May 2025 Marquette Monthly

notes

HigHligHts of important Happenings in tHe area 12 new york tiMes Crossword Puzzle

BotH sides now (answers on page 67) 13 then & now

Superior View micHigan state police gladstone post

Publishers

Jane Hutchens

James Larsen II

Managing editor

Michael Murray

Calendar editors

Erin Elliott Bryan

Carrie Usher

graPhiC design

Jennifer Bell

Proofreader

Wendy Paul May 2025 No. 433

CirCulation

Dick Armstrong

Chief PhotograPher

Tom Buchkoe

Marquette Monthly, published by Model Town Publishing, LLC, located at PO Box 109, Gwinn, MI, 49841, is locally and independently owned. Entire contents

Copyright 2025 by Model Town Publishing. All rights reserved. Permission or use of editorial material in any manner must be obtained in writing from the publishers. Marquette Monthly is published 12 times a year. Subscriptions are $75 per year. Freelance material can be submitted for consideration to editor@marquettemonthly.com. Events can be submitted to calendar@marquettemonthly.com. Ad inquiries can be sent to james@marquettemonthly.com or jane@marquettemonthly.com.

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About the Cover Artist

This month’s cover artist is Kim Bichler Arntzen, a painter who works in mixed media and all paint types. She is a graduate of Escanaba High School, Bay College and NMU. She has taught at Bonifas Arts Center and can be reached at kimL.arntzen@gmail.com.

feature erin elliott Bryan Ken Kelley serves His community in quiet ways 21 in the outdoors KriSti eVanS

tHe nortH country trail lures adventurers across tHe u p

loCals Jim laJoie walt lindala is at Home in tHe radio studio and onstage 31 lookout Point KriSty BaSolo planning a summer in marquette county 36 loCals

Brad GiSchia

Brandon nelson looKs tHrougH tHe lens of legacy 43 the arts

Brad GiSchia groups join forces to create more opportunities

baCk then

erin elliott Bryan Meinhardt raabe went froM ‘oz’ to escanaba 55 in the outdoors Scot Stewart dinosaurs and Horsetails in fern gulley 60 the arts

Jennifer donoVan calumet tHeatre celeBrates 125 years of entertainment

sPorting life Jim laJoie

escanaba’s nicole KaMin helps lead GVsU to a chaMpionship 66 on CaMPus news from u p universities 68 Poetry liSa foSmo

BatHing Beauties

69 the sPirit of water

Brad picKenS community, life and Hope are found at tHe well

70 suPerior reads Victor r. VolKman ‘northern noir’ Keeps readers GUessinG

73 out & about erin elliott Bryan & carrie uSher may events, music, art, museums and support groups

U.P. Poet Laureate applications due May 14

Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 U.P. Poet Laureate, who will promote poetry and the spoken word. The laureate encourages appreciation of the art form and creative expression by a wide range of residents from the region through public readings, workshops, virtual events and digital platforms.

The laureate will celebrate the U.P. and its cultural heritage through poems in online or print publications and champion past and present U.P. poets. The Upper Peninsula Poet Laureate serves a two-year term, which may be renewed one time.

A review panel of librarians, poets and academics from across the U.P. has been established to evaluate the applications and choose the U.P. Poet Laureate based on the candidate’s qualifications, sample work and references.

The submission deadline is May 14. For information and application guidelines, visit uppoetlaureate.org.

String Alliance Chamber Players to host concerts

The Superior String Alliance Chamber Players will perform two upcoming concerts.

The SSA Chamber Players will perform a concert at 3 p.m. on May 4 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Marquette. The ensemble will perform the Bruch Octet and Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No. 10 with senior high school students who also play with the Marquette Symphony Orchestra.

Performers will include Danielle Simandl, Barbara Rhyneer, James Uchytil and Larson Marquardt (violins), Eric Marta and Cambry Marquardson (violas), Adam Hall (cello) and Harry South (bass).

On May 31, the Chamber Players will host an evening concert of works for soprano and string quartet at 7 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Performers will include Maitri White (soprano), Simandl and Ben Campbell (violins), Marta (viola) and Hall (cello).

Admission is by donation. For information, visit superiorstringalliance.org.

U.P. Rowing seeks youth, adults for summer programs

U.P. Rowing will hold a youth rowing information and regis-

city notes

Welles receives Silver Tag Award

Welles, the service dog of NMU Veteran Services Coordinator Mike Rutledge, received the 2025 Silver Tag Award from the Upper Peninsula Animal Welfare Shelter at its annual gala on April 5. He was recognized for his longtime service and for his “comforting and supportive presence” on campus and in the community. Welles was profiled in the March 2025 edition of Marquette Monthly, which is available at marquettemonthly.com. (Photo courtesy of UPAWS)

tration meeting at 6 p.m. on May 5 in the Community Room at Peter White Public Library in Marquette. Interested youth and their parents or guardians can learn about U.P. Rowing’s summer youth Learn to Row program for ages 13 (having completed eighth grade) to 18.

Youth participants have an opportunity to try rowing in a fun and supervised environment. Scholarships are available. For information, visit uprowing.com or call 906-2502739.

Additionally, U.P. Rowing will host a meet-and-greet event for adults at 6 p.m. on May 12 at Ore Dock Brewing Co. in Marquette. Adult Learn to Row is suitable for ages 18 and older, and club members will be available to answer questions and demonstrate equipment.

U.P. Rowing is an all-volunteer, nonprofit club that offers instruction plus recreational, competitive and youth rowing in Marquette’s Lower Harbor.

For information, visit uprowing.com or contact Gail Brayden at gbrayden@charter.net.

League of Women Voters to host meeting, garage sale

The League of Women Voters of Marquette County will hold its next general membership meeting at 6:45 p.m. on May 7 in Studio 1 on the lower level of Peter White Public Library in Marquette. Social time will begin at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will feature a panel presentation titled “Know Your Local Government.” Leaders from Marquette County and municipal governments will speak on how citizens can get involved in their local communities.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

All community members are welcome to attend. For information, email lwvmqtco@gmail.com. In the case of inclement weather, visit lwvmqt.org to confirm if the meeting will take place live or via Zoom.

The League of Women Voters will

also hold a garage/yard/rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 30, and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 31 at 2021 Woodland Ave. in Marquette. The sale will include a selection of household goods and furnishings, art, Christmas items and more.

All proceeds will support voter services such as candidate forums, Vote411 and voter guides, National Voter Registration Day activities and “Hooked on Voting.” For those who would like to donate items, or for more information, email lwvmqtco@gmail. com or priburnham@gmail.com.

V.E. Day cemetery tours planned for May 8

The Marquette Regional History Center will present the 20th annual “Cemetery Walk: V.E. Day 80 Years On” on Thursday, May 8, at Park Cemetery in Marquette. Two tours will take place: A self-guided tour will begin at 1 p.m., and guided tour groups or a seated version (bring your lawn chair) will take place at 6 p.m. Victory in Europe Day happened on this date 80 years ago. Attendees can honor local World War II heroes, several of whom are buried in Park Cemetery. Both military members and civilians will be recognized. Participants will meet near the main gate off Seventh Street. There is a $5 suggested donation. For information, visit marquettehistory.org or call 906-226-3571.

U.P. Notable Book Club to discuss boarding schools

The Crystal Falls Community District Library in partnership with the U.P. Publishers and Authors Association will host its next event with winners of the U.P. Notable Book List.

This month’s guest will be Sharon Marie Brunner, author of “Michigan Indian Boarding School Survivors Speak Out.” In the book, Brunner, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, intended to both study and preserve the memories of survivors before, during and after their school experience.

The event will take place at 6 p.m. CDT (7 p.m. EDT) on May 8 via Zoom. Contact Evelyn Gathu in advance at egathu@crystalfallslibrary. org or 906-875-3344. For information about the U.P. Notable Book list, U.P. Book Review and UPPAA, visit upnotable.com.

Nick’s Run set for May 17 in Marquette Superior Connections Recovery Community Organization will host the third annual Nick’s Run for

Recovery 5K at 9 a.m. on May 17 in Marquette. Registration will take place at Elizabeth’s Chop House, and the race will begin at the bell tower at Lakeshore Boulevard and Main Street.

The event was started by Sarah Suardini, one of the organization’s recovery residence program supervisors, in memory of her brother Nick Suardini, who lost his life several years ago in connection with substance use disorder and mental health struggles.

SCRCO’s mission is to cultivate a culture of long-term recovery by creating connections and reducing barriers for those affected by substance use by helping individuals access supportive services, recovery residences, treatment, housing and other community resources. SCRCO counters the isolation and shame people feel and replaces it with community and accompaniment.

SCRCO operates two recovery residence programs, with locations in Marquette and Ishpeming, for men who want a supportive, structured and substance-free environment on their journey to long-term recovery. It also operates a direct service program with peer recovery coaches and community health workers to accompany individuals as they navigate the journey of recovery.

At the organization, 100 percent of its employees and 50 percent of its board of directors are in recovery themselves from substance use disorder.

Nick’s Run is intended to promote awareness of the life and death seriousness of substance use disorder and to raise funds to support SCRCO’s mission. Registration is $30 in advance or $35 on race day.

For information and to register, visit run4nick.org or superiorconnectionsrco.org.

Beaumier to commemorate Father Jacques Marquette

On May 18, 1675, the missionary and explorer Jacques Marquette died along the shores of Lake Michigan on his way back to the mission he founded in St. Ignace. To commemorate the 350th anniversary of his death — and his life and legacy — the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center will host a day-long event of presentations, films and roundtable discussions on May 19 in 1100 Jamrich Hall at NMU.

A keynote address will be offered by Catholic scholar Bronwen McShea, Ph.D. She is a historian, writer, speaker and artist based in New York City and was the Teilhard de Chardin SJ

Gwinn quiz bowl team wins state title

Gwinn High School’s quiz bowl team earned a place in school history in April by capturing a state championship. The squad, however, has even greater ambitions, as it qualified for the national competition.

Gwinn advanced to the 2025 Small School National Championship Tournament in Chicago from April 25 to 27, after Marquette Monthly’s deadline for the May issue. We will update the story in the June issue.

At the state championship on April 12 hosted by Michigan State University, the Gwinn team defeated all 10 opponents it faced to claim the Class C/D state title. Only one of its matches was close.

In the preliminary rounds, the Modeltowners knocked off Roscommon, 375-155; Bridgman, 355-80; Saugatuck, 325-175; Hillsdale Academy, 290-275; and Springport, 310-85.

Then, in the playoffs, Gwinn recorded five more decisive victories. The team defeated Deckerville, 380-130; Sandusky, 375-125; White Cloud, 345-130; White Pigeon, 305130; and North Muskegon, 395-80.

The team members who competed at MSU were Kendall Bash, Thomas Jenkins, Donnie Jourden (captain), Charles Lininger and Landyn Spade. The squad now has a 32-0 match record during this school year.

Fellow in Catholic Studies at Loyola University Chicago this spring. She is the author of “Apostles of Empire: The Jesuits and New France.”

McShea’s book is a history of the French Jesuit mission to Indigenous North Americans in the 17th and 18th centuries and provides a comprehensive view of a transatlantic religious enterprise in which secular concerns were integral.

Other speakers and presenters will be Daniel Truckey, director/curator of the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center; Dr. Jud Sojourn, assistant professor of Native American studies at NMU; Tyler Detloff, director of the Center for Native American Studies at NMU; Steve Brisson, director of Michigan State Historic Parks; Dr. Russ Magnaghi, professor emeritus of history at NMU; and historian Jennifer McGraw.

“This year has been a dream season with a dream team, and we hope to proudly represent Gwinn and the entire U.P. at the nationals in Chicago,” coach Dan Turecky said.

In competitions earlier this season, Gwinn went 10-0 and took first place at the Michigan Tech Blizzard Bowl on Nov. 9.

In another Blizzard Bowl at Michigan Tech on March 8, the Modeltowners took first with a 6-0 match record.

“I really enjoyed working with my team and kids, but it’s kind of a dream come true,” Turecky said. “You always want to do your very

The day will end with a showing of the film “The Return,” about Father Marquette’s remains being returned to St. Ignace. A roundtable discussion will follow with Daniel Rydholm, M.Div., official historian for the film; Jon Magnuson of the Cedar Tree Institute; and Russ Rickley, tribal elder of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

The event is free and open to the public. For information, visit nmu. edu/beaumierheritagecenter/events.

Kathleen Conover to present Art Talk on May 20

Artist Kathleen Conover will present “Antarctica Through the Artist’s Eye” at 6:30 p.m. on May 20 in Studio 1 of Peter White Public Library in Marquette.

Conover, who has painted on all seven continents, will relate her lat-

best, but to have such a team to hit on all pistons and to qualify for nationals is just a special opportunity and a great representation of Gwinn.”

The national competition is sponsored by National Academic Quiz Tournaments.

West Iron County High School won the 2024 title in the Very Small Schools class.

The Gwinn team is accepting financial contributions to help defray its travel costs. Donations can be sent to GHS Quiz Bowl, c/o Dan Turecky, Gwinn High School, P.O. Box 447, Gwinn, MI 49841. MM

est adventure to Antarctica, where she captured images of glaciers and the antics of penguins. She will share her paintings of Antarctica as well as sketches from Africa and other locations and will discuss her process to produce a finished work.

This free event is sponsored by the Lake Superior Art Association. For information, visit lakesuperiorartassociation.org.

‘Dancing with Our Stars’ to benefit Hospice Foundation

On May 21 and 22, “Dancing with Our Stars: Marquette County Style” will take place at NMU’s Forest Roberts Theatre. The event is a fundraiser for the U.P. Hospice Foundation, and all proceeds will benefit families in the care of hospice.

“Dancing with our Stars” will

Gwinn High School’s quiz bowl team won a state title and advanced to the national tournament in Chicago. (Photo courtesy of Gwinn High School)

feature two nights of performances. Opening night will be held at 7 p.m. on May 21. The audience can watch as judges give their initial thoughts and critiques of the performances. Attendees can then cast their vote for their favorite couple after the show.

On May 22, the dancers will compete again at 7 p.m. Votes from the previous night, as well as online votes and judges’ scores, will be added together to determine a winner. A red-carpet event will precede the show at 5 p.m. at NMU’s Hedgcock Building.

For tickets and information, visit dwos.uphomehealth.org.

Four-day vinyl record show coming up this month

Thousands of new and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books and T-shirts will be available during a four-day vinyl record show from noon to 11 p.m. May 22-25 in the second-floor community room of Ore Dock Brewing Co. in Marquette.

Attendees can talk with organizers about trading old records and tapes for new favorites, or finding a new home for an unused media collection. Sunday’s events will include a movie screening and six rounds of popular culture trivia.

All are welcome at this free, all-ages event presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. For information, call 906-373-6183.

Registration deadlines set for Fourth of July parade

The Marquette Kiwanis Club will host the 30th annual Marquette July Fourth Parade, beginning at 2 p.m. at the intersection of McClellan Avenue and West Washington Street.

Each year, the Marquette July Fourth Parade honors a distinguished community member as the parade marshal. To nominate someone who deserves this recognition, submit an application at bit.ly/parademarshall by May 1.

Supporters can help fund the parade as one of eight Firecracker Sponsors. Applications are available at bit. ly/2024paradesponsor with a deadline of May 8.

Community members, businesses and organizations are invited to participate in the parade by entering a float, vehicle or marching group. To register, fill out the online application form at bit.ly/2024float by June 6.

To inspire youth involvement, the Kiwanis Club is offering eight grants of $150 to help cover float costs for youth sports teams, dance groups, theater programs and scout organizations, and entry fees will be waived for these groups. Certain agencies, such as fire departments, will also be exempt from entry fees.

For full parade details, visit marquettefourth.com/parade.

Grief support series begins June 5

Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice will host a grief support series to explore feelings, offer support and provide tools to help guide those on a grief journey after the loss of a loved one.

This series will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. every other Thursday, June 5 to Aug. 14, at Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice in Marquette.

There is no cost to attend. For information and to register, call 906225-7760.

Registration open for Farm to School Institute

Partridge Creek Farm, in partnership with Marquette-Alger RESA and MSU U.P. Research and Extension Center, has announced that registration is open for the upcoming 2025 Central U.P. Farm to School Institute, which will take place June 11-12 in downtown Ishpeming.

This free professional development opportunity welcomes educators,

DID YOU KNOW ...

that sheep farming was part of U.P. agriculture?

From about 1916 and for a number of years following, sheep farming was popular in the Upper Peninsula. Some sheep farmers from the western United States relocated to the U.P., where the grasses were plentiful. The practice waned when hunting wolves was outlawed and sheep herds declined as a result.

Submitted by Dr. Russell M. Magnaghi, history professor emeritus of NMU and author of several books, including “Upper Peninsula Beer: A History of Brewing Above the Bridge.”

food service directors, farmers, food producers and community partners who are passionate about local food education.

The Farm to School Institute will provide attendees with the knowledge, resources and strategies necessary to implement farm-to-school initiatives in their communities, and offer interactive workshops, hands-on sessions and networking opportunities.

This event is supported by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. For information and to register for the 2025 Farm to School Institute, visit partridgecreekfarm.org/farm-toschool-institute.

Juhannus celebration set for June 20-22

Visit Keweenaw, the City of Hancock and The Finnish Long Drink will raise a can to the midnight sun as part of this year’s Juhannus Summer Solstice Celebration set for June 20-22 in Hancock. The Finnish Long Drink will be front and center with two branded bars surrounded by three days of events and activities.

The celebration will kick off on Friday night at Porvoo Park, on the Hancock waterfront, with live music and a large Juhannuskokko (midsummer bonfire). The first Long Drink Bar with brand representation will be at Small Craft — Hancock’s newest cocktail lounge on the Portage Canal.

On Saturday, the celebration will move to the Quincy Green in downtown Hancock. The morning will begin with a traditional Midsummer Pole Raising — a nod to Swedish and Finnish solstice traditions — at 11 a.m. followed by opening ceremonies and cultural programming at the Finnish American Heritage Center.

The second Long Drink Bar will pop up from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in a Long Drink Beer Garden, where there will also be a Finnish tori and market, lawn games, a wife-carrying contest, a Finnish Folklore Costume Parade, Finnish American Folk School Dance at the Finnish American Heritage Center and a concert at the Orpheum Theater.

The festival will close on Sunday with a pancake breakfast and the Finnish tori and market. For information, go to visitkeweenaw.com.

Escanaba musicians to play at LogJam Festival

The first-ever Escanaba LogJam Music Festival will take place on June 28 in downtown Escanaba and is billed as a celebration of the city’s “rich timber heritage.” The free community event will be held on Lud-

Electronic waste recycling offered

The Superior Watershed Partnership and the Great Lakes Climate Corps have announced a new household electronic waste recycling collection site in Marquette. It is open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays. Members of the public can bring household electronic waste, including, but not limited to, televisions, phones, computers and printers to SWP’s Climate Office drop-off site at 519 N. Lakeshore Boulevard. The suggested donation is $5 per drop-off. This new pollution prevention program is supported and coordinated in cooperation with Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. For information about the materials that are accepted and those that are not, visit superiorwatersheds.org. (Photo courtesy of the Superior Watershed Partnership)

ington Street, between 10th and 12th streets, and include a stage for music and an area for a logging show as well as vendor stands and food trucks.

The main stage will feature four acts, including Them Pesky Kids from Minneapolis, which includes guitarist Mark Woerpel of Escanaba.

Other musical acts on the main stage will be Sit Down Francis of Escanaba, Sky Pilots of Munising and Stonewall of Escanaba.

The Great Lakes Timber Show will showcase traditional lumberjack skills with a display of chainsaw carving, axe throwing, cross-cut sawing and logrolling.

The event will take place in the new social district that has been approved for the downtown.

The Escanaba DDA is looking for sponsors and vendors for the event. For information, visit escanabadowntown.com.

Youth sailing lessons offered this summer

TheMarquette Junior Yacht Club will offer youth sailing lessons this summer. The program will provide the fundamentals of sailing for beginners, ages 8 to 17, and expanded skill training for returning intermediate sailors.

Instruction will take place both on

and off the water by certified sailing instructors at the Marquette Yacht Club location on East Main Street in Marquette. Students will convene daily at the MJYC boathouse space.

The 2025 schedule will be July 7-11, July 14-18, July 21-25, July 28 to Aug. 1, Aug. 4-8 and Aug. 11-15. There are two sessions per day, from 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., and from 2 to 4:45 p.m.

Students can register for one or more weeks and multiple sessions. The cost for a one-week session is $225.

For information, email mqtjunioryachtclub@gmail.com or call 906250-3350. To register or for information about the scholarship application, visit mqtjyc.org.

Artworks sought for Lake Superior Fiber Festival

The Lake Superior Fiber Festival will take place Oct. 4 at the Marquette Regional History Center. The event showcases a variety of fiber arts created by local artists.

There will also be presentations by local artists, displays by local groups, a community fashion show, displays of pieces in the MRHC collection, activities and demonstrations for children and door prizes.

The Lake Superior Knitters meet

on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the MRHC. The knitters include homeschooled students, college students and adults of all ages at various levels of experience. Members mentor each other in skills and how to read patterns and encourage others to enter the Marquette County Fair and other outlets.

For information about the Fiber Arts Festival email marquettefiberarts@gmail.com.

Richard Smith inducted into Outdoor Hall of Fame

The Michigan Outdoor Writers Association has announced the 2025 inductees for the Outdoor Hall of Fame, which recognizes Michigan outdoors communicators and authors, conservation volunteers, public sector employees, inventors, entrepreneurs, artists and instructors.

Among the inductees for 2025 is local hunter, author and outdoor writer Richard Smith.

Smith has been an outdoor writer for more than 50 years and began his career by writing for Marquette’s Mining Journal when he was in high school. He is a nationally recognized essayist, photographer and speaker who has written 32 books and thou-

sands of magazine articles, specializing in all types of wildlife.

Smith writes monthly for WoodsN-Water News and Michigan Outdoor News, and his writing and photography appear regularly in national magazines including Deer and Deer Hunting, Buckmasters, Rack, North American Whitetail, Outdoor Life, Bowhunter and National Wildlife.

He has won numerous awards from MOWA and OWAA for his newspaper and magazine articles and photographs, and he has been awarded first place in the MOWA book division on multiple occasions. He also earned the Ben East Prize from the Michigan United Conservation Clubs for conservation journalism about bear management and received the Outdoor Journalist of the Year Award from the Flint chapter of Safari Club International.

Marquette’s Rotary clubs merge into new chapter

The Marquette Breakfast Rotary Club and the Marquette West Rotary Club recently merged into one organization, the Marquette Harbor Rotary Club, dedicated to service, fellowship and community impact.

This new chapter combines the strengths and legacies of both clubs

Bradford Veley is a freelance cartoonist, illustrator and homesteader in the U.P. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram and at bradveley.com.

to better serve the Marquette community and beyond, while embracing the global mission of Rotary International to promote peace, goodwill and service above self.

The Marquette Harbor Rotary Club will continue to uphold the traditions of its predecessor clubs, including two cornerstone fundraising events: a fish boil, scheduled for June 14, and HarborFest, set for Aug. 21-23.

The club welcomes new members. For information, visit mqtbreakfastrotary.com or contact Fran Finley at frances.r.finley@gmail.com.

Travel Marquette opens new location

Travel

Marquette recently celebrated the opening of its new tourism office in a renovated space at 201 S. Front St. As the official destination organization of Marquette County, Travel Marquette promotes the area as a year-round destination, focusing on sustainability, outdoor recreation, arts and culture and local businesses.

The office offers recommendations, maps and insider tips on attractions, dining, lodging and seasonal activities for those planning their perfect trip. The office also serves as a space to learn about Marquette County’s culture, outdoor stewardship and ongoing tourism efforts.

Travel Marquette is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.

West End Health Foundation grant applications open

TheWest End Health Foundation will begin accepting applications for its 2025 Proactive Grant from May 1 through June 1.

To qualify, applicants must be advancing health and wellness in the West End community, with an emphasis on programming aimed at developing the future workforce in the health care field. Grant awards will range from $1,000 to $50,000.

Eligible nonprofit organizations can apply through the submission portal at westendhf.org/grants. Top applicants will be invited to present their proposals to the WEHF board for final funding decisions.

For application support or other questions, contact manager@westendhf.org or call 906-226-6591.

Local business news in brief

• Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport recently celebrated the expansion of its waiting area. Approved by the Marquette County Board at a cost of about $400,000, this initiative increased seating capacity and improved passenger convenience.

• Nicolet National Bank’s Ishpeming Branch, located at 100 S. Main St., recently celebrated the completion of its remodel. The renovation will streamline operations by integrating teller and drive-through services to improve efficiency. Additionally, the branch’s footprint was reduced, freeing up a large portion of the building for potential future housing opportunities in downtown Ishpeming.

• Forest Flyers Ninja Academy recently celebrated its grand opening at 400 U.S. 41, Suite 106, in Negaunee. Ninjas progress through a six-level curriculum with classes designed for preschool, elementary, teen and homeschool groups. The academy will also provide space rentals for private parties. For information, visit forestflyersninja.com or email hello@ forestflyersninja.com.

• J and H Forest Farm Apothecary and Gifts recently celebrated the opening of its brick-and-mortar shop at 617 N. Third St. in Marquette. Owned and operated by Dewey and Amy Horton, the retail space offers natural, locally grown and handmade products inspired by the beauty and tranquility of the forest. For information, call 616406-9149, email jhforestfarms@gmail. com or visit jhforestfarm.com.

• Locally owned 401TK.com has been recognized as one of the nation’s top retirement-plan advisor teams, earning this honor for the third consecutive year. The accolade is presented by the National Association of Plan Advisors. For information, email tk@401tk.com or call 906-236-5500.

• UP Health System has announced that Mitch Leckelt will retire on June 1 following more than 11 years as chief executive officer of UP Health System–Bell. Following Leckelt’s departure, Tonya Darner, CEO of UP Health System–Marquette, will be promoted to Market CEO of both Marquette and Bell hospitals, and Alyson Sundberg will assume a new leadership role as chief operating officer at Bell.

• Ishpeming native Ericka Olson has opened Tidy UP Cleaners, a new private cleaning company. Tidy UP Cleaners can provide a consultation and a quote for cleaning of all kinds for new clients in Marquette County. Call 906-204-8002. MM

HOW TO SUBMIT TO CITY NOTES

The deadline for event and press release submissions for City Notes is the 10th day of the month prior to publication. Send your releases to editor@marquettemonthly.com.

ACROSS

1 Front-runners at the Iditarod?

9 Discreetly acknowledges

15 Antidepressant type, in brief

19 One end of a headphone cable

21 Peter of ‘‘The Lion in Winter’’

22 Namely

23 Popcorn and pretzels at a parade?

26 Manages

27 Platforms for politicians, say

28 Dr. Wilson’s department on ‘‘House’’

29 Fitting

30 Fig. that never starts with 666

31 Young DC Comics sidekick with a lightning bolt on his chest

35 Mideast grp.

36 Keep rhythm, in a way

39 Missing people?

40 Farewell

42 Someone who might excel at a Bible trivia game?

48 Biked past, say

49 ‘‘Never mind that’’

50 Mock

53 Bonobo relative

56 Newcastle ninny

57 ‘‘The X-Files’’ org.

60 ‘‘The ____ Show’’ (12x platinum 2002 album)

62 1982 Benjamin Hoff best seller on Eastern philosophy, with ‘‘The’’

66 Monopoly token retired in 2013

67 Tools of the trade?

71 Lead-in to complete

72 Little tipple, cutesily

73 Spill the tea

74 Org. that’s usually inactive in the summer

75 Beach day bummer

76 Meanies

79 ‘‘Midnight Cowboy’’ nickname

80 Motto that derives from the Latin for ‘‘always faithful’’

84 Cleans up after a dirty guest?

86 Police interrogator or priest?

92 Gallup’s bailiwick

93 Linear algebra array

94 Retail magnate James Cash ____

96 Airport alternative to MDW 97 ‘‘Groundhog Day’’ plot device 100 Famous flautist

102 Number of times lightning struck Apollo 12 on its way to the moon 103 Certain dance partner

106 Final Four, e.g.

108 ‘‘Bloody’’ queen of England

Angry words at a school assembly? 115 Expert 116 ‘‘Well, ____ here!’’ 117 Many-time role for Robert Downey Jr.

40 Plugging away

41 Not dis

43 Small time?

44 Texter’s ‘‘Not gonna lie’’

45 Bad way something might go

46 404 Not Found, e.g.

