THIS LAND IS MY LAND, THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND

George and Mary Mussatti raised a family in Bessemer Township on a beautiful scenic property with bluffs in the background and an abundance of hardwood trees. This property was also the home of a small ski hill with rope tow operated by the Mussatti family and the 4-H club for area youth to enjoy the long winters.

Both George and Mary passed away in 1997. The property was passed down to all of the Mussatti children, but in recent years was owned by Bryan Mussatti and Anita (Mussatti) Maher who graciously offered to donate the family property of 79.4 acres to Gogebic Community College in 2021. Three of the Mussatti children previously attended GCC. They worked closely with the Foundation Director, Kelly Marczak, to reach an agreement that ensured the family property would continue to be used by the college for the benefit of GCC students. The family and the college agreed that this land would be used for educational purposes, primarily by the Forestry Technician Program but also by any other disciplines that the college deems beneficial

According to Bill Perkis, Forestry Faculty, “Being it is a Natural Northern Hardwood Forest Stand we will be using it for the following: tree identification, ground flora identification for habitat classification, and plant identification for botany classes We will be using the forest stands to develop management plans for silviculture and multi resource assessment classes There is also potential to use it to design the layout of haul roads and skid trails, and scaling and grading practice for timber harvest class It is also an ideal site to examine the forest for insects and disease, as well as wildlife and wildlife habitat. In all, we will be identifying, measuring, evaluating and locating all manner of things forestry.”

In addition to the property, GCC also was fortunate to acquire the billboard structure that had formerly been leased by the Mussatti’s to Craig and Mary Root for many years. The Root’s generously donated the structure to the College when they heard that the property was going to be used by GCC and our students. This provides us with an opportunity to promote our programs on US Highway 2 Westbound.

“This property will be beneficial to our students as an outdoor research lab in multiple ways,” said Marczak. “We truly appreciate that the Mussatti family thought of GCC when they decided to donate this property to honor their parent’s memory and commitment to the Gogebic Range. It’s through the generosity of our friends that we can continue to improve the student experience at GCC and we’re fortunate that we have the support of many in our community.”

For more information on gifting property or planned giving, contact Kelly Marczak at (906) 307-1202, Kellym@gogebic edu