Lake Superior Dreamin’: Photographer Christian Dalbec did a great job composing a shot with a surfer and a freighter this week. The “guy” in the back is the Roger Blough of the Great Lakes Fleet and the guy in the front is Dylan Graves, a surfer from California, Christian tells us. Dylan works with Vans Surf, an active-outdoors clothing maker, and his passion, apparently, is tackling “weird waves.” That’s what he found on Lake Superior during the storm earlier this week and videographer Dave Malcolm filmed it, to air on a Vans Surf website in November. The company posted a Tumblr interview with Dylan. Here are a couple of his responses about surfing the Big Lake.
What surprised you the most about the surf scene and waves?
The surf scene itself was so refreshing. Our local guide, Burton Hathaway, sort of summed it up with, “It’s like traveling back in time.” It seemed like we were teleported back to the ’70s, or how I would imagine them to be at least. Wave-wise, I was very humbled by the conditions. From the piercing cold, to the amounts of water moving, I had to keep reminding myself I was in a lake.
What’s the deal with those ice beards you see on people?
That’s sort of your trophy for putting in a solid session in the lakes. If you stay out long enough when it’s that cold, you grow an ice beard.
Sisters Do the Cooking: On Monday, Lake Avenue Restaurant and Bar in Duluth will get a new chef for a day, from Duluth’s Sister City of Thunder Bay. Chef John Murray of the Red Lion Smokehouse in Thunder Bay will prepare a special dinner with a five-course tasting menu that highlights Thunder Bay flavors. On the menu are Gin & Tonic Trout, Duck Bannock, Smoked Herring, Spring Lamb and for dessert, of course, Thunder Bay’s famed Persians. The Red Lion already hosted Lake Avenue’s sous chef, Steve Rantala, and former cook Nic Peloquin to represent Duluth. Duluth Sister Cities International and Lake Avenue are working with the city of Thunder Bay, the Red Lion, as well as Radisson Duluth, Lake Superior Brewing and Visit Duluth, to host the Canadian group traveling here for the event. Tickets for the Monday dinner, which cost $70, can be purchased by calling Lake Aveune Restaurant and Bar or online at Eventbrite.
Almooost theeeere: The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw gave spring a helping hand, breaking a bit of ice on Thursday (yes, just yesterday) at Marquette Presque Isle Harbor, coming to the aid of the Kaye E. Barker, loaded with stone and trapped in compressed ice following the storm earlier in the week. Boatwatcher and photographer Rod Burdick posted this image and several others showing the challenging ice. Tanda Gmiter of MLive reported on the problems that the strong winds and waves created, driving ice into the shore.
Trapper’s Daughter: Rick Allen, illustrator, printmaker and partner in Duluth’s Kenspeckle Letterpress, is releasing another in his haphazard series of images following the spunky Trapper’s Daughter, and this time she’s bringing along “Other Daughters of The Very Nearly True North.” The big reveal of the newest work comes 1-3 p.m. Saturday at Siiviis of Sivertson Gallery in Duluth’s Canal Park. It will be part of the Siiviis’ Art of Earth Day Gallery Hop program. For about a decade, Rick has dribbled out whimsical illustrated snapshots of the Trapper’s Daughter every year or so for more than a decade. Kenspeckle designer Marian Lansky posted a Not-So-Brief History of the Trapper’s Daughter, starting with the 2002 Christmas Surprise. Since then, the illustrious (and illustrated) North Woods maiden has serenaded pickerel, surfed on loons, ridden moose, chatted with beavers, cavorted with otters and bear-hugged bears. “The character does have a life of her own at this point,” Rick tells us, “so it’s a matter of waiting for her to show me what’s next.” She’s grown a popular following of (we suspect) rowdy women and the men who love them. “Response to the Trapper’s Daughter has been lovely from the very beginning. People have warmed up to her in a way that we never could have anticipated. Very often, people come into our store saying, ‘I’m the Trapper's Daughter!’ (or my daughter is, or my sister is). It’s gratifying to see the personal relationships people have developed with this character.”
Yellowknife & Back: Thanks to our late spring snow, cross-country ski enthusiast Brian Berry of Thunder Bay was able ski more than 7,000 kilometers in one winter season at Lappe Nordic Center – or the equivalent of skiing from Thunder Bay to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories and back, which is what he set out to do, according to his Facebook page in February. The Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal notes his accomplishment this week in a story by Heather Peden. It was thanks to the snow cover abounding on Monday that Brian was able to complete his proclaimed goal by skiing every day for five months, and, according to the Chronicle Journal, breaking both his own personal and the Canadian seasonal record. Swoosh!
