Why We Love the Big Lake: How the 'Lake Effect' Influences Our Lives

Lake Superior is not just a body of water holding 10 percent of the world’s surface fresh water. For those of us who live and work around the Big Lake, it is our force of nature. It bends our plans by changing the weather, it molds our perspectives with its endless horizons and its lapping waters. For some, it is the very means of our livelihood: maritime workers, commercial fishermen, those whose heavy industries require plentiful water and those whose tourism-related businesses depend on its magnetism.

On the following pages, we speak to folks who live and work around our lake to hear their stories and their sentiments about this water that defines us. From different shores and varied experiences, their feelings are similar about our Great Lake. These are full versions of their stories that appear in the August/September issue of Lake Superior Magazine. You can submit your own version of the “Lake Effect” story. by completing our survey. We will post as many submissions as we can.

Ontario

We speak to folks who live and work around our lake to hear their stories and their sentiments about this water that defines us.

Charles Wilkins, 
Author, Thunder Bay

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

In a literal sense since 1991. But I suspect that a tiny inner part of me camped out here for good in the days when I used to hitchhike through on the Trans-Canada during the early 1970s.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

I’ve stayed here because in the years following my move to Thunder Bay, the surroundings, with their wildness and openness and primitive spirit, gave me not just new things to write about but a new model for my imagination - a new way of looking at the world, free of the  old restrictions and expectations.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

The lake was a big part of the sense of freedom I felt when I arrived here. I’ve written about Superior in a thousand ways… always something new to say.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

When I was out on the MV Paterson on Lake Superior in perhaps 1999, I’d sit up in the wheelhouse in the middle of the night and listen to the second mate tell stories about the hundreds of ships that had gone down over the decades and were just a few fathoms below us in the shipping lanes, some with their crews still aboard. Night after night, I was reminded not just of how perilous and unpredictable the lake can be but of the fragility of life generally and how closely and intimately we’re connected to spirits that we assume are far away and long past.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

T.S. Eliot called the Missouri River “a strong brown god.” Lake Superior is a wild blue god.

David Wells
, Owner-operator of Naturally Superior Adventures Paddling Center and 
Rock Island Lodge Bed & Breakfast, Wawa

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

16 years.

  Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

From Toronto originally, could not believe such a big freshwater sea existed in Ontario.  Now I am inspired by the lake and Canadian Shield bedrock.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

Yes, as owner/operator of Naturally Superior Adventures Paddling Centre and Rock Island Lodge Bed and Breakfast (www.naturallysuperior.com; www.rockislandlodge.ca; webcam at www.wawawebcam.com). We have a regular staff of about 12 plus all sorts of additional guiding staff. We were acknowledged by National Geographic Magazine as among the top 200 operations in the world, and also by Sea Kayaker Magazine as readers’ choice for sea kayak tours and instruction in Canada.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

It was my first sea kayak trip ever paddling from Hattie Cove in Pukaskwa Park to Michipicoten Bay in Wawa. I was sitting along a very remote shore realizing that I could have been the first person in the history of the world to have sat at that place.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

The raw beauty and power.

Tim Heney
, Chief Executive Director of the Port of Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

55 years.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

I enjoy the opportunities for outdoor recreation including sailing, downhill skiing and motorcycling. I currently live on a peninsula with the lake on three sides and enjoy the views and the wildlife - truly world class and all within 15 minutes from work.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

I have worked for the port authority for 18 years, the last four as Chief Executive Officer. Our primary objective is to increase marine cargo at the Port of Thunder Bay.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

I have sailed on the lake most of my life. Conditions are very changeable and much like the ocean, a great deal of respect must be maintained.  The coastline outside Thunder Bay provides some of the best wilderness sailing areas in north America.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

Lake Superior has an inspirational majesty about it that changes with the seasons. The city of Thunder Bay is small in size and provides the luxury of living on the lake with a very short commute to work.

