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PORT LOGBOOK 14 | NORTH STAR PORT | SUMMER 2024 14 | NORTH STAR PORT | SUMMER 2024 AT A CEREMONY ABOARD the William A. Irvin museum ship in Duluth on June 13, the United States Coast Guard formally installed John "J.P." Botti as its new commander of Marine Safety Unit Duluth. Botti relieved Jarrod DeWitz, who is moving to California for his next USCG assignment. DeWitz led the Duluth unit for almost two years, finishing his service in the region as part of the USCG response during the Michipicoten hull fracture incident on June 8. Botti arrived most recently from California. In 2022, he was named as the USCG Elite Male Athlete of the Year after earning Silver Ironman All-World Athlete honors and representing the U.S. during the Olympic Distance World Triathlon Championship Finals in Abu Dhabi, finishing in 33rd place among world- wide competitors in his age group. Botti succeeds DeWitz as port commander PHOTO / University of Minnesota Duluth Archives/Jayson Hron Darling Observatory in Duluth. DULUTH WAS ABUZZ ABOUT MARS in August 1924, with the Martian planet drawing nearer to Earth than it had been in nearly 200 years. Professor John Darling's obser- vatory at 910 West Third Street hosted a series of viewing sessions throughout the month for Head of the Lakes star- gazers, who squinted and strained for a glimpse en masse. Just a few blocks to the northeast, another emergent Mars arrived in much plainer sight, as W.P. (Bill) Mars and his son, Bob, opened their W.P. & R.S. Mars Company storefront. Growing from the Prescott & Mars Hardware Company founded in Virginia, Minnesota, by W.P. Mars and his wife in 1893, the new company became a prominent supplier to industry in the Twin Ports and an active supporter of regional commerce. Invested in far more than profits, the company also spon- sored an annual industrial safety award for Duluth firms employing between 50-150 people. Bob Mars typically pre- sented the trophy during the Duluth Chamber of Commerce industrial safety school wrap-up event, first held in 1925. Through the ensuing decades, W.P. & R.S. Mars Company worked closely with the timber, mining and shipping industries, growing in unison with the Zenith City of the Unsalted Seas. Known today as Mars Supply, with distribution centers in Duluth, New Brighton and Winona, Minnesota, plus a sub- sidiary (Conveyor Belt Service) in Virginia, the company is celebrating its 100th anniversary with three of the founders' great-grandsons serving in leadership roles: Bob Mars III as president, Steve Mars as business develop- ment director, and Bruce Mars as subsidiary director. Bruce Mars issued a press release celebrating the occasion and saluting good employees, a diverse customer base and long- term supplier relationships. "Both Mars Supply and Conveyor Belt Service owe the Duluth Seaway Port Authority a big 'thank you,'" said Mars. "The Port Authority's efforts to establish and energize commerce in the Duluth-Superior market have played a major role in our success." It's been a winning partnership for regional industry and shipping interests as well, with Mars Supply providing a cen- tury of service, plus the company's conveyor belt subsidiary installing and repairing the heavy belts found in mining and manufacturing facilities, shipping terminals and Great Lakes freighters since the early 1950s. "There aren't many companies with a longer history in this community than Mars Supply, so it's definitely an anniversary worth recognizing," said Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. "They've been a partner of the port for generations." 100th anniversary of Duluth's double Mars encounter W.P. Mars standing in the doorway of his store in Virginia, Minnesota.