Looks at Locks: During this National Engineers Week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District highlighted two Lake Superior projects – the New Lock for the Soo Locks and the EPA clean up at Howard's Bay (read more in the next story). The office also released the summaries of the projects on Facebook.
Investing in Water: Pres. Joe Biden will make another visit to the Northland Wednesday with a planned stop in Superior to promote the infrastructure bill. The exact time of the visit has not yet been announced, but it is one of a number of stops the day after the State of the Union address, according to a story by WDIO-TV. The station also posted a file video of Joe's visit in 2020 to Hermantown. Dr. Jill Biden is expected to accompany her husband on his tour next week. The bipartisan-passed infrastructure bill includes $1 billion to the EPA, which it plans to use "to clean up and restore severely degraded sites, known as 'Areas of Concern' or AOCs," the EPA reported in a Feb. 17 press release. “The Great Lakes are a vital economic engine and an irreplaceable environmental wonder, supplying drinking water for more than 40 million people, supporting more than 1.3 million jobs, and sustaining life for thousands of species," EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan is quoted in the release. "Through the investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we will make unprecedented progress in our efforts to restore and protect the waters and the communities of the Great Lakes basin. Building a better America means investing in our
natural resources and the communities they support.” Among those AOCs are two still listed on Lake Superior – the St. Louis River between Minnesota and Wisconsin (the focus of the president's visit) and Torch Lake in Michigan. Deer Lake, once on the AOC list, has been delisted. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has a page dedicated to the St. Louis River.
Big Lake Makeover: The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Spar, coming to Duluth as its new homeport, perhaps in March, revealed its new logo on Thursday with this post: "Spar's new logo for her new homeport! The crew of Spar worked hard to develop a new logo to reflect Spar's history and new home in Duluth!
The bald eagle, drawn by EM2 Caleb Ernest, is a shared symbol of wildlife from Spar's last home of Alaska. The Bald Eagle keeps watch over all operations. The background color of the logo is the color "Spar." Spar also refers to the color paint used on equipment and devices topside. The outline of Lake Superior overlays the background. Lake Superior is our primary operating area and our unofficial motto is "The Superior Cutter". Spar's primary mission is Aids to Navigation, symbolized by the buoy and lighthouse. The SPARS on the oar refers to the USCG Women's Reserve, which was (formed) during World War II. These brave and noble women served our country and the Coast Guard proudly. USCGC Spar (WLB 403 and WLB 206) were named for them.
The buoy in Spar's logo was given a hull number to represent the original USCGC Spar (WLB-403), a 180-foot-buoy tender built in Duluth in 1944. Encompassing the seal is a gold chain signifying the purity (Gold) and unity (chain) of the ship and her crew. As a unit, our strength is that we are loyal to each other and our ship, and seek to serve each other." Can't wait to meet you, Spar, and safe travels from Baltimore on your way "home."
Memories of the Morrell: For Lake Superior lovers, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald looms large in memory, but there were other wrecks of the era on other Great Lakes with equal devastating losses. One is the Daniel J. Morrell (seen here on a visit to Duluth), lost Nov.29, 1966, on Lake Huron with a sole survivor, Dennis Hale. Next week on at 6 p.m. Friday, John DeBeck, a Great Lakes maritime author and the leader of the Daniel J. Morrell Research Group, will give a free presentation at the Nordic Auction Events Center in Duluth. John was a friend of Dennis' for more than three decades and when Dennis died in 2015, John helped curator some of his memorabilia to include in an exhibit at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum on Whitefish Point. The exhibit focuses on all the crew members, including Dennis. John will talk about his 2020 book The Daniel J. Morrell, Lost, But No Longer Forgotten. The new coffee-table-sized book will be available for sale to the attendees at a 20% discount, with proceeds benefiting several museum foundations, and purchasers will also get a bonus DVD that shows the results of the Morrell Research Group study, dives to the bow and stern in 2019 and 2020, plus rare video footage from 1966, showing Dennis Hale being rescued by helicopter at the Harbor Beach, Mich., rescue site. The event will also host another of John's areas of interest – railroad history, when it presents a live auction of railroad artifacts, signs, lanterns, locks, keys, hardware and a sign from the former Carr's Hobby Shop in Duluth.