Marty Mascarin, 
Communications Officer at Fort William Historical Park, Thunder Bay

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

All my life (number of years I care not to admit LOL)

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

It is home. I visit Toronto, Ontario regularly, one of the largest cities in Canada, and could have possibly pursued a career there many years ago, but Thunder Bay by Lake Superior is the place for me to be.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

My occupation doesn’t quite “depend” on the Lake, per se. However, as I work in tourism, Lake Superior complements my occupation, as many people, especially those stateside, enjoy the Lake Superior Circle Tour, thus attracting many visitors to our region in Northwestern Ontario, with the attendant positive economic spin-offs for the tourism industry.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

Whenever I make the drive from Thunder Bay to Grand Marais or Duluth, the vistas offered by Lake Superior never ceases to amaze. The of view of Superior is at once wondrous and impressive but its mammoth size also conveys a sense of foreboding, underlining its potential dangers.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

Lake Superior’s mammoth size is at once awe-inspiring and humbling, as it dwarf Man’s presence, despite the potentially harmful things we do to it. It takes on the vestiges of an inland sea, with boundless vistas that surpass our grasp and comprehension. It is a unique but crucial element of our environment for us to both enjoy and respect.

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

Despite words being central to my occupation, they seem inadequate in describing the impressions inspired by Lake Superior. It’s a constant reminder of how we must always respect the environment.

Gary & Joanie McGuffin, 
Authors/Adventurers, Goulais River

How long have you lived by the Lake?

Since 1992 and they have circumnavigated it by canoe. Their book Superior: Journeys on an Inland Sea tells some of their lake tales.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

We love Lake Superior because it is so vast and so relatively pristine. Its presence … offers hope to the whole planet whose natural systems are under such duress from human pressures and abuse. On a planet three-quarters covered in water, over 97 percent of which is salt and less than 0.01 percent surface fresh water … it is amazing that Superior holds 10 percent of that surface fresh water!

Their ‘lake effect’ story

On a cross-Canada paddling trip, when we paddled up the St. Marys and locked through the Sault Canal and rose 20 feet to the height of Lake Superior, it was a big day. We had paddled in some pretty treacherous conditions in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but arriving on the big waters of Superior with all the stories we had read and heard was no less daunting. We dipped our hands into the water beside the canoe often to remind ourselves that tipping over was not an option. … The first impression was riveting. Everything about it was new. The deep turquoise to blue water and the clarity and patterns of the cream and red Jacobsville sandstone around the end of the Goulais peninsula. The feeling of depth beneath us and great sky overhead. That feeling of being one with the substance that sustains our lives moment by moment was so visceral. And the sheer smallness of our two canoes floating on this vast freshwater sea that made it difficult to fathom that this was a lake with another shoreline over the horizon. Paddling on Superior for the first time was like listening intently to beautiful music played by many instruments. You are trying to listen concentrating on the whole thing but at the same time you are trying to hear all the instruments. Superior is so big … a huge orchestra.

Ned Basher
, Owner of the Rossport Inn, Rossport

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

40 years.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

Yes…Lake Superior is a unique maritime environment and living on its shore is incredibly stimulating.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

Yes…we own the Rossport Inn in Rossport, Ontario.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

During a Trans Superior sailboat race in 1971 in the middle of Lake Superior at 1 a.m. in the morning, the sky was crystal clear. We were totally out of sight of land. You felt like you could touch the stars. The northern lights were shades of red and green; there could not have been a more beautiful place to be … an existential moment in time.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

Boreal forests, unspoiled wilderness, crystal clear water,  far from the madding crowd.

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

I have lived in Duluth, Minnesota, Bayfield, Wisconsin, and Rossport in the past 40 years. I have made the Circle Tour several times. I have sailed in three Trans Superior sailboat races. Lake Superior has a firm grip on me, and I feel very fortunate to be here.

Michigan

We speak to folks who live and work around our lake to hear their stories and their sentiments about this water that defines us.

