Old-Time Isolation: When Hayes Scriven took on the job of site manager at Split Rock Lighthouse last fall – just in time for the Nov. 10 annual lighting of the beacon to commemorate the Edmund Fitzgerald crew – he had no idea he and his family would be getting something of a real-life experience paralleling those of early lighthouse keepers. And he didn't know the beacon would need to shine hope before his usual visitor season even opened. Hayes, who had been executive director of the Bong Veterans Center in Superior, moved with his wife, Jenny, and their children Aneliese, 12, and Devin, 9, into one of the keeper's quarters in January this year. (The previous manager, Lee Razak, and his family had lived there for more than 30 years until his retirement in spring 2019.) Even in normal years, the site about 20 miles northeast of Two Harbors, Minn., is remote, especially in winter. They moved on Jan. 22, Hayes says, because "my son wanted to wake up at the lighthouse on his birthday (Jan. 23). He said it was the best birthday ever." So far this week, the children were still enthusiastic about their new home and its outdoor space, though as Hayes notes, they did ask one morning, "What do we do today?" and his answer was, "Pretty much the same as we did yesterday." The stay-at-home orders linked to the COVID-19 outbreak have meant that the new keepers of the Split Rock Light are echoing the lifestyle of those first keepers' families of long ago. "There are a lot of similarities between 2020 and 1910 in regards to the isolation. Since the stay-at-home order, I have only traveled as far as 5 miles away from Split Rock. My wife has to go weekly to Two Harbors to pick up our kids' homework packets and get groceries and other supplies. I have only had real contact with a very small group of employees as well." In some ways, despite the fact there was no paved roadway to the lighthouse site, keepers of the past had more local contacts, he adds. "In 1910, the keepers would only have contact with the other keepers on site. They would have traveled to Two Harbors or Beaver Bay for mail or supplies. They would occasionally go to the (then) little Two Harbors fishing village for haircuts and maybe for a drink or two."
Unlike the challenges back at the opening turn of the last century, the hardships for Hayes as historic site manager with the Minnesota Historical Society have been connected to work. "The biggest challenge right now is navigating this pandemic. We had been ramping up for opening in the spring season (usually in May) and that came to an abrupt halt. We had to develop distance-learning plans for all of our staff. We had to find a way to secure the site, then start figuring out how and when we might open." With the official opening announced this week as July 1, site tour guides and sales associates have been furloughed, though the maintenance staff continues to work. Hayes still regularly posts photos of wildlife, the lighthouse, the Lake and historic notes. He was featured on Tuesday's KARE11 podcast "That's So Minnesota," with a visit from host Ellery McCardle. And for those awaiting the chance to again see the lighthouse and perhaps meet the new keeper, Hayes says encouragingly, "Just please hang in there. … We will still be here when this is all done. Plan to visit us then."
In the meanwhile, the Minnesota Historical Society, operators of the historic site within a state park, chose last Friday to do a rare lighting of the Fresnel lens from 9-11 p.m. It was live-streamed to bring hope around the state. Hayes was anxious about his first big task. Would the beacon light properly? And he'd heard the governor might be watching. He need not have worried. The light that has shone across more than a century to guide mariners safely beamed brightly again. "It was an amazing response," Hayes says. "The idea started the week before lighting. We had planned to do a beacon lighting in May, as a way to celebrate spring and the start of our season. But when we realized that event was not going to happen, we wanted to find a way to turn the beacon on for the entire state to view. We picked the 10th because it was the date that the first stay-at-home order was supposed to end (but did not). So we wanted to provide a bright spot on a somber day, and also send a message that we are all in this together and there is a light at the end of this. We partnered with KBJR6 in Duluth to make the live stream possible and the response was amazing. We were on every news station in Duluth and the Twin Cities. All of the messages during the feed were very positive, so I think we provided that bright spot."
As things slowly awake around the family – both in nature and in future visitations – Hayes says the biggest rewards here come from the past. "We are surrounded by history! I can just feel the history on the site. Everywhere I look, I see how the past keepers and their families lived. It is very humbling. Being surrounded by all this history is a history geek's dream! Also, the view is not that bad ..."