47 Cartoon witch with a crush on Popeye

50 Précis

51 ‘‘Not interested’’

52 Part of a 15th-century trio

54 Easy target

55 Bouquet

57 Poet with four Pulitzers

58 First name of Russia’s first president

59 Creative motivation, in online slang

61 Title for Marie Tussaud

63 Research on a political rival, for short

64 Michigan J. ____, Warner Bros. character with a top hat and cane

65 Container for alms

66 ‘‘God does not approve!’’

68 Bloods’ West Coast rival

69 Food stickers?

70 Zombie-to-be

75 Members of the ‘‘third team,’’ jocularly

77 Wearer of pointy shoes

78 ‘‘Told you so!’’

80 Show with a 50th anniversary celebration in 2025, familiarly

81 Coleridge’s ‘‘The ____ of the Ancient Mariner’’

82 Filly or colt

83 Digging

85 ‘‘Monday Night Football’’ broadcaster

86 Wear down

87 Items being replaced

88 Flourish

for short

Reacts to a jump scare

A flawed person

Capone’s foiler 119 Way out there 120 Bill Gates gave

89 More mature

90 Being prosecuted

91 Second-largest tech hub in North America

92 Common recyclable

95 Snatches, comic-book style

97 Tic follower

98 Country that fully encloses two others

99 Social movement of 2017

100 Turn

101 All together

104 Sports standouts, for short

105 ‘‘i’’ completer

107 Word, in French

108 Sail holder

109 ‘‘____ girl!’’

111 H+ or OH-

112 Green-lit

113 Never, in Nuremberg

114 Dancer Charisse of old Hollywood

The Michigan State Police Gladstone Post was built in the late 1930s and early 1940s by the Works Progress Administration, according to livingnewdeal.org.

Photos provided by Superior View Studios, located in Art of Framing, 149 W. Washington St. Marquette viewsofthepast.com

Currently designated as Post No. 84, the Gladstone Post serves Delta and Schoolcraft counties. It is part of the MSP’s Eighth District, which covers the Upper Peninsula.

feature

He’s been called ‘Saint Ken’

Retired professor serves his community in a variety of quiet ways

By Erin Elliott Bryan

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

—Leo Buscaglia

Jerry Mills was overcome with emotion when talking about his “dear personal friend,” Ken Kelley.

“He’s one of the finest human beings I’ve ever met,” Mills said. “He’s had a great impact on a lot of lives around here.”

Kelley, who is 89, is described by others as a connec-

tor, a relationship builder, a giver, a “spiritual grandfather,” an “unsung hero” and even a “living angel.” As a former social worker, university professor and community volunteer, Kelley has spent decades caring for and supporting the people in his life.

“He’s been called ‘Saint Ken,’” Mills said. “He’s such a revered individual.”

“There’s a balance of nature,” Ken Kelley says. “We just fit into it.” (Photo courtesy of Sarah Carpenter)

Kelley grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, and originally set out to become a journalist. “I had a passion for writing,” he said, “and I was deeply touched by an English teacher who was a writer.”

He graduated from Eastern Michigan College with a double major in English and sociology in 1958, a year before the institution became Eastern Michigan University.

Kelley married right after college and took a job at the state’s Aid to Families with Dependent Children (now Family Independence Program). During that time, he decided to lean into his sociology background and enrolled in graduate school at Wayne State University. “At the time,” he said, “the only degree was a master’s in social work; there was no bachelor’s.”

He studied part time while working and earned his Master of Social Work degree in 1961. “I became a bona fide social worker,” he said.

Kelley took a job at the Wayne County Juvenile Court and then in the county’s department for child neglect in Detroit. He later transitioned to a position with Neighborhood Service Organization, which facilitated programs for gang groups at schools, churches and police precincts.

“We had no office. The agency owned station wagons,” Kelley said of that role.

“We were a young staff. We wanted to save the world.”

The agency had partnerships with the University of Michigan and Wayne State, which later invited Kelley to apply for a teaching position.

“I was smitten,” Kelley said. “I continued teaching for 30 years doing hands-on work with graduate students, getting them into placements. It’s been the joy of my life.”

Kelley’s position at Wayne State was time limited because of federal funding, so after seven years he sought out a new opportunity in Marquette.

“By then, I had two young kids, so I had to find another job,” he said, referring to his son, Dan, and his adopted daughter, Sarah. “NMU had the job I wanted.”

Kelley moved to Northern Michigan University in 1975 and was one of five people in the social work department,

Sarah Carpenter, left, says of Ken Kelley, “I’m so happy that he’s been a giant part of our lives. I’m so lucky that he’s my dad.” They pose with Ken’s son, Dan, right, and Sarah’s son, Wesley Robinson.

which was combined with the departments of sociology and anthropology.

“We were a small department. We each had to pull our weight to build the program,” Kelley said. “But it was a very strong program. There were some visionary people at NMU that created the foundation for a bachelor’s in social work.”

Filmmaker Michael Loukinen met Kelley during those early days when Loukinen joined the NMU faculty as a sociology professor in 1976. “[Kelley] and others helped us move our limited belongings into a university apartment,” Loukinen said. “He was a close friend from the beginning.”

Loukinen had also grown up in the Detroit area, so he said the two had a lot to talk about. “He is an absolutely loyal Detroit Tigers fan and an absolutely loyal friend. He is something like an angel, so kind to everyone,” Loukinen said. “He’s just a very, very good selfless man.”

As the social work department expanded, Kelley became department chair. Loukinen said NMU had the only significant social work program in the U.P.,

and many of the graduates stayed in the area to work in a variety of positions for clinics, cities, counties or the state. “They were all trained by or under the leadership of Ken,” Loukinen said.

Kathi Clancy is a former social work student at NMU who now enjoys a friendship with Kelley. She recalled Kelley being an invaluable resource to her in her last year of the program as she developed programming at the Marquette Senior Center in the 1970s.

“He would provide guidance, instruction and he encouraged me how to write professional progress reports,” Clancy said. “Ken helped guide me as I had questions. He had answers. Then, the department gave me a social work intern to do their field placement. We worked as a team, and I developed leadership skills I used my entire 40-year career. … I had so many great jobs and met and was able to learn from and touch others’ lives.”

Over the course of his career, Kelley advised the Student Social Work Organization and was recognized as Professor of the Year and Distinguished Faculty of the Year at NMU. He was also named Social Worker of the Year for the State of Michigan, an honor he is most proud of as it was awarded by his colleagues.

He is now a professor emeritus of social work at NMU and recently attended Celebrating the Golden Legacy of Social Work at NMU, a 50th anniversary celebration.

Kelley’s daughter, Sarah Carpenter, was in second grade when the family moved to Marquette. She recalls her dad bringing home students and fellow faculty members for holidays and other special occasions.

“He fostered this environment to treat everyone with respect. We’re all human.

“

HE FOSTERED THIS ENVIRONMENT TO TREAT EVERYONE WITH RESPECT. ... HE MOSTLY LEANS TOWARDS SEEING THE GOOD IN PEOPLE AND MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE.

We all make mistakes. You could feel it from the way he interacted with people,” Carpenter said. “He mostly leans towards seeing the good in people and meeting people where they are.”

She said she’s realized now, as an adult, there is “definitely something quite spiritual about him.”

In 1990, Kelley’s wife of 33 years died

Ken Kelley moved to Marquette in 1975 to teach in the social work department at Northern Michigan University. (Photo courtesy of Jerry Mills)

at the age of 55. He remarried a few years later, and when he retired from NMU in 1997 the couple did some traveling and lived part time in Tucson, Arizona.

In 2012, Kelley returned to Marquette on his own and was eager to reconnect with this “beautiful community.”

“What do you do when you don’t have anything to do?” Kelley said.

Focused on “creating helping situations for the community,” Kelley sought out contacts he had made while he was teaching, which included fellow faculty, members of the social work department’s community advisory board and former students who were now working in the field.

An interaction with one of those students at the Marquette Senior Center led to Kelley learning that the police department was looking for crossing guards.

Kelley applied for the job and served as a crossing guard for two years at Sandy Knoll Elementary School. He then moved to Bothwell Middle School, where he worked for another six years and eventually became a special education aide.

“It’s the little things, making the community better and safer, and how he can foster that happy place,” Carpenter said. “Kids still recognize him.”

Kelley left the role when the COVID-19 pandemic began and he was advised to distance himself from the school setting.

Kelley also served on the boards of directors for organizations such as the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and Teaching Family Homes of Upper Michigan, where Kelley had placed many of his social work students.

Teaching Family Homes provides care to children, families and individuals

Kelley facilitates U.P. Wild Church’s weekly men’s group. He describes U.P. Wild Church as “a church with no building.” He also participates in the organization’s Wilderness Walks, where he often contributes an original work of poetry as part of the “spiritual reflection along the way.” (Photo courtesy of Jerry Mills)

in need by facilitating self-sufficiency through the enhancement of self-esteem, skill development and interpersonal relationships, according to its website.

Kelley also became involved with the Cedar Tree Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides services and initiates projects in the areas of mental health, interfaith collaboration and the environ-

ment.

The organization’s director, Jon Magnuson, who is also a trained social worker and a Lutheran pastor, first met Kelley when Magnuson returned to Marquette, his childhood home, in 1995.

“A colleague told me, ‘You need to meet Ken Kelley. He knows things, and he knows people and things about how

the world works,’” Magnuson said. “He was a door opener for me. He was very gracious and interested in my own story.” Magnuson and Kelley have collaborated on a number of projects for the organization. The two have led workshops on American Indian reservations, kayaked down the Columbia River and practiced Tai Chi at a monastery in New Mexico.

Ken

“Ken was my guide, my companion and still continues to be my mentor,” Magnuson said. “He’s an amazing human being. He has a spiritual sensibility about him. He carries no pretense.”

Kelley is also part of the institute’s Water Stewards initiative, which establishes a collaborative partnership of faith communities, municipalities and Native American tribes to monitor, protect and sanctify the lakes and rivers of the U.P.

In the January 2025 edition of Marquette Monthly, Kelley wrote a column for the initiative titled “Water Potpourri.”

“Going back to ancient Greece or Rome, to participate in the cult was to offer care for the gods. Our cult of water reflects this original meaning, where we share in the outward practice of protecting and preserving our precious waters,” Kelley wrote. “We touch and are connected to water at many stages of our lives. The question is, how might you participate in this cult of water — protecting, preserving and caring for this fragile resource?”

Magnuson said that at an April 24 public forum on the use of fluoride in water, Kelley volunteered to light 100 votive candles to “create a sacred space.” “He’s an alchemist,” Magnuson said. “He looks for the equation to make things beautiful and help people pursue their dreams and hopes.”

Kelley has assisted forester Jeff Noble in every tree planting project facilitated by the institute since 1997. Over more than 20 years, the organization has planted more than 30,000 white cedar trees at a variety of locations, including at the Teaching Family Homes campus in Sands Township.

Cedar trees are often used as a metaphor for the righteous, according to Psalm 92:12, which states they will “grow like a cedar in Lebanon,” signifying their resilience and spiritual strength.

Cedars, together with tobacco, sage and sweetgrass, are also one of the “four sacred plants” used by some Indigenous peoples.

U.P. Wild Church leader Lanni Lantto says, “Ken is the glue that holds us together in our relationships. He really helps us know each other, and I can’t underplay how unique that is.” (Photo courtesy of Sarah Carpenter)

Kelley is also a devoted volunteer with the nonprofit U.P. Wild Church, which has collaborated with the Cedar Tree Institute on its tree planting. Kelley describes the organization as a “church with no building.” “There’s a balance of nature. We just fit into it,” Kelley said. “Our services are hikes on deer trails or to waterfalls.”

There are now seven chapters of the church throughout the U.P. and one in Wisconsin. Leader Lanni Lantto said Kelley has a “very peaceful, calming presence.” “He particularly understands the importance of our relationship within the natural world,” Lantto said. “For being 89, he’s one of our most active members.”

Kelley leads the organization’s weekly men’s group and is a regular participant on its Wilderness Walks, where he often contributes an original piece of poetry as part of the “spiritual reflection along the way.”

Though there is a 44-year age difference between the two, Lantto said Kelley doesn’t see differences in ages — or abilities or circumstances. “He is able to connect with a toddler as well as a senior,” Lantto said. “He has the same level of caring and compassion for each individual.”

Lantto’s two children, ages 8 and 2, refer to Kelley as their “spiritual grandpa Ken.” “He writes them letters,” Lantto said. “He wants them to know that they’re loved, by their parents, by God, by him. He has a very talented gift to let people know that they’re loved.”

But Lantto said the relationship works both ways, as members of the U.P. Wild Church care for Kelley, too. She said it’s easy for her to post a flyer or share information on social media, but most people return to the organization “because Ken called them.”

“Ken is the glue that holds us together in our relationships,” Lantto said. “He really helps us know each other, and I can’t underplay how unique that is.”

Kelley recently retired from the board of Music for All Kids, a nonprofit that provides free music instruction and training to at-risk students ages 5 to 18. When Kelley met Mills and learned that Mills was a musician, he invited him to become part of the organization.

“Ken is a big believer in people who struggle,” said Mills, who is the current president of the board. “He has impacted a lot of lives of people who ended up being the caregivers in our community.”

Kelley is also serving as a writing mentor as Mills works on a book project. “The last 10 years have had incredible meaning for me,” Mills said. “If everyone had a friend like this in their life, the world would be a better place.”

Carpenter said her dad always allowed her to take risks and make mistakes, inspiring a sense of confidence in her at an early age. “Some of the things that he

“

ALL PEOPLE ARE FILLED WITH THEIR OWN KIND OF WISDOM. IT’S A BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE, AND I WOULDN’T GIVE IT UP FOR ANYTHING.

tries to do is allow people to recognize their own strengths and grow,” she said.

“So much of what he’s done, he does quietly in the community. He wants people to continue to foster love in the world, be good for the planet and good for each other.”

Carpenter added that she’s grateful Kelley can be there for her 15-year-old son.

“I’m so happy that he’s been a giant part of our lives,” she said. “I’m so lucky that he’s my dad — and I’m adopted, so I won the lottery on that.”

Kelley explained that he is someone who always wanted to fix things. He noted how the field of social work began as a charity — providing food, clothing and other essentials to those in need — and evolved into a “helping system” to give people tools to solve problems on their own.

“It gives hope to folks that are feeling without hope and helps people who are ready to give up be ready for the next day,” Kelley said.

With no signs of slowing down, Kelley said that his community work “provides some purpose” for him and directs his sense of what he’s doing.

“The longer you live, the more you learn,” Kelley said. “All people are filled with their own kind of wisdom. It’s a beautiful experience, and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.” MM

Erin Elliott Bryan grew up in Ishpeming. She is a freelance writer and an MM calendar editor.

in the outdoors

Searching for fresh stories

The North Country Trail draws hikers — and skiers — across the U.P.

By Kristi Evans

To celebrate his 55th trip around the sun, Steven Garner embarked on a highly memorable and physically demanding quest to traverse all 555 Upper Peninsula miles of the North Country National Scenic Trail, from the Mackinac Bridge to the Wisconsin border west of the Porcupine Mountains.

But unlike others who have completed the same journey — through either a single extended hike or a gradual accumulation of segments over time — he became the first person to cover the distance on skis.

Garner achieved the goal on his 55th day on the trail, which also happened to be the first day of spring. It was appropriately symbolic that he ushered in the season of renewal by capping off an experience that revitalized his spirit through extended periods of peaceful solitude in nature, along with the support and kindness of “Trail Angels” he encountered along the way.

Previous milestone birthdays had also been marked by physical feats. Garner hiked the Appalachian Trail for his 40th and the Florida Trail for his 50th. He decided to tackle the U.P. span of the North Country Trail — the longest of the National Scenic Trails — for his 55th soon after his construction season ended.

Garner said he was inspired by descriptions of its beauty in a book by Joan Young, the first woman to hike the entire 4,800 miles of the NCT across eight states. She completed it a second time at age 75.

“It was just something that popped into my head that seemed like it would be a big accomplishment, and I really didn’t do much advance planning or know what I was undertaking,” he said during a phone interview from his home base in Leroy, south of Cadillac. “I just wanted to be out where I could get away from screens, politics and all the noise, and where my thoughts could have a long stretch of quiet to arrange themselves in a way I can live with. Most of all, I want-

Despite less-than-ideal trail conditions, Steven Garner smiles near the end of his journey across the Upper Peninsula on the North Country Trail. He started at the Mackinac Bridge and made his way to the Wisconsin border. (Photo by Russ Heathman)

ed fresh stories. All the old stories of things I did back in the day were getting dusty.”

The unconventional and mind-boggling mode of travel Garner selected for this particular trek stems from his longtime love of skiing, first cultivated around age 7 when his grandfather started a cross-country business on the family farm. He later joined the U.S. Army National Guard biathlon team. Garner anticipated potential challenges along the route related to sub-zero temperatures, snowstorms, bitter winds, wildlife and getting lost. But he said he underestimated the “arduous” effort required on sections of rugged, rocky and hilly terrain best navigated with hiking boots or snowshoes.

“This trail was not made for skiing,” he stated definitively in hindsight. “When I approached the Tahquamenon Falls area, there was about 5 feet of untouched snow. I was breaking trail the whole way, just busting through and sinking down a couple feet with every step. There was no glide whatsoever. At Pictured Rocks, there were a lot of climbs on stairways and things of that nature that you could not ski. So I had to carry my skis and hike up through very deep snow to the next place that I could ski. That also happened past Marquette in the Huron Mountains.

“Pictured Rocks was really beautiful, though, especially because it

seemed I was the only person in the whole park,” Garner added, relaying some of the scenic highlights of his journey. “I was able to take it all in in a quiet kind of way. Chapel Rock was very moving for me. And from Grand Portal Point, looking down at Lake Superior, there were all these ice formations, like huge puzzle pieces of ice, and they’re all moving with the waves, creating these really fantastic textures that you could not even imagine until you see it. Hogback Mountain by Marquette was a really special place for me. I think that is the place that I first took a step on the North Country Trail about 20 years ago.”

Garner was initially leery of sections that rimmed Lake Superior, assuming there would be significant wind gusts and gales, but his fears proved unfounded and he described those areas as some of the best skiing on the trail.

He also had concerns about the distance between resupply points. Those were alleviated when he realized many towns were spaced at a reasonable distance for weekly shopping.

Garner also benefited from the kindness of Trail Angel volunteers from local NCT chapters across the U.P. who offered transport to and from the trail, a home-cooked meal and even a night’s lodging in a comfortable bed on isolated occasions. A couple of Trail Angels left bags

The North Country Trail was not necessarily designed with skiers in mind, and this narrow bridge provides evidence of this reality. (Photo by Steven Garner)

of provisions suspended from trees along his route for him to find.

“It really touched me how caring and helpful all of these people were,” he said. “I did not expect that, and I had never experienced anything like it before. They were all very inspirational as well. Most are retired folks older than me, and I viewed them as a road map for how the rest of my life can be. They prove you don’t have to be decrepit when you’re 75; you can be out actively maintaining trail, helping people and being a force for good in the world. Strangers I met who found out what I was doing were also very supportive and encouraging.”

Little to no snow cover was a challenge Garner confronted, particularly toward the end of his trip. On the final day, he was able to ski on and off for the first 4 miles, but the ground was bare as he began the approach to Bald Mountain.

At its peak, beneath a blue sky and with the sun’s warmth radiating on his face, he enjoyed a view of the Copper Peak ski jump in the distance as he

dined

“Unconsciously, my steps slowed,” he said in describing the finish. “My feet felt heavy. I couldn’t believe it

was about to be over. I wasn’t sure I wanted it to be over. I shuffled toward the finish line. I straightened up and walked across the bridge like a warrior to Wisconsin. An eagle glided

on his last meal of the journey: freeze-dried bison chili. After refueling, he hiked the remaining snowless 7 miles with the skis strapped to his pack until he reached the bridge over

the Montreal River that divides western Michigan from Wisconsin.

Sections of the trail that rim Lake Superior offered Steven Garner some of the best skiing along the route. (Photo by Steven Garner)

high above the river, barely flapping a wing. I said, ‘Thank you, Grandmother Eagle. Thank you for watching over me.’”

Despite the opinion of others — and even himself at times — that skiing the U.P. on the NCT was “impossible,” Garner persisted and was the first to accomplish the feat, with some adaptations and minor deviations. However, he would not necessarily recommend that others follow his lead.

Hiking the entire length of the trail across the U.P., on the other hand, is both more feasible and common. Some do it as part of an end-to-end thru-hike of the NCT’s 4,800 miles, or a quest to complete all of Michigan, which has more NCT miles than the other seven states it crosses and is home to the trail’s national headquarters.

Others, like Nancy Kreft of Marquette, choose to complete the U.P. gradually in stages.

About 15 years ago, Kreft joined a trip with the Softies, a group from the local North Country Trail Hikers — now known as the Marquette Area Chapter of the NCT — that originally formed in 1992 to hike across the U.P. from east to west in short, easy stretches. There have been revolving members over the years, but the semi-pampered approach that inspired the Softies name continues. No tents, freeze-dried food or heavy backpacking gear are required. Participants stay in hotels and eat in restaurants on their twice-yearly adventures, with a bit of car shuffling back and forth to the trailheads.

“It was a lot of fun with the Softies, but I had to suspend my involvement for several years because I was either taking care of my mom, or the scheduling didn’t work out on my end,” Kreft said. “So then I thought, ‘Why don’t I just do the U.P. myself? Why don’t I make sure it gets done?’ I re-engaged with the Softies eventually, but I also hiked many segments with my husband, Mike, and a memorable stretch on my own along Lake Superior from Deer Park to Grand Marais in gorgeous weather.”

As she checked off U.P. segments over several years, Kreft became involved in the Marquette Area Chapter of the NCT, adopting the same segment of trail that her mom had volunteered to monitor. She later joined the chapter’s board and now serves as both treasurer and administrator for the crew that builds and maintains the trail.

“The NCT is such a tremendous asset in Marquette County and the U.P., but it’s also part of a huge expanse

that extends well beyond here in both directions; that’s pretty special,” she said. “I find the scenic beauty along it inspiring, and the landscapes are so diverse — from forests, rocky ridges and prairies to sand dunes, lakes and rivers. Some portions pass through more populated and busy areas, like the Marquette path along Lake Superior, but there are many places in the U.P. where you don’t see anyone else the whole time you’re on the trail.”

Kreft hiked her last remaining section of the U.P. in October 2023. She and a friend traveled on a newly completed trail reroute between Long Lake, just west of Craig Lake State Park, and Herman-Nestoria Road.

“It was doubly exciting to be completing my U.P. quest, as well as being one of the first to hike this new section, which had eliminated a lot of tedious road walk,” she said. “Being someone who had never considered myself athletic, I felt a great sense of accomplishment to have hiked all those beautiful miles, and fortunate to have become more acquainted with the U.P. in the process.”

The North Country Trail Association website, northcountrytrail.org,

has many resources for those contemplating a journey of any distance. These include an interactive online map and downloadable, printable segment descriptions.

The NCT’s signature blue tree blazes are helpful navigation aids in most areas, but it is good to supplement with NCT maps on the FarOut or Avenza apps. They can be used offline and include trailhead parking locations, ascent/descent stats, camping options, water sources and trail spurs to scenic waterfalls and landmarks.

“Be prepared for the weather, trail conditions and bugs, and do it in smaller chunks in different seasons; we really enjoy snowshoeing the NCT,” Kreft said. “Even if you come up short of finishing the entire U.P., you’re still a healthier, happier person for what you’re able to do. Getting out there is really good for your mental health, which we could all benefit from right now.”

Kristi Evans is a public relations professional, writer and hobby photographer who spends much of her free time outdoors.

Nancy Kreft of Marquette pauses on the Little Garlic Falls spur off the North Country Trail. (Photo by Kristi Evans)

Walt Lindala finds fulfillment in the radio studio and onstage News and blues

By Jim LaJoie

Five days a week, Walt Lindala gets out of bed at around 3:30 a.m. He’s a radio news guy, and his morning gig begins at 5 a.m. His job is to report the news and entertain listeners. He’s won multiple broadcast awards for his body of work.

During the evenings, in and around the Upper Peninsula, you’ll find him picking his electric guitar, making some cool blues music. The Flat Broke Blues Band has been his side

job for the better part of three decades.

News director is Lindala’s profession. Music is his passion. His love for music began when he was a young child growing up in the small unincorporated community of Chassell, nestled along Portage Lake in Houghton County.

“It was a humble existence,” Lindala said. “There was a lot of love and support from my parents. We lived in a close-knit community. Many good memories developed and good friendships have lasted to this day.”

Music was a staple in the Lindala household. Walt’s late father was a drummer who played a diverse variety of gigs in the Copper Country.

“I remember sitting on his lap while he was playing. I was 4 or 5 years old,” he said. “He was a pretty good entertainer and storyteller. He would sit down at the piano and play. We’d listen to Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey and watched variety shows like ‘Sonny & Cher.’”

A “son of a drummer,” as he comedically references, Lindala followed

in his father’s footsteps. His dad bought him a drum kit when Walt was 3, and he eventually played the drums in the pep and marching bands while attending Chassell High School.

Around the ninth grade, Lindala said, his curiosity about the guitar grew into serious interest. That period in the early ’80s featured the likes of Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen and Angus Young of AC/DC, heavy metal icons on MTV and Top 40 radio.

Lindala taught himself the instrument. “I would read Guitar World

Walt Lindala taught himself guitar while in high school. He co-founded the Flat Broke Blues Band in the early 1990s. (Photo courtesy of Walt Lindala)

magazines that had the notes, and it explained what string to press with what finger,” he said. “I had an understanding of the neck of the guitar and figured out where the chords lived. I really decided that music and entertainment was my thing when I saw Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet at Michigan Tech.

“Then I fell in love with AC/ DC, Led Zeppelin and Van Halen. I was fascinated by Angus and Eddie. There’s a lot of blues music in Led Zeppelin, and that all tied together later to form a blues band.”

Lindala fondly remembers watching The Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan play on “Austin City Limits” in 1983. “I said to myself, ‘I want to make music like that,’” he said. “I just had to figure out how to master it.”

Lindala and bassist Mark Johnson helped form the Flat Broke Blues Band around 1992 as a trio. More than three decades later, featuring an experienced, talented five-piece lineup, the Flat Broke Blues Band is going strong, entertaining crowds across

the region with memorable blues hits.

Flat Broke takes the influences of blues, rock, soul and R&B and creates a sound that respects the tradition of the blues while pushing its contemporary bounds. The band features Lindala, Johnson, guitarist/vocalist Mike Letts, drummer Bud Clowers and lead vocalist/harmonica player Lorrie Hayes.

“Mark and I had a version of the band through the late ’90s that did some great shows and even recorded a CD, but we really hit our stride when we started working with Lorrie Hayes,” Lindala said. “After Mike Letts joined up around 2001, the rest is history. We really enjoy playing and the people we have met. That is truly a blessing.”

The group plays blues and R&B classics and a mix of original work.

“I’m proud of the fact that we have played with some of the top names in blues and have earned their respect, and they appreciate what we do,” he said. “When these artists come up to us and tell us that we have the sound and the feel, and want to jam with us

Music was a staple in the Lindala household in Chassell. Walt’s father was a drummer who played throughout the Copper Country. (Photo courtesy of Walt Lindala)

… we have stayed true to the music we love. We make people happy.”

Hayes said Lindala’s leadership has played a defining role in the band’s longevity and success. “He’s very good at details, like booking gigs and speaking with those who have hired us to make our time and their time smooth,” Hayes said. “He’s a great group leader and is interested in making our songs correct, in tune and in time. He is always prepared.”

She added that Lindala is the glue that keeps the band clicking. “It would be very difficult to move on without him, with his connections to other musicians, gigs and opportunities,” she said. “We very simply would not be the band we are without Walt. We are a family.”

Lindala helped establish the Marquette Area Blues Society, which focuses on bringing attention to blues and artists in the region. That led to hosting the Marquette Area Blues Fest, a three-day extravaganza over Labor Day weekend that went on for 20 years. The Blues Fest attracted popular blues performers and heavy hitters from across the country.

The 2024 festival was the last. Lindala said the time and energy to put on the event became increasingly more taxing with diminished volunteer support.

“At this point in my life, it’s one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever been a part of,” he said about ending the Blues Fest. “It was born in my kitchen, and it became big. We kept pushing it, but eventually we decided

that we didn’t want it to falter.”

Although Lindala has steadfastly been a fixture in the music scene for decades, he’s arguably better known as an award-winning news director.

After graduating from high school, Lindala began covering news and public affairs in Upper Michigan as a student at Northern Michigan University, launching his news career at NMU’s Public Radio 90, WNMU-FM. He hosted the morning news program for almost a decade before taking on the role of news director at Sunny 101.9.

