September 2023 Marquette Monthly

September 2023

No. 413

Publishers Jane Hutchens

James Larsen II

Managing editor

Michael Murray

Calendar editors

Erin Elliott Bryan

Carrie Usher

graPhiC design Jennifer Bell

Proofreader

Kingsley Agassi

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 2023 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 $65 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 jane@marquettemonthly. com or james@marquettemonthly.com.

(906) 360-2180

www.marquettemonthly.com

About the Cover Artist

This month’s cover art, “Tracks Through Goose Lake Basin” by John French, can be seen at Wintergreen Hill Gallery & Gifts in Marquette. John is a Marquette County artist who, in 2019, was awarded Best in Show at the Lake Superior Art Association Members’ Show for his painting “The View.” Visit artofjohnfrench.com for information.

5 City notes HigHligHts of important Happenings in tHe area

14

20 then & now Superior View tHe gwinn Hospital

21 New York Times Crossword Puzzle Use YoUr noodle (answers on page 61)

22 lookout Point erin elliott Bryan tHe sHip to sHore cHef sails tHe great lakes

conservationists remember tHeir figHt to save tHe estivant pines

41 the arts

Brad GiSchia

AdAm CArpenter releAses his first ‘solo’ Album

44 sPorting life JaMie Glenn former pro football plaYer takes over at westwood

48 Conversation hannah JenKinS nmu’s new president refleCts on his role

53 in the outdoors Scot Stewart

licHens are everYwHere — bUt are easY to miss

62 the arts

forming a band is Hard work

65

andie BalenGer

Poetry Marty achatz tHe qUiet man

66 suPerior reads Victor r. VolKMan going back in time to 1900-era marqUette

68 Coloring Page

69 out & about

erin elliott Bryan & carrie uSher september events and mUsic, art and mUseUm gUides

Vinyl record show to be held Aug. 31 to Sept. 4

The NMU Vinyl Record Club will host a vinyl record show from Thursday, Aug. 31, through Monday, Sept. 4. This event will be held in the second-floor community room of Ore Dock Brewing Company in Marquette. This is a free, all-ages event.

Thousands of new and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books and T-shirts will be available. Talk with the proprietors about trading old records and tapes for new favorites or finding an unused media collection a new home. For details, call 906-373-6183 or visit the event page on Facebook.

Rock Labor Day festivities announced for Sept. 2

The annual Rock Lions Labor Day celebration will take place on Saturday, Sept. 2, with the parade at 11 a.m. Parade entries are wanted, and there is no charge to enter.

Following the parade, there will be activities for all ages, including music, a bounce house, food and beer at the Rock Lions Clubhouse grounds on M-35 in Rock. The event is sponsored by the Rock Lions, a nonprofit service organization that provides funding for charitable organizations and local needs.

League announces September meeting details

The League of Women Voters of Marquette County will hold its next membership meeting at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6. Social time begins at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in Studio 1, located in the lower level of Peter White Public Library.

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 details, email lwvmqtco@gmail.com.

Conquer the wilderness, unleash thrills at Trails Fest

The 30th Annual Copper Harbor Trails Fest, an annual event hosted by the Copper Harbor Trails Club, will take place Sept. 1-3 in Copper Harbor. Outdoor enthusiasts of all ages will find a variety of races, music, beer and good times. Two rac-

city notes

Release of The Gift of Water celebrated

The Cedar Tree Institute on Aug. 22 celebrated the release of its new book, The Gift of Water: Reflections on Ecology, Art, and the Spiritual Life. The book is a collection of 45 writings by local citizens from all walks of life and was first published as a series of essays in Marquette Monthly. Paul Lehmberg served as the collection’s editor, and Diana Magnuson designed the images. The institute’s gala was held in the Community Room of Peter White Public Library and featured readings by several writers and music by the father-son duo Streaking in Tongues. The book is available at cedartreeinstitute.org. (Photo courtesy of the Cedar Tree Institute)

es that will push participants’ limits during Trails Fest are the XC bike race and the 10-kilometer trail run. Both races have limited capacity and are filling up quickly.

The XC race offers mountain bikers three lengths: Super Short (seven miles), Short (about 14 miles) and Long (about 30 miles). The course changes each year to take riders down new trails, ensuring a fresh and challenging experience on intermediate to advanced-level singletrack. The Super Short XC is new this year. Racers seeking a challenging race over a short distance will enjoy this new addition to Trails Fest. Both the short and long distances will showcase stunning scenery, significant climbs and diverse trail types.

Trail runners will lace up their sneakers for a similar course to the Super Short XC bike race. Runners can expect a tough course with rugged terrain, plenty of roots and steep scrambles.

The course maps for the 10k trail run and XC races are available on the organization’s website, copperharbortrails.org.

Cross-country lovers, downhill speedsters and young riders will all find something to enjoy this Labor Day weekend. The first check-in and registration period is Friday in Copper Harbor from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the

Donny Kilpela Memorial Park. Racers may also check in or register on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

The XC race starts in downtown Copper Harbor at 10 a.m. with a memorable mass rollout of more than 200 racers. Races continue through the afternoon, including the signature downhill race on Overflow and the junior XC event. On Sunday, the 10k trail run starts at 8:30 a.m., and Enduro races begin at 9:30 a.m. Spectators are welcome and encouraged to cheer at each race. A spectator guide will be available. Awards begin at 6 p.m. in the park each evening with musical acts to follow.

Negaunee to host Labor Day festivities

The Marquette Alger Community Labor Council, AFL-CIO and the U.P. Regional Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, will host the 34th annual Labor Day Festival in Negaunee on Monday, Sept. 4.

The festival will begin at 11 a.m. with a parade. The theme of this year’s parade is “It’s Better in a Union.” This year’s parade marshal will be the 2023 Hall of Fame inductee Greg Seppanen. Local unions are encouraged to march and enter floats in the parade that reflect the theme. Contact UPRLF for details and to confirm your participation via Facebook or email.

Parade lineup starts at 9:30 a.m. at the Negaunee Senior Center parking lot off of Tobin Street. After the parade, there will be a picnic and rally from noon to 4 p.m. at the Jim Thomas Pavilion and Jackson Mine Park located at 199 Tobin St. in Negaunee.

A picnic lunch will include a choice of a pasty or two hot dogs and chips, dessert and pop, milk or water. Meals are $6 per person. Adult beverages will be sold along with additional pop and water. The rally will include live music, speeches from union officials and children’s activities.

In addition, the event is costly and labor intensive, so the council is asking for all affiliates and participants to contribute in these ways:

1. Make a cash donation to the U.P. RLF to help defray the cost. Donations may be sent care of the U.P. Regional Labor Federation, P.O. Box 129, Marquette, MI 49855.

2. Purchase food/beverage tickets in advance by contacting Tony Ghiringhelli at president@uprlf.org or Mariann Annala at secretary@uprlf. org.

3. Recruit volunteer workers for the day of the event. Please email a list of volunteers (names and phone numbers) to coordinator@uprlf.org.

UPPAA offers online author event

The Crystal Falls Community District Library in partnership with the U.P. Publishers & Authors Association has scheduled another author event with a winner of the U.P. Notable Book list.

The 30th event is with Ann Dallman featuring Cady and the Birchbark Box — the second installment in the Cady Whirlwind Thunder YA mystery series. The acclaim for Dallman’s series has grown as the books are released, garnering many state and regional awards along the way. The stories take place in a fictional U.P. town, loosely based on the Hannahville Potawatomi Indian Reservation west of Escanaba, where the 13-yearold Cady and her family are newly transplanted from Minnesota.

The event is at 7 p.m. on Sept. 8 on the Zoom platform. Contact Evelyn Gathu in advance at egathu@crystalfallslibrary.org or 906-875-3344 to sign up.

More information about the U.P. Notable Book list, U.P. Book Review and UPPAA can be found at UPNotable.com.

GeekU.P. mini-con charity event comes to MTU

The fifth annual GeekU.P. will be held Sept. 9 at Michigan Tech’s

Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Houghton.

GeekU.P., which will take place from noon to 7 p.m., is a mini-con charity event celebrating geek culture offering an artists’ alley, vendors, cosplay contest, celebrity Q&As, autograph sessions and more.

This year’s charity recipient is Unite Mental Health and Wellness in Houghton, a nonprofit mental health service organization committed to helping individuals in our community connect to nonemergency mental health care.

More information and the developing schedule can be found at GeekUP906.com.

Brewers guild plans beer fest in Marquette

Members of the Michigan Brewers Guild are headed to the Lake Superior shoreline in Marquette’s Mattson Lower Harbor Park for the 14th annual U.P. Fall Beer Festival on Saturday, Sept. 9.

Tickets are on sale now at www. MiBeer.com. General admission is from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., with the gates opening at noon for a VIP hour. Tickets are $50 per person in advance ($60 the day of the event, if available) with designated driver tickets priced at $10 (available at the gate). Admission

is for those 21 and older, with valid identification.

This year, 87 breweries will be sampling more than 513 beers (and 92 unique styles). The complete list (subject to change) is posted online.

The guild is a network of innovative and passionate brewers that serves as the recognized advocate for the Michigan craft beer industry. The mission of the guild is to promote and protect the Michigan craft beer industry with an overarching goal to help craft beer acquire 20 percent of the market by 2025.

Michigan’s thriving brewing industry conservatively contributes more than $144 million in wages with a total economic contribution of more than $600 million. In terms of overall

An article in our August issue detailing recyclying efforts in Marquette County incorrectly reported the source of a grant that funded part of the $6 million project. The grant was from the State of Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), not Eagle Mine. We regret the error.

mea culpa

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

number of breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs, Michigan ranks No. 6 in the nation — thus supporting its claim as “The Great Beer State.”

Alger County Communities

That Care hosts events

Alger County Communities That Care (AC3) invites the public to two events in September: a community barn dance and the seventh annual Pizza With a Purpose fundraiser.

All ages are invited to celebrate Alger County at the barn dance from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Michigan State University North Barn in Chatham. Admission is free. The event features square dancing with caller Jo Foley and music by Granny Fox and the Farm Hands Band.

“The barn dance is a celebration of this beautiful place we call home, our amazing community partners and our collective efforts in making Alger County a prosperous and thriving community,” said AC3 board chair Sandy Ehlert. “It’s our way of saying thank you to the schools, agencies, businesses and individuals that are part of the AC3 coalition while providing a fun activity for families to gather and enjoy each other’s company.”

The event includes a corn hole tournament, kids’ corner, pie and cake auction, Morris Dancers clinic and hayrides by MSU to view the U.P. Research and Extension Center. Cooking Carberry’s Wood Fire Pizza will be available for purchase. Flavored water, hot chocolate and coffee will be provided at no charge. Families may also bring their own picnic dinners.

The event is drug- and alcohol-free. This includes e-cigarettes and vape devices. The event is made possible in part with a grant from the Prevention Network. The MSU North Barn is located at N5431 Rock River Road.

Pizza With a Purpose is set for noon to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Sept. 28 and 29, at Pictured Rocks Pizza in Munising. This fundraiser benefits suicide prevention in Alger County.

Big Bay to host annual Fall Fest

Head to Big Bay for its third annual Fall Fest, hosted by the Big Bay Stewardship Council. The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 23 at Draver Park. There will be bounce houses, giant Jenga, corn hole, food, raffles, music, vendors, cemetery tours and more. Admission is free.

To learn more about the Big Bay Stewardship Council and how to participate in this event or other local

Fort Wilkins celebrates 100 years as park

Fort Wilkins, located a mile east of the village of Copper Harbor in Keweenaw County, turned 100 years old this summer as a historic state park. Built in 1844, Fort Wilkins was intended to keep law and order during Michigan’s copper rush. The fort complex includes 19 buildings, 12 of them original structures from the 1840s. In July 1923, the State of Michigan acquired Fort Wilkins as a state park, 53 years after the U.S. Army closed the post. (Photo courtesy of the Michigan DNR)

initiatives, email coordinator@bigbaystewardship.org or visit BigBayStewardship.org.

Rozsa unveils upcoming Presenting Series

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and Visit Keweenaw announced the lineup of the 2023-24 Rozsa Presenting Series, part of the 2023-24 Rozsa season.

The season opens with DANCER, a doubleheader performance by two internationally known Michigan companies, the Grand Rapids Ballet and Woodland Sky Native American Dance Company on Sept. 15 and 16. This unforgettable weekend of dance celebrates art forms rooted in tradition and flourishing into the future.

The Rozsa and Michigan Tech Music present a fully staged production of Guerilla Opera’s The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage from Oct. 12 through 15. This is a new comic one-act opera. Based on a steampunk graphic novel and composed by Houghton-raised Elena Ruehr, the opera joins Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage, the true-life unsung inventors of the first computer, in an alternative universe as they use their new invention to “fight crime.”

Then, for the first time ever in the U.P., Midwestern sensation and renowned comedian Charlie Berens brings his Good Old Fashioned Tour on Nov. 10 for an evening of laughter.

The holidays take center stage in Jingle Bell Pop with America’s Got Talent finalists the Detroit Youth Choir on Dec. 2. This high-energy concert will bring families and friends

of all ages together for an evening of pure holiday joy.

Flip Fabrique’s Blizzard descends upon the Rozsa for Michigan Tech’s Winter Carnival on Feb. 9 and 10. Lose yourself in a moment of complete wonder. With performers at the crazy, poetic and gentle journey in the dead of winter and at the peak of their art and outstanding visual poetry, Blizzard promises to blow away everything in its path.

Then Broadway returns with Lincoln Center Theater’s production of Lerner and Loewe’s My Fair Lady on March 7. Nominated for 10 Tony Awards, including Best Musical Revival, the production is called “a thing of beauty; a masterful piece of entertainment; a sumptuous, thrilling new revival of the most perfect musical of all time,” according to Entertainment Weekly

The series concludes with Inclusive by Design, a thought-provoking and comedic Van Evera Distinguished Lecture Series event featuring twotime Emmy Award winner Ryan O’Connell on March 28. O’Connell, a trailblazer in promoting inclusivity, will share insights and personal experiences, igniting conversation about diversity and acceptance.

Presenting Series tickets are now on sale and can be purchased at tickets.mtu.edu, by phone at 906-4871906 or at the Rozsa box office.

Central Mine hosts Adventures in History event

Keweenaw County Historical Society will host “Cider-Making at Central” on Saturday, Sept. 30, as part

of its Adventures in History series.

Make cider from the heritage apples at Central Mine or pick your apples ahead and bring them. Bring containers for your cider. Come anytime and help turn the handle on the old-time cider press. Bring a picnic lunch if you’d like and wear sturdy shoes. Explore this quiet mining “ghost town” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event is located off U.S.-41 at Central Mine, just north of the Eagle Harbor cutoff road, opposite Gratiot Lake Road. Cost is $6 per person ($5 for KCHS members).

Marquette art award recipients announced

The City of Marquette Office of Arts & Culture will present the 26th annual Art Awards on Sunday, Oct. 15. This red-carpet affair honors outstanding individuals who have made an impact in arts and culture in Marquette.

The awards show will be held at the Masonic Building’s Red Room. This year’s show is made possible by Innovate Marquette Smart Zone. This event is free and open to the public with a semi-formal suggested dress code to match the occasion.

The show will feature performances and honor this year’s recipients: Marge Sklar, arts advocate; HOTplate/Clayworks, arts business; Gene Bertram, arts educator; Amber Dohrenwend, arts innovation; DeVos Art Museum, arts organization; Skylar Taavola, arts volunteer; Patrick Booth, performing artist; Stella Larkin, visual artist; Marty Achatz, writer; Aaron Peterson, special recognition; Leo Barch, youth visual artist; and Lane Parks, performing artist.

For more information, visit mqtcompass.com.

Holiday art sale seeks participant artists

TheMarquette Regional History Center, in cooperation with the City of Marquette Office of Arts & Culture, announced the 2023 Holiday Art Sale on Saturday, Nov. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The sale will take place at the Marquette Regional History Center. The History Center is a destination, providing holiday shoppers a beautiful space to shop the juried artists’ sale, visit world-class exhibits and enjoy an old-fashioned bake sale and other surprises. Booth rental fees and the $2 admission support the MRHC, a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

The Holiday Art Sale is open to artists of all media, including but not limited to painting, photography, fiber, glass, jewelry, metal and wearable art.

Governor visits Marquette County

Interested artists may apply by completing and mailing or dropping off an entry form to the Marquette Regional History Center, 145 W. Spring St. in Marquette. Entry forms may also be picked up at the MRHC or the City of Marquette Office of Arts & Culture (located in the lower level of Peter White Public Library).

Applications are due Monday, Sept. 18. Applications will be juried by the Lake Superior Art Association, and artists will be notified of acceptance by Tuesday, Sept. 26.

The full call for artists and link to the application can be found in the Creative Classifieds section at www. mqtcompass.com or on the MRHC website, marquettehistory.org.

West End grant application window opens Sept. 1

The West End Health Foundation will open the application window for the programmatic grant cycle on Friday, Sept. 1.

Applications are due no later than

Oct. 1. Applications can be submitted using the submission portal located on the WEHF’s website at westendhf. org/grants/. The programmatic grant funding is awarded to select organizations that work to advance the health and wellness of Marquette County’s West End community. Grants can range from $1,000 to $10,000, depending on available funds.

Interested organizations with questions about eligibility can refer to the grant webpage of the WEHF website at westendhf.org/grants/. For application assistance or other questions, email manager@westendhf.org or call 906-226-6591, ext. 104.

In-person Powerful Tools for Caregivers workshop set

Powerful Tools for Caregivers, a six-week in-person workshop designed for the nonprofessional, informal family caregiver, will be offered beginning in September.

The classes will be held from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays, Sept.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer was in Marquette County last month as part of her “Make It in Michigan” tour. In Negaunee, Whitmer (above, second from left) visited the Building Trades Summer Camp, where kids have rolled up their sleeves and gotten to work learning skills like carpentry and wiring, skills that are in demand across the Upper Peninsula. Whitmer also stopped at the Negaunee Senior Center to visit the In Stitches quilting group, below. (Photos courtesy of the Governor’s Office)

13 through Oct. 18, at Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice, 914 W. Baraga Ave. in Marquette.

Research studies find high rates of depression and anxiety among caregivers and increased vulnerability to health problems. Caregivers frequently cite restriction of personal activities and social life as problems. In addition, caregivers often feel a lack of control over events and a sense of powerlessness, which can have a significant negative effect on their physical and emotional health.

The Powerful Tools for Caregivers program will provide caregivers tools to help reduce stress and increase relaxation, make tough decisions, reduce guilt, anger and depression, communicate effectively, set goals, solve problems and take better care of themselves while caring for a relative or friend. Caregivers will benefit from the workshop whether they are helping a parent, spouse or friend living at home, in long-term care or across the country. The workshop focuses on self-care for the caregiver, not on specific diseases or hands-on caregiving.

Powerful Tools for Caregivers is offered by Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress in partnership with Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice.

There is no charge for this workshop, but registration is required. Class size is limited. Registration ends when the class is full or on Sept. 10.

To register, visit upcap.org (click on “Events”) or call 2-1-1 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT for assistance.

Film festival screening set for Sept. 13 and 14

Soo Film Festival announces its selection of films for 2023, a mix of features, shorts and animation. The festival focuses on Great Lakes films and filmmakers, but entry was open worldwide.

Soo Film Festival takes place Sept. 13 through 17 in downtown Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, at the historic Soo Theatre and at Bayliss Public Library. Featured selections will screen at the library on Sept. 13 and 14 for free; all programs at Soo Theatre are ticketed. Dates and venues are subject to change.

Festival passes and individual tickets are available now. Ticket prices are $7 for general admission (per block); $5 for seniors and students (per block); $20 for a daily pass (admission to all blocks on a single day); $50 Festival Pass (admission to all films and shorts programs, all days). Films screened at Bayliss Library are free of charge.

Beaumier focuses on Cass expedition

On Saturday, Sept. 16, the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center will open a landmark exhibition on the 1820 expedition of Lewis Cass on the Great Lakes. The exhibition, “Claiming Michigan: The 1820 Expedition of Lewis Cass,” will feature dozens of images, excerpts from journals, detailed narrative information and large format maps. It will delve into the reasons for and the long-term impact of the expedition on the region. There will be an opening reception at 1 p.m. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. The exhibition will be open through Jan. 27. Normal open hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Monday through Friday), until 8 p.m. on Thursdays and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center is located at the corner of Seventh Street and Tracy Avenue on the campus of Northern Michigan University. For more information, call 906-227-1219 or go to nmu. edu/beaumier. (Photo courtesy of the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center)

A full list of the films and their descriptions, as well as the schedule and ticket information, is available at soofilmfestival.org.

Friends of the library to host fall used book sale

The Friends of Peter White Public Library will hold its fall used book sale from Sept. 21 through 23. Thousands of clean used books, CDs and DVDs will be available for purchase at bargain prices at Peter White Public Library’s Community Room, 217 N. Front St. in Marquette. Proceeds from the sale will support PWPL’s programs and the purchase of materials and equipment.

The presale will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21; admission is $5. The regular sale hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22, with no admission charge.

On Saturday, Sept. 23, a half-price sale will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with no admission charge. A bag sale will be held from 1:45 p.m. to 4 p.m., with no admission and a charge of $5 per bag.

For details, call 906-228-9510 or visit pwpl.info.

Expert offers presentations on health concerns

Dorothy Linthicum, expert on spirituality and aging and co-author of Redeeming Dementia: Spirituality, Theology, and Science, will offer three presentations in September about aging and related health concerns.

At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21, she will offer “Staying in My Lane: Hints for Caregivers and Adult Children with Aging Parents” at Baraga Place, under the U.P. Children’s Museum in Marquette. Linthicum will talk about why it is so important that caregivers get support for what they are doing, and other information for adult children who are seeking to support their aging parents.

At 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 22, Linthicum will offer “Aging and Dementia Resource Fair and Conversation about Dementia” at Messiah Lutheran Church in Marquette. Lunch will be provided at noon. This resource fair features local facilities, services, businesses and programs that assist us as we age.

On Saturday, Sept. 23, she will offer “Aging and Spirituality: Seven Vital Practices to Keep us Connected to

God” at 9 a.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Marquette. This practical open workshop concerns spirituality and aging, introducing seven spiritual practices that speak to older people. Time will be reserved for questions and for thinking together about creating smaller groups in our own contexts that support doing these practices. Bonus content: how the power of writing our own life stories can deepen our relationship with God.

The events are open to the public, and no registration is necessary.

Annual Strut Your Mutt event scheduled for Sept. 30

This year, U.P. Animal Welfare Shelter is leashing up for a pawsome cause and inviting you to be a part of it. Strut Your Mutt will be held on Sept. 30 at Jackson Mine Park in Negaunee.

Support the cause by registering and participating in the charity dog walk. Participants are contributing toless pets of Marquette County. Youritive change in the lives of countless

The event offers a mix of activities and contests for both dogs and their humans. From a tail-wagging parade and exciting agility courses to bestdressed competitions and treat-filled -

To register for the charity dog walk, visit upaws.org/sym and secure your spot today. Registration on the day of -

ger Walk is a fundraiser to end hunger, one step at a time. Fundstional hunger-fighting organizations. Seventy-five percent of the funds raised go to Church World Service and 25 percent stays local, benefitting the NMU food bank and St. Vincent

Walkers raise funds to support their walk, which will be held at 2 p.m. on Oct. 1. Registration is at 1:30 p.m. The Marquette Hope Connection at 927 W. Fair Ave. will be the host. Call Crystal at 906-225-0595 for details.

U.P. Sled Dog Association hosts UP200 Dryland Dash

The Upper Peninsula Sled Dog Association in partnership with the Wisconsin Trailblazers Sled Dog Club will host the seventh annual UP200 Dryland Dash on Oct. 14 and 15. In previous years there have been 50 to

Kilbane wins volunteer grand prize

The Yoopers United Summer Volunteer Program ended Aug. 5. The program was successful at encouraging residents of Marquette County to get involved in volunteerism this summer. United Way of Marquette County and Yoopers United announce that Grace Kilbane was the winner of the grand prize. Kilbane volunteered for Great Lakes Recovery Center’s Run for Recovery and Marquette County Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build. She received gift cards to golf and dine at the Hotel on Mackinac Island, as well as coffee from Dunkin.’ Organizers thank all of the businesses that donated prizes for the weekly winners, including Thomas Theatre Group of Marquette, Tadych’s Marketplace Foods of Marquette, Dunkin’, Buffalo Wild Wings and Provisions MQT. The six weekly winners were Becky Sandstrom, Chris Durley, Kilbane, Karen Thompson, Joan Nystrom and Spencer Szyniszewski. For more information about Yoopers United, or to start volunteering, check out yoopersunited.com. (Photo courtesy of Yoopers United)

70 teams of sled dogs racing with bicycles, rigs, scooters or mushers running behind the dogs.

Races start at 9 a.m. both days at the Negaunee Township Park, which is located at 42 M-35 in Negaunee. The event will feature races for wheeled rigs, scooters, bikes and canicross with 1-, 2-, 4- and 6-dog teams competing on a two-mile loop. Times from the two days will be totaled to determine winners of the $2,000 cash purse.

This is a free event, and spectators can watch these fast, amazing canine athletes eagerly compete for a share of the prizes. Different breeds of dogs, purebred or mixes will be used in the races. Come, watch sled dog races without snow, ice or long distances.

For more information, visit UP200. org or contact event chair Tim Trowbridge at 920-323-7256 or email tctrowbridge@charter.net.

Public art installed on Marquette bike trails

On behalf of the Marquette Public Art Commission, the City of Marquette Office of Arts & Culture installed the second round of Words

to Live and Bike By bike path murals on the city multi-use pathway.

The Words to Live and Bike By project involves the painting of six text-inspired, site-specific murals on the surface of the Holly Greer Bike Path in Marquette. Applicants were asked to submit words and original design proposals fitting for the accompanying locale.

The chosen artists and their words and locations are as follows: Lee Pyper, “PERSEVERE,” Hospital Corridor and Beacon House; Emma Schramm, “EMBRACE,” Seventh Street and Beacon House; Olivia Capodilupo, “GROW,” intersection of the bike path and Center Street; Lena Wilson, “PLAY,” Kaufmann Sports Complex; Aiyana Aldred, “RECIPROCITY,” South Lakeshore Boulevard and East Hampton Street; and MPAC members, “INSPIRE,” South McClellan Avenue across from Superior Hills Elementary School.

For details about the Marquette Public Art Commission, the Words to Live and Bike By project or other public art projects in the city, visit mqtcompass.com/publicart.

U.P. united in historical UPLINK project

Upper Peninsula archivists have been hard at work digitizing and integrating historical records across the U.P. into one online resource: Upper Peninsula Digital Network, or UPLINK.

The project was spearheaded by head archivist Marcus Robyns of the Central U.P. and Northern Michigan University Archives. Funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission is used to transport and digitally preserve any and/or all records from contributing historical societies.

“In about a year and a half, we’ve gotten about 75,000 items online, which is far more than I anticipated,” said UPLINK’s project manager at NMU, Annika Peterson.

These tens of thousands of documents, photos, audio and video are readily available. Some of the most interesting collections include old editions of newspapers including the Daily Press, Iron Ore and The Mining Journal

One can find interviews with Italian-American immigrants, U.P. miners, NMU professors and much more. “UPLINK isn’t just for historians and academics,” Peterson said. “There’s something for everyone to explore.”

