Ely Summer Times 2020

Š Hailey Worth

Ely Summer Times

2020

Contents

Pandemic-free content starts on page 27, in case you need a break. Ely and the Pandemic Business For Now Dining For Now Ely Area Dining Guide Where to Go, What to Do Spiritual Gatherings This Isn’t Ely’s First Pandemic Summer Reading Suggestions

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The Ely Summer and Winter Times is published twice a year by Raven Words Press. For editorial information or advertising rates, contact us at PO Box 188, Ely, MN 55731, 218-365-3375, ads@ravenwords.com. For a

Ely Area Maps Fishing Fanaticism Britches, Boat Rides, and Bull Gentlemen, Start Your Beards Luna’s Story Big Birds Arts in Ely What’s New in Ely

31 35 39 44 47 52 58 59

subscription within the US, send check or money order for $8.00 or order at our website, www.RavenWordsPress.com. Archived articles from 1996-2019 can be found on this website.

Cover: Echo Trail. See more of Hailey Worth’s Ely photos on her Instagram page.

© Hailey Worth Printed in USA

© 2020 Raven Productions, Inc.

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© Chris Ellerbroek

Ely in the Time of Covid-19

t the precise moment that the moon was full on April 7th, 9:35 pm, Ely area residents, under the state’s Stay at Home orders, were invited to step out on their porches and howl. And we did–a regular pack of neighbors letting one another know in a uniquely Ely way that we are part of something bigger than our own isolated dens. Here we are, a small northern community accustomed to what most people would consider hardships— months of long winter nights with subzero temperatures and frequent blizzards, rugged country of dark forests and impassable bogs, weeks of ferocious biting insects that can carry dread

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diseases, and a growing season that rarely provides ripe tomatoes. Yet we have adapted to these conditions with the right clothing, sturdy shelter, and recipes for green tomato salsa. We’ve made ourselves so comfortable and happy here that we are the envy of many urban dwellers who want nothing more than to join our community. Ely is also a place where neighbors help neighbors. During this difficult time there are countless ways that people are supporting one another with material help such as delivering groceries, attitude help like posting humorous and uplifting messages on What’s Up Ely Facebook page, and social help as

The Ely Summer Times

simple as smiling at a stranger, albeit from an appropriate distance and through a facemask. Have you noticed that smiles show even though mouths are behind masks? Many Ely organizations and businesses are offering their services with protective measures like curbside delivery, hand sanitizing stations, and PPE on all staff. Others have had to close shop to follow state-mandated efforts to slow the spread, or because they just can’t manage financially with a big reduction in business, or because they are working on systems to keep staff and customers safe before they reopen. But you can still find what you need and want locally. See pages 9-10 and call businesses to see if they have what you’re looking for and can get it to you safely. Covid-19 is not an excuse to buy from amazon when local stores need your business more than ever. Ely is a resilient and caring community and has had some outstanding adaptations to this crisis. Wintergreen Northernwear ceased building their inventory for summer shoppers and embraced PPE manufacturing in March. They have orders for more than 6,500 gowns for 15 different health care providers, and the orders continue to pile up. The first priority was to set up operations to keep staff safe by moving work stations far apart, with masks and sanitizing wipes. Before the pandemic, hospitals used 2020

disposable gowns made cheaply in foreign countries by underpaid workers. As Covid-19 cases increased, big hospitals could go through hundreds of these in a day, and the supply was cut off with restrictions on imports. Thanks to the Wintergreen staff, who were willing to work extra hours, some of the shortage in Minnesota has been

Wintergreen work areas 5

reduced by Wintergreen’s gowns. Nurses have called to say they are grateful that these reusable gowns provide better coverage with a full back panel. Bria Schurke, a health care provider who is helping out temporarily at Wintergreen, believes the whole culture may change around disposable items in medical facilities. It isn’t always less expensive to launder hundreds of gowns a day than to buy the throw-away kind, but with materials in limited

Ely Essentia Clinic entrance 6

supply, well-paying jobs in demand, and quality control a big concern, American made items may be preferred. Ely-made masks are being supplied to stores and churches by ElyMasks.org founded by a retired software engineer who retired to Ely and wants to help out. Retail locations, organizations, and church groups are welcome to call Levi at 235-0525 or check ElyMasks.org to find out how to get supplies for their spaces at very low costs or free, and donated fabrics for their groups to make masks. Some of their masks can be made for under a dime and take only a few minutes to create. Look for their “trees” of masks at stores throughout town. Along with Ely Masks, other groups and individuals have volunteered thousands of hours to make thousands of masks to donate to local health care facilities, their staff, and the many essential workers around town. Ely Public Library closed for a time, disinfected all their books and shelves, then got creative in providing not just The Ely Summer Times

reading but also activities for Ely kids and adults. They are providing 24/7 free wifi in their parking lot, which they did before, but which is getting more use now. The password is on the door. Anyone walking by was welcome to take an obstacle course challenge that library staff created on their sidewalk and yard. The original disintegrated in the rain, but others will be created through the summer. They’re also developing family activity kits and continuing with their annual reading program—just call 3655140 to register. That’s also the number for checking out materials. Browse the catalog online at elylibrary.org or talk to the staff about the kinds of books, videos, or music you enjoy and they will suggest something. Then pick up your order curbside, no contact. If you’ve never used the library before, this might be a great time to start. You have access to the entire seven-county Arrowhead system right here. If you don’t have a card yet, you’ll need to apply for one online, but it’s easy. Just go to https://bit.ly/2Uefgv9. Area visitors are welcome, too. A card will be mailed to you, and emailed if you include your email in the application. Then you have free access to their many digital resources including homework help, ebooks and audio books, jobapplication assistance, the Chilton autorepair database, and more. The Ely Area Food Shelf has adapted with curbside delivery, using the Vermilion Community College parking lot. Their regular monthly date is the third Wednesday each month, but they are available for emergency use for anyone needing food. Call 235-8527. Donations and volunteers are still needed. There’s nothing like providing service to others to make you feel better. Cooking at home has certainly increased during this time. If you aren’t a confident or creative cook, try Ely Folk School’s online cooking classes. Elyite Lacey Squier claims she is no expert, but she loves sharing her amateur skills with other non-experts. 2020

You can join her fun and FREE! classes live on Zoom that so far have created delicious delicacies like lemon custard pie, hearty meals like Biscuits and Gravy, and exotic Brazilian cocktails and hors doeuvres. Ingredient lists are provided well ahead of time so you can cook as you watch, but some participants seem to have as much fun just watching. You can find other online classes and in-person classes with distancing at ElyFolkSchool.org. Many Ely businesses are adapting to keep staff and customers safe. Want ice cream with creme de menthe to go over it? Drive to the corner of Sheridan and 1st Avenue, next to Northern Expressions and Wildlife Liquor. Honk your horn and Sarah will come out, take your order, and deliver the goods through your car window. Do you have a mixed list of cosmetics, toys, craft supplies, and hardware? Call J&L at 365-6724. They’ll put your order together and bring it to your car. Want to shop for your own groceries but limit contact? Ely Northland has hours for the elderly and most vulnerable. Local photographer Eric Sherman has created challenging 500-piece puzzles with popular Ely images. They are available at Ely Northland Market. and EricShermanImages.com. Gracie’s Plant Works has a great gift selection, a 7

thriving greenhouse big enough to keep a safe distance from other shoppers, and curbside delivery. For many other places, check signs on the door or even large print notices hanging where you can read them from your car. Ely’s Essentia Clinic and the free clinic are both doing televisits, which you can arrange by calling them at 3657900 and 365-5678 respectively. As of mid-May, the clinic and hospital, having many levels of protection in place, are some of the safest places in town for avoiding the virus. Don’t delay going there or calling 911 for the ambulance if you have a medical emergency or need routine care for a chronic illness. But if you have Covid-19 symptoms, start with a phone call. What about coming to Ely if you aren’t already here? Ely health care facilities, as in most small towns—even those with hospitals, would be quickly overwhelmed by a significant Covid-19 One of Eric’s puzzles

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outbreak. Patients needing ventilators or an ICU have to be transported to larger facilities that are a long ambulance trip away. For that reason, it’s important for visitors as well as residents to respect precautions against spreading the virus. Isolating at a campsite or cabin, whether it’s a summer residence or a resort, can be acceptable with care. It would be best to bring all supplies for the first two weeks and quarantine your group, minimizing contact with other people until you’re sure you didn’t bring Covid-19 with you. (We’re sure some of you secretly always wanted a reason to stay out of town for your vacation.) Take advantage of curbside shopping for groceries, hardware, garden supplies, and restaurant meals. Use masks and distancing when in town or on trails with other people, including portages in the BWCAW. So much is unknown about how this situation is going to develop. It sucks that it has been made into a political issue instead of collaborating to find the best scientific solutions. But we can protect Ely if everyone realizes that even if you have no symptoms you may spread the virus to those who are the most vulnerable, and even to the rarer perfectly healthy people who, for reasons so far unknown, get critically ill and even die from this disease. That may be the person next to you in a grocery store, or their older mother, diabetic spouse, or friend going through chemotherapy. Or one of your loved ones. So please, take care! The Ely Summer Times

Business For Now Groceries Ely Area Food Shelf, 235-8527 Curbside, home delivery for high-risk people Ely Northland Market, 365-3216 Curbside - call by noon for same day pick up Organic Roots, 365-2799 Curbside, masks requested Zup’s Grocery, 365-3188 Curbside, hours 12-4 M-F, call ask for Henry Hardware & Building Supplies Ace Hardware, 365-3129 Curbside - call, email, text J&L Hardware, 365-6724 Curbside, delivery (free in town or close) Voyageur Lumber. 365-5100 Gardening Ely Flower & Seed, 365-6555 Curbside, delivery, some outdoor shopping Gracie’s Plant Works, 365-7644 Curbside, delivery, masks required, distancing Old Truck Greenhouse, 36-53263 Curbside, outdoor shopping Banking Boundary Waters Bank,365-6181 Drive-thru only, ATM Ely Area Credit Union, 365-3131 Drive-thru available, ATM, customer limit Frandsen Bank,365-6121 Drive-thru only, ATM North Ridge Cr. Union, 365-3297 Curbside 9-4:30 Wells Fargo, 365-3121 ATM only Sporting Goods, Bait, Outfitting Arrowhead Outdoors, 365-5358 Curbside, masks requested, distancing Ely Bike and Kicksled, 365-2453 Masks required, distancing Joe’s Marine, 365-6264 No special precautions LaTourell’s, 365-4531 Masks required Piragis Northwoods Co., 365-6745 Masks required, traffic patterns, distancing River Point Resort & Outfitting, 365-6604 Current state guidelines, masks requested Shagawa Marina, 365-8400 Distancing Spirit of the Wilderness, 365-3149 Distancing, masks requested These are as of late May. The key to this summer and fall is flexibility. Covid-19 precautions will change, so please call businesses for current information, and respect current best practices. Let’s keep Ely safe!