Leland VerBerkmoes
, Park Supervisor at Fort Wilkins State Park, Copper Harbor

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

19 years; 12 at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and seven at Fort Wilkins Historic State Park.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

I love the U.P.  I attended Michigan Technological University and fell in love with the area.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

Many of our state parks are on the shores of one of the Great Lakes.  Large bodies of water like the Great Lakes are fascinating to many people.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

Boating on Lake Superior can be challenging and sometimes even dangerous.  Although I have not had any close calls, I have personally witnessed several incidents and had to help those in trouble.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

I love the gray-blue color, the rugged shorelines, and the powerful storms that we often experience.

Captain Ben Kipela, 
Co-owner of the Isle Royale Queen IV, Copper Harbor

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

In summer, I have lived on the lakeshore since 1971. I was 15 years old when my parents bought the Isle Royale Queen II. We had spent vacations on Isle Royale for a couple years before my folks took a flying leap into the business unknown and bought a ferry. I worked as a deckhand on the Queen II in 1971.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

I fell in love with the north woods and the rocky lakeshore of the Keweenaw (Peninsula) and Isle Royale during my youth and longed to stay all my days. The cold, clear waters of the Big Lake are great, too. There is so much to do and see on her shores.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

Our family business is directly dependent not only on the Lake but on its size and pristine condition. Isle Royale is a wilderness national park that needs to be protected as well as enjoyed. Lake Superior is clean and provides the buffer that preserves the island as a great natural wonder. The Lake also gives the island remoteness, which gives it much of its mystique and its protection.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

As captains, we feel an intimate connection with the Lake that makes us feel as though she is a person with strange and great powers and even a consciousness. This spiritual sense or intuition gives us a deep respect for the Lake. Of course, as the owners of one of the longest (running) daily passenger ferry runs in the United States, we have seen some dangerous weather that has deeply sobered us. The Lake has incredible power, but it’s gentle and beautiful, too. One of the most meaningful moments on the Lake in recent years for me was my trip last year by canoe around Keweenaw Point. At the point itself, the Lake kicked up two- and three-foot waves that crashed into the rocky coast and forced me ashore for the afternoon. There, looking out to the east over the vast Lake, I deeply sensed her size and power. Later in the day, late on a golden late-summer evening, I was able to get paddling again in three-foot swells, but they were gentle enough for me to get off the shore and out into the Lake off the point. They gently pushed me north past High Rock Bay and on toward Copper Harbor. The Lake had shown me its power, but now it showed me that it can be kind and gorgeous as well.

How would you answer this simple question: why do you Love Lake Superior?

She is beautiful and powerful.

Linda Kermeen
, Owner of Superior Shores Resort
and involved with The Friends of the Porcupine Mountains, the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival, the Porcupine Mountains Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Ontonagon County Economic Development Corporation

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

7 years on 6-21-09.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

My husband and I were lucky enough to purchase a small resort, Superior Shores Resort on the south shore of Lake Superior in Ontonagon, Michigan.  We are in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

We purchased Superior Shores Resort seven years ago on Lake Superior. People visiting the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park and the surrounding area are always asking to stay on the Lake.  One of the most asked questions is “Can you see the Lake and how far is the unit (motel or cottage) from the Lake?”

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

When my husband and I moved into our house 7 years ago and were putting our bed in our bedroom, I sat on my side of the bed and said to my husband, “I won!!” I get the view every morning when I wake up. I look out the window in our bedroom each and every day looking at the Lake seeing & experiencing the Lake’s daily changes along with incredible morning sunrises. I am fortunate enough to live on the Lake. I see the Lake when it is as smooth as glass, rough & stormy and frozen quiet.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

“She” has a mind of her own. She creates her own weather. The Lake is ever changing and always beautiful.

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

I live on the south shore of Lake Superior with sandy beaches and many streams and rivers running to the Lake. Our area is remote and beautiful. The water is clear and clean as are the sandy beaches. The Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is 10 miles away with wonderful natural features and something for everyone whether it is a short walk to Lake of the Clouds or hiking for days in the wilderness along the Lake Superior Trail.

