Konnie LeMay / Lake Superior Magazine
Apostle Islands
An Apostle Islands Cruise boat.
Konnie’s final Circle Tour report
Editor Konnie LeMay and our Bus Tour group finished their 11-day Lake Superior Circle Tour on Wednesday. Here’s Konnie’s last dispatch.
Can a lighthouse keeper beam?
We certainly got a good smile from Ron, one of the Coast Guardsmen assigned to Devils Island Lighthouse in the late ’60s, as our Apostle Islands Cruise boat sailed beside that island’s sea caves and the old light tower. Ron, whom I’ve come to know as a pleasant but quiet guy, was handed the microphone on the boat to reminisce a bit about his days as a lightkeeper. You just never know who you’ll meet or what adventure you’ll find on a Lake Superior Circle Tour.
Happy to be home, I still felt sad to part with my bus “family” when we returned home this week. Some still had a journey ahead as far as Utah and states south (where we pray for safe times during wild storms).
There was no slacking, though, on a our last few days. In Ontonagon, Michigan, we picked up a local guide (and booster), Bruce Johanson, who narrated our way from the Ontonagon Historical Society’s distinctly purple museum to the local lighthouse through lunch at Lynn’s Café and out to Bonanza Falls. We featured the Ontonagon Lighthouse among our haunted lights in the current issue, and I did peek into the notorious closet out of which the one-armed ghost sauntered. Touching the artifacts and opening doors is encouraged here. No skeleton in the closet, but I and at least one other person heard what might have been a baby crying in the room.
Read the rest of Konnie’s report.
Lake levels up
Lake Superior’s level typically declines by about an inch in September, but not this year. The Lake was up 1 centimeter (0.4 inches) last month and now starts October at 7 inches above long-term average. That’s 2 inches higher than this time last year.
Nearly a mile of Upper Peninsula shoreline protected
The Keweenaw Land Trust, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Michigan DNR completed a conservation project in Baraga County:
With the support of numerous partner organizations, the project permanently protects 1,374 acres and nearly a mile of Lake Superior shoreline and was made possible by a USFWS National Coastal Wetlands Conservation program grant of $1 million in 2015, with over $1.1 million in matching funds provided by private foundations, individual donors and bargain sales offered by the landowners.
The groups will dedicate the newly protected lands at 10 a.m. on October 11 at Lightfoot Bay Nature Area, with guided hikes of the area to follow.
Marquette hosts NHL game...: The city won the title of Kraft Hockeyville USA earlier this year. Part of the prize was the opportunity to host an NHL preseason game at Lakeview Arena. The Buffalo Sabres beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. WLUC-TV has video.
... and so does Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario: The same teams played at the Essar Centre later in the week. (This time the Hurricanes won 3-2, SooToday reports.) Before the game, Sault native and Hall of Famer Ron Francis was honored by the city with the unveiling of Ron Francis Way. Ron played in the NHL for more than 20 years and is now the general manager of the Hurricanes.
End of an era on Raspberry Island: Ranger Jim Stowell is retiring after 14 seasons at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, writes Hope McLeod for the Bayfield County Journal. A professional actor and storyteller, Jim often played the part of Lee Benton (light keeper from 1914-1924) during Raspberry Island tours.
Thunder Bay shipping is booming: The port of Thunder Bay had its best September in two decades, reports the CBC. Grain shipments and visits from oceangoing vessels drove the growth.
Duluth stays vigilant about lead: Peter Passi, Duluth News Tribune: “Although recent tests have shown Duluth's water supply to be in compliance with federal standards for the presence of lead, the city has launched a campaign aimed at educating people about how to minimize their risk of exposure to the potentially toxic heavy metal.”
Cook County Whole Foods Co-op turns 40: Local radio station WTIP has a feature on the venerable Minnesota North Shore grocery store.