Around the Circle This Week: August 23, 2019

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Keepers of the Culture: Before it was designated a national park, Isle Royale was a seasonal home to residents thousands of years ago (even with some ancient copper mining), then to Ojibwe families and much later to a close-knit community of commercial fishing families and other seasonal users, including hospitality operations. It also is the site of several significant underwater shipwrecks. Former landowners were forced to move after the park's designation, some accepting "lifetime" access to family sites that covered two to three generations in lieu of full payment for properties. Most of those arrangements have ended with the passing of original signers, but the Isle Royale Friends and Families Association has fought to keep ties with the island.

How the island park will both preserve its human history – and how it will maintain, or not, those more modern connections – will be determined in whichever of three alternatives for the Cultural Resources Management Plan is adopted. A public review of the three options will be done at an open house on Monday (Aug. 26) at the park headquarters in Houghton. It also will be part of an online webinar at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 27) for which you must register online. "Isle Royale's cultural resources reflect 4,500 years of human endeavor and include: prehistoric mining and occupation sites, American Indian and Euro-American historic mining and fishery sites, lighthouses, shipwrecks and historic resorts and summer homes," the National Park Service posts about the plan. "They demonstrate a complex interaction of people and the role they played in shaping the human and physical landscapes on Isle Royale. Presently, the National Park Service manages its cultural resources according to directives defined in the Park's General Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (GMP/EIS 1998) without specific guidance for a number of cultural resource themes and topics. The proposed CRMP/EA seeks to define sustainable management practices for all significant cultural resources found in non-wilderness areas on Isle Royale, including archeological sites, cultural landscapes, historic structures, ethnographic resources, and museum objects." Comments on the proposals can be submitted online.

20 Million Visits & the Soo Locks, Too: It's been hopping at the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center (aka the Marine Museum) at the foot of the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth. This week on Tuesday (Aug. 20), the 20 millionth visitor walked through the doors since they opened in 1973. The free facility, run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and supported with funds for exhibits and with artifacts from the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association has several new exhibits making a revisit worthwhile. Perhaps one of the coolest interactive

options brings the Soo Locks to Duluth, allowing visitors to take control thanks to a fast-motion video, a bank of four large screens and an interactive control board similar to what the real lock keepers use. Videographer Jack Lind did a short no-sound video for us to show off the exhibit, located in a newly created alcove that makes the screens look like windows. That is not the only new thing to view at the free center, though. Earlier this year, a refreshed exhibit about the Edmund Fitzgerald occupies one wall in the center and focuses on images of the crew and a touch-screen showing video clips of the ship's launching, of it going through the locks and about the weather conditions on Nov. 10, 1975, when it sank. Another interactive exhibit near the entryway helps to show real-time what the rip current conditions are at Park

Point and explains that sometimes dangerous phenomenon. Interim director, Sara Summers-Luedtke, says people often come to the center looking for information on when the freighters will come through the canal, but also quite a few visitors who don't realize the center is there. "In a lot of cases people just stumble upon it and are surprised about what we have to offer. … I hear a lot of people tell me that they live in Duluth but have never been here." If "free" and "maritime heritage" and "interactive exhibits" and "gift shop" aren't enough lures for visitors, there will be yet another impressive display that should be up and running by the end of this year. The exhibit by the reception desk will again feature interactive screens, letting visitors use web trackers to see what boats are on Lake Superior and where they are headed, plus there will be information "to learn more about what happens behind the Lift Bridge and in the harbor," Sara says. Cameras will show real-time what's happening at the Two Harbors ore docks and the Wisconsin Point entry in Superior, too. The Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center is open 10 a.m.-9 p.m. through Labor Day, then switches to 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Carpe See 'Em, Report 'Em: Officials from the Invasive Species Center in Sault Ste. Marie joined other governmental organizations in Leamington, Ontario, this week to call on commercial and recreational fisherfolk, cottage owners and boaters to be on the lookout for any of the Asian carp species in the Great Lakes. If you suspect you've caught one, never throw it back but bring it to a state or provincial natural resources department. A CBC story quotes Becky Cudmore, regional manager of the Aquatic Invasive Species Program at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, about the carp threat: "We really feel like they're starting to come through the door and we need everybody's help to try and shut that door." The story also mentions a commercial fisherman, Tim Purdy, who caught two Asian carp in traps on Lake Huron last year and reported them to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Meanwhile, the website AsianCarp.ca emphasizes the importance of buying baitfish locally and never releasing bait into any waters. As the image here shows, an immature Asian carp, in this case the grass carp variety, strongly resembles native fish. The site has a primer about Ontario baitfish that will work for any Big Lake shore.