The Friends of the Porkies are a local, small and ambitious group of individuals.  The Friends began an excellent Artist in Residence program, an up and coming Folk School and their main event a summer music festival. The Porcupine Mountains Music Festival brings musicians from near and far to an incredible venue. You can see Lake Superior while listening to a variety of quality artists. “The Friends of the Porkies is a non-profit organization that represents the interests of all users of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.  We seek to provide a platform for ideas to improve the park.”

In our area, you can walk the shores of Lake Superior sometimes for miles collecting rocks, polished glass and driftwood. When you are on our stretch of the beach at Superior Shores Resort you can see the silhouette of the Porkies to the west. It makes for a beautiful backdrop during sunset. While in the area you can check out the local mining history and even tour a copper mine or two. Hike to your hearts content in the Porcupine Mountains, Ottawa National Forest or along the North Country National Scenic Trail. And don’t forget our waterfalls; they are everywhere, especially in the springtime.

John Kivela
, Mayor, Marquette

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

My entire life, 40 years.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

Many reasons: Family ties, recreation, employment opportunities, and most importantly, quality of life.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

I recall about 20 years ago running out of gas on Au Train bay. We were water skiing and forgot to keep track of the fuel level. So two of us jumped in and swam the half mile into shore. Thank goodness it was a warm day.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

It adds so many opportunities for our residents.

Ron Paquin
, Artist, Sault Ste. Marie

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

I have lived in the Eastern Upper Peninsula near Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron for the better part of my life (66 years.)

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

It is my home; I am not an academic person; I knew at a young age I had to work with my hands, so I did construction work of various kinds, but my deep love and both good and bad memories are of the three Great Lakes that I commercial fished on for several decades – working on fish tugs, fishing through the ice, and in my own small 16-foot boat. I fished on every commercial boat and worked at every fishery that existed at the time. When our Indian fishing rights came through (I was an activist to help get our rights) I then worked for myself. I didn't want to go to any cities – I had no money to move or buy a car. I knew nothing else and knew I could make a living here if I worked hard.

There is nothing more beautiful than the Great Lakes; I had some hard times but I loved the work and still love the lakes.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

For commercial fishing – my son still depends on commercial fishing sometimes to get by.  It’s in our blood. Most jobs around the EUP (Eastern Upper Peninsula) somehow depend on the lakes - whether they be tourist-oriented, shipping and other transportation, etc.  Now my occupation is building birchbark canoes and other items from natural materials; all of these depend on the natural environment of our area and the canoes used to be used as the only mode of transportation. I am dedicated to helping preserve some of the traditions of our Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

There were many days when I launched my boat and it was calm and serene, and the seagulls were waiting for us to haul in our catch; we fishermen know and respect that there is a treacherous side to this – so opposite from the beauty. There are times that fishermen get caught in between the good and the bad. You have to respect Mother Nature because it is unpredictable. Johnny Alexander, now deceased, was fishing with me once and it had blown hard the day before. This particular day there were six- to 10-foot “rollers” and we were 12 miles out, ready to set nets before dark. All of a sudden all I could see were white caps coming our way. The wind had picked up and in no time we had 15-foot waves. We headed back to shore in the dark and we bucked the sea for four to five hours to get back in. I wasn’t sure we’d make it. Friends on shore burned fish boxes to help us find our way (we didn’t see the fire). But when we hit the shore, I kissed the beach. Johnny said, “I had an angel on one arm and a devil on the other, and I didn’t know which way we were going to go.” I’d like to fish again - I wouldn’t mind squeezing a whitefish (picking them from the nets) again, but my wife won’t let me, due to the dangers involved.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you love Lake Superior?

