A book by Jeff Kissell
THE CONSTRUCTION OF PERRY'S MONUMENT

Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry and the American Navy fought the British in Lake Erie 188 years ago and won. A century later, workman constructed a monument to his victory on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, which is located west of Toledo and southeast of Detroit.

Perry commanded the Lake Erie naval force during the War of 1812. He was headquartered in the island’s village of Put-in-Bay and sailed from there on Sept. 19, 1813, to battle the British. After his victory, Perry sent the famous message, “We have met the enemy and they are ours” to Gen. William Henry Harrison, the commander of the war. Work on the Perry memorial began on the island in 1912. It took three years to complete the 352-foot memorial, the world’s largest Doric column.

During the three years of its construction, G. Otto Herbster took photographs of the building process.  While Kissell was working on the island, he discovered these photographic records along with the technical explanations of the construction of the column. “I came up with the idea, with their permission, to compile the book utilizing the pictures they had,” said Kissell. He has worked for the Park Service as a seasonal ranger on South Bass Island, from April through October, each year since. “I’d put in my eight hours with the park and then work on the book on my own time,” he said. The result is a 128 page book with 240 photographs and a brief text about the construction of the monument. The monument is the third tallest such monument in our national parks, according to Kissell. “It is taller than the Statue of Liberty,” he said. “The tallest is the arch at St. Louis. Washington’s Monument is second, then Perry Victory and International Peace Memorial.” Perry’s monument is 45 feet in diameter at the base and has an elevator to take visitors to the top. When Perry battled the British, the sailors who were killed were buried at sea. Three American and three British officers are buried under the rotunda of the memorial.

Arcadia Publishing, published a book by Jeff Kissell chronicling the construction of the Perry memorial. Kissell grew up in Benton Harbor, where his parents, Fred and Jessie Kissell live, and graduated from Lake Michigan Catholic High School in 1981. Although Jeff always loved history, he earned a degree in automotive management from Ferry& State University in 1985. After working for a few years, he decided to go back to school and earned a master’s degree in early American history in 1994 from Western Michigan University. After a short stint as a park ranger at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky in 1997, Kissell took a position as a seasonal park ranger on South Bass Island, where he found Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial.

Arcadia Publishing is a firm known for local and regional history books. The book costs $19.99 and is available from Arcadia by calling (888) 313-2665 or on its Web site at http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/p07.htm If you’d like to meet Kissell, he will be at Majerek’s Readers World at the Orchards Mall in Beriton Township for a book signing from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1.sales@arcadiapublishing.com

San Dee Wallace is the Assistant Focus Editor of The Herald Palladium. Arts Notes is published each Thursday. You can e-mail her at swallace@heraldpalladium.com

Perry's Cave, registered as on Ohio Natural Landmark, is a NATURAL limestone cave steeped in historical tradition. The cave lies 52 feet below the surface of South Bass Island in Lake Erie. The discovery of the cave, in 1813, is credited to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, hero of the battle of Lake Erie. The cave is 208 feet long by 165 feet wide; the walls, ceiling and floor are heavily encrusted with calcium carbonate deposited by centuries of water dripping from the ceiling. The temperature remains in the vicinity of 50°

http://www.perryscave.com/about.htm

Perry's Monument
A 352 foot Doric column built in 1915 called Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial. It was built to commemorate Perry's defeat of the British navy on 10 September 10, 1813 during the War of 1812. It was also a reminder of the lasting friendship between the United States and Canada along the longest peaceful border in the world.

http://www.pe.net/~rksnow/ohcountyput-in-bay.htm