A True Education: Shawn Householder of TV6 in Marquette had a wonderful story to tell this week about a World War II veteran who wanted to earn his high school diploma in time for his 94th birthday. Born in 1925 and raised in Munising, John Wapienik was drafted in 1942 while in 10th grade and never had the chance to return to school. He did earn a Purple Heart and three Bronze Stars, having participated in D-Day and other battles. When they heard the story, U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman and Munising Public Schools Superintendent Pete Kelto figured John had education enough through his service to qualify for a bonafide diploma, which they presented to him in a surprise ceremony Thursday attended by Charlotte, his wife of 73 years, and their three children, Tassi, JoDee and Jonnie.

Salad Days: There's been a cooling in the air this week around the Big Lake that bodes of the arrival "pre-fall," one of our seven or so seasons in these parts. Before we fully release summer, though, we want to spark some fresh salad noshing with a past Recipe Box by Beth Dooley with ideas for ways to mixing it up for salads plus two make-at-home dressing recipes. Enjoy the season (whichever one it is).

Most Like It Hot: Dean Packingham was a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Duluth when he decided to go into the food business six years ago when he and his family created "the best hot coco ever." He named it for his kids, Mike & Jen's. He eventually quit his day job and bring others (including Mike & Jen) into the business, but continued to do his own distribution. This week he described an early business faux pas that delayed partnering with a distributor … and announces the first partnership with one. (We carry Mike & Jen's in our gift

shop, by the by.) Anyway, here, would-be entrepreneurs, is Dean's tale of a "how-no-to" in his own words: "About 6 years ago, I had the audacity to reach out to Upper Lakes Foods, a local family owned regional distributor, to see if I could pitch my hot cocoa product to them. The presentation was doomed from the beginning, but they could not have been nicer to me! In preparing the water for the dozen or so people that would be trying it, I filled the cups with water from the hot water dispenser, only to realize once I got into the room, that the water was NOT HOT! So when I went to mix it, it was cold, and the cocoa powder would not dissolve. It was a comedy of errors. Mind you, I was still making the mix in a church kitchen at that time and could never have made the quantity they needed. That is one example of how a meteorologist had no business trying to create a food company. But, fast forward to this week, and we had another chance. THIS time I made sure there was plenty of hot water, even bringing my own hot water dispenser. It was a hit, and we were just picked up by our first distributor!!!! Upper Lakes Foods is a wonderful company. The minute you walk in the door, they treat you like family, and I could not be more proud to be joining their line of quality products."

A Back Door Studio: Two Harbors, Minnesota, photographer Christian Dalbec opened his "home studio with a view" this week at his place near the lighthouse and water, very appropriate location for a diver/photographer who's been making waves with his in-the-water

photos of Lake Superior. Since Christian will continued to spend much of his time in the water, folks wanting to drop in to see his work should watch his Facebook page, where he promises to post when the photographer is "IN". We've featured Christian's work frequently in Lake Superior Magazine, and leaned heavily upon his work for our story on surfing, "Dude! You Know It's a Big Lake When the Boards Come Out," in the February/March issue this year.

Photo & graphic credits: Isle Royale National Park; Jack Lind; Lake Superior Marine Museum Association; AsianCarp.ca; Shawn Householder/TV6; Lake Superior Magazine; Dean Packingham; Christian Dalbec

Around the Circle This Week editor: Konnie LeMay

This roundup is also posted every Friday at LakeSuperior.com.