I love the beauty of it. There are really no words to describe the beauty of it when it isn't angry. It can offer so much to so many assets of its greatness for us to respect and utilize in a non-harmful way.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Anybody who hasn’t seen our Great Lakes is really missing something awesome. We take our grandchildren to Paradise to look for rocks and walk along the beach. We hope they will develop a love and respect for the lakes like we have. As I said, it is in my blood and hopefully in the blood of my son and grandsons.

Chauncey Riverwalker, 
Activist with the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, Marquette

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

15 years my ancestors came here in 1870 to harvest the tall timber white and jack pine, mostly.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

Largest source of fresh water in the world. Freedom to enjoy and share the numerous living resources that is created by the lakes existence. All months of the year. The two seasons - winter and the Fourth of July (although it has snowed on the Fourth on Isle Royale and Big Bay, Michigan).

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

In my early years in the workforce, the iron ore from the mines in the U.P. supplied the raw materials that enabled finished metal products - from sheet metal to cast iron for the engine block and running gear (the industry in which I worked). Later, quality of the water in Great Lakes began to become a serious issue. I found myself investigating pollution of rivers in waters of the state, some of which flowed into Lake Superior. In 1994, I began taking water samples and recording water character. Now, years later, our work has made a difference in forming better regulations and enforcement. More important, attitudes and hearts are being change through on site education. And that changes the behavior of those working within those watersheds. 

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

About 15 years ago I paddled my canoe out unto Lake Superior about 6 a.m. the fog was lifting and mirror stillness of the surface reflected the gray clouds forming overhead. As I shoved off and begin paddling I remembered what Dad and Grandfather had said concerning the temperament of the Big Lake. I had clear visibility 50 to 60 feet as Lady, my Siberian husky, and I paddled along. Destination: Salmon Trout Bay some 1.5 miles away. As we passed a local landmark know as black rock -  a great recreation spot - I was drawn to paddle to shore. As we approach, I noticed a fawn limping along the shore and a dead doe floating in the surf. With sheer cliffs greater than 50 feet overhead, the two deer must have just plummeted down, the mother not surviving. As we came near to the shore, the nearly new fawn began bleating and jumping about. It bounded off behind an enormous black rock. Suddenly Lady leaped from the canoe and began swimming to shore. Not wanting the dog to harm the fawn further, I paddled ahead of her; no easy task as the dog was an excellent swimmer. I got out of the canoe and joined the dog; we found that the deer had sought safety in a hollow in the rock pile. Without warning, a gust of wind blew the canoe off shore. … I ran down the shore and retrieved the canoe. Lady and I decided after looking at the now-building waves out in the Big Lake that we would head back.

As we were paddling back to Bay Cliff shore two mallards approached the canoe on the wing seeming to be talking to us, quacking wildly. They continued flying once around then to the rock where the fawn deer remained hidden; circled the rock at the shore and flew back and landed in front of the canoe. By now waves were building in the bay. The ducks quacked wildly, jump up and flew toward the shore. It seemed to be a sign not abandon the deer. Did we abandon the new fawn? Did we return and rescue it? What about the bad limping? What about the coming storm? Come to Big Bay and find out what happened. That is why we continue to stay here it seems to be the Creators plan for our lives….

(Editor’s note: For those who can’t visit with Chauncey,  here’s the “nutshell” conclusion: with the help of a friend’s son, he returned in a borrowed boat with a motor and did rescue the fawn, which went to a wildlife rehabilitator. It lived for several years afterward and was returned to the wild. For the longer, better version … you need to visit the storyteller.)

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

It exemplifies what the Creator did in the beginning: the Heaven, Earth and Waters filling the void. The largest surface rock bowl and we are humbled by the opportunity to be nourished daily from it.

Jim Diem
, Editor-publisher of the Newberry News, Newberry

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

I’ve been coming to the Upper Peninsula since my grandparents first brought me up in 1956. After I started college it became more difficult but I always wanted to live here.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

The opportunity to take over a small-town newspaper in the U.P. was just too hard to resist, and I’ve never regretted that decision since we made it in 1989.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

My occupation as a journalist does not depend on the Lake itself other than the occasional story about it (the grounded tugboat Seneca in December of 2006 was our last story).