It’s a tool to be used by genealogists, educators or anyone curious about the U.P.’s wide and varied history. Search your desired topic and UPLINK will search not only the titles of each entry but the text within it.

UPLINK, at uplink.nmu.edu, features thousands of pictures that show distinct moments in time from everywhere in the Upper Peninsula and surrounding regions. Whether they be slides, negatives or color photos, this easy-to-digest medium appeals to every age group.

Farm, school district awarded USDA grant

Partridge Creek Farm in partnership

with the Ishpeming Public School District, acting as fiscal agent, was awarded a $100,000 USDA Farm to School grant. This is a highly competitive federal grant with applicants ranging from school districts to municipalities to nonprofits from all over the country.

Funding will allow Partridge Creek Farm to build a hoop house on its new intergenerational farm to extend the season for growing healthy, fresh vegetables that will be integrated into the Ishpeming School cafeteria. Another portion of the funding will support the continuation of writing and implementation of a new pre-K through

eighth-grade curriculum that will be integrated into Ishpeming classrooms.

The Farm to School program has grown significantly since its inception in 2013, providing weekly, year-round nutrition, cooking and gardening education to fifth and sixth graders. In 2022, 88 percent of students in the program reported trying a new vegetable and 70 percent report liking a vegetable that they previously disliked.

Local business news

… in brief

TheSuperior Arts Youth Theater, Marquette’s regional nonprofit youth theater, announced the selection of Becky Heldt as its new executive director and Sara Parks as its new artistic director.

Citizens for a Safe & Clean Lake Superior hired Jane Fitkin as its new director of outreach and communications; a recent NMU graduate in environmental studies and sustainability, she has led numerous local environmental efforts.

UP Health System–Marquette welcomed Christine Matijasic, DO, to its medical specialists team. Board certified in rheumatology, Matijasic provides comprehensive rheumatology services, including general rheumatology and the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and psoriatic arthritis.

United Way of Marquette County announced this year’s campaign co-chairs as Alyson Sundberg and Megan O’Connor. Sundberg is the market director of risk management for UP Health System–Marquette/ Bell/Portage, and O’Connor is the outreach and development specialist at the Lake Superior Community Partnership.

Chaval Christian Dance Company celebrated its grand opening at its new location, 147 W. Washington St., the former Marquette Center for Dance building. Founded in 2020, Chaval Christian Dance Company is a studio where dance, music and art classes honor God in movements, performance and daily life.

Ore Dock Real Estate LLC has received state funding in support of its plan to construct and rehabilitate a mixed-use development in downtown Marquette; the project will include four residential units, commercial space, a restaurant and outdoor beer garden to total capital investment of $7.8 million and create six full-time equivalent jobs.

Northern Michigan University alumni relations announced the recipients of its 2023 NMU Alumni Awards: Ellen J. Narotzky Kennedy

(’71 M.A., ’72 M.A.E.) of St. Paul, Minnesota, distinguished alumni; Mitchell Stephenson (’13 B.A.) of Montana, outstanding young alumni; and Charles Hawes (’77 B.S.) of Lansing, alumni service-community.

Lake Superior and Marquette factor prominently in a newly published poetry collection, Inland Sea, by Northern Michigan University English Professor Lynn Domina

UP Health System–Marquette welcomed radiation oncologist Eric Schaff, MD, to its cancer center team; he specializes in the treatment of adult cancers, offering advanced personalized radiation options for Upper Peninsula residents close to home.

Kathryn Flagstadt of Marquette was appointed to the Michigan Council for Rehabilitation Services; she is retired as the site manager at Michigan Rehabilitation Services and a member of the State Employee Retirees Association and the Marquette County Aging Services Advisory Committee.

Lake Effect Distillery in Escanaba received $100,000 through a Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development grant to increase utilization of Upper Peninsula-grown grains through expanded milling capacity.

The City of Ishpeming announced the grand opening of Brasswire Campground, located at 234 Malton Road in Ishpeming. Nestled amid rugged foothills, Brasswire Campground is now ready to provide camping experience for nature enthusiasts and adventure seekers alike. Funded in part by a grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the campground spans about 16 acres and features 50 campsites. Visit brasswire.org for details.

The West End Health Foundation awarded more than $20,000 in proactive grants to the following agencies: Copper Shores Community Health Foundation (formerly Portage Health Foundation) received $6,600 for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST); Great Lakes Recovery Center received $9,500 for its Stepping Stones for Youth Health; and the Greater Ishpeming Commission on Aging received $2,396 for its Seniors LIVE Program. Negaunee Public Schools also received $1,600 for Teen Mental Health First Aid. 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. Email your press release to editor@marquettemonthly.com.

NMU responds to AI

The rapid proliferation of generative artificial intelligence, which creates new content from existing data almost instantaneously, is transforming the educational landscape.

Some are eagerly embracing AI as a powerful tool that will make learning more personalized and accessible and provide data-driven insights for educators. Others are concerned it will increase academic dishonesty, generate biased and false information and adversely affect security and employment. Northern Michigan University is taking proactive steps to ensure that AI is incorporated responsibly and effectively.

NMU’s academic affairs division has asked the Center for Teaching and Learning to put together an AI work group, said Leslie Warren, interim associate provost and dean of library and instructional support.

“The work group will advise NMU entities on best practices and strategies to stay abreast of, or ideally ahead of, the evolving landscape of AI as it applies to higher education,” Warren said. “In addition to tracking and sharing the evolution of generative AI, the group will draft sample syllabus statements, suggest updates to our academic integrity policy, sup-

port faculty in ways to incorporate AI into the curriculum and coordinate AI literacy programs for students, faculty and staff. We will have more information about the work group, including opportunities to participate, when faculty return for the fall semester.”

NMU instructional technologist Scott Smith said the Center for Teaching and Learning has been engaged with generative AI since last December. That was when ChatGPT, which uses deep learning to generate human-like text based on prompts from users, was introduced to the public. Smith was approached by Educause, a national organization that advances higher education through information technology, to join its Generative AI Expert Panel this summer. He is also participating in Educause’s AI Community of Practice, a year-long exploration of the technology’s effects that includes collaboration with professionals from other institutions to formulate best practices and policy suggestions.

“This participation should allow NMU to be at the forefront of AI applications in education, equipping us with strategies to remain ahead of the curve,” Smith said. “Generative AI is not going away. Microsoft is adding it

to the Office suite of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It’s really good at coming up with ideas and creating outlines, first drafts and templates. Faculty can use it in lots of ways, including ideas for lesson plans, course outlines and multiple-choice questions for exams. The data-driven insights AI provides can help educators track students’ progress, identify problem areas and come up with alternative learning and assessment strategies.”

The biggest concern expressed by faculty members, Smith said, relates to academic dishonesty. Professors want to know how to detect and mitigate ChatGPT-assisted plagiarism and find more accurate methods for assessing students.

“Going ‘medieval’ and having students write in class with a pencil and paper isn’t realistic for the long term,” he said. “But because generative AI draws from an enormous amount of data — basically the entire internet — it can spew out existing biased material. It also hallucinates, or completely makes up information, if it doesn’t know something. Essay citations are often nonexistent sources, but look real. All of this is troubling, but it seems to be getting better with new

Scott Smith, an instructional technologist at Northern Michigan University, is helping to lead the school’s proactive response to artificial intelligence. (Photo courtesy of NMU)

iterations. Faculty need to be aware of its limits and ensure they are awarding students the appropriate grade.”

Smith has partnered with Antony Aumann, an NMU philosophy professor, who gained international media exposure for how he dealt with ChatGPT use by students in his courses, to give presentations on generative AI on campus. They will likely continue those in the fall.

Aumann said the technology’s benefits include adaptive support for students with learning disabilities or for whom English is not their first language. It also offers 24/7 formative feedback on the technical aspects of writing and can come up with compelling and relevant examples that will resonate with students and reinforce the lessons he’s trying to teach. Aumann also turns to ChatGPT in his own writing to provide alternative ways of expressing his ideas.

“Last semester, I tried what I call the ‘Wild Wild West approach’ to ChatGPT,” he said. “I let my students use it as much as they wanted. When I anonymously polled them at the end of the semester, only 20 percent used ChatGPT at all. And of that 20 percent, the vast majority just used AI to help them with their final drafts. I am inclined to think that some of the panic over ChatGPT is overblown. My experience suggests that students are still interested in coming up with their own ideas and in finding their own ways of expressing their ideas. The desire to figure out what we ourselves believe and to share it with others is a deeply human one. I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon.”

Aumann acknowledged two “widespread worries” in academia: that students aren’t going to learn to think for themselves anymore; and that if lower-performing students can achieve top grades using ChatGPT, it is necessary to find alternative ways for students to demonstrate their abilities.

Smith agreed with the latter point: “If higher education continues using the assessment strategies in place now, students could feasibly get an A in a class, yet not necessarily acquire the knowledge that will equip them for professional success. The goal is for students to use AI responsibly as a tool to help them learn, rather than simply a tool to get a grade so they don’t have to learn.”

Vince Jeevar, assistant professor of psychological science, said the faculty will need to get ahead of this new reality and adapt in order to help students navigate an AI-pervasive world for their benefit and “trudge through the garbage.” He also expressed concerns about the technology’s impacts

beyond education.

“Teaching critical thinking is going to be much more important than teaching subject matter,” Jeevar wrote. “AI offers a system that can create everything we want (leading to laziness, boredom and no need to create anything for ourselves); solve any problem (leading to a lack of inspiration, meaning and purpose); manipulate our beliefs (leading to a lack of open-mindedness or critical thinking); remove our privacy (bringing a lack of freedom); and cut us off from society. I’m not anti-AI — it has the potential to bring so much good. But if history has taught us anything about invention, it’s that if something can be used for evil, it will be used for evil.”

The rise of AI artists has stirred debate about whether the technology will be the death knell of human creativity. Jane Milkie, associate dean and director of NMU’s School of Art & Design, recalls a keynote speaker at the Revolve CC conference in Marquette contending that graphic designers would be replaced by AI. She put it to the test by using both the Dall-E and MidJourney engines to create a faculty exhibition piece: a medallion to honor the 50th year of The North Wind student newspaper.

“The engines did not build what I planned as a graphic design solution and did not generate typographic forms in what I would have envisioned,” she said. “I have experimented in a limited context, but I am not finding that prospect developed yet to the point where AI is a replacement in graphic design. I am old enough to witness the complete transformation of graphic design from analog to digital. Those working before computers adjusted and learned new ways of doing. I anticipate the AI revolution to parallel that.”

While generative AI is in its relative infancy and there are differing opinions on its perceived value and impact, one thing is certain: It has already permeated many sectors, including education, and the upward trajectory will continue. Smith said NMU faculty and staff who took notice of the technology last semester will be better equipped to deal with it this fall, when AI will be more pervasive.

‘The most terrible of them all’

By Michael Murray

For decades, ABC’s Wide World of Sports promised viewers a steady stream of stories showcasing “the thrill of victory … and the agony of defeat.” In recent years, a Marquette County adventure organization has put its own twist on that definition of athletic competition by staging a race so difficult that it has quickly earned a national reputation. Victory and defeat are part of the ex-

perience, to be sure, but the whole point seems a little less obvious and even more compelling: the thrill of agony.

Competitors and event organizers alike relish the fact that the Marji Gesick is more than a mountain bike race. It is that, but it has always been so much more. When Todd Poquette and Danny Hill launched the Marji in 2015, their goal was to present the hardest race in the Midwest. Their vision was not just another ride with an-

other podium with yet another unique medal for finishers.

They wanted survival of the fittest. They wanted a test of body, mind and will. But they also wanted the race — somehow — to create a bit of joy for the journey. Hill, the Marji’s course designer, puts it like this: “It’s fun, in a sick sorta way.”

By all indications — registration numbers, community involvement, racer reviews — the Marji Gesick has met or exceeded its founders’

goals. In its early years, the Marji was sometimes referred to as “the hardest race you’ve never heard of.” That description is no longer accurate. It’s as difficult as ever, but endurance riders across the country now know the name Marji Gesick, and they are flocking to Marquette County to take on the test of tests.

An accomplished mountain biker named Mike Webb said, “I’ve done some hard stuff: Leadville 100, Maah Daah Hey 100, La Ruta de Los Con-

Marji Gesick has earned a reputation as one of the most difficult mountain bike races in the nation

Competitors from across the country will descend on Marquette County this month for the Marji Gesick. (Photo courtesy of 906 Adventure Team)

quistadores, Lumberjack 100, Butte 100. Hands down, Marji Gesick is the most terrible of them all.”

Jeremiah Bishop, a professional mountain biker who has won gold and bronze medals at the Pan American Games, called the Marji “the hardest single-day mountain bike race in America.” Poquette and Hill could not have paid for a better endorsement.

The Marji Gesick, sponsored and organized by the nonprofit 906 Adventure Team, returns to Marquette County this month with six separate biking and running races beginning on Friday, Sept. 15, and Saturday, Sept. 16.

The 100-mile run gets the weekend started at 8 a.m. Friday with competitors setting off from the Forestville Trailhead on County Road HT in Marquette Township. Forestville is also the starting line at 7:30 a.m. Sat-

urday for the 100-mile mountain bike race and the Worst of Both Worlds duathlon (about 60 miles on bike and 40 miles on foot).

One of the quirks of the competition is that all of these numbers are estimates. Since the course changes slightly each year, the 100-mile race could actually be 104 or even 108 miles.

Both 50-mile races depart from the Lower Harbor ore dock in Marquette on Saturday morning, with the run beginning at 7 and the bike race at 8. Finally, the 15-mile Mini-Marji begins at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Jackson Mine Park Trailhead in downtown Negaunee. The finish line for all races is on Main Street in downtown Ishpeming, with an event cut-off of 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

The Marji’s route goes against the grain of the major races in the county. The Noquemanon Ski Marathon, the

Mountain bikers in the Marji Gesick are told to expect rocks, roots and hills, hills, hills. (Photo courtesy of 906 Adventure Team)

Ore to Shore Mountain Bike Epic and the Marquette Marathon, for example, all start in Ishpeming or Negaunee and run downhill to Marquette and the Lake Superior shoreline. Don’t think for a second that the Marji’s uphill course — with about 14,000 feet of cumulative elevation gain — was an afterthought.

Long before competitors can dream about crossing a finish line, they first have to get into the event. Online registration for the 2023 races officially opened last Oct. 14, with 666 slots available. (Subtlety had the day off.) More than 5,000 people tried to secure a place, and those who made the cut were notified with this cheery announcement: “We’re sorry. You got in.”

The sarcasm and dark humor are part of the appeal. The team’s promotional material — the stuff that most other race organizers use to boost the registration numbers — sounds like a taunt:

“The Marji Gesick challenges participants to, as we like to say, ‘Find your limits. Destroy them.’ We don’t think you can finish in less than 12

hours. We have our doubts you can finish at all. Are you willing to sign the dotted line and take the Danny Hill Challenge? We have a course just itching to break ya.

“Ride your bike a lot? That’s cute. We’ve watched many big motors blow up in the first 30 miles. We have rocks up here that will eat your little rocks. No kidding. Consider yourself a ‘technical rider’? You will find our definition of riding technical terrain and yours are different. On the bright side, you’ll get a chance to find out if you enjoy riding in the dark — for hours.

“If it sounds miserable, that’s because it is. We want it to be. Danny designed the course to break you down and force you to ask yourself: What am I made of? Why am I doing this? Can I go on? And even more importantly: How will I feel if I quit?

“Don’t come here to race. Come here to put yourself up against an experience that will change you. From the edges of failure spring life’s defining moments. We’ll be waiting at the finish line to shake your hand and be part of yours.”

When this photo appeared on the Marji Gesick social media feed, one commenter asked, “Where’s the trail?” (Photo courtesy of 906 Adventure Team)

The collective voice is one of challenge and doubt: Sign up — or not. We don’t really care. If you don’t come, someone else will. We’re not about to beg. In fact, if you do ignore your better judgment and decide to show up anyway, you’ll probably be the one who ends up begging — to quit.

Those who accept the challenge and win a coveted spot in the lineup then have to actually compete. A handful of riders will arrive with dreams of crossing the Ishpeming finish line first — and claiming the $1 purse that goes to the winner. Others set their sights on the hand-forged MG100 belt buckle that is awarded to all who complete the course in under 12 hours. Last year, 10 of the 418 riders in the 100-mile race made the cut.

The largest contingent is hoping simply to finish the event, yet most don’t. In 2022, across all six races, 579 competitors earned the title #finisher. Another 621 ended the weekend with #unfinishedbusiness, either not starting or not finishing. Those who drop out mid-race, for any reason, are required to text #quitter and their bib number to a race official.

Marji’s course is 100-plus miles of rocks, roots and hills, hills, hills — about 90 percent of which is single-

track. Poquette said the race features “all of the worst things Marquette County has to offer,” along with precisely zero official aid stations. “It is sadistic,” Poquette said, “and we designed it to be that way.” Along the route, just when they’re wondering why they signed up in the first place, racers are confronted with signs reading “Blame Danny” and “Blame Todd.”

Race weekend also manages to

share a bit of our area’s history. The event is named after an Ojibwe chief who played a vital role in the iron ore boom of the mid-1800s. In 1845, Marji Gesick, or Mah-je-ge-zhik, or Man-je-ki-jik, guided a group of mineral explorers led by Philo Everett to Teal Lake near Negaunee, where iron ore was visible at ground level. The explorers promised the chief a share of the mining profits, but the enterprise that formed around the discov-

ery, the Jackson Iron Company, broke its word to him. Marji Gesick died around 1857, and his daughter, Charlotte, commenced a long legal battle to right this injustice, eventually securing a favorable ruling from the state Supreme Court.

The race named for him honors the chief by covering terrain he himself walked; by passing near remnants of the area’s mining heritage; and by giving a nod to the meaning of his name: Marji Gesick is translated as “bad day” or “hard day.”

The 2022 race attracted competitors from 29 states plus the District of Columbia and two Canadian provinces. They are drawn to the Marji Gesick because of the difficulty of the race and also because of the expert marketing that fuses humor, sarcasm, trash-talking and tough love. Here’s a sampling of the Marji Gesick Facebook page this year:

Jan. 11: “You can have the best trainer, nutrition and equipment in the world, but it comes down to two things money can’t buy: perseverance and endurance. How bad do you really want it? How far are you willing to go to get it?”

A racer named Matt offered this response: “This is, in part, the differ-

Marji Gesick organizers tell racers to develop a 25-hour mindset. (Photo courtesy of 906 Adventure Team)

ence Marji has from other races. My first year was last year, and I took away two very poignant lessons. First thing I noticed was what is described in this post. The atmosphere and drive of normal people putting out astounding effort is everywhere and encouraged beyond explanation. Second is just how technical U.P. singletrack is. To me both are magnetic, and I’m coming back for more!”

April 1: “We’re saving the April Fools’ crap for September. —Marji Gesick Customer Disservice Team.”

April 7: “The start of the 100-mile run is a ‘Who’s who’ of people you won’t see at the finish line. 80% of ’em quit.”

May 14 (above a photo of a rider on the trail): “Man caught smiling later admits he was actually dehydrated and cramping.”

May 16: “Have the nightmares started yet?”

June 12: “At camp this weekend, we talked about #finishwhatyoustart and developing a 25-hour mindset. You might not want it to take that long, but if that’s what it takes, will you go the distance? Finishing what you start isn’t always pretty, and it definitely doesn’t always go the way you hope. That’s what makes Marji special. It’ll humble you and make you ask yourself, ‘How bad do I really want it?’ If you’re not willing to do whatever it takes, you better put that #quitter number in your cell right now.”

Aug. 7: “A rider visited Marquette County this weekend to pre-ride for

the MG100. Afterward, he called and said, ‘All these years … I thought I could mountain bike. Turns out I can’t. I thought I was gonna die a couple times, alone.’ Marji will take all of your confidence, smash it against a rock and leave you asking yourself, ‘How bad do I want this?’ We’ll find out soon enough.”

Aug. 11: “If you quit, suffer a mechanical or begin crying uncontrollably: Text #quitter, last name, bib number to Customer Disservice.”

In the aftermath of the 2022 Marji, Poquette took to Facebook to address all of the event’s racers, offering a blend of applause, challenge and encouragement, summing up another episode of the thrill of agony:

“To our 579 #finishers … congratulations on your achievement. I hope you unpack what you’ve learned and share it with others so they too can find their limits. Everyone deserves to experience the way this community comes together. It’s one of the few times in life you will witness the awesome potential of people working together … to make sure everyone is successful.

“To the 621 with #unfinishedbusiness … we will be waiting for you in Ishpeming next September. You are not alone. For many, Marji will become a journey of multiple years. Finish what you started.” MM

Michael Murray has covered Upper Peninsula sports for more than 25 years.

The Marji Gesick showcases some of the stunning scenery across Marquette County. (Photo courtesy of 906 Adventure Team)

then & now

The Gwinn Hospital has been home to several enterprises through the years. According to the Forsyth Township Historical Society, after its time as a hospital it was used as a factory by the H.W. Gossard Co. and later as dental offices.

The original Gwinn Hospital on Jasper Street is now a private residence.

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

By Manaal MohaMMed / edited By Will Shortz

6 Style of alternative rock with psychedelic influences

7 Texas metroplex, to locals

8 Expression of amazement

9 Let go 10 Truck stop purchase 11 ____ audience

12 ‘‘La Bohème’’ subject

13 The ‘‘x’’ in x2

14 Roti flour

15 Takes care of something

16 Things that snake oil salesmen sell

17 Surgery spots, for short 20 Cardinals’ org.

23 Early 2000s virtual animal companion 24 Lushes 28 ‘‘All Quiet on the Western Front’’ setting, for short 31 Tom callin’s?

32 Unpaid debt

35 Cardinals’ org.

37 Ham-and-cheese sandwich

38 Washed out, maybe 39 Word with fire or red 40 Forcibly

lookout point

Ship to Shore Chef combines two loves: good food and life on the water

‘It doesn’t feel like a job’

By Erin Elliott Bryan

In 1981, when Catherine Schmuck was just 19 years old, she was a night cook working aboard the Great Lakes freighter Frontenac, which traveled a consistent run from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, to Marquette. One morning, the Canada Steamship Lines boat docked in Marquette and Schmuck, who had just finished her shift at 7:30 a.m., was eager to get off.

“Every time the gangway touched land, I got off,” she recalled. “And I always walked in Marquette. It was beautiful there.” After some time walking, Schmuck returned to the

harbor to find that the ship was gone. They had been bumped, and the Frontenac was anchored further out in Lake Superior.

“This was before cell phones, and I really didn’t know what to do,” Schmuck said. It was still fairly early in the day, and Schmuck happened to see a couple near their sailboat. They let her use their ship-to-ship radio to call the Frontenac, and she was informed that the freighter would be back later in the afternoon. “The couple let me sleep on their sailboat that day,” Schmuck said. “I was so grateful.”

Schmuck recalled that story from on board the Spruceglen, which was

sailing through the St. Lawrence River east of Massena, New York. She boarded the vessel on May 29 and stayed through the end of August, cooking for and serving the crew of 24.

“It’s a good ship for me,” she said of the Spruceglen, which picks up iron ore in Superior, Wisconsin, and transports it to Quebec City, Quebec, making the round trip in about 12 to 14 days. “Every day, I’m joyfully thinking about the things I get to experience.”

Schmuck is known as the Ship to Shore Chef and has amassed a sizable following online, mainly through her blog on Facebook and her website, shiptoshorechef.com. She also has

plans to launch a YouTube channel in the coming months.

“I am a part of a wonderful community of ship lovers and food lovers,” Schmuck said. “I have a lot of requests for how-to videos to make some of my recipes, so that is the project I am working on now. I have so many recipes that need to be shared. I want people to know that making good food is easier than you think.”

Schmuck in 2021 published a cookbook titled Ship to Shore Chef: Recipes and Stories as I Sail Through My Day, which has sold more than 5,000 copies and includes her story about Marquette. She also has a popular calendar that includes photos taken

Aboard the Spruceglen, Catherine Schmuck set up a continental breakfast for crew members in a hurry. For the rest, she prepared eggs, bacon, omelettes and all of the breakfast favorites. (Photo courtesy of Catherine Schmuck)

through her own porthole of locations along the Great Lakes, various rivers, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Atlantic Coast.

“What I love the most is how different the rivers are to the lakes, though the lakes are different, too,” Schmuck said. “I just love being on the water.”

Schmuck also wrote a children’s book titled The Stowaway Adventures, which features Mitchell Mouse as a stowaway aboard a Great Lakes cargo ship carrying grain from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Quebec City.

“I’ve always had the ability to look at things in an animated manner,” she said, noting that the illustrations are based on real photographs she has taken aboard ships. The Stowaway Adventures is the first in a planned series and has already sold its first 1,000 copies.

Schmuck’s love of food and sailing began at an early age when she was growing up in Brockville, a city along the St. Lawrence River in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario. Her parents, who were German immigrants, owned a motel, bar and restaurant where she began working when she was just 15 years old.

“My mom was a great cook; she always cooked amazing food. Food was always celebrated,” Schmuck said. “My parents grew up during World War II, so we appreciated life and we

appreciated food.”

And living in close proximity to the St. Lawrence River, she and her family, including her sister, Lorraine, would wave to the passing ships.

When she was 19, she and Lorraine were asked by a sailor visiting the family’s restaurant if they wanted to make a lot of money by working on board the freighters. They both jumped at the chance and signed up for a nine-week crash course in sailing the Great Lakes.

The sisters shipped out separately and Schmuck’s first job was as a short-order night cook, mainly preparing hot dogs or hamburgers from 11:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. She worked with three other people and was also

responsible for taking care of the rooms for two officers. “Now, everyone takes care of their own rooms as there are smaller crews,” she said. “And there’s just one or two people in the galley.”

That first phase of Schmuck’s career lasted until 1994, when she chose to leave the sailing life to open a restaurant with Lorraine: Creperie Catherine at the Mont-Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. “I wanted to experience some things I could only do on land, like having a garden, having a pet,” she said.

The sisters ran the successful restaurant for 24 years and it was profiled in popular media, such as on the Food Network and in Canadian Liv-

Catherine Schmuck began working in her parents’ restaurant in Ontario at age 15. At 19, she started cooking on Great Lakes ships such as the AlgoTerra, above, and the Spruceglen, below. (Photos courtesy of Catherine Schmuck)

ing Magazine. “No matter what I was doing,” she said, “people were always interested when I started to talk about sailing.”

In 2019, Schmuck decided she wanted to finish her career on a ship and joined the Great Lakes tanker Algoma Hansa. “I just loved sailing and as soon as I joined the gangway, I was filled with joy,” Schmuck said. “I loved every single minute of it.”

On board the Spruceglen, Schmuck shares duties with a second cook. She often begins her day by sitting outside drinking coffee, writing her blog and posting photos of her views and of the food she has prepared.

“It’s not a cruise ship or a yacht; it’s a working ship,” she said. “Sometimes, I’m sitting on a steel box. But the view is perfect. It’s a rustic environment, beautiful.”