He has served in that capacity for more than 28 years. Together with program manager Mark Evans, the duo has been “Mark and Walt in the Morning” for more than two decades.

“For me, I got interested in announcing and using my voice,” Lindala said. “I love audio and the sound of music. And I really got into news announcing. I really wanted to develop my voice.”

In high school, Lindala participated on the forensics team in the radio news category. That invaluable experience helped pave the way in pursuing a career in radio.

“We were given a stack of wire copies and told to take the stack and assemble in order, edit them down and put together a three- to four-minute newscast,” he said. “The judges were obscured from the microphone. I followed a lot of current events and enjoyed building newscasts. I liked getting to the bottom of things.”

His forensics team ultimately made it to the state finals.

Walt and April Lindala have been married nearly 35 years. April is a professor of Native American studies at NMU. (Photo courtesy of Walt Lindala)

Unlike a number of morning shows in which announcers come and go, Lindala and Evans have formed a unique chemistry, one that has been a mainstay on morning radio in the central Upper Peninsula.

“When I first met Mark, we sat down in a room together and he had a pair of ‘Looney Tunes’ socks on,” he said. “We talked, and I knew we had something there. Mark graduated [from high school] in 1985 and I was in 1986.

“I think the secret with us is we both understand the key ingredient in that we know when to stop talking. We recognize the silence, and that is the space where the power lives. We have a sense of timing and have very similar interests. It comes across as two people who really understand the dynamics of radio. We can look at one another, and there is this unspoken, nonverbal communication. We could close our eyes and know when to stop talking. We make you laugh and forget your troubles.”

Evans said Lindala “has developed a keen ability to step away from the ‘news guy’ persona and be a key element in entertaining listeners.”

“That’s a tricky thing to balance, and the fact that Walt has perfected that is what makes the show work,” Evans said. “It’s not the ‘Mark Evans Show with Walt Lindala News.’ It’s ‘Mark and Walt’ for that reason.”

Lindala has garnered a truckload of awards — to the tune of more than two dozen — from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters for his work in news and co-hosting. He has been

recognized for his news reporting, event coverage and on-air and production work.

“The big deal for me, though, was to develop a voice that was trusted, believed and as accurate as possible,” he said. “We’ve done some interviews that have gotten recognition, and it’s nice to be recognized. We make it easy for people to be interviewed. It’s a conversation. People ask, ‘How good can you be in the U.P.?’ My re-

action is that we are good at it, and the show is universally good.”

Evans added, “We’ve been the Morning Show of the Year, Market Four, more times than I can count. The biggest reason is the fact we have fun, [and] we’re engaged in the community wherever we can be. We have more Michigan Association of Broadcasting awards than anyone in the U.P. based on quality Walt brings to the show and to his department.”

Lindala has earned more than two dozen awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. He and Mark Evans have co-hosted “Mark and Walt in the Morning” for over two decades. (Photo courtesy of Walt Lindala)

Away from his work in radio and jamming in his band, Lindala loves to travel, is an avid NMU hockey fan and enjoys a fine cigar and an occasional glass of bourbon. He also serves on a number of community boards and organizations.

“I have an opportunity to give back,” he said. “It’s important to be involved and meet people in these organizations. I want to help out my community, and what drives me to do it is that I can and have the interest.”

At 57, Lindala knows he’s on the back side of his director career. He’s OK with that. And on stage, he’s now much happier playing Flat Broke Blues gigs from 6 to 9 p.m. rather than 10 p.m. to 1 in the morning.

“I play in a band, and it’s a great gig. I can go and do my radio show, and it’s always fun. I’m a lucky guy to live in an area that I enjoy and be married to the gal I love,” he said. “My wife, April, a professor at NMU in Native American studies, and I will be married 35 years this fall, and she is the most tolerant woman on earth. I couldn’t do any of this without her.” MM

Jim LaJoie was a newspaper sports writer and sports editor from 1986 to 1996. He is an award-winning sports columnist for The U.P. Catholic. LaJoie lives with his family in Marquette.

Walt

lookout point

The area offers a lot to see, do and taste for visitors and residents alike

Planning a Marquette County summer

By Kristy Basolo

Whether you’re visiting the area or are a local looking to play tourist for the day or weekend, Marquette County offers some unexpected cultural opportunities in addition to the usual outdoor must-dos.

The largest county in Michigan by land area, the county boasts landscapes that vary from mountains to plains, Great Lakes shoreline to inland lakes, waterfalls and rivers.

“There’s a lot to see, from a great little roadside park in Michigamme

to sitting by Lake Superior to try and catch the northern lights,” said local Keller Williams real estate broker Crystal Berglund. “I do a lot of driving, and there’s always something new to see or a good place to eat.”

The county is shaped by the mining industry, and immigrants who came to the area to work in the underground mines brought their cuisine. While many visitors see the signs for pasties throughout the U.P. — self-contained meat and potato pies brought to the area by Cornish miners so they could have a hot meal underground while on their shift — there is another import-

ant and delicious delicacy to seek out while in the area.

“Cudighi” is a type of Italian sausage, pressed into patties, primarily served in Marquette County. According to Travel Marquette, “The sandwich and its signature sausage were initially sold in northern Michigan by Italian immigrants in 1936, who called it ‘gudighi.’”

“Every Italian area has their own word or name for the sausage,” retired NMU food service worker Mary Gervasi said. “They’re all made slightly different, depending on the region of Italy they came from. Some are sweet,

some are savory.”

Gervasi, who was married to the late Dominic Gervasi of the Ralph’s Deli family, said ground pork and fennel are the two base ingredients, but there are many recipes and no two cudighi brands taste the same.

“I’ve seen recipes with wine, mace … all kinds of different things,” she said.

Traditionally made in a sandwich form, there is local controversy over what should be served on the cudighi as well as who makes the best cudighi.

“The original was mustard and onion,” Gervasi said. “That’s all you got.

Cliff’s Shaft Mine Museum in Ishpeming features a 170-ton truck that hauled iron ore. The truck has 12-foot-high tires. (Photo by Kristy Basolo)

That’s how it came.”

Ralph Gervasi, when he had his food truck in downtown Ishpeming in the ’50s and ’60s, started making the sandwiches with pizza sauce and cheese, and then ketchup, green peppers and other things were eventually offered.

“Now most people order sauce and cheese,” Gervasi said. “The works is almost like a pizza — mushrooms, onions, green peppers. But every sausage tastes different.”

In fact, the World Cudighi Championships took place for a few years starting in 2019 in the county’s west end. Participants could sample cudighi made by many vendors from around the area, comparing the formulas side-by-side.

Today the sandwich still can be found in restaurants throughout the county, including at Vango’s in Marquette, Pasquali’s, Gravedoni’s and Tino’s in Negaunee, the Crossroads in Sands Township and Congress Pizzas and Jasper Ridge Brewery in Ishpeming.

Unparalleled views

WhileSugarloaf and Hogback mountains are common spots for tourists and locals to test their fitness with a great view as a reward, Jasper Knob, locally referred to as “The World’s Largest Gemstone,” is a necessary stop for hikers of all abilities.

Located in a residential area in Ishpeming, the bald-topped hill is made up entirely of Jasper and Hematite. It “forms a dramatic knob with a breathtaking view of the Ishpeming area,” according to dayoopers.com.

The site can be accessed off Jasper Street, marked by a small set of stairs that are formed into a stone wall that divides the property from the road. A short trail winds to the top and, while steep, can be managed by most ability levels when incorporating short breaks as the trail climbs.

“It’s worth the time to see the jaspilite formations at the top,” said former Negaunee resident Kristine Garn, who took her daughter on the hike during a visit to the U.P. “The exposed rock is unique with its distinct bands of color. The view overlooking Ishpeming is also a highlight, offering a bird’seye look at Ishpeming. It’s a nice hike to take in the scenery and appreciate an unusual geological feature of the area.”

This location offers views of banded iron formations, which are unusual sedimentary rock formations that are extinct, meaning the conditions in which they formed no longer exist on the planet.

The alternating bands of red chert, red hematite and silver specular hematite make for a colorful ground to walk on, while the view over downtown Ishpeming is great for a photo op or a picnic. Samples of jasper from this area are on display in natural history museums across the country.

For those looking for a different sort of hike, there are dozens of waterfalls in Marquette County, which boasts the most in the state. More than 10 are accessible hikes and can be found with directions and a map at travelmarquette.com. Another comprehensive list is available from The Waterfall Record (waterfallrecord. com), which offers narratives and

Pasquali’s in Negaunee is one of several local establishments that serves the Marquette County original, the cudighi. (Photo by Kristy Basolo)

The Baraga House in Marquette was the last home of Bishop Frederic Baraga, who moved to the United States from Slovenia in 1830. (Photo by Kristy Basolo)

specific directions and details about many of the features in the county.

Local photographer Doug Carter said County Road 550 is home to many of his favorite spots — including waterfalls — to admire the U.P. surroundings. One such area is the Echo Lake Nature Preserve, at the end of Echo Lake Road in Marquette Township.

“It’s mostly on an old road with a gradual incline going to the lake,” Carter said. “It’s a pretty special place.”

Carter said you have to drive about a mile to get to the parking lot at the trailhead, and while the road can be rough, it’s worth the effort.

Under the auspices of the Nature Conservancy, the 480-acre Echo Lake Nature Preserve is just a few miles outside of Marquette and includes “high bluffs of exposed granite bedrock, a mixed deciduous and conifer forest, wetlands, creeks, three high rock ponds and Echo Lake itself. Harlow Creek flows from its headwaters at Echo Lake, takes in water from Harlow Lake and empties into Lake Superior,” according to the conservancy’s website.

Moose, gray wolves, river otters, salamanders and migratory birds share the views at this picturesque site. Carter also has seen a lot of waterfowl, including ducks and even trumpeter swans.

The site also has a guided audio tour that visitors can listen to on their phones while they hike the trail, which is about an hour, round-trip. The audio tour includes “fun facts, historical notes and natural sounds to help deepen your connection to the Echo Lake Nature Preserve.”

The audio tour suggests early May and late July through October as the

best times to visit the site to avoid biting insects.

Rainy day options

While the U.P.’s scenic offerings in the summer are the highlight for many tourists, the county boasts some entertaining indoor opportunities. For the adventurous, axe-throwing and a retro arcade may be a draw, but there are many other indoor options to fill rainy days.

The Marquette Regional History Center and the Beaumier Heritage Center on NMU’s campus are known for their comprehensive collections and professional displays about the history of the area. In addition, the county has many other options for the museum-minded.

Cliff’s Shaft Mine Museum, also located in Ishpeming, offers an indoor-outdoor mining tour experience, with a working rock shop and blacksmith forge, an extensive collection of local mining artifacts and more than 500 mineral samples from around the world.

The 30-ton shovel bucket in the yard and the 170-ton iron ore hauling truck with 12-foot-high tires are favorite photo spots. While many events take place on the grounds of the museum throughout the year, a must-see for car enthusiasts is Buzz the Gut, set for Aug. 9 this year.

Cliff’s Shaft is located at 501 W. Euclid St. in Ishpeming, not far from U.S. 41. It is open daily from late May through late September and of-

fers guided tours at scheduled times. Family rates are available. For details, visit cliffsshaftminemuseum.com.

At least one local museum is embracing the new trend of “paratourism,” which entices visitors who are interested in ghosts, legends and lore.

The Marquette Maritime Museum on Lakeshore Boulevard has been offering “ghost tours” for years and will again this summer.

The museum offers paranormal lighthouse tours and investigations at Lighthouse Point. It also has a haunted lighthouse fundraiser scheduled for October.

For those not interested in investigating the afterlife, the museum and lighthouse has a collection of maritime artifacts and installations, and

the grounds are set right on Lake Superior. For details, visit mqtmaritimemuseum.com.

Smaller history museums also offer a glimpse into the beginnings of local towns.

The Ishpeming Area Historical Society & Museum is located in the Gossard Building on Cleveland Avenue in Ishpeming. The museum offers a collection of local artifacts depicting everyday life and is housed in a historically significant building that also offers local history displays. It is open on Fridays during the summer. For details, visit ishpeminghistory.org.

The Negaunee History Museum, located in a house at 303 E. Main St. in Negaunee, is open between Memorial Day and Labor Day and by appointment at other times. The house offers three stories of local history displayed in a variety of items, exhibits, documents, photos and more.

Any trip to Marquette County would be remiss, however, without visiting the county’s oldest house, which is two and a half blocks south of St. Peter Cathedral, at 615 S. Fourth St. in Marquette. The Baraga House, built in 1857, is open for public tours and is home to the Baraga Educational Center.

Bishop Frederic Baraga, born in Slovenia, came to the United States in 1830. From 1840 until his death, he ministered to the immigrants who came to the Upper Peninsula. He moved into

the home in Marquette in 1866 and lived there until he died in 1868.

The museum and grounds include a variety of things to engage visitors. From the Stations of the Cross in the prayer garden to the Baraga Chapel and the home itself, there is something for everyone. Inside the museum, there is a rotation of displays with Baraga’s belongings and other related artifacts and relics.

For an added bonus, visit the edu-

cational center during its “Music on the Porch” summer series. For details, visit bishopbaraga.org.

Marquette County can tout a lot of facts — from having about 55 miles of Lake Superior shoreline to being in the top 20 largest counties east of the Mississippi. Its remoteness does not prevent vibrant communities from providing all the amenities, plus some important historic, cultural and picturesque opportunities. The endless

list of things to do within a short drive keeps first-time visitors coming back and locals saying, “I can’t believe I’ve never been to that.”

For more about all that Marquette County has to offer, visit travelmarquette.com.

MM

Kristy Basolo is a cudighi connoisseur and one of the editors of Marquette Monthly.

The Echo Lake Nature Preserve in Marquette Township offers bluffs of exposed bedrock, a mixed forest and diverse wildlife. (Photo by Doug Carter)

Composer Brandon Nelson faces a terminal diagnosis through the lens of legacy

Final mission: Composure

By Brad Gischia

“Music got me.”

—Brandon

Nelson

Many people can pinpoint a time in their early life when they knew what they wanted to do with the rest of it, when the path was made clear. There aren’t many who can say that they carried that pre-

diction through.

Brandon Nelson knew when he was in elementary school that music would be an integral part of his existence. What he didn’t know was that his devotion to music would shape how he dealt with the end of his life.

“As a small child, I felt drawn towards music class,” Nelson said. “It was once or twice a week. It was my favorite time.”

Nelson remembers looking at the hymnal in church and following along, even though he didn’t understand much of it. “I felt some kind of instinct for it,” he said. “It meant something to me.”

As Nelson got older, he joined the band program in his hometown of Ishpeming.

“I really enjoyed music class all through elementary school, and when

I joined the band in the fifth grade I picked up the French horn,” Nelson said. “The rest is kind of history.”

For anyone who knows band instruments, the French horn is not the easiest to play, even for experienced musicians. This choice was something that stood out to Dave Dagenais, who was the director of bands in Ishpeming at the time.

“The French horn is a different

The Negaunee City Band has been a “living laboratory,” allowing Brandon Nelson to hear his compositions in progress. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Nelson)

beast, a challenging instrument,” Dagenais said. “He took to it pretty well.”

Dagenais noticed quickly that choosing the French horn was not the only thing unique about Nelson. “At a very young age, he was interested in writing music,” Dagenais said. “He would ask me questions about how to transpose and what the range of instruments were. He was asking me music composition questions.”

The Upper Peninsula is not known for producing many composers. One named by Dagenais was Eino Olander, who owned the Washington Shoe Store in Marquette for many years and composed several marches.

Another was a man named Glenn Osser, born in Munising, who went on to a long career in composition that included being the longtime music director of the Miss America Pageant.

Marquette native Thomas LaVoy is a pianist and composer of contemporary concert music whose work has been commissioned and performed by numerous choral ensembles.

So a student approaching him about music composition was unusual. In his years of teaching, Dagenais said, Nelson was the only one, at that age, who broached the subject.

“This was in the 1990s,” Dagenais said. “There were no computer music writing programs, so we started writing on paper.”

The results were not always wonderful. “I would get a piece of paper and try to write something,” Nelson said. “It would be just awful.”

Dagenais said he would work with Nelson in small doses, letting Nelson write pieces for the band and then taking the extra step of letting the band try to play those pieces.

“Honestly, the first couple of pieces were pretty awful, sometimes not playable or even listenable,” Dagenais said with a laugh.

But as a teacher, Dagenais was honest in a way that wasn’t discouraging, which Nelson remembers as being pivotal for him.

“People would tell me it was awful,” Nelson said. “It’s important for a young composer to develop a thick skin. I think we often coddle our young artists too much. To tell them that everything [they create] is great isn’t good. In my case, it wasn’t always tactfully told, but I have a skin like iron now.”

Despite some failed first attempts, Nelson continued to work on composing music. Year after year, he wrote and heard his composed music performed. He listened to the criticism, whether good or bad.

Brandon Nelson converted to Catholicism in 2008, drawn in part by the concept of imago Dei, the idea that humans are created in the image of God. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Nelson)

“By the time he was in high school, his compositions were pretty decent,” Dagenais said. “We’d hand it out and read through it, and then we’d workshop it.”

With the help of the band and his director, Nelson would get a critique and go back to work.

“There were several times when he was my student that he conducted his work with our school band,” Dagenais said. “It was really exceptional.”

Not all teachers would consider taking on this kind of thing — on top of the full slate of daily duties and other students.

“God bless Mr. Dagenais, who was so patient when he didn’t have to be,” Nelson said. “Some annoying little kid tailing him around, asking him questions 100 times a day about the instruments and what the ranges and the transpositions were.”

Dagenais moved to the Gwinn school district when Nelson was in high school. The change in instructor to Dennie Korpi didn’t change the passion Nelson had for the craft.

“I felt some kind of inner calling, an inner rush, magnetism towards whatever this was,” Nelson said. “I had been exposed to enough repertoire that I could cobble together a co-

herent sounding overture.”

You read that right — in the eighth grade, Nelson had “cobbled” together an overture, something that most people couldn’t musically define in the first place. (If you’re wondering, it’s an orchestral piece at the beginning of an extended composition.)

Nelson remembers premiering pieces with his high school band throughout his younger years and admits that each one was gradually getting better. Then came the thing that can turn casual music admirers away from a professional life as a musician — music theory.

“I was really stubborn when it came to music theory,” Nelson said. “I didn’t want to study history or theory. I wrote what made sense to my ear.”

Nelson said eventually, under Korpi’s tutelage, he “succumbed to theory,” borrowing his teacher’s textbooks.

It was eye- and ear-opening.

“I cursed myself for not doing it earlier,” Nelson said. “Theory really helps things make sense.”

Nelson used music theory as he learned to respect how tones interact with each other harmonically and melodically and how to control those tones. He said understanding was liberating to his artistic voice.

“Once you’ve got that, you’re prepared to make informed decisions about music — what makes sense and what doesn’t,” Nelson said. “Your work will benefit from a higher level of craftsmanship and coherence than it did before you understood the nuts and bolts.”

Nelson took his musical knowledge past high school to Northern Michigan University, where he studied under the likes of Dr. Floyd Slotterback and Dr. Stephen Grugin, among others.

“Dr. Slotterback had a big role to play in my development, both as an artist and a person,” Nelson said. “We were both in the fine arts building incredibly early in the morning. We’d have coffee and talk about everything, from what was in the headlines to family life, and he would explain my compositions to me. At the same time, he’d expose me to music I’d never heard before.”

Slotterback’s extensive record collection would become a driving daily force for Nelson. “Sometimes he’d put these things on, and after it was over I would just have to sit with it for a minute,” Nelson said. “It was energizing and renewed my motivation.”

At the same time, he was camping outside Grugin’s office. “If anyone deserves sainthood, it’s Steve,” Nelson said with a laugh. “I don’t know where he got the time or energy for

a project like me, but he took me under his wing. He understood what I was doing in a way that other people didn’t.”

Grugin took the time to really look at Nelson’s compositions and to make comments in the margins.

“I always thought of myself as a ‘serious’ composer. But without the training I got from Steve, I would never have gone to grad school,” said Nelson, who earned a master’s degree in composition from Central Michigan University.

Despite the obvious knack Nelson had for music, he credits his teachers for any advances he made.

“Most composers who are not trapped in their own egos will admit that they stand on the shoulders of giants,” Nelson said. “We walk in the paths that other people have charted for us.”

He admits that a lot of artists don’t get the kind of positive push needed to continue to get better at their craft.

“I have to eternally credit those who took the time to show me the way,” Nelson said. “They were good mentors and helped me to know what to do and what not to do. Artists need those kinds of relationships to get the different perspectives needed to excel.”

While all of this was transpiring, Nelson’s day-to-day life was trucking along. He got married, had three kids and worked several jobs, from school band director to nurse. During that time, he kept the music alive, albeit sometimes it sat on the back burner.

“Just finding time is hard, especially when kids are little,” Nelson said. “There’s bound to be a dip in productivity, but it picks up again.”

Nelson said with the support of his family, he would find time to create. He also had some help from the Negaunee City Band, of which he

was a member and director for many years.

“The City Band was a bit of a living laboratory for me,” Nelson said. “I was able to keep refining what I was doing. A community band is important for a number of reasons, but for me it was having the ability to hear my voice being played. That’s really important for composers.”

Nelson also began to be more interested in his own faith. He is the son of a Lutheran and an Italian Catholic and felt the draw of Catholicism strengthen as he got older. As with music, when the passion is there, he could not help but investigate to the utmost of his ability.

“I formally converted in 2008,” Nelson said. “It’s always been part of my family’s cultural life, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt pulled in the direction of the church.”

As the years passed, Nelson went deep into the religion, delving into all aspects of the Catholic tradition — theology, history, culture and art. He reached out to Catholic theologians through social media and websites, and found many of them to be open to discussion and correspondence.

“I just gave it a try,” Nelson said. “It didn’t always pan out, but if you have interesting questions, they’ll sometimes answer. It has been an amazing experience.”

One of the concepts of Catholic faith that resonates with Nelson is imago Dei, the idea that humans are created in the image of God. This lens becomes an all-encompassing idea for Catholics, as it reflects in everything one does.

“There’s a poetry that runs through Catholicism,” Nelson said. “There’s a respect for beauty and ideas and intellect. There’s order to the tradition. The church has always been in favor of creating beauty and using

“There’s a poetry that runs through Catholicism,” Brandon Nelson says. “There’s a respect for beauty and ideas and intellect.” (Photo courtesy of Brandon Nelson)

that beauty as an avenue towards devotion.”

Nelson said the patronage of the Catholic church has, throughout the life of the church, led to some of the greatest contributions to art in the history of humanity. “They recognize that sponsoring great art and music adds to the texture, that they’re useful elements of faith as a whole,” Nelson said. “It helps to make it a more meaningful experience.”

He mentioned the Sistine Chapel and Dante’s “Divine Comedy” as Catholic-sponsored works. “Even if you’re not a faithful Catholic, or Catholic at all, these are very important contributions that you’ve benefited from,” Nelson said.

At age 42, Nelson felt pretty good about where he was in life. He was working on his music and his faith with equal vigor. He had recently married his wife, Becky. The answers seemed to be lining up for him, with his three teenage children in high school and thriving.

Then he was diagnosed with retroperitoneal angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancer that develops behind the abdominal organs. It is hard to detect in the early stages because of its vague symptoms and progresses very quickly.

For Nelson, it is a terminal diagnosis, and as with many cancers there is not a predictable timeline.

This is a point when choices are few and none of them are great. Treatment is costly and can be painful with no guarantee of success. Nelson chose to deny any treatment, both to live his last days as he wants and to avoid the inevitable medical expenses that such treatment would incur.

“You can go two different ways when you get news like that,” said the Rev. Ryan Ford, vicar for evangelization and catechesis with the Marquette Catholic Diocese. He was Nelson’s parish priest as Nelson was converting and has agreed to do his funeral Mass.

“He could despair and lose motivation,” Ford said, “but he has taken it as an opportunity to look at the gifts God has given him, to look at what he can do as much as possible and to give what he can with those gifts with the time he has left.”

Nelson turned to the things that had been the anchors of his life.

“Having this terminal diagnosis forces a realignment in your perspective,” Nelson said. “When you used to assume you had 20 years to get something done, you might now only have two months. It forces you to look at your life through the lens of legacy.”

That legacy has taken the shape of a social media campaign he has titled “My Final Mission,” an effort to shine a light on the music he has composed and continues to compose.

By typing @brandonnelsonmusic into a search bar, users will find links to his Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and WordPress accounts.

“It’s not for my own self-aggrandizement, but being able to provide at least a small stream of revenue for my family, through sheet music or book royalties,” said Nelson, whose Final Mission can also be followed at imagodeicreation.com.

The views and clicks he receives on platforms like his YouTube page could result in revenue. He is working on building these passive streams of income by using skills he has spent his life working on, so that there may be some money coming in after he is gone.

Amidst everything else he has in the works, Nelson has begun preliminary work on several books. One will explore his own look at theology, although he is still discussing specifics with his publisher.

“It will look at the interaction of imago Dei with the aesthetic theology, intermixing my own work and spiritual experiences and citing work of others whose work resonates with me,” Nelson said.

The other books will be collections that look to assist people in the singing of Catholic devotions.

“In traditional Catholicism, we use Latin even in many of our personal devotions,” Nelson said. “There are those who like to apply the principles and style of Gregorian chant to those devotions. One book will consist of popular litanies and the Seven Penitential Psalms. The other will contain well-loved novenas.”

Nelson is hard at work to leave his mark.

“I think his desire to leave a legacy is really helpful in this whole thing,” Dagenais said. “He’s really using this to leave a legacy.”

Part of that legacy is already cemented. In February, Nelson was part of the 2025 class inducted into the Marquette Music Hall of Fame. “I feel like I don’t really merit to be on the same list as such accomplished, talented people I spent my life looking up to,” Nelson said. “I can scarcely believe any of it actually happened.”

Dagenais wasn’t surprised. “In my 37 years of teaching, he was the youngest student to show such interest in composition,” he said. “Sometimes older kids would get into it, but Brandon really stuck with it and figured it out.”

Figuring things out has become rather more urgent since Nelson received his diagnosis. He is not unaware of the things that need to take place after his passing. He has decided that he is going to compose the music for his funeral Mass as well.

“It’s a first for me, but not too many people are able to compose their own music,” Ford said.

Ford, who was also a music major at Central Michigan before he went on to seminary, said all of the great composers wrote music for their own funeral Masses. “The ritual texts from the liturgy have been an inspiration to composers for a long time,” he said.

This isn’t just asking the priest to play a certain piece at a certain time. The music that goes along with a funeral Mass is varied. Nelson is writing it all.

“I will be composing all of the music,” Nelson said. “The antiphons, alleluias, tracts, graduals, collects, the Psalm, communion music, doxologies and, of course, the Ordinary.”

Nelson said the act of composing has changed post-diagnosis. “It’s an evolving viewpoint,” he said. “I tend to think of it in terms of imago Dei now. The implications of that … try-

ing to use that when I’m composing.”

The concept of imago Dei means that a person must look for the divine in the mundane, to try to find some sort of order in what can be seen as a chaotic universe.

“We find the imbued order and beauty in nature with physics and chemistry and music as well,” Ford said. “We can understand the language of God by studying the works

of God, music included. It’s a way to see what the Divine Author has done. As we work at that and study it, we open ourselves up to a better understanding of God himself.”

Nelson, while trying to create his legacy, may have overlooked the legacy that already exists.

“Whether he was paid or not, Brandon did a lot of commission work right before the pandemic,” Dagenais said.

“We can understand the language of God by studying the works of God, music included,” says Brandon Nelson, pictured with his wife and children. (Photo courtesy of Brandon Nelson)

“He would go in and work with the kids as they played his compositions. Working with an actual composer is special for music students. He’s left a mark there with a lot of students that way. Who knows what ripples that will create down the line? He could inspire someone else to compose or even to stay with music. It could make all the difference in the world.”

Perhaps we all could use a little of the positivity that Nelson is focused on for his last days.

“It’s inspiring to realize that every moment is a gift and to try to make the most of it, to give our best and put our whole hearts into every day and to do it with excellence,” Ford said.

That seems to be the only way Nelson knows how to do it.

Brad Gischia is a writer and artist native to Upper Michigan. He has published two children’s books and done illustrations for both comic books and novels.

the arts

Wildcat Performing Arts Academy combines forces with Superior Arts Youth Theater to create more opportunities

At the growth stage

By Brad Gischia

The theater goes dark, and the murmurs of the crowd quiet.

Applause greets the opening of the curtain as the spotlight focuses on the actor at center stage.

Many people have memories of performing as a kid. Whether in school or community shows, there have been opportunities throughout the years for young actors to get their feet wet in local stage productions.