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

When you catch sight of Lake Superior, it is always breath taking. It is more breath taking when swimming in it. For several years during my life here, I took some Boy Scouts on hiking trips on Isle Royale. At the end of our day, the boys and I would jump in for a quick (very quick) swim. It was like jumping in with pins and needles sticking in your body. One of the boys once spent 10 minutes in the water on a dare; when he came out his skin was blue.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

The clean, cold, big, and wild blue water. One can see 30 feet down.

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

Lake Superior is a very great place to visit, but also a very hard place to live. The winters are long, cold and dangerous, full of deep snow and shifting ice. The summers are short, full of wild hungry bugs. Those who do live here do not appreciate the “No Trespassing, Keep Out“ signs that keep popping up. More often than not they become target practice during hunting season.

Minnesota

We speak to folks who live and work around our lake to hear their stories and their sentiments about this water that defines us.

Dave Anderson
, Reporter-meteorologist for Northland’s NewsCenter Television and adjunct instructor at Lake Superior College in Duluth and Northland College in Ashland, flotilla commander with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Auxillary Flotilla and staff officer with the USCG Auxillary Division 8, 9th Coast Guard District Central Region

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

25 years in Duluth, the 20 years prior in Ely.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

Minnesota Nice, the clean environment and the crisp, cool weather make Duluth the biggest city this Iron Range native wants to live in.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

Lake Superior is the biggest challenge to weather forecasting this region has. The Lake has a national reputation for making prognostication difficult. When I attended Mississippi State University’s Broadcast Meteorology program, the first thing southerners asked was, “How can you get the weather right with that big pool of cold water messing things up?” Unfortunately, we forecasters tend to fall back on blaming the Lake every time we get a forecast wrong so Lake Superior often becomes a fall guy for faulty calculations.

 Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

I have a great respect and even slight fear of the lake. I first saw her in 1970 during a trip to Duluth from Ely. While peering into the ship canal, my mother warned me to be careful and told me what happened to the Halverson brothers in 1967; 42 years later, the fate of those three boys swept into the lake and unfound to this day, makes many Northlanders ponder life and its fragility when confronted by an irresistible force like Lake Superior.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

It’s big, it’s beautiful and it’s relatively pure compared to a lot of places in the world.

Is there anything that you’d like to add? 

People who love the lake should consider joining the U.S. Coast Guard Auxillary, America’s volunteer lifesavers!

Tim Cochrane, 
Superintendent of Grand Portage National Monument and author, Grand Portage

How long have you lived by Lake Superior? 

19 years, although I have moved away and returned a few times.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

The Big Lake is still wild and a dominant force.  The landforms in the lake basin are stunning and diverse.   The headlands of the north shore, the “mesas” of Thunder Bay, or the ochre colored sands of Siskiwit Bay, Isle Royale are wonderfully different. It is still a place where your imagination can still inhabit.  It is not hard to envision the scene of the Montreal canoes - the big ones - rounding Hat Point at Grand Portage like they did 230 years ago as the scene is largely the same today.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

I am in the tourism-recreation-education business, that is, I work for the National Park Service.  Knowing Lake Superior history and heritage is what I do and I enjoy doing.  And my real joy is discovering new stories, or forgotten stories, about the people who have lived along the shores of the lake and adjusted to its limits and gifts.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

For me, it is a suite of experiences that continues to draw me to Lake Superior.  I easily remember the feeling of floating - not on water, but in air - while in a kayak more than 30 years ago.  I could see the bottom clearly, it was dead calm and the water was so clear it was like it wasn’t there. But it is also befriending “people of the lake” like Ingeborg Holte and Stan Sivertson whose lives were profoundly circumscribed by Lake Superior.  Or maybe planking fish (sometimes Isle Royale sushi) with Buddy Sivertson has infected me with lake fever.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

In part because it defies easy characterization and quick claims of knowing it.  It can be threatening, it can be tranquil.  It can be subtle and its winds can penetrate any clothing.  It can have shorefast ice one moment and it is gone the next.  It can produce mind bending mirages in the early summer and then the steely gray colors of fall.  It has given me remarkable friends,  role models (like Jack Linklater - an Isle Royale Ojibwe), and a brilliant wife.