Loving Local: The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Chamber of Commerce with the help of Rolling Pictures released a new YouTube video showcasing The Canal District with places to dine, shop and tour. The district hosts Blockhouse Pub, The Boiler Room, The Mill Steakhouse + Wine Bar, The Machine Shop event centre, The Rink, Outfitters SSM, the Agawa Canyon Tour Train and The Gelato Mill. Check it out … and plan a trip.
Boom Times, Bust Times: Twenty-four years after closure of the Calumet and Hecla mining company in 1968, the Keweenaw National Historical Park, centered on Calumet, was established. Two researchers, Michael Broadway and Joslin Brown, took a look back at 30 years of the park, its impact on the local economy and the boom-and-bust cycle of the mining town histories it preserves. "The park serves as a physical manifestation of a mining community’s efforts to find its place in a post-industrial world," the research say in an introduction to their published study. "This article considers KNHP’s impact on the Calumet area’s economic development. … Keweenaw National Historical Park represents an effort at preserving the mining and labor history of this rural region; at its heart is the village of Calumet (2020 population: 621), with a historic district containing many buildings dating back to the early 20th century." You can read the full article and download the publication online at Rural Insights.
Ups & Downs of Snow: The recent heavy snowfalls affected two eastern Ontario shore operations in different ways – one closed early for the winter and one celebrated an expected extension to its snow sport season. Halfway Haven Lodge near Wawa announced it was closing for the season after the heavy snowfalls made it impossible to clear On Tuesday, the lodge folks posted this photo along with a note: "They say a picture paints 1,000 words. It has been steady snowing for three days now and this is the snow depth that we are fighting against on our road. We have been non-stop plowing and have a lane, but not likely wide enough for the fuel truck to deliver. Consequently, we are asking that all day riders plan a trip elsewhere until we can get the fuel truck into camp. We should have enough fuel for riders returning south. We will keep you apprised of updates as we know them. We apologize for the difficulty. On Thursday, owners declared a closure for the remainder of the winter season. The lodge does cater to hunters and anglers in the open water seasons, too. Stokely Creek Lodge near Sault Ste. Marie, meanwhile, was thrilled for what looks to be an extension of its cross-country skiing and snowshoeing season. In a press release, the lodge announced an extension of the season to March 19 instead of closing in about two weeks, which is usual. "Our groomers are telling us that there are easily 6 feet of snow on the ground. Yesterday two skiers stepped off the trail to let the groomer go by and they were buried in snow only to be rescued by the groomer. But the trails are packing well; several skiers have said skiing is the best it has ever been." And this snowfella with a great Lake view doesn't seem bothered at all.
Meet the Artist, Eat the Neighbors: There are two opportunities for fun stuff this weekend in Duluth. On Saturday, Zenith Bookstore in Duluth will unveil a new mural in its children section festooned with magical animals and book-themed scenes. On had from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. will be the maker of the mural, Duluth artist Annmarie Geniusz to explain the process, highlight images and answer questions. Annmarie's work often is more fleeting – She is best known for her large-scale chalk murals at festivals and on local sidewalks. She has worked at regional chalk art festivals for four summers, spanning four states. "Children's books are a window to the world for tiny humans just beginning their journey," Zenith Store Manager Sarah Brown says. "Our children's area is now as magical on the outside as it is inside the book covers!"
An equally fantastical evening of entertainment can be found at The College of St. Scholastica production of "Little Shop of Horrors." nearly 50 members of
the St. Scholastica community who are contributing to the sci-fi musical including students, alumni, faculty, staff and guest artists. Recent graduate Charley Hagen created two promotional videos (Audrey II is Coming for You: Part 1 of 2; Audrey II is Coming for You: Part 2 of 2) and will lend his musical talent as a percussionist during the show. Eight students also share the common experience of participating or having participated in the director's first-year experience class "All the World’s a Stage." The production was earlier cancelled due to COVID illnesses and this time now only relies on a solid cast of understudies, but will showcase them in each performance, according to Merry Renn Vaughan, associate professor and show director,and musical director Sharon Dixon Obst, Sharon and I were talking about understudies and how much work they put into a production and they almost never get to be on stage,” said Vaughan. “Sharon suggested that we plan to have the understudies perform at least one of the performances, so we decided they would do the Sunday matinees.” Evening performances will be at 7:30 p.m. on Friday-Saturday this week and next with Sunday matinees both weekends at at 2 p.m.
Photo & graphic credits: U.S. EPA; Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Nordic Auction Events Center; Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Chamber of Commerce; Rural Insights; Zenith Bookstore; The College of St. Scholastica