Greyson Foster has been performing in plays with the Superior Youth Arts Theater for three years. The 12-year-old has been in several productions, his favorite being last year’s “The Reluctant Dragon,” in which he played King Fancy Pants.

“Opening night is always really nerve-wracking,” Greyson said, “but once you get on stage it sort of goes away.”

Greyson’s introduction to the theater was through a friend who went to a casting call with him. “My friend didn’t get cast but I did,” he said.

Youth theater supporters have noticed that opportunities for kids like Greyson have dwindled in recent years. Whether because of decreasing interest or funding, many community theater groups are going away.

One person who noticed these diminishing options was Jill Grundstrom, assistant department head of Northern Michigan University’s Department of Theatre and Dance. “That was kind of what sparked the idea,” Grundstrom said. “How do we find a way to create an access point and find a way to partner that in a university setting?”

The answer came in the creation of a new program.

NMU Theatre and Dance launched the Wildcat Performing Arts Academy with Grundstrom as its artistic director. Although the academy is connected to the department, it is a separate entity.

“It’s its own thing,” said Jalina McClain, managing director of the

academy. “The academy is part of the Theatre and Dance Department, but it’s specifically for youth and the community. It’s a tool to provide workshops for kids who want to learn more about theater arts or are interested in expanding their skill sets in general.”

McClain said the academy will be

good for kids who are tangentially interested in theater but don’t know how to become involved.

“It’s a nice outreach for NMU Theatre and Dance,” McClain said. “Our shows aren’t always family friendly, so this will cover that. And at the same time, we can provide educational opportunities for younger kids or fami-

lies with children to come and experience things that are specifically for them. We can’t cater to that through the department specifically because NMU is really trying to engage the college population.”

The academy had a sort of soft opening last summer with intensives for high school students who spent a week on NMU’s campus. The Wildcat Performing Arts Academy offered three intensives, one each in the areas of dance, musical theater and production and design.

“It was a good chance for the students to experience the theater department here as well as the surrounding Marquette area,” McClain said.

McClain is an NMU alumna who planned to move out of the area after graduating in 2013 but instead got a job with the Superior Arts Youth Theater in Marquette. She left SAYT in 2024 to help launch the WPAA. “I really do love working with kids,” she said, “and I’m really passionate about the art scene and allowing kids the opportunity to experience the theater arts.”

McClain said her path to the theater wasn’t as clear as she’s hoping to make it for kids today. “I didn’t really know the theater was an option,” McClain said. “Growing up, I wanted to be a teacher. This way I get the best of both worlds. It fuels my passion.”

Along with the summer intensives, the academy is planning to offer several other options to local kids in the market for a theater experience. “This coming summer, the intensives will be for two weeks at a time,” McClain said. “Musical theater will run at the same time as production and design. It will help the kids to understand the design process and help build a showcase for the students who are on stage. For the production kids, it will give them a chance to express themselves through the theater even though they’re not on stage.”

During the rest of the year, the academy will put on classes and workshops. McClain said this will include

Superior Arts Youth Theater has been part of the Marquette arts community for more than two decades. The organization recently merged with the Wildcat Performing Arts Academy. (Photo courtesy of Superior Arts Youth Theater)

The NMU Department of Theatre and Dance launched the Wildcat Performing Arts Academy in 2024. Its offerings will expand this summer. (Photo courtesy of NMU Theatre and Dance)

bringing a variety or dance show into schools across the Upper Peninsula.

“We will perform for them and then spend the rest of the day with the third and fourth grade students,” McClain said. “We’re trying to actively engage the schools and help them understand that they can have it in their everyday classrooms. It doesn’t have to be a special thing.”

Grundstrom added, “It’s not so intimidating if we’re on their turf. They can show us what they do as well. Kids love showing what they can do. I think that will be great.”

Next year, the academy will launch an audition tour in an effort not only to get kids interested but to give the faculty a heads-up on which students should be on their radar. “We’ll go to the school for the dance auditions and then bring them to NMU for the classes,” Grundstrom said. “We have all the sprung floors and appropriate mechanisms for dance training here.”

Grundstrom’s background makes her specially qualified for this type of

program. “I grew up in Marquette and trained here,” she said.

She then earned an M.A. at New York University and worked for the American Ballet Theater in its department of education and training. While she was there, the theater revamped its Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School

and developed a national training curriculum.

The programs Grundstrom worked on in New York are a direct precursor to what the Wildcat Academy is attempting to establish. The academy, for example, will put on pre-performance workshops at Forest Roberts Theater.

“We would do this at the Metropolitan Opera House,” Grundstrom said. “It was a great way to engage younger audience members and their families. We would have students come and hear the story about the ballet that would be shown. Then when the kids saw the show, it made more sense

to them. We’ve adopted that model here.”

Grundstrom said the academy will invite the students to try some of the movements the dancers will do in an effort to help them understand what they’ll be seeing. She also hopes that such involvement will create audience members who appreciate what the arts bring to a community.

“Whether they become a dancer or not, at least they’ll appreciate what’s going on on the stage,” Grundstrom said. “These workshops will help to make theater more of a 4K experience.”

That experience is something that both Grundstom and McClain hope to bring to a much wider audience as the academy moves forward. They both strive to make the theater accessible to more kids.

This mission has long been carried in the local area by the Superior Arts Youth Theater. As of March, that group has merged with the Wildcat Academy. Both Grundstrom and McClain spent time there, and they say they will continue to honor the mission of the SAYT.

“Not too much will change,” Grundstrom said. “I think it provides a more stable future for the youth theater.” As with any nonprofit, the hurdles of space and funding often come in the way of what people want to accomplish.

“In the past, grant funding has been more sustainable,” Grundstrom said. “We have concerns looking at the future of government funding. Being under the NMU umbrella will help to provide a more stable future for the theater.”

Grundstrom also said that having NMU connected to the SAYT will provide new employees with salary and benefits that might not have been affordable previously. “We were also renting facilities,” Grundstrom said. “Now they can share what is already here.”

McClain said of SAYT, “We never really had a home. We had to rent spaces here and there — for instance, the Lake Superior Theatre. It’s such a beautiful, unique place, but half of the year it’s a working boathouse. Where do we go?”

It seems this merger solves many problems with one strike of the pen, though there are still details that need to be worked out.

As with many local arts groups, there is cross-over between people working with the SAYT and those working with NMU Theatre and Dance. There will be an oversight board of some kind, but Grundstrom

THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE STUDENTS ARE HUGE. “

said that was still in the early stages.

The SAYT, however, will continue. It’s not going anywhere. Now the kids who were involved with the youth theater will have the opportunity to work with university professors and NMU Theatre and Dance students.

“The opportunities for the students are huge,” McClain said. “They’re getting the chance to step into assistant choreographer or choreographer roles or even assistant director roles with the academy.”

Having students filling those roles, and acting in performances, will make them more well-rounded theater people. “We saw a discrepancy between dancers coming in from the studio world and ones coming in off the street,” Grundstrom said.

She trained in the Marquette dance studio system and knows some of the stumbling blocks.

“Those dancers know how to train, how to be in class versus dancing in a production,” she said. “Our theater students didn’t understand that in the same way. … I think that’s a divide we’re trying to shore up within the university. This is a craft they’re training in, a skill set beyond just being on stage. That’s what will continue to move the art form forward beyond being in a production. That’s the crux of why the academy was formed: to provide training to help support the productions of the youth theater. If they decide they want to do this as a profession, we’ve helped them control their destiny a little. We’ll see the kids coming into the college courses and know their skill sets, and it will help them to transition into the world of higher education.”

She added that the lessons learned at the academy will be valuable no

matter what they do in life. “Not only will they learn to work in the theater,” Grundstrom said, “but they’ll also learn how to be a fully functioning human on a college campus. It’s something we’re trying to help them do in a healthy and balanced way.”

The shows that the SAYT would normally put on will not change, but the schedule for the academy will be varied.

The summer intensives will have a cap of 50 students per camp to give the highest-quality learning experience. But that experience does come with a cost. “The summer program, at two weeks long with full housing and food is around $2,000,” McClain said, though she added that there was some funding available for interested people who can’t afford it.

“We want it to be as accessible as possible,” McClain said, “but we value art, and paying the people is important.”

The pre-performance workshops will run between $20 and $30. “These are gauged for kids between 5 and 12,” McClain said. “They’ll be able to come to the space and take a class with some of the performers. They can see how the light board works and play around with some of the costume pieces. We’re trying to show them that theater is an accessible thing.”

Parents are invited to come with their kids. Other workshops will run from free to around $25.

“These are good family activities,” McClain said. “It’s a good chance for kids that might be interested in the theater to come and see how they feel about it.”

McClain hopes that as the academy

ages it will find a solid footing within the local theater community. “I’m hoping we can engage in teaching opportunities for all ages,” she said. “Right now, we do engage the older population a lot, but seeing the academy grow as a whole so that we’re affecting the entire elementary grades would be great. I’d love to see more kids on campus.”

Whatever the future holds, the academy is looking to grow access to the arts for the community. “The academy is excited to find our niche in the community,” McClain said. “If a kid in the community wants to get into the theater arts, we can help them excel and exceed expectations. We’re here to help foster whatever level they want to be at.”

Speaking of fostering, let’s return to 12-year-old Greyson Foster. “I’m going to continue doing plays,” he said. “I had a chance to do behindthe-scenes stuff for one play, and that was fun. Not as much fun as acting, but still fun.”

Greyson and other young actors like him now have more opportunities thanks to the creation of the Wildcat Performing Arts Academy and its merger with the Superior Arts Youth Theater.

“Sometimes,” McClain said, “all it takes is someone saying ‘I see you’ for a kid to realize they have a place in our community.”

MM

Brad Gischia is a writer and artist native to Upper Michigan. He has published two children’s books and done illustrations for both comic books and novels.

The Wildcat Performing Arts Academy will offer intensives this summer in musical theater, dance and design and production. Registration is now open. (Photo courtesy of NMU Theatre and Dance)

Meinhardt

Raabe’s

back then

remarkable career included several years in the U.P.

From Munchkinland to Oz-canaba

By Erin Elliott Bryan

It took 13 seconds of screen time for him to walk up seven steps and deliver some of the most iconic lines in cinematic history:

“As a coroner, I must aver

“I thoroughly examined her.

“And she’s not only merely dead,

“She’s really, most sincerely dead!”

As the coroner in the 1939 film

“The Wizard of Oz,” 23-year-old Meinhardt Raabe proclaimed the

death of the Wicked Witch of the East. The actor, a Wisconsin native who had been working as an accountant for Oscar Mayer & Co. in Madison, was one of 124 little people who landed roles as Munchkins in the MGM film and one of only nine to have a speaking part.

“In 1938, MGM announced they needed as many little people as they could find,” Raabe (pronounced “Robby”) told the Orlando Sentinel in 1997. “Every little person who

showed up was hired as a Munchkin.

The casting director selected people for certain parts, and he said, ‘OK, you’re the coroner.’ I think he picked me because I’d been doing some public speaking, and I spoke a little more distinctly than the others.”

After his work on “The Wizard of Oz,” Raabe returned to Oscar Mayer. There, he helped create the character of “Little Oscar, The World’s Smallest Chef” and traveled the country in the company’s iconic Wienermobile.

He was posthumously inducted into the Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame in 2011, having worked for Oscar Meyer in a variety of roles for 29 years — several of which were spent in Escanaba.

Raabe was born in 1915 on a dairy farm near Farmington, Wisconsin, the son of first-generation German-Americans. Together with his parents, Raabe visited the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago where he was exposed to other little people and became in-

Wisconsin native Meinhardt Raabe, holding the Certificate of Death, played the coroner in “The Wizard of Oz.” (Photo courtesy of Superior View)

terested in the “Century of Progress, Midget Village.”

He spent a year at Northwestern College in Watertown, Wisconsin, and worked with the “Midget Village” the following summer. After three years at Northwestern College, he transferred to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he earned a degree in accounting.

He began his first job as an accountant with Oscar Mayer in 1937.

At the same time, Carl Mayer, Raabe’s college classmate and nephew of Oscar Mayer, was working on a new marketing effort to promote the company’s processed meat products.

“Imagine Carl walking into his Uncle Oscar’s office explaining his idea of a giant hot dog on wheels and the world’s smallest chef,” Ed Roland, Oscar Mayer’s mobile marketing manager, said during Raabe’s induction ceremony in 2011, according to the Watertown Daily Times.

But just about a year into his employment, Raabe requested a leave of absence to audition for “The Wizard of Oz.”

In his role as the coroner of Munchkinland, Raabe famously unrolled the Wicked Witch of the East’s “Certificate of Death” and took his place next to 16-year-old Judy Garland (whose mother, Ethel Milne, was born in Michigamme and spent part of her childhood in Marquette).

“Of all the stars I met and worked with on ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ Judy Garland was the nicest and most charismatic,” Raabe wrote in his 2005 memoir “Memories of a Munchkin: An Illustrated Walk Down the Yellow Brick Road.” “Though only sixteen, she had already been a performer for more than a decade. Yet she treated all of the little people as though they were professionals in the same category as herself.”

In his book, Raabe shares the “warmly inscribed” photograph he received from Garland: “For Meinhardt, A perfect coroner and person, too. Love from Judy.”

After wrapping production on the film, Raabe returned to his job at Oscar Mayer. An arrangement was made between the company and the Balban and Katz theater chain for Raabe to travel with the initial run of “The Wizard of Oz” throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan to promote the film as Little Oscar and give a five-minute introduction at each screening.

The Wienermobile was parked in front of each theater, and Raabe handed out “weenie samples” to the audience after the movie.

Meinhardt Raabe’s memoir, “Memories of a Munchkin,” was published in 2005. (Photo by Erin Elliott Bryan)

“My Little Oscar persona held everyone’s interest,” Raabe wrote. “They didn’t yet know what a Munchkin was, so my real recognition came after the film.”

During his travels in the fall of 1941, Raabe met Marie Hartline, a little person and former vaudeville performer who was working as a cigarette girl at the Mayflower Hotel in Akron, Ohio.

“I made my living by talking and pitching products as a salesperson, and I was quite confident most of the time, yet I was at a complete loss for words from the moment I saw that young girl in the hotel lobby,” Raabe recalled in his memoir. “I must aver that she was the most drop-dead gorgeous girl I had ever seen (luckily, I didn’t have far to drop), and I instantly fell in love with her.”

The young couple maintained a long-distance romance while Raabe toured the country. But when World War II broke out, the company’s Little Oscar marketing campaign and the Wienermobile were sidelined. The army had requisitioned all of Oscar Mayer’s canned meats, and Raabe was out of a job.

“In the corporate office, I overheard that there was a territory in upper Michigan where Oscar Mayer had never had a sales representative and that company executives were anxious to send up there,” Raabe wrote. “Seeing this as an opportunity to get out of the office, I asked if I could open up the territory.”

In January 1942, Raabe arrived in Escanaba to work as a traditional Oscar Mayer sales representative. Noting that Escanaba is geographically located above portions of the Canadian border, he wrote that “growing

up on a somewhat frigid farm would prepare me well for the extreme cold of that winter.”

As he began to cultivate success as a salesman, Raabe received his draft notice in the mail. He dutifully reported to the local draft board, but the secretary stamped his card with “4-F,” the draft designation for a candidate considered medically unfit. Though he asked to be considered for other positions, such as an interpreter (Raabe spoke and wrote German fluently) or a chef, he was not permitted to enlist.

Because of the war, flight instructors at the Escanaba airport were willing to give flying lessons to anyone who applied. Raabe honed his flying skills on the weekends, eventually earned his pilot’s license and began using a single-engine plane to further expand his sales territory in the U.P.

He even flew to Akron to surprise Hartline for Christmas in 1944.

The following January, Raabe overheard a manager at the Escanaba airport talking about the Civil Air Patrol.

“I was 2 inches short for what the requirement was to go into the Air Force to fly the big boys,” Raabe told Maj. Steven Solomon for an article in the November-December 2009 issue of the Civil Air Patrol’s Volunteer magazine. “So, I joined Civil Air Patrol.”

Raabe flew missions every weekend he could for the Coast Guard and Fire Service, whose own pilots had been called into military service. His patrols took him over a new military dock that would have been used if the Great Lakes’ locks were damaged.

When he was not flying, Raabe was a navigation and meteorology ground instructor. He served for five years as part of the Michigan Wing and later the Illinois Wing.

“I was never called into service, so I can’t claim to be a veteran,” Raabe told Solomon. “But I wound up being the smallest licensed pilot in uniform for CAP.”

As he continued to build his career as an Oscar Mayer representative, one of Raabe’s regular customers was Charles Gafner (and his wife, Bea),

Oscar Mayer sent Meinhardt Raabe throughout the Midwest in the wake of the release of “The Wizard of Oz.” (Photo courtesy of Oscar Mayer)

After beginning his career at Oscar Mayer as an accountant, Meinhardt Raabe later traveled as Little Oscar in the Wienermobile. (Photo courtesy of Oscar Mayer)

who owned the IGA store on Stephenson Avenue in Escanaba.

“My grandparents met [Raabe] when he was very young,” said Lynn Soderberg, the Gafners’ granddaughter.

Over time, the business relationship between Raabe and the Gafners deepened into a lasting friendship. In his book, Raabe details his own “bigfish story” while fishing with Gafner and his 12-year-son, also named Charles, who was Soderberg’s father. That day, Raabe managed to hook a 22-pound northern pike out of Lake Michigan’s Garden Bay.

“I was roughly 54 inches tall at the time, and the pike was 42 inches long!” Raabe recalled. “Just to lift him up off the ground took every ounce of strength I had. It would have been merely another tall tale by a short person … if I had not had the photo in the paper to prove it.”

In December 1946, Raabe married Hartline in Akron. An article from the Akron Beacon-Journal, which was reprinted in the Escanaba Daily Press, noted that the couple “planned to live in Escanaba where he is a food broker.”

Just before their marriage, Raabe left Oscar Mayer. He stayed in Escanaba but took a job with A.W. Nygren and Associates, a Chicago-based food brokerage house. Though he sold many products for the company, in selling their midget pickles, he became known as the “Petite Pickle Peddler.”

The Raabes later spent about a year in Duluth, Minnesota, and relocated to Wausau, Wisconsin, in 1947. In 1950, Raabe rejoined Oscar Mayer and became the East Coast Little Oscar, based in Philadelphia. In that role, Raabe also trained more Little Oscars, including fellow Munchkin Jerry Maren, who famously handed the lollipop to Judy Garland in the film.

Raabe even earned his master’s degree in business administration from Drexel University, taking evening classes while working for Oscar Mayer during the day.

He remained with Oscar Mayer until he retired in 1971. He went on to work as a librarian at the state medical hospital in Philadelphia and later as a teacher’s assistant in the Philadelphia school district.

Though the Raabes no longer lived in the U.P., they did return from time to time to visit family. In May 1948, Marie’s brother, Shirley “Shutters” Hartline, had married Ruth Paul in Escanaba. The couple made their home in Iron Mountain, where Shutters worked as a lab technician at the Iron Mountain VA Medical Center.

And when the Raabes came back to town, they made time to visit with the Gafners. One Sunday morning, in the late 1980s, Soderberg got a call from her grandmother Bea.

“My grandmother was very Catholic, and she never missed Mass or a holy day,” Soderberg said. “I asked her, ‘Aren’t you going to church?’ and she said, ‘Not today.’”

Soderberg said her grandmother insisted she bring over her four children to meet Meinhardt and Marie.

“They were just wonderful,” Soderberg said, adding that Raabe had a briefcase with him in which he carried photos from his time working on the film. “He was so proud of opening it and showing it to my kids.”

Though that was the only time Soderberg met Raabe in person, she did correspond with him a few years later when, as theater director at Escanaba High School, she was staging a production of “The Wizard of Oz.”

“I wrote to him, hoping he might consider coming to Escanaba for the show,” Soderberg said. “He very regretfully said they couldn’t make it, but he was so excited that we were doing the show.”

By that time, Raabe was traveling around the country again, this time as a guest at Oz-themed conventions and festivals. The film became more and more popular beginning in the early 1980s, when it was shown annually on television.

Kelly Pepin of Escanaba remembers those days well.

“I’ve been a ‘Wizard of Oz’ fan since I can remember,” Pepin said. “When it would come on TV when I was a kid, it was an annual event. We would take our baths early, pop a big bowl of popcorn and have some KoolAid to watch it.”

Pepin is an avid collector of memorabilia from the film and has created several “Oz” costumes, including one of the Munchkin coroner. He has also attended Oz conventions throughout the country.

Pepin first met Raabe at a “Wizard of Oz” Festival in Chesterton, Indiana, in 2006. The two were photographed together and Raabe signed a copy of his memoir for Pepin. But it wasn’t until Pepin was back on the bus headed home to the U.P. when he opened Raabe’s book and realized Raabe had lived in Escanaba.

“As I was flipping through the book, I saw the Escanaba Daily Press jump out at me,” Pepin said.

Pepin kept in touch with several of the actors who played Munchkins and corresponded with Raabe for the next two years. As president of the Friends of the Escanaba Public Library, Pepin gave a presentation in 2023 about his “Wizard of Oz” collection and Raabe’s time in the community titled “Oz-canaba: There’s No Place Like Home.”

He also penned an article about Raabe that was published in the October 2022 issue of The Delta Historian, the newsletter of the Delta County Historical Society.

The Raabes eventually retired to Penney Farms, Florida, where they sometimes visited with the Gafners, who had a home in Palmetto, Florida. Soderberg’s parents inherited the home and last visited with Raabe in the late 2000s.

“He was such an accomplished person,” Soderberg said. “He was such a wonderful person to meet and talk to.”

Tragically, the Raabes were involved in a serious car accident in 1997, which Marie did not survive. Raabe continued to live in Florida for the next 13 years and found many ways to tell his unique story.

“This tale is not all mine to tell, though,” Raabe wrote in his memoir. “It is the story of all people, big and small, ‘normal’ and challenged. Many have been told at some time that they were ‘different’ in some insignificant way and so would never amount to anything. This is the classic parable of being the underdog who overcomes overwhelming odds. I just happen to be the spokesman for this particular story (although, admittedly, a rare spokesman — who can still walk under a dog himself!).”

Raabe died on April 9, 2010, at the age of 94. He is buried next to his beloved Marie in his hometown of Farmington, Wisconsin.

Erin Elliott Bryan grew up in Ishpeming. She is a freelance writer and an MM calendar editor. Her grandfather Henry Racine was also a salesperson for Oscar Mayer, covering Marquette County and the Keweenaw.

Kelly Pepin of Escanaba, a collector of “Wizard of Oz” memorabilia, met Meinhardt Raabe at a festival in Indiana. (Photo courtesy of Kelly Pepin)

in the outdoors

Dinosaurs and horsetails in Fern Gulley

Story and photos by Scot Stewart

“When Nature gives a gorgeous rose, Or yields the simplest fern, She writes this motto on the leaves, ‘To Whom is may concern!’ And so, it is the poet comes, And revels in her bowers, And, though another hold the land, is owner of the flowers.”

—John Godfrey Saxe

In the late Jurassic Period, 150 million years ago, dinosaurs the size of buses, about 30 feet long and weighing five tons each, spent their days munching on ferns, big ferns. (This might be a good place to plug Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, which has produced a chart with the geological time

scales that is awesome for charting the past.)

Stegosaurus dinosaurs are among the most iconic of the “terrible lizards” with their huge plates jutting out of the skin on their backs. Although they had small heads and mouths, and tiny brains around the size of a small lime, they needed to consume tons of mosses, ferns, equisetums (horsetails), cycads and other plants every day.

The ferns, horsetails and other plants had been evolving for nearly 250 million years since the Devonian Period, with the hopes that someday they would be delicious enough to be eaten. It took a long time to develop plants big enough to supply vegetarian dinosaurs with enough to eat.

During the Jurassic Period, the climate was much warmer with few places hosting freezing temperatures and no ice caps at the poles. The higher temperatures encouraged the growth of larger ferns and other plants and helped animals, especially large ones, dependent on warm surroundings to flourish. Even insects similar to today’s dragonflies reached wingspans of over 2 feet!

One of those ferns, the scaly tree fern, reached heights of up to 60 feet. It was part of a group of tree ferns and cycads that grew to great heights ahead of the more modern seed trees we know today. A number of these ancient nonflowering plants are still around, and many live in the woods of the Upper Peninsula.

Those ferns, equisetums and other plants growing in North America during the Jurassic were in fact part of the daily diet of an array of giant vegetarians. Probably a number of the best known of that community were the stegosaurus at 25 feet and 5.5 tons; brontosaurus, up to 19 tons; diplodocus, up to 16 tons; brachiosaurus, up to 72 feet long and 51.5 tons; and apatosaurus, at 98 feet and 33 tons. They were all vegetarians and all big, big eaters.

These larger dinosaurs, because of their size and the weight of their necks, are thought to have browsed mainly on vegetation within 10 feet or so of the ground and possibly near the edge of water. At one time, it was thought they needed to spend most

A stegosaurus, of the Jurassic Period, needed to consume massive amounts of mosses, ferns, horsetails, cycads and other plants every day. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

Phegopteris connectilis, commonly known as long beech fern or northern beech fern, favors wet habitats such as the sides of streams and coniferous swamps. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

of their time in water to support their weight, but that idea was eventually dispelled.

Stegosaurus was the smallest of these dinosaurs and was thought to generally reach higher vegetation. Some have believed they may have been able to balance on their hind feet and, using their tails to balance themselves, reach branches up to 20 feet or higher in taller plants.

They are best known for the two upright rows of plates that run the length of their backs. When their fossils were first found, it was thought the plates lay flat like armor to protect them.

Later, however, it was learned they were attached to their skin in an upright fashion, although more recent work continues to explain their purpose. Suggestions include attracting a mate, identifying individuals or helping to control their temperatures.

Because of their shorter front legs and heavy frame, it is thought stegosaurus species moved slowly, possibly using 2-foot-long spikes on their

tails as weapons by swinging them. Tyrannosaurus rex was not there to bother them, but allosaurus was and may have endured the wrath of the

“Thagomizer.”

Following a comic in Gary Larson’s “Far Side” in 1982, where cave men discussed the loss of friend Thag

Simmons to the spikes, the structures were named for him. A paleontologist joked at a Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting about the

name, and it stuck. Some fossilized leg bones of the predators bear scars that seem to match the spikes.

Most of these large dinosaurs were larger than stegosaurus. Parts of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and other western states have been the exploration grounds for many of these fossils since the 1870s.

Constructing lives from fossil bones requires tons of conjecture. There have even been disputes about which fossilized skulls belonged to which species.

Stegosaurus has provided some of the best information about how some of these creatures lived because of the completeness of fossilized skeletons. Around 40 complete skeletons have been found, and skulls are complete enough to provide clear evidence of tooth types, skull dimensions and enough data to make solid conjectures about the types of plants they could bite off and chew and the amount of pressure they could put into those motions. It is thought their bite was as powerful as that of sheep, and their peg-like chewing potential meant there was little grinding involved.

Some thought has gone into the incredible amount of ferns, cycads and mosses needed to support such large animals, but some recent work has been given to the possibility they had super foods as well. One plant in particular has been mentioned as a high-protein food for dinosaurs — the equisetum, or horsetail. Modern equisetum species first appeared during the Jurassic, around 150 million years ago.

“I fell in love with flora of all types, especially ferns. Loved the sparse structure and repetition of shape — almost fractal.”

—Jack Dorsey

Bringing us to the Upper Peninsula, ferns and equisetums are the dinosaurs of plants in our day. They are species that have endured and adapted to a wide degree.

Imagine plants living through the hot, humid times 150 million years ago to places like the U.P., where 300 inches of snow fall in a season and temperatures can drop below freezing intermittently for six or seven months every year.

Both ferns and horsetails are nonflowering. Ferns produce spores, not seeds, in a variety of structures called sori. Some sori are located on the back of the fern leaves. On large royal and smaller sensitive ferns, the sori are located on separate stalks tucked in the

middle of a leaf group or plant cluster. These spores are produced by diploid structures needing no outside fertilization due to the extra chromosomes they contain and are part of the stage of life called sporophyte. Addi-

tionally, ferns produce two types of sexual structures in a different stage called the gametophyte.

Both ferns and horsetails can be found widely through the U.P. Two of the most common places to find them

are in rich, moist soil, frequently near water, and in drier locations like upland edges and rocky outcroppings.

There are several public places to see great varieties of ferns in the Upper Peninsula. Close to home in Marquette, the forest “triangle” bordered by the creek behind Lakeview Arena, Lakeshore Boulevard and Pine Street offers the opportunity to see some of the larger ferns found in rich, moist areas.