And Then a Fire: Small businesses everywhere are struggling to meet the challenges of long shutdowns, but in Grand Marais, Minn., on Monday the city and especially three local business were dealt a devastating blow. The block featuring Picnic & Pine, The Crooked Spoon Café and White Pine North burned completely. Volunteer firefighters from the Grand Marais, Maple Hill, Lutsen and Colvill fire departments battled the blaze. They could not save the Wisconsin Street block, but prevented the spread to Sven & Ole's Pizza next door. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office, first responders from Grand Marais, North Shore Health Ambulance, Cook County Search & Rescue as well as the Minnesota State Patrol and Border Patrol units assisted. As Sheriff Pat Eliason described, "With high wind gusts the fire was difficult to contain. Grand Marias Public Utilities Commission was dispatched to cut power to the area and the City also deployed a backhoe to assist firefighters to be able to knock the fire down.
The Cook County Emergency Chaplains were also dispatched to the Command & Rehab staging area and are supporting emergency units and business owners on scene." No one was hurt in the fire, and Rhonda Silence of WTIP reports that flames were first seen in the café. The Minnesota Fire Marshal was investigating the cause. In a Tweet on Monday, Gov. Tim Walz added his condolences: "I’m sorry to hear this terrible news. These businesses hold a special place in many of our hearts. I’m keeping the tight-knit Grand Marais community in my thoughts today. And tomorrow, we will rebuild." Owner of White Pine North, Tyler Dean, echoed his optimism in a story from KBJR6-TV: "It's been a crazy year. Just last week I was joking with a friend who is a business owner saying this whole pandemic was not in our business plan. We purchased White Pine North in January of this year. This week, a fire. It was not in the business plan. We'll rebuild and it will be awesome." Tyler and his wife, Jessica did just take over the well-loved White Pine North gift shop this year. Nathan and Sara Hingos opened The Crooked Spoon Café to be a gourmet-quality local-centric restaurant in 2006. Beth Kennedy, also owner of the Birchbark Books & Gifts and Beth's Fudge, started Picnic & Pine shop with her daughter, Kelsey Kennedy, in 2016. Grand Marais State Bank has opened donation accounts for each business. Donations can be mailed to PO Box 100, Grand Marais, MN 55604. If the money is not designated for one business, it will be equally divided among the three.
A Survivor's Tale: "At the onset, I was fine one day, and almost completely debilitated the next. While teleworking from home, the virus attacked with the speed of a light switch." Thus starts the COVID-19 story of Marquette native and former Marquette city manager Bill Vajda, who now is the Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Department of the Interior. Bill's full story of his infection and, thankfully, recovery can be seen at the recently launched Rural Insights: The Upper Peninsula & Beyond. In the blog, "My COVID-19 Near-Death Experience," Bill describes the fast onset as he first stayed at home. "My mind was slipping into delirium from the pain, when the next set of symptoms set in – fully body agony, with particularly strong pain in my abdomen – the feeling like a knife was rubbing across my body for days. It was at this point that the full-body convulsions set-in, and with each one, I felt a little more of my life force slipping away, I knew that I was dying." His story, well worth reading in full, concludes with: "For leaders and decision makers at all levels of government, the lessons learned are straight forward: Take the risk seriously. Mitigate the risks as quickly and effectively as possible. Use every tool at your disposal, and use the best judgement possible with the information on hand. In the US, a country of 360,000,000 million people, we have suffered at this writing over 500,000 infected, and over 22,000 deaths – approximately the same population as my hometown, Marquette Michigan. The virus doesn’t differentiate between urban and rural, and the response shouldn’t either. The lessons learned at all levels of government are the same and scale down to every life lost to the scourge of COVID-19. Early action and sustained vigilance will surely enable all of us to share the light at the end of the tunnel together."