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Restaurants & Liquor Stores

Boathouse, 365-4301 Curbside Britton’s, 365-3195 Curbside Burntside Lodge Resort Guests Only Crapola, 235-6161 Curbside DQ, 365-5101 Drive-thru, Take-out Evergreen (at GEL), 365-6565 Take-out, Outdoor Seating Ely Steak House, 365-365-7412 Curbside Front Porch, 365-2326 Take-out, Curbside, Outdoor Seating Gator’s, 365-7348 Take-out, Curbside, Delivery, Deck Tables Insula, 365-4855 Take-out, Following state guidelines Log Cabin Coffee, 235-4034 Drive-thru Northern Grounds, 365-6162 Curbside with website order Organic Roots, 365-2799 Curbside, Take-out, Outdoor Seating Oriental Orchid, 365-7502 Take-out Rockwood, 365-7772 Outdoor Seating, Take-out Sir G’s, 365-3688 Take-out, Delivery, Maybe outdoor dining Snowbank Lodge, 365-6032 Take-out Stony Ridge, 365-6757 Take-out, Delivery, Outdoor Seating Subway, 365-2699 Curbside, Take-out, Outdoor Seating Wilderness Woodfire Pizza, 235-8752 Take-out Only Winton Road House, 365-3339 Unknown Lakeshore Liquor, 365-4011 Curbside, Delivery Mike’s Liquor, 365-5087 Curbside Wildlife Liquor, 365-4051

Curbside

Take-out means you go in and order, Curbside is delivered to you outside, Delivery means they bring it to your place. Menu descriptions are in the Dining Guide. Menus may be limited during Covid-19 adaptations. Call for hours and current precautions. 10

WAYS TO COPE

Breathe Deep Music Good Food Scenic Drives Service Puzzles Cook Meditate Donate Draw Hike Help Someone Star Gaze Sort Photos Hug a Tree Care Pick Berries Call a Kid Paddle Clean Drawers Watch Birds Sudoku Write a Letter Bake a Pie Eat a Pie Bike Poetry Be Kind Gratitude Hope Journal Love Volunteer Sit-Ups Look at Clouds

The Ely Summer Times

Ely Dining Guide

Hours vary through the season, call to check. (Area Code is 218) Price ranges are for a meal. C: children’s menu, V: vegetarian meals, Most places now have gluten-free # is location on the maps, pages 31-34 Expect limited menu choices as places adapt to the Covid-19 situation. Wait staff still need tips!

The Boathouse

Ely’s only brewery also serves seasonal brews and great food in the family dining room or bar. Fill up with specialty burgers, pulled pork or brisket sandwiches piled high, meal-size salads, three kinds of reubens, and walleye fish and chips. Beer in growlers to go and BW containers. Big TVs for sports. Full bar. 47 E. Sheridan St., 365-4301 $10-17, C V #67

Britton’s Cafe

Open at 5:30 am, this is the place to get a breakfast that will fill you up for a full day of fishing, paddling, or chasing the kids around. Lots of omelet choices, stuffed hashbrowns, pancakes and waffles. Lunch specials and homemade soups. A favorite spot with Ely locals. Open until 1:30 pm. B’fast served all day. 5 E Chapman St, 365-3195 $5-14 C V #73

Dorothy’s Root Beer can be ordered online or by phone for curbside pick-up.

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Crapola

Did you have a crappy morning? If not yet, stop on in and add some healthy fiber to your diet with locally made, mostly organic granola, yogurt parfaits, full-of-nutrients and delicious smoothies, cookies, and fair-trade coffee. Buy extra to take home in bulk, or as gifts in pun-filled packaging. Bumper stickers and T-shirts too. 16 N First Ave, 235-6161 $5-8 V #75

Ely Steak House Steak dinners, walleye, seafood, chicken, and French onion soup prepared to perfection. Prime rib on Fri and Sat. Senior discounts. Almost 1/4 of a million Bucky Burgers have sold, making it the most popular burger in Ely. Generous servings. A favorite night spot with karaoke on Thurs. and Sat. 216 E Sheridan, 365-7412 $12-$40. C V #83 Need a safe and sober ride home? Call A2B taxi at 365-7145

Boathouse Wrap

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The Ely Summer Times

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Evergreen Restaurant & Antlers Lounge

at Grand Ely Lodge. Great sunset view of Shagawa Lake on the deck for bar or dining. Extensive dinner menu, b’fast and lunch specials, light dinners and appetizers. Pasta specialties like wild mushroom ravioli plus salads, walleye, and steaks. Open 365 days a year. 400 N Pioneer Rd, 365-6565 $10-26 C V #37

Fortune Bay Four dining spaces to choose from for a casual quick bite to a lingering romantic dinner. All serve freshly prepared, outstandingly delicious meals. Try the all-you-can-eat buffet for affordable family fare or outdoor seating with a lovely view at the Wilderness Grill. Celebrating? Spend the night and enjoy b’fast too. 1430 Bois Forte Rd., Tower. $10-60 C V #22

Front Porch Coffee & Tea Co The place for organic coffee, espresso drinks, chai, and fair-trade teas–hot or iced. Also smoothies, wraps, burritos, soup, salads, quiche, and delicious desserts. Use the free WiFi, browse area newspapers, use the book exchange. Kids’ area with toys. Choose tables, porch, or sofa seating. 343 E Sheridan St, 365-BEAN $5-8 C V #88

Gators Grilled Cheese Emporium Comfort foods and healthy alternatives, homemade pizza, salads, soups, desserts. B’fast and lunch. Plenty of games, ,books, and a toy train to entertain fidgety patrons as they wait for their meal. Very popular spot; come early or late for faster seating. Sunny deck or cozy fireplace. 955 E. Sheridan St, 365-7348 $7-16. C V #40

Insula Restaurant In the renovated former Vertin’s building, this popular dining spot serves locally-sourced ingredients in the New American cuisine from breakfast to dinner. Featured plates daily. Expand your palate or choose old favorites. Casual-dining ambience. Specialty cocktails, beer, and wine. 145 E. Sheridan St, 365-4855 $9-32 C V #82 Northern Grounds

Ely’s coffee and wine bar. Espresso, single-origin coffee roasted on site, tea, chai, and mocha. Soup and sandwich specials, smoothies, and madefrom-scratch fresh-baked pastries and breads. 50+ by-the-glass fine wines, craft beers, and specialty cocktails on tap. The cupcakes are as delicious as they are fancy! Open year-round. 2 W. Sheridan St.. 365-6162 $5-8 V #64 2020

Grab Something Quick Dairy Queen FreshPot Coffee Log Cabin Coffee Northland Deli Red Cabin Custard Subway Zup’s Deli

1441 E Sheridan 447 E Sheridan 1340 E Sheridan 1230 E Sheridan 1114 E Sheridan 1520 E Sheridan 303 E Sheridan 13

Organic Roots

Natural Food Market with organic local foods ready to go or enjoy in the intimate and elegant lunch setting. Seasonal menu changing daily with vegan options. Flatbreads, gourmet soups, salads, sandwiches, and ethnic dishes. Deli counter with wraps, salads, healthy European-style baked goods. Organic wine and beer. 141 E. Chapman St. 365-2799 $5–16 V #78

RockWood Bar and grill featuring appetizers, gourmet burgers, soups, salads, walleye, hand-cut steaks, and other in-house creations. Happy hour 3-5. 19 craft beers on tap, signature cocktails, and wine by the glass or bottle. A/C comfort indoors or on the shaded patio. Dogs allowed on the dog-friendly section of the patio. 302 E Sheridan, 365-7772 $8-25. C V #89

Sir G’s

Special Italian cuisine at one of Ely’s most popular dining spots. The pasta is made by hand right there, and they season their own meat for flavorful fillings and delicious meatballs. Plenty of pizza options. Save room for the Italian desserts. Wine and beer. Take-out (call ahead). Special prices for seniors over 55. 520 E Sheridan, 365-3688 $10-19 C V #93 Oriental Orchid More than 90 Vietnamese and Chinese menu items for take-out or eat-in. Weekday lunch specials. Call for faster service. 506 E. Sheridan St, 365-7502 $8-$17 V Snowbank Lodge Single-entree homestyle dinners at this historic resort. Vegetarian by request. Beer and wine coolers. Live music some nights. 24 hr res. 14564 Snow Lodge Rd., 365-6032 $19 V Stony Ridge Ely’s biggest burger selection (50 kinds!) plus stuffed hash browns, ribs, chili, salads, full bar. Bring your appetite! Lovely patio. 60 N. Lakeview, 365-6757 $12-35. C

Wilderness Woodfire Pizza Specialty combos or create your own with their variety of toppings. Dessert - woodfired cookies! Farmers Market & around Ely 235-8752 $5-25 V

Winton Road House The Grand Portage Pretzel and homemade artisan pizzas. Full bar, sports on two big TVs, pool table, tiki bar and special events. 252 Main St., Winton, 365-3339 $7-11

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The Ely Summer Times

Outdoor play space at the Int’l Wolf Center

Ely Area Attractions Locations for many of these can be found on the maps on pages 31-34. Area code is 218. Many have Facebook pages too. Keep in mind that these descriptions do not include Covid-19 precautions. Call for the current status.

Bearhead State Park

235-2520

www.mndnr.gov/bearhead

A gem of a park with terrific hiking trails, remote lakes, naturalist and outdoor skills programs for all ages (free except for a car sticker), free use of fishing gear and binoculars, rental cabins, boat and stand-up paddleboard rental, swimming beach, birding, and a knowledgeable staff.

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

365-7600

Ely is the put-in place for the western and central parts of the BWCAW. 200,000 visitors annually make it the most-used wilderness area in the U.S. No charge for day trips, but you do need a permit. Get more information at any Ely outfitter or the U.S. Forest Service station. Stop at Sustainable Ely, 206 E. Sheridan, to learn about the Save the Boundary Waters campaign.

Bois Forte Heritage Center

753-6017 BoisForteHeritageCenter.com

At the Bois Forte reservation on Lake Vermilion near Tower, the displays portray Ojibwe life past and present, indoors and out. One of the best things to do on a rainy day! Open Tues-Sat 9-5. $8, age 4-12 and seniors $6, family $20, veterans $3, free for band members. Large groups please schedule your visit in advance for a discount.

Chamber of Commerce

365-6123

800-777-7281 Ely.org

Information on resorts, outfitters, events, and businesses. State and area maps. Located in a log bunkhouse originally built on Basswood Lake in 1938. 1600 E. Sheridan St. Open M-F 9-5, , closed holidays. Extended seasonal weekend hours. Call for details.

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Children’s Garden

365-5254

Pattison and 3rd Ave. W.

Children and adults welcome anytime to explore the green bean teepee, tomato house, pumpkin patches, strawberry lane, raised vegetable beds, the rain barrel, butterfly and perennial gardens. Free art and garden activities for kids. Activities may be postponed this summer. Call for info.

Dorothy Molter Museum

365-4451 RootBeerLady.com

The "Root Beer Lady" was the last non-indigenous resident of the BWCAW. Her cabins were relocated as a tribute to her unorthodox life. Exhibits include original guest registers, historic photos, root beer-making equipment, and interpretive displays of life on Knife Lake. Ice-cold root beer, nature trails, geocaching, bird watching, pet area. Museum open by reservation for groups up to 10, masks required. May have outdoor-only tours. $7 adults, discounts for kids, seniors, vets

Ely Folk School

235-0138 209 E. Sheridan St. ElyFolkSchool.org

Learn, teach, and share crafts and skills–sewing, baking, jewelry-making, herbalism, basketry, woodworking, and much more–reflecting north woods culture and tradition. Check out the popular FREE online classes. When in-person classes resume there will be new ceramics and blacksmithing equipment and space. Current schedule is on the website.