Her food preparation for the day starts by making homemade soups and breads. She offers two choices for lunch and two choices for dinner. Fridays always feature fish and chips with homemade tartar sauce. “It’s all about the food and the food experience,” Schmuck said.

She’s also mindful of what is happening on the ship at the time. If the weather is too warm, her offerings are lighter. If the crew is “on the run,” up all night loading, she offers something heartier.

Schmuck also does her best to incorporate dietary needs based on culture, medical requirements and personal preference. She said she’s good

at using leftovers and tries to incorporate a lot of protein and vegetables into her dishes. “Some people don’t like cauliflower,” she said. “But I always tell them, ‘Yeah, but you haven’t had my cauliflower.’”

Conversations such as that were an important reason that Schmuck wanted to write her cookbook. “People don’t realize how easy it is to make good food,” she said.

She acknowledged that when she was writing the book during the Covid-19 pandemic, she understood that more people were cooking at home and willing to try new things. She wanted to help guide them to cooking healthy and nutritious options. “I realized that it’s not always obvious to everyone how to cook and prepare meals,” she said.

Schmuck is now halfway through her second cookbook, which includes responses to questions from her followers. She said her blog helps connect people with food memories and encourages them to get those family recipes and write them down.

One of Schmuck’s favorite memories is sailing through the St. Lawrence River close to home, particularly through the Iroquois Lock, about 45 minutes east of Brockville. Before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, people could drive right up to the ship and talk to the crew. “My mom and dad would often bring three dozen donuts,” she said. “That became known as the Donut Lock.”

While Schmuck is slated to take

Through her porthole on the Oakglen in June, Catherine Schmuck viewed the observation deck at the Soo Locks. (Photo courtesy of Catherine Schmuck)

off the months of September and October, she has no immediate plans to slow down. She’s scheduled to ship out again in November and December.

“I often refer to sailing as my retirement gift to myself. It doesn’t feel like a job,” she said. “To cook for the simple joy of cooking, to live on the water and to have free time to pur-

sue my new passion of blogging and writing cookbooks, I could not ask for anything more.”

But Schmuck also encourages young people who may have a passion for cooking to consider working on board a ship. As in many industries right now, there is a staff shortage and lots of opportunities are available.

“It’s a different lifestyle. It’s exciting; you’re going somewhere,” she said. “It’s an awesome opportunity if you love cooking. I can cook what I want. There’s a certain freedom and joyfulness, and I get to do that every day.”

For information on Schmuck’s cookbook, children’s book and cal-

endar, visit shiptoshorechef.com. You can also find her blog on Facebook at Ship to Shore Chef — Catherine Schmuck.

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

Recent offerings from Catherine Schmuck’s galley include, clockwise from top left: meatloaf dinner, chicken schnitzel on a homemade bun, blueberry and peach custard cake, and poutine, a Canadian crew favorite. (Photos courtesy of Catherine Schmuck)

back then

When everybody rode the 400

By Larry Chabot

At the old Euclid station in Ishpeming, an excited crowd strained to spot a huge yellow machine chugging into view. There it is! Here she comes! The magnificent Peninsula 400 railroad train, racing up from Chicago on a 400-mile ride in 400 minutes, thus the name. The Chicago & North Western Railway (or C&NW) had other 400s in the Midwest, but this was ours — faster and more luxurious than ever before.

The date was Jan. 11, 1942, barely a month since the United States had

been drawn into World War II. The Peninsula 400 was on a preview trip prior to its inaugural run the next day. All day long, it sat in Ishpeming as 5,943 people inspected it inside and out, front to back. More than 30,000 toured the train on this trip, but Ishpeming had the most visitors checking out the coaches, parlor car, diner and combination baggage and bar car. Large crowds had met the train at U.P. stations in Menominee, Stephenson, Powers, Escanaba, Little Lake and Negaunee.

Ishpeming officials and Winter Queen Mercedes Nelson welcomed

the visiting C&NW dignitaries. Lunch followed at the Mather Inn for 35 men (no women invited), where Rotary Club president Ogden Johnson praised the new service, Mayor Vining Bjork called it “an historic day for Ishpeming” and business leader S.H. Collick saluted the train as the “basic transporter of things essential.” Smiles, handshakes and backslaps abounded.

The next day, Jan. 12, was for real. Among the throng of passengers leaving Ishpeming for Chicago at 7:15 a.m. was an all-male delegation invited by the U.P. Development Bu-

reau to experience the inaugural trip. One of them, Marquette publisher W.H. “Waba” Treloar, wrote a glowing report of the journey south, where huge crowds — including groups of schoolchildren — greeted the train at every stop.

105 miles an hour?

Treloar marveled that the train raced at 85 miles an hour near Menominee and an incredible 105 mph in southern Wisconsin. As the only delegate to make the round trip in one day, Treloar had been gone only 15 hours. “I found it everything that had been

Illustration by Mike McKinney

In the golden age of rail travel, U.P. residents relished their Chicago connection

claimed for it,” he wrote.

The 400 service was a sensation from day one, drawing more passengers than some of the more populous routes. Some days, as many as 14 passenger cars of 56 seats each were coupled behind a pair of locomotives. In less than two years, the 400 moved 674,299 passengers. The savings in time versus previous C&NW trains was major. One-way tickets cost $13.05 (equal to about $247 today).

So popular was the new train that Marquette leaders wanted the 400 to cycle through their city to replace the bus service that brought Marquette residents to Ishpeming. Because the bus service was little used, the request was denied. However, to Marquette’s chagrin, a special train did run from Iron River to meet the 400 at Powers.

A run in April 1947 pulled 12 coaches packed with 686 passengers who were reportedly on the move over Easter weekend. Early on, there was no Saturday night/Sunday morning service north of Menominee, but historian Bob Dobson’s research predicted that the missing trip would be added for the Green Bay Packers season, as indeed it was. On Sunday, Sept. 16, 1944, most of the more than 200 Ishpeming football fans with tickets for the Packers-Bears game were going to Green Bay on the 400.

In the summer of 1953, special excursion fares to Milwaukee Braves baseball games were priced at only $9.65 (about $175 today). Milwaukee had lured the Boston Braves to move to the Beer City that year.

Guess who rode in

Theworld’s most popular and highest-paid entertainers in the early 1940s were Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, who stepped off the 400 in Ishpeming on Aug. 8, 1942. The comedy pair performed at war bond rallies, stayed overnight at the Northland (now Landmark) Hotel in Marquette,

and even wowed the staff and inmates at Marquette Branch Prison. Coincidentally, one of their motion pictures — Pardon My Sarong — was playing at the Delft Theater in Marquette while they were in town.

In August 1944, a grateful railroad hosted Ishpeming Day at the C&NW’s 100th-anniversary celebration at the Chicago Railroad Fair. C&NW president R.L. Williams saluted the town that had “long been regarded as a vital link in our system.”

Millions of wartime travelers taxed the train system, so the government took control of all passenger trains — although civilians could still find seats. In the late 1940s, the remains of thousands of World War II dead were returned from overseas cemeteries for reburial in their hometowns. About 8,200 Marquette and Alger county residents served in WWII or Korea, nearly 300 of whom lost their lives. Many of them came home on the 400.

Despite the often late train times and cold weather, depots were popular venues in small towns, where people visited, waited or curiously watched the comings and goings, the hellos and goodbyes for business people, honeymooners, college kids, men and women going to war or defense jobs, or families awaiting the remains of their war dead, who had probably left for war from the same station.

Over time, the schedules (always on Central Time) were tinkered with. In 1962, for instance, the Chicago train pulled in at 2:15 in the wee hours, then left again at 3:30. In 1948, Chicago & North Western routed a special Centennial Train to all 58 of its communities, even towing a dining car with an impressive breakfast menu; otherwise, dining cars never traveled north of Green Bay, so riders brought their own food or bought from vendors who boarded along the way. Accommodations were upgraded in 1958 with bilevel coaches and

THE C&NW HAD OTHER 400s IN THE MIDWEST, BUT THIS WAS OURS — FASTER AND MORE LUXURIOUS THAN EVER BEFORE.

lounge and parlor cars. A year later, the Ishpeming station and the 400 appeared in a scene in the movie Anatomy of A Murder.

The lone fatality

Notall 400 trips were trouble free. A six-car derailment in Rock on the southbound train on Jan. 31, 1949, took the life of Oscar F. Johnson, 52, of Escanaba, who was found dead under one of the derailed cars. The train was going at 64 mph when the accident happened. Among the 15 injured were six from Marquette County, including Negaunee residents Florence Thomas, Mrs. Oral LaCombe, and Mrs. Lewis Miller. An extra section from Escanaba took the stranded riders to Menominee from where they were bused to Green Bay.

In October 1945, the 400 hit a bull moose near Gladstone, then dispatched a bear a few nights later in almost the same place.

A tragedy was averted in 1944 when a Lake Superior & Ishpeming train coming from the Tilden Mine on a shared track encountered a C&NW locomotive coming right at it. The C&NW engineer reversed his locomotive and jumped off, then stared in horror as the engine rolled backward into a swamp.

The glory days of railroading were coming to an end, as air travel and better highways drew passengers from the trains. In 1949, Wisconsin Central Airlines began service to seven U.P. cities with two flights daily to Chicago. C&NW’s frequent petitions to abandon the no-longer-profitable U.P. service were finally approved. On July 15, 1969, the Peninsula 400 made its final run, the last passenger train in the Upper Peninsula. The Ishpeming depot was torn down, and the site is now occupied by Partridge Creek Farms.

Fans of the vanished line can find solace in The 400 Story by Jim Scribbins, a longtime railway author and employee. Meanwhile, those who rode the trains during the golden age, who saw the vastness of America through train windows at eye level, dined on real tablecloths in a dining car, heard the roll call of town names and witnessed emotional arrivals and departures along the way have these memories to cherish.

There’s the true tale of a German World War II prisoner of war as he crossed America by train on the way to a prison camp (five of which were located in the U.P.). Germans had been assured that most of America had been bombed flat by the German air force. But the POW saw no traces of war damage. What he did see

were thriving cities with lights blazing, farmers plowing their fields, folks shopping in towns, kids playing in yards. He saw all of this through his train window and was stunned. “They lied to us,” he thought. “We’ve lost the war.”

Larry Chabot, an Ontonagon native, worked his way through Georgetown University and was then employed at White Pine Copper Company for 32 years, before moving to Marquette with his wife, Betty. He is a freelance writer who has written for several publications, including more than 180 articles for Marquette Monthly. For research assistance on this piece, he thanks Karen Kasper of the Ishpeming Historical Society, Peter White Public Library and the files of Ishpeming author Bob Dobson, whose massive output is a treat for U.P. writers. Although Chabot never rode the 400, he did take three other Chicago-based trains to Ironwood, Ontonagon and Baraga.

THE GLORY DAYS WERE COMING TO AN END. ... ON JULY 15, 1969, THE PENINSULA 400 MADE ITS FINAL RUN, THE LAST PASSENGER TRAIN IN THE UPPER PENINSULA.

Daniel’s voice

By Michael Murray and James Larsen II

It’s two days after Thanksgiving in 2012, and Jeff Olson stalks the sideline of Ford Field in Detroit. The head coach of the Ishpeming High School football team glances up, and the scoreboard tells him what he already knows: His Hematites lead Detroit Loyola 20-14 with six seconds to go.

Loyola is 59 yards from a game-tying touchdown — not an easy task, but stranger things have happened. Olson needs his defense to hold one more time.

The Loyola quarterback takes the snap and lofts a pass downfield. As the ball lands harmlessly beyond the receiver’s reach, the final horn sounds, the Hematites storm the field and Olson falls to his knees. Ishpeming has captured its first state championship since 1979 by knocking out the heavily favored and top-ranked Bulldogs.

As the coach gets back on his feet, his assistants and players find him for a hug and a private word, and four months’ worth of emotion pours out. An outsider might see tears of joy, maybe even tears of relief. But the Hematite family can see — and feel — the sorrow behind the tears.

One outsider who watched Ishpeming’s celebration that day was Michael Berens, a freelance camera operator who was part of Fox Sports Detroit’s television crew. The Ishpeming-Loyola matchup was the first of four games he worked that day, so he didn’t have much time to reflect on the Hematites’ improbable and emotional run to a state championship. Only later did the Ishpeming story grab his attention and set into motion

the biggest project of his professional life.

In mid-December, a few weeks after the title game, Sports Illustrated published a 4,500-word article titled “Tragedy to triumph: The amazing story of the Ishpeming Hematites.”

The piece went back to the 2010 season, when the Hematites, led by all-state quarterback Daniel Olson, reached Ford Field only to lose by two points. Daniel, the coach’s son, had suffered from depression and anxiety for years, and he beat himself up over the loss.

Daniel played basketball that winter, ran track in the spring, graduated from IHS in June and enrolled at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, in the fall — all while privately fighting his illness. Only his family and a few close friends knew of the battle taking place behind his smile.

So when the news came on July 19, 2012, that Daniel had died by suicide at age 19, the Ishpeming community was shocked. “We tried everything,

but there was no hope,” Jeff told SI. “I think that he would have died years before if he wasn’t that tough and competitive.”

Now Jeff Olson had a decision to make. Football season was just a few weeks away. Would he coach? Could he coach? He realized his players needed him — and he needed them — so he got back to work. He encouraged them to talk about Daniel, to talk about mental illness, and they responded by dedicating their season to him. “Do It for Daniel” became their rallying cry, and they committed themselves to fulfilling Daniel’s wish of winning a state championship for Jeff.

As Michael Berens read the Sports Illustrated article, he thought, This story needs to be told. We need to help people. He shared the story with his wife, Kammi, and they saw a connection to their own daughter, who’d

been diagnosed with depression a year earlier at age 15.

Michael and Kammi, a sound technician, decided to approach Jeff and his wife, Sally, about producing a documentary on Daniel, Hematite football, mental illness and suicide.

“Ittook me months before we contacted them back,” Olson said. “Right from the get-go, we knew we wanted to do something to help, but did we want to put our family through this? That’s what took a while. Do we subject our whole family to all of this, because now it’s going to be out there in the open? … Once we got our whole family’s approval, we decided to go ahead with it.”

One key moment in Jeff and Sally’s decision to work with the Berenses was a meeting at a McDonald’s in Marquette. Michael and Kammi drove up from their home in downstate Otis-

Hall of Fame football coach continues to battle the stigma of mental illness through his son’s story

All-state quarterback Daniel Olson dreamed of winning a state championship for his father. (Photos courtesy of Michael Berens)

Suicide Prevention Month events

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Here are some local events scheduled to coincide with this emphasis:

The LIVE Art & Word contest created by West End Suicide Prevention is accepting entries through Sept. 30. The LIVE campaign — which stands for love, include, value and engage — aims to encourage selfcare and compassion in our communities and opens conversations around mental health. To enter the contest or learn more, visit greatlakesrecovery.org/art-word-adult.

The film The Girl on the Bridge will be presented at noon on Friday, Sept. 8, in Peter White Public Library’s Community Room. The film presents mental health activist Jazz Thornton’s journey to overcome her suicidal past and help others with their struggles.

From noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, the fifth annual GeekU.P. mini-con will take place at the Rozsa Center on the campus of Michigan Technological University. Proceeds benefit Unite Mental Health and Wellness.

From noon to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, Sept. 28 and 29, the seventh annual Pizza With a Purpose fundraiser at Pictured Rocks Pizza in Munising will support suicide prevention in Alger County. Call 906202-2244 for more information.

The National Alliance on Mental Health has various in-person and virtual options each month. See the Support Group listings on page 86 or visit namimqt.com for more information.

ville, and Jeff anticipated a 30-minute conversation. They ended up talking for almost three hours.

“If you want to put your life out there, your story out there, your family out there with somebody you don’t know, with filmmakers you don’t know, what if it’s not a good film?” Jeff said. “What if it portrays Daniel in a negative way? What if it glorifies suicide? So there were so many things we had to take into account, and there’s trust that needs to be built.”

The Berenses got right to work on the documentary, titled Do It for Daniel, with a budget of around $70,000. About two years into the process, the 80-minute film premiered before 900 people at the W.C. Peterson Auditorium in Ishpeming.

Berens said, “My wife, Kammi, and I just wanted to learn more about mental health and try to help the Olson family change the stigma. By telling Daniel’s story, we hopefully will help some people along the way.”

Since winning the state title in 2012, the Hematites added championships in 2013 and 2015, and Olson was inducted into the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, among various other accolades. Olson has leveraged his platform, presenting the documentary nearly 200 times, mostly around the Midwest.

Since Do It for Daniel made its school debut in Gwinn in 2016, it has been shown to nearly every Upper Peninsula high school — some twice. Olson’s goal is not only to get

the film into every U.P. high school but into every high school in the country.

“I’ll go wherever,” said Olson, who retired from coaching after the 2018 season in part to spend more time presenting the documentary. “We want to get rid of the stigma of mental illness so people understand that it’s common and it’s a medical illness. We want to show people who have depression and anxiety that they can step forward with confidence and get it treated.

“And we want people to understand suicide. Ninety percent of people who take their lives suffer from some sort of treated or untreated mental illness. We want to decrease suicide, which is so devastating, and to do that we have to address the source, which is mental illness.”

According to public health authorities, as many as one in four people suffer from mental illness in some form. “You are not alone,” Olson said. “Don’t quit; don’t ever give up. There’s always something you can do.”

Organizations and schools interested in inviting Olson to present Do It for Daniel and related educational materials are encouraged to visit the contact link at doitfordaniel.com or on the Facebook page dedicated to the documentary. Olson can also be reached at jsolson@charter.net.

“That’s why I’m here,” Olson said. “I’m Daniel’s voice.”

Michael Murray is an editor for Marquette Monthly. James Larsen II is an MM publisher.

lookout point

Blueprint for the future

Governments tackle planning process mandated by law

By Pam Christensen

There has been a lot of buzz in the Upper Peninsula about master planning efforts in various counties, cities, villages and townships. Why is master planning such a hot topic right now?

Several local officials currently involved in community planning answer this question and others surrounding an important topic that is often ignored by the public.

Tom Merz, a retired Michigan Technological University economics professor and longtime city official, is chair of the planning commission in Houghton. He said, “The basic task of a commission is to develop and adopt a city’s master plan focusing on future land use policies and infrastructure issues.”

As described in the Michigan Planning Enabling Act (Public Act 33 of 2008), an adopted plan is a statement of recommendations involving land

use, infrastructure and development of the planning jurisdiction.

The act also states that a plan must be prepared and adopted by the planning commission and must comply with the requirements of Public Act 110 of 2006, also known as the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act.

The legalese gives each municipality the latitude to call their document

a master plan, basic plan, county plan, development plan, guide plan, land use plan, municipal plan, township plan, plan or any other term. When it comes to plans, the responsibility falls to municipal planning commissions. The law establishes a nine-member planning commission for each municipality.

Since the legislation requiring such

a plan was adopted in 2006, most municipalities established their first plan in 2006 or soon after. Many communities decided to create a master plan that encompasses many facets of the community.

David Stensaas, community planner for the City of Marquette, is well versed in various types of plans. “In fact, the master plan for the City of Marquette varies from version to version,” he said.

“Some years, the plan is merely an update; while at other times, the planning commission chooses to do an entire rewrite. Most locales seem to do a revision or update every five years. One thing that has been more emphasized in recent years is the focus on public input.”

Marquette adopted its first plan, called the City Plan, in 1951. This bound volume is a fascinating look at the issues of the time. The City Plan was prepared during the same time a new City Charter was developed. In addition, the plan states that a new slate of city legislators would be selected.

As a result, the City Plan is weighted more heavily with data that was considered useful for making future

Municipal officials tasked with developing master plans have been intentional about seeking input from citizens. (Photo courtesy of the City of Marquette)

policy decisions rather than with detailed programs.

Chapters in the plan are past experience, present situation, regional situation in the Great Lakes area, population, residential and neighborhood plan, recreational plan, industrial and commercial plan, transportation plan, school and civic plan, financial history of Marquette, zoning and summary of conclusions. This plan is a compelling look at an early attempt to prepare for the future.

Stensaas said the last major rewrite of Marquette’s master plan occurred in 2015. Revisions followed in 2018 and 2022. The 2022 master plan was revised to include the 200-page report of the Marquette Ad Hoc Housing Committee.

The new plan for Marquette will include input gleaned from a community survey, a follow-up survey and a series of community meetings. The plan also takes into account several other documents, plans and reports generated by the city and other local entities that concern City of Marquette land use, zoning and development.

One of the hardest parts of the planning process is predicting change that will affect the city and region. “There is nothing wrong with the current plan, but it is not formatted for use on hand-held devices and is organized by chapters rather than being a cohesive report,” Stensaas said. “The new plan will focus on recommendations and not include so much background and historical information. Things change so fast today that the plan is quickly outdated. When you think of the so-

cietal changes we have experienced over the last 10 years, it is easy to see why a plan should be updated often. The 2022 report is 300 pages, and we anticipate that the 2023 plan will be more like 80 pages.”

Eric Waara, Houghton’s city manager, points out that Houghton was a village until becoming a city in 1970. He said the master plan currently in development by the planning commission is Houghton’s third plan.

“We have updated the plan about every five years,” he said. “The focus

of our master plans has always been on placemaking. We were trying to create a sense of place in Houghton before the term was as heavily used as it is today. One of my goals — and that goal has been shared by the planning commission — is to assure Houghton is a nice place to live. Quality of life has always been one of our most important goals in the planning process.”

As for his philosophy concerning the master plan, Merz said, “We plan for the future and execute in the present. We strive to execute efficiently

and develop a practical and attainable plan that relates to what we hope to see in the future for the community.”

Merz said the first and third versions of the Houghton master plan contained a lot of changes. The second plan was a revision to capture new data and community issues.

His extensive experience as mayor, city commission member and planning commission member have proven to Merz how important planning can be, and he encourages members of the public to play an active role in the process. He is also an advocate of involving as many segments of the population and officials as possible.

One frustration of the planning process that is shared by Stensaas, Waara and Merz is the effect of social media on the task. Waara has seen a change in how information is transmitted to residents.

“In the past, we would share important issues via the local news media,” Waara said. “We had regular attendance by the press at our meetings. Unfortunately, local newspapers, TV and radio no longer have the resources to regularly send reporters to local meetings. We have gotten creative about informing the public. We use press releases, email and our website to share city information, but this does not reach everyone.”

Each municipality can establish its own process for revising or updating the master plan, but both Houghton and Marquette encouraged public participation using surveys and public meetings to generate information to aid in the planning process.

Eric Waara, left, Houghton’s city manager, and Tom Merz, chair of the planning commission, review project drawings. (Photo by Pam Christensen)

Houghton held two open houses for public discussion and feedback. In addition, officials sent out a survey to the 1,600 housing units in the city. Surveys were returned by 40 percent of these households. In addition, Houghton uses planning commission subcommittees to reach out to various segments of the community. Some of those special interest groups include the MTU community, downtown business owners and non-motorized and recreational users.

In Marquette, Stensaas said “an effective master plan is the culmination of doing the process in a strategic and methodical way. This is the most important part of the process. You want to get people to talk to each other. Getting special interest groups, decision makers, organizations, businesses, residents and others working together — this results in cross-pollination. Information from a variety of segments of the community is important. They need to share their priorities, their ideas and information with others. All the individuals and organizations involved must discuss how they fit into the plan and how new information affects them.”

Stensaas said Marquette also used an online survey and received almost 4,000 responses. Following the survey, an open house was held in February. Information from the first survey and open house was included on a second survey distributed to original survey participants, and 700 responses were received.

Marquette hired the consulting firm of Beckett & Raeder to handle many of the master plan tasks. Stensaas anticipates a final draft of the report this fall. The law requires a review period for the draft master plan. During this time, the planning commission and

Marquette City Commission will also review the plan. A December 2023 conclusion to the master plan process is expected with the adoption of the master plan.

The Houghton planning commission started its process in March and anticipates the adoption of the final master plan this November or December.

From a city manager’s perspective, Waara said, “The master plan should guide all decisions about city operations. It is a blueprint for the future and addresses the issues that can shape a community. One of the focuses of Houghton plans has been access and controlled development of the city’s waterfront. Every decision regarding that important community asset is a result of our master plan, and by extension the citizens, officials and planning commission who worked together to guide our community’s future. When citizens ask why we made a certain decision, we can point to the master plan.”

The City of Houghton and the City of Marquette both have additional information concerning the master plan and planning process on their websites: cityofhoughton.com and marquettemi.gov.

MM

Pam Christensen moved to Marquette 30 years ago when she accepted the position of library director at Peter White Public Library. She served in that post for more than 24 years. Most recently, she was foundation manager for the West End Health Foundation, finally hanging up her formal work shoes in May 2021. She and her husband, Ralph, are in the process of making an off-grid cabin in Nisula their second home.

Dozens of Marquette citizens participated in public meetings as part of the planning process. (Photo courtesy of the City of Marquette)

in the outdoors

Sanctuary in the Keweenaw

By Kathy Ihde

The Estivant Pines could be the oldest living things in Keweenaw County. This gorgeous 517acre nature sanctuary is maintained and preserved by the Michigan Nature Association. The property was part of a 2,400-acre tract owned by Edward Estivant of Paris, France. He sold the land in 1947 to Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, which later sold some of it to Universal Oil.

The MNA now owns the Estivant Pines and 17 other sanctuaries in the Keweenaw.

The Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary — established 50 years ago, in 1973 — is believed to be the last stand of virgin white pine in the Upper Peninsula. Besides old-growth pines, it features 256 plant species, 10 species of orchids, 85 nesting bird species and large mammals. Other features include hiking trails, old mine workings, rock outcroppings and virgin cedars. Cross country skiing and snowshoeing are available during the winter months.

For more than 30 years, Charles Eshbach volunteered as a field representative for the MNA. At the time he started, there were 47 sanctuaries across the Upper Peninsula. He was hired as a staff member and wrote management plans for all of the Keweenaw sanctuaries.

“I had skills,” Eshbach said. “I had forestry experience, aerial photography, preserved endangered plants and built trails so the public wouldn’t stomp on a rare orchid.

“The job morphed into my being needed in the entire Upper Peninsula. The first thing I did was create a stewardship program. I developed stewards for every sanctuary. I’d walk along roads on either side of a sanctuary and talk to the homeowners. If they were nature-loving people, I’d ask them to be a steward: ‘You can call it your own. Here’s your duties: You watch it, you keep the trails clean. If there’s litter, you pick it up. If signs get stolen, let me know. And when trees go down, saw them up.’”

Eshbach was a photographer at

Conservationists remember 50 years of work to save the Estivant Pines near Copper Harbor

Only five Estivant pine logs were required to make one truckload. (Photo by Charles Eshbach)

Michigan Tech. His friend and MTU graphic designer Lauri Leskinen was a Keweenaw native who “knew the area like the back of his hand,” Eshbach said. “He’d walked it as a kid. He’d hunted it; trapped it. … We always ate lunch together. One day Lauri said, ‘Did you know they’re logging the last of the big pines in the Keweenaw?’”

At the time, Eshbach hadn’t heard that news. He said, “[Leskinen] wrote letters to the editor at The Daily Mining Gazette, saying, ‘Shouldn’t we save some of those 500-year-old trees south of Copper Harbor? It’d be a shame to log them.’”