Cinnamon, ostrich and royal ferns grow there in lower spots under large white pines and white cedars. It is a wonder to wander through the woods there in early spring when all the fiddleheads are just popping up. They may offer a special moment as songbirds collect the furry covers on the fiddleheads to line their nests.

The shady stand of maple and yellow birch on the north side of the Little Garlic River in what looks like Fern Gully offers an incredible opportunity to see northern oak, long beech, intermediate wood fern, cinnamon fern and others alongside a rainbow of summer mushrooms all entertained by the gentle gurgling of the river as it runs past red sandstone cliffs and huge eastern hemlock, white cedar and white spruce trees.

Alger County also provides some beautifully scenic woods filled with spectacular waterfalls, rugged buff-colored sandstone cliffs, wildflowers and a diversity of smaller ferns, often clinging tenaciously to the sandstone walls of the rock outcroppings.

At Laughing Whitefish Falls State Park, the amazing maidenhair ferns spiral out of the rich, moist limestone-based soil close to the river. Many of the larger ferns, like ostrich, interrupted and cinnamon, shade the wide array of wildflowers there during the summer.

All three are similar, but interrupted ferns have their sori on separate structures on the stem between leaves of the fern. Cinnamon ferns have small tufts of hairs at the start of each leaf.

On the cliffs at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and along the trails along the low spots are some of the best areas of fern diversity in the U.P. Cliff brakes, common polypody, bulblet fern and Braun’s holly fern are just a few of the more unusual ferns on the sandstone, along with rich green liverworts and moss.

On the granite outcroppings of northern Marquette County, a number of small ferns dangle from the small cracks around pink and yellow pale corydalis flowers and dozens of different lichens hugging the bare rock.

Ferns and horsetails can be found across the U.P. Here’s a selection of what might be seen, clockwise from top left: a fern frond in early spring, rough horsetail, interrupted fern reproductive sori and water horsetail. (Photos by Scot Stewart)

Woodsia, spleenwort and polypody ferns peek out at the curious.

“I rose from marsh mud algae, equisetum, willows, sweet green, noise birds and frogs.”

—Lorine Niedecker

Horsetailshave two basic parts — hollow stems with connected segments. Each fertile stem is capped with a spore-producing, cone-like structure called a strobilus. These stems contain a high amount of silica, evident when their rough surface is touched. This high silica content gave rise to their “scouring rush” nickname.

Horsetails don’t have much of an aesthetic appeal for most, but they have had a history of helping with health issues dating back to the ancient Greeks, Romans and Indigenous

peoples of the Americas.

Horsetail is available today in a variety of forms, including as herbal supplements and ointments, but is not approved by the FDA. It has been used to heal bones, as a diuretic and for hair, nail and skin issues. Using horsetail can interfere with kidney function, thiamine absorption, some aspects of pregnancy, herb-drug interactions and other issues. Horsetails also contain small amounts of nicotine.

Horsetails reproduce by spores released from the top of their fertile stalks. This is their asexual method. Like ferns, they also produce two small forms of sexual plants needing water to get sperm-containing structures to female structures of different plants.

Because of horsetails’ ability to spread through the growth of rhizomes — underground stems some-

Polypodium vulgare, common polypody, is a hardy and adaptable species that is found in North America and western Europe. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

times running deep into the ground — a small number can create a small forest of stems. This behavior can be extremely important to soil stabilization, especially in disturbed areas close to water.

Most horsetail species are now extinct, with only 15 remaining worldwide. Four of these species of horsetails are commonly found in the Upper Peninsula.

The largest, Equisetum hyemale — rough horsetail — is probably the most noticeable of the quartet. It is common on roadsides and along trails and railroad grades. Fertile stalks can grow nearly 3 feet tall in thick stands. One of the best places to see them is along the recreational trail between the Visitor Center in Harvey and the Chocolay Bayou.

Field or common horsetail, Equisetum arvense, is smaller, usually under a foot tall with tan-colored reproductive stems seen bursting out of bare sand in early spring. Herbaceous stems are quite frilly with distinct branches growing in whorls. It can grow on roadsides or the middle of a lawn.

Dwarf horsetail, Equisetum scirpoides, is a diminutive species. It is usually 5 to 6 inches tall but can grow as tall as a foot. It looks like a frilly, wiry mass of tough, wavy grass and is usually found alongside small streams and creeks. Because they are small and produce the spore-producing strobili early in the summer, dwarf horsetails often go unnoticed.

Water horsetail, Equisetum fluviatile, is the fourth common species in northern Michigan. Good to its name, it is usually found in or near shallow, standing water of bogs and swampy areas and can grow to nearly 5 feet.

This variety of horsetail looks quite gorgeous, like tiny Christmas trees

early in the morning, completely decorated with dripping dew drops. Its vegetative stems are also dressed in leafy whorls.

“Only spread a fern-frond over a man’s head, and worldly cares are cast out; and freedom and beauty and peace come in.”

—John Muir

Tolearn more about ferns in the area, a great book to check out is “Ferns of Michigan” by Cecil Billington, from Cranbrook Institute of Science (1952). Although the book is over 70 years old, it is well illustrated and has great natural history and a range of information on ferns.

Another great resource is “Ferns & Allies of the North Woods” by Joe Walewski from the wonderful North Woods Naturalist Series. It covers “all 89 species of ferns, horsetails, spikemosses, quillworts and clubmosses of the North Woods of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario.”

While it is not possible to run into a 30-foot-long dinosaur today on a walk along a wetland or bog, it is possible to hear echoes that take you back to a long-ago era.

Sandhill cranes can look and sound like pterosaurs as they move into the shallows of the U.P.’s waters. And in the low light of dawn or the shrouds of a gray fog, it can seem like a step back to the Jurassic.

And don’t fret: There’s no need to worry about running into a Thagomizer.

MM

Scot Stewart is an educator, writer and photographer with an inherent love of the natural world. He is active with the MooseWood Nature Center at Presque Isle Park in Marquette.

Ferns are trapped under spring ice. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

the arts

Historic Calumet Theatre keeps going and growing

Gem of the Copper Country

By Jennifer Donovan

The Calumet Theatre is a Renaissance Revival gem on the main street of Calumet. One of the oldest operating theaters in the United States, it has faced many challenges — but it has persisted and recently celebrated its 125th anniversary.

As the 19th century turned to the 20th, the first performance hit the Calumet Theatre stage. “The Highwayman,” a three-act romantic opera, held the mining town’s audiences in thrall. On March 20, 1900, the show opened to a packed house. The best

seats cost $4 — about $140 in today’s dollars — more than the $3 earned by miners for a day’s labor.

Some of the country’s best-known actors and actresses of the day appeared. The production was brought straight from Broadway to Calumet by the mine owners, who saw Broadway-quality performances regularly in their native Boston. They wanted the cultural amenities they were used to, and they wanted to bring culture to the men who labored in their mines, said Dan Jamison, Calumet Theatre’s president.

Mine owners also wanted to be seen and admired

by their workers, which is why the wicker box seats were placed on slightly raised platforms at floor level along the front walls of the auditorium, Jamison said. “It gave the people in the box seats a terrible view of the stage, but they could certainly be seen,” he said.

At a celebration of the 125th anniversary of the iconic theater this spring, the first act of “The Highwayman” returned to the Calumet Theatre stage in the form of a script reading by 11 theater board members and supporters. It can be seen on YouTube (search for “Calumet Theatre Highwayman”).

The Calumet Theatre has been entertaining Copper Country audiences with a wide variety of performances for 125 years. (Photo courtesy of the Calumet Theatre)

History of the theater

The Calumet Theatre is not the oldest operating theater in the United States. The Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, founded in 1808, has it beat by almost a century.

But as a heritage site within the Keweenaw National Historical Park, the Calumet Theatre is the only continually operating theater within a national park and one of only three national park theaters. The other two are Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and Wolftrap in Vienna, Virginia.

Calumet was thriving at the turn of the 20th century, with a population of 4,000 among 30,000 residents in the area. During its early years, the Calumet’s marquee read like a Who’s Who of American Theater. Among the stars who appeared there were Lillian Russell, John Philip Sousa, Sarah Bernhardt, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Lon Chaney Sr.

By the 1920s, though, with a decline in mining — and population — the stage hosted fewer and fewer live performances. Moving pictures captured the public’s attention, and from the Depression into the 1950s and beyond, it became a movie theater.

Outfitted with the latest technology of the day — a pair of carbon arc movie projectors with sound capabilities — the Calumet Theatre became the entertainment venue for the Keweenaw.

Abandoned and gathering dust for decades, the projectors now have been cleaned, reassembled and reinstalled in the restored projection booth, which is now part of theater tours.

From the 1930s into the 1990s, the

theater continued to bring hit films featuring Hollywood superstars to Calumet. There, area residents saw Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in “From Here to Eternity,” John Wayne in “The Sands of Iwo Jima,” Ava Gardner in “Show Boat,” Clint Eastwood in “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and many more.

Although the theater was primarily a movie house in those years, there were some live performances too. The Coasters, The Drifters and The Platters appeared on the Calumet Theatre stage. So did Arlo Guthrie. The Glenn Miller Orchestra played there — twice.

The Tamburitzans, a colorful student song and dance ensemble from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, have performed there every year since 1938. They’re coming again this theater season.

Bands came, and local school groups performed. General Electric even staged cooking shows during the 1950s and ’60s to promote its new electric appliances.

In the 1990s, things started to turn around for the Calumet Theatre. Funding came from sponsorships and donations, and work began to rebuild the historic but dilapidated building.

“In the 2000s, we brought theater back to Calumet,” Jamison said.

Grappling with challenges

The Calumet Theatre has faced some daunting challenges in recent years. Audiences were already declining when the coronavirus pandemic essentially shut the theater down. Membership fell from more than 400 to 160. It was starting to

The Calumet Theatre’s carbon arc movie projectors have been cleaned, reassembled and reinstalled in the restored projection booth, which can be viewed during tours of the facility. (Photo courtesy of the Calumet Theatre)

crawl back up when local media reported — erroneously, Jamison pointed out — that the roof leaked, and they lost their insurance.

Country music star Joe Nichols cancelled his performance because he had heard that the theater was too dangerous to play in. But a local insurance agency was able to get it reinsured with a company that does only theater insurance. “We got insurance that was customized for a theater operation and a lot less expensive,” Jamison said.

In the 1970s, claiming that the colorful frescoes depicting the five arts on the horseshoe-shaped proscenium arch at the front of the auditorium were too distracting, a theater manager had the entire gilded arch painted white. Jamison shook his head at the memory. “I don’t know what he was thinking,” he said.

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, volunteers took it upon themselves to restore the frescoes to their original magnificence, hanging upside down on scaffolding while they hand-painted them again. They also regilded all the intricately carved moldings around the arch.

The theater started showing $1 movies with a new digital projector to serve families with kids. “Most of those kids had never watched anything but a small screen,” the theater president said. “They were transfixed.”

Work continued and audiences started to return when, in 2020, the furnace failed. “We were working on the redo in January and February, and it was freezing cold,” Jamison said.

Through the years, there have been some triumphs as well. In 1971, the theater was listed as a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service. The auditorium was renovated for Calumet’s centennial in 1975, and the exterior was restored in 1988 and ’89. In 1993, it became a Heritage Site within the newly formed Keweenaw National Historical Park.

Today, the Calumet Theatre Company partners with the Park Service and the Keweenaw Community Foundation to continue to repair and renovate the structure. A network of about 30 dedicated volunteers is doing most of the work themselves.

So far, a new heating system has been installed, and the roof is about to be replaced. A new chandelier to replace the original — which melted during a backstage fire and crashed to the floor in 1918 — is slated for a big reveal in June.

The next project is restoring the radiators in the ballroom. And the the-

ater is working with others across the U.P. to build a performance schedule modeled after the old vaudeville circuit, where a show can make one trip to the area and give a series of performances at all the participating venues.

The theater recently signed a new 30-year lease with the Village of Calumet. Theater membership is back to more than 300. “We are weaving ourselves back into the community,” Jamison said.

Why the theater matters

“The Calumet Theatre reaches back in time to illustrate the economic importance of the Copper Country in its heyday,” said Wyndeth Davis, superintendent of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. In a plumed hat and mask, she read the role of the Highwayman at the March anniversary celebration.

“The theater was the only municipal theater in the country when it opened in 1900,” she said, “and it

played host to performances by the cutting edge of American theater at the time. Special trains brought theatrical troupes to perform and audiences to enjoy them.”

Davis added, “Today, young and old can still enjoy an evening’s show in Calumet — from live plays to dance and musical performances and movies — all in the beautifully restored interior of the theater, looking much as it did in 1900. The theater provides a place to showcase local musical and theatrical talent and to build community while discovering the rich past of Copper Country.”

Julie Badel, a theater board member and another script reader at the 125th anniversary celebration, said, “The Calumet Theatre is important to our community because it is a theater of, by and for the people. We encourage community groups and schools to use the theater, and we also present a wide variety of programs to appeal to all tastes.”

She added, “The theater’s long and varied history demonstrates that the theater changes with the times and to meet current cultural demands. It also reflects a fierce will to survive, even in the face of adversity.”

Jamison, the Calumet Theatre’s president, called it “an incredible asset to the village. We aren’t just selling tickets. We’re focusing on bringing people to the theater. Seeing the smiles on their faces as they come in, look around in wonder and enjoy the energy of sitting with their friends in a full house of happy people, watching a performance — that makes it all worthwhile.”

Jennifer Donovan is a freelance writer based in Houghton. She has decades of experience as a newspaper reporter, magazine writer and university communications specialist, most recently as director of news and information at Michigan Tech.

The Calumet Theatre at 340 Sixth St. in Calumet is a designated Michigan State Historic Site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also one of 21 Heritage Sites in the Keweenaw National Historical Park. (Photo courtesy of the Calumet Theatre)

‘You are here to win’

Former Escanaba standout plays key role in championship journey sporting life

By Jim LaJoie

While growing up and progressing through the Escanaba Eskymos girls basketball program, Nicole Kamin had a number of dreams.

Playing college basketball wasn’t one of them.

Today, that’s all changed. Now, she’s living a dream.

On March 28, the 5-foot-11 redshirt junior for Grand Valley State University played a key role in leading her school to its second ever women’s basketball Division II national championship.

The Lakers defeated California State-Dominguez Hills, 70-58, in the championship game to secure their first title since the 2005-06 season.

The victory put an exclamation point on a remarkable season. The Lakers went 38-2 overall, capturing the most wins in a single season in the school’s history. GVSU claimed the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles before coming out of a challenging Midwest Region in the NCAA tournament. Of the team’s 38 victories, 37 were by double figures.

“It feels really good,” Kamin said when asked about her reaction to being a national champion. “It took a while for it to really sink in. It started to when we returned home.”

In the championship game, Kamin scored three points, grabbed six rebounds, dished out three assists and had two steals.

In the Division II national semifinal, a 68-61 win over Pittsburg State of Kansas, Kamin played a decisive role. She scored 15 of her 21 points in the second half. She also snared a teamhigh seven rebounds and seven steals while adding four assists and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

“I’d say in the last couple of minutes, [winning the title] really hit me,” Kamin said. “It was more like, ‘Is this really happening?’ It was a feeling of relief. After that game, we were so exhausted as a team. It was a long week in [Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the Elite Eight was hosted

by Duquesne University]. We played on Monday, practiced Tuesday. We played on Wednesday, practiced Thursday. And then the [title] game on Friday. It was a lot of work.”

And that effort paid off when the team returned to downstate Allendale with the national championship trophy.

Kamin said the Lakers’ championship mindset started in the GLIAC tournament and continued into the NCAA regional.

“It honestly started there,” said Kamin, a First Team All-GLIAC selection who was also named to the

GLIAC All-Defensive Team. “And we had been stuck in the regional championship for a few years. It’s so hard getting out of that region. When we went to Pittsburgh, we wanted to take it one game at a time.

“We wanted to stay focused. It was more of a lock-in mindset. No one wanted to get too excited too early. We had a good season, but we were not listening to everyone telling us we were the best. We never wanted to look too far ahead.”

Kamin emphasized the Lakers’ roster is special in that the players are best friends on and off the court.

“We get along so well, everyone connecting. That is something special,” said Kamin, who was named Miss U.P. Basketball after a stellar senior season at Escanaba. “We didn’t care who was the leading scorer. … It changed every game. We have Rylie Bisballe, an All-American, who didn’t play the whole [championship] game. That speaks volumes.”

Winning the title, she said, took a full team buy-in and unwavering commitment. “The big thing for us here is that the season never ends,” she said. “We all live together in the same complex. We put in the time in

Nicole Kamin of Escanaba led the Lakers in assists and steals. She was named to the All-GLIAC First Team and All-Defensive Team and earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team. (Photo courtesy of Grand Valley State University)

the summer, get up at 6 a.m. for pickup ball and lifting every day. You are here to win.”

Kamin credits head coach Mike Williams with keeping the team always focused and game-ready.

“He brings so much to the team. The big thing is he puts so much time into it,” said Kamin, who is studying to be an elementary teacher. “He watches film all day. And being a defensive coach, he knows what to expect. He will tell you if you mess up, but he is the most caring person you will meet. In Pittsburgh, he was named Coach of the Year and got a standing ovation. He told the team to sit down. He’s so humble.”

Williams, a native of Antigo, Wisconsin, started his coaching career in the U.P. He coached the girls teams at Ironwood and Hancock high schools, was an assistant at Michigan Tech under Kevin Borseth and started the women’s basketball program at Finlandia University.

Another U.P. connection on the Grand Valley team is redshirt junior center Megan Crow of Gladstone. She played in 11 games this year before an injury in December sidelined her for the rest of the season. Crow has been a key contributor to the Lakers, averaging 8.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 2023-24.

Williams noted that Kamin played a vital role in the Lakers’ tournament run. “She is a versatile player who can play anywhere on the floor,” he said. “She is key in our pressure defense and is a good rebounder. Offensively, she can make shots, she can get to the rim both left and right and does a

great job pushing and moving the ball in our transition offense.

“The qualities we saw that she possessed in high school are the same ones you see now as a player at GV. Offensively, her ability to get to the rim and her vision as a passer help her to be a multi-dimensional player.”

During the regular season, Kamin averaged 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists a game. She led the team in steals with 101 and assists with 91. She was the team’s third-leading scorer.

Not too shabby for the 22-year-old who committed to playing at GVSU very early in the process, during her sophomore season at Escanaba.

“When they offered me a scholarship, I was in Coach Mike’s office and I honestly didn’t know what that was,” she recalled, adding that Michigan Tech also offered her an opportunity to continue her education and basketball career. “The coaches were very aggressive. I really like the area and community.”

Earning a national title and representing the City of Escanaba and the Upper Peninsula are immensely important to Kamin.

“I think it is awesome and such a blessing,” said Kamin, who averaged 24 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and three assists per game during her senior season with the Eskymos. “I read all the social media posts from back home and those cheering for me. It’s something special.”

Kamin understands that with the emergence of Caitlin Clark and others on the national scene, women’s basketball is beginning to gain the noto-

riety it richly deserves. She hopes this inspires young girls to put in the work to get themselves into the position she just experienced.

“The big thing [I would tell them] is to get in the gym and put the extra shots up,” she said. “Go to basketball camps. Practice.”

She knows from experience. She admits she didn’t always put in the extra time.

“I was building skills and understanding technique, and I realized that practice wasn’t enough,” she said. “It finally clicked in my head. … I realized that I have to get in the gym after practice and work.”

That drive permeates the Grand Valley program under Williams, who has won 83.6% of his games over 10 years at the school.

This year’s graduating seniors end their careers with a school-record 145 victories. This group captured four regular season conference titles, three conference tournament championships and two Midwest Regional titles.

And now they — and Kamin — will always be remembered for being part of a national championship team.

“Coach Mike tells us that we won’t remember the leading scorers,” Kamin said, “but we will remember the relationships and friendships we made along the way.”

MM

Jim LaJoie was a newspaper sports writer and sports editor from 1986 to 1996. He is an award-winning sports columnist for The U.P. Catholic. LaJoie lives with his family in Marquette.

Nicole Kamin of Escanaba, Megan Crow of Gladstone and their teammates celebrate after capturing the NCAA Division II basketball national championship. (Photo courtesy of Grand Valley State University)

on campus

Tech researchers study ice-dwelling bacteria

Researchers at Michigan Technological University are exploring the capabilities of ice-dwelling bacteria, which could help the U.S. military operate more easily and safely in extremely cold conditions.

Michigan Tech researchers are taking advantage of the Upper Peninsula’s watery, wintry wonderland to combat cold challenges and investigate icy infrastructure. Ice management, harnessing the melting and freezing capabilities of ice-dwelling bacteria, could be a means to provide the U.S. military with greater protection and increased options in extreme cold-weather environments.

Stephen Techtmann, associate director of Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) and biological sciences associate professor, saw the Keweenaw Peninsula as the perfect launchpad for taking part as performers in the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Ice Control for cold Environments (ICE) program.

Techtmann is the principal investigator for the project “Ice Control Compounds from Bacterial Isolates and Functional Metagenomics,” which was awarded $798,426 in funding. The project’s goal is to explore natural biological adaptations that control where, when and how ice crystals form.

Researchers want to understand how to prevent ice formation where it poses challenges and, conversely,

how to cause ice formation that could serve as temporary infrastructure, including ice bridges and buildings. Researchers would then work to develop biotechnology with those same capabilities to protect military personnel and assets while enhancing operations in extreme cold environments.

“Living here, we’re very familiar with how ice can be a challenge,” Techtmann said. “But we also know that ice can be a resource. We have Winter Carnival here at Tech, where students are building massive structures out of ice and snow. Similarly, the military has challenges and opportunities in dealing with ice. What we’re trying to do is to find ways of making solutions happen more easily and in a way that is environmentally friendly.”

The project takes advantage of Michigan Tech’s location, building on ongoing GLRC research into winter water systems in the Keweenaw Peninsula.

“I’ve been working with some folks in the Great Lakes Research Center for a little while on bacteria that live in ice, trying to understand how they adapt to those conditions and some of the unique capabilities that they have,” Techtmann said. “When DARPA put out the announcement looking for biological ways to manage ice formation, it seemed like a good fit.”

Techtmann’s co-principal investigator is Trista Vick-Majors, assistant professor of biological sciences.

Michigan Tech biologists are investigating ice-dwelling bacteria as part of a study with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. (Photo courtesy of MTU)

NMU hires search firm to find Tessman’s successor

Northern Michigan University is conducting a national search for its next president after the school announced Brock Tessman’s resignation on April 7.

Tessman is stepping down as president of NMU, effective July 1, to become president at Montana State University. MSU, located in Bozeman, Montana, is a public land-grant research-1 university with about 17,000 students. It is the largest university in the state.

Tessman began as NMU’s 17th president in February 2023 after serving four years as the deputy commissioner of higher education for the 16 campuses that comprise the Montana University System. He also previously worked as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Montana in Missoula.

“I love Northern Michigan University, and we are headed in a terrific direction because of our stellar students and outstanding faculty and staff, and the connection we have to communities across the Upper Peninsula. We are doing amazing learning, teaching and work here every day,” Tessman said.

“My family and I love Marquette and the Upper Peninsula. We couldn’t feel more welcome here. It truly is with mixed feelings that we are pursuing this unexpected opportunity to return to Montana, but our ties there make this move something we felt we needed to pursue.”

During his time at NMU, Tessman helped the university develop new mission and vision statements and a new strategic plan. Tessman said this year’s 125th Anniversary Celebration, the NMU vs. Michigan State basketball game in the Superior Dome, the “flash mob” performance at the May 2023 Commencement and annual April celebrations of faculty, staff and student excellence were among his favorite events as Northern’s president. Beyond any single event, he notes that his biggest privilege has been the “opportunity to spend time almost every day talking with Northern students about their experiences at NMU and their hopes for the future.”

Steve Young, chair of the NMU Board of Trustees, said, “When we hired Brock Tessman two years ago, we knew we were making an excellent choice. Over the past two years, we have seen increased collaboration and improved communications

across our stakeholders. We’ve had positive upticks in enrollment and retention. When you give people the opportunity to shine, this is a natural outcome.

“Brock has placed NMU in a great position. We wish Brock and his family all the best as he moves on to Montana State University. His departure does not change NMU’s commitment to its faculty, staff and students. NMU has a bright future ahead, and the Board of Trustees remains steadfast in its goal to provide a world-class learning environment.”

Young added the board will now begin working on appointing an interim president.

“We hope to be able to name the interim president and share details about the selection of an executive search firm, projected search timeline and search committee in the coming weeks,” he said.

Rick Mengyan, president of NMUAAUP/AFT faculty union said, “We appreciate President Tessman’s positive impact on our campus and community and wish him and his family all the best in the next step of their journey. We remain committed to close collaboration with our Board of Trustees, fellow faculty and staff to foster a healthy working environment while continuing to provide and develop excellent educational programs and opportunities for our students and the broader community.”

Tessman officially begins his duties at Montana State on July 15.

behalf of Northern.

“We were very impressed with Parker’s work in our previous search,” Young said. “While we did not expect to need their services again so soon, we have the unique opportunity of re-engaging with a firm that already knows so much about our campus and community. This will speed up the process of getting a new leader on board in a timely manner.

“One of the most important aspects of this search will be the active engagement of a broad range of stakeholders. Parker knows who these groups are; they held a number of listening sessions two years ago, which were instrumental in understanding the desired characteristics of a new president.”

Board hires search firm

TheBoard of Trustees on April 22 announced that it has retained the services of Parker Executive Search to lead a national search for a new president. Parker was also contracted by NMU for the same process in 2022 that resulted in Tessman’s appointment.

The firm is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and has more than 30 years of experience in the field. Its president, Laurie Wilder, will lead the search on

Young added that the board plans on naming an interim president and setting up a presidential search advisory committee in the near future, with the hope of having a new president selected by this fall.

According to its website, Parker has conducted more than 500 successful higher education searches for administrative positions. Its international client base includes leading colleges and universities, academic health science centers, intercollegiate athletics programs and sports businesses, Fortune 500 corporations and hospitals/health systems.

Northern Michigan University President Brock Tessman is moving on this summer to become the president of Montana State University. (Photo courtesy of NMU)

Bathing Beauties poetry

By Lisa Fosmo

Inside the quest bedroom at my brother’s house, my Mother lies, nestled between my sister and I. Mom in her plush pink robe, my sister in blue satin and me in cotton navy stripes.

Mom winces pointing her toes like a ballerina, as her leg tightens into a charlie horse. she kicks her leg and stretches.

We begin in solidarity throwing our legs up in unison, higher and higher. Our arms carve air, turning our heads in sync, as if they were adorned in flowered rubber caps.

We are Esther Williams bathing beauties, we are synchronized swimming, laughing unexpectedly, with our whole bodies. Throwing our heads back trying to catch our breath on foamy linen waves.

My father hasn’t been gone a day yet. Already we have traveled so far in the moment. We expect grief to shatter us, to break us open, but no one tells you about the fluidity of joy.

How it sneaks in seeps into every crack and fissure like a salve. Soaks you to your core poured from some unknown vessel of mercy.

No one warns you there will be joy. And in that fresh jubilant flowing glee, I want to whisper to my father we haven’t forgotten you. We’ve only gone for a swim.

Lisa Fosmo is the author of a full-length collection of poetry, “Mercy Is a Bright Darkness,” published by Golden Dragonfly Press. Fosmo is a Pushcart Prize nominated author and the current vice president of the U.P. Poet Laureate Foundation.

This poem is from the 10-year anthology, “Superior Voyage,” which is available for purchase.

All proceeds benefit Peter White Public Library.

“Superior Voyage” was selected as a 2023 U.P. Notable Book by the Upper Peninsula Publishers & Authors Association.

spirit of water

A reminder of community, life and hope

Editor’s note: This article is the ninth in a series by the Interfaith 2024-25 Water Steward Initiative, a collaboration with local municipalities and Native American tribes to protect and preserve the quality of our accessible drinking water. A part of this initiative, alongside efforts here in Michigan, is assisting in establishing a village well in Tanzania and a community well in Cambodia. Visit cedartreeinstitute.org for more information.

By Brad Pickens

There is the old well in the hill on our farm, any trace of it long dissipated under countless cycles of planting and harvest in the field where it once stood. And the new well in the bottomland was sunk more than a century and a half ago by a grandmother and grandfather with a good many greats now standing between me and them. And I am the current caretaker of this new old well that feeds water to the farmhouse and I’ve made my repairs and improvements, just as I helped Dad make the ones that came to him, just as he helped his dad some eight decades earlier. When I drink from our well, I drink water and time.

