Home to Rest: When Dante Tini left his hometown in Virginia, Minnesota, he was a recent high school graduate entering military service. When he died on Dec. 7, 1941, he was just 19, a radioman third class on the USS Oklahoma stationed in Pearl Harbor on that "day that will live in infamy" under the Japanese attack that sunk eight ships, including the Oklahoma, and damaged several others. Buried anonymously in Hawaii among most of the other 429 crew who died (only 35 were identified), his body never seemed destined to return home. But thanks to DNA technology, this week Dante Sylvester Tini, who would have been 98 this year, returned home and will be celebrated at Mass 11 a.m. Saturday in the Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Virginia and then buried with full military honors at the Calvary Cemetery. Dante's body was identified last August among those disinterred for the DNA testing, reports Adelle Whitefoot for the Duluth News Tribune. The DNA sample was given in 2012 by his nieces, who never knew him, but like others in the family hoped he could one day be brought home. His flag-draped casket arrived Thursday and was taken to Virginia, where, Adelle reports, the VFW bears a banner "MIA No More" welcoming home the sailor so long "missing in action."
True Medal: Duluthian Maj. Henry A. Courtney Jr., U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, courageously led his men during the brutal fighting for Sugar Loaf Hill on Okinawa, May 15, 1945. He died during the battle – telling his men “I’m going up Sugar Loaf Hill. Who’s going with me?” – and was posthumously awarded the country's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty." In conferring the honor on Dec. 30, 1947, Pres. Harry Truman described his heroism. Maj. Courtney is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Duluth, but until this week, his medal has been preserved in a vault by the Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The major's family has been seeking delivery of the actual medal for display in the Veterans Memorial Hall in The Depot, where a replica recently has been exhibited, and that request was finally granted, as told in a story by Matthew M. Burke for Stars and Stripes. On Wednesday, the medal will be officially installed there. The program starts at 2 p.m. in the Depot Rotunda. Historian Alan M. Anderson will talk about the significance of the date May 29 to the Courtney family, and in the context of Maj. Courtney’s remarkable story. Members of the Courtney family will install the medal on loan from the Freedoms Foundation and a public reception will follow. Space is limited; guests are encouraged to call 218-733-7586 to reserve seating. Standing room also is available for this free event. In the photo here, taken by the St. Louis County Historical Society in November when the replica medal was put on display, are, from left Maj. Courtney's nephews, Courtney Storey, Ben Storey, and Bob Storey with his wife, Lynn Storey.
You're Welcome, Indiana: We know from last year's economic impact study that the work of the Great Lakes ports in Minnesota and Wisconsin (mainly the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior) create a number of local jobs, but Tom Rayburn (at podium in photo), director of environmental & regulatory affairs for the Lake Carriers' Association, added an interesting insight with his presentation during the National Maritime Day celebration, hosted Wednesday by the Duluth-Superior Maritime Club in Duluth. Tom's graphic (seen here) shows how many jobs in Indiana are created by the cargoes that leave our ports for that state down Lakes from us. "There is the direct and quantifiable relationship of those 'few' jobs in Minnesota and Wisconsin creating 10 times that much in Northwest Indiana," Tom tells us in an email. During the presentation at the Boat Club Restaurant, Tom also gave a whirlwind tour of some of the major maritime highlights from last year. He mentioned the $32 million in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' current budget that will start the process – for real this time – to build a second $922 million Soo Lock as large as the Poe, which currently handles some 80 percent of the commercial vessels arriving to do business on Lake Superior. Tom counted among the highlights a commitment of long-diverted dredging money for the Great Lakes and noted the passage of the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (or VIDA) that will establish a U.S. federal standard for how to handle ballast water in both oceangoing and lakes-restricted vessels. VIDA directs the EPA and U.S. Coast Guard to come up with regulations and implementations that will override the differing mandates from five Great Lake states. According to Tom, the procedures that have been in place for oceangoing vessels entering the St. Lawrence Seaway system already seem to be helping to fight introduction of invasive species. "Since 2006, there have been no new invasive species (introduced into the Great Lakes) from ballast water," he said.
Tom joined other speakers at the Wednesday event, including Craig Middlebrook from the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation who delivered the 2018 Pacesetter Award to Deb DeLuca, executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority (together in photo). The Pacesetter Award is given to any St. Lawrence Seaway port that registers increases in international cargo tonnages for the year. Since the pacesetter was created 20 years ago, Duluth-Superior has received it 17 times, second only to top recipient, the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, which has received 18 awards. Deb joked that she planned to see Craig back next year with an award for 2019. The ceremony also included a remembrance by the Rev. Doug Paulson of the Twin Ports Ministry to Seafarers for mariners lost at sea along with the tolling of the ship's bell to signify the final changing of the watch done by Dr. Richard Stewart of UW-Superior.
In Defense of Gulls: Some people besmirch our local gulls for only being french fry beggars on the beach or even worse "flying rats," but during the chilly spring snowy weather on Sunday, Deborah Moe caught a few shots of this gull tackling a sea lamprey in Duluth's Canal Park. The good folk at Minnesota Sea Grant helped us to identify the aquatic invasive species about to head down the gull's gullet. Don Schreiner, Sea Grant's fisheries specialist and former head of Lake Superior fisheries for Minnesota DNR, says this about the photos: "Very cool! Yes, for sure a lamprey. … There are three species of native lamprey in our streams as well, but this one looks pretty big and is likely a sea lamprey. That lamprey is going down. I'm surprised because they are very strong and slippery, but if this is a recent pic, I'm guessing the cold water temps has slowed it down. If it were me … I would caption the pic as "A new control method for the invasive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes." Great picture; I have never seen or heard of this before." So it's thanks to you, Gull, and good gobbling in the future.