Angling for Better Aquaculture: An aquaculture demonstration facility near Bayfield, Wisconsin, has been working for years on ways to increase the availability of regional walleye – not so much for anglers as for eaters at local restaurants around Wisconsin. "Nothing says 'Wisconsin' quite like a Friday night fish fry with all the trimmings: rye bread, cole slaw, French fries, and perhaps a cold beer or brandy Old Fashioned," Wisconsin Sea Grant notes in a story about the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's northern facility. "For many people, the star at the center of the plate is crisply battered walleye. Yet most of the walleye served in restaurants or purchased in grocery stores actually comes from Canada, including a sizable amount from the Canadian waters of Lake Erie, where it is netted by commercial fishermen." While that out-of-town connection may not be true for Lake Superior region restaurants, the facility by the Big Lake's shores has been working on ways for fish farmers to rear more walleye indoors with recirculating aquaculture systems. Lead researcher Chris Hartleb, director of the university's Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility and UW-Stevens Point professor of fisheries biology, says in the story, that for eight years, Wisconsin Sea Grant has funded research to tackle the challenges of domesticating the popular walleye and make it suitable for farming. The facility has examined whether walleye can be raised in tanks and what the optimal density in the tank might be for the fish to thrive. New research is about to get under way with a focus on making walleye eggs, fry and juveniles available year-round through out-of-season spawning triggered by photothermal manipulation. As the research progresses, it's up to Aquaculture Outreach Specialist Emma Wiermaa (seen here with a test subject) to communicate results to the fish farmers who can use them.
Running in Place: Boniface “Bones” Kongin, an elite marathon runner from Iten, Kenya, who (thanks to Grandma's Marathon) calls Duluth his second home, didn't know he'd find himself stranded in his home-away-from-home during this lockdown. Duluthians Brian and Tina Nelson, who have supported Bones throughout his marathoner career in the United States, welcomed him here after he had to drop out halfway during the Los Angeles Marathon in March with hamstring and achilles injuries. He intended to compete in Grandma's Marathon, which has been cancelled for this year. Fox21Online posted a story about him. Now he's been unable to return to Kenya to his parents and five sisters, who his running career helps to support. "Although this time is difficult for many, imagine being in another Country, away from your family without the ability to tap into a familiar support system," a new GoFundMe site set up by Brea Archer to help support him and his family. "Unable to participate in events for an undetermined period of time due to the pandemic, he is not able to readily care for his or his family’s needs. Therefore, we are asking for your kindness and generosity to help make a difference for our fellow friend and neighbor. He not only values, but is very proud of his Duluth family and friends he has met during his many stays here." The site already has garnered $4,500 toward a $10,000 goal. There are, of course, many ways to help during these times. For those of you especially tied to Grandma's Marathon, this may be the one for you.
Creative Catalyst: Philip Gilpin Jr., director of Catalyst Stories, a now Duluth-based organization known for its annual international Catalyst Stories – Content Festival in the fall, will give a free webinar from 4-6 p.m. this evening. The "Visual Arts on Camera" webinar, sponsored through the Duluth Arts Institute, is free, but you must register in advance (hurry!). Phillip will guide you through the process of making a scripted story/video series (or single episode). He'll note practical details on development, writing, physical production, post-production and distribution.
Just Add Salties: We told you in an earlier Around the Circle This Week e-newsletter about Interlake Steamship Company featuring Gus Schauer and mentioning his dad, David Schauer, both of whom are avid and excellent maritime photographers in Duluth. A photo of two salties (ocean-going vessels) and Aerial Lift Bridge that David posted this week has gotten many thousand hits on the places it's been posted, and we wanted to end with this photo in case you haven't yet seen it. The bridge is lit in Minnesota's power color of purple, under the mayor's orders, to bring a bit of joy into a difficult period. David posted this note with his photo, taken with the help of Gus: "Sometimes we get lucky when salties anchor in the Lake; they can be framed by the Aerial Bridge. They anchor in that general area, but to have them frame up perfectly is somewhat uncommon. Even better when there are TWO framed up. That was the case Monday morning as the Federal Nagara and Isolda lined up stunningly during blue hour off the Duluth piers." We hope your weekend is lit with many moments of joy, too.
Photo & graphic credits: Hayes Scriven; White Pine North; Picnic & Pine; The Crooked Spoon; Rural Insights; Wisconsin Sea Grant; Brea Archer/GoFundMe; David Schauer