Fort Sheridan resident Steven Draska is a shipwreck diver and history buff who has spoken at library and historical society programs about the Calumet Steamer, which sank close to home.
Q: How did you become interested in shipwreck diving?
A: Initially I wanted to find treasure. I’d been looking through a National Geographic magazine and there were beautiful illustrations of artifacts from the 1733 Spanish flotilla that sank after leaving Havana. The artifacts were credited to a man in Key Largo. We have a home in the Florida Keys, so I looked him up. I ended up going across the Gulf Stream with a group of cowboys and diving. I continued up until the time there were laws and restrictions on recoveries.
Q: Is there any one find from the Gulf area that you’re most proud of?
A: I have a square nail from the 17th century Spanish Gallion with concretion on it. I am finding a lot of that, but not a lot of treasure. Some people have found lumps of coins, but unfortunately, I am not one of them.
Q: What fascinates you about the Calumet?
A: The Calumet sank right off Highland Park in 1889 and all 18 members of the crew were rescued by the Life Saving Service located at Northwestern, which was the precursor to the U.S. Coast Guard. Shipwrecks are underwater time capsules. Unlike archaeological land finds, they haven’t been investigated or dug up. Underwater it is pretty pristine. When I find something, that last man to have touched it may have been a poor sailor who made it out alive.
Q: You’ve taken a keen interest in Fort Sheridan history.
A: When they privatized Fort Sheridan, I converted a 1909 duplex into a single-family home. I became very interested in General Philip Sheridan. Then I became transfixed with his protege, George Armstrong Custer, and the Plains Indian war.
Q: Are you still exploring Lake Michigan?
A: The weather hasn’t been terribly cooperative, but I will go out and snorkel on a nice day. Ideally at noon, if the sun is over the top and the water is calm, it is nirvana.