And Grandma and Grandpa dug the well because the spring in the woods doesn’t run fresh all year and the surface water is the first thing to get contaminated anyhow. The entire history of people living in community is more or less the story of figuring out how to keep everybody in clean water. The building of wells gave us good water, and it also drew us apart. Once access to water could be established at any location that suited an individual, we no longer had to congregate around living springs with other beings who, whatever their faults might be, shared a similar fortitude to tolerate the same microbiomed water that we could. And if we understand that the singular group of people who can drink the same water that we do represents the entirety of who is available to build a life with, then that’s the origin of community. Now we live together and apart, water drawn from individual wells or taps, separated by apart-

The Spirit of Water

Health, Hope & Healing

ment walls, small yards, great fields. Water shared and community an unrelated afterthought.

And the holding of water is only and always for a season. Whether measured across centuries of familial stewardship or through the collective action that joined me with 8 million good friends and neighbors for a few years of access to Chicago utilities and which joins me with a smaller group of new neighbors in the Upper

Peninsula, where I share the water that I now drink from the great sea of the Anishinaabe. And it is easy enough to speak of “my” water, but if I begin to wonder about who owns the water that I draw from the faucet, the idea of water becomes unimaginably complex. The water I pull from “my” farm well flows through underground rivers across property lines and boundaries, and the water that we imagine to be “owned” by one state, province or nation is pushed by storm and current across great lakes and back again. Water ignores our ideas of sovereign rights, boundaries, claims and desire. It simply is, it moves, it has its own being.

And the water has always been there, and it was stewarded by people before the Europeans arrived along with novel concepts of “ownership” about something as basic as water. And water must belong to everyone if community is to flourish. The way that we access water does not make it ours, whether we draw from a private well or share in our local utility. Instead, we belong to the water, for water is life and life is given meaning when it is shared with others. The first step in building new community is to establish that the people among whom we live are not first of all distinguished by their politics, race, religion, sexuality or any of the gross markers that we use to alienate ourselves from the people who surround us. Instead, they become known as people with whom we share a common interest in good, clean water — safe nourishment for young and old alike, the people who abide with the same water that we do.

When I return to my farm home, I go first to a tap labeled “pure” and I drink from a well whose collective stewardship I know in time. And when I drink from my community municipality, I drink water that is held together, with everyone around me, and I think that, perhaps, this water can draw us together like the old spring once did. I keep on my desk a jar of water from my well to remind me of community, of life, of hope, of people different from me who are accustomed to the same water that I am. I won’t claim that a lone jar of water is enough to overcome the divisions of the world. But, if I can look at what’s in this jar, what’s in my kitchen glass, and recognize the embodied energies of all the people who made it possible, well, it’s not a bad place to start.

Brad Pickens is a husband, father of two, Episcopal priest and a person who marvels at each drink of water. He replaces the pressure tanks and lightning-struck switches that power the well on his farm, as needed, and he gratefully pays a utility bill that provides water for his family and neighbors in Marquette.

The Interfaith Water Stewards Initiative works to celebrate — and protect — the joy of pure water. (Photo courtesy of the Cedar Tree Institute)

superior reads

‘Northern noir’ thriller keeps readers guessing

Review by Victor R. Volkman

In the July 2023 installment of Superior Reads, I coined the term “northern noir” to describe Nathan Shore’s debut novel, “The Blue Flame.” As in a traditional 1940s film noir story, the hero or heroine is basically a good person who gets drawn into a web of deceit and pushed to the breaking point and beyond.

A northern noir simply transplants the locus of action from the gritty, downbeat urban environment into the wilds of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. I will argue Jodi M. Hinman’s journeyman novel, “The Hole They Dug for You,” fits into this new genre of crime thriller. But I’m getting ahead of myself again, so let’s go back to the beginning. Hinman dumps you straight into the action, as a good novelist should. Ellie Bauer is a 38-year-old woman recently widowed and living on her own at the end of a two-track in an unspecified part of the U.P. Karl Bauer, her former husband, was struck dead by a heart attack at the age of 43 just six months before the story unfolds.

As we begin, it is late fall and Ellie is out looking for Luna, their golden retriever, who is her sole companion on their old 40-acre farmstead replete with a barn and a substantial woodlot. Just as Ellie takes a deep breath in to call Luna, she hears voices in the middle of the woods where Ellie has been wandering. She has only two neighbors, the elderly Jack and Doris Thompson, who have already decamped to Florida for the season. It’s much too early for deer season. Could it be poachers?

Cautiously, Ellie makes her way to the tree line and espies four men in the clearing who are delivering a beatdown to a fifth man. The men have been at it for a while, clearly, as they have already dug a substantial grave for one of their party.

Two thugs toss the beaten man

into the pit, and one named Murphy fires two shots into the hole. Quickly the hole is filled and covered with autumn leaves, and the gang hightails it in two black SUVs. Ellie approaches the grave to make a quick prayer for the departed but feels the earth move and hears a muffed cry. Clearly, a man has been shot and left to die buried alive.

Ellie reveals herself to be a woman of substantial ingenuity in rescuing the unconscious character from the hole. Her cellphone is dead, so she has only minutes to take charge of the situation. Taking an old sled from the barn and some packing straps, she fashions a gurney and ties it to the back of her 4x4 to haul the man out of the hole and back to her farmhouse.

As a volunteer vet tech, she has the basic expertise to dress wounds and administer first aid. She revives the handsome stranger, who reveals himself to be Jack and Doris’ nephew Evan Heyerdahl, an innocent man on the run from New York City Mafia. Now, lest you think I’m giving away the whole plot, this is just a synopsis of the first two of the 15 chapters of the novel.

In the 1999 film “Mumford,” the titular doctor quips, “In a free society, you are what you say you are. If you screwed up on life, sometimes you can get another shot.” This line was bouncing around in my noggin as I read this thriller of identity and redemption.

Ellie is quickly falling for Evan. She has been starved for human affection for quite some time, a fact she has hidden quite well for herself. But what does she really know about him?

Purportedly, he was New York state’s “Teacher of the Year” and is being pursued by the mob in a case of mistaken identity. Literally an “accidental doppelganger,” Evan is a lookalike of a person called Donovan

who has absconded with the mob’s cash. Evan can’t leave the farm and can’t lean on law enforcement because “Murphy and his men are mobbed up, which means they’ve got people everywhere, even the FBI.”

All of this makes for a taut and claustrophobic thriller, something tonally like Stephen King’s 1987 novel “Misery,” about two people holed up in a remote cabin, where one of them is injured.

Ellie herself is strong, but she is also quite vulnerable as the daughter of a father who used to beat her relentlessly for minor infractions of discipline, like an unmade bed or forgetting to make his lunch.

As the days go by, Evan slowly begins to heal and becomes proportionally more amorous and suggestive. Should Ellie stake her life on a man she’s only met literally days ago? And what really happened to Luna, who has never reappeared? Why is Ellie having increasing episodes of “missing time”? How did perfectly hale and hearty Karl Bauer die so mysteriously?

These are all great questions, and I hope I have piqued your imagination

to pick up a copy of Hinman’s “The Hole They Dug for You.” The novel is chock-full of twists and turns, and, yes, I read the whole thing in about three sittings — that’s how unputdownable this book is.

If you like a thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end and rooting for the plucky heroine, this is a must-read.

MM

Victor R. Volkman is a graduate of Michigan Technological University (Class of ’86) and is the current president of the U.P. Publishers & Authors Association. He is senior editor at Modern History Press and publisher of the U.P. Reader.

HOW TO SUBMIT A BOOK

Send Upper Peninsula-related book review suggestions to victor@LHPress.com. Books submitted for review can be sent to: MM Book Reviews, 5145 Pontiac Trail, Ann Arbor, MI 48105.

out & about

Out & About is a free listing of Upper Peninsula events. Events included must cost $25 or less (except fundraisers).

All events are free and in Eastern time unless noted. We print information sent to us by a wide variety of people and organizations. It pays to double check the date, time, place and cost before heading out.

E-mail your June events by Saturday, May 10 to: calendar@marquettemonthly.com.

end of april events

30 WEDNESDAY sunrise 6:37 a.m.; sunset 8:57 p.m.

• Rocks and Roots: A Celebration of Biodiversity and Geoheritage on the Keweenaw’s Bedrock Shorelines. In 2024, botanist Abraham Stone surveyed the Keweenaw Peninsula bedrock shorelines in search of rare arctic flora, unique geological formations and unusual lakeshore ecosystems. He will highlight how his explorations yielded

connections between the plants, the rocks and the lake itself. 6:30 p.m. Community Room, Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Aspen Ridge Playgroup. Children and their caregivers can enjoy free play, circle time, crafts and activities, and snacks. 10 a.m. Aspen Ridge School, 350 Aspen Ridge School Rd. 906-485-3178, ext. 1104 or 1105.

• Popcorn and a Movie for Adults. Adults are invited to enjoy free popcorn and a screening of the 2023 release “The Marvels” (rated PG-13). 2 p.m. Community Room, Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main

Calumet

Drop-In and Draw Club | May 1 | Ishpeming

Photo by Eugen Aschenbrenner via unsplash

St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

• Adult Horror Book Club. This month’s selection will be “Lost Gods” by Brom. 6 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Marquette

• Book Babies. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be offered for newborns to 17 months old with a loving adult. Older siblings are welcome. 10 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4323 or pwpl.info.

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older and their spouses. Call to reserve a meal. $3.50 suggested donation. Noon to 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. 906-228-0456.

• Denim Day Awareness Walk. This movement began after a court ruled in 1992 that tight jeans implied consent. Supporters are encouraged to wear denim to show solidarity with survivors of sexual violence and promote awareness. Noon. Harlow Park. thewomenscenterinc.org.

• Assistive Technology with SAIL. Support will be provided for senior citizens who have questions about assistive technology, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and email. 3 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. 906-228-0456.

• Fandom Fun: It’s Raining Tacos! Youth of all ages can enjoy a fun-filled (non-food) taco party inspired by the picture book “Dragons Love Tacos.” There will be taco sensory play, the opportunity to create a fiesta mobile, “Taco and Pizza” party games and more. 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4323 or pwpl.info.

Negaunee

• Knitting Group. Crocheters, knitters and others interested in fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and enjoy fellowship. Coffee will be provided and lessons are available. 1 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

• After-school Middle School Group. Snacks will be provided. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

may events

01 THURSDAY

sunrise 6:35 a.m.; sunset 8:58 p.m.

clklibrary.org.

• Knitting and Crochet Group. Participants can bring their portable handwork project and enjoy an informal social time. Open to everyone. 1 p.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

Escanaba

• Pickin’ with the Champ: Morel Mushrooms with Anthony Williams. 5:30 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906-789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Feeding America Food Truck. 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. NORTHIRON Church, 910 Palms Ave.

• Book Club. Hosted by the Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, this month’s selection is “The Connellys of County Down” by Tracey Lange. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Senior Center, 121 Greenwood St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

• Drop-In and Draw Club. Attendees can bring their own supplies and projects to work on in a casual group setting. 1 p.m. Ray Leverton Community Room, Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

• Graphic Novel Book Club. Students in fourth through seventh grade can enjoy snacks and a discussion of “Continental Drifter” by Kathy MacLeod. New members are welcome. 4 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

• Garden Planning Workshop Series. The third session of this four-part series with Partridge Creek Farms will focus on prepping planting spaces, including how to build a rain catch barrel and save on water. 5:30 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

Marquette

• Toddler Storytime. Stories, songs and sensory play activities will be offered for children 18 to 36 months with a loving adult. Siblings are welcome. 10 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4323 or pwpl.info.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

Calumet

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or

• Senior Visual Art Classes: Linocut Print Cards with Mavis Farr. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents ages 50 and older. 1 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register, 906-225-8655.

• Lasers on the Ore Dock. This new show will be presented by Fresh Coast Light Lab and Travel Marquette. 20

minutes after sunset. Ore Dock, Mattson Lower Harbor Park. travelmarquette.com.

Negaunee

• Sensory Playtime. This one-hour, drop-in play session will feature activity stations and early reading and language activities. Parents and caregivers can also connect to share tips and experiences. This week’s theme will be “Wind and Air.” 11 a.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18 or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

02 FRIDAY

8:59 p.m.

Gwinn

• Storytime. Preschool-age kids can enjoy stories, crafts and light snacks. 10:30 a.m. Forsyth Township Library, 180 W. Flint St. 906-346-3433 or forsythtwplibrary.org.

Marquette

• Preschool Storytime. Stories, songs, finger-plays, crafts and other school-readiness activities will be offered for preschool-age children and a loving adult. Siblings are welcome. 10 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906226-4323 or pwpl.info.

• Cultivating Care, Compassion and Connection. This event will offer a safe space to pause, reflect and build connections with others who are committed to cultivating kindness. Each week, a different local organization will present educators and leaders who will facilitate a discussion while maintaining a shared commitment to the Charter for Compassion and the Circle of Trust principles. Noon. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4303 or pwpl.info.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

• Marquette Male Chorus Spring Concert. The Marquette Male Chorus will present “Imagine – Music of the Beatles.” Suggested donation, $10. 7:30 p.m. Messiah Lutheran Church, 305 W. Magnetic St. 906-249-9867.

• Lasers on the Ore Dock. This new show will be presented by Fresh Coast Light Lab and Travel Marquette. 20 minutes after sunset. Ore Dock, Mattson Lower Harbor Park. travelmarquette.com.

03 SATURDAY

sunrise 6:32 a.m.; sunset 9:01 p.m.

Escanaba

• Back to the BAY-CON: A Pop

Culture Event. Featuring special guests Nika Futterman, Sean Chiplock and Steve Lavigne, as well as vinyl records, vintage toys, video games, gaming room, trivia, cosplay, vendors and more. Suggested donation for ages 10 and older, $5. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Besse Center, Bay College, 2001 N. Lincoln Rd. dave.laur@baycollege. edu or 906-217-4031.

• Ink Society Local Writers’ Group. Intended for ages 16 and older. 10:30 a.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906-789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Gwinn

• Mom to Mom Spring Sale. The sale will include maternity, infant and teen clothing, sports equipment, cribs, car seats and more. Hosted by Gwinn Elementary PTO. Suggested donation, $2. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Gwinn VFW, 54 N. Mitchell St.

Ishpeming

• Westend Spring Craft Show. More than 30 vendors will have items for for sale. 10 a.m. River Rock Lanes and Banquet Center, 1011 North Rd.

• Negaunee Male Chorus Spring Concert. 7 p.m. Ishpeming High School, 319 E. Division St.

Little Lake

• Craft Show. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. American Legion Auxiliary Post 349, 1835 E. M-35. 906-346-6000.

Marquette

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. Lessons, 10 a.m. Games, 11:30 a.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com.

• Wizard of Oz the Ballet: Dancing Down the Yellow Brick Road. Members of the Northern Sky Dance students, along with dancers and choreographers from the community will perform. Prices vary. 1 and 7 p.m. Kaufman Auditorium, 611 N. Front St. nmu.universitytickets.com.

• Lasers on the Ore Dock. This new show will be presented by Fresh Coast Light Lab and Travel Marquette. 20 minutes after sunset. Ore Dock, Mattson Lower Harbor Park. travelmarquette.com.

04 SUNDAY sunrise 6:31 a.m.; sunset 9:02 p.m.

Marquette

• Superior String Alliance Chamber Players Side-by-Side Concert. Featuring Danielle Simandl, Barbara Rhyneer, James Uchytil and Larson Marquardt (violins), Eric Marta and Cambry Marquardson (violas), Adam Hall (cello) and Harry South (bass). Admission by donation. 3 p.m. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 201 E. Ridge St. superiorstringalliance.org.

on the town

Baraga

• Ojibwa Casino.

- Saturday, May 10: Groove Candy. 8 p.m. to midnight.

16449 Michigan Ave. 906-353-6333 or ojibwacasino.com.

Gwinn

• Gwinn Inn.

- Thursday, May 8: Make-Believe Spurs. 4 to 8 p.m.

170 W. Flint St. 906-346-9619.

• Happy Hour Bar and Grill.

- Friday, May 2: Chris Valenti. 7 to 10 p.m.

5 E. Stephenson Ave. 906-346-6340.

• Hideaway Bar.

- Mondays: The Hideaway All-Stars. 7 p.m.

741 M-35. 906-346-3178.

Marquette

• 906 Sports Bar and Grill.

- Wednesdays: Trivia. 6:30 p.m. 145 W. Washington St. 906-273-0706 or 906barandgrill.com.

• Blackrocks Brewery.

- Mondays: Trivia. 7 to 9 p.m.

- Wednesdays: Open mic. 6 to 9 p.m.

424 N. Third St. 906-273-1333 or blackrocksbrewery.com.

• Drifa Brewing Company.

- Mondays: Musicians’ Open Mic. 6 to 8 p.m.

- Thursdays: Trivia. 7 p.m.

501 S. Lake St. 906-273-1300.

• Flanigan’s.

- Mondays through Saturdays: Karaoke. 9:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

- Tuesdays: Open Mic. 7 to 10 p.m.

429 W. Washington St. 906-228-8865.

• Kognisjon Bryggeri.

- Thursday, May 1: Hot Plate, 6 to 8 p.m.; Iron Golem Games, 6 to 10 p.m.

- Friday, the 2nd: The Palestras. 7 to 10 p.m.

- Saturday, the 3rd: Jazz Brunch.

- Saturday, the 3rd: Flat Broke Blues Band. 7 to 10 p.m.

- Sunday, the 4th: Jazz Brunch.

- Sunday, the 4th: Open Mic. 7 to 10 p.m.

- Monday, the 5th: Vinyl Day (bring your favorite records).

- Tuesday, the 5th: Trivia. 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

- Wednesday, the 7th: Seven Foot Drift. 6 to 8 p.m.

- Thursday, the 8th: Iron Golem Games. 6 to 10 p.m.

- Friday, the 9th: Frank and Da Beanz. 7 to 10 p.m.

- Saturday, the 10th: Jazz Brunch.

- Saturday, the 10th: The Make-Believe Spurs. 7 to 10 p.m.

- Sunday, the 11th: Jazz Brunch.

- Monday, the 12th: Vinyl Day (bring your favorite records).

- Tuesday, the 13th: Trivia. 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

- Thursday, the 15th: Hot Plate, 6 to 8 p.m.; Iron Golem Games, 6 to 10 p.m.

- Friday, the 16th: Soul Shine. 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

- Saturday, the 17th: Jazz Brunch.

- Saturday, the 17th: Boots and Sandals. 6:30 to 10:30 p.m.

- Sunday, the 18th: Jazz Brunch.

- Sunday, the 18th: Open Mic. 7 to 10 p.m.

- Monday, the 19th: Vinyl Day (bring your favorite records).

- Tuesday, the 20th: Trivia. 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

- Wednesday, the 21st: Seven Foot Drift. 6 to 8 p.m.

- Thursday, the 22nd: Iron Golem Games. 6 to 10 p.m.

- Friday, the 23rd: Seven Foot Drift. 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

- Saturday, the 24th: Jazz Brunch.

- Saturday, the 24th: Vinyl Tap. 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

- Sunday, the 25th: Jazz Brunch.

- Sunday, the 25th: Cribbage Tournament. 3 p.m.

- Monday, the 26th: Vinyl Day (bring your favorite records).

- Tuesday, the 27th: Trivia. 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

- Thursday, the 29th: Hot Plate, 6 to 8 p.m.; Iron Golem Games, 6 to 10 p.m.

- Friday, the 30th: Generation Jazz. 5 to 8 p.m.

- Saturday, the 31st: Jazz Brunch. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

- Saturday, the 31st: The Bluesers. 7 to 10 p.m.

Jazz Brunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 1034 N. Third St. 906-273-2727.

• Ojibwa Casino Marquette Lounge.

- Saturday, May 3: Eddie and the Bluesers.

- Saturday, the 10th: Chad Borgen and the Collective.

- Saturday, the 17th: Diversion.

- Saturday, the 24th: Boots and Sandals.

- Friday, the 30th and Saturday, the 31st: Risqué.

Music, 8 p.m. to midnight.

105 Acre Trl. 906-249-4200 or ojibwacasino.com.

• Ore Dock Brewing Company.

- Thursday, May 1: Backcountry on Tap–Brews and Brookies. 6 p.m.

- Friday, the 2nd: Spring Thaw Comedy Show. Ages 18 and older. $18. 8 p.m.

- Saturday, the 3rd: The Make-Believe

Spurs. 8 p.m.

- Tuesday, the 6th: Euchre. 7 p.m.

- Sunday, the 11th: Westerly Winds. Students, $5; general admission, $10. 2 p.m.

- Tuesday, the 13th: Euchre. 7 p.m.

- Thursday, the 15th: Music for the people, by the people. Suggested Donation, $20. 6 p.m.

- Tuesday, the 20th: Euchre. 7 p.m.

- Saturday, the 24th: Marbin. In advance, $18; day of show, $22. 8 p.m.

- Monday, the 26th: Ales & Tales. 6:30 p.m.

All shows are free unless noted. 114 W. Spring St. 906-228-8888 or oredockbrewing.com.

• Rippling River Resort.

- Thursday, May 22: Chris Valenti. 6 to 9 p.m. 4321 M-553. 906-273-2259 or ripplingriverresort.com.

• Superior Culture.

- Tuesdays: Open Mic night. 8 to 10 p.m.

717 Third St. 906-273-0927 or supe-

(continued on page 77)

The Palestras | May 2 | Kognisjon Bryggeri, Marquette

05 MONDAY

Marquette

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 6 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com.

• UP Rowing Summer Youth Rowing Information and Registration Meeting. Information will be provided for youth interested in summer rowing who have completed eighth grade through age 18, and their parents or guardians. 6 p.m. Community room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-250-2739.

• Craft Magic Series: Punch Needle Magic with Lydia Taylor. Attendees will learn basic punch needle skills and leave with their own handmade project. Starter kits will be provided. 6:30 p.m. Shiras Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-2264322, machatz@pwpl.info or pwpl. info.

• NCLL: Voyage on the Baltic Sea, Part 2. Carol Margrif, NCLL member and avid traveler, will continue her Powerpoint presentation of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bornholm Island and Copenhagen. NCLL members, $5; non-members, $10. 6:30 p.m. Room 101B, NMU Superior Dome. 906-8695291 or mccormpaula@gmail.com.

• The Joy of Sound Meditation. This meditation features the sounds produced by bronze singing bowls and metallic gongs. 7 p.m. Chapel, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 201 E. Ridge St. 906-362-9934 or ckitchenmqt@gmail.com.

Negaunee

on the town riorculturemqt.com.

Palmer

• The Cade Bar and Grill.

- Friday, May 9: Chris Valenti. 6 to 9 p.m.

103 Snyder St. 906-401-0060.

Negaunee

• Smarty’s Saloon.

- Friday, May 30: Vinyl Tap. 8 p.m. to midnight.

212 Iron St. 906-401-0438.

• Upper Peninsula Brewing Company.

- Thursday, May 1: Ryan Littleeagle. 7 p.m.

- Tuesday, the 6th: Trivia. 7 p.m.

- Thursday, the 15th: Open mic. 7 p.m.

- Tuesday, the 20th: Trivia. 7 p.m. Music at 7 p.m. unless noted. 342 Rail Street. 906-475-8722.

• All-Ages Online Storytime. Miss Jessica will lead stories, songs and rhymes on Facebook Live. 11 a.m. facebook.com/NegauneePublicLibrary. 906-475-7700, ext. 18.

06 TUESDAY

sunrise 6:28 a.m.; sunset 9:05 p.m.

Escanaba

• Tech Tuesday. Appointments or walk-ins are welcome. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906-789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Gwinn

• Drop-in Crochet Club. All experience levels are welcome for crochet and conversation. Intended for adults and teens. 5 p.m. Forsyth Township Library, 180 W. Flint St. 906-346-3433 or forsythtwplibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Tot Tuesday Storytime. Stories, songs and movement activities followed by an optional craft and playtime will be offered for toddlers and preschoolers. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Little Lake

• Bingo. A concession stand will be available. Doors open, 11 a.m.; early bird games, 1:30 p.m. American Legion Auxiliary Post 349, 1835 E. M-35. 906-346-6000.

Marquette

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Bring

Republic

• Pine Grove Bar.

- Friday, May 2: DayDreamers Acoustic.

- Saturday, the 3rd: Troy Graham.

- Saturday, the 3rd: Groove Candy.

- Friday, the 9th: Jackson Taylor.

- Saturday, the 10th: Daryn Reece

- Saturday, the 10th: ACUH.

- Sunday, the 11th: Brad Perala.

- Friday, the 16th: Spun.

- Saturday, the 17th: Iron Daisy Acoustic.

- Friday, the 23rd: Whiskey Ryan.

- Saturday, the 24th: Toni Saari.

- Saturday, the 24th: Cosmic Exposure.

- Monday, the 26th: Almost Elvis.

- Friday, the 30th: Lillian Manceau.

- Saturday, the 31st: Pentatonic Uncertainty.

(continued from page 76)

art galleries

Calumet

• Calumet Art Center. Works by local and regional artists. Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 57055 Fifth St. 906-934-2228. calumetartcenter.com.

• Copper Country Associated Artist. Works by members and workshop participants in watercolor and oil, drawings, photography, sculpture, quilting, wood, textile, clay, glass and other media. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 205 Fifth St. 906-337-1252 or ccaartists.org.

• Gallery on 5th. Featuring works by local and regional artists. Call or visit Facebook for up-to-date store hours. 906-299-0118 or galleryon5th.com.

• My Story Gallery at Keweenaw Storytelling Center. The gallery shares stories of ordinary residents through multimedia exhibits. Contact for updated hours. 215 Fifth St. 906934-2346 or realpeoplemedia.org.

Curtis

• Erickson Center for the Arts–Waterfront Gallery. The gallery features unique work from local artists, including photography, pottery, jewelry, woodworking, paintings and more. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. N9224 Saw-Wa-Quato St. 906-586-9974 or ericksoncenter. org.

Copper Harbor

• EarthWorks Gallery. Featuring Lake Superior-inspired photography by Steve Brimm. Daily, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 216 First St. 906-231-6318.

Escanaba

• Besse Gallery. Works by local and regional artists. Days and hours vary. Bay College, 2001 N. Lincoln Rd. baycollege.edu.

• East Ludington Gallery. Works by local and regional artists. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 1000 Ludington St. (across the street from the gallery’s previous location). 906786-0300 or eastludingtongallery. com.

• Hartwig Gallery. Featuring works by local, regional and national artists. Days and hours vary. Bay College, 2001 N. Lincoln Rd. baycollege.edu.

• William Bonifas Fine Arts Gallery.

- “U.P.Cycle,” featuring artwork comprised of at least 85 percent recycled material in a variety of media, is on display through the 22nd. Powers Gallery.

- “Bonifas Membership Show,” featuring a variety of works by emerging and professional artists, will be on

display May 29 through July 10 with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on the 29th. Powers Gallery.

- “Now and Through Time: Photography by Dan Young” is on display through the 22nd. Studio Gallery.

- “East Ludington Invitational,” showcasing artwork from more than 25 East Ludington members, will be on display May 29 through Sept. 5. Studio Gallery.Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 700 First Avenue South. 906-786-3833 or bonifasarts. org.

Garden

• Village Artisans/Garden Gallery. The Gallery has approximately 50 consignors each year featuring paintings, photography, quilting, stained glass, woodwork, pottery, jewelry and more. Opens May 22. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 6367 State St. 906-644-2025 or villageartisansofgarden.org.

Hancock

• Finandia Art Gallery.

- “Humus (taking over),” featuring large-scale drawings by Finnish artist Eeva Honkanen, is on display through June 4. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Located in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy St. 906-487-7309 or gallery@finlandiafoundation.org.

• Kerredge Gallery.

- “Out of the Wood,” featuring wood engravings by Tony Drehfal, will be on display May 6 through 31, with an opening reception at 6 p.m. on the 8th. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Copper Country Community Arts Center, 126 Quincy St. 906-4822333 or coppercountryarts.com.

• Youth Gallery. Featuring works by local students. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Community Arts Center, 126 Quincy St. 906-482-2333 or coppercountryarts.com.

• Lynn Mazzoleni Studio and

Tony Drehfal | Heronry | Kerredge Gallery, Hancock

art galleries

Gallery.

- “Taking Up Space,” featuring new works by Lynn Mazzoleni, will be on display through August 31. Tuesday and Thursday, 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 to 6 p.m. Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. 116 Quincy St. info@lynnmazzoleni.com.

Houghton

• The Rozsa Galleries. Works by local and regional artists. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 to 8 p.m. Rozsa Center, 1400 Townsend Dr. mtu.edu/rozsa.