That’s when Bertha Daubendeik, founder and executive director of the MNA, got involved. “She was an outstanding, organized lady,” Eshbach said. One of the two trail loops in the Estivant Pines Sanctuary is named in her memory.

Daubendeik contacted Robert T. Brown, the only member of the MNA in the U.P., and told him what was happening: “They’re cutting down all those big trees near Copper Harbor! Find out what’s going on!” The MNA sent Eshbach to the site to take photos.

A public meeting was held at Suomi College to discuss the issue, and 17 people showed up. At the end of the meeting, organizers asked if anyone would be interested in joining a citizens committee. Thirteen of the 17 raised their hands, and Jim Rooks and Eshbach became co-chairmen.

At that time, Calumet and Hecla owned much of the Keweenaw. “The conservation movement had started

everywhere but here,” Eshbach said. “It wasn’t needed here. We didn’t have polluted water; we had access to land. If you had a favorite berry-picking spot, you kept it a secret. It was mining company land, so nobody cared.”

Eshbach said his forestry classmates were appalled by his involve-

ment in the cause: “Charlie, what are you doing?” they asked. “You’re putting loggers out of business. Did you forget who you are?”

Rooks and Eshbach tag-teamed. “We were always on the road together,” Eshbach said. “The only thing we had in common was our love of the woods. We had a slideshow presenta-

tion that we’d narrate. People would visit me at Michigan Tech. I’d send them up to Jim in Copper Harbor. He took them into the woods. Meanwhile, Bertha would line up big-dollar donors downstate and have us give presentations.”

After the purchase of the Estivant Pines by the MNA, Rooks and Esh-

Zach Eshbach snowshoed into the Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary. (Photo by Charles Eshbach)

bach became the primary managers, establishing the sanctuary, building trails and creating signage.

“Jim’s favorite place to take people was the Estivant Pines,” Eshbach said. “Sometimes, he’d take two groups a day before driving to Houghton for meetings that night.”

The team was blindsided in 1987. A logger had walked into the sanctuary and cut down 24 big trees. “I have photos of a full-size logging truck with five logs on it,” Eshbach said. “How many logs do you see on those trucks today?

“We realized we hadn’t done enough to save those 500-year-old trees around our 200-acre perimeter; it could happen again. We needed a buffer zone around the pines.”

Eshbach said they decided not to prosecute the logger. “If we had,” he said, “our opposition would’ve burned the Estivant Pines down!”

The group, now with some success under its belt, started negotiating for more land. “We’d stopped the logging and raised enough money to buy 200 acres,” Eshbach said. “We had credibility.”

Over the next two decades, they applied for grants and participated in other forms of fundraising, including placing donation cans at local businesses. Those efforts ended in 2005 with the final acquisition of acreage.

Help came from some unexpected places. In 1987, Debra Vezzetta, a fourth-grade teacher in Marquette, was looking for a project that would interest her students. Eshbach shared the rest of the story:

“She was telling her husband, ‘I can’t think of anything.’ At the time, he was reading the Marquette Mining Journal and told her, ‘There’s a bunch of people up in the Copper Country trying to save some old trees.’ That was it! She was immediately on board. Her fourth graders were pumped. The school walls were filled with Estivant Pines artwork.”

Eshbach said, “Debra was instrumental in helping us raise funds for the Estivant Pines. She told her class, ‘I’m going to have these two old guys talk to you, and you’re going to learn all about the Estivant Pines.’ When we walked into her classroom, we were like superheroes. This awed girl came up to touch me. … I had been in the Estivant Pines!

“Debra invited the parents for a second presentation that evening. They brought their kids, and we did it all over again. We came away with some real money. We owe a lot to her.

“She’d analyzed the problem with her class and computed how much it

would cost to preserve one pine tree; they set that as their goal. Soon it multiplied, and they saw they could do much more than that.”

Their goal grew into involving all of the elementary schools in Marquette County. The publicity from that effort became a major factor in the MNA’s fundraising.

Vezzetta subsequently received conservation awards for the Estivant Pines project. Thanks to the generosity of two local physicians, she was able to travel to Washington, D.C., with her entire class, meeting the president and receiving an award from the National Geographic Society.

“Last year, I made an appointment to see her,” Eshbach said. “She’d saved all her records. It was all there. They’re going to be a huge part of my current book.”

Eshbach handed over the reins to Bill and Nancy Leonard in 2011.

“Just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary, new trails have been upgraded,” said Nancy Leonard, MNA conservation coordinator. “Looking forward to the 50th anniversary of the Estivant Pines Sanctuary, we realized that it was time to address these issues and upgrade the core trail.”

The trails in the sanctuary were closed briefly while Rock Solid Trail Contracting and the MNA made improvements.

“When boardwalks age, they become unsafe and degrade, becoming slippery when wet,” Leonard said. “Visitors to the Estivant Pines include folks of all ages and of varying hiking abilities. Slippery boardwalks and steep grades were a hindrance.”

Over 300 acres of the Estivant forest was logged before the land was purchased and converted to a nature sanctuary. (Photo by Charles Eshbach)

Jim Rooks, atop Estivant logs at the sawmill in Mohawk, was co-chair of the committee formed to save the pines.

(Photo by Charles Eshbach)

Eshbach said there were three generations of boardwalk. “In 1988-89, we did really well in fundraising,” he said. “We raised $50,000 as an endowment to take care of the trails in the Estivant Pines. We’re fortunate that MNA recently contracted with Rock Solid, the premier trail-building company, to create sustainable trails in the sanctuary.”

Eshbach said the Estivant Pines have become one of the top three attractions in Copper Harbor: “You go over Brockway Mountain, you go out to Fort Wilkins and you visit the Estivant Pines.”

Fifty years after the MNA made its first purchase of the Estivant Pines, Eshbach said all of the work was worth it: “We’d worked on it for three decades before we saved every tree.”

Kathy Ihde is a writer living in Copper Harbor with her husband, Jeff. The Ihdes have visited and hiked the Estivant Pines Sanctuary for many years. According to Kathy, the Estivant Pines is a magical wonderland.

Lending a hand

Adam Carpenter’s first ‘solo’ album results from collaborative process

By Brad Gischia

Adam Carpenter has been a staple in the Marquette and Upper Peninsula music scene for some time. With the bluegrass band Chasin’ Steel, he paired his gritty voice with the country sound he grew up listening to. Now with the new album Faith & Fumes (released May 19) and a new backing band, the Upper Hand, Carpenter has a “solo” recording to his credit.

If you’re already a fan of Carpenter’s, you’ll get the country grit you’ve come to recognize from Chasin’ Steel, but this album will bring new fans as well with several U.P. references, country callbacks and heartstring-pulling music that brings to mind Saturday nights with Elmer Aho.

“I’m very proud of it,” Carpenter said of the album, although the process from writing to recording took longer than he can even remember. “The songs were written over a long period of time, most of them within the last 10 years, I would guess. I have a lot more, but I chose these because they have a specific intent, a flow that joins them. There are a few songs in there that are meant to break things up. I guess it took most of my musical career. I have some [songs] that are 35 years old.”

Carpenter has witnessed a lot of change in the local music scene over the years. “I see both good and bad changes,” he said. “When I was in college at NMU, it seemed like there were so many more places to play and listen to live music that aren’t there anymore.” He remembers playing at venues like the Upfront and the Village Pub, which at one time were hotbeds of live music every weekend.

“It’s sort of a complex and convoluted answer,” he said. “There are things that I think are better now. I think there’s more original music being made, or maybe I’m just noticing it more. I feel like Marquette is a magnet for certain types of musicians, original music especially.”

The success of this new album is dependent on just that type of musician — those who make up his backing band, the Upper Hand, and the

team that helped him record and cut the album.

“It’s chemistry,” he said. “You have to be on the same wavelength.” Carpenter has captured that sense of chemistry with a group of local musicians that seems to have found each other organically.

The Upper Hand consists of Trevor Rosten, Alex Polkinghorne, Jake Kuhlman, Blaine McQuinn, David Mosher, Kyle Bledsoe, Tom Tarkleson and Bill Arnold. There are others as well who were integral to the record, including Gerry Kippola and Larry Labeck. Carpenter’s wife, Allison, is the surrogate band manager.

Lauren Cavallieri handles the group’s social media, and Johanna Andronas has done a bunch of video work. Carpenter said each person on the team, band and non-band alike, brings

something special to the group including the composition of the music.

“The main co-writer is Bill Arnold,” Carpenter said. “He plays dobro, lap steel guitar and helped to coordinate Larry Labeck on the pedal steel.” Labeck is a member of the band One Ton Trolley from the Detroit area. “We have a song that we co-wrote over the phone called ‘Trailers and Tornadoes,’” Carpenter said. “It’s featured on our album with our version, and One Ton Trolley does their own version as well. That’s pretty cool.”

Rosten, he added, “is a legitimate bonafide pro. He has a lot of experience. I started recording downstate with David Mosher. He’s an incredible producer. I started ‘U.P. Life’ and ‘Waiting for the Thaw’ with him.

‘Waiting for the Thaw’ had canned

drums on it, but I had to have it re-recorded with Trevor on drums. It’s so much better with him on it.”

Rosten has been playing percussion for as long as he can remember. “I went through the bands in school and ended up pursuing music in college,” he said. “I’d be mistaken not to mention Gerry Anderson and James Strain for my progression as a young musician.” Rosten attended Penn State and the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami for percussion/jazz drum set. He returned to Marquette and fell in with local groups and the Marquette Symphony Orchestra.

Rosten and Carpenter met at an impromptu Jimmy Buffett tribute show at the Forest Roberts Theatre. “I played steel pan for those guys,” Rosten said. “Adam opened that gig, and we wound up sharing contacts. It was

After a long run with bluegrass band Chasin’ Steel, Adam Carpenter has embarked on a new project. His album Faith & Fumes, with backing band the Upper Hand, was released on May 19. (Photo courtesy of Adam Carpenter)

about a year later when we actually got together and started playing.”

Polkinghorne is the bass player and also the “surgeon of harmonies,” as Carpenter calls him. “He carves them up,” he said. “He divvies up the parts, and that’s awesome to watch happen. I just get out of the way.” Carpenter said one of Polkinghorne’s shining moments is the track “Walking with Bigfoot.”

“I wrote that song for my motherin-law,” Carpenter said. “She had an experience and relayed it to me, and I wrote the song. It was OK. I played it for the band, then Alex played that distorted bass riff and I couldn’t unhear it. He made the song for me.”

Polkinghorne’s sister, Kelley Buckles, also does vocals on the album.

“Jake Kuhlman is our string wizard,” Carpenter said. “He plays a lot of banjo on this one, but it’s more texture oriented. He plays baritone guitar on ‘Burn.’ I love that song. I feel like it’s a sleeper on the album.”

McQuinn came to the Upper Hand after playing for years with his brother in a band called the Brothers Quinn. “We were 90 percent done with recording when Tom came in,” Carpenter said, “and I was looking for some B3 Leslie sound on ‘Moving Waters.’ I had this bounce in the way I was playing the guitar part, and I wanted that Stevie Wonder feel. Tom brought that.”

When Carpenter introduces songs to the Upper Hand, he maintains a hands-off approach to the way they hear the music. “Unless I have a very strong direction for the song,” he said, “I try to let them add what they’re feeling. I let them put their spin on it. It makes for a stronger song.”

Rosten said, “The process for recording really worked out well. We had been playing most of the songs live for about two years prior to recording. Adam came in with a list of

songs he wanted to record. Our job in the band was to add textures and nuance on our own instruments.”

There’s a lot that goes into making an album. From the song choices to the recording style to the band and album art, each element comes down to one person when you’re recording a solo album like this. “Some songs come together really fast,” Carpenter said. “There are a lot of choices. Sometimes I want some fiddle here or a dead stop there. The mixing can take at least three times that of the actual recording.”

The road to recording was a long one. In April 2020, Carpenter released the single “Waiting for the Thaw,” and “U.P. Life” came out later that summer. With the pandemic in full swing, everything was put on hold.

“I had these other eight or nine songs I was ready to record,” Carpenter said. “We played the waiting game. We lost a drummer. … I heard through [local musician] Mike Waite that he was working on his album with a guy in town.”

That guy is Ryan Staples, who owns Dead River Sound in Marquette. “He built an incredible studio,” Carpenter said. “His work experience is amazing. Mine was pretty much the guinea pig album for the new studio. That guy is a wizard.”

Carpenter added, “The right people make all the difference, and with this album I was fortunate to have the right people. The recording process was like a drug to me. It transcended joy but was painful at times too.” Those painful times come when big decisions fall on the shoulders of the artist. “With Chasin’ Steel, I was there but it wasn’t just my call. With this one, I scheduled a couple of days each week and those were my needle-in-the-arm nights. I was totally consumed with the album for nearly a year.”

The results show that work in

spades. The songs range from hard rocking country to what Carpenter calls “Countrypolitan,” a term he uses in reference to the sound of the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

“I think Faith & Fumes is a great debut album and a really strong collection of songs,” Rosten said. “I think there is a good flow throughout the record, and I think it tells a good story of who we are and what we’re trying to say with our music.”

Just because the album is out in the world, however, doesn’t mean that Carpenter is sitting back and enjoying it. “I would like to do another album based on this one,” he said, “just me and maybe another person out in the wilderness, just a guitar and a campfire. A mirror image album but really simple and raw. It would show the roots of where the songs came from.”

The Upper Hand is still in the mix as well. Rosten is looking forward to recording more with Carpenter. “Adam really pushed us to let our own personalities shine through with what we were doing,” he said. “He always pushes creativity and makes it fun.”

Faith & Fumes is available as a download and in hard copy at acuh906.com and on several streaming services. Yooptone Music in Marquette also carries the album.

“I feel like we’re just hitting our stride in the last couple of months,” Carpenter said. “We found that even if we have a gig coming up and we don’t have time to rehearse, we still end up playing the gig at a high level. That doesn’t happen usually until you’ve been together for a long time.”

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.

Adam Carpenter and the Upper Hand have been playing shows and festivals across the Upper Peninsula following the release of the new album Faith & Fumes. (Photo courtesy of Adam Carpenter)

sporting life

Former professional receiver is ready for his first season on Westwood’s sideline

Tucker takes over

By Jamie Glenn

Marcus Tucker’s athletic ventures started on the basketball court, but he made a name for himself on the football field. After a playing career that led him from Northern Michigan University to the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Ham-

ilton Tiger-Cats, Tucker is embarking on a new role in the sport — as head football coach at Westwood High School in Ishpeming.

After graduating from Grand Blanc High School near Flint in 2010, Tucker played basketball at Lake Michigan College. That experience led to NMU, where he played wide receiver for the

Wildcats from 2013 to 2015. Tucker recorded 2,330 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns while being named team captain, offensive MVP, the school’s male athlete of the year and all-conference first team. Upon his graduation from Northern, he pursued his dream of suiting up in the National Football League.

An undrafted free agent, Tucker attended a rookie minicamp with the Steelers and eventually earned a spot on the team’s practice squad from 2016 to 2018. From there, he moved on to Hamilton in the Canadian Football League, where he played three seasons (2019-21).

Tucker’s professional football ca-

Marcus Tucker, a graduate of Northern Michigan University, was a member of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the Canadian Football League from 2019 to 2021. He is now the head football coach at Westwood High School in Ishpeming. (Photo courtesy of Marcus Tucker)

reer brought him into contact with high-level players such as Mark Ingram, a running back who won the 2009 Heisman Trophy as a member of the University of Alabama’s national championship team. Another accomplished teammate was Tony Jones, a Northwestern University alumnus who played with Washington in the NFL.

“I was always around talented guys,” Tucker said, “and I was a guy who continued to work my way up.”

After two years away from pro football, Tucker was hungry to get back into the game. When he saw that Westwood had a vacant coaching position, he decided to apply.

“I didn’t dream of coaching at first, but I was going through a little funk and was down bad. I was missing the game,” he said. “I was sent the job application and told I should think about applying. So I thought about it and saw it as an opportunity to get better, find hope again and use the game that saved my life to save somebody else’s life.”

After applying, he met with Superintendent Brian DeAugustine. “We just hit it off because we respect each other and are looking forward to a successful season,” he said.

Heading into his first season as a

head coach, Tucker hopes to create a balance of athletics and academics, just as he did as a player in high school and college. He was involved in the National Honor Society in Grand Blanc, then, while at NMU, he participated in Athletes in Action, a group that aims to help student-athletes grow physically, mentally and spiritually through service to the community.

Westwood finished 4-5 last season and ranked fifth in the West-PAC Copper Division. Tucker hopes to create a culture of year-round physical and mental preparation for his athletes.

“The physical readiness was an everyday preparation,” he said. “My only off day [as a player] was Sunday because I knew what I was chasing. I wanted to be the best football player that I could possibly be.

“Football is a game that requires training all year round just to get ready for nine weeks at the high school level, 12 weeks at the collegiate level and 18 at the pro level. There’s never really an offseason. Players put in much work just to get ready for nine games, so we have to get this thing right.

“Football is a very physical game. You have to prepare your body and mind. Ninety percent of the game is mental. You need to study film, cri-

Marcus Tucker was a first-team all-conference receiver for the NMU Wildcats. (Photo courtesy of Marcus Tucker)

tique your route, your running ability and you have to know what the defense is trying to do. You have to practice and put yourself in a position to be successful.”

The Patriots began their season at home on Aug. 25 against Bark River-Harris. They will wrap up their regular season on Oct. 20 at crosstown rival Ishpeming.

“Every week is going to be different, so we need to prepare ourselves and go out there and handle our business,” Tucker said. “I want them to know that when preparation meets opportunity, anything can happen for them. I also want to create a culture of habitual competitiveness. I want my guys to compete at a high level every single day. I think it’s important that the kids see that we should push each other.”

Jake Skewis was named Westwood’s athletics director in June on the same day Tucker was announced as the Patriots’ new football coach. Skewis is a graduate of Negaunee High School, where he was a member of the 2002 team that won the state championship. He has high hopes for Westwood’s football program under Tucker.

“What I like about Marcus is he’s in it for the right reasons,” Skewis said. “He wants these kids to have success, and he’s super excited. He wants to dive in with both feet. He’s changing some things up — play scheme, formations and strategies.

“It’s going to be different than we’ve seen from Westwood in the past. Talking to some of the kids, they’re really excited with his ideas and with what he’s bringing. Every time I’ve seen him with the kids, he’s having fun with them. They’re working really hard, but he’s keeping their energy up. He brings that balance to having been a player at a high level.

“He wants the kids to look forward to coming to practice. He’s chatting and laughing with different kids at lifts. I think that’s important. These are high school kids. You have some kids that have dreams of playing at the next level.”

Westwood students have recently been faced with the loss of a classmate and friend. Tucker has experienced that same type of loss and wants to support and encourage his team on and off the field.

“I want them to use my situation to know that anything is possible when they work at it,” he said. “When opportunity meets preparation, they can become whatever it is that they’ve been preparing for.

“I tell the kids all the time that there’s nothing that they’ve done that I can’t relate to or haven’t been through myself. Right now, the

kids are dealing with the loss of one of their classmates. It’s a very sad situation, but I’d been through that same situation when I was in high school; so just giving them insight and being able to talk to them is key.”

Skewis said, “Marcus isn’t a huge guy, and I think that relates a lot with the kids because he’s had to overcome so much to get to where he was able to get as an athlete. I think that helps the kids buying in and seeing that he’s been there.”

Football at the next level is not an end goal for every high school player, but Skewis and Tucker want to create a program that not only translates to winning records but encourages athletes to work hard.

“I’ve met with all of the fall sports coaches already and chatted with them about what I’m looking for, that family mentality,” Skewis said. “I want to let the coaches know that I have their back because we’re in this together. … Marcus wants that for his football program as well.”

Jamie Glenn is a U.P. native who graduated from NMU in 2018 with a degree in creative writing and journalism. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys advocating for disability rights, playing sled hockey and listening to live music.

I WANT THEM TO KNOW THAT WHEN PREPARATION MEETS OPPORTUNITY, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN.

Tessman reflects on president’s role

By Hannah Jenkins

Brock Tessman, who officially assumed the presidency of Northern Michigan University on Feb. 1, recently reached his sixmonth mark on the job. During this time, Tessman has encountered numerous opportunities and challenges alike. He has also begun to develop his own vision for NMU built around specific priorities for growing and improving upon the university’s student experience, work culture and overall well-being. Tessman discussed these topics and more in a recent Q&A session with Marquette Monthly. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Hannah Jenkins: How have you and your family adjusted to life in Marquette?

Brock Tessman: It’s been a real bright spot for us. … We were happy where we were professionally and personally, and so we had a high bar when it came to thinking about leaving Montana and coming to NMU. Marquette was a huge selling point from the very first moment. I grew up downstate, in Plymouth … and was excited to come back to Michigan, but didn’t ever think of Michigan as a place for the part of me that loves awe-inspiring nature and likes to get out on the trails and wants to be on the frontier. … But then I came to know Marquette and really came to see this as a place where you can have it all: return home, a fantastic job and also a wonderful place to raise a family. … We absolutely have thrown ourselves into the community scene with gusto because it’s what we love. We just love being out and about and are not too worried about our girls. I joke oftentimes that you’ll hear them before you see them because they’re confident, comfortable kids and that is totally how we want to raise them. And I know the community is undergoing a ton of change and there are lots of new people moving here, ourselves included. There are lots of things that come along with growth, but it’s also an exciting time to be part of Marquette and that’s good for us as well. We’re high-energy, action-oriented people; that’s our family tone, and I think Marquette fits that really well.

What are some of the things you most enjoy about the area?

It’s a dream existence. I’m busy — my schedule doesn’t allow for a lot of unfettered time — but I think Marquette is a really forgiving place and NMU’s a very supportive place for professionals who also want that … work-life balance. I am ineffective as a president and unhappy as a human being if things are not going well for our family. And this place allows some specific opportunities to do both. And there’s a great nonprofit, service orientation in Marquette, whether it’s Rotary or Kiwanis or whatever it is. I love the fact that, as president, I have a chance to connect with a lot of those partners. And so that’s been a standout thing.

How have you been able to balance work with family life?

It’s not really about finding balance because I think that positions things

as an either/or. When I’m here on campus, I try to avoid talking about the “NMU family” or the fact that we’re building a family atmosphere here. It’s always tempting on a university campus to talk about family. Working here or being a student here is not actually about family; family is something very specific and it’s different than the place you work. But I do think that this is really a tight-knit community and it’s a community that values family and whatever form family takes. And so, I don’t think about it as work-life balance, like somehow you need to dance between those two things. But instead, hopefully you find value in your work and the community you have, and hopefully your community finds value in your happiness as human beings outside of work. … My approach is to try to create an opportunity for us to have separate worlds and not always strive for balance, but to respect the roles that different parts of our lives play in our work

performance and our work happiness. And I think that’s something that will culturally accelerate even more in the coming years at Northern because our employees work their tails off, and I think we ask a lot of them. Sometimes if you consider things to be like family at work, you feel like you can ask people to do things that you would ask a brother or sister or mom or dad or kid to do, and it shouldn’t really be like that. But hopefully we build an atmosphere that’s supportive and creates a sense of happiness on its own, apart from family.

What initially drew you to pursue the presidency at NMU?

The biggest thing for me was, in Montana, I wasn’t working on a campus in my last job. All 16 of the colleges and universities in Montana are governed by one board … and I worked for that board. I was the equivalent of the provost, the chief re-

New NMU President Brock Tessman and his family have quickly become fans of the Wildcats. (Photo courtesy of NMU)

search officer and chief student affairs officer for the whole system. I came to believe even more in the power of public higher education and did a lot of work around student success, especially for underserved students. I had all this background, and I had the benefit of looking at 16 different colleges and universities at the same time and seeing what worked and didn’t work. So, I was feeling very ready to make a difference, but I was not satisfied being off of a campus.

I feel so lucky to be in a place now like Northern that has exactly the right size. It’s a complex organization; you can do big things, but you can still spend a lot of time one-on-one with students or community members, working with students and faculty directly. Northern was the perfect place to say, “All right, I’ve had all this experience. I know I want to make a difference in particular for students who may not have always been on the glide path for college. And I want to be at a place that feels right in terms of the community and setting.” And Northern ticked all those boxes. So, I was on cloud nine when I got the offer. It was about a six-second process of deciding whether to take the offer or not; it was a no-brainer.

What have your priorities been during your first six months here?

Anyone worth their salt spends some time listening and learning and being a student of the institution, so that’s what I focused on for the first three or four months. … I went

around and visited every one of our academic departments. I built what I called a learning network of people who are leaders on campus but still understood what’s happening on the ground level. I paid close attention to guidance from our executive council. I got out and about in the community as much as possible. We have our interim strategic plan.

In May, what came [out of that was] an important administrative restructuring. It outlined the priorities I have for us over the next three to five years. We’ve always had a focus on academic affairs and finance administration. And we still have those two cores of the university, but if you think of those as two pillars, we added three more.

The first one is “Student Affairs and Success.” This is about getting

students to the finish line. Our best step if we’re thinking about enrollment, the right step if we’re thinking about our students, is to get more students through to the credentials, the degree that they came here to achieve. And we’re very much on par with other regional universities in terms of our completion rate and our retention rate, but we can do a lot better. … So financial aid works better, class registration works better, academic advising works better, other supports on campus really get students through to their degree, and so we established an entire pillar just around student affairs and student success. And this year, we’ll have a major redesign of our advising process that I think is going to make a big difference for us in terms of — if you want to look at it

in the most important way — giving students a truly honest opportunity to succeed. And if you look at it from strictly a bottom-line perspective, will increase enrollment and stabilize the university.

The second pillar is called “The Northern Student Experience.” It is all about creating a top-notch, seamless experience for students all the way from their first hello from our admissions office, through orientation, their experience in housing and residential life, their connection to student enrichment activities on campus and ultimately that time when they are onstage at the Superior Dome and getting their degree. We’re doing a lot of things like building a student union space in Harden Hall, where there’ll be a home away from home for our commuter students. We’re building more space for student organizations and meeting spaces. We’re looking at a campus landscaping redesign to make it more student-friendly and encourage more gathering outside, especially during the winter months.

The third new pillar is called “People, Culture and Wellbeing.” And that pillar of the university supports both students and employees, but it really is about supporting our employees because they support our students. There’s an HR component to that, but there’s also a professional development component. There is an emphasis on well-being. We just opened a new integrated well-being center that actually connects the physical, traditional health services with mental health and well-being all under one roof and

Brock Tessman meets students at a Pizza with the President event on campus. (Photo courtesy of NMU)

signals our commitment to addressing challenges more holistically. And that part of the university also is where we’re going to focus our sustainability and environmental well-being efforts. We are going like gangbusters for what’s called the STARS rating. It’s basically a sustainability rating of gold. We almost got there last year, and I told our team, “We’re going to get there this year.” And that in itself will be symbolic, but I do think that the campus community can expect a lot more action in the way in which we approach our natural environment. Not all of that is sustainability, strictly speaking, but an important part of Northerners’ DNA is our natural setting. So, we’re going to invest even more heavily on that front.

What is your favorite part of the job so far?

