Dart Boat & Mouse Island Lecture

The Dart Boat & Mouse Island Lecture focuses on the Hayes family’s connection to Lake Erie and other maritime affiliations. Join Dan Baker for this presentation at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, July 13 in Orchestra Hall.

In 1874, Rutherford B. Hayes, in partnership with two other men, purchased Lake Erie’s Mouse Island. Hayes believed it would be a great spot for his family to camp, boat, swim and especially fish, which was his wife Lucy’s favorite outdoor recreation.

President Hayes’ grandson, Admiral Webb Cook Hayes II, led a group of investors that manufactured the world-famous Dart Speedboats in Toledo, Ohio. The USS Spiegel Grove, named for Hayes’ estate in Fremont, Ohio, is the first ship in the Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail, a series of intentionally sunk vessels that begins off Key Largo.

With its remarkable size and history, the USS Spiegel Grove remains the world’s third-largest ship ever intentionally sunk to become an artificial reef.

Baker is a native of Gibsonburg, Ohio. He is a U.S. Army veteran and retired hospital facilities engineer and project manager. He currently works part-time at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museum and holds an associate engineering degree from Terra State Community College.

He also is a presenter for Terra State College Life Scholar’s program, lecturing to adults on a wide variety of history-related topics. His hobbies include boating, anything mechanical, reading, history and public speaking.

While in Lakeside, visit the National Museum of the Great Lakes exhibit on the Hotel Lakeside lawn from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and during the Wooden Boat Show 12-4 p.m. Sunday.