Ely Golf Course

365-5932

ElymnGolfClub.com

Ely Public Library

365-5140

ElyLibrary.org

9-hole, par 36, 3,268 yards. Carts and rental clubs, snack bar. Open May-Sept, snow allowing. On S. Central Ave, top of the hill, right at sign. 7am to dark every day. 9 holes $20, 18 holes $30.

Children’s area, computers and internet, audio books, music, DVDs. Large regional book section. Summer residents and visitors welcome. See calendar on page 71 and their website for special events, book club selections, and meeting times. M-F 10-6, Sat 8-12.

Ely Recreation Center

365-5254

ElyCommunityResource.org

New! Ely Wheel Park is open. Also basketball court, pick-up soccer field, indoor games, music, snack bar, and more. The base for many kids’ activities. Available to rent for private parties by calling 226-5449.

Ely Steam Sauna

365-2984

127 S. 1st Ave. E.

Ely State theater

235-6300

238 E. Sheridan St.

One of the last public baths in Minnesota, this has public men’s and women’s rooms and private rooms. Friendly and clean, an Ely social scene. Wed, Sat 4-8 pm. $7 or 5 tickets for $30; 2 towels are included. Call for opening. Movies are coming back to Ely! Starting with classics from the 1930s through the 1960s at $5 a ticket. Pop and popcorn at the concession stand. Time for a date night! 7 pm with weekend matinees as soon as we can open. 16

The Ely Summer Times

Ely Winton History Museum 365-3226

(827-2386 until open)

Ely’s cultural heritage, Indian life, archaeology, voyageurs, logging, and mining. Amazing 3D model of mines and homes, now Trezona Trail area. New gift shop with local history books. When open: June-Aug, M-F, Sept-May Tu-F 12-4; $5, Sr 55+ $4, ages 6-15 $3. See Facebook page.

Embarrass Heritage Tours

984-2084

Fortune Bay Resort and Casino

FortuneBay.com

Visit restored historic farmsteads where hard-working mostly Finnish immigrants created homes and farms from forest and rock. Tours leave from the Visitor Center at Hwy 21 and 135, Thu-Sat at 1 pm or by appt. Memorial weekend-Labor Day. $6, $5 seniors and 12+groups, under 12 free. Located on the Bois Forte Reservation just west of Tower, this is a great spot for a day trip from Ely. Visit the Heritage Center, play golf on the award-winning course, enjoy meals at the five dining facilities, drop a line in Lake Vermilion, and take a chance on the slot machines. Check their website for upcoming concerts. This is a classy place with activities for the whole family.

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Hiking Trails

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There are dozens of places to hike near Ely whether you want to stretch your legs, get aerobic, exercise the dog, or make an expedition of several days. The Bass Lake Trail is one of the most popular with a waterfall, great views, swimming, fishing, and berry picking. Ask for trail maps at the USFS Visitor Center.The Koschak Farm is close to Ely, offers great birding, and isn’t so much a trail as a spot to poke around with kids or dogs and see what you can discover.Please use distancing!

Ely Arts & Heritage Center 235-9503 ElyArtsandHeritageCenter.org

Site of the Pioneer Mine Museum and the Miners Dry building, where miners transitioned to and from their underground jobs. Learn about Ely’s rich iron mining heritage on their free tours by the head frame. Displays include equipment, clothing, and lots of photos of Ely miners. June 4Sept 3, Tues 2-5, Fri 3-6. Arts events also held here, but not this summer. 401 Pioneer Rd.

Hidden Valley Recreation Area

ElyNordic.org

Hidden Valley trails are great for mountain biking, hiking, wildlife sighting, and walking your dog. XC ski trails provide good aerobic conditioning. Expanded single-track trails coming this summer. Also a terrific place for birding. The chalet is a secluded yet convenient spot to rent for special events–info at the website. Turn right east of Ely city limits.

International Wolf Center 365-HOWL

800-ELY-WOLF Wolf.org

Observe wolves up close and learn about wolves, their prey, and other canids in the displays. Check the website for programs for all ages. Open 9-5 until Oct 18 call or check website for open date. After Oct 18 Fri Sat 10-5, Sun 10-2. $11, Child/Student $5. Admission is good for three consecutive days. Check out online programs, some free for kids!

Kawishiwi Falls

A well-developed trail goes to the falls and down to a small beach on Fall Lake. Warm microclimate supports unusual yellow birch forest. View an eagles’ nest across the bay. Great fishing below the falls. Easy access by road or lake. Watch for poison ivy and keep the kids close by. 18

The Ely Summer Times

Lake Vermilion State Park 218-300-7000

MNDNR.gov/VermilionSoudan

The new Lake Vermilion park has 33 campsites and 3 group campsites with camper cabins and an island house rental coming this summer. The day-use picnic shelters and fishing pier are open daily. More trails are being developed and installed this summer. Please be careful of the continued construction at the park.

Listening Point

ListeningPointFoundation.org

Tours of Sigurd Olson's historic cabin on Burntside lake, family homestead, and iconic writing shack. To arrange a visit, contact the website or call 365-8889. No set cost, donations appreciated.

Miners Lake

The site of the first iron mines in Ely, this was a shallow open pit mine for just a few years before operations went underground to reach the ore. The lake was created by flooding of the collapsed drifts and shafts. A fishing dock provides angling space for the stocked trout.

Nelimark Finnish Homestead Museum

984-3503

In Embarrass, Minnesota’s Cold Spot, 28 miles from Ely. Finnish heritage and Embarrass history. Homemade breads on Friday for sale or to eat there. Coffee is always on. Sauna exhibit, historic buildings. Finn talk Thurs, 1pm. Open May 30-Sept 28. Thurs-Sat 10-4, Free.

North American Bear Center

365-7879

bear.org

Observe 4 resident black bears as they play, eat, rest, and wander through their natural habitat. Ecology Hall features a 660-gallon aquarium, more than 60 exhibits with videos of bears around the world in their native habitats, educational touchscreens, and wildlife displays. Cub room for kids, nature trail. Watch live cam until they are able to open. 9am-6pm daily May 24-Sept 7; and Sept -Oct 24 open 10-4. $14, seniors & military $13, age 3-12 $8, under 3 free.

Pillow Rock

1200 block of Main Street, north side

Semers Park

365-3224 x1

Senior Citizen’s Center

365-4139

You’ve heard of bed rock. Well, here’s the pillow, made of Ely Greenstone. Follow the historic site signs at 13th Avenue to see this 2.7 billion year old geologic formation. On Shagawa Lake, this park has a sandy beach and pier, playground, picnic facilities, campfire circle, hiking trails and islands. Indoor event space for rental for reunions and parties. New timberframe pavilion for rain shelter. Follow signs from N. Central Ave. Observe distancing!

Anyone is welcome for dinner at noon Mon-Fri with a 24-hour advance reservation. Just $4.00 for the 60 and up crowd, $7.50 if you’re younger. Pool tables, Bingo Wed at 1pm, card games, puzzles and board games, and lots of good company happy to share stories of Ely’s good old days.

Shopping See maps on page 31-34 for advertiser locations. Visitors, don’t miss Chapman

Street, one block south of Sheridan Street. Used books, hardware, gifts, yarn, car parts, organic food and restaurant, café, banks, small engine repair, floor covering, and WELY. 2020

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Semer’s Park. There is a nice beach but some kids prefer to wade in the weeds.

Soudan Underground Mine at Lake Vermilion State Park

This park features a 1/2-mile descent into the mine shaft to tour “The Cadillac of Mines.” Two new tours will be offered this summer–Science and Walking Drift. Above-ground exhibits portray the history and geology of the area. Join a wide variety of naturalist programs, including an outstanding one on bats. See the website or call for program hours and tour schedule. Practice distancing on trails and grounds. 22 miles west of Ely on 169. Mine tours are $15, age 5-12 $10, under 5 no charge. No vehicle permits required. 218-300-7000 mndnr.gov/vermilionsoudan

Sustainable Ely

365-7808

SaveTheBoundaryWaters.org

Find information on sulfide mining proposals for Ely and the areas to the south. Maps, displays, educational posters, books, children’s activities. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Open daily 95, when Covid-19 precautions permit. 206 E. Sheridan Street

Swimming Spots

Semers Park in Ely; Forest Service campgrounds at Fenske Lake, Fall Lake, and Kawishiwi; Dry Falls on the Bass Lake Trail; Fall Lake at the bottom of Kawishiwi Falls (watch for poison ivy), the Longbranch in Winton. There are no lifeguards. Good biking to most of these spots.

Tofte Lake Center

TofteLake.com

Artists on creative retreats and dance or theater company residencies fill the cabins and studio space here each summer. Programs suspended for June-July, may resume Aug-Sept if safe to do so. If you need creative space in a northwoods setting, check this out. 2209 Fernberg Road

Trezona Trail

Four miles for biking or hiking within the city limits. Goes through historic mine sites and around Miners Lake. Interpretive signs explain some of Ely’s mining history. Spurs to Int’l Wolf Center, USFS, and VCC. Group bike rides Thurs. at 6pm, 5:30 in fall. Good berry-picking. Dogs welcome. 20

The Ely Summer Times

Vermilion Mail Boat 753-4190

AronsonBoatWorks.com

Ride along on the mail delivery route that covers 80 miles of scenic Lake Vermilion and includes 105 water-access only mail boxes. The driver is a knowledgeable local who can give a history lesson and share other information about the lake and its residents. Reservations recommended. Dress for the weather! Adults $20 Kids 12 and under $12. 9 am Mon-Sat. June 1-Labor Day.

U.S. Forest Service Visitor Center 365-7600

Recreation.gov

Vermilion Community College

VCC.edu

Displays on canoe paddling, local heroes, and north woods animals. BWCAW permits for day use or overnight, info and maps for trails and campgrounds. U.S. Customs. 1393 Hwy 169.

365-7200

The “Boundary Waters College� offers traditional liberal arts curriculum and specialized degrees and certifications in Natural Resources, Outdoor Education, Vet Tech, Forestry, Wildland Law Enforcement, Watershed Science, Emergency Medicine, and more. Stop in for a tour.

Vermilion Range Trap Club

365-3368

Join local sports shooters at this shooting range. Trap, skeet, and sporting clays are available at the clubhouse 5 to dark Wednesdays and 1-3 pm Sundays. Special events are held through the summer. Visitors and newcomers always welcome. Check their Facebook page for more info.

Whiteside Park

Located in the middle of town, this is the site of many summer events including Blueberry Festival, Harvest Moon, and Farmers and Artists Market. Playground, gardens, the Ely Greenstone sculpture, band shell, restrooms, scribed-log pavilion, and plenty of space for Frisbee games.