People may have some different feelings about this, but I’m a huge ’Cats fan. Like going to not just hockey games, but also a Nordic skiing competition in Ishpeming and some of the basketball games. I ran track in college, and so seeing our women’s track team in action is really inspiring. … And then spending time with students, and I’ve been able to do that in some amazing settings. Our catering and dining team put together this really cool lunch as part of our residence hall training, and it’s a little Korean lunch because I used to lead studyabroad trips to Korea and so they’re just real privileges. And they seem small in the moment, but you sit back and you think, “Oh my gosh, what did I do to end up in a position where I just feel so lucky and honored.” … And being able to understand the land that we inhabit, and try to live up to the standards that previous presidents and folks over the last 125 years of Northern have set and what folks who have been here for a lot longer than we’ve ever been here have done in order to keep this land in the excellent shape it’s in is a real privilege. What is the most challenging aspect of the role?

I’vebeen pretty direct and open about the fact that I do think we have some healing that needs to occur on this campus. … And some of that is really just about spending time listening to our faculty and staff and figuring out how we can better recognize and support their lives. The other really big challenge is around well-being. I think that however you want to look at it, it’s a challenging time to be a human being. There are a lot of things

happening in all aspects of life that are tough to comprehend, and I think that weighs on our campus.

Northern alone cannot solely provide or fully solve well-being challenges for society or for Marquette or even for our employees or our students. But I do think that trying to meet our people where they are and provide the right kind of flexibility, the right kind of supports, to raise awareness about what’s available and do things around the edges to make our policies in the classroom and out of the classroom more human-centered, that’s been a big challenge. And I’m proud of how far we’ve come prior to my arrival and over the last six months, but I think that’ll continue to be a big challenge moving forward.

People work very hard here, and people study hard. Students are balancing a lot of things and so we’re making sure that this is as positive and as supportive a place as possible. It’s a responsibility that I take really seriously, and it is one of those things where you have to value the process because we’re not going to solve it or get to the finish line; we just continually try to get better.

What are some things you’ve learned about the university since your arrival?

Ihavebeen very pleasantly surprised in learning how much national-class and world-class research goes on on our campus. And we have a faculty who are arguably the best in the world at what they do. … We have faculty presenting research overseas and at global symposia all the time. … But here’s the thing that’s been most astounding, is that all of those faculty, regardless of their world-class standards, are still in the classroom and they’re working largely with undergraduates or maybe some master’s students, but they’re translating all of that top-level expertise into involving students in a way that would be impossible [elsewhere]. … At Northern, learning is defined by a hands-on, active engaged modality. The opportunity to work on industry-supplied cutting-edge technology at the Jacobetti Complex while you’re an undergraduate, amazing. The opportunity to do field research like the Blue Spotted Salamander research on Presque Isle while you’re an undergraduate biology student, amazing. To make a pitch for a new startup idea you have as part of the College of Business’ Mini Pitch or Big Pitch. That learning by doing ethos that we have is really distinctive, and I think more and more that’s how students like to learn. That’s how I liked to learn when I was in col-

lege, and so I think that it’s a real neat thing that I didn’t quite anticipate when I arrived here.

What is your vision for NMU over the next five and 10 years?

In my role as president, the primary concern is the health of the institution. So, it’s important for us to stabilize and then grow enrollment, and I don’t have a magic number there. But I do think that there is a direct tie that most people understand between our enrollment and our budgetary stability, our ability to invest in new initiatives and new programs. And so, it’s really important that we move from a phase that’s been about a decade long where we’ve really been hyper-conscious of how much decline will we have this year, how many cuts do we need to make, and get out of that. And we create a mindset based on growth and opportunity. And that’s not easy. … Our university would have done that already if it were easy, especially because there are shrinking demographics and our service areas are shrinking, but that’s a prerequisite for my more creative vision, which is to really offer an unmatched quality of student experience.

Because of this blend we have between big-campus resources and opportunities and feel and small-campus relationships, all the way from immersive learning and being able to work one-on-one with your professor as a freshman on a research project, to getting to know your housemates. So really marrying all of our big-campus opportunities with all of our small-campus opportunities into this distinctive student experience. And I think ultimately, that’s actually a huge recruitment tool and it’ll be a selling point for prospective students that feeds into enrollment and budget and will help us address the business side of the house.

Another area in which we can do a lot more is making sure that we’re out and about and engaged even more than we have been in the community. And some of that’s event sponsorship, and it’s more technical, but it’s really more about our presence in the community. And then some of that is getting as much of the community as possible onto our campus. We have great theater and dance performances, great art and design expositions. We do have great academic programs that bring people and events onto our campus, but we need to do more because the campus and community are inseparable, and our fates are intertwined. Neither of us can be the best versions of ourselves without the other.

What are you reading, watching and listening to these days?

Ilike to spend most of my free time running … just be on my own with my thoughts, and so that does take away a little bit of reading time. But I do love good biographies and recently picked up the first part of former President Obama’s memoirs of his time in office. And the focus of that is his realization upon entering that role of what he could change, and then ultimately what the bureaucracy and all of the inertia would prevent him from being able to change. And everything operates on a tiny scale here compared to it, but it has been interesting as a new president to read that and understand how to take the vision that I’ve developed as I’ve learned a bit about this place, but also to realize that for the community, for our students, for our employees, it needs to be a sustainable rate of change. And not to just assume that there is anything broken or in need of fixing about this place, but how to bring out the best of so many great things that are already here. So that’s the reason the memoirs are pretty interesting for me right now.

I’ve been really inspired by some of the art on our campus. We went to the North Coast Dance Festival performance. And every bit as much as reading a good book, you sit there and you watch these talented people really perform with passion and with great skill, and that’s inspiring and brought about all sorts of new ideas and moved me in a major way. And we walked directly from there over to the exhibition at the art museum, and the same thing happened. So, your vessel gets filled in lots of different ways.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

My dad said, “Be careful not to pass up on a good opportunity.” My dad oftentimes missed out on opportunities because he just wasn’t ready to move on the opportunity and take a bit of a risk. And I think for Northern that’s a good thing to keep in mind. We have this great position that we’re in. We also have major headwinds coming our way, whether they’re demographic or otherwise. And so, I think we have to find these opportunities and then be decisive and not let them pass us by.

Hannah Jenkins is a U.P. native, longtime Marquette resident and journalism student at NMU. She hopes to enrich the community through coverage of the people and places that make Marquette what it is today.

Hiding in plain sight

Story and photos by Scot Stewart

“Here grew willows and alders, their trunks twisted like giants’ sinews. Around them bark lichen bloomed blue-white in the darkness. It felt like a good place, where there was old magic.”

—Duncan Harper

Some parts of life hide in plain sight. They seem to be ubiquitous once they are known, but sometimes, because of their size, location or unknown use and powers, go unnoticed by most every day. It is easy to miss those things, especially if they tend to be small, don’t move much and don’t have neon colors.

Yet a significant 4 to 7 percent of the land surface of the planet is covered by organisms that go basically unnoticed by most people even though they can be found on tree trunks, window ledges, park benches, breakwaters, cemetery headstones, rock ledges and even on bare ground. They are unlike any other large group of organisms on the planet because of the intimate help-each-other approach they have to living. They are lichens.

Lichens are amazing and extremely complex parts of all terrestrial ecosystems. The minute one begins to learn more about them, words like usually, frequently, often and most of the time start popping up. They are not like any other large forms of life on the planet; they behave differently. Although they are usually small, stationary and most often quite flat, they are important parts of all ecosystems. Because they are often very simple, they seem like they should be among the oldest forms of life. They are often the first life forms to appear at a disturbed site, but they evolved nearly 250,000 years after green plants did. They became the new kids on the block, literally.

Forming partnerships, fungi and algae make up a cooperative team. Fungi create an outer coating of strands, extracting minerals from their surface site, absorbing water and anchoring

the team. Algae live inside the fungi most of the time, usually as individual cells, with chloroplasts to make food for the pair. Some lichens have fungi-cyanobacteria relationships, and few have all three living together.

Recent research suggests that bacteria may be more involved in the mutualistic, two-party relationship than was first thought, and it may be more of a community effort.

Lichens are often the first of the pi-

oneer species following extreme forest fires and land-clearing floods. In the Upper Peninsula, the last ice age began around 100,000 years ago and began its last dash south about 31,500 years ago, scraping most everything down to bare rock.

As the last of the Laurentide Ice Sheet that covered the northeast part of Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula retreated northward more than 11,000 years ago, it is thought lichens began to colonize bare rock and bring a return of life to the naked granite left behind. Tundra-like communities were found along the edge of the glacier lobes, with plants and other organisms getting a brief respite from freezing temperatures and snow during short summer periods, but the newly exposed land left in the melting ice’s wake was bare. As lichens gained a foothold, they provided more surfaces for other plants to get a start.

They are anything but simple, though, because they are symbiotic partnerships involving a fungus and algae or cyanobacteria. They often drive biologists and taxonomists attempting to identify the partnerships and name them into fits because the same fungi may partner with different algae to create new partnerships.

Currently, fungus species, the type of growth structures the lichen maintains, microscopic structures and chemicals the lichens produce are all used to help with identification. DNA analysis has become an important way to help differentiate similar-looking species, now helping to separate some lichens into many new species.

When different species of living organisms live together, and both flourish, it usually means something special. There are a number of dif-

Many large grazing animals — like this woodland caribou on the Slate Islands — feed on lichens. Moose, deer, musk oxen, bighorn sheep and mountain goats also include lichens in their diets, especially in winter. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

Lichens cover up to 7 percent of our planet’s land surface, but they’re easy to miss

ferent ways living things interact. A relationship of this sort, like that between a fungus and an algae, is called mutualism.

Predators and prey are probably the most noticed interactions. They are full of drama: sharks chasing seals or other fish, lion prides on the hunt. In these, one organism benefits by finding and obtaining food and nourishment while the other typically dies.

Parasitic relationships also get lots of attention. Mosquitoes, ticks and horseflies all feed on other species, but one species doesn’t usually kill its host; it just usually annoys it and frequently slows it down. Even fungi like athlete’s foot can be categorized here.

Commensalism connects two organisms in a way where one species benefits and the other remains relatively unaffected. Nemo, the clownfish, lived in sea anemone tentacles, safe from predators, but the anemone received no harm or benefit. In a totally different type of relationship, Florida bark mantids live on the lichen growing on the trunks of mahogany trees. They blend in perfectly with the lichens, but the lichen receives nothing in return except some occasional nutrients from the mantid’s droppings. Competition is the relationship

between two species looking to utilize the same foods, territory or other resources. Most often, species with similar needs develop adaptations to avoid unnecessary stresses caused by confrontations. Some examples of this are species using the resources at different times or evolving longer beaks to probe different sites for food, or other physical differences like longer necks or different digestive systems to diversify their methods for obtaining what they need.

Sometimes organisms develop relationships that benefit all involved, like lichens. This is mutualism or symbiosis. Because of newer means of studying the biochemical and genetic intricacies of lichens, the details of their relationships are becoming better known.

“The black rock was sharpedged, hot, and hard as corundum; it seemed not merely alien but impervious to life. Yet on the southern face of almost every rock the lichens grew, yellow, rusty-brown, yellow-green, like patches of dirty paint daubed on the stone.”

—Edward Abbey

Lichens are divided into three major groups based on their general form: crustose form crust-like structures on surfaces like rocks and other hard strata; fruticose have leafless small twig-like structures; and foliose have raised leaf-like structures.

Other smaller groups are described, including leprose, dust-like lichens; squamulose, with leaf-like scales; gelatinous, which are jelly-like; fila-

Midges, above, crawl on lichen found on Marquette’s Lower Harbor breakwater. Elegant sunburst lichen, right, was dicovered on the Lower Harbor ore dock. (Photos by Scot Stewart)

Map lichen (Rhizocarpon geographicum) primarily grows on rocks in mountainous areas with low air pollution. It is a flat patch bordered by a black line of fungal hyphae. The bottom right corner of the photo features an example of shield lichen (Parmelia sulcata). (Photo by Scot Stewart)

mentous, having long hair-like form; byssoid, looking like frizzy hair; or ones with little structure at all. Lots to find, study and sort out! In the United States, there are around 3,600 species; across the globe, the exact number is not known.

A ballpark figure for lichens worldwide is difficult to come by, as estimates range from 13,000 to more than 30,000. Lichens are frequently similar in appearance and often difficult to identify because of those common characteristics including color. They do range from brilliant yellows to black and are divided into three basic types.

Four types of lichens are found relatively easily in the Upper Peninsula. Many lichens are identified as keystone species — ones playing an important role connected to and helping support many other species, even though their actual abundance may be relatively low. Besides helping main-

tain atmospheric moisture, especially in canopy areas of rainforests where the lichens grow on tree branches, they help hold the soil together in desert areas and can figure into moisture content in soils there.

Crustose lichens are probably the lichens that turn up in more everyday sorts of places than the other three. Crustose are flat without any rounded structures projecting out from the main body. Because of the wide variety of bare rock surfaces at places like the Wetmore Bog overlook, Sugarloaf Mountain and the vast array of basalt at the Black Rocks at Presque Isle and other shoreline areas with igneous and metamorphic rocks, crustose lichens are easy to find. There are some impressive orange sunburst lichens on the rocks making up the side of the Lower Harbor breakwater.

Dust-like leprose lichens can oc-

cur near them too. Sedimentary rocks, with their less-stable surfaces, usually host fewer lichens. Many trees, especially larger maple and poplar, are home to crustose lichens on their trunks.

Some of those same rock faces, particularly ones in shaded spots or where water runoff is common, may also host foliose lichens like brown and black rock tripes and lungwort. Big leafy structures extend out from the rocks. Tree trunks with larger diameters in shady forest areas also can be festooned with greenshield and rosette lichens.

Fruticose lichens are most often found in tree branches and occasionally growing from tree trunks. Old man’s beard and others found in spruce trees can literally change the color of a branch or an entire dead tree to light grayish green. On the ground,

One of the common names of sunburst lichen (Xanthoria parietina) is common orange lichen. It appears here with shield lichens. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

the “reindeer mosses” and red-topped British soldiers can be part foliose and part fruticose and will also have a greenish gray coloration.

Lichen colors are usually determined by the algae or cyanobacteria components in them and the chemicals they make. Because of their exposure on bare surfaces, crustose lichens can produce chemicals to protect them from excessive exposure to the sun. Some lichen chemicals have been used for centuries to make dyes to color fabrics. Others have been used to make everything from alcoholic beverages to antibiotics. Over 700 chemicals have been isolated from lichens, and nine out of 10 of them are made nowhere else in nature.

Because of the bare-bones surfaces many lichens live on, they rely on the air around them for most of their nutrients, water and of course oxygen for respiration and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. Their reliance on the atmosphere makes them incredibly important indicators of air quality. The National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service have developed an extensive sampling pro-

This shield lichen appears in jasper-hematite at Jasper Knob in Ishpeming. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

gram to collect samples of lichens for air quality analysis. Because lichens rely on the surrounding atmosphere for water and nutrients, they collect that and more from the air. They can serve as biomonitors to indicate the amounts of heavy metals like lead, sulfur and nitrogen compounds in the air around them. This information can then be used to evaluate the health of the ecosystem where they, other species and humans live, much like other bioaccumulators such as large fish do. Many lichens are also sensitive to high temperatures and temperature changes, offering insights into climate change.

“There is a low mist in the woods. It is a good day to study lichens.”

—Henry David Thoreau, A Year in Thoreau’s Journal: 1851

Lichens are extremely important to a wide variety of animals. The classic animal connection is with woodland and barren ground caribou. In northern Canada and Alaska, caribou can paw through several feet of snow in winter months to reach ground Cladonia and Cladina lichens, providing an important source of energy to these large mammals. Their annual migrations from summer grazing areas to winter ranges where lichens make up large parts of their diet are well known.

In the Lake Superior region, lichens like old man’s beard supply woodland caribou with an important winter food source that ironically is directly connected to the conditions of winter. The last strongholds for woodland caribou on Lake Superior have come on islands on the Canadian side of

This is a specimen of fishbone beard lichen (Usnea filipendula) observed on the Peshekee Grade in Marquette County. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

the lake. The arrival of European settlers to the region radically changed the forests from dense boreal spruce and old-growth pine forests, both rich with lichens, to young forests of aspen, maple and some pines. A trip to boreal forest remnants in the U.P., like those along the Peshekee Grade, reveals large spruce trees draped with lichens like the old man’s beard. The understory in mature pine forests is often carpeted with “reindeer moss,” the gray lichens often surrounding blueberry plants.

Logging and fires have changed most of these lichen-rich places, eliminating the lichens and changing the habitats and the species that can live there. There is concern about the impact fires in Canada and Alaska have on lichens because it can take 30 to 80 years for them to return to full form.

Today the islands of the north shore of Lake Superior and more remote spots like Pukaskwa National Park on the northeast corner of the lake are the only places where woodland caribou can be found. That has been influenced somewhat by caribou transplants. The last stronghold for them, before wolves were able to move onto the complex, was the Slate Islands across the lake near Terrace Bay and Pic Island near Neys Provincial Park, both in Ontario. For decades the populations fluctuated with the winter storms. When there were big windy storms, lichen-laden trees blew down, feeding the hungry caribou in winter. The population would flourish, reaching 100 or more on the 16 square miles of land on the Slates. In calm winters, there were big die-offs, dropping the herd to 30 or so. The importance of

Tree lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria) is an example of a symbiosis involving members of three kingdoms of organisms: a fungus and an algal partner living with a cyanobacterium. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

lichens there is clear.

Many large grazing animals feed on lichens. Besides caribou, moose, deer, musk oxen, bighorn sheep and mountain goats include lichens in their diet, especially in winter. Flying squirrels feed on tree lichens and use them for their nests.

In the Pacific Northwest, lichens become extremely important in the food web as the flying squirrels become an important source of food for endangered spotted owls.

A large number of invertebrates also eat lichens; and a number of insects, including moths, katydids and mantids have evolved to match their coloration to blend into the lichens where they live.

Hummingbirds weave lichens into the outside of their nests to camouflage them. Some insects hide in lichen-covered branches, only to become winter food for woodpeckers, nuthatches and creepers.

“Consider the Lichen. Lichens are just about the hardiest visible organisms on Earth, but the least ambitious.”

—Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything

As one might expect, growing on the trunk of a tree or on a bare rock, and relying on the air itself for moisture and nourishment, lichens grow incredibly slowly. On average, that growth is about one millimeter a year. Growth occurs on the other edges of most. Lichens have provided some ideas for how to age rocks, archeological sites and even themselves. While there is some reliability in the current techniques used in this tape measure-stopwatch technology, especially for estimates less than 500 years back, there are some concerns and doubts about its overall accuracy.

What is clear is that lichens offer a

Several different lichens have claimed space on one Marquette tree trunk: powder-edged speckled greenshield, hoary rosette lichen, hooded sunburst lichen, possibly powdery sunburst lichen and two others. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

Beard lichens appear on a dead white spruce on the Peshekee Grade in Marquette County. (Photo by Scot Stewart)

unique opportunity to see how organisms can work together and how they can change an environment for their benefit without doing great harm to other organisms or creating environmental damage. They serve as environmental indicators capable of measuring air quality and the health of an ecosystem.

Large areas of damage to lichens can show up quickly and provide clues to trouble. Long-term health of a lichen provides new hope. As a lichen grows, the center usually dies, providing a central area where a new lichen can start.

When the deep freeze of 2021 locked Marquette’s Lower Harbor in ice, it offered a great opportunity for explorers to study the lichens on the side of the ore dock. There were several amazing discoveries there. Lichens growing on steel bolts and beautiful, nearly perfect circles formed by elegant sunburst lichens, one inside another, flourished on the south side of the frame.

New rock barriers around buildings and at the edges of parking lots quickly get new colonies of life, as do some of the new rock additions to some landscaped sites.

Discovering lichens can enrich outdoor experiences and add an entire new facet to hikes, runs or a relaxing moment in the sun on a rock outcropping or simply passing a big maple tree. They all can be places to find some old magic.

Scot Stewart has lived in Marquette long enough to be considered a true Yooper even though he was born in Illinois. He loves to be outdoors photographing and enjoying nature.

Answers for the New York Times crossword puzzle, located on Page 21.

‘Extravaganza of awesomeness’

Soul Responsibility works through trials associated with forming a new band

By Andie Balenger

When asked to describe the process of forming a band, Eliseo Vega-Darson summed it up with two words: pain and suffering.

Alto saxophonist, composer and musician’s son, Vega-Darson has been surrounded by music for as long as he can remember. With a life spent performing and writing alongside several bands across the country, all while residing in large cities like San Francisco and New York, his choice to settle down in Marquette may seem like an out-of-the-box decision. Once

Soul Responsibility poses with props found around Eliseo Vega-Darson’s home. Members of the band are (seated, from left): Christopher Burhop, Jo Po and Niana Hughey. Standing, from left: Josh Boudreaux, Vega-Darson, Dawson Del Preto and Ryan Wilson. (Photo courtesy of Soul Responsibility)

moving into his new home, he was unsure whether this small town would be nurturing and supportive of his ambition to form a not-so-average band. But after witnessing the artistry of Blanco Suave, a hip-hop and neo-soul band based in Marquette, his mind had been made up.

“I saw [Blanco Suave] crush it on Halloween a few years ago, and I was like, ‘Well, I guess it’s time,’” Vega-Darson said.

However, a yearning to form a band and actively pursuing that creative vision are two very different things. From scouting out jazz jam sessions to literally chasing people down in the street, the past year of scavenging the Marquette scene for musical excellence has culminated in the formation of Soul Responsibility, a seven-piece band inspired by the funk, hip-hop, soul and Latin genres in creating what they are calling an “extravaganza of awesomeness.”

The band members, some of whom are a decade apart in age, are Josh Boudreaux (bassist), Niana Hughey (trumpet), Christopher Burhop (guitarist), Jo Po (lead singer and songwriter), Dawson Del Preto (pianist), Ryan Wilson (drummer) and Vega-Darson. Specializing in emotional yet upbeat tunes, Soul Responsibility performs both original pieces and medley covers.

The Marquette-based band has been in flux for the past several months. While members have changed and lyrics have evolved, the group is grounded in their hope of inspiring people with positive and progressive lyrics that highlight modern-day environmental and social justice issues. Vega-Darson collaborates closely with Po on composition and lyric writing,

providing the group with a solid musical foundation to explore and elevate.

“We have a really cool, eclectic, very different group of people and sounds that have come together to create,” Vega-Darson said. “Jo Po has brought a lot into our new sound, especially with this tune ‘Earth Cries.’ It went up so many levels.”

Po, inspired by their admittedly messy journal entries, attributed their recent lyrical influences to the current relationship between humans and the earth. Traditionally a soloist, Po credits the free and open character of Soul Responsibility to their spike in creativity. “Earth Cries” and “Artificial,” two of Soul Responsibility’s original pieces, are inspired by Po’s poems that outline the extractive nature of our society.

“I know myself and lots of people around me are very worried about the future of the planet,” Po said. “So a lot of the lyrics … for the originals have been speaking directly to needing a stronger connection to the land, listening to the needs of the land and taking a step away from the greed of our society. I think it is important to maintain hope, and to bring that through music is very powerful.”

While spreading this serious message, the band is also united in their goal to get crowds dancing. Using the musical stylings of their chosen genres, expert improvisation and communication skills, the band works to effortlessly weave their message into chords, breaks and melodies that keep audiences on their feet.

According to the band, Soul Responsibility differs from other acts in Marquette by combining professionalism with unapologetic goofiness. While onstage, the band can be seen jumping around while blasting their

Soul Responsibility performs at The Dam Jam music festival in July in Calumet. This was the first gig the band played after adding Dawson Del Preto to the mix. (Photo courtesy of Soul Responsibility)

tunes “maybe a little bit loud.” When the occasion calls, the band may even don themed costumes.

Yet behind the scenes, they conduct themselves with poise and come prepared with sheet music for concerts, a rare sight for house shows and pub gigs. Soul Responsibility’s silly nature, coupled with their musical talent, is what they believe keeps audience members coming back to their shows.

“We have had everyone from young families with kids to people in their 60s and 70s come up and say, ‘We love your guys’ sound’ or ‘We have needed this for a long time,’” Boudreaux said. “So to hear that consistency from multiple generations is pretty huge for us.”

But creating a dance party while discussing the potential downfall of our planet is no easy task. The band rehearses once a week in Vega-Darson’s basement, which is fully equipped with the necessary trimmings to create a makeshift studio. Rehearsals can last up to three hours, depending on the groove level and familiarity of the pieces. According to Del Preto, however, the rehearsals are as smooth as can be thanks to the group’s open and avid communication skills.

“We are always willing to talk through a problem that we are experiencing, and we are able to isolate that moment and just keep working it until we get it right,” Del Preto said. “Then we go back to the beginning of the song, and hopefully the moment is fixed. I think that is a part of our rehearsal process that helps make us tighter as a group.”

Verbal communication is critical to the success of any musical act. But Soul Responsibility’s ability to both verbally and musically communicate with each other is what they believe helped them flourish over the past year. From knowing when to accent a line to finding space for a quick riff, the conversations that exist between their instruments are what make their entire act unique.

“I feel like it is really rare to play with musicians who actually listen to each other,” Po said. “Listening to yourself is great, but you are not going to be able to create anything magnificent and whole if you are only listening to yourself. And the fact that we can engage in eye contact with each other and just know, that’s a really beautiful thing to experience.”

While local listenership drives Soul Responsibility, they hope to expand their musical influence soon. In addition to uploading their music to streaming platforms and traveling to gigs across the U.P., the band hopes to enter the Midwest festival scene

within the next year. The band has recently added a manager and scheduler to their team to assist them in the process.

Over the summer, Soul Responsibility performed at The Dam Jam music festival in Calumet. A first for a few members, their lively performance at the event illustrated that the band has so far been successful in making folks dance, laugh and even cry while performing. The past year of trial and error, revamping and rebranding and “pain and suffering” has ultimately led the band to that moment on the Copper Country stage.

Soul Responsibility will be headlining a show on Sept. 2 at Kognisjon Bryggeri on Third Street in Marquette. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and will include the indie/alternative band Passed Out Curbside.

“Jo Po sings some heavy stuff, and they have moved audience members to tears because you can feel that pain and concern about the extractive nature of humanity, but you might as well dance through it,” Darson-Vega said. “You can lock yourself up in a room and be sad, or you can try and find a healthy way to let it out, and I think that is ideally what this music does, help other people who are going through things be able to resonate, feel better and have a good time.”

Andie Balenger is a native of Gladstone attending graduate school at Northern Michigan University for administration of outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism.

WE HAVE A REALLY COOL, ECLECTIC, DIFFERENT GROUP OF PEOPLE AND SOUNDS THAT HAVE COME TOGETHER TO CREATE.