• Trinity Episcoal Church.“Magdalena: Art for Grief, Comfort and Hope,” an art installation by Lisa Gordillo, is on display Wednesdays through the 21st. Noon to 5 p.m., or by appointment. 245 E. Montezuma Ave. trinityepiscopalhoughton@ gmail.com.

Ishpeming

• Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library.

- “Walking Together: Finding Common Ground” will be on display May 6-31. This traveling exhibit was developed by the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan to uncover, acknowledge and document the truth about Indigenous experiences in the state’s Native American boarding schools. Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Main floor, Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Manistique

passwords and ensure the device is charged. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register for a 30-minute session, 906-226-4311.

• Heritage Room Book Group. The group welcomes readers interested in a variety of contemporary fiction. This month’s selection will be “Small Rain” by Garth Greenwell. 10 a.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4323 or pwpl. info.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

• Oil Painting, Pastels and Drawing Classes with Marlene Wood. Bring your own supplies. $20. 1 p.m. Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-225-8655.

• Young Authors: Adam Rex Presentation and Book Signing.

• Lake Effect Community Arts Center.

- “Made UP!,” showcasing one piece of art in a variety of media from artists living within a 100-mile radius of Manistique, will be on display May 17 through June 7 with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. on the 22nd. May 17 and 18, 1 to 4 p.m. After May 22, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 244 Cedar St. info@lakeeffectarts.org.

Marquette

• Art—U.P. Style. Art by Carol Papaleo, works by local artists, gifts, classes and more. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. 130 W. Washington St. 906-225-1993.

• DeVos Art Museum. The senior exhibition from NMU’s School of Art and Design, featuring work in a variety of media, is on display through the 2nd with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. on the 2nd. Monday through Wednesday, and Friday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m.; Thursday, noon to 8 p.m. Corner of Seventh and Tracy streets. NMU. 906-227-1481 or nmu.edu/devos.

• The Gallery Marquette. Works by Lauren Hovland will be on display, with a reception from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the 24th. Works by local and regional artists. Daily, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 130 W. Washington St. thegallerymqt.com.

• Huron Mountain Club Gallery.“Patterns of Connection” presented by Knot Work Studio is on display through the 31st. Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Snowbound Books will be on site selling Rex’s books for him to sign. 5:30 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906226-4323 or pwpl.info.

07

WEDNESDAY

sunrise 6:26 a.m.; sunset 9:06 p.m.

Ishpeming

• Aspen Ridge Playgroup. Children and their caregivers can enjoy free play, circle time, crafts and activities, and snacks. 10 a.m. Aspen Ridge School, 350 Aspen Ridge School Rd. 906-485-3178, ext. 1104 or 1105.

• Author Presentation: Adam Rex. Adam Rex, this year’s featured author for the Young Author’s Conference will talk to children and families about his books and what it’s like to be an author. Snowbound Books will be on site with books available for purchase. 5:30 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381

Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-228-0472.

• Lake Superior Photo and Gallery. The studio features landscape photographic art by Shawn Malone, including naturescapes of the Lake Superior region. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 211 S. Front St. 906-228-3686 or lakesuperiorphoto.com.

• Marquette Arts and Culture Center Deo Gallery.

- “The High School Art Show” will be on display through the 31st. Monday through Thursday, 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-228-0472.

• Niik Creative Co. Handcrafted and local artisan goods. Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. 2905 Island Beach Rd.

• Presque Isle Station. This working pottery studio features pottery by Michael Horton and Terry Gilfoy, along with works by local artists. Days and times vary. 2901 Lakeshore Blvd. 906-225-1695.

• Second Story Studio. Thursday through Saturday, 2 to 6 p.m., and by appointment. Inside the Wattsson and Wattsson Marketplace, 118 B W. Washington St. tarynokesson.com/ second-story-studio.

• Wintergreen Hill Gallery and Gifts. Artworks by Hyde A. Whitney will be on display through the 31st with a reception from 4 to 7 p.m. on

or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Marquette

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older and their spouses. Call to reserve a meal. $3.50 suggested donation. Noon to 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. 906-228-0456.

• Fandom Fun: Planting a Rainbow. Youth of all ages can celebrate the first day of spring by planting a rainbow. “Planting a Rainbow” by Lois Ehlert will be read, then attendees can decorate a mini garden pot and plant a mini garden rainbow. 4:30 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4323 or pwpl.info.

• Marquette County Quilters Association Meeting. All skill levels are invited for socialization, program events and show and tell. Yearly membership fee, $20. 6 p.m. Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. marquettequilters.org.

the 24th. Wintergreen Hill Gallery strives to create an immersive art experience for visitors who are looking to buy or just looking for inspiration. Local art by local artists. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. 810 N. Third St. 906-273-1374 or wintergreenhill.com.

• Zero Degrees Gallery. An artist reception for John Hubbard will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on the 10th. The gallery features works in oils, watercolors, mixed media, jewelry, photography, metals, woods, recycled and fiber arts, and more. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 525 N. Third St. 906-228-3058 or zerodegreesgallery.org.

Munising

• UP-Scale Art. Featuring works by local and regional artists. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment. 109 W. Superior Ave. 906-387-3300 or upscaleart.org.

Rapid River

• Ritch Branstrom’s adhocWORKshop. Specializing in award-winning found object sculpture. By appointment or chance. 10495 S. Main St. 906-399-1572 or adhocworkshop. com.

Sand River

• Aurelia Studio Pottery. Featuring high fire stoneware, along with functional and sculptural pieces inspired by nature, created by potter and owner Paula Neville. Open by appointment or chance. 3050 E. M-28. 906-343-6592. MM

• League of Women Voters of Marquette County Meeting. The meeting will feature a panel presentation titled “Know Your Local Government.” Leaders from Marquette County and local municipal governments will speak on how citizens can get involved in their communities. In case of inclement weather, visit lwvmqt.org to confirm if the meeting will be live or via Zoom. Social time, 6:30 p.m.; meeting, 6:45 p.m. Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. lwvmqtco@gmail.com.

Negaunee

• Knitting Group. Crocheters, knitters and others interested in fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and enjoy fellowship. Coffee will be provided and lessons are available. 1 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

• After-school Middle School Group. Snacks will be provided. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case

St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

08 THURSDAY

sunrise 6:25 a.m.; sunset 9:07 p.m.

Big Bay

• NCLL: Opening Bay Cliff Health Camp Work Day. NCLL and transition students will help with chores to open Bay Cliff Health Camp for the season. All ability levels are welcome and lunch will be served in the Big House. To carpool, meet at the TargetDairy Queen parking lot at 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bay Cliff Health Camp. 906-235-8532 or susanholliday83@gmail.com.

Calumet

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

• Knitting and Crochet Group. Participants can bring their portable handwork project and enjoy an informal social time. Open to everyone. 1 p.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

Crystal Falls

• U.P. Notable Books Club (Online). This month’s discussion will feature Sharon Marie Brunner, author of “Michigan Indian Boarding School Survivors Speak Out.” 7 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. CST. Via Zoom. 906-875-3344 or egathu@crystalfallslibrary.org. upnotable.com.

Escanaba

• Fiber Arts a la Carte. Intended for ages 16 and older. 5 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Gwinn

• Modeltown Market 2025 Season Kickoff. Featuring live music by The Make-Believe Spurs, vendors and information about the 2025 market season. 4 to 8 p.m. The Gwinn Inn, 170 W. Flint St. 906-361-4843 or modeltownmarket@gmail.com.

Ishpeming

• “A Cloud Over the Land” Presentation. Deborah Richmond, tribal historian of the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and Rick Wiles, historian and author, will discuss the recently published book titled “A Cloud over the Land,” which tells the story of the Burt Lake Burnout of 1900. During this event, the Native American village at Burt Lake in Brutus, Mich., was reduced to ashes, rendering families homeless and stripping them of their ancestral lands by a wealthy land developer and the local sheriff. 5:30 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Marquette

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Bring passwords and ensure the device is charged. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register for a 30-minute session, 906-226-4311.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

• 20th Annual Cemetery Walk: V.E. Day 80 Years On. This event will honor local WWII heroes as those who are buried at Park Cemetery, both military and civilian, are recognized on Victory in Europe Day. A self-guided tour will begin at 1 p.m.; at 6 p.m., there will be guided tour groups or a seated version (bring your lawn chair). Presented by the Marquette Regional History Center. Suggested donation, $5. 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Main gate, Park Cemetery, 301 N. Seventh St. 906-2263571 or marquettehistory.org.

• Senior Visual Art Classes: Linocut Print Cards with Mavis Farr. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents ages 50 and older. 1 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register, 906-225-8655.

• Second Thursday Creativity Series. Guests can enjoy hands-on craft activities and free Culver’s frozen custard. This month’s theme is “Let’s Make a Book.” 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum, 123 W. Baraga Ave. 906-226-3911 or upchildrensmuseum.org.

• Yarnwinders Fiber Guild of Marquette. 6 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. Marquette Poets Circle. Local poets, writers and poetry enthusiasts can enjoy an evening of poetry. Participants will workshop their current work at 6:30 p.m., followed by an open mic at 7:15 p.m. New and experienced poets are welcome for either or both events. 6:30 to 8 p.m. Shiras Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info or pwpl.info.

Negaunee

• Sensory Playtime. This one-hour, drop-in play session will feature activity stations and early reading and language activities. Parents and caregivers can also connect to share tips and experiences. This week’s theme will be “Butterfly and Bug.” 11 a.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18 or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

Gwinn

• Storytime. Preschool-age kids can enjoy stories, crafts and light snacks. 10:30 a.m. Forsyth Township Library, 180 W. Flint St. 906-346-3433 or forsythtwplibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Homeschool Hangout. Homeschooling families can visit with fellow homeschooling friends, network with library staff and learn about the library’s resources. “Lego: Build the Change” with Miss Heather will take place at 10:30 a.m. 10 a.m. to noon. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

• Afternoon Movie. Children and families are invited to enjoy free popcorn and a screening of “Boss Baby: Family Business.” Rated PG. 1 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

• Project Linus: Fiber Artists Meetup. Knitters, crocheters, quilters and other fiber crafters are invited to work on blankets for Project Linus, an organization that donates homemade items to children in need. Participants can bring their own project to work on for the cause. 2 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

Marquette

• Docu Cinema: “When the Bough Breaks: Postpartum Depression and Maternal Health.” Presented in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, this documentary focuses on maternal health and postpartum depression and psychosis. Rated TV-14. Noon. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-2264322, machatz@pwpl.info or pwpl. info.

• Cultivating Care, Compassion and Connection. This event will offer a safe space to pause, reflect and build connections with others who are committed to cultivating kindness. Each week, a different local organization will present educators and leaders who will facilitate a discussion while maintaining a shared commitment to the Charter for Compassion and the Circle of Trust principles. Noon. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4303 or pwpl.info.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

• TV6 Mother’s Day Craft Show. Youth age 12 and younger, free; age 13 and older, $3. 5 to 9 p.m. Superior Dome,

10 SATURDAY

sunrise 6:22 a.m.; sunset 9:10 p.m.

Big Bay

• Community Open House. The 15th annual event is a family-friendly open house, community party and lumber liquidation event, which will include local artist and farmer vendor booths. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wilson Creek Woodsmithing, 115 Co. Rd. KR (Brown Deer Road). 906-360-7288.

Calumet

• Joe Kirkish Exhibit and Sale. There will also be a Mother’s Day gift sale. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center in the Big Green Church, 57055 Fifth St. 906-934-2228 or info@calumetartcenter.com.

Escanaba

• LEGO Club. This month’s theme is “Spring Has Sprung.” 1 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Hancock

• Finnish American Folk School Open House and Fundraiser. This is an opportunity to tour the fiber, wood and ceramics studios. There will also be a rummage sale, handmade gifts, weaving demonstrations, “Play with Clay” activity and silent auction. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Folk School Studios at Skyline Commons, 200 Michigan St. 906-370-3722, clare.zuraw@ finlandiafoundation.org or finnishamericanfolkschool.com.

Ishpeming

• Books ’n Blooms. In collaboration with Hope-Dreams Art, events will take place throughout the library to celebrate spring, gardening, plants, flowers and more. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. For a full schedule and registration information, call 906-4864381 or visit ishpeminglibrary.info.

Marquette

• TV6 Mother’s Day Craft Show. Youth age 12 and younger, free; age 13 and older, $3. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Superior Dome, NMU.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. Lessons, 10 a.m. Games, 11:30 a.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com.

11 SUNDAY

sunrise 6:21 a.m.; sunset 9:11 p.m.

Mother’s Day

Calumet

• Art Play. This open studio time for

adults encourages artists to create and share their work. 2 to 4 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. 906-9342228 or info@calumetartcenter.com.

Ishpeming

• Bingo. Noon. VFW, 310 Bank St.

Little Lake

• Mothers Day Dinner. Featuring turkey, ham and all the fixings. Children 10 and younger, $6; adults $15. 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. American Legion Post 349, 1835 E. M-35. 906-346-6000.

Marquette

• Story Time at MooseWood. “A Frog in the Bog” by Karma Wilson will be read followed by an activity. Intended for ages five to eight, but all are welcome. 11 a.m. MooseWood Nature Center, Shiras Pool Building at Presque Isle Park. moosewood.org.

Marquette

• TV6 Mother’s Day Craft Show. Youth age 12 and younger, free; age 13 and older, $3. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Superior Dome, NMU.

12 MONDAY

sunrise 6:20 a.m.; sunset 9:12 p.m.

Marquette

• Senior Theatre Experience: Monthly Theatre Workshop and Discussion. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents ages 50 and older. 4 p.m. Room B, Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. To register, 906-225-8655.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 6 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com.

• U.P. Rowing Meet and Greet.

Information will be provided for the summer 2025 adult Learn to Row program. 6 p.m. Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. gbrayden@ charter.net or uprowing.com.

• Lynn Domina Book Launch. Poet Lynn Domina will read from her recently released collection of poems, “Killing Him,” which focuses on the Biblical tale of Judith and Holofernes, and the mosaics of contemporary Canadian artist Lilian Broca. 6:30 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info or pwpl.info.

Negaunee

• All-Ages Online Storytime. Miss Jessica will lead stories, songs and rhymes on Facebook Live. 11 a.m. facebook.com/NegauneePublicLibrary. 906-475-7700, ext. 18.

• Friends of the Negaunee Public Library Meeting. Members will plan summer sales events and decorate the library for summer. All are welcome to attend; membership is $5 per year. 1 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook.com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

13 TUESDAY

Escanaba

• Tech Tuesday. Appointments or walk-ins are welcome. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906-789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Gwinn

• Literature at the Lodge. This month’s selection will be “Mercury” by Amy Jo Burns. 6 p.m. Up North Lodge,

U.P. Rowing Meet and Greet | May 12 | Marquette

Photo by David Trinks via unsplash

215 S. Co. Rd. 557. 906-346-3433 or forsythtwplibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Tot Tuesday Storytime. Stories, songs and movement activities followed by an optional craft and playtime will be offered for toddlers and preschoolers. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Little Lake

• Bingo. A concession stand will be available. Doors open, 11 a.m.; early bird games, 1:30 p.m. American Legion Auxiliary Post 349, 1835 E. M-35. 906-346-6000.

Marquette

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Bring passwords and ensure the device is charged. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register for a 30-minute session, 906-226-4311.

• Tasty Reads Book Group. The group welcomes readers who love to cook. This month’s selection will be “Bitter Honey: Recipes from the Island of Sardinia” by Letitia Clark. Noon. Shiras Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4303 or pwpl.info.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

• NCLL: Mariucci Family Beacon House Tour. Mary Tavernini Dowling, CEO of The Beacon House, will lead a tour of this “home away from home” for patients and families that travel to receive specialty care at U.P. Health System–Marquette and the Upper Peninsula Medical Center. NCLL members, $5; non-members, $10. 1 p.m.

Beacon House, 200 S. Seventh St. 906362-1956 or terv.julj51@gmail.com.

• Lake Superior Knitters. Learn how to knit, solve problems in reading patterns and expand your knitting skills. The group includes a variety of ages and levels of experiences. Bring a skein of lighter color yarn and a size 7, 24-inch wooden circular needle to make a hat or cowl. Suggested donation, $1 to $5 to the MRHC for the study and preservation of the fiber arts. 1 to 2:30 p.m. Marquette Regional History Center, 145 W. Spring St. beedhive47@ yahoo.com.

• Oil Painting, Pastels and Drawing Classes with Marlene Wood. Bring your own supplies. $20. 1 p.m. Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-225-8655.

• Senior Dance Class. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents ages 50 and older. 4 p.m. Baraga Gym, Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. To register, 906-225-8655.

• Superiorland Woodturners Meeting. There will be a woodturning demonstration and members will show examples of their work. 6 p.m. Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. jmarchimes@charter.net.

Negaunee

• Friends of the Negaunee Public Library Used Book Sale. All sales will be by donation. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Front lawn, Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook.com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

• Paper Quilling Craft Day. Using colorful paper strips, participants ages 12 and older will roll, shape and glue them into designs like flowers, hearts or abstract patterns. All supplies will be provided and no experience is needed. Registration required. 2:30 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

U.P. Outdoor Summit | May 16 | Marquette

Photo by Carrie Usher

museums

Baraga

• Baraga County Historical Museum. The museum highlights the historic and cultural heritage of Baraga County. Current exhibits include “The Ford Motor Company in Baraga County” and prehistoric copper objects on loan from the Ancient Artifacts Preservation Society. Children, free; teens $1; adults, $2.50. Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. or by appointment. 803 US-41 S. 906395-1730 or baragacountyhistory@ gmail.com.

Calumet

• International Frisbee/USA Guts Hall of Fame and Museum. Learn about the history of Guts Frisbee. Days and hours vary. Open when events are held. Second floor ballroom, Calumet Colosseum, 110 Red Jacket Rd. 906-281-7625.

Caspian

• Iron County Historical Museum. The Iron County Museum is one of the largest outdoor museum complexes in the U.P. and is the designated “Log Cabin Capital of Michigan” with more historic log structures than any place in the state. Exhibits include the Carrie Jacobs-Bond House, Stager Depot, St. Mary’s Church, Toti’s Tavern, Pioneer School House, Giovanelli Studio and Gallery and Lee LeBlanc Memorial Art Gallery. Children five and younger, free; students. $10; adults, $15. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 100 Brady Ave. 906-265-2617 or ironcountymuseum.org.

Escanaba

• Upper Peninsula Military Museum and Honor Flight Legacy Museum. The museum honors Upper Peninsula veterans, and features exhibits and dioramas portraying the Upper Peninsula’s contribution to U.S. war efforts from the Civil War through the Afghanistan wars. Learn the history of the honor flight trips. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Inside the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, 1001 N. Lincoln Rd.

• Webster Marble Inventing the Outdoors Museum. Webster Marble came to the U.P. in the late 1880s to be a timber cruiser and surveyor, but later became an inventor. He held 60 patents and invented a long list of gear for camping, hiking, hunting and fishing, including a safety ax with an attached blade guard that folded into the handle. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Inside the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, 1001 N. Lincoln Road. 906-786-2192 or

deltami.org/webster-marble-inventing-the-outdoors-museum.

Hancock

• Quincy Mine Hoist and Underground Mine. There are two options for touring the site. On both the surface tour and the full tour, visitors will see the museum, inside the No. 2 Shaft House and the Nordberg Steam Hoist and ride the cog rail tram car to the mine entrance. On the full tour, visitors will take a tractor-pulled wagon into the mine, seven levels underground. Prices vary. Tours can be scheduled year-round. 49750 US-41. 906-482-3101 or quincymine. com.

Houghton

• A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum. Featuring an exhibit on Yooperlites, sodalite-bearing syenites that possess fluorescent properties. View the largest collection of minerals from the Great Lakes region and the world’s finest collection of Michigan minerals. Prices vary. Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 1404 E. Sharon Ave. museum.mtu.edu or 906-487-2572.

• Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw. The museum features changing exhibits and programs about the region’s natural and cultural history. Tuesday and Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. 105 Huron St. 906-482-7140 or carnegiekeweenaw.org.

• MTU Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections. Features a variety of historical memorabilia, highlighting life in the Copper Country. Open by appointment. Lower level of the J.R. Van Pelt Library, MTU. 906-487-3209.

Iron Mountain

• Cornish Pumping Engine and Mining Museum. The 725-ton Cornish Pumping Engine, the largest steam-driven pumping engine ever built in the United States, is famous for dewatering Iron Mountain’s Chapin Mine, one of the wettest mines ever worked and the largest producer of iron ore on the Menominee Iron Range. The museum also displays underground mining equipment. Children five and younger, free; students, $5; seniors and veterans, $7; adults, $8. Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT. 300 Kent St. 906-774-1086 or menomineemuseum.com.

• World War II Glider and Military Museum. During World War II, the Ford Motor Company’s Kingsford plant built the CG-4A gliders for the U.S. Army. View one of seven fully restored CG-4A G World War

II gliders, military uniforms from the Civil War through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, memorabilia, restored military vehicles and more. Prices vary. Children five and younger, free; students, $5; seniors and veterans, $7; adults, $8. Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT. 302 Kent St. 906-774-1086 or menomineemuseum.com.

Ishpeming

• Ishpeming Area Historical Society Museum. The museum focuses on everyday life, people, businesses and past times that showcase Ishpeming’s citizens, including John Voelker, Kelly Johnson and Glenn Seaborg, as well as memorabilia from the filming of “Anatomy of a Murder.” Open by appointment. See website for updates. Gossard Building, Suite 303, 308 Cleveland Ave. ishpeminghistory.org.

• U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum. The museum features more than 300 Hall of Fame inductees, presented in photographs and biographies, and displays and exhibits of skiing history and equipment, an extensive library, video show, gift shop, special events and more. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. US-41 and Third Street. 906-485-6323 or skihall.com.

K.I. Sawyer

• K.I. Sawyer Heritage Air Museum. The museum promotes and preserves the aviation history the air base brought to the area. Air Force-related materials are on display, including photographs, flags, medals and more. Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. or by appointment. 402 Third St. 906-236-3502 or kisawyerheritageairmuseum.org.

Marquette

• Baraga Educational Center and Museum. View artifacts and tools used by Venerable Bishop Baraga. Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. and by appointment. 615 S. Fourth St. 906-227-9117.

• Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center.

- “The Political Life,” an exhibition chronicling the lives and work of U.P. politicians, along with accounts of U.S. presidents who visited the region, is on display through June 28. The museum promotes and preserves the history and culture of the U.P. and collects and preserves artifacts related to the history of NMU. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday, 11 to 4 p.m. Corner of Seventh and Tracy streets. NMU. 906-227-1219 or nmu.edu/beaumier.

• Marquette Regional History Center. The museum includes (continued on page 85)

Calumet

• Red Jacket Readers Book Club. The selection will be “The Small and the Mighty” by Sharon McMahon. 6:30 p.m. Community Room, Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Aspen Ridge Playgroup. Children and their caregivers can enjoy free play, circle time, crafts and activities, and snacks. 10 a.m. Aspen Ridge School, 350 Aspen Ridge School Rd. 906-485-3178, ext. 1104 or 1105.

• Italian Lessons: Casual Conversation. Marilena Corradino will teach Italian in a casual conversation format. The class is intended for beginners or those who want to practice speaking Italian with others. 4 p.m. Ray Leverton Community Room, Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

• Native American Boarding School Presentation. Tom Biron will discuss his experiences as a survivor of the Native American boarding school system. 6 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Little Lake

• Gwinn Quilters. Members learn new skills and techniques, work on individual and group projects, and create items to donate to community organizations. A business meeting takes place at 12:30 p.m. followed by show and tell. Bring a bag lunch. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fellowship Hall, Little Lake Chapel, 1761 M-35. 906-346-6344.

Marquette

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older and their spouses. Call to reserve a meal. $3.50 suggested donation. Noon to 1

museums

(continued from page 84)

interactive displays as well as regional history exhibits. Youth 12 and under, $3; students, $4; seniors and military, $8; adults, $10. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 145 W. Spring St. 906-2263571 or marquettehistory.org.

• Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum. A variety of interactive exhibits offer learning through investigation and creativity. Prices vary. Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 123 W. Baraga Ave. 906-2263911 or upchildrensmuseum.org.

p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. 906-228-0456.

• NCLL: Obesity and Weight Loss Medication. Dr. Mohey Mowafy will discuss obesity as a threat to health with a focus on recent medications, particularly the classification of drugs known as GPL-1. NCLL members, $5; non-members, $10. 2 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 248-464-3828 or bevans@ nmu.edu.

• Community Knit/Crochet Club. 5:30 p.m. Alley Kat’s Quilt Shop, 1010 W. Washington St. 906-315-0050.

• Superior Wildlife Rehab and Education Center SlideShow. Attendees will learn about the Superior Wildlife Rehab and Education Center (SWREC), which specializes in the rehabilitation of injured or orphaned fawns and mammals. All ages are welcome. 6 p.m. MooseWood Nature Center, Shiras Pool Building at Presque Isle Park. moosewood.org.

• Phil Lynch: “Songs to Bring Us Together” Concert. Singer, songwriter and pianist Phil Lynch will present an evening of life-affirming music featuring originals and covers of classics like “All You Need is Love” and “You’ve Got a Friend.” 6:30 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4322, machatz@ pwpl.info or pwpl.info.

Negaunee

• Knitting Group. Crocheters, knitters and others interested in fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and enjoy fellowship. Coffee will be provided and lessons are available. 1 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

• After-school Middle School Group. Snacks will be provided. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

15 THURSDAY sunrise 6:16 a.m.; sunset 9:16 p.m.

Calumet

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

• Knitting and Crochet Group. Participants can bring their portable handwork project and enjoy an informal social time. Open to everyone. 1 p.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Graphic Novel Book Club. Students in fourth through seventh grade can enjoy snacks and a discussion of “Wildflower Emily” by Lydia Corry. New members are welcome. 4 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

• Yooper Planners. Lisa from Amethyst&Co. will discuss the planner hobby and ways of organizing months and days. New sticker sheets will be available each month. Intended for adults and teens. Registration required. 5 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. To register, 906-486-4381.

• Bookworms. This tween book club will read children’s and middle-grade books published for fourth through eighth grades. This month’s selection will be “The Iron Trial” by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. 5 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

Marquette

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Bring passwords and ensure the device is charged. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register for a 30-minute session, 906-226-4311.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m.

Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

• Senior Visual Art Classes: Linocut Print Cards with Mavis Farr. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents ages 50 and older. 1 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register, 906-225-8655.

• Honor a Woman. The Zonta Club of the Marquette Area will host its fourth annual Honor a Woman fundraiser where community members recognize impactful women in their lives. The event will include a presentation from author Phyllis Wong, light dinner and dessert. Proceeds benefit Zonta’s grants and scholarships. $50. 5:30 p.m. Barrel + Beam, 260 Northwoods Rd. For tickets, visit eventbrite.com/e/honora-woman-2025-tickets-1258182631119 or contact a Zonta member.

• Remote Worker Meetup. U.P. and Marquette area remote and independent workers can build community with their fellow workers. Friends, family members and kids are welcome. 6 to 8 p.m. Superior Culture, 717 N. Third St. marquetteremoteworkers@ gmail.com.

Negaunee

• Sensory Playtime. This one-hour, drop-in play session will feature activity stations and early reading and language activities. Parents and caregivers can also connect to share tips and experiences. This week’s theme will be “Berry Patch.” 11 a.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18 or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

Gwinn

• Storytime. Preschool-age kids can enjoy stories, crafts and light snacks. 10:30 a.m. Forsyth Township Library, 180 W. Flint St. 906-346-3433 or

Menominee

• West Shore Fishing Museum. Experience the life of an early 20th-century fishing family at this stop on the Great Lakes Fisheries Heritage Trail. Tour the restored home and surrounding gardens, walk the expanded woodland trails, and view exhibits of boats, equipment and practices of commercial fishermen and Native Americans who lived on the west shore of Green Bay. Opens May 24. Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. Turn at Bailey

Park entrance, 15 miles north of Menominee or 8 miles south of Cedar River. 715-923-9756.

Munising

• Alger County Historical Society Heritage Center. Exhibits include the Grand Island Recreation Area, Munising Woodenware Company, barn building, homemaking, sauna and more. Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 1496 Washington St. 906-387-4308.

Negaunee

• Michigan Iron Industry Museum. The museum overlooks the Carp River and the site of the first iron forge in the Lake Superior region. Museum exhibits, audio-visual programs and outdoor interpretive paths depict the large-scale capital and human investment that made Michigan an industrial leader. Michigan Recreation Passport required for parking. Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 73 Forge Rd. 906-475-7857 or michigan.gov/mhc/museums/miim. MM

forsythtwplibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Afternoon Movie. Children and families are invited to enjoy free popcorn and a screening of “Luca.” Rated PG. 1 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Marquette

• U.P. Outdoor Summit. Hosted by ORIAN in collaboration with CUPPAD and Innovate Marquette, the first U.P. Outdoor Summit will bring together outdoor enthusiasts, industry leaders and innovators to explore the future of outdoor recreation in the U.P. 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Innovation Hall, Jacobetti Complex, NMU. upoutdoor.org.