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Reflections Dance Company

Watch for our virtual show coming in August

218-248-2227

Ely Spiritual Gatherings

Berean Baptist Church 2281 Hwy 169 365-5413 Sun 10:30 Ely Gospel Church 3 E Allaire St 365-5272 Sun 10, Wed 6:30 915 E Camp St 365-3348 Sun 10:30 First Lutheran Church LC MS First Presbyterian Church 226 E Harvey St 365-5130 Sun 11 301 E Conan St 365-5605 nursery available, Sun 9:30 Grace Lutheran Church ELCA Ledgerock Comm. Church 1515 E Camp St 365-4890 Sun 9:30, 10 livestream Oasis Int’l Church Ely Senior Center 235-1151 Sun 10, FB live Call for midweek service times. They are always held, but times vary. Praise Fellowship Christian 302 E Boundary St 365-6033 Sun 10, limit 10 people St. Anthony’s Catholic Church 231 E Camp St 365-4017 Sat 9am, 5pm, Sun 10 T, Th, F 8am St. Mary’s Episcopal Church 715 S Central Av 365-4914 Sun 9:30 Thursday Night Group location varies, call 365-3346 Th 7pm We do not subscribe to any one path for spiritual enlightenment. United Methodist Church of Ely 305 E Camp St 365-3355 Sun 10 Check websites and FB pages for updates and online. Most are social distancing when re-open.

Ely Area 12-Step Meetings

AlAnon Catholic Church Basement Rm 4 Sun 8 pm Woodland Presbyterian, Babbitt Thu 7 pm Alcoholics Anonymous Catholic Church Basement, Room 1 Sun 8 pm Women, Open – Ledgerock Church Mon noon Miracle on Camp St, open – 1st Lutheran Church Mon 7 pm Big Book, Open – Babbitt Woodland Presbyterian Church Tue 7 pm Open – 1st Lutheran Church Wed 8 pm Keep It Simple, open – Woodland Presbyterian Church, Babbitt Thu 7 pm Happy, Joyous, and Free, Open – Presbyterian Church Fri 7 pm Open meeting – 1st Lutheran Church Sat 7:30 pm Codependents Anonymous Open – Catholic Church Basement Rm 3 (use entry by parsonage) Fri noon Some of these meeting are being held on Zoom until in-person gatherings can resume. For details about area AA meetings check at www.area35.org or call 218-749-3387. 22

The Ely Summer Times

An Unprecedented Time? Not Really

The Shipman Hospital was overwhelmed by Spanish Flu patients in October 1918

By Margaret Sweet, photos courtesy of Ely Winton Historical Society

e are living in a most extraordinary time. Those of us who are not epidemiologists didn’t expect to experience a worldwide pandemic on the scale of Covid-19, but here we are. It’s not the first, and certainly won’t be the last, and although it has been called unprecedented, it really isn’t. Some historical epidemics

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would probably have become pandemics except that the human race had a long way to go in international travel. There was Hamin Mangha in northeastern China where 5000 years ago the entire population was stricken with a disease that so completely annihilated the population that the site was never again inhabited.

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The Black Death, which devastated Europe from 1346 to 1353, wiped out over half that continent’s population. Spread by fleas living on infected rodents, the bacteria that likely caused it is considered extinct today. This plague changed the course of Europe’s history, ended serfdom, and brought about better pay for workers. Historians who study that period have concluded that higher wages meant better living conditions, better food, and may have contributed to the industrial revolution in later centuries. While pandemics aren’t new to the human race, others that we didn’t even consider in that category include the AIDS/HIV epidemic that began in 1981. While there is no cure and it continues to this day, the development of drugs has brought the death rate down and, in fact, two people have been pronounced cured of it just this year. Other pandemics we have lived through include the “Asian flu” of 195758. Over a million people worldwide

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died of it that year with 115,000 deaths in the United States alone. It was determined to be a variation of an avian flu. Eventually schools closed due to the flu spreading rapidly through the school population. [Editor’s note: I was in 3rd grade and never completely learned my times tables because school was closed so long that year.] 2009 and 2010 brought us the H1N1 Swine Flu. In a one-year period roughly 1.4 billion people came down with this flu, and around the world as many as 575,400 people died according to the Centers for Disease Control. Other very serious illnesses which never quite reached pandemic scale include Ebola and Zika. There are no cures for either of them. Going back to 1918 we come to the “Spanish Flu.” It was called that because Spain wasn’t fighting in World War I, so the Spanish press wasn’t under the restrictions imposed on the press of the nations who were fighting. Governments of the warring nations were in a panic to

The Ely Summer Times

Ely Miner from October 25, 1918 and

Courtesy Ely Winton Historical Museum 2019

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keep the troops flowing into the battle zones, so they played down the spreading of this deadly disease. Especially rampant in U.S. military bases, the disease was already killing American soldiers when the United States put its young men onto ships and sailed them to Europe where they spread the disease. More died in the trenches of influenza than of enemy fire. Spain let the cat out of the bag, you might say, by informing the world of this particularly dreadful illness that could kill in hours. Although it didn’t originate there, the pandemic was named for the country that disclosed its presence. The Ely Miner newspapers of November 1 and 8, 1918 printed column after column of death notices. Some of the deaths reported were of Mike Usheff, age 27, of the Vienna

Bakery. He left relatives in Bulgaria. Mrs. Matt Gorshe died at one hospital just hours after her husband and two children were discharged. They had just arrived home in Zenith Location when word was sent of the passing of the wife and mother. She was 27. George Kattilius died on a Friday and was buried on Saturday. He left a widow and three children. John Cosgrove, former city treasurer, died. Mrs. John Pikkarainen, age 30, died at the emergency hospital leaving a husband and five children. She was ill only a short time. Sakri Jokela, age 41, remembered by many as a janitor at the schools, was brought in from Section 30. He was survived by a wife and two children. Three other children had died in a house fire three years earlier. John Smuk, age 20. His older brother, Matt, had just died of wounds received in France. Louis Mestnik, 17 months old. His mother died the day the baby was buried. Threeyear-old Louis Bernhart, four-month old Otto Nykanen, two-year old Gertrude Williams, and two-and-a-half-year-old Angela Papesh all were lost to the pandemic. The flu was no respecter of age. This list went on and on and was only a fraction of what was reported in two issues of the paper. The Miner’s editorial of November 1st read that Ely had seen as many as 600 cases of the flu at one time. “Not only are the mines affected, but business of all kinds is practically at a standstill.” The paper reported that Doctors Parker and Sutherland were assisted by

A photo from California during the Spanish Flu pandemic 26

The Ely Summer Times

Dr. Stanley of Section Thirty and Dr. Metcalf of Winton. These men were making an average of 100 house calls each day besides attending to hundreds more patients at the hospital. A special train carrying officials of the Duluth & Iron Range railroad and of the Oliver Iron Mining Company arrived in Ely to look over the situation and to distribute a quantity of anti-flu vaccine. Several hundred were vaccinated at the Shipman hospital. This vaccine was for prevention and anyone wanting to be vaccinated was asked to call at the hospital. The vaccine was free. If the world hadn’t been fighting “the war to end all wars,” perhaps better efforts would have been made to contain the spread and this would have ended differently. Mike Hillman, Ely’s consummate storyteller, wrote about how Ojibwe Chief Blackstone of Kawa Bay on Kawnipi Lake snowshoed for help when his people were dying from the Spanish Flu. Mike’s story, taken from one that the famous guide Bill Magie told, was printed in the Summer 1999 issue of the Ely Summer Times and is available at RavenWordsPress.com in the archive section. Magie’s version is printed in a book of his stories collected by Dave Olesen, A Wonderful Country. Mike ended his article with: “The last time I visited Kawa Bay I left tobacco for the spirits of Chief Blackstone and his people, and I also left a little extra in memory of my friend Bill Magie.” Now Mike’s friends leave a bit of tobacco to honor him. More recently Staci Lola Drouillard wrote about the Ojibwe of northern Minnesota and Ontario in Walking The Old Road. She includes Blackstone’s sad story. Probably those who lived through previous pandemics have said, as we do today, that these are unprecedented times. Sometime in the future other generations will say the same as they look back on the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020. 2020

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Books for Summer It may seem a little strange, but in these days of dealing with a pandemic, one of the most popular subjects is... pandemics. Writings on the current state of affairs, medically oriented non-fiction, and novels with themes about disease are all making best-seller lists. That’s a bit of luck for author Curt Brown, who researched and wrote Minnesota 1918 shortly before Covid-19 hit. Now, in the midst of the havoc being wrought by the new coronavirus, we think we have it pretty bad. But add “the war to end all wars”, which took the lives of 1,432 Minnesota soldiers in action plus 2,326 who died of the Spanish Flu, plus the raging wildfires that killed 450 and displaced 52,000 MInnesotans from their homes, to the roughly 12,000 Minnesotans who died from the Spanish Flu, and our situation doesn’t look so bad (so far). (Especially if you consider that Minnesota’s population then was less than half what it is today. Of course, we’re far from done with our pandemic, and war and fire could still break out, but let’s be optimistic and think you’ll mostly be having plenty of porch time to read this summer, maintaining social distancing, attending closely to any campfires, and hoping the White House doesn’t escalate enmity with anyone.) Brown tells the sad, courageous, inspiring stories of individuals and families who struggled through 1918 throughout Minnesota, some surviving one disaster to die in the next. Not really a cheerful read, but historically interesting and well-written. More regional history is included in Walking the Old Road, the story of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) town of Nishkwakwansing (at the edge of the forest) referred to as Chippewa City by Europeans when they arrived on the north shore of Gitchi-Gami (Lake Superior). Author Staci Drouillard began interviewing the elders who had once called this place home in 1987. Located a mile east of Grand Marais along the lakeshore, this village was home 28

The Ely Summer Times

to as many as 200 families. Today the only remaining structure is St. Francis Xavier Church. A blend of memoir, story, historic photos, and historical analysis, the book pulls the reader back through time to experience pre-tourism life along the North Shore. In the Night of Memory is a novel you won’t want to put down once you’ve read the first page. It follows sisters Rainy and Azure from their time as young girls to their adulthood, illuminating many of the issues that impact Native people today with compassion, wisdom, and even humor. Here are more generations of the characters in author Linda LeGarde Grover’s first book, The Road Back to Sweetgrass, but there’s no need to have read that book to fully embrace this one. In fact, readers may want to read that one after this one just to enjoy the author’s story crafting. Tired of misery and suffering? Lighten up with sports! Since team activities may be unavailable this summer, you can enjoy some amazing sports stories in two uniquely Minnesotan titles. Brave Enough is Jessie Diggins’ story of growing up in Afton, Minneota, as an outdoors-loving kid with adventurous parents. Her challenges were not just the rigorous training to become an Olympic athlete, but also a struggle to overcome an eating disorder. Only 28 years old, this could hardly be called an autobiography, as hopefully 2020

she has most of her life ahead of her. But it has been a most impressive life so far, including XC skiing before she was one (in a backpack on her Dad’s or Mom’s shoulders), and portaging a hefty canoe at age 12, winning World Championship medals four times, and the nail-biting finish at the 2018 Olympics when she crossed the finish line a fraction of a second ahead of the next skier to bring home the first USA gold medal in cross country skiing. Her personality shines out of these pages as if you were having a heart-to-heart conversation with her. Color photos add the visual dimension.