The Quiet Man

By Marty Achatz

Last night, I dreamed my dad and John Wayne were sitting around a campfire, eating peaches out of a can. Stars thick as cattle herds milled above them, and the prairie grass hummed some sweet old song like “Red River Valley” or “Shenandoah.” I’m not sure if it was heaven, but my father was young and perfect, the hook of his back as straight as a railroad spike. Duke was young, too, the retired prizefighter who chased Maureen O’Hara through the green Galway countryside. There weren’t any Nazis crawling along the ground in ambush, no Richard Boone-faced kidnappers, skin leathery as buffalo jerky, trying to steal their sleeping horses. I’m not sure if you can smell in dreams, but I remember smelling manure and smoke and something else. Maybe the coming of rain. My dad and Duke didn’t talk, just forked golden crescents into their mouths, looking as if they were eating solar eclipse after solar eclipse. Their forks made hollow cowbell noises in the dark. When they were done, they tipped the cans to their lips, drank the syrup inside until it ran down their chins. I kept waiting for something more to happen, a runaway stagecoach to crash through or a baby elephant nosing for hay. Instead, my dad took a deck of cards from his pocket, started dealing. They played gin rummy, hand after hand. My dad let John Wayne win, because he was John Wayne and because that’s what my dad did every morning with my mother for years and years. He did it because it was a habit of love. Maybe that’s the name of this movie: Habit of Love It starts out simply enough. Two cards. Dealt face up. The king and queen of hearts.

Marty Achatz lives in Ishpeming with his wife and children. He has taught for NMU’s English department since 1998. He holds a master’s degree in fiction and an MFA in poetry. His work has appeared in many journals, anthologies, the book-length collection The Mysteries of the Rosary and two spoken-word albums, Slow Dancing with Bigfoot and Christmas with Bigfoot Marty served two consecutive terms as U.P. Poet Laureate and is currently president of the U.P. Poet Laureate Foundation. Marty is also the adult programming coordinator for Peter White Public Library.

superior reads

Tichelaar transports readers back in time

Review by Victor R. Volkman

Tyler Tichelaar, a seventh-generation resident of Marquette, first made his reputation as a writer of historical fiction with the award-winning Marquette Trilogy beginning with Iron Pioneers in 2006. The series captured 150 years in the life of the city and its denizens through both boom and bust of the industries that built Marquette. Subsequently, Tichelaar’s My Marquette gave area residents the most thorough encyclopedic catalog of the historic architecture of the city as well as biographies of important civic figures and descriptions of seminal events.

In Odin’s Eye, Tichelaar bridges his historical fiction and nonfiction worlds together through the device of time travel. Although a parade of characters from the Marquette Trilogy appears throughout the work, your experience will be undiminished even if this is your first experience in this world. George Shiras III and the redoubtable Peter White himself even appear at key points to help our protagonist along. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s rewind a bit to the beginning.

In the first act of Odin’s Eye, we discover Neill Vandelaare, a hopelessly confused and only slightly injured contemporary 19-year-old man who has somehow landed unconsciously at a seemingly Neolithic site on Mount Huron at the Huron Mountain Club. Transported back to Marquette, he wakes up after a brief coma in the house of Ephraim William Allen and his family, but without a single memory of his life — not even his name. Neill quickly enough discovers that he is now in the year 1900 and what is left of his defective memory is giving him flashes of things like television shows and technologies that clearly do not exist in this new version of “present time.” The Allen family, in a show of true Christian charity, offers to feed and house the barely coherent man, who cannot even use a straight razor to shave himself, until such time as he is on his feet again.

Since it’s easy to spoil a time travel story, I’ll not divulge any more plot

details that might compromise your reading experience. The fun of novels like this is in the unexpected unfolding of details and events, and always, always, a mix of fact and fiction ensues. In a clever nod to the existing canon, Tichelaar invokes H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, an 1895 novella that was very much in the zeitgeist of America at this time.

In general, the classical time travel novel or movie orbits around a few common themes: the struggle to return to one’s own time and the accidental or intentional changing of past events bringing forth the need to undo or redo what happened. Our protagonist Neill Vandelaare is hit with both of them. He never wanted to end up in 1900-era Marquette and becomes riven by his twin desires to meet all of his ancestors as a student of genealogy and to return to 2020 to relieve the assumed anxieties of his parents about his months-long disappearance.

Meanwhile, back in 1900, Neill’s relationship with teenage Hugh Allen grows stronger as Neill tries to learn how to live properly in the era before cellphones, air travel, television and every other modern convenience that defined his prior life. Hugh Allen is a boon companion of the real historical figure Howard Longyear. When Howard returns from school for the summer, the three become fast friends. I cannot reveal what happens next in good conscience. But anyone with a historical knowledge of Marquette will know the great tragedy of the Longyear family, of which Neill lands in the middle. Although he doesn’t completely reverse it, Neill has averted total tragedy and put his own timeline at risk. Indeed he faces a dilemma much like Marty McFly in the first Back to the Future film, a fact that Tichelaar archly acknowledges both in the beginning and the denouement of our story.

Can you actually change the past?

If so, how does the universe cope with your meddling? Is it ethical to time travel and settle down and start a family in a new time epoch if you could? How does a time machine even work, and from what time did it come? These questions are explored

as Neill’s companions Alison and Derek from the year 2021 soon arrive in 1900 Marquette. While attempting to solve these mysteries, our crew will be rocketed in the other direction all the way up to the post-apocalyptic year 2142 where Canada has assumed control over what is left of the U.P.

Before I close, I have to mention the dozen and a half historical photographs that pepper the book. They bring you right into the bosom of the Longyear family and their mansion as well as other historic sites around 1900-era Marquette, thanks to the archivists of the Marquette Regional History Center. Although fiction is all about imagination, the beautifully preserved and reproduced pictures in Odin’s Eye put the reader solidly in the scene.

You could say that every novelist might be writing a letter to themselves, in some sense. Tichelaar tips his hand in the closing chapters after 19-yearold Neill has completed at least some of his “live” genealogy quest:

“Neill felt it was good to be in Marquette, no matter what year it was. He could feel the pride and affection his predecessors had for his hometown, and his heart rose up with love for Marquette, a love his parents had helped to instill in him, and a pride at all that Marquette’s residents had done over the years to keep their city

vibrant and beautiful — even with the ugly industrialism of the Lower Harbor.”

The message is simple and clear. Although few young people partake in the history of where they were born, there is a tremendous opportunity and wisdom available for those who take the trouble to do so. Odin’s Eye is a rambling jaunt between epochs in a city that at times seems as old as the shores of the lake that defines its very being. As an adventure story with real historic ties, Odin’s Eye is a great jumping-off place for a person of any age who has at least some curiosity about Marquette, Michigan, the historic Queen City of the North. MM

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.

Victor R. Volkman is a graduate of Michigan Tech (Class of ’86) and is current president of the U.P. Publishers & Authors Association. He is senior editor at Modern History Press and publisher of the U.P. Reader.

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 October events by Sunday, September 10 to: calendar@marquettemonthly.com

Index

art galleries …………………………………………………………… 73-74 on the town ……………………………………………………………… 78 museums ……………………………………………………………… 82-83 support groups…………………………………………………………… 86

end of august events

30 WEDNESDAY sunrise 7:06 a.m.; sunset 8:35 p.m.

Calumet

• Summer Concert Series. Featuring Uncle Pete’s. 7:30 p.m. Calumet Theatre, 340 Sixth St. www.calumettheatre.com

Chassell

• Farmers Market. 3 to 6 p.m. 103 Third St. (616) 516-8557 or www.chassellmarket.com

• Keewenaw Wilderness Walk.

Includes discussion of spirituality and care for the environment. 7 p.m. Chassell Fitness Trail. www.upwild. org/events

Curtis

• Music in the Park. Second Time Around will perform bluegrass, country, and classic rock. 6:30 p.m. Erickson Center for the Arts, 9224 Saw-WaQuato St. www.ericksoncenter.org

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 3 to 5:30 p.m. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine

Maquette Area Blues Fest | September 1 to 3 | Marquette

Courtesy of Mark Hamari

in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older. Call to reserve a meal. $3.50 suggested donation. Noon to 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. (906) 228-0456.

• Farmers Market. Shop for items from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 5 to 8 p.m. 100 Block of Washington Street. mqtfarmersmarket.com

Negaunee

• Knitting Group. Those interested in crocheting, knitting and other fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and share with others. Coffee provided. 1:30 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

• Wings of Fire Interest Group. Youth age eight and older are invited to discuss the series, write fanfiction, make crafts and other activities. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

• Farmer’s Market. Offering local farmers’ and artisans’ goods and creations. Drop-in vendors are welcome (tables and tents are available to rent). 4 to 7 p.m. Chiri Park, corner of Iron and Silver streets (across from the YMCA). market@cityofnegaunee.com

31 THURSDAY

sunrise 7:07 a.m.; sunset 8:33 p.m.

Calumet

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library. (906) 337-0311.

Chassell

• Back from the Brink: The Return of Trumpeter Swans and Peregrine Falcons to the Keweenaw. Joe Youngman, Chassell’s bird expert, will present a talk enhanced with colorful photos. 7 p.m. Chassell Heritage Center, 42373 Hancock Ave. (906) 5231155 or www.chassellhistory.org

Copper Harbor

• Performances in the Park. Gail, Mike and Scott will perform. A farmer’s market is also on site. 7 to 9 p.m. Donny Kilpela Memorial Park., 240 Gratiot St. (906) 289-4020 or performances.in.the.park@gmail.com

Gwinn

• Modeltown Market. This farmers and artisans market includes live music. 3 to 6 p.m. Peter Nordeen Park.

Ishpeming

• Summer Concert Series. Featuring Party to Jazz. Bring your own chair. 7 p.m. Old Ish statue on Main Street.

L’Anse

• Lakefront Concert. Enjoy a night of music from the Celtic world by The Knockabouts. Bring your own chair and blankets. 7 p.m. Lakefront Park,

Broad Street at the lake (rain location is Meadowbrook Arena, 204 Division St.).

Marquette

• Geoff and Jon’s Record Show. New and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books, T-shirts, stickers and more. Presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. Noon to 11 p.m. Secondfloor community room, Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. (906) 373-6183.

• 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

Norway

• Dickinson County Fair. Events include a breeding livestock show, bingo, carnival, live music and the Wisconsin Upper Michigan Pulling Association and Local Truck Pull. The fair officially opens at 5 p.m. Prices vary. Dickinson County Fairgrounds, N1476 US-8. dickinsoncountyfair.com

september events

Lake Linden

• Farmers Market. This family-friendly market showcases farm fresh produce, prepared foods, handcrafted items, live music, community causes and local information about the area. 4 to 7 p.m. Village Park. (906) 369-3971.

Marquette

• Geoff and Jon’s Record Show. New and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books, T-shirts, stickers and more. Presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. Noon to 11 p.m. Secondfloor community room, Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. (906) 373-6183.

• 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 Area Blues Fest Free Night. Listen to a night of blues music performed by Corey Dennison & Friends and The Steepwater Band. 6 to 10 p.m. Mattson Lower Harbor Park, Lakeshore Blvd. marquetteareabluessociety.org

Norway • Dickinson County Fair. Youth Day events will include a draft horse show, youth market livestock show, bingo, carnival, midway acts, and live

music. Prices vary. Dickinson County Fairgrounds, N1476 US-8. dickinsoncountyfair.com

02 SATURDAY

sunrise 7:10 a.m.; sunset 8:29 p.m.

Calumet

•  Community Market. Featuring fresh foods and local handcrafted gifts. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 934-2228 or www.calumetartcenter.com

• Orphan Art Sale. Includes paintings, photography, crafts, and garden and home items. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 9342228 or www.calumetartcenter.com

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to noon. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• Farmers Market. Shop for items from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marquette Commons, 112 South Third St. mqtfarmersmarket.com

• Geoff and Jon’s Record Show. New and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books, T-shirts, stickers and more. Presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. Noon to 11 p.m. Secondfloor community room, Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. (906) 373-6183.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. Lessons, 10 a.m. Games, 11:30 a.m. Citizens Forum, Lakeview Arena, 401 E. Fair St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com

• Marquette Area Blues Fest. This annual festival will feature music by Bahluze, Organgrinders Blues Band, Adrianna Marie and her Groovecutters, Ivy Ford Band, and Larry McCray. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Prices vary. Noon to 10 p.m. Mattson Lower Harbor Park, Lakeshore Blvd. marquetteareabluessociety.org

Norway

• Dickinson County Fair. Agriculture Day events will include the Pony Pull and Draft Horse Pull, small animal and youth livestock auctions, bingo, carnival, midway acts, live music, and demolition derby. Prices vary. Dickinson County Fairgrounds, N1476 US-8. dickinsoncountyfair.com

Rock

• Labor Day Celebration. A parade will begin at 11 a.m., followed by music, a bounce house, food, and refreshments. Sponsored by the Rock Lions. Rock Lions Clubhouse grounds, M-35.

Calumet

• Art Junkies. An arts and craft social group. Noon to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 231-0448.

Marquette

• Geoff and Jon’s Record Show. New and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books, T-shirts, stickers and more. Presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. Noon to 11 p.m. Secondfloor community room, Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. (906) 373-6183.

• Marquette Area Blues Fest. This annual festival will feature music by Phil Lynch, The Lark Brothers, Motor City Josh & The Big 3, Mississippi Heat and Curtis Salgado. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Prices vary. Noon to 10 p.m. Mattson Lower Harbor Park, Lakeshore Blvd. marquetteareabluessociety.org

Norway

• Dickinson County Fair. Race Day events will include the annual Fair Fun Dog Show, Pleasure Horse Show, bingo, carnival, midway acts, live music, and the Labor Day “100” Race. Prices vary. Dickinson County Fairgrounds, N1476 US-8. dickinsoncountyfair.com

04

MONDAY

sunrise 7:13 a.m.; sunset 8:25 p.m.

Marquette

• Geoff and Jon’s Record Show. New and used vinyl records, CDs, posters, cassettes, books, T-shirts, stickers and more. Presented by the NMU Vinyl Record Club. Noon to 11 p.m. Secondfloor community room, Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. (906) 373-6183.

Negaunee

• All-Ages Online Storytime. Miss Jessica will lead stories, songs and rhymes on Facebook Live. 11 a.m. www.facebook.com/ NegauneePublicLibrary. (906) 475-7700.

Norway

• Dickinson County Fair. Senior Day events will include Dickinson County 4-H Council Fun Horse Show, tractor pulls, bingo, carnival, midway acts, and live music. Prices vary. Dickinson County Fairgrounds, N1476 US-8. dickinsoncountyfair.com

05 TUESDAY

sunrise 7:14 a.m.; sunset 8:23 p.m.

Ishpeming

• Tot Tuesday. Toddlers and preschoolers can enjoy stories, songs, and crafts. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 4864381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

Marquette

• Director Chat. Stop by to chat with Library Director Andrea Ingmire. 11 a.m. to noon and 5 to 6 p.m. Circulation Lobby, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4303 or www. 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 to 3 p.m. Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 225-8655.

• La Table Française. The French Program at NMU offers this informal conversation and discussion group. The topic is selected prior to meeting and presented by advanced students of French. Community members are welcome. 7 p.m. Room 311, Lydia M. Olson Library, NMU. (906) 227-2940 or llis@nmu.edu

• What’s Up? (Zoom). Scott Stobbelaar of the Marquette Astronomical Society will provide a monthly guide to what can be seen in the skies of the Upper Peninsula. 7 p.m. via Zoom. (906) 2264322, machatz@pwpl.info or www. pwpl.info/events

Chassell

• Farmers Market. 3 to 6 p.m. 103 Third St. (616) 516-8557 or www.chassellmarket.com

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 3 to 5:30 p.m. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older. Call to reserve a meal. $3.50 suggested donation. Noon to 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. (906) 228-0456.

• Senior Visual Art Classes: Chalk Pastels with Colleen Maki. Offered for ages 55 and older. Supplies will be provided. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents, $5 suggested donation for non-residents. 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.

• Teens Game On! Youth in Grades 6 to 12 can drop in monthly for a selection of video games, board games and more. 3 to 6 p.m. Teen Zone, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4321, apierce@pwpl.info, or www.pwpl.info

• Marquette County Quilters Association Monthly Meeting. All skill levels are invited for socialization, program events and show and tell. Yearly membership fee, $20. 6:30 p.m. Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. marquettequilters.org

• Happy Hour: A Fundraiser for the Museum. Jim Koski will discuss Marquette’s historical bars, breweries and night life. A beer tasting will follow. Proceeds benefit the Marquette Regional History Center. Museum mebers, $40; nonmembers, $45. 6:30 p.m. Marquette Regional History Center, 145 W. Spring St. (906) 2263571 or marquettehistory.org

• League of Women Voters of Marquette County Meeting. All interested community members are welcome. 6:30 p.m. social time, 6:45 p.m. meeting. Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. www. lwvmqt.org

• Bath School Massacre Presentation. Historian George Robson will speak about the 1927 bombing in Bath, Michigan, the deadliest school massacre in U.S. history, which his parents witnessed. 7 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4322, machatz@ pwpl.info, or www.pwpl.info

Negaunee

• Knitting Group. Those interested in crocheting, knitting and other fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and share with others. Coffee provided. 1:30 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

• Wings of Fire Interest Group. Youth age eight and older are invited to discuss the series, write fanfiction, make crafts and other activities. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

• Farmer’s Market. Offering local farmers’ and artisans’ goods and creations. Drop-in vendors are welcome (tables and tents are available to rent). 4 to 7 p.m. Chiri Park, corner of Iron and Silver streets (across from the YMCA). market@cityofnegaunee.com

• Wilson Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Presentation. Learn what wildlife rehabilitators do and what you can do to help. This event is intended for an adult audience, but children are welcome. 5:30 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

07 THURSDAY

sunrise 7:16 a.m.; sunset 8:19 p.m. Calumet

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. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 109 Fifth St. (906) 299-0118 or galleryon5th. com

Curtis

• Erickson Center for the Arts–Waterfront Gallery. Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. during Music in the Park. 9224 Saw-Wa-Quato St. (906) 586-9974 or www.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. (910) 319-1650.

Escanaba

• Besse Gallery. Days and hours vary. Bay College, 2001 N. Lincoln Rd. baycollege.edu

• East Ludington Art Gallery. Works by local artists. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 1007 Ludington St. (906) 786-0300 or eastludingtongallery.com

• Hartwig Gallery. Featuring works by local, regional and national artists. Days and hours vary. 2001 N. Lincoln Rd. baycollege.edu

• William Bonifas Fine Arts Gallery.

- Vitality and Continuity: Art in the Experience of Anishinaabe, Inuit and Pueblo Women, a traveling exhibit, is on display through September 10 in the Powers Gallery.

- More Than a Uniform, which highlights service members, veterans, family members and caregivers and the art they make, will open with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on the 21st in the Powers Gallery.

- Artist Expo, featuring works by local artists and the opportunity to purchase the work, is on display through September 7 in the Studio Gallery.

- Work by Bonifas Membership Show Winner Karen Brabender of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, opens September 14 in the Studio Gallery.

Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3p.m. 700 First Avenue South. (906)

786-3833 or bonifasarts.org

Hancock

• The Finandia Gallery. In collaboration with the Finnish American Folk School, The Folk School at Midsummer , a group exhibit presenting the work of the folk school instructors and students, is on display through September 13. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Located in the Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy St. (906) 487-7500 or gallery@finlandia.edu

• Kerredge Gallery.

- Finns Love Alliteration, featuring new works by Lenore Rae Lampi, will be on display through the 31st. Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Community Arts Center, 126 Quincy St. (906) 482-2333 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) 4822333 or coppercountryarts.com

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.

- True Likeness, which features contemporary portraits from diverse makers in various media, including video, photography, painting, collage, installation, sculpture, printmaking and drawing, will be on display through November 3.

- By Design: Looking at Living, an exhibition that considers our relationship to design using objects from the gallery’s permanent collection, will be on display through June 1, 2024.

- Fred Brian: Lake Gogebic Memories and Myths, which translates Brian’s childhood observations into narrative artwork, will open September 28. 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

• Graci Gallery. Works by regional and national artists. Featuring fine craft, contemporary art, and jewelry. Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, by appointment or chance. 110 N. Third St. gracigallery.com

• Huron Mountain Club Gallery.

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(continued on page 74)

Tamara Lee Niemi | Carriage Ride at Night... | Peter White Public Library Gallery, Marquette

or art galleries

(continued from page 73)

- Cell Phone Photography by Daric Christian will be on display through September 30. 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. 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. Inner Turmoil, Outer Beauty: Portraits of Contradiction, oil portraits by Antony Aumann, will be on display through September 30. 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.

• Peter White Public Library.

- Life Scenes, paintings by Tamara Lee Niemi, will be on display through September 30. 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 Reception Gallery, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 228-0472.

• 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.

• The Gallery: A Marquette Artist Collective Project. Works by local and regional artists. Monday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. Suite U7, 130 W. Washington St. mqtartistcollective.com

• The Studio Gallery at Presque Isle. Works by local and internationally acclaimed artists. Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. 2905 Lakeshore Blvd. (906)

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library. (906) 337-0311.

Copper Harbor

• Performances in the Park. Lena Maude will perform. A farmer’s market is also on site. 7 to 9 p.m. Donny Kilpela Memorial Park., 240 Gratiot St. (906) 289-4020 or performances.

360-4453.

• Wintergreen Hill Gallery and Gifts. Works by Conway Thoreau will be on display through September 30, with an opening reception from 5 to 8 p.m. during the First Thursday Art Stroll on the 7th. 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 www.wintergreenhill. com

• Zero Degrees Gallery.

- Oil painting demonstration by Marlene Wood, 4 to 8 p.m. on the 7th.

- Reception for Photographer Hunter Wade, 1 to 4 p.m. on the 16th.

- Open House, 4 to 8 p.m. on the 21st.

The gallery features works in oils, watercolors, mixed media, jewelry, photography, metals, woods, recycled and fiber arts and much more. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. First Thursday Art Stroll on the 7th, 4 to 8 p.m. Music on Third on the 21st, 4 to 8 p.m. with light refreshments. 525 N. Third St. (906) 228-3058 or zerodegreesgallery.org

Munising

• UP-Scale Art. Featuring works by local and regional artists. Daily, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment. 109 W. Superior Ave. (906) 387-3300 or upscaleart.org

Rapid River

• The adhocWORKshop. Owner Ritch Branstrom creates sculptures with found objects inspired by the land in which the objects were found. By appointment or chance. 10495 South Main Street. (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

in.the.park@gmail.com

Ishpeming

• Feeding America Food Distribution Drive-Thru Site. 9 a.m. North Iron Church, 910 Palms Ave. feedwm.org

• Book Club. The selection will be I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Senior Center, 121 Greenwood St. (906) 486-4381 or

ishpeminglibrary.info

• Amy Sklansky Author Visit. Learn the “recipe” authors follow to make their ideas into published books from Amy Sklansky, author of These Little Piggies Go To The Beach . 6 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

• Summer Concert Series. Featuring The Ogeas. Bring your own chair. 7 p.m. Old Ish statue on Main Street.

L’Anse

• Lakefront Concert. Featuring smooth jazz, rock and country by Black Pearl. 7 p.m. Lakefront Park, Broad Street at the lake (rain location is Meadowbrook Arena, 204 Division St.).

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

• First Thursdays Art Tour. Local art galleries will remain open with evening hours, guest artists, demos, workshop tours, and more. 4 to 8 p.m. MQTcompass.com

• Wildcat Theatre Follies. This beginning-of-the-year showcase for NMU students features a collection of scenes, songs, monologues and dance pieces. $5 for NMU students, $10 for students, $12 for NMU faculty/staff, seniors, and military, and $17 for the general public. 7:30 p.m. Forest Roberts Theatre, NMU. nmu.universitytickets. com

Negaunee

• Music, Movement and More. This parent-led storytime is for children of all ages and their caregivers. 10:30 a.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

08 FRIDAY

sunrise 7:18 a.m.; sunset 8:17 p.m.

Crystal Falls

• Fourever Fab. This musical group has been performing the hits of the Beatles for more than 20 years. Prices vary. 7 p.m. The Crystal Theatre, 304 Superior St. (906) 875-3208 or thecrystaltheatre.org

• U.P. Notable Book Club (Zoom). The Crystal Falls Community District Library, in partnership with the U.P. Publishers and Authors Association (UPPAA), will host an online discussion with Ann Dallman, author of Cady and the Birchbark Box. The book is the second in the Cady Whirlwind Thunder young adult mystery series set in a fictional U.P. town loosely based on the Hannahville Potawatomi Indian Reservation. 7 p.m. via Zoom. egathu@crystalfallslibrary.org or (906) 875-3344.

Hancock

• Willow in the Garden Lecture. Experienced gardener and basket maker Poppy Hatinger will discuss willow and help jumpstart the creative process for working with willow as a sustainable resource. Part of the Barks and Willow Symposium supported by the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.

7 p.m. Finnish American Heritage Center, 435 Quincy St. (906) 482-2333, clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org or finlandia.edu/folkschool

Houghton

• Rozsa Soirée. The 2023-24 season kick-off party and fundraiser will feature Minnesota-based L.A. Buckner and his band BiG HOMiE. Pay As You’re Able tickets. 7 to 10 p.m. Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, 1400 Townsend Dr. (906) 487-1906 or rozsa@mtu.edu

Lake Linden

• Farmers Market. This family-friendly market showcases farm fresh produce, prepared foods, handcrafted items, live music, community causes and local information about the area. 4 to 7 p.m. Village Park. (906) 369-3971.

Marquette

• Docu Cinema: The Girl on the Bridge . To mark National Suicide Prevention Week, this documentary presents mental health activist Jazz Thornton’s journey to overcome her suicidal past and help others with their struggles. Noon. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4322, machatz@ pwpl.info, or www.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

• Wildcat Theatre Follies. This beginning-of-the-year showcase for NMU students features a collection of scenes, songs, monologues and dance pieces. $5 for NMU students, $10 for students, $12 for NMU faculty/staff, seniors, and military, and $17 for the general public. 7:30 p.m. Forest Roberts Theatre, NMU. nmu.universitytickets. com

• Siril Concert Series. “An Evening at the Opera” will feature soprano Tara Jamshidian and tenor Adam Lowe. Free for NMU students and youth, $12 for the general public. 7:30 p.m. Reynolds Recital Hall. nmu.universitytickets.com

09 SATURDAY

sunrise 7:19 a.m.; sunset 8:15 p.m.

Calumet

•  Community Market. Featuring fresh foods and local handcrafted gifts.

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 934-2228 or www.calumetartcenter.com

• Orphan Art Sale. Includes paintings, photography, crafts, and garden and home items. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 9342228 or www.calumetartcenter.com

Escanaba

• Ink Society Local Writers’ Group. Free for ages 16 and older. 10:30 a.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. (906) 789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org

• Lego Club. The theme is “Fall into Autumn.” 1 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. (906) 7897323 or escanabalibrary.org

• Back to School Scavenger Hunt. Students can drop in and complete six stations for the chance to win a gift card. Friends of the Library will provide snacks and swag. 1 to 3 p.m. Escanaba Public Library, 400 Ludington St. (906) 789-7323 or escanabalibrary.org

Houghton

• GeekU.P. Mini-Con Charity Event. The day-long event will offer an artists’ alley, vendors, cosplay contest, celebrity Q&As, autograph sessions, and more. This year’s charity recipient is Unite Mental Health and Wellness in Houghton. $10 for children 14 and younger and current MTU students with ID, $15 for adults. 12 to 7 p.m. Rozsa Center, 1400 Townsend Dr. (906) 523-7500 or www.GeekUP906.com

Ishpeming

• Skyla Arndt Author Visit. Skyla Arndt will read from her debut young adult novel Together We Rot, which is set in the Upper Peninsula, followed by a Q&A and book signing. 12 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

• Adult Fantasy Book Club. The selection will be Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes. 2 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to noon. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• Farmers Market. Includes farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marquette Commons, 112 South 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. Citizens Forum, Lakeview Arena, 401 E. Fair St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com

• NCLL: Alpaca and Dairy Farms. Participants will visit Rainbow’s End Alpacas in Norway and McBroom’s Family Dairy. Meet at Tadych’s

Marketplace in Marquette to carpool. $5 for NCLL members, $10 for non-members (plus money for driver if carpooling). 12:30 p.m. bbraden@ consultant.com

Negaunee

• Irontown Classics Car Show. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jackson Mine Park (formerly Old Town Park). (906) 475-5549.

