Over the Top: Photographer Paul Sundberg up in Grand Marais, Minn., documented a storm on Minnesota's North Shore on Nov. 11. Says Paul in his Photo of the Week blog: "It was the day after the annual Edmund Fitzgerald memorial beacon lighting. Every year on the 10th of November, the beacon at Split Rock is lighted to commemorate the sinking of the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald, and all the other vessels lost on the Great Lakes. We were heading back home from Duluth and the Lake was wild. Strong NE winds had been blowing all day and the swells were growing to over 20 feet. Rain was coming down in sheets, and without rain gear, there was no way I would be able to walk to the shoreline. I was thankful that I knew of one spot in Tettegouche State Park where you can park on the shoulder of Hwy. 61 and get a good view of the Lake. Shooting from the window of our car, we were able to see the powerful waves crashing into the 30-foot-high basalt cliffs of Crystal Bay. Stuck between every 40 or so waves during a big storm comes the 'Three Sisters,' the name commercial fishermen have given to the bigger waves. The last wave of the “Three Sisters” is always bigger and the most dangerous. Each one of these photos is the third wave of the “Three Sisters” that we saw during the 45 minutes that we were there." Nice shooting in foul weather, Paul. We also think you almost always can see a face among the waves … can you?
Playing Games with the Ports: There's been a bit of buzz about a new PC game, "Great Lakes Simulator," that lets players navigate freighters from Port Huron, Michigan, 750 miles to Duluth. "Live your dream of driving legendary lake freighters on The Great Lakes with this revolutionary new PC simulator that will take you to another level!" touts the Steam website where the game is sold. "Great Lakes Simulator puts you at the helm of a massive lake freighter underway on the Great Lakes. Head downbound from Lake Superior thru Whitefish Bay and the St. Marys River to Lake Huron and back in a 1:1 scale re-creation of the most famous freshwater waterway in the world … The Great Lakes." One trip downbound from Duluth will simulate actual travel time, about 100 hours to reach Port Huron. Along the way will be the lighthouses and other landmarks. The game, developed by Jason Dial, sets sail on Dec. 15. We don't know if it will face any stormy weather.
Forever: The U.S. Postal Service recently announced its new forever stamp line for 2022 and a name familiar to Lake Superior is among those honored – George Morrison. The release called George one of the nation’s greatest modernist artists and founder of Native Modernism, who "challenged prevailing ideas of what Native American art should be, arguing that an artist’s identity can exist independently from the nature of the art he creates. Morrison is best known for his abstract landscapes and monumental wood collages. A pane of 20 colorful stamps showcases five of Morrison’s artworks. The selvage features a photograph of the artist in his home studio. Antonio Alcalá was the art director and designer for this stamp pane." Helping to promote the honor to George, a member of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Visit Cook County added its voice in a press release this week. According to its release, George, born in 1919 to James and Barbara (Mesaba) Morrison in Chippewa City near Grand Marais, "lived a truly extraordinary life … one that took him from humble beginnings in the wilderness of northeastern Minnesota, to the epicenters of the post-World War II Modern Art movements in New York City and Paris. Morrison is widely considered one of the nation’s greatest American Abstract Expressionists and the founder of what is now known as Native Modernism. He was a contemporary of artists such as Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Franz Kline, and Willem de Kooning and is best known for his abstract landscapes and monumental wood collages." George also served as a college professor at prestigious institutions such as Cornell University, the Rhode Island School of Design, the Dayton Art Institute and the University of Minnesota, where he also taught American Indian Studies. He returned to Grand Portage in his later years, where he built Red Rock, a home and studio overlooking Lake Superior, and continued making art until his passing in 2000. George's son Briand Morrison, a respected jazz guitarist and composer, now resides there with his partner Roxann Berglund. They have been working with the Postal Service over the past several months to help facilitate the upcoming stamp release. “I think the images that were chosen are a good representation of his work, his paintings,” said Briand. “If you look at his legacy, and the art that he did do, the Abstract Impressionist style, combined with his take on it, he is world class.”
The Whole of the Horne Fire: The National Park Service this week released a final 2021 note on the Isle Royale Horne Fire from this summer: "Park rangers closing Isle Royale in late October took one last look at the Horne Fire before heading back to Houghton for the winter. At that time, the fire was continuing to slowly smolder in a few places, mostly in the thick duff layer. Light smoke plumes could be seen on both sides of the Greenstone Ridge. The fire was left to slowly burn itself out this fall and winter as rain and snow eventually blanket the island. The final map, reflecting more accurate measurements of the burned area, showed the fire at 335 acres. The Horne Fire started on August 10 from a suspected lightning strike on the Duncan Bay side of the Duncan – Tobin portage trail. It burned slowly until a wind event on August 21 pushed the fire and embers across the northeast end of the island, threatening historic structures in Tobin Harbor and closing multiple trails and campgrounds. Firefighters from Isle Royale, Buffalo River and Grand Tetons National Parks, Grand Portage and Fond du Lac Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa, Hiawatha National Forest, and the State of Virginia traveled to the park to work on the fire control efforts."
The New Glensheen Guy: The Twin Ports has done quite a bit of juggling of directors for attractions in the past year or so. This week, Glensheen announced Dustin Heckman as its new director. Dustin recently was director for the Richard I. Bong Historical Center in Superior. Hayes Scriven, who was director at the Bong center before Dustin, moved on to become site manager at Split Rock Lighthouse in late 2019. Meanwhile, Glensheen's former director, Dan Hartman, in May became the director of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center. Dustin brings a number of grant and policy writing skills to his new position plus has experience with volunteer recruitment and forming and community and regional partnerships. Stop in at Glensheen for one of the holiday tours (running through Jan. 8) and say "Hi" to Dustin if you see him.
Breaking Ground: Last week on Friday, the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa broke ground for a $2.6 million multi-purpose cultural center and roundhouse for community use at Gaa-Miskwaabikaang’s Pow Wow and Cultural Grounds. The center will be available for ceremonies, birthday parties, baby showers, educational programming such as language, culture, and health, healing, wellness, as a dedicated funeral house where families can use the building during their time of hardship plus kid-friendly educational and recreational opportunities. Red Cliff is near Bayfield, Wis., and is home to the Frog Bay National Tribal Park, two new businesses – Copper Crow Distillery and Red Cliff Fish Co. – and to Legendary Waters Resort & Casino.
Christmas City: Duluth's annual Christmas City of the North Parade will be on Friday to kick off the holiday season starting at 6:30 p.m. CT. Last year, spectators were asked to stay home, but this year everyone is welcome along the route. There will be floats, school bands and, of course, Santa. For old-timers (like our editor) nostalgic for Merv Griffin's "Christmas City of the North" song, link here for some vintage knowledge … or this song with Maureen Reynolds that was the B-side of the 45 – "The Song of Christmas City". We love Merv's line: "I wonder why a city can grow up so high." We wonder why, too, Merv, when new snow makes getting home up the hill such a challenge! This is also the weekend that Bentleyville Tour of Lights officially opens on the Duluth waterfront. Each night at 5 p.m., starting this Saturday, all will be welcome to the free display until Dec. 27. Nathan Bentley's home display gone wild has been a major seasonal draw since it moved to Bayfront Festival Park with its millions of lights, a 128-foot animated tree of lights plus a shop shack, cookie house with free cookies and cider and the chance to rub elbows with Santa.
Photo & graphic credits: Paul Sundberg; Great Lakes Simulator/Steam; Visit Cook County; National Park Service; Glensheen; Red Cliff Band; KBJR; Bentleyville USA