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CAMP VOYAGEUR

A camp for boys 9-17. Located next to the Boundary Waters. Land and water sports at camp plus wilderness trips canoeing, hiking, and sea kayaking. www.campvoyageur.com 800-950-7291

Tourney Times showcases that most popular by far Minnesota sport–hockey. This isn’t about the pros, though, but the glory and heartbreak of the high school tournaments. Thousands of Minnesotans trek to St. Paul in March and thousands more tune in on TV to watch what some consider the best team sports games in the world. This book features photos and play-by-play of the overtime drama, the thrills and disappointments, the crowds and coaches, cheerleaders and parents, and the high school athletes themselves.

Stories galore, top ten lists you can use for a hockey Trivial Pursuit challenge, and up-close action shots make this a book you’ll return to many times just for the fun of it. And now for this year’s favorite. For several summers, Chuck Dayton photographed the loon family on Jasper Lake from his kayak. He took some amazing pictures. (See the 2019 Ely Summer Times for an article featuring his photos.) In this book Chuck’s photos are matched with the lyric poetry of Laura Purdie Salas in a truly inspired design to tell the story of Moon, the little loon who must learn to catch her own food and find her own way south before the lakes freeze. The secrets are the scientific facts we know about loons, but there are also mysteries, demonstrating to young would-be scientists that there is still much to be discovered. The unusual design makes this book a work of art as well as an enjoyable and educational read for all ages. The musthave cabin book for this summer! All these books are available through the Ely Public Library and at Piragis’ Upstairs Bookstore.

Chapman Street Books

Quality used books on all subjects. Bring yours in for a discount. Free box out front. Also home to Prairie Fire Tobacco, with imported and domestic blends. 139 E. Chapman St. 218-365-2212 30

The Ely Summer Times

Moose Lake Snowbank 17 Lake

Cloquet Line

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2

Burntside Lake 23

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Rt 88

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22 To Tower, Soudan, Virginia

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Fall Lake

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Bald Eagle Lake

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Birch Lake Tomahawk Tr

Hwy 21 To 21 Embarrass

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13 Babbitt Tomahawk Tr

To Isabella, Lake Superior

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Maps of the Ely Area Airport Alder Inn Aronson Boat Works Bass Lake Trail Bearhead State Park Bois Forte Heritage Ctr Camps du Nord & Widji Camp Northern Lights Camp Van Vac Camp Voyageur

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12 13 22 2 22 22 1 24 23 10

Docks on Wheels 22 Embarrass Timber Hall 21 Fortune Bay Resort & Casino 22 Janisch Realty Kawishiwi Falls Koschak Farm Lake Vermilion State Pk LaTourell’s Outfitters Longbranch Nelimark Museum

22 6 4 22 17 5 24

Outdoor Learning Center River Point Resort Shagawa Lake Marina Silver Rapids Lodge Soudan Mine State Park Tofte Lake Center Vermilion Trap Club Veterans on the Lake Voyageur Outward Bound White Wilderness

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Public Landing

Shagawa Lake

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See Detailed Downtown Map on Page 42

Hwy 169 to Tower

Q Main St.

Washington St.

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39 School

White St. 66 Pattison St.

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James St. 33 Golf Course

Boundary St. Wilson St.

Beacon Hill Hwy 21 to Babbitt

Adventure Inn Arrowhead Outdoors Carefree Living Children’s Garden Dorothy Molter Museum Ely Area Tourism Ely-Bloomenson Hosp./Clinic Ely Chamber of Commerce Ely Community Pharmacy Ely Golf Club House Ely Arts & HeritageCenter Ely Ice Arena

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41 52 32 66 49 47 31 47 31 33 36 38

Reach thousands of Ely visitors, residents, and cabin owners with your ad in The Ely Summer & Winter Times. ads@ravenwords.com 218-365-3375

Ely Lodging Ely Northland Market Ely Recreation Center Ely Winter Tourism Ely-Winton History Museum Gators Cafe Grand Ely Lodge Hidden Valley International Wolf Center Memorial Field Miners Dry Building North American Bear Center

42 43 P 47 46 40 37 53 51 39 36 30

The Ely Summer Times

Pioneer Rd

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Hwy 88

Savoy Rd

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Vermilion Community College 46

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Please Thank Our Advertisers for this Free Magazine.

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S Pillow Rocks R&R Transfer Recycling Center Spirit of the Wilderness Studio North Fitness Center Trezona Trail US Customs US Forest Service Visitor Center VCC Theatre Veterinary Clinic

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The Art Corner Art & Soul Gallery Boathouse Brewpub Brandenburg Gallery Britton’s Café Crapola Chapman Street Books Children’s Garden City Hall/Police/Fire Ely Area Credit Union Ely Area Food Shelf Ely Bike and Kicksled Ely Comm Hlth Free Clinic Ely Community Resource Ely Drop and Shop Ely Farmers Market Ely Folk School Ely Public Library

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61 95 67 65 73 75 78 66 81 71 60 63 90 90 83 96 84 80

Ely Steak House Ely Steam Sauna Ely Surplus Store Evergreen Cottage Front Porch Coffee & Tea Gardner Trust Gracie’s Plant Works Incredible Ely Insula Restaurant J & L Hardware JD Mills Joe’s Marine Kekekabic Studios Lakeshore Liquor A Laundry Room Mealey’s Gift & Sauna Minnesota Canoe Museum Northern Grounds

83 72 63 77 88 81 68 72 82 76 86 70 76 91 91 69 84 64

Organic Roots Bistro The Pebble Spa Piragis Northwoods Co Post Office Potluck Kitchen Store Prairie Fire Tobacco Rockwood Senior Center Sir G’s Sisu Yarn Shop State Theater Save the Boundary Waters Washington Auditorium WELY Women’s Wild Discovery Zup’s Grocery

78 85 62 98 79 79 89 99 93 70 86 83 97 78 94 87

The Ely Summer Times

The Angler, An Ethnography Story and photos by Lacey Squier married an angler. His dedication to the craft of catching fish is something I cannot match in any area of my life, let alone fishing itself. It is in this context that I entered the Boundary Waters with my spouse for our second anniversary trip: mindful that it is high time I give this passion of his a closer look, and use what I find to teach me about the man I love. Eric and I share precious little time off in the busy summer months. As such this was to be a quick, three-day, inand-out paddle to Ima Lake. To mentally combat what I perceive to be the hardships of going into the

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woods—the grueling physical labor, the pesky bugs, the infinite stream of issues to resolve and tasks to complete—I imagined myself to be an ethnographer, a social scientist following a human subject of study, a participant-observer seeking a deeper understanding of how this man thinks and thrives. I embraced my imagined role with gusto, collecting notebooks and pens, ever at the ready to jot observations. I compiled data, conducting an informal literature review of my spouse’s Top Five Strengths and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality assessment results. In theory, Eric is someone who will seek to maximize self-sufficiency, look for

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OUTBOARD REPAIR

Joe’s Marine and Repair. Evinrude sales and service. Mechanics on duty Monday through Saturday. Our show room is full of boating accessories for “Fun on the Water.” 25 W. Chapman St., 219-365-6264

useful and relevant rules of behavior, experience the world through interaction, and orient himself to present and changing conditions. Time to cross reference theory and practice.

All the gear is strewn about the house. Life jackets, dry bags, batteries, dry meals, cashew butter, boxes of protein bars and “energy chews.” Eric is in the zone. He’s walking around in big strides with his head bowed down. Periodically he opens a waterproof notebook to consult a list. He absentmindedly sits only to stand up abruptly, then race off to another room to grab something—boots, this time. His process involves a lot of movement. Our dog Wendell anxiously follows everywhere he goes. It appears the process of packing has mostly to do with piles. The content of the piles shifts subtly as the evening goes on. Eventually everything will be divided into dry bags of like items, then packed and repacked into bigger dry bags. Seeks to maximize selfsufficiency, indeed, I think to myself.

In spite of the hours Eric spent identifying the most efficient packing system (every ounce counts!), we got 36

off to a late start, because I forgot my Insect Shield permethrin treated bandana. (Wendell has one to match.) We were on the road, for real this time, by 6:15am, headed east on the Fernberg toward the rising sun. Even I get excited when I see the bow of the canoe beyond the dashboard. Hard work and patiently waiting for fish do not fuel me as they do Eric, but I relish the warmth of the sun’s rays and the glory of a billowy backdrop against a boreal horizon. We make for Ima Lake in the tandem. Wendell is restless and angsty, still learning how to be a canoe dog. He oscillates between being perched anxiously, alert to the enticing sights, sounds, and smells of the shoreline, and groaning impertinently while lying on the floor of the boat. Which is not to say he doesn’t love it. It’s more that he’s eager. He loves the woods like Eric does. It’s a blue sky day. The water is a little choppy for my taste, but that is to be expected as one makes their way across the big lakes. “Walleye fishing is good on choppy water, because the fish are sensitive to the light. The wind chop breaks the tension on the surface, which provides relief.” Eric is full of these useful tidbits, “relevant rules of behavior.” They help him to “chase walleye” and in pursuit of “honey holes.” Spotting a bald eagle in the distance, regal atop the tallest tree, Eric tells me the eagle can likely see the color of Wendell’s eyes from where it sits. “They say dogs’ collars have been found in eagles’ nests,” and, “Did you know eagles' heads don’t turn white until they reach a certain age?” I did not know. Eric is gallant and he likes the The Ely Summer Times

challenge; he does the brunt of the paddling. He portages the 65-pound pack and the boat. I’m responsible for the little bag, the paddles, and the life jackets. Pokey as I am, I still manage to lag behind. At camp, first things first: lines in the water (always, always). Then he spends an hour hauling dry felled branches to our site. He saws them into ten-inch portions, batoning them down the middle with a Bench Made bushcrafter knife. While he’s over there “experiencing the world through interaction,” I’m lying on a warm piece of rock, sunbathing, notebook in hand, keeping a watchful eye on my subject. He calls me over. The split wood looks like golden shredded chicken. Smells like Dad’s workshop combined with the tiny island we paddled to and climbed around on in Shagawa Lake earlier this summer. That is, it smells like a winter candle. Though, of course, Eric would remind me that the candles smell like it, not the other way around. Mmm, pine. Once we are finally out on the water trolling for trout, everything is in measurements, statistics. Over 60 feet of water, let out 20 feet of line, point the rod 6 feet up, cast 50 yards away, scout 49 degree water, note that the barometric pressure is dropping, consider the fact that the boat weighs 38 pounds, troll at 2 miles per hour. Then there’s the angle of the sun, air temperature, and wind speed.

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Each data point informs which of the jigs, spoons, bait, floats, bobbers, hooks, leaders, lines, lures, and spinners he will pull from his tackle box. Eric is constantly culling and selecting intel from the evolving conditions and responding accordingly. I’m reminded of a social dance class I once took: two entities moving entirely in conjunction with one another. To be sure, nature is guiding, but Eric relentlessly follows. He loves this dance. To me it seems a kind of astrology, a process through which

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one devines information by studying the movements and relative positions of celestial objects. Eric certainly treats fish as celestial. He loves their colors, their shapes. He reveres their movements, interprets their patterns. Infinite pursuit. Meanwhile I’m looking east, contemplating the reflection of the setting sun. The sky is purple and the trees almost glow in their varied greenness, their cameo reflected in the water like a mirrored lifeline, alive with a phenomenal periwinkle frame.