Explosive Reputation: Italy loves Duluth, mystery writer Brian Freeman once told our editor, Konnie LeMay. Brian knows this because his Jonathan Stride series, starring the troubled yet talented Duluth police lieutenant, has been popular there in translation. Recently this Italian version of Brian’s Marathon came out, with a title that translates roughly to “The Darker Day” or “The Day More Dark” (according to our own bit of detective work) with a photo of the city’s north pier. Konnie enjoys these thrillers and gave a strong thumbs up to the newly released Alter Ego – (she even got a walk-on role in Goodbye to the Dead)– but she just had to confront Brian: “You’ve planted bombs in Duluth, infested us with crazed serial killers and created other mayhem. So, what is it you like about our city?” “What I love about Duluth is that everyone treats me and Marcia like family there,” responds Brian about his and his wife’s visits. “The people are all so nice to us, even though I keep killing them off.” As to the newly released Italian edition, Brian emails, “See, I’m blowing up Duluth all over the world. ;-).”
Millions in Munising: Brian Cabell’s Word on the Street reports on the $7 million local businessman Tom Dolaskie and his Dallas partners are investing into buying, remodeling and refreshing Munising, Michigan. Tom will move his firm, Deployed Technologies, into the second floor of the Sams Mark Building on Elm Street with the first floor for a clothing store, Jilbert’s ice cream and a restaurant. The partners have purchased with plans to remodel other buildings in town, including the Navigator Restaurant, which will become a burger and fish joint. “Munising has incredible potential for adventure,” Tom told Brian. “Look at Pictured Rocks. Every year, attendance increases. Every year.”
New Presidents x 2: Two of the Lake neighborhood institutions of higher learning have chosen new presidents to lead them. Richard J. Koubek, on left, will become the 10th president at Michigan Technological University in Houghton. Richard has been executive vice president and provost of Louisiana State University and will begin his tenure at Michigan Tech on July 1. He succeeds Glenn D. Mroz, who has been president there since 2004 and who will stay on as a faculty member. In Ashland, Wisconsin, Northland College has chosen the replacement for retiring President Michael Miller. Martin J. Suomi, on right, a native of Wakefield, Michigan, just 50 miles from Ashland, will become the college’s 14th president. Currently a resident of Los Angeles, Martin is a business leader, philanthropist and educator. He was president and CEO of Kajima International for 37 years.
Free Parks, Sigh: This annual event always kind of makes us sigh with wishing for spring. Saturday marks the first day of National Parks Week in the United States, and the National Park Service waives entrance fees for Saturday. Unfortunately for us in the Lake Superior neighborhood, while we have a wealth of national parks – five of them – this is a tough time of year to visit. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and the mainland portions of the Apostle Island National Lakeshore in Wisconsin are open all year, weather permitting, but do not have entrance fees. (There are users fees, such as for parking, camping or docking). Getting to the islands part of the Apostles, of course, is tough sailing this time of year. That goes for Isle Royale National Park, too, which opened April 16, although the ferry services don’t start until May and we can’t recommend taking your own boat unless it’s the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder or Mackinaw. The free Keweenaw National Historical Park visitor center in Calumet, Michigan, is open all year, but many of the private historic sites around the peninsula encompassed as part of it are not. Finally, the Grand Portage National Monument’s Heritage Center in Minnesota is open all year, but the monument site itself is not. The Historic Depot representing the fur-trade era of our region opens for three days on Memorial Day weekend and then closes until opening June 2 for the season.
Sink or Swim for Norgoma?: The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, City Council will determine the fate of the Norgoma museum ship along the downtown waterfront in a meeting Monday, reports David Helwig of SooToday. Many local supporters of the floating museum are expected to attend the meeting, but the council has been asked to seize the aging, some say deteriorating, vessel to sell to a Chicago entrepreneur with intentions of making it a traveling maritime museum. A representative from the St. Mary's River Marine Heritage Centre, which has owned the ship for nearly 40 years, is also expected to speak.
More on the Sault Waterfront: Plans for a new splash pad in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, got $13,140 closer to reality earlier this month when organizers of the city’s annual charity hockey tournaments from 2016 and 2017 donated that amount for the proposed feature in Bellevue Park. “The splash pad will create hours of enjoyment for children of all ages. We are proud of our players and the teams that contributed to this initiative and being able to give back to our community in this way is important to us,” organizer Albert Williams said in presenting the check to the co-chairs of the Splash Pad Committee, councilors Paul Christian and Susan Myer. The public splash pad in Thunder Bay has been very popular. The image above shows an artist’s view of the proposed Sault project. Already, an $85,000 pledge for the project has come from the Kiwanis Club of Lakeshore and its foundation, plus donations of $10,000 from the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council and $20,000 from the Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie.
Photo & graphic credits: Christian Dalbec; Rod Burdick; Rick Allen; Courtesy Brian Freeman; Michigan Technological University; Northland College; Paul L. Hayden; City of Sault Ste. Marie.