More Wild & Weird Wonders: Matthew Lindberg, who helps out at Hartley Nature Center in Duluth, posted on Duluth Phenology this odd photo of a crawfish, taken from Tischer Creek, sporting what look like shoes. Matthew asked for any hints on what those "attachments" might be. Some folks shuddered to think these might be zebra mussels, but some experts chimed in with help. Richard Rezanka, an aquatic invasive species specialist with the Minnesota DNR says this: "The pictures are very interesting. They show fingernail clams (Sphaeriidae) attached to the crayfish. Fingernail clams are not invasive organisms. … I forwarded the pictures to the DNR invertebrate specialist in St. Paul, and he did some quick research. He found a few references to fingernail clams attaching to objects like insects. It doesn’t appear to be a common behavior so you have witnessed and shared a cool event." According to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, fingernail clams are common on sandy bottoms of ponds, lakes and slow rivers. These filter-feeders have an appendage that helps them move and muscles to open and close their shells, but they don’t have a head. While this clamping-on behavior seems unusual in our neighborhood, it's not odd, according to Gary Casper, an associate research scientist at the UW-M Field Station. He chimed in on Facebook with "This is actually fairly common for fingernail clams to do this on crayfish and salamanders, especially in ephemeral wetlands. We see it regularly." This weird wonder, then, is only natural, though if it was an invasive species, we know the right gull to call.
In a Word: Can people’s perspectives on their hometown be fully captured in one word? Be Well LLC and the Marquette Arts and Culture Center think so. The community groups have joined with The Power of Words Project to create a mural focused on a singular word describing the city, writes Trinity Carey for the Mining Journal. Manistique, which completed its "Discover" mural in August (seen here) and Iron Mountain, with multiple murals, joined the project, as has Gladstone. In Marquette, the words are now getting citizen votes. Tina Harris, manager of the Marquette Arts and Culture Center, believes the project can unify the community through art. “The Power of Words Project is unique," she told Trinity. "It’s a nonprofit and it’s so much more than a mural. It’s the whole intent of the project to involve a community in a mural.” The mural’s home will be on the exterior of the former MacDonald’s Music store on the corner of Third and Ohio streets. After completion, it will be the largest mural in Marquette. Building owner Kate Lewandowski says she and her husband, Christopher Ray, are excited about the project’s potential, especially choosing a group of young artists to do the mural under direction of Iron Mountain resident Mia Tavonatti. All that remains is the word choice and voting is under way to decide what best sums up Marquette in a word: wild, connect, balance, inclusive, natural, together, regenerative, health, passion, breathe, kind, authentic, love, sustain or grow?
Helping the Do-Gooders: A donor gave a huge boost to the work of the Thunder Bay Community Foundation, established in 1971 to combat poverty, starvation and homelessness. A local family, who wishes to be anonymous, donated $1.26 million to the foundation, the largest single donation it's ever received, reports Doug Diaczuk for TBNewswatch. The family praised the TBCF for its commitment to helping others, while remaining fiscally responsible with its funds. Past president and current board member of the Thunder Bay Community Foundation, George Badansi, told Doug the generous gift came as a huge surprise. "We were floored. We were speechless and we were very grateful for the philanthropy of the family to support the city of Thunder Bay."
Lighter Steps: Downtown construction in Duluth often doesn’t seem like a laughing matter, but the Greater Downtown Council placed some witty signs this week to lighten the mood while navigating the mess. With a nod to the Baby Boomers' era, the signs play off old songs “I’m Walking on Sidewalks (oh, oh) and Don’t it Feel Good” – who remembers “I’m Walking on Sunshine”? by Katrina and the Waves – and “These Sidewalks are Made for Walkin’ and That’s Just What You’ll Do” with echoes of Nancy Sinatra. GDC President Kristi Stokes hopes the signs brighten the sometimes complicated walking commute. “We’re having fun with this campaign and we hope we can make people laugh a little," she says in a press release about the signs. "Pedestrians still have access to our businesses and sidewalks and we want to make them smile.”
Come Visit Us Saturday: Our co-publisher, Beth Bily, will host a special Saturday opening of our Lake Superior Gift Shop tomorrow (May 25), 10 a.m.-3 p.m. A boatload of new items – many locally made – have arrived, including Wild Country Maple Syrup, a national award-winning brand made in Lutsen, Minnesota. The local flavor doesn’t stop there. The gift shop now sells fresh clover/basswood honey from Marquette and hand-harvested Singing Pines Wild Rice. The 2020 Lake Superior Calendar is in with an outstanding photo each month from around Lake Superior and a new full-color poster features various lighthouses around Lake Superior (same as our lighthouse jigsaw puzzle). We acquired a new set of greeting cards by a Bayfield Peninsula artist with art deco-style representations of popular Lake Superior attractions – sailboats to Enger Tower to the Aerial Lift Bridge. Oh yes, and let's not forget the stickers – “Not Just Great, Superior” – that just arrived. All this new stuff, plus soap in the shape of Lake Superior … and did we mention that Beth is bringing donut holes and coffee? Stop in at 310 E. Superior St. in Duluth tomorrow, say "hi" to Beth, sip some java and browse for not just great, but superior gifts. (There's still parking on the street outside the shop.)
Photo & graphic credits: Dante Tini family; St. Louis County Historical Society; Court Storey; Tom Rayburn/LCA; Konnie LeMay; Deborah Moe; Matthew Lindberg; The Power of Words Project; Nik Wilson; Konnie LeMay; Amy Larsen