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Day two. We are trolling slowly. It’s late morning on a dull blue day. Eric’s got a bottom bouncer on the line with a Dr. Spoon flutter spoon. Floating over a one hundred foot hole in the lake, he has 120 feet of line out when a fish hits the lure, deep. Or so Eric tells me. Thus he catches “the perfect eating fish,” clocking in at 23 inches and about two and a half pounds. “This is fun,” he’ll say with a dry intonation, totally serious but in his own way enthusiastic, smirking subtly. The sport of catching fish may not capture or keep my attention, but you know what does? Fireside freshcaught fish dinners.

Day three, homeward bound, overcast sky. This man is insatiable. Everything is “just one more.” Just one more loop around the first lake. Just one more loop around just one more lake. Just one more fish. Just one more cast. Wendell rests his chin on the edge of the boat, absorbing and reflecting the anticipation of the last leg of the journey. And what have I learned? Theory shakes out. The quiet solitude of Boundary Waters angling makes excellent use of Eric’s drive for self sufficiency, eye for relevant rules of animal behavior, preference to experience the world through interaction, and orientation toward changing conditions. May we all experience such congruence of self in our lives. No, I don’t suppose angling is the sport for me, but it turns out I’m a very good participant-observer. The Ely Summer Times

Blogs of Ely

Story and Photos by Becca Brin Manlove Gratitude lists help Becca Brin Manlove survive the tough and celebrate the wonderful aspects of life. With a focus on things with roots (actual ones, like plants; and emotional ones, like people), she’s blogging her way through the alphabet at LoveWithRoots.com.

Becca’s essays have been a readers’ favorite in many past issues of the Times, and now that she has a blog, her fans can read her musings more often. A collection of her essays can be found in her book Hauling Water, available at LegacyBound.net

ere’s how britches, boat rides, and bullsh*t wound up on my gratitude list: Mom’s Alzheimer’s whittled away my parents’ choices. They sold their beloved ‘farm’ and tried two other living situations, but memory care was limited in Kansas. In 2014, we moved them to Ely. Mom lived in the Carefree Home, near the Ely Bloomenson Community Hospital. Dad shared her apartment at first. An earlier stroke wiped out Dad’s sense of direction and left him with a milder dementia. He couldn’t bullsh*t Mom. Life became an argument: “Frances, our kids are all grown and have kids of their own. We don’t have any kids here.” “Yes, we do! And those people have them locked in a room. You have to help me get them out!” “Frances, you are confused. You have the Alzheimer’s.” 2020

“Robert, YOU have Alzheimer’s. Not me.” Living with Mom in Carefree was anything but carefree for Dad. Besides, they served tuna hotdish once a week.

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The hotdish was popular with everyone but Dad. After eight months, he moved in with me. I worked in town and lived twelve miles out in the woods. One day I called Dad as I was leaving work. He told me he’d gone to visit Mom and she wouldn’t let him leave without her. They were both at my house. I dashed home. They were on the deck. Mom was wearing a light wool turtleneck. One of my favorite winter shirts. In July. Then I noticed my new Patagonia pants fit her well. I’d only worn them once. Just as many times as she had. We ate leftover pizza for supper.

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David, my boyfriend, called and offered a pontoon boat ride. I stuffed Mom’s things into her bag. Then Dad disappeared into his room and took a very long time changing his pants. I called through the door, “Dad, you don’t have to wear a tuxedo. What’s taking so long?” Sometimes he moved so slowly I wanted to scream. When he came out, I hustled them both into the car and dashed a mile down the road to David’s cabin. David came up from the dock to carry Dad’s tacklebox. Ever the southern gentleman, he offered Mom his arm. Dad carried his own pole. I tailgated Dad down the path, both wanting him to move faster and fearful he’d fall on the uneven ground. Mom and Dad settled onto one of the padded bench seats of David’s pontoon boat. David motored through the lilies crowding the shallow water around his dock, then drove to the opposite side of the bay. When we got there, Dad stood up to cast his line off the other side of the boat. I looked at the pockets of the jeans he had on. He had recently bought three new pairs of jeans that came with wide webbed belts. They fit his skinny little butt. He was pleased and he liked the belts. I think he thought they were fashionable. I didn’t have the heart to tell my tiny but fierce dad they were women’s jeans. I looked again at the pockets. They looked familiar. He was wearing MY jeans—my favorite pair. With his wide belt. No wonder it had The Ely Summer Times

taken him so long to change, threading that belt through the small belt loops on my pants. Then, even though David wasn’t wearing any of my pants (he was a full foot taller), I got frustrated with him, too. A retired Army helicopter pilot, he commanded everything he drove whether it was by air, land, or sea. Dad’s idea of a boat ride was cruising to a likely fishing spot and dropping anchor. David had no patience for fishing. He made a few quick passes of the point Dad wanted to work, then ignored Dad’s request to get closer and motored out of the bay. We puttered along the winking lane that the late sun laid among the islands. I’m no fisherwoman. Tooling among the islands was my preference, too. And David owned the boat. But sometimes I felt like a serpentine belt in an engine, pulled too tight, spinning between opposing forces. Dad gave up, tossed his worm overboard, and soon he drowsed against Mom’s shoulder. Mom enjoyed supporting Dad and being outside calmed her. Finally, I slid onto the Captain’s bench beside David and he put his arm around my shoulders. I told him I’d run Mom home and he offered to give Dad a ride up to my house. As we landed, I lured Mom away by saying that Dad and David wanted some guy-time to fish. Dad couldn’t lie to Mom, but I lied to her all the time. When we got into town, I pulled into the grocery store lot. I wanted to bring back 2020

a treat for the staff and residents at Carefree. Mom’s things were in a bag in the back, but I realized I hadn’t grabbed my purse. I searched my pockets for money. Mom reached into the pocket in my pants that she was wearing and pulled out a small wad of cash. My mother, raised on a dairy farm in the panhandle of Texas during the Dust Bowl days, worked a one-dollar bill loose. She gave it to me with the air she used when she was tearing sticks of Wrigley gum in pieces to dole out to her five kids. But the money came out of my pants. It was mine. I thanked her for the one then reached over and snatched a

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five-dollar bill from her clutch. Mom gave me the Evil Eye and swung her hands farther away from me. She rolled the rest of the money up tightly and slid it back into the pocket. “That’s enough,” she said. Frequently, Mom and the other residents of Carefree mixed their clothes up. When I dropped Mom off, I was determined to get my clothes back, so I walked her down to her room to change into her pajamas. She balked again and again—saying she should come with me to take care of the kids. Finally I said, “Mom, I need you to get into your pajamas so you can give me my clothes back.” She continued her resistance, but gave in when I promised to bring the kids back if they weren’t sleeping yet. I piled on the bullshit. “There won’t be room in the car for me to take you with me if I’m going to bring all the kids back here.” She chattered the whole time she undressed and slowly, slowly buttoned up her pajama top. I hoped she wouldn’t want to go to the lobby in her pajamas, but she insisted on escorting me to the door. She launched into another story as I punched in the code to open the door. The code timed out and clicked locked again. “Mom, the longer we stand here talking, the more likely the kids will be in bed by the time I get there. If they’re in bed, I won’t wake them up to bring them here.” She stepped back and waved me out. Driving home, I whined to myself: “No time to myself. Don’t even have my own clothes!” “Another evening spent wrangling my parents.” 42

I’ll spare you the rest. Mom would have said, “Pull in your bottom lip before someone steps on it.” To adjust my attitude, I started a gratitude list and it was long: At the top, time with David and with my parents. David’s patience and generosity in sharing his boat with us; the beauty of Burntside Lake; Mom and Dad’s love for each other as they approached their 60th wedding anniversary; my brother Bobby who helped me bring them here; that there was a memory care home in my hometown and that my parents had long-term care insurance; my own healthy (mostly) brain. And then recalling the pants mix-up (Mom would call them “britches”), I laughed so hard my driving became erratic. Back at home, I left Dad watching TV in his pajamas while I snuck into his room and took my jeans back. The pockets were bulging with his things and the ropey belt was stuck in those loops. I threaded the belt onto one of his new pairs of jeans and filled the pockets with his wallet, handkerchief, pocket knife, and change. My daughter, Celin, dubbed this story the dementia-induced musical chairs Pants Pandemonium. David encouraged me to write it down. Much of what I’ve re-told here is from a journal I call “Alzheimer’s Invasion.” Dad died just a month after the pants episode. David died just six months later. I have so much more to say about that–another time. We didn’t tell Mom that Dad died. I watched a friend with dementia re-live the fresh loss of her husband over and over. All five siblings agreed that telling Mom would only be cruel. The Carefree staff agreed, too. Luckily Mom was deep enough in dementia that her sense of time was not anchored. I would say, “Oh Dad is fishing with Bobby (my brother). They’re camping for a few nights.” She often responded, “Oh good. They should spend more time together.” I have no gratitude for Alzheimer’s. The Ely Summer Times

The indignities my brilliant, funny, giving mother suffered and how my dad was dragged into that living nightmare can’t be balanced against any positives. We watched helplessly with breaking hearts. And within the reality of her Alzheimer’s, we found blessings. Caring staff, the right drugs, and frequent visits from lying loved ones helped so that Mom’s last four years were not terror and abandonment. We developed a script of

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lies for the staff that helped calm her. If she was looking for kids, they could say, “Becky has the kids. She’s bringing them later.” If she was looking for Dad: “Robert is fishing with Mike.” (Mike is my late husband—we suspect there’s fishing in heaven.) If she insisted that she needed to get to school, their answer was “It’s Saturday. There’s no school today.” Mom and I walked, holding hands. We shared more funny stories. Sometimes she was confused about who I was exactly. Maybe I was one of her sisters or maybe even her mother or a mixture of one of her sisters and one of her four daughters. But always, she was confident that I loved her and she loved me. I’m glad for that—dementia sometimes takes cruel twists in the trust of loved ones. But that didn’t happen between us. A summary of Love with Roots B’s [Becca’s blog is alphabetical]: family bonds strengthened with time, boyfriend David, boat rides, calming bullsh*t, Burntside, beauty, and a comedy of britches. © 2020 Becca Brin Manlove

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Photos by Heidi Pinkerton

Gentlemen, Start Your Beards hese judges await your furry faces for this popular competition. Whether you’re a novice or a semi-pro (Who knew that facial hair contests are a national pasttime!?), you have many months before the next Great Nordic Beardfest to work not just on your beard, but also on your braggadocious behavior and capricious costume. Performance is a big part of impressing the judges and the audience.

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Ladies, you certainly won’t be left out of this boisterous affair. Creativity is your way to an award. Winners in the past have crafted their locks into chincovering tresses, applied fake materials to their cheeks and chins, and even tattooed (temporary we hope) themselves with facial hair in a feminine style. Your other important role here is choosing the contestant who will be winner of the Ladies’ Choice Award.

The Ely Summer Times

The Great Nordic Beardfest was first held in 2015. It has grown every year and in 2020 included about 60 contestants. The audience too has increased each year, and the event has pretty much outgrown its venue at the Boathouse Brewpub—a sad state of affairs because their food is hearty and delicious and their beer is brewed right there. Last winter the Boathouse had to stop serving food because the wait staff couldn’t get through the crowd to deliver it, and the numbers were approaching the legal limit for occupants. Organizer Shaun Chosa is searching for a larger spot for the 2021 event. It may even be expanded to a two-night event.