10 SUNDAY

sunrise 7:20 a.m.; sunset 8:13 p.m.

Calumet

• Art Junkies. An arts and craft social group. Noon to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 231-0448.

Houghton

• Waddle Fencing Demonstration. Learn the basics of a waddle fence to edge a garden or construct a push back. Part of the Barks and Willow Symposium supported by the Michigan Arts and Culture Council. 1 p.m. Pewabic Street Community Garden, 204 E. Houghton Ave. (906) 482-2333, clare.zuraw@finlandiafoundation.org or finlandia.edu/folkschool

Ishpeming

• Bingo. Noon. Ishpeming VFW, 310 Bank St. (906) 486-4856.

Marquette

• MAPTA Fall Organizational Meeting. This is the only business meeting of the year for the Marquette Area Piano Teachers Association (MAPTA), which supports local piano teachers and provides events and performance opportunities for students of all ages. 6:15 p.m. Federation of Women’s Clubhouse, 104 W. Ridge St. estherbarrington@gmail.com

11 MONDAY

Gladstone

• Farmers Market. Includes local produce, baked goods and artisan crafts, as well as live music from local musicians. 3 to 6 p.m. 907 Delta Ave. gladstonemi.org

Marquette

• Wiggle Worms Storytime. Stories will be intermixed with hands-on, interactive activities and kids will be introduced to the idea of sitting, listening and waiting through patient redirection. 9:45 a.m. Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Zen Den. Youth in kindergarten through fifth grade can enjoy a 15-minute group yoga and guided meditation moment, followed by free play, mindfulness activity and craft stations. 4:30 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St.

(906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Senior Theatre Workshop and Discussion. Offered for ages 55 and older. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents. 5 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register, (906) 225-8655.

• Craft Magic Series: Origami Magic with Lydia Taylor. Participants will learn basic origami and leave with their own origami project. Space is limited to 10 participants. 6:30 p.m. Shiras Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info, or www.pwpl.info

• Square Dancing. No experience or partner is necessary for this free session. 7 p.m. Dance Zone, 1113 Lincoln Ave. (906) 236-1457 or www.dancezonemqt.org

Negaunee

• All-Ages Online Storytime. Miss Jessica will lead stories, songs and rhymes on Facebook Live. 11 a.m. www.facebook.com/ NegauneePublicLibrary. (906) 475-7700.

12 TUESDAY

sunrise 7:23 a.m.; sunset 8:09 p.m.

Ishpeming

• Tot Tuesday. Toddlers and preschoolers can enjoy stories, songs, and crafts. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 4864381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

• Adult Book Club. The selection will be Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese. 2 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 4864381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

Marquette

• Book Babies. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be offered for children up to 17 months old with a loving adult. Older siblings welcome. 9:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Preschool Storytime. Stories, songs, finger-plays, crafts and other school-readiness activities are offered for preschool-age children and a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work the way you want with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Ensure your device is charged and bring passwords with you. Sessions will be offered in 30-minute time slots between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4311.

• NCLL: The Key to a Healthy and Active Life after 55. Ryan Peterson, Fit Body Forever program director, will discuss the benefits of regular strength training. Those who are interested are invited to participate in a workout designed for 55 years and older. $5 for NCLL members, $10 for non-members. Noon. Marquette Fit Body Boot Camp, 625 County Road HQ. (906) 361-1919 or lisajstasiuk@gmail.com

• Tasty Reads Book Group. The selection will be Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal. Noon. Shiras Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4303 or www.pwpl.info

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested

Irontown Classics Car Show | September 9 | Negaunee

on the town

Gwinn

• Hideaway Bar.

- Mondays: The Hideaway All-Stars. 7 p.m.

741 M-35. (906) 346-3178.

• Up North Lodge.

- Sunday, September 3: Jim and Ray.

- Sunday, the 10th: Barefoot Davis and Up North Caribbean Band.

- Sunday, the 17th: Adam Carpenter.

- Sunday, the 24th: Darrell Syria Project.

Music from 4 to 8 p.m.

215 S. CR-557. (906) 346-9815.

Ishpeming

• Rainbow Bar.

- Friday, September 1: Chris Valenti. 5 to 8 p.m.

120 E. Canda St. (906) 486-8998

Marquette

• Blackrocks Brewery.

- Saturday, September 30: Oktoberfest. Noon to 11 p.m.

- Mondays: Open Mic. 6 to 9 p.m.

- Tuesdays: 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. 273-1300.

• Flanigan’s.

- Tuesday through Thursday: Karaoke. 9:30 p.m.

Cover charge on weekends only.

429 W. Washington St. (906) 228-8865.

• Hudson’s Classic Grill & Bar.

- Saturday, September 2: Chris Valenti. 6 to 9 p.m.

2463 US Hwy 41. (906) 225-5119

• Kognision Bryggeri.

- Saturday, September 2: Soul

Responsibility and Passed Out. Curbside, 7 p.m. to close.

- Sundays: Open Mic. 6 to 10 p.m.

1034 N. Third St. (906) 273-2727.

• Lake Superior Smokehouse.

- Saturday, September 2: Make Believe Spurs. 6 to 9 p.m.

- Friday, the 8th: Jim and Ray. 6 to 9 p.m.

- Saturday, the 16th: Chris Valenti. 6 to 9 p.m.

- Friday, the 22nd: Eddy and the Bluesers. 6 to 9 p.m.

- Saturday, the 23rd: Under the Radar. 6 to 9 p.m.

- Friday the 29th: Jim and Ray. 6 to 9 p.m.

- Saturday, the 30th: The Wallens. 6 to 9 p.m. 200 W. Main St. (906) 273-0952.

• Ore Dock Brewing Company.

- Friday, September 1: The Shouting Bones. 6 to 9 p.m.

- Friday, the 1st: The Organgrinders. 9:30 p.m.

- Saturday, the 2nd: Stonefolk. 6 to 9 p.m.

- Saturday, the 2nd: Adrianna Marie and Her Groovecutters. 10 p.m.

- Sunday, the 3rd: The Ivy Ford Band. 9:30 p.m.

- Friday, the 8th: Charlie Millard Band. 8 p.m. $10.

- Friday, the 15th: Lavender Lions.

8 p.m.

- Saturday, the 16th: Trapper Schoepp. 9 p.m.

- Friday, the 22nd: The Insiders: A Tribute to Tom Petty. 8 p.m. $18 in advance, $22 at the door.

- Friday, the 29th: Ramble Tamble.

8 p.m.

All shows are free unless noted. 114 W. Spring St. (906) 228-8888.

• Superior Culture.

- Tuesdays: Open Mic night. 8 to 10 p.m.

- Thursday, September 21: Chris Valenti. 9 to 11 p.m. 717 Third Street. (906) 273-0927 or superiorculturemqt.com

Palmer

• The Cade.

- Friday, September 22: Chris Valenti. 7 to 10 p.m. 103 Snyder St. (906) 401-0060.

Republic

• Pine Grove Bar.

- Friday, September 1: DSP. 7 to 10 p.m.

- Saturday, the 2nd: Noah Bauer. 1 to 4 p.m.

- Saturday, the 2nd: Soulshine. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

- Friday, the 8th: Troy Graham. 8 to 11 p.m.

- Saturday, the 9th: Toni Saari. 3 to 6 p.m.

- Saturday, the 9th: The Exploders. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

- Friday, the 15th: Brad Perala. 8 to 11 p.m.

- Saturday, the 16th: Lillian

Manceau. 3 to 6 p.m.

- Saturday, the 16th: Diversion. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

- Friday, the 22nd: Ethan Bott. 8 to 11 p.m.

- Saturday, the 23rd: Lillian Manceau. 3 to 6 p.m.

- Saturday, the 23rd: Money 2 Burn. 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

- Friday, the 29th: Money Shot Acoustic. 8 to 11 p.m.

- Saturday, the 30th: Lillian Manceau. 3 to 6 p.m.

- Saturday, the 30th: King of Mars. 8 p.m. to midnight. 286 Front St. (906) 376-2234. MM

Trapper Schoepp | September 16 | Ore Dock Brewing Company

players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. superiorland_bridge.tripod. com

• Lake Superior Knitters. Open to all ages and skill levels to mentor and share knowledge. If new to knitting, bring a 16- to 24-inch circular needle and skein of a worsted weight yarn (avoid dark yarn). Suggested donation of $1 to $5 per session to the MRHC. 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 to 3 p.m. Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 225-8655.

• Senior Dance Class. Offered for ages 55 and older. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents. 4 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register, (906) 225-8655.

• Dumbledore’s Army. Students in Grades 4 through 6 can turn their bedroom door into Platform 9-3/4 with a special door hanger. 4:30 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www. pwpl.info

• La Table Française. The French Program at NMU offers this informal conversation and discussion group. The topic is selected prior to meeting and presented by advanced students of French. Community members are welcome. 7 p.m. Room 311, Lydia M. Olson Library, NMU. (906) 227-2940 or llis@nmu.edu

13 WEDNESDAY

sunrise 7:24 a.m.; sunset 8:07 p.m.

Chassell

• Farmers Market. 3 to 6 p.m. 103 Third St. (616) 516-8557 or www.chassellmarket.com

Ishpeming

• Adult Book Club. The selection will be Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese. 6 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 4864381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 3 to 5:30 p.m. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• Toddler Storytime. Stories and songs, followed by sensory play activities will be offered for children ages 18 to 36 months with a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www. pwpl.info

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older. Call to reserve a meal. $3.50 suggested donation. Noon to 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. (906) 228-0456.

• Powerful Tools for Caregivers. This six-week program will provide the non-professional family caregiver with tools to help reduce stress, make tough decisions, reduce guilt, anger, and depression, communicate effectively, set goals and solve problems, and care for themselves while caring for a relative or friend. Registration is required. 1:30 p.m. Lake Superior Life Care & Hospice, 914 W. Baraga Ave. www.upcap.org or call 2-1-1.

• unTITLEd Teens. Teens in Grades 6-12 can celebrate J.R.R. Tolkien by creating fantasy maps, watching Lord of the Rings and more. 3 to 6 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4321, apierce@ pwpl.info, or www.pwpl.info

• Knitting Club. 5:30 p.m. Alley Kat’s Quilt Shop, 1010 W. Washington St. (906) 315-0050.

• Lynn Domina Book Launch and Reading. Poet Lynn Domina will read from her new poetry collection, Inland Sea, which was inspired by Lake Superior. 7 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4322, machatz@ pwpl.info, or www.pwpl.info

• Laughing Whitefish Audubon Society Presentation. Gary Palmer will present “Scarlet Macaw Captive Breeding Program in Costa Rica.” Palmer spent eight months volunteering for the Breeding Center and Wild Scarlet Macaw Reserve. 7 p.m. Shiras Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 361-9255.

Negaunee

• Knitting Group. Those interested in crocheting, knitting and other fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and share with others. Coffee provided.

1:30 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

• Wings of Fire Interest Group. Youth age eight and older are invited to discuss the series, write fanfiction, make crafts and other activities. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

• Farmer’s Market. Offering local farmers’ and artisans’ goods and creations. Drop-in vendors are welcome (tables and tents are available to rent). 4 to 7 p.m. Chiri Park, corner of Iron and Silver streets (across from the YMCA). market@cityofnegaunee.com

Sault Ste. Marie

• Soo Film Festival. The festival includes a mix of features, shorts, and animation. It focuses on Great Lakes films and filmmakers, but entry was open worldwide. Featured selections will screen at the Bayliss Public Library for free; all programs at the Soo Theatre are ticketed. Prices vary. soofilmfestival.org

14 THURSDAY

sunrise 7:25 a.m.; sunset 8:05 p.m.

Calumet

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library. (906) 337-0311.

Ishpeming

• VFW Auxiliary Meeting. 1:30 p.m. Ishpeming VFW, 310 Bank St. (906) 486-4856.

• Crochet Club. Socialize with fellow crafters or learn how to crochet. 2 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

• Great Lakes Great Books Club. The selection will be To the Front! Clara Barton Braves the Battle of Antietam by Claudia Friddell and illustrated by Christopher Cyr. Open to students in Grades 4 and 5. 6 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

• Friends of the Library Monthly Meeting. New members are welcome. 7 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 4864381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

L’Anse

• Lakefront Concert. Featuring music from the 1970s until today by Uncle Floyd. 7 p.m. Lakefront Park, Broad Street at the lake (rain location is Meadowbrook Arena, 204 Division St.).

Marquette

• Book Babies. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be offered for children up to 17 months old with a loving adult. Older siblings welcome. 9:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work the way you want with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Ensure your device is charged and bring passwords with you. Sessions will be offered in 30-minute time slots between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4311.

• Toddler Storytime. Stories and songs, followed by sensory play activities will be offered for children ages 18 to 36 months with a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www. 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

• 18th Annual Cemetery Walk. This

year’s tour will focus on educators from the community. Enjoy a stroll with a tour guide, a sel-guided version or a seated version (bring your own chair). $5. 1 and 6 p.m. Park Cemetery, main gate, Seventh St. (906) 226-3571 or marquettehistory.org

• Fandom Fun: Minecraft. This Minecraft-themed event will include hands-on activities, crafts, Creeper toss and more. There will not be computer Minecraft gaming. 4:30 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• Line Dancing. Learn the moves and a classic line dance or two. No experience or partner is necessary for this free session. 7 p.m. Dance Zone, 1113 Lincoln Ave. (906) 236-1457 or www. dancezonemqt.org

• Science on Tap. Hosted by the NMU chapter of Sigma Xi. All ages. 7 p.m. Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. (906) 228-8888.

Negaunee

• Music, Movement and More. This parent-led storytime is for children of all ages and their caregivers. 10:30 a.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

Sault Ste. Marie

• Soo Film Festival. The festival includes a mix of features, shorts, and animation. It focuses on Great Lakes films and filmmakers, but entry was open worldwide. Featured selections will screen at the Bayliss Public Library for free; all programs at the Soo Theatre are ticketed. Prices vary. soofilmfestival.org

Caspian

• History Happy Hour: Disappearance of Father Menard. 6 to 8 p.m. Iron County Museum, 100 Brady Ave. (906) 265-2617 or info@ IronCountyMuseum.org

Houghton

• DANCER. This weekend of dance will feature Woodland Sky Native American Dance Company and the Grand Rapids Ballet. Pay As You’re Able tickets. 7:30 p.m. Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, 1400 Townsend Dr. (906) 487-1906 or rozsa@mtu.edu

Ishpeming

• Homeschool Hangout. Homeschooling families can hang out with friends, network with library staff and learn about library resources. 10 a.m. to noon. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

Lake Linden

• Farmers Market. This family-friendly market showcases farm

fresh produce, prepared foods, handcrafted items, live music, community causes and local information about the area. 4 to 7 p.m. Village Park. (906) 369-3971.

Marquette

• Preschool Storytime. Stories, songs, finger-plays, crafts and other school-readiness activities are offered for preschool-age children and a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• Global Cinema: Louis Malle’s Au revoir les enfants. In this semi-autobiographical film, director Louis Malle tells the story of friendship and loss between two boys living in Nazioccupied France. Noon. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info, or www.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

• Kennel Club Dog Shows. There will be one conformation show, obedience and rally trial, as well as a canine good citizen test, trick dog test and fun match. Marquette County Fairgrounds, 715 State Hwy. M-553. www.themkc. org

• LEGO Club. Participants can meet other LEGO enthusiasts and build projects with the library’s LEGO blocks. 4 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• NMU Homecoming Parade. The parade will run along Third Street from Fair to Hewitt, then back on Front Street to Fair. 5:30 p.m. nmu.

edu/homecoming

• Superior String Alliance Chamber Players Concert. Cellist Adam Hall will perform solo Bach and more. 7 p.m. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 201 E. Ridge St. superiorstringalliance.org

Sault Ste. Marie

• Soo Film Festival. The festival includes a mix of features, shorts, and animation. It focuses on Great Lakes films and filmmakers, but entry was open worldwide. Prices vary. Soo Theatre, 534 Ashmun St. soofilmfestival.org

16 SATURDAY sunrise 7:28 a.m.; sunset 8:01 p.m.

Calumet

•  Community Market. Featuring fresh foods and local handcrafted gifts. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 934-2228 or www.calumetartcenter.com

• Orphan Art Sale. Includes paintings, photography, crafts, and garden and home items. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 9342228 or www.calumetartcenter.com

Hancock

• Parade of Nations. International residents and visitors from more than 50 countries will display flags, floats and fanfare during the parade. The parade begins near the Finnish-American Heritage Center and ends at Dee Stadium in Houghton. 11 a.m. Quincy Green, 401 Quincy St. (906) 487-2160 or mtu.edu/international

Houghton

• DANCER. This weekend of dance will feature Woodland Sky Native

American Dance Company and the Grand Rapids Ballet. Pay As You’re Able tickets. 7:30 p.m. Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, 1400 Townsend Dr. (906) 487-1906 or rozsa@mtu.edu

Ishpeming

• Graphic Novel Book Club. The selection will be Growing Pangs by Kathryn Ormsbee. Open to students in Grades 4 to 8. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

• Bingo. Noon. Ishpeming VFW, 310 Bank St. (906) 486-4856.

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to noon. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• Farmers Market. Includes farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marquette Commons, 112 South Third St. mqtfarmersmarket. com

• Kennel Club Dog Shows. There will be two conformation shows, obedience and rally trials. Marquette County Fairgrounds, 715 State Hwy. M-553. www.themkc.org

• NMU Tailgate Party. There will be food, refreshments, bounce houses, yard games and live music before the NMU Homecoming football game. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Behind the Superior Dome. nmu.edu/homecoming

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. Lessons, 10 a.m. Games, 11:30 a.m. Citizens Forum, Lakeview Arena, 401 E. Fair St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com

• Saturday Storytime. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be geared towards babies and toddlers with a loving adult. Older siblings welcome. 10:30 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• NMU Theatre and Dance Homecoming Reception. This event will celebrate 60 years of theater and dance at NMU. 7 p.m. Forest Roberts Theatre and Black Box Theatre. To register, nmu.universitytickets.com

Sault Ste. Marie

• Soo Film Festival. The festival includes a mix of features, shorts, and animation. It focuses on Great Lakes films and filmmakers, but entry was open worldwide. Prices vary. Soo Theatre, 534 Ashmun St. soofilmfestival.org

Skandia

• Pie Sale. Proceeds support scholarships and youth development. Sponsored by South County Fund Committee “Women Who Care.” 9 a.m. until the pies are gone. West Branch Township Hall, 1016 Co. Rd. 545.

NMU Homecoming Parade| September 15 | Marquette

Courtesy of NMU

17 SUNDAY

sunrise 7:29 a.m.; sunset 8:00 p.m.

Calumet

• Art Junkies. Meet others at this arts and craft social group. Noon to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 231-0448.

Gwinn

• Dance. Music will be provided by the Hart Beats. All are welcome. 1 to 5 p.m. K.I. Sawyer Heritage Air Museum, 402 Third St. (906) 346-2251.

Marquette

• Kennel Club Dog Shows. There will be one conformation show, obedience and rally trial. Marquette County Fairgrounds, 715 State Hwy. M-553. www.themkc.org

Sault Ste. Marie

• Soo Film Festival. The festival includes a mix of features, shorts, and animation. It focuses on Great Lakes films and filmmakers, but entry was open worldwide. Prices vary. Soo Theatre, 534 Ashmun St. soofilmfestival.org

18 MONDAY

sunrise 7:30 a.m.; sunset 7:58 p.m.

Gladstone

• Farmers Market. Includes local produce, baked goods and artisan crafts, as well as live music from local musicians. 3 to 6 p.m. 907 Delta Ave. gladstonemi.org

Marquette

• Wiggle Worms Storytime. Stories will be intermixed with hands-on, interactive activities and kids will be introduced to the idea of sitting, listening and waiting through patient redirection. 9:45 a.m. Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Comic Creators. Youth in Grades 2 to 6 can create their own graphic novel. Participants can also meet other graphic novel and comic book fans, talk about favorite books, and do graphic novel crafts. 4:30 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Quick Fics Book Group. The novella selection will be This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amar El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. 6 p.m. Dandelion Cottage Room, Peter White Library, 217 N. Front St. www.pwpl.info

• Middle Earth Madness: Screening of Tolkien. This biopic explores the childhood, education, and wartime experiences of author J.R.R. Tolkien, leading up to the writing of The Hobbit (rated PG-13). 6:30 p.m. Shiras Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N.

Front St. (906) 226-4322, machatz@ pwpl.info, or www.pwpl.info

• Square Dancing. No experience or partner is necessary for this free session. 7 p.m. Dance Zone, 1113 Lincoln Ave. (906) 236-1457 or www.dancezonemqt.org

Negaunee

• All-Ages Online Storytime. Miss Jessica will lead stories, songs and rhymes on Facebook Live. 11 a.m. www.facebook.com/ NegauneePublicLibrary. (906) 475-7700.

19 TUESDAY sunrise 7:32 a.m.; sunset 7:56 p.m.

Ishpeming

• Tot Tuesday. Toddlers and preschoolers can enjoy stories, songs, and crafts. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 4864381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

Marquette

• Book Babies. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be offered for children up to 17 months old with a loving adult. Older siblings welcome.

9:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Preschool Storytime. Stories, songs, finger-plays, crafts and other school-readiness activities are offered for preschool-age children and a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work the way you want with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Ensure your device is charged and bring passwords with you. Sessions will be offered in 30-minute time slots between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (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 to 3 p.m. Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 225-8655.

• Dungeons and Dragons @ PWPL. In partnership with Iron Golem Games, students in Grades 6 through 12 can participate in this role-playing game. Registration is required. 4 p.m. Teen Zone, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4321, apierce@ pwpl.info orpwpl.info

ages 55 and older. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents. 4 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register, (906) 225-8655.

activities will be offered for children ages 18 to 36 months with a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• Senior Dance Class. Offered for

• Muggles for Potter. Students in Grades 2 and 3 can get ready for admittance to Hogwarts with their own wand and learning wand moves.

4:30

p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• Dungeons and Dragons Junior @ PWPL. PWPL staff member Cat will lead a quest with this role-playing game for students in Grades 4 and 5. Online advance registration required. 4:30 p.m. Conference Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Artists and Their Art: Whistler (Zoom). Art historian Ellen Longsworth and novelist John Smolens will discuss American painter James Whistler. Smolens will also read his short story Whistler’s Mistress. 7 p.m. (via Zoom). (906) 226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info or pwpl.info/events

• Euchre. 7 p.m. Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. (906) 373-6183.

• La Table Française. The French Program at NMU offers this informal conversation and discussion group. The topic is selected prior to meeting and presented by advanced students of French. Community members are welcome. 7 p.m. Room 311, Lydia M. Olson Library, NMU. (906) 227-2940 or llis@nmu.edu

Chassell

• Farmers Market. 3 to 6 p.m. 103 Third St. (616) 516-8557 or www.chassellmarket.com

Ishpeming

• Adult Horror Book Club. The selection will be Slewfoot by Brom. 6 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 3 to 5:30 p.m. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• All Booked Up (virtual). Upper Michigan Today’s Elizabeth Peterson and Tia Trudgeon along with Peter White Public Library staff will hold a virtual discussion of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver via the TV6 Facebook page. (906) 2264322, machatz@pwpl.info, or www. pwpl.info

• Toddler Storytime. Stories and songs, followed by sensory play

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older. 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 selection will be A Place of My Own by Michael Pollen. 1 p.m. Conference Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4311 or refdesk@pwpl.info

• Senior Visual Art Classes: Chalk Pastels with Colleen Maki. Offered for ages 55 and older. Supplies will be provided. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents, $5 suggested donation for non-residents. 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.

• Powerful Tools for Caregivers. This six-week program will provide the non-professional family caregiver with tools to help reduce stress, make tough decisions, reduce guilt, anger, and depression, communicate effectively, set goals and solve problems, and care for themselves while caring for a relative or friend. Registration is required. 1:30 p.m. Lake Superior Life Care & Hospice, 914 W. Baraga Ave. www.upcap.org or call 2-1-1.

• NCLL: Cass and His 1820 Expedition to Copper Country. Dan Truckey will offer a contextual view of the journey of Lewis Cass, its participants, and its lasting impacts on the region’s environment and Indigenous peoples. $5 for NCLL members, $10 for non-members. 2 p.m. NMU Beaumier Heritage Center, Gries Hall, Seventh Street and Lee Drive. (906) 249-1273 or camfixer@pasty. net

• Outword. LGBTQIA youth and ally students in Grades 7 to 12 are welcome. 4 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4321, apierce@pwpl.info, or www.pwpl.info

• Middle Earth Madness: The Life and Imaginative Universe of J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien scholar Peter Goodrich will provide a virtual presentation on the life and imagination of the renowned writer. This event will also be available on Zoom. 7 p.m. Shiras Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info, or pwpl.info/events

Negaunee

• Knitting Group. Those interested in crocheting, knitting and other fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and share with others. Coffee provided. 1:30 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

museums

Big Bay

• Big Bay Lighthouse. The grounds of the 1896 lighthouse are open year-round. 3 Lighthouse Rd. (906) 345-9957.

Calumet

• Coppertown Mining Museum. View exhibits relative to the copper mining industry and community life. Prices vary. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 25815 Red Jacket Rd. (906) 337-4354.

• 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.

Copper Harbor

• Fort Wilkins State Park. Built in 1844, this fort is a well-preserved nineteenth-century military post and lighthouse complex. Through museum exhibits, audio-visual programs and costumed interpretation, visitors can explore the daily routine of military service, experience the hardships of frontier isolation and discover another era. Park store, bookstore, concession stand and campsites are on site. $17 per car, per day for Michigan residents, $9 for nonresidents. 8:30 a.m. to dusk. US-41 (one mile east of Copper Harbor). (906) 289-4215.

Eagle Harbor

• Eagle Harbor Life Saving Museum. View displays of early wooden rescue boats, surfboats, life-cars and more. Donations appreciated. Daily, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Marina Rd. keweenawhistory.org

• Eagle Harbor Light Station Museum and Lighthouse. The original lighthouse was built in 1851, which was replaced by the present red brick structure in 1871. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to operate the light at the top of the tower as an active navigational aid. Free for children 16 and younger and KCHS members, $8 for adults. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. 670 Lighthouse Rd. keweenawhistory.org

Eagle River

• Eagle River Museum. The museum focuses on four themes, including the Cliff Mine, the town of Eagle River, the town and mine of Phoenix, and the Crestview amusement area. Donations appreciated. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. M-26. keweenawhistory.org

Escanaba

• Upper Peninsula Honor Flight Legacy Museum. The museum chronicles the history of the U.P. Honor Flights with the history of the trips. Donations appreciated. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by request. Inside the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, 1001 N. Lincoln Rd.

