several miles off shore and access is by ferry. We decided to
use Miller Boat Line and the trip across was quite pleasant.
Vehicles are taken sparingly as there is a limited amount of
roadway, and most of the community is within walking distance. We
had elected to take our somewhat new electric bikes across with
us and it was a delight to peddle around, going hither and yon,
seeing this and that, and avoiding strenuous
exercise by simply hitting the power demand switch. Having ridden
the mile or so into town, from the ferry stop, our first
adventure was to visit the Perry's Victory and International
Peace Memorial. This is a 352 foot obelisk standing in a 25 acre
National Park, honoring Admiral Perry's victory over the British
fleet during the war of 1812. The Peace Memorial recognizes that
the end of hostilities on Lake Erie ushered in a peace which has
lasted ever since, with Canada and the U.S. now enjoying the
longest unguarded border between countries anywhere in the world.
On the platform at the top of the monument, etched in metal, are
pointers to the
various positions of the ships in the great
Naval battle which unfolded just off shore on September 10th,
Admiral Perry, having had his own flagship, the Lawrence, shot
out from under him, took a row boat and transferred to the second
biggest ship in his fleet, the Niagara, and sailed into the midst
of the British fleet will all guns ablaze. The British were
unprepared
for such tenacity, and with most of their
officers either killed or injured in the first 15 minutes, the
British struck their colors and surrendered. The panoramic view
from the top is breath taking, and quite windy at times.
Fortunately there are only 37 steps to the elevator that took us
to the top. The monument was built between 1912 and 1915 and is
made up of 78 courses (or rows) of pink granite and is topped
with an eleven ton bronze urn. Although by far the most obvious,
the monument is not the only attraction available.