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As part of the Ely Winter Festival, the Beardfest provides an evening of fun that includes live music by Charlie Parr, who hails from Duluth but has a national fan base and performs throughout the U.S. and also internationally. Fest themes have included Pirates, Scots, and Vikings, giving participants some costume direction and an opportunity to develop linguistics to enhance their presentation. Any proceeds go to an Ely charity. This past winter more than $200 was donated to the Boundary Waters Care Center to help them purchase art supplies for the residents. Many contestants are local guys (and gals), several entering for their first time, and so getting a shot at awards just for novices. A fairly large contingent arrives in Ely from the Minnesota Beard Coalition (once called the Minneapolis Beard and Mustache Club, but now with broader geographical appeal), and many of them walk off with prizes. Other fabulous facial hair heroes have come from Florida, Colorado, and Canada. Don’t want to grow a beard? Then just go for a mustache. Sorry, there is no category for outstanding eyebrows or ear hair. 45

The strict criteria for being a judge was relaxed a bit last winter. Before that your name had to be Steve, and you had to know Shaun. But one of the Steves disgraced himself by shaving! Or maybe he moved south. Whatever—now you just have to know Shaun. It’s not too early, so stop shaving and

This winner’s beard was styled using beer cans. start planning for the best cabin fever remedy in Ely.

Winners of the Local Contestants award. 46

The Ely Summer Times

Luna’s Story

Photos and story by John Ratzloff

Luna was a retired, 11-year-old Inuit Polar Sled Dog. I adopted her from the Wintergreen Kennel outside of Ely. The day after Thanksgiving, 2019, at The Steger Wilderness Center, I decided to unleash Luna for the first time. The snow was deep. I didn't think she would run away. She took off like a bullet leaves a gun.

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We have a tradition at The Steger Center. We celebrate Black Friday by having a pot luck dinner and NOT going shopping. It’s a quiet, joyous, noncapitalistic time in wilderness. It was during this event when I unleashed Luna. Watching her running away was sickening. Thoughts of the bitter cold and packs of nearby wolves haunted

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me. It was impossible to sleep thinking that my good dog might be killed, torn apart and eaten by wolves. Leaving the Center the day after Black Friday without Luna was depressing. If she were to return, no one would be there. I wondered what would happen then. Wilderness is vast in this neck of the woods. I had no idea where to begin searching for her. Luna knew where she was. I’m sure I felt more lost than she did. She might have ben having a wonderful time enjoying her freedom. Weeks had gone by without her when I received a phone call from my son-in-law, Ed. He asked me to send him a photograph of Luna to post on Facebook. My hopes began to glimmer along with a grateful belief I might find

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my dog. Reports of Luna began to come in. She had run about five miles down the Cloquet Line and walked into the yard of wonderful guy named Bill. She was eating bird seed on the ground under Bill’s bird feeder. Scant food for a seventy-pound sled dog. Bill called me and told me Luna was outside his house. Before heading to Bill’s I stopped at a grocery store in Ely to buy hot dogs and a box of one of her favorite treats, high-calorie deep-fried chicken. I also took a horse blanket she liked to sleep on. At Bill’s I spread the blanket on the ground under the bird feeder, sat down on it, and stared in the direction Bill said she often came from. Sure enough, after a short time, she walked into my sight. My heart leapt. I called her name. She backed off. Luna had gone wild. Her eyes were bright, joy-filled, alert. I tossed a hot dog in her direction. She approached it cautiously, wolf-like, sniffed it, ate it fast. She was skinny. I threw another hot dog toward her, this time a bit closer to me. Again, she was cautious, but could not resist going for

The Ely Summer Times

it. She gobbled it down. Next I tossed a big, warm, deep-fried chicken breast toward her, much closer to me, not five feet from where I sat. She inhaled it like a starving dog. When she finished, Luna looked up at me, hesitated, licked her lips and ran away. I left there cold, frustrated, happy to have seen her and worried. She was limping badly. Minnesota has an organization of wonderful people who specialize in locating and live trapping lost and runaway dogs. They are The Retrievers. The next day they began their work posting a colorful, attention-grabbing poster. Digital versions were sent to Facebook and What’s Up Ely. More and more sightings flowed in. Two days later the live trap was set up, baited with warm roast beef, bacon, and cheddar cheese, and put under 24hour surveillance. Sensors near the trap door would shut it when the animal passed them moving toward the bait. 2020

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Somewhere nearby, out of sight, a Retriever volunteer would be sitting in their car watching on their cell phone to see everything going on at the live trap. I was certain I’d have Luna the next morning. In between the time Luna began to show up at Bill’s and when The Retrievers became involved, Luna was becoming less cautious, even friendly, with Bill. He would feed her. She came near him. One day while Luna was standing close to Bill, he decided to catch her with a nearby rope. He managed to get the rope around Luna’s neck and he had her. Luna bolted hard. The rope broke. There wasn’t a single sighting of Luna for two weeks. I was loosing hope. On December 27th, not knowing anything else I could

do, I sent an email to Will, who was back at the Center for a few days. Please keep your eye out for any signs of Luna at the Center. About noon the next day Will called me with surprising news. Luna was sitting on the front steps of Pond House, the cabin at The Wilderness Center that I had shared with Luna in the summer. I rushed to Ely Northland Market and bought deep-fried chicken. Luna was not at our cabin when I arrived, though her tracks were everywhere. I laid a trail of chicken up the path and into the cabin. I kicked a bunch of snow against the two doors to keep them open so she could go inside to eat, get out of the wind, and rest. The Retrieves came out and were sure they would trap her the next day. They were wrong.

Enjoy Canoe Country all year with The Boundary Waters Calendar!

© Gary McGuffin

© Root River Photography

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© Gary Alan Nelson

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The Ely Summer Times

The fact that Luna ran back to Pond House makes it clear: she was never lost. She knew exactly where she was. Will Steger got to know and appreciate Luna. Once he said, “She is one of those great dogs, pure stealth and intuition.” High praise from a man who knows Polar Sled Dogs as well as anyone. The prevailing wind at the Steger Center blows from the West. On the morning of December 29th Will strolled down to Pond House to see if Luna had followed the food into the cabin. When he got there the doors were closed. He opened the doors and walked in the cabin. Luna was there! During the night, out of nowhere, the East Wind asserted itself. It blew like mad from the East, 180 degrees from where it had been blowing. It slammed the cabin doors closed. Luna was inside, finally trapped by the Spirit of the East Wind. I will never understand how the West wind suddenly shifted to trap Luna. But it did. According to Ojibwe teaching, the time of the East Wind is a magical time for the earth and all her children. It is a time when everything seems possible, when each breath, each moment is a new beginning, when incredible energy is available for growth on all levels. When Luna came back to me her left shoulder was badly misshapen. I took her to the Ely Vet Clinic. The diagnosis was fast and accurate. Bone cancer. I was given prescriptions for two different pain pills for her. They helped. Yet, as 2020

time passed, they were not enough. Luna was tough. Never complained. Never whined. I was never without her. She would moan with pleasure when I’d massage her hips and spine, look up at me with loving eyes. The time came. We drove to the Ely Vet Clinic and Chip [Dr. Chip Hanson] came in the room, comforted Luna, talked to me about the right thing to do, gave her a shot to relax her and gave her the next shot to put her down. Chip is the greatest veterinarian on the planet. Ely is so lucky to have him. I learned so much from Luna. It was difficult to be as smart as she was. Luna, my great, smart, strong as hell, intuitive, fun and freedom-loving, shy, funny, loyal, rascally, humble friend. The Retrievers are all volunteers, but need donations for supplies and gear. Get help or donate at TheRetrievers.org.

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© Heidi Pinkerton

Big Birds Bird song is one of the delights Ely offers, especially on early summer mornings when a chorus of sparrows, thrushes, and warblers of dozens of species musically announce dawn’s arrival. Ornithologists will tell you they

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Bald Eagle are protecting their nesting territory, but for anyone who has watched a bird sing for several minutes, pure joy seems to be part of it. There’s the trick—these little birds can be hard to spot, no matter how close they sound. For a novice bird

The Ely Summer Times

watcher seeking to identify the tiny creatures by matching them to a picture in a field guide, this can be frustrating. Add binoculars and the frustration can build as the bird flits quickly from one hidden branch to another. But we have birds that are much easier to spot. They may not be the most musical members of the avian chorus, and some sound more like a beginning bassoon player than an accomplished orchestra instrumentalist. But even a toddler can pick them out soaring along ridge tops or cruising through the red pines. Here are some facts about Ely’s big birds you’re most likely to see as you boat, bike, or hike. Bald eagles are the national bird of the USA. Benjamin Franklin thought the wild turkey was much more worthy of this honor, objecting to the eagle’s opportunistic behavior of stealing a meal from a smaller bird. Eagles, and many other birds of prey, were once threatened species because DDT in the food chain caused their egg shells to be so weak that a brooding parent would break the egg before the chick could hatch. They have had a remarkable comeback, and now are a common sight perched in a big pine along shore or gliding on thermals high in the sky. Often you can recognize them by the white head and tail. Eagles with those markings are adults; younger individuals are more of a mottled brown with the distinctive white head and tail feathers appearing about age four. Another way 2020

to distinguish an eagle from other soaring birds is the width of their wings, which are broader than other species’ wings, allowing them to catch an easy ride on the thermal air currents that rise during summer days from the heated landscape. On some days you can watch them soar until your neck gets sore and never see a wing flap. Eagle nests can often be seen from a lake—a bulky bunch of sticks in the crotch of a big white pine. The same eagles use the nest year after year until a storm eventually crashes it to the ground. Researchers investigating a long-used nest found that it weighed two tons! If you walk below a nest you’re likely to find fish bones and scales because fish make up most of an eagle’s diet, but they also eat carrion, reptiles, small mammals, and other birds, especially ducks and baby loons. Another nest’s contents reported by researchers—43 small collars. So don’t leave your little pets unattended where eagles fly.

