“Mr. Maritime” himself, Fred Stonehouse, has received the 2018 Achievement Award from Lake Superior Magazine.

The Duluth, Minnesota-based publication has given the award since 1994 to individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to the wellbeing of Lake Superior and its communities.

Stonehouse serves as mayor pro tem of the city of Marquette. However, he has been recognized for other achievements, including the 2006 Association for Great Lakes Maritime History Award for Historic Interpretation. He also was the Marine Historical Society of Detroit’s Historian of the Year in 2007.

Stonehouse has taught Great Lakes maritime history at Northern Michigan University and is the author of many books and articles on maritime topics.

“Fred’s balance of recognizing and celebrating our history while strategizing and anticipating the future makes him a true asset to our Big Lake community,” read the announcement on the magazine’s website, lakesuperior.com. “For his vision and passion about his city by the inland sea and for his energy and dedication to preserving our Great Lakes maritime heritage, we are proud to honor Fred Stonehouse with the 2018 Lake Superior Magazine Achievement Award.”

Bob O’Donnell, a member of the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History, praised Stonehouse on the website.

“What kind of distinguishes Fred, he’s not afraid of taking maritime history into a couple of different genres,” O’Donnell said.

His books include “The Last Laker” about finding a wreck lost in a 1913 Great Lakes storm, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Pirates, Crooks and Killers: The Dark Side of The Great Lakes” and “Blood on the Water” about the Great Lakes during the Civil War.

Stonehouse has participated in many videos, and gave a presentation during this year’s Sonderegger Symposium at NMU titled “Sailing into Legend — the Most Baffling Shipwreck(s) in the Great Lakes!”

His Sonderegger talk focused on the Lake Superior shipwreck of two French minesweepers, which disappeared in 1918.

Stonehouse also is president of the Marquette Maritime Museum. Talk about immersed in a passion.

If you want to learn more about Stonehouse, visit frederickstonehouse.com where his future speaking programs are listed.

However, were you to run into him on the street, he likely will be more than happy to share his knowledge of Great Lakes maritime history.

It’s that enthusiasm that we believe makes him a worthy recipient of the 2018 Achievement Award from Lake Superior Magazine.