• Upper Peninsula Military 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. Donations appreciated. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by request. Inside the Delta County Chamber of Commerce, 1001 N. Lincoln Rd.

Garden

• Fayette Historic Townsite. This site was once one of the Upper Peninsula’s most productive iron-smelting operations. A town of nearly 500 residents grew up around two blast furnaces, a large dock and several charcoal kilns. It now includes a visitor center, museum exhibits, a 26-station walking tour and a scale model of the original townsite. $17 per car, per day for Michigan residents, $9 for nonresidents. Daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 14785 II Road. (906) 644-2603.

Grand Marais

• Pickle Barrel House Museum. This 16-foot-high barrel has been restored to its condition as a cottage, built for author and illustrator William Donahey, who created the Teenie Weenie characters. $1. Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. Downtown. grandmaraismichigan.com

Greenland

• Adventure Mining Company. The mine opened in 1850 and remains one of the best-preserved sites of its time. Although the mine closed in 1920, many of the shafts are still open for touring. Tours range from surface walking tours to underground rappelling down a mineshaft. Prices vary. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 200 Adventure Ave. (906) 883-3371 or adventuremine.com

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. Daily guided tours; prices and hours vary. 49750 US-41. (906) 482-3101 or quincymine.com

Houghton

• A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum. New 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. New exhibits are Message in a Bottle, featuring artifacts long buried beneath Houghton’s streets that were found during excavations in 2021; and Celebrate the Lift Bridge, which includes building activities and the 1960s-era video about building the Lift Bridge.

Tuesday through Friday, 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 extensive underground mining equipment. Prices vary. Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. 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. Monday through Saturday,

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West Shore Fishing Museum | Menominee

museums

(continued from page 82)

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. 302 Kent St. (906) 774-1086 or menomineemuseum.com

Ishpeming

• Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum. View local historical artifacts of miners and mines, past and present, safety equipment, blasting and diamond drilling equipment and more. Guided tours of the tunnels are available. Prices vary. Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 501 W. Euclid St. (906) 4851882 or cliffsshaftminemuseum.com

• Ishpeming Area Historical Society Museum. Displays include a military exhibit and artifacts from the Elson Estate. Donations appreciated. 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, 9 a.m. to 4 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. Donations appreciated. Wednesday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. 402 Third St. kishamuseum.org or (906) 236-3502.

Lake Linden

• Houghton County Historical Museum. Exhibits include local Copper Country mining, logging and cultural history. Outdoor exhibits

• Wings of Fire Interest Group. Youth age eight and older are invited to discuss the series, write fanfiction, make crafts and other activities. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

• Farmer’s Market. Offering local farmers’ and artisans’ goods and creations. Drop-in vendors are welcome (tables and tents are available to rent). 4 to 7 p.m. Chiri Park, corner of Iron and Silver streets (across from the YMCA). market@cityofnegaunee.com

• Negaunee Beautification Committee Meeting. Ideas and suggestions are always welcome. 6:30 p.m. Jackson Park Pavilion. (906) 362-8160.

include a working Calumet & Hecla Mining Company train. Prices, days and hours vary. 53102 M-26. (906) 296-4121 or houghtonhistory.org

Marquette

• Baraga Educational Center and Museum. View artifacts and tools used by Venerable Bishop Baraga. Donations appreciated. Monday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. and by appointment. 615 S. Fourth St. (906) 227-9117.

• Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center. Claiming Michigan: The 1820 Expedition of Lewis Cass, featuring images, journal excerpts, detailed narrative information and large-format maps, will explore the reasons and the long-term impact of the expedition on the region. The exhibit will run September 16 through January 27, 2024, with an opening reception at 1 p.m. on the 16th. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, 12 to 4 p.m. Corner of Seventh and Tracy streets. NMU. (906) 227-1219 or nmu.edu/ beaumier

• Marquette Maritime Museum. Exhibits on shipwrecks in Marquette and Lake Superior, early life-saving and U.S. Coast Guard, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Henry B. Smith, and more. Guided tours of the Marquette Lighthouse are also available. Free for children 2 and younger and active military; Museums for All passholders, $3; children ages 3 to 12, $5; students with ID, $6; seniors and retired military, $7; adults, $8. Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 300 N. Lakeshore Blvd. (906) 226-2006 or mqtmaritimemuseum. com

• Marquette Regional History Center. Exposing Photography: Anything but a Small Business, featuring the works of U.P. photographers, their studios and equipment, will be on display through January 13, 2024.

21 THURSDAY

sunrise 7:34 a.m.; sunset 7:52 p.m.

Calumet

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library. (906) 337-0311.

Marquette

• Book Babies. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be offered for children up to 17 months old with a loving adult. Older siblings welcome. 9:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn

The museum also includes interactive displays as well as regional history exhibits. Youth 12 and younger, $2; students, $3; seniors, $6; adults, $7. Monday through 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. Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 123 W. Baraga Ave. (906) 226-3911 or upchildrensmuseum.org

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 home and surrounding gardens. Walk the expanded woodland pathways. View exhibits of boats, equipment and practices of commercial fishermen and Native Americans who lived on the west shore of Green Bay. Saturday and Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. Closes Sept. 3. 15 miles north of Menominee or 8 miles south of Cedar River on M-35. Turn at Bailey Park entrance. (715) 923-9756.

Mohawk

• The Delaware Mine. Take selfguided tours of veins of copper exposed in the walls of the mine, as well as indoor and outdoor train displays. Daily, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 7804 Delaware Rd. (906) 289-4688.

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, noon to 4 p.m. 1496 Washington St. (906) 387-4308.

Negaunee

how to make your electronic devices work the way you want with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Ensure your device is charged and bring passwords with you. Sessions will be offered in 30-minute time slots between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4311.

• Toddler Storytime. Stories and songs, followed by sensory play activities will be offered for children ages 18 to 36 months with a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www. pwpl.info

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge

• Michigan Iron Industry Museum. In the forested ravines of the Marquette Iron Range, 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 largescale capital and human investment that made Michigan an industrial leader. The museum is one of 10 museums and historic sites administered by the Michigan Historical Center. Michigan Recreation Passport required for parking. Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 73 Forge Rd. (906) 475-7857.

Painesdale

• Painesdale Mine and Shaft Inc. Tours of the ground level are free and visitors can see the hoist house, the captain’s office and the ground levels of the shaft house. Guides can provide interpretive information. Private tours available. Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. 42634 Second St. (906) 369-5358 or painsedalemineshaft.com

Phoenix

• Phoenix Church. Originally built in 1858 and located in the town of Cliff, the church was dismantled and reassembled in its current location in 1899. The last mass was held in 1957. Donations appreciated. Daily, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Junction of US-41 and M-26. keweenawhistory.org

South Range

• Copper Range Historical Museum. Exhibits recreate life from the early 1900s to the mid-1950s of the immigrants who built the towns and villages of the area. Collections include photographs, books and artifacts. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 3 p.m. Trimountain Ave. (906) 482-6125.

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

• Powerful Tools for Caregivers (Online). This six-week program will provide the non-professional family caregiver with tools to help reduce stress, make tough decisions, reduce guilt, anger, and depression, communicate effectively, set goals and solve problems, and care for themselves while caring for a relative or friend. Registration is required. Online. www. upcap.org or call 2-1-1.

• NCLL: Gun Safety and Practice. A mandatory gun safety training and demonstration of various guns and

rifles will be followed by the opportunity to handle guns and practice gun skills. Bring safety glasses and ear protection. $5 for NCLL members, $10 for non-members. 3 p.m. Negaunee Rod and Gun Club, 335 North Rd. (906) 250-9492 or mosullivan@upfirst.com, or (906) 236-2947 or tcarter@upfirst. com

• Fandom Fun: Cats. Participants will enjoy cat-themed activities and crafts. 4:30 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Friends of Peter White Public Library Fall Used Book Sale. $5. 5 to 8 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 228-9510.

• Music on Third. A variety of local musicians play along the sidewalks of Third Street in Marquette’s Downtown District. 6 to 8 p.m. www.downtownmarquette.org

Negaunee

• Music, Movement and More. This parent-led storytime is for children of all ages and their caregivers. 10:30 a.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

22 FRIDAY

sunrise 7:36 a.m.; sunset 7:50 p.m.

Calumet

• Calumet-Keweenaw Sportsmen’s Club Gun and Knife Show. The event will feature vendors, guns, knives, ammo for sale, food and more. Proceeds support the Supplemental Deer Feeding Program. Free for children 12 and younger, $5 for adults. 4 to 9 p.m. Siskiwit Reception Hall and Conference Center, 26070 Pine St.

Lake Linden

• Farmers Market. This family-friendly market showcases farm fresh produce, prepared foods, handcrafted items, live music, community causes and local information about the area. 4 to 7 p.m. Village Park. (906) 369-3971.

Marquette

• Friends of Peter White Public Library Fall Used Book Sale. 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 228-9510.

• Preschool Storytime. Stories, songs, finger-plays, crafts and other school-readiness activities are offered for preschool-age children and a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• Blockbusting Cinema: A Man

Called Otto. Tom Hanks stars in this 2022 film about a curmudgeon who reluctantly gets involved in the lives of his neighbors after losing his wife. Noon. Shiras Room, Peter White Public

Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264322, machatz@pwpl.info, or www. 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

• LEGO Club. Participants can meet other LEGO enthusiasts and build projects with the library’s LEGO blocks. 4 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

23 SATURDAY

sunrise 7:37 a.m.; sunset 7:48 p.m.

Big Bay

• Fall Fest. The festival will include bounce houses, giant Jenga, corn hole, food, raffles, music, vendors, cemetery tours and more. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Draver Park. BigBayStewardship.org

Calumet

• Calumet-Keweenaw Sportsmen’s Club Gun and Knife Show. The event will feature vendors, guns, knives, ammo for sale, food and more. Proceeds support the Supplemental Deer Feeding Program. Free for children 12 and younger, $5 for adults. 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Siskiwit Reception Hall and Conference Center, 26070 Pine St.

•  Community Market. Featuring fresh foods and local handcrafted gifts. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 934-2228 or www.calumetartcenter.com

• Orphan Art Sale. Includes paintings, photography, crafts, and garden and home items. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 9342228 or www.calumetartcenter.com

Chatham

• Barn Dance. Presented by Alger County Communities That Care (AC3). Music by Granny Fox and the Farm Hands and Dance Caller Jo Foley, hayrides, a cake and pie auction, kids’ tent, corn hole tournament and more. 4 to 8 p.m. MSU North Farm, Rock River Road. (906) 250-4825 or (906) 202-2197.

Ishpeming

• Young Adult Book Club. The selection will be A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft. 3 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 486-4381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to noon. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• Farmers Market. Includes farmers,

growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marquette Commons, 112 South Third St. mqtfarmersmarket. com

• Friends of Peter White Public Library Used Book Sale. 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 228-9510.

• Costume Swap. Kids’ costumes and dress-up apparel are first-come, firstserve. For families with youth of all ages. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower Level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. Lessons, 10 a.m. Games, 11:30 a.m. Citizens Forum, Lakeview Arena, 401 E. Fair St. superiorland_bridge.tripod.com

• Saturday Storytime. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be geared towards babies and toddlers with a loving adult. Older siblings welcome. 10:30 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

Mohawk

• Keweenaw Wilderness Walk. 4 p.m. Haven Falls Waterfall, 6280 Gay Lac La Belle Rd. www.upwild.org/events

24 SUNDAY

sunrise 7:38 a.m.; sunset 7:46 p.m.

Calumet

• Art Junkies. An arts and craft social group. Noon to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 231-0448.

Curtis

• The Magic of the Night Sky in Upper Michigan. Astrophotographer Shawn Malone will offer an immersive high-definition visual presentation of the magic of Upper Michigan’s night sky. $15 in advance, $20 at the door. 2 p.m. The Pine Performance Center, 9224 Saw-Wa-Quato St. mynorthtickets.com

25 MONDAY

sunrise 7:39 a.m.; sunset 7:44 p.m.

Gladstone

• Farmers Market. Includes local produce, baked goods and artisan crafts, as well as live music from local musicians. 3 to 6 p.m. 907 Delta Ave. gladstonemi.org

Marquette

• Wiggle Worms Storytime. Stories will be intermixed with hands-on, interactive activities and kids will be introduced to the idea of sitting, listening and waiting through patient redirection. 9:45 a.m. Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Aging U.P. Presentation. Christine Harkness, MS, CCC-SLP, speech language pathologist, in coordination with Jamie Barbiere, R.N., community outreach coordinator from Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice, will discuss the benefits of positive attitudes toward aging. Cognitive screenings will also be offered. 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. lakesuperiorhospice.org

• Art Sparks. Kids in Grades 2 through 6 can Chalk the Walk (and library steps). 4:30 p.m. Front Street Steps, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www. pwpl.info

• Senior Theatre Workshop and Discussion. Offered for ages 55 and older. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents. 5 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register, (906) 225-8655.

• Gordon Lightfoot Tribute Concert. Musician Eric Elison, known as the “Lightfoot of the Rockies,” will perform music by the late Gordon Lightfoot. 7 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4322, machatz@ pwpl.info, or www.pwpl.info

Negaunee

• All-Ages Online Storytime. Miss Jessica will lead stories, songs and rhymes on Facebook Live. 11 a.m. www.facebook.com/ NegauneePublicLibrary. (906) 475-7700.

26

Ishpeming

• Tot Tuesday. Toddlers and preschoolers can enjoy stories, songs, and crafts. 11 a.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 4864381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

Marquette

• Book Babies. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be offered for children up to 17 months old with a loving adult. Older siblings welcome. 9:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Preschool Storytime. Stories, songs, finger-plays, crafts and other school-readiness activities are offered for preschool-age children and a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work the way you want with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Ensure your device is charged and bring passwords with you. Sessions will be offered in 30-minute

time slots between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4311.

• Lake Superior Knitters. Open to all ages and skill levels to mentor and share knowledge. If new to knitting, bring a 16- to 24-inch circular needle and skein of a worsted weight yarn (avoid dark yarn). Suggested donation of $1 to $5 per session to the MRHC.

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 to 3 p.m. Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 225-8655.

• Senior Dance Class. Offered for ages 55 and older. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents. 4 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register, (906) 225-8655.

• Junior Explorers. Curious kids in kindergarten through third grade will learn about bugs and butterflies. 4:30 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• PWPL Board of Trustees Meeting. The meeting is open to all. 5 p.m. Shiras Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. www.pwpl.info

• NCLL: 2023 Antarctic Circle Expedition. Carol Margrif and Lorna Addison will present a journey through Antarctica via Powerpoint of their 12-day small ship adventure. It will include information from six naturalists who were also on board. $5 for NCLL members, $10 for non-members. 6:30 p.m. Room B101, Superior Dome, NMU. (906) 361-5370 or jhigbie@ nmu.edu

• Bluesday Tuesday. The Marquette Blues Society will present a blues concert. 7 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4322, machatz@pwpl.info, or www.pwpl.info

• Euchre. 7 p.m. Ore Dock Brewing Company, 114 W. Spring St. (906) 373-6183.

• La Table Française. The French Program at NMU offers this informal conversation and discussion group. The topic is selected prior to meeting and presented by advanced students of French. Community members are welcome. 7 p.m. Room 311, Lydia M. Olson Library, NMU. (906) 227-2940 or llis@nmu.edu

27 WEDNESDAY sunrise 7:42 a.m.; sunset 7:40 p.m.

Chassell

• Farmers Market. 3 to 6 p.m. 103 Third St. (616) 516-8557 or www.chassellmarket.com

Ishpeming

• Introduction to Bird Watching. Staff from the Laughing Whitefish Audubon Society will discuss bird identification, migration patterns, and the importance of bird awareness.

5:30 p.m. Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. (906) 4864381 or ishpeminglibrary.info

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 3 to 5:30 p.m. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• Toddler Storytime. Stories and songs, followed by sensory play activities will be offered for children ages 18 to 36 months with a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www. pwpl.info

• Congregate Meals for Seniors–Dine in or Curbside Pickup. Meals available to those age 60 and older. Call to reserve a meal. $3.50 suggested donation. Noon to 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. (906) 228-0456.

• Senior Visual Art Classes: Field Drawing with Amelia Pruiett. Offered for ages 55 and older. Supplies will be provided. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents, $5 suggested donation for non-residents.

1 p.m. Presque Isle Pavilion, 3 Peter White Dr. To register, (906) 225-8655.

• Powerful Tools for Caregivers. This six-week program will provide the non-professional family caregiver with tools to help reduce stress, make tough decisions, reduce guilt, anger, and depression, communicate effectively, set goals and solve problems, and care for themselves while caring for a relative or friend. Registration is required. 1:30 p.m. Lake Superior Life Care & Hospice, 914 W. Baraga Ave. www.upcap.org or call 2-1-1.

• Lisa Fosmo Book Launch and Reading. Poet Lisa Fosmo will read from her debut poetry collection, Mercy Is a Bright Darkness 7 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264322, machatz@pwpl.info, or www. pwpl.info

Negaunee

• Knitting Group. Those interested in crocheting, knitting and other fiber arts are welcome to bring their projects and share with others. Coffee provided. 1:30 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

• Wings of Fire Interest Group. Youth age eight and older are invited to discuss the series, write fanfiction, make crafts and other activities. 3 p.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

• Farmer’s Market. Offering local farmers’ and artisans’ goods and

creations. Drop-in vendors are welcome (tables and tents are available to rent). 4 to 7 p.m. Chiri Park, corner of Iron and Silver streets (across from the YMCA). market@cityofnegaunee.com

28 THURSDAY

sunrise 7:43 a.m.; sunset 7:38 p.m.

Calumet

• Preschool Story Time. 10:15 a.m. Calumet Public Library. (906) 337-0311.

• The Addams Family Musical. Presented by the Calumet Players, the show follows the eccentric Addams family as they navigate a clash of cultures when Wednesday invites her boyfriend and his parents over for dinner to make a big announcement. $15 for students, $18 for adults. 7 p.m. Calumet Theatre, 340 Sixth St. (906) 337-2610 or www.calumettheatre.com

Marquette

• Book Babies. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be offered for children up to 17 months old with a loving adult. Older siblings welcome. 9:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• Tech Coaching for Seniors. Learn how to make your electronic devices work the way you want with the help of retired teacher and librarian Christine Ault. Ensure your device is charged and bring passwords with you. Sessions will be offered in 30-minute time slots between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Heritage Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4311.

• Toddler Storytime. Stories and songs, followed by sensory play activities will be offered for children ages 18 to 36 months with a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www. pwpl.info

• NCLL: City of Marquette Cultural Trail Project. Tiina Harris, arts and culture manager, will discuss the development of a new cultural trail through public space design, public art, and interpretive signage. $5 for NCLL members, $10 for non-members. 11 a.m. Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower Level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 225-1004.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. 12:30 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St.

• Powerful Tools for Caregivers (Online). This six-week program will provide the non-professional family caregiver with tools to help reduce stress, make tough decisions, reduce guilt, anger, and depression, communicate effectively, set goals and solve problems, and care for themselves

while caring for a relative or friend. Registration is required. Online. www. upcap.org or call 2-1-1.

• Fandom Fun: Dog Man . This Dog Man-themed event will include hands-on activities, crafts and more all about the graphic novel characters Dog Man and Cat Kid. 4:30 p.m. Community Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

Negaunee

• Music, Movement and More. This parent-led storytime is for children of all ages and their caregivers. 10:30 a.m. Negaunee Public Library, 319 W. Case St. (906) 475-7700..

29 FRIDAY

sunrise 7:45 a.m.; sunset 7:36 p.m.

Calumet

• The Addams Family Musical. Presented by the Calumet Players, the show follows the eccentric Addams family as they navigate a clash of cultures when Wednesday invites her boyfriend and his parents over for dinner to make a big announcement. $15 for students, $18 for adults. 7 p.m. Calumet Theatre, 340 Sixth St. (906) 337-2610 or www.calumettheatre.com

Lake Linden

• Farmers Market. This family-friendly market showcases farm fresh produce, prepared foods, handcrafted items, live music, community causes and local information about the area. 4 to 7 p.m. Village Park. (906) 369-3971.

Marquette

• Preschool Storytime. Stories, songs, finger-plays, crafts and other school-readiness activities are offered for preschool-age children and a loving adult. Siblings welcome. 10:45 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.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.

• Brock Tessman Investiture Ceremony. Brock Tessman will be installed as NMU’s 17th president. 2 p.m. Forest Roberts Theatre. www. nmu.edu

• LEGO Club. Participants can meet other LEGO enthusiasts and build projects with the library’s LEGO blocks. 4 p.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 2264323 or www.pwpl.info

• Senior Dance Class. Offered for ages 55 and older. Free for City of Marquette and neighboring township residents. 4 p.m. City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, Lower level, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. To register, (906) 225-8655.

Calumet

•  Community Market. Featuring fresh foods and local handcrafted gifts. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 934-2228.

• Orphan Art Sale. Includes paintings, photography, crafts, and garden and home items. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth St. (906) 9342228 or www.calumetartcenter.com

• The Addams Family Musical. Presented by the Calumet Players, the show follows the eccentric Addams family as they navigate a clash of cultures when Wednesday invites her boyfriend and his parents over for dinner to make a big announcement. $15 for students, $18 for adults. 7 p.m. Calumet Theatre, 340 Sixth St. (906)

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. Monday through Saturday, noon and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. 3000 US-41 (back side of mall), Marquette.

• Al-Anon Family Groups. A fellowship offering strength and hope for friends and families of problem drinkers. al-alon.org or (888) 425-2666.

• Alcoholics Anonymous. Meetings throughout Marquette County, open daily, at many locations and times. Twenty-four-hour answering service, aa-marquettecounty.org or (800) 605-5043.

• 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 checks are $5. Call for Marquette County schedule. (906) 225-4545.

• Divorce Care—Ishpeming. This non-denominational group is for people who are separated or divorced. New members are welcome. Tuesdays, 6 p.m. Northiron Church, 910 Palms Ave. (906) 475-6032 or northiron. church

• Grief Share—Ishpeming. This non-denominational group is for people dealing with grief and loss. Mondays, 2:30 p.m. Northiron

337-2610 or www.calumettheatre.com

Central Mine

• Adventures in History: Cider Making at Central. Visitors can make cider from the heritage apples at Central Mine or pick their own apples ahead and bring them. Come anytime and help turn the handle on the oldtime cider press. Bring containers for the cider. $5 for Keweenaw County Historical Society members, $6 for non-members. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. US-41 at Central Mine (north of the Eagle Harbor cutoff road, opposite Gratiot Lake Road). keweenawhistory.org

Hancock

• Pine Mountain Music Festival

Concert: Bach in the Mine. Cellist Adam Hall will perform solo Bach and more. There will be a post-concert wine and dessert reception. Prices vary. 6 p.m. Quincy Mine Hoist House,

pmmf.org

Ishpeming

• Historic Ishpeming: A Photographic Tour. Jack Deo will present photos of Ishpeming’s past as a salute to the celebration of Ishpeming’s 150 years as a city. Light refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Library. 1:30 p.m. Lower level, Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library, 317 N. Main St. 906-486-4381.

L’Anse

• Farmers Market. Shop from local farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to noon. Waterfront Park, N. Front St.

Marquette

• Farmers Market. Includes farmers, growers, food producers, and artisans. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Marquette Commons, 112 South Third St. mqtfarmersmarket.

• Superiorland Duplicate Bridge Club. Games open to all interested players. $5 for games. Lessons, 10 a.m. Games, 11:30 a.m. Citizens Forum, Lakeview Arena, 401 E. Fair St.

• Saturday Storytime. Songs, rhymes, stories and finger-plays will be geared towards babies and toddlers with a loving adult. Older siblings welcome. 10:30 a.m. Great Room, Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St. (906) 226-4323 or www.pwpl.info

• MSHS 50th Class Reunion. 7 to 10:30 p.m. Holiday Inn, 1951 US-41. sjcherrette@gmail.com

Negaunee

• Strut Your Mutt. Join others and their dogs during this annual UPAWS funderaiser. Youth, $10; adults, $15; families, $40. 10 a.m. Jackson Mine Park, address. upaws.org/sym MM

Church, 910 Palms Ave. northiron. church or (906) 475-6032.

• 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. ITAAMQT@zohomail. com

• Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice Grief Support Group— Gwinn. People dealing with grief and loss are encouraged to attend. Individual grief counseling is available. September 13. 2 p.m. Forsyth Senior Center, 165 Maple St. (906) 225-7760 or lakesuperiorhospice.org

• Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice Grief Support Group— Marquette. People dealing with grief and loss are encouraged to attend. Individual grief counseling is available. September 20. 5:30 p.m. Lake Superior Life Care & Hospice, 914 W. Baraga Ave. (906) 225-7760 or lakesuperiorhospice.org

• Lake Superior Life Care and Hospice Grief Support Group— Negaunee. People dealing with grief and loss are encouraged to attend. Individual grief counseling is available. September 21. 3 p.m. Negaunee Senior Center, 410 Jackson St. lakesuperiorhospice.org or (906) 475-6266.

• 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.

• Motherhood Support Group— Marquette. This free group meets the second Thursday of each month. 6

p.m. Suunta Integrative Health, 1209 N. Third St. (906) 273-0964.

• 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, Wednesdays and Sundays, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Closed meeting, Fridays, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Use the Ridge Street entrance. Downstairs Social Room, Marquette Hope First Campus, 111 E. Ridge St.

• 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. September 11 and 21. 7 p.m.

Superior Alliance for Independent Living, Suite A, 1200 Wright St. (906) 360-7107 or namimqt.com

• National Alliance on Mental Illness—In-Person Educational Meeting. September 23. 7 p.m. Superior Alliance for Independent Living, Suite A, 1200 Wright St. (906) 360-7107 or namimqt.com

• National Alliance on Mental Illness—Zoom Support Group. Individuals living with mental illness and friends or families living with an individual with mental illness are welcome. September 7 (Zoom date may be subject to change). 7 p.m. Email ckbertucci58@charter.net or call or text (906) 360-7107 before 6:45 p.m. the day of the meeting to receive the Zoom invitation. www.namimqt.com

• Nicotine Anonymous. (415) 7500328 or www.nicotine-anonymous.org

• Parkinson’s Support Group. Open to people living with Parkinson’s

and their caregivers. September 20. 1 p.m. Marquette Senior Center, 300 W. Spring St. (906) 228-0456.

• Senior Support Group— Marquette. This month’s topic will be emailing skills. September 21. 2 p.m. Mill Creek Clubhouse, 1728 Windstone Dr. (906) 225-7760 or lakesuperiorhospice.org

• Sexual Health and Addiction Therapy Group. Call Great Lakes Recovery Centers for more details. Dates, times and locations vary. (906) 228-9696.

• 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 Avenue. smartrecovery.org

• SMART Recovery—Hancock. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7 p.m. Room 324, Jutila Center, 200 Michigan St.

• SMART Recovery—Marquette. Mondays, Noon. Zoom meeting. Visit smartrecovery.com for Zoom link.

• Take Off Pounds Sensibly. This is a non-commercial weight-control support group. Various places and times throughout the U.P. (800) 932-8677 .

• 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 required. Advanced registration required. 2 p.m. Second Tuesday of the month. (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.