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Eagles are also often spotted at road kill sites where they share a feast with vultures and ravens. When you see a large bird on the wing being harassed by smaller birds, the large bird may be an eagle. Since they prey on smaller birds’ nests, taking eggs or fledglings, the parents chase the eagle mercilessly. It seems like the eagle could turn on the pesky bird and wipe it out easily, but that doesn’t happen. When you hear a loon tremolo call, look up and you’re likely to see an eagle. The loon is usually one with chicks warning its mate

© Ken Hupila

Turkey Vulture

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that an eagle is around and the chick needs protection. Occasionally you might see an eagle swimming. Chances are it has a fish in its talons and is too weighted down to take off. Or it might have missed its meal, but soaked its feathers and is too wet to fly. When you see large birds soaring, it’s easy to mistake a vulture for an eagle initially, but as you observe the birds more closely you’ll notice some have a wobbly flight pattern and a more V-shaped wingspan. Those are turkey vultures. In flight they appear almost headless due to the lack of feathers on their heads. This pink bald pate looks ugly to us, but is useful to prevent feather fouling where the bird can’t groom itself after it scavenges food from inside the rotting carcasses of dead mammals. Unlike eagles, vultures don’t care for fish. Vulture nests are minimal constructions usually on a cliff or in a cave. The adults and immature birds all look about the same. Do you know how a hot vulture cools down? It urinates on its legs! And it throws up its stomach contents if disturbed while eating, probably so it can fly off faster. Vultures are nearly mute, making a few grunts and groans as they work on their meal. Probably Ben Franklin didn’t consider these unappealing-to-people behaviors worthy of national bird status, even though vultures perform a valuable service to the ecosystem by cleaning up the forests and roadsides. The Ely Summer Times

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and other plants common to rich flood plains. Rookeries are used year after year, often eventually killing the pines. Ospreys are another bird you’re most likely to see from a boat. Cruising up to 100’ above the lake as it searches for a meal of fresh fish, the osprey has a distinctive bent-elbow look like a gull or tern. The white underside and dark © Ken Hupila

A large bird you’re more likely to see wading than flying is a Great Blue Heron. Preying on frogs, crayfish, and minnows, the heron stands statue-still and ankle-deep. When it spies a meal, its head darts forward and its formidable bill grabs the hapless creature in an instant. With a wingspan of seven feet and weighing only five pounds, a heron can lift off nearly straight up. If you scare one away from its feeding spot as you paddle near, it will go just a short ways and set up for the hunt again. Often you may follow it as it flies off, lands, and flies off again and again. At four feet in height, a great blue isn’t likely to be confused with another species. There just isn’t anything else like it. You are most likely to see it flying higher in the sky at evening as it heads to its roost around sunset. Unmistakable even in the sky, the great blue’s crooked neck and legs dangling behind resembles no other bird. Great blue herons nest in rookeries with dozens of families living in bulky stick nests high up in red pines. The noise, smell, and underbrush create a unique setting in the northwoods. Cackling adults and begging hatchlings drop their excrement over the side of their nests, creating a rich habitat below that fills with nettles, elderberry, thistles,

Great Blue Heron

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mask provide distinctive markings for identification. When it spots its prey, the osprey hovers over the water with a rapid wing beat. Then it plunges into the lake to grab its dinner, rising back up with a fish that could have been as much as three feet under the surface. This is the moment when an eagle may pester the osprey into dropping its fish, which the eagle then scoops up for its own meal. If you hear a raucous “kwuk-kwukkwuk-kwuk” while you’re in a mature forest, look for a pileated woodpecker. (The first syllable can be pronounced either as pill or pile.) Seeing one makes the connection between dinosaurs and birds seem obvious. A large, noisy, black and white bird, both male and female have a bright red crest and the male also has a red mustache. Dining almost exclusively on carpenter ants, pileateds excavate rectangular-shaped holes as large as a suitcase in ant-

infested trees that may look perfectly healthy. These feeding stations can be at ground level, but their nests, constructed with the same chiseling technique, are higher up to avoid predation. If you notice a large pile of wood chips at the base of a tree, chances are that’s the work of a pileated woodpecker. Pileateds and other woodpeckers are the contractors of their ecosystems, building homes for many other residents from woodducks, owls, and chickadees to pine martens and bats. After nesting season, the pileateds still use the cavities they’ve made as roosting sites, but generally they create new nests each year, leaving the old excavations for other species. Old forests and dead standing trees are essential pileated habitat. You can help prevent the reduction of habitat that many boreal species need as you

© Ken Hupila

Osprey

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The Ely Summer Times

Av.Wt. Wingspan Swan 25.0 120” Eagle (female) 12.0 96” Gr Bl Heron 4.8 84” Vulture 4.5 72” Osprey 4.5 71” Sandhill Crane 7.6 63” Great Gray Owl 2.5 72” Herring Gull (male) 3.0 61” Loon 10.0 58” Raven 2.5 51” Pileated Wpkr 0.7 30”

manage the land around your cabin by letting those large dead and dying pines and aspen stand. You may be surprised at how long they’ll remain upright and how much wildlife you’ll see using them. Around Ely there are other large birds that are easy to see including gulls, owls, swans and geese, and loons. One that may surprise you is sandhill cranes, whose population is growing in this area. The Ely Public Library has an extensive collection of bird books to help you not just identify birds, but learn fascinating facts about their behaviors and adaptations. This is a good summer to get outside, check out the big birds, and share that time with whatever kids are in your life. You’ll never run out of subject matter!

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© Ken Hupila

The International Wolf Center has a display where you can measure your wingspan against that of big birds.

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ART in ELY WALLS & SHELVES Art & Soul Gallery 427 E Sheridan Street The Brandenburg Gallery 11 E Sheridan Street Crapola 16 N 1st Avenue E Fernberg Art Gallery 2267 Fernberg Road Front Porch Coffee & Tea Co. 343 E Sheridan Street Karina Herrera Gallery 9 E Chapman Street Karl Jones Gallery 130 E Chapman Street Kekekabic Studio 118 E Chapman Street Mealey’s Gift Shop 124 N Central Avenue Ornamental Hermit Studio 132 N 1st Avenue E

ORGANIZATIONS Arts in Ely ArtsInEly.org Ely Art Walk ElyArtWalk.org Ely Arts & Heritage ElyArtsandHeritageCenter.org Ely Photographic Collaborative Find it on Facebook

Ely Folk School 209 E. Sheridan Street Gardner Humanities Trust GardnerTrust.org Northern Lakes Arts Assn. NorthernLakesArts.org Tofte Lake Center TofteLake.org The Art Corner 301 W. Sheridan Street

ARTISTS’ WEBSITES Chris Koivisto Ceramics ElyArt.com Sharee Johnson Jewelry ShareeJohnsonJewelry.com Heidi Pinkerton RootRiverPhotography.com

© Karina Herrera, Karina Herrera Studio

Walls and websites are visual arts. For a listing of all Ely arts see the Directory at ArtsinEly.org. Sign up for the newsletter, create a free listing if you are an Ely area artist, and make donations at the website. For current arts happenings and news, visit the Arts in Ely Facebook page.

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The Ely Summer Times

What’s New in Ely? © Prospector ATV Club

Now, when trails are more important than ever, replacing our gyms and indoor sports with activities we can enjoy at an appropriate distance from one another, the Ely area trails are being expanded and improved for biking, hiking, and ATV riding. If you’re an off-road rider there is a lot to get excited about in Ely. Summer construction will add improvements and distance to the Prospector Loop that connects Ely, Babbitt, Tower, and Isabella with North Shore and Iron Range Trails. The Minnesota State ATV Convention planned for Sept 18-20, virus permitting, will headquarter at the Grand Ely Lodge and includes guided

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and group rides in the Ely area, an ATV Big Air Tour in Babbitt, pancake breakfast at the Morse-Fall Lake fire hall, and the annual banquet at the GEL. The bridge across the Kawishiwi River was a key piece for the trail system. Built for snowmobile use, it is now ready for spring, summer, and fall visitors and includes a scenic picnic spot at the edge of the BWCAW. Hikers and bikers are also allowed to use the trail system. The state helps build these OHV trails with funds for construction, but trail planning and maintenance, as well as youth safety education and promoting use that’s safe for both riders and the surrounding environment is

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undertaken by volunteers. In Ely that would be members of the Prospector Club. ATV clubs also frequently hold group rides that benefit charities. If you’re a rider or just a wannabe, you can find more information at the Prospector Loop ATV Trail System Facebook page and at the DNR website’s OHV page. In other trail news, construction of mountain bike challenges continues at Hidden Valley. There are miles of trails maintained for summer use at this XC ski area. Choose from fairly flat terrain to super-steep hills. A trailhead building is being planned on Ely’s west end where the former recycling center was located. This will be Ely’s trail entry for the Mesabi Trail, a bike and hike trail; the Taconite Trail, primarily a snowmobile trail with access to thousands of miles of trails throughout Minnesota; and the Prospector Loop for ATVs. The Trezona Trail, a popular 4-mile non-motorized trail around Miner’s Lake, will also 60

connect. Plans for the new development include relocating the Chamber of Commerce to this end of town and creating history and heritage displays. Speaking of history, another project in the works is the restoration of the former Northern Wildlife Research Station, also known as the Kawishiwi Field Lab, that was the US Forest Service Halfway Ranger Station beginning in 1910. Several log buildings were constructed by the CCC corps in the 1930s and are in need of attention. Northern Bedrock Historic Preservation Corps has taken on this project with AmeriCorps youth, an organization similar to the CCC in that it employs young people in jobs that teach them hands-on skills. Designated a National Historic Site in 2012, the station saw improvements to the main building last summer as the kids worked on restoration of the floors and windows. Learning about carpentry, history, and team work as they go, the youth are an enthusiastic bunch. Things are not going quite as planned this summer, but progress will be made. See the 2021 Ely Summer Times for a more detailed accounting of this interesting project. Another historic recreation not going quite as planned is bringing movies back to Ely. The Ely State Theater, renovated to its former elegance, had planned to start showing movies on Memorial Day weekend, but the time is coming—maybe here as you read this— when an Ely date night can include a movie and popcorn. Check out their Facebook page for updates. Are you looking for a business opportunity in Ely? There are several to be considered. 50 years ago there were three major car dealerships in Ely. Mike Motors, the last one, closed its doors in May. But that doesn’t mean the town can’t support one. A savvy business person able to create a more futuristic business model could once again offer Ely residents an affordable local option for new and used car purchases. The Ely Summer Times

Americorps workers tent while they restore Halfway Another opportunity is the former Chocolate Moose. That could once again be a thriving business of some sort given that it has that all-important quality—location, location, location. (Call 343-3294 if you’re interested in pursuing something there.)10-Below Co-working was established as a nonprofit, served to show that there is a place for co-working options in Ely, and now needs someone dedicated to managing such a place. Look around Ely and think about what you would go out of town for. If you have that entrepreneurial spirit, imagine how you could make it a local business. There’s tons of help for entrepreneurs who want to develop a business in northeast Minnesota. Check out IRRR, the Entrepreneur Fund, the Ely Chamber of Commerce, and the Northland Foundation for support and education, then build your career right here in Ely. If you’re not up for owning a business, but need a job, check out the

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Ely Area Development Association. They have current job listings and links to resources for job seekers on their website, elymneada.org. If you need help composing a resume or preparing an online job application they will help. Call 365-3324 to make an appointment or stop by their office at 40 N. 1st Ave. E.—downstairs in the Frandsen Bank building. Their services are free. Now to a hilarious story to wrap up this issue. Comedian and granola chef Brian Strom, along with his wife Andrea, thought he’d add a bit of fun to the April 1st edition of the Ely Echo. Brian owns Crapola, a company that not only makes delicious, healthy cereal, but also has very punny promotions based on the elimination that well-fed humans accomplish regularly. So they created a press release about a candy bar that would maintain regularity. It was

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supposed to be a joke. But the joke was on them when they received countless calls asking when the product would be available and requesting orders. Now they need to produce the high-fiber, delicious candy bar. Says Andrea, “We took our inspiration from the Mars bar, but innovated to make it...light years ahead in terms of nutritional quality. It’s out of this world. That’s why we called it Uranus!” “It’s definitely round,” adds Brian. Seeing the success this Ely couple has had already, you can expect a universally appealing candy bar that will blast your briefs off coming out soon. Use up your Metamucil while you’re waiting and get ready for Ely’s Uranus candy bar!

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The Ely Summer Times