• Global Cinema: Lee Chang-Dong’s “Poetry.” This acclaimed South Korean-French film tells the story of a 60-year-old woman who develops an interest in poetry while struggling with Alzheimer’s disease and her wayward grandson. Rated PG. Noon. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4322, machatz@ pwpl.info or pwpl.info.

• Cultivating Care, Compassion and Connection. This event will offer a safe space to pause, reflect and build connections with others who are committed to cultivating kindness. Each week, a different local organization will present educators and leaders who will facilitate a discussion while maintaining a shared commitment to the Charter for Compassion and the Circle of Trust principles. Noon. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4303 or pwpl.info.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

17 SATURDAY

sunrise 6:13 a.m.; sunset 9:19 p.m.

Big Bay

• Big Bay Relay. Teams run approximately 26 miles from Marquette to Big Bay. Proceeds benefit the walking, hiking, biking and ski trails in Powell Township. Prices vary. Start, 8 a.m. at Kaufman Sports Complex in Marquette. Finish, Draver Park in Big Bay. 906-345-0149 or bigbayrelay@ gmail.com. To register, visit runsignup. com/Race/MI/Marquette/BigBayRelay.

Escanaba

• Great Start Storytime. Intended for children up to eight years old. 10:30 a.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906-789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Gwinn

• Gus Macker. This nationwide

three-on-three basketball tournament will include a slam dunk contest, food trucks, kids’ activities and a community fair. Proceeds will support athletic programs within the Gwinn community. Opening ceremony, 8 a.m. Gwinn High School, 50 M-35. gwinnmacker@yahoo.com or facebook.com/ gusmackergwinn.

Hancock

• Buellwood Weavers and Fiber Arts Guild Meeting. Participants will start a group project that will be used for a display next summer. All fiber artists are welcome. 1 p.m. Fiber Arts Studio (Room 105), Finnish American Folk School, lower level, Skyline Commons, 200 Michigan St. jegale@att.net or 906-221-5306.

Marquette

• Farmers Market. Includes farmers, growers, food producers and artisans. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marquette Commons, 112 S. Third St. mqtfarmersmarket. com.

• Young Writers Storytelling Workshop. The Upper Peninsula Publishers and Author’s Association (UPPAA) will host this workshop that runs simultaneously with its annual spring conference for members. Students in sixth through 12th grades can attend a variety of sessions to learn the basics of storytelling. Free for students with a UPPAA family

High School, 50 M-35. gwinnmacker@yahoo.com or facebook.com/ gusmackergwinn.

Ishpeming

• Bingo. Noon. VFW, 310 Bank St.

Marquette

• An Afternoon Soirée. This event will feature the musical talents of Debbie Carlson, Anne Perket and Lynne Koski Lanczy presenting musical selections by Clara Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn and Duane Funderbunk. Proceeds will support the organ restoration fund. Suggested donation, $10. 3 p.m. First Presbyterian Church of Marquette, 120 N. Front St.

19 MONDAY sunrise 6:11 a.m.; sunset 9:21 p.m.

Ishpeming

• NCLL: Lunch and Learn: “Important Life Lesson.” The focus of the conversation will be, “What is one thing your parents taught you that you really value? Is it something your grandchildren should know?” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jasper Ridge Brewery and Restaurant, 1075 Country Lane. 906-458-5408 or csteinha@nmu.edu.

Marquette

membership; general public, $25. 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. uppaa.org.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. Lessons, 10 a.m. Games, 11:30 a.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com.

• MarquetteMania III. Presented by UPW Pro Wrestling, this fundraising event for Bay Cliff Health Camp will feature wrestlers Ron Simmons, Parker Boudreaux, Madman Fulton, Big Kon, Sinn Bodhi and more. Ticket prices vary. 7 p.m. Lakeview Arena, 401 E. Fair Ave. nmu.universitytickets.com.

Paradise

• Blessing of Migrating Birds. Hosted by U.P. Wild Church. 6 p.m. Hawk Viewing Station at Whitefish Point. upwild.org.

18 SUNDAY

sunrise 6:12 a.m.; sunset 9:20 p.m.

Gwinn

• Gus Macker. This nationwide threeon-three basketball tournament will include a slam dunk contest, food trucks, kids’ activities and a community fair. Proceeds will support athletic programs within the Gwinn community. Games begin at 8 a.m. Gwinn

• Father Marquette 350th Commemoration. Events will mark 350 years since missionary and explorer Father Jacques Marquette died along the shores of Lake Michigan on his way back to the mission he founded in St. Ignace. Presentations, films and roundtables will discuss Marquette, the Jesuit Missionaries of the region and their legacy today. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 1100 Jamrich Hall, NMU.

• Senior Theatre Experience: Monthly Theatre Workshop and Discussion. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents ages 50 and older. 4 p.m. Room B, Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. To register, 906-225-8655.

• Block Busting Cinema Dinner and a Movie: “Gladiator II.” Years after witnessing the death of legendary hero Maximus, Lucius (Paul Mescal) enters the Colosseum to end the bloody, tyrannical rule of twin Roman Emperors. Rated R. 5:30 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4322, machatz@ pwpl.info or pwpl.info.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 6 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com.

• The Joy of Sound Meditation. This meditation features the sounds produced by bronze singing bowls and metallic gongs. There will be two sets of meditation and participants can play with the bowls and gongs. 7 p.m. Chapel, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 201 E. Ridge St. 906-362-9934 or

Gus Macker | May 17 - 18 | Gwinn

Photo courtesy of Gus Macker

ckitchenmqt@gmail.com.

Negaunee

• All-Ages Online Storytime. Miss Jessica will lead stories, songs and rhymes on Facebook Live. 11 a.m. facebook.com/NegauneePublicLibrary. 906-475-7700, ext. 18.

20 TUESDAY

sunrise 6:10 a.m.; sunset 9:22 p.m.

Escanaba

• Tech Tuesday. Appointments or walk-ins are welcome. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906-789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

• Author Talk with Michigan Notable Author Keith Taylor. 5:30 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906-789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Gwinn

• Read It and Eat Book Club. Foodies and book lovers will discuss cookbooks, food-related memoirs and tasty fiction reads. The selection will be “The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County” by Claire Swinarski. Noon. Forsyth Township Library, 180 W. Flint St. 906346-3433 or forsythtwplibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Tot Tuesday Storytime. Stories,

songs and movement activities followed by an optional craft and playtime will be offered for toddlers and preschoolers. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

• Adult Book Club. This month’s selection is “The Briar Club” by Kate Quinn. 2 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Little Lake

• Bingo. A concession stand will be available. Doors open, 11 a.m.; early bird games, 1:30 p.m. American Legion Auxiliary Post 349, 1835 E. M-35. 906-346-6000.

Marquette

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Bring passwords and ensure the device is charged. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register for a 30-minute session, 906-226-4311.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

• Oil Painting, Pastels and Drawing Classes with Marlene Wood. Bring your own supplies. $20. 1 p.m.

Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-225-8655.

• Senior Dance Class. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents ages 50 and older. 4 p.m. Baraga Gym, Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. To register, 906-225-8655.

• NCLL: Tour of Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Bob Howe, director of the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, will share how this non-profit home improvement store, donation and recycling center raises funds and the impact it has in Marquette County. NCLL members, $5; non-members, $10. 5 p.m. Habitat ReStore, 133 Carmen Dr. 906-250-3883 or mlichtmallo@charter.net.

• Artists and Their Art: Caravaggio

Part One (Online). Art historian Ellen Longsworth will explore the life and work of artist Caravaggio. 6:30 p.m. Via Zoom. For meeting information, visit pwpl.info.

• Antarctica Art Talk with Kathleen Conover. Artist Kathleen Conover will relate her latest adventure to Antarctica where she captured images of glaciers and the antics of playful penguins. Presented by the Lake Superior Art Association. 6:30 p.m. Studio 1, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. lakesuperiorartassociation.org.

Negaunee

• Painted Garden Stones Craft

Night. Participants ages 12 years and older will transform ordinary stones into customized painted rock markers and plant labels. All supplies are provided and no experience is needed. Registration required. 5:30 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

21 WEDNESDAY

sunrise 6:09 a.m.; sunset 9:23 p.m.

Curtis

• “Women of the Watch, Keepers of the Light.” Kamryn Marck will relive family trips to lighthouses in Michigan through music and storytelling to share the stories of female lighthouse keepers of the Great Lakes. In advance, $15; at the door, $20. 7 p.m. The Pine Performance Center, N9224 Saw-WaQuato St. MyNorthTickets.com or ericksoncenter.org.

Escanaba

• Y.E.S. Family Fun Night. Intended for families with children up to eight years old. 4:30 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906-7897323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Gwinn

• After School LEGO Club. Children ages five and older are welcome to drop in and build. 4 to 5 p.m. Forsyth

Township Library, 180 W. Flint St. 906346-3433 or forsythtwplibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Aspen Ridge Playgroup. Children and their caregivers can enjoy free play, circle time, crafts and activities, and snacks. 10 a.m. Aspen Ridge School, 350 Aspen Ridge School Rd. 906-485-3178, ext. 1104 or 1105.

• Italian Lessons: Casual Conversation. Marilena Corradino will teach Italian in a casual conversation format. The class is intended for beginners or those who want to practice speaking Italian with others. 4 p.m. Ray Leverton Community Room, Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

• Adult Book Club. This month’s selection is “The Briar Club” by Kate Quinn. 6 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Marquette

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older and their spouses. Call to reserve a meal. $3.50 suggested donation. Noon to 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. 906-228-0456.

• Hiawatha on Tap. Featuring music by Ruby John and John Warstler, a guitar and fiddle duo formed out of their contra dance band The Johns. Hiawatha Music Co-op members, $5; non-members, $10. 6 to 8 p.m. Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. 906-226-8575 or hiawathamusic. org.

• Marquette County Genealogical Society Meeting. Members, visitors and guests are encouraged to attend. 6 p.m. Family Search Center, 350 Cherry Creek Rd., Chocolay Township.

• Dancing with Our Stars Marquette County Style. Local couples will compete for the judges and audience members can vote for their favorite. Proceeds benefit the U.P. Hospice Foundation. Ticket prices vary. 7 p.m. Forest Roberts Theatre, NMU. dwos. uphomehealth.org.

Negaunee

• Knitting Group. Crocheters, knitters and others interested in fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and enjoy fellowship. Coffee will be provided and lessons are available. 1 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

• After-school Middle School Group. Snacks will be provided. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

22 THURSDAY sunrise 6:08 a.m.; sunset 9:24 p.m.

Calumet

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

• Knitting and Crochet Group. Participants can bring their portable handwork project and enjoy an informal social time. Open to everyone. 1 p.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

Gwinn

• Modeltown Farmers and Artisans Market. Featuring live music by Troy Graham. 3 to 6 p.m. Riverside Pavilion, Peter Nordeen Park, 115 N. Pine St. 906-361-4843 or modeltownmarket@ gmail.com.

Ishpeming

• Crochet Club. This is a time to gather with fellow crafters to socialize. Supplies and instruction will be provided for those who are interested in learning how to crochet. 2 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Marquette

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Bring passwords and ensure the device is charged. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register for a 30-minute session, 906-226-4311.

• Geoff and Jon’s Record Show. Thousands of new and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books and T-shirts will be available. Presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. Noon to 11 p.m. Community room, Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. 906-228-8888.

Ishpeming

• Homeschool Hangout. Homeschooling families can visit with fellow homeschooling friends, network with library staff and learn about the library’s resources. At 10:30 a.m., staff from Partridge Creek Farms will present “Learn About Our Local Food System.” 10 a.m. to noon. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

Marquette

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

• NCLL: Tour of the Longyear Building. Jason Povey, of ERP Systems and Business, will discuss the life and contributions of J.M Longyear and lead a tour of the Longyear Building, which was originally built in 1917 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. NCLL members, $5; non-members, $10. 6 p.m. Longyear Building, 210 N. Front St. 906-2503883 or mlichtmallo@charter.net.

• Dancing with Our Stars Marquette County Style. Local couples will compete for the judges. Judges’ scores, votes from the previous night and online votes will be combined to award a winner. Proceeds benefit the U.P. Hospice Foundation. Ticket prices vary. 7 p.m. Forest Roberts Theatre, NMU. dwos.uphomehealth.org.

• Lasers on the Ore Dock. This new show will be presented by Fresh Coast Light Lab and Travel Marquette. 20 minutes after sunset. Ore Dock, Mattson Lower Harbor Park. travelmarquette.com.

Negaunee

• Sensory Playtime. This one-hour, drop-in play session will feature activity stations and early reading and language activities. Parents and caregivers can also connect to share tips and experiences. This week’s theme will be “Garden Explorers.” 11 a.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18 or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

23 FRIDAY sunrise 6:07 a.m.; sunset 9:25 p.m.

• Cultivating Care, Compassion and Connection. This event will offer a safe space to pause, reflect and build connections with others who are committed to cultivating kindness. Each week, a different local organization will present educators and leaders who will facilitate a discussion while maintaining a shared commitment to the Charter for Compassion and the Circle of Trust principles. Noon. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4303 or pwpl.info.

• Geoff and Jon’s Record Show. Thousands of new and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books and T-shirts will be available. Presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. Noon to 11 p.m. Community room, Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. 906-228-8888.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

• Lasers on the Ore Dock. This new show will be presented by Fresh Coast Light Lab and Travel Marquette. 20 minutes after sunset. Ore Dock, Mattson Lower Harbor Park. travelmarquette.com.

24

Marquette

• Farmers Market. Includes farmers, growers, food producers and artisans. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marquette Commons, 112 S. Third St. mqtfarmersmarket. com.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. Lessons, 10 a.m. Games, 11:30 a.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com.

• “Butterfly Bonanza” and Native Plant Sale. U.P. Native Plants will present “Butterfly Bonanza: Native Plants for U.P. Moths and Butterflies” to discuss the importance of moths and butterflies, both as pollinators and as components of the local food chain. A “pop-up” plant sale to benefit the nature center will follow the presentation. Presentation, 11 a.m. Plant sale, noon

Shelled Friends | May 27 | Marquette

Photo by Michael Williams via unsplash.com

to 2 p.m. MooseWood Nature Center, Shiras Pool Building at Presque Isle Park.

• Geoff and Jon’s Record Show. Thousands of new and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books and T-shirts will be available. Presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. Noon to 11 p.m. Community room, Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. 906-228-8888.

• Lasers on the Ore Dock. This new show will be presented by Fresh Coast Light Lab and Travel Marquette. 20 minutes after sunset. Ore Dock, Mattson Lower Harbor Park. travelmarquette.com.

906-346-6000.

Marquette

• All Booked Up: Can We Talk? This month’s selection will be “Water Moon” by Samantha Sotto Yambao. 10 a.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info or pwpl.info.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

format. The class is intended for beginners or those who want to practice speaking Italian with others. 4 p.m. Ray Leverton Community Room, Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

• Adult Horror Book Club. This month’s selection will be “Jurassic Park” by Michael Crichton. 6 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Marquette

Calumet

• Art Play. This open studio time for adults encourages artists to create and share their work. 2 to 4 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. 906-9342228 or info@calumetartcenter.com.

Ishpeming

• Bingo. Noon. VFW, 310 Bank St.

Marquette

• Geoff and Jon’s Record Show. Thousands of new and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books and T-shirts will be available. Presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. Noon to 11 p.m. Community room, Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. 906-228-8888.

26

Escanaba

• Tech Tuesday. Appointments or walk-ins are welcome. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. 906-789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org.

Ishpeming

• Tot Tuesday Storytime. Stories, songs and movement activities followed by an optional craft and playtime will be offered for toddlers and preschoolers. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Little Lake

• Bingo. A concession stand will be available. Doors open, 11 a.m.; early bird games, 1:30 p.m. American Legion Auxiliary Post 349, 1835 E. M-35.

• Lake Superior Knitters. Learn how to knit, solve problems in reading patterns and expand your knitting skills. The group includes a variety of ages and levels of experiences. Bring a skein of lighter color yarn and a size 7, 24-inch wooden circular needle to make a hat or cowl. Suggested donation, $1 to $5 to the MRHC for the study and preservation of the fiber arts. 1 to 2:30 p.m. Marquette Regional History Center, 145 W. Spring St. beedhive47@ yahoo.com.

• Oil Painting, Pastels and Drawing Classes with Marlene Wood. Bring your own supplies. $20. 1 p.m. Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-225-8655.

• Senior Dance Class. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents ages 50 and older. 4 p.m. Baraga Gym, Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. To register, 906-225-8655.

• Shelled Friends. In partnership with Critter Classroom of Marquette, attendees will be introduced to various turtle species that inhabit both land and water. There will be opportunities to meet and interact with the turtles. All ages are welcome. 6 p.m. MooseWood Nature Center, Shiras Pool Building at Presque Isle Park. moosewood.org.

• Bluesday Tuesday Concert. Brian Wallen and Mavis Farr will perform a concert sponsored by the Marquette Area Blues Society. 6:30 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info or pwpl.info.

28 WEDNESDAY sunrise 6:03 a.m.; sunset

Ishpeming

• Aspen Ridge Playgroup. Children and their caregivers can enjoy free play, circle time, crafts and activities, and snacks. 10 a.m. Aspen Ridge School, 350 Aspen Ridge School Rd. 906-485-3178, ext. 1104 or 1105.

• Italian Lessons: Casual Conversation. Marilena Corradino will teach Italian in a casual conversation

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older and their spouses. Call to reserve a meal. $3.50 suggested donation. Noon to 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. 906-228-0456.

• Adult Nonfiction Book Group. The group is for people who enjoy reading narrative nonfiction that tell stories of the past, present and future. This month’s selection will be “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. 2 p.m. Conference Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4311 or refdesk@pwpl.info.

• Savvy Senior Finances. This informative session will offer smart and secure banking tips tailored for senior citizens, including how to avoid scams and fraud. Presented by Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice in partnership with the Marquette Community Federal Credit Union. 3 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. To register, call 906-225-7760.

Negaunee

• All Booked Up. “Upper Michigan Today” host Tia Trudgeon will lead an on-air book discussion of Samantha Sotto Yambao’s “Water Moon.” 9 a.m. WLUC TV6 Studio, 177 U.S. Hwy. 41 E. 906-226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info or pwpl.info.

• Knitting Group. Crocheters, knitters and others interested in fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and enjoy fellowship. Coffee will be provided and lessons are available. 1 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

• After-school Middle School Group. Snacks will be provided. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18, or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

29 THURSDAY

sunrise 6:02 a.m.; sunset 9:32 p.m.

Calumet

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

• Knitting and Crochet Group. Participants can bring their portable

handwork project and enjoy an informal social time. Open to everyone. 1 p.m. Calumet Public Library, 57070 Mine St. 906-337-0311, ext. 1107, or clklibrary.org.

Gwinn

• Modeltown Farmers and Artisans Market. Featuring live music by M.U.G.–Marquette Ukulele Group. 3 to 6 p.m. Riverside Pavilion, Peter Nordeen Park, 115 N. Pine St. 906361-4843 or modeltownmarket@ gmail.com.

Ishpeming

• Crochet Club. This is a time to gather with fellow crafters to socialize. Supplies and instruction will be provided for those who are interested in learning how to crochet. 2 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info.

Marquette

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

Negaunee

• Sensory Playtime. This one-hour, drop-in play session will feature activity stations and early reading and language activities. Parents and caregivers can also connect to share tips and experiences. This week’s theme will be “Raindrop Wonders.” 11 a.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. 906-475-7700, ext. 18 or facebook. com/NegauneePublicLibrary.

Marquette

• League of Women Voters of Marquette County Garage/Yard/ Rummage Sale. Proceeds will support voter services such as candidate forums, VOTE411 and printed voter guides, National Voter Registration Day and “Hooked on Voting.” 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 2021 Woodland Ave. For information or to donate items, email priburnham@gmail.com or lwvmqtco@gmail.com.

• Cultivating Care, Compassion and Connection. This event will offer a safe space to pause, reflect and build connections with others who are committed to cultivating kindness. Each week, a different local organization will present educators and leaders who will facilitate a discussion while maintaining a shared commitment to the Charter for Compassion and the Circle of Trust principles. Noon. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-226-4303 or pwpl.info.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com.

31 SATURDAY

sunrise

6:01 a.m.; sunset 9:34 p.m.

Ishpeming

• Silent Book Club. Hosted by the Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, attendees can bring their own book and read silently for one hour, followed by time to socialize and talk about books. Noon. Velodrome Coffee, 105 S. Main St. 906-486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary. info.

support groups

• Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families— Marquette. Sundays, 7 p.m. Use the parking lot entrance. Downstairs meeting room, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 201 E. Ridge St. adultchildren.org/meeting.

• Alano Club—Marquette. Twelvestep recovery meetings daily. Daily, noon and 7:30 p.m. 106 Coles Dr.

• Al-Anon/Alateen Family Groups. A fellowship offering strength and hope for friends and families of problem drinkers. al-alon.org or 888-425-2666.

• Al-Anon—Ishpeming. Friends and family who have loved ones dealing with alcohol issues are invited. Mondays, 6 p.m. Wesley United Methodist Church, 801 Hemlock St. 906-361-9524.

• Alcoholics Anonymous. Daily meetings throughout Marquette County at many locations and times. Twenty-four-hour answering service. aa-marquettecounty.org or 800-605-5043.

• Open AA Meeting—Gwinn. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Basement, Gwinn Community Building, 165 Maple St.

• Open AA Meeting—K.I. Sawyer. Fridays, 8 p.m. 906 Community Church, 315 Explorer St.

• Men’s AA Meeting—Gwinn. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church, 280 Boulder St. (entrance to the right of main entrance).

• ALZConnected. This is a free, online community for everyone affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other memory loss diseases. alzconnected.org.

• American Legacy Foundation. Smoking quit line for expectant mothers and cessation information for women. 800-668-8278.

• Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar and Cholesterol Checks. Cholesterol

• Iron Range Roll. This 12-mile family-friendly bike race benefits the YMCA of Marquette County’s youth programs and other community groups. The race runs from Ishpeming to Marquette along the Iron Ore Heritage Trail. The race ends with a party and awards ceremony at Barrel + Beam in Marquette. 1 p.m. Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum, 501 W. Euclid St. To register, bikesignup.com/Race/MI/Ishpeming/ IronRangeRollBikeRace.

Marquette

• Farmers Market. Includes farmers, growers, food producers and artisans. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marquette Commons, 112 S. Third St. mqtfarmersmarket. com.

• Bike Rodeo and Safety Fair. This free skills and safety event is intended

for children ages five to 12. The first 150 attendees will receive a free helmet, headlight and taillight. There will also be displays of first responder vehicles and equipment. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marquette City Hall, 300 W. Baraga Ave. erpaupore@marquettemi. gov or marquettemi.gov/bike-rodeo.

• League of Women Voters of Marquette County Garage/Yard/ Rummage Sale. Proceeds will support voter services such as candidate forums, VOTE411 and printed voter guides, National Voter Registration Day and “Hooked on Voting.” 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 2021 Woodland Ave. For information or to donate items, email priburnham@gmail.com or lwvmqtco@gmail.com.

• Petunia Pandemonium Planting. Volunteers will help plant flowers

along South Front Street. Dress for the weather and bring a gardening trowel. Pizza lunch to follow. 10 a.m. West side of Front Street between Furnace and Genesee streets. 906-869-0794 or mqtbeautification.org.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. Lessons, 10 a.m. Games, 11:30 a.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com.

• Superior String Alliance Chamber Players Concert. Featuring Maitri White (soprano), Danielle Simandl and Ben Campbell (violins), Eric Marta (viola) and Adam Hall (cello). Admission by donation. 7 p.m. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 201 E. Ridge St. superiorstringalliance.org. MM

checks are $5. Call for Marquette County schedule. 906-225-4545.

• Caregiver Support Group (Phonebased). Caregivers can share their feelings, develop friendships and learn about available community resources from their own home via phone. May 21. 2 p.m. To register, call 906-485-5527.

• Caregiver Support Group— Marquette. Family, friends and others who are caring for a person with a chronic illness or disability can share their feelings, develop friendships and learn about available community resources. May 14. 2 p.m. Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice, 914 W. Baraga Ave. 906-225-7760 or lakesuperiorhospice.org.

• Celebrate Recovery—Gwinn. Wednesdays. 6:30 p.m. First Baptist Church of Gwinn, 195 N. Billings St.

• Celebrate Recovery—Marquette. 12-step program for hurts, habits and hang-ups. Tuesdays. 6:30 p.m. Marquette County Salvation Army, 1009 W. Baraga Ave. 906-226-2241.

• Gamblers Anonymous. This group is for those who have or think they have a problem with gambling. Thursdays, 7 p.m. Library Room, First Presbyterian Church, 120 N. Front St., Marquette.

• Grief Support Group—Ishpeming. U.P. Home Health and Hospice offers support for those caring for a loved one with a life-limiting diagnosis or who recently experienced the loss of a loved one. Second and fourth Thursdays. 2 p.m. Ray Leverton Community Room, Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-225-4545.

• Grief Support Group—Ishpeming. Anyone dealing with grief and loss is invited to attend. Third Wednesday of each month. 7 p.m. St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1889 Prairie Ave. 906-376-8475.

• Grief Support Group—Gwinn. People dealing with grief and loss are encouraged to attend. Individual grief counseling is available. May 14. 2 p.m. Forsyth Senior Center, 165 Maple St. 906-225-7760 or lakesuperiorhospice.org.

• Grief Support Group—Marquette. U.P. Home Health and Hospice will offer support for those caring for a loved one with a life-limiting diagnosis or who recently experienced the loss of a loved one. First and third Thursdays. 3 p.m. Dandelion Cottage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. 906-225-4545.

• iCanQuit. Smokers are invited to learn more about quitting with the help of a quitting coach. 800-480-7848.

• Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous. Tuesdays, 12:05 p.m. Upstairs, The Crib Coffee House, 401 N. Third St., Marquette. ITAAMQT@ zohomail.com.

• Marquette Codependents Anonymous Meeting. Mondays, 7 p.m. LoveMarq Church, 728 W. Kaye Ave. coda.org.

• Michigan Tobacco Quit Line. This free quit smoking coaching hotline provides callers with a personal health coach. 800-784-8669.

• Nar-Anon Meetings—Ishpeming. Family and friends who have addicted loved ones are invited. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. Mission Covenant Church, 1001 N. Second St. 906-361-9524.

• Narcotics Anonymous Meetings— Marquette. Family and friends who have addicted loved ones are invited. Open meetings on Wednesdays and Sundays, 7:30 p.m. Closed meeting on Fridays, 7:30 p.m. Downstairs Social Room, Marquette Hope First Campus, 111 E. Ridge St. (use Ridge Street entrance).

• National Alliance on Mental Illness—In-Person Support Group. Individuals living with mental illness

and friends or families living with an individual with mental illness are welcome. May 12 and 15 (email ckbertucci58@charter.net to confirm meeting). 7 p.m. 1025 W. Washington St., Suite C, Marquette. 906-360-7107 or namimqt.com.

• Nicotine Anonymous. 415-7500328 or nicotine-anonymous.org.

• Parkinson’s Support Group. Open to people living with Parkinson’s and their caregivers. May 21. 2 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. 906-228-0456.

• SMART Recovery—Calumet. A self-help group for alcohol and substance abuse and other addictive behaviors. Mondays, 7 p.m. Copper Country Mental Health, 56938 Calumet Ave. smartrecovery.org.

• SMART Recovery—Hancock. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 p.m. Conference Room No. 5, U.P. Health System–Portage Hospital, 500 Campus Dr. smartrecovery.org.

• SMART Recovery—Marquette (Zoom). Mondays, noon. Via Zoom. smartrecovery.org.

• Take Off Pounds Sensibly. This is a non-commercial weight-control support group. Various places and times throughout the U.P. 800-932-8677 or TOPS.org.

• Virtual Caregiver Support Group. U.P. family caregivers are welcome to join. A device with an internet connection, webcam, microphone and an email address are necessary. Advanced registration required. Second Tuesday of each month. 2 p.m. 906-217-3019 or caregivers@upcap.org.

• Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Food Program. Clinics include nutritional counseling and coupon pick-up. Appointments required. Call for Marquette County schedule. mqthealth.org or 906-475-7846. MM