Linda Zenk
, Owner of Lake Superior Trading Post, Grand Marais

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

I have lived by Lake Superior for 44 years.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

My husband grew up here and wanted to return to Grand Marais to go into business after college.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

Being in business on the lake has been a totally different experience than being without the lake.  Many people come here to just enjoy the lake.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

It was a major change for me to live on this huge lake since I grew up in North Dakota looking at fields of grains. The first time I went sailing on Lake Superior I realized how vast and powerful it is. I respect it.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

I love Lake Superior for many reasons: it is so clean and pure, changes almost daily, one can enjoy the Lake simply by looking at it, or sailing, boating, or kayaking on it. It provides a means of shipping and fishing for commercial uses.  It is beautiful and makes me feel serene.

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

Lake Superior seems to draw people who treasure the Lake, and almost everyone seems to want to preserve its beauty and want to keep it clean and pure.

Ryan Beamer, 
Supervisor of the Aerial Lift Bridge, Duluth

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

Grew up in Moose Lake, spent nine years in the Navy, moved to Duluth in 1998.  So, with the exception of nine years, all my life.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

They don’t have an Aerial Bridge in Arizona.  Actually because my and my wife’s parents live in the area, and we don’t want to take their grandchildren away, but that isn’t as cool as the first answer.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

I run the bridge! No lake and I’m obsolete!  I have great job security, unless they start pumping Lake Superior to Arizona.  Then I could move there!

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

No. The lake has always been part of my life.  Probably not unlike most people that have spent their lives around Lake Superior.  As a child I was proud to live next to the largest body of fresh water in the world (by surface area, of course.  I’m not Russian, after all).  It’s just always how I have identified myself.  “I’m from Minnesota, at the tip of Lake superior.”  That is how I would tell people in the Navy where I was from.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

Because she will kill you!  Obviously you can drown in any lake, but VERY few will get angry to the point of indiscriminate murder!  She is like a woman scorned.  Calm one minute, and the next you are fighting for your life.  Literally.  She deserves the utmost respect, and if you don’t respect her, you’re dead.  I guess that’s a strange reason to love something, but I suppose it’s the danger in her that sets her apart.  Don’t let the calm waters fool you. There is a temper right below the surface …

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

I’m glad she is as cold as she is.  It keeps the riff-raff away.

Fred Cummings, 
Retired marine superintendent for Great Lakes Fleet, Duluth

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

I lived on Lake Superior for over 40 years. I worked on the ships for over 20 years.

His “lake effect” story

You could say Lake Superior has been my “home” for the better part of my life. I have seen beauty and sorrow. The beauty are the northern lights in middle January near Isle Royale or the super sunsets when you're at Whitefish point heading for Duluth, much more beautiful than Key West, Florida. And the sorrow the night Lake Superior took the “Fitz” along with all the souls over the years. I love seeing the lake and I miss seeing the lake even though I now live on a lake north of Duluth. There is no other sight for me driving down Highway 53 to Mesabe Avenue and seeing good old Lake Superior.

Dr. Robert Powless
, Professor Emeritus of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Duluth who has also taught at the College of St. Scholastica, Duluth

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

For approximately 20 years.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

When I retired in 2000, my wife,  Linda, and I talked about whether we wanted to move to Florida. We decided to stay for several reasons - one being the beauty of the area including the Lake.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

I assumed that many students would be attracted to CSS and UMD because of the Lake.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

We periodically go down to Brighton Beach and feed bread to the sea gulls. Our two grandchildren (“the boys”) help us. Many times with the waves and the birds I feel in a “world alone” on the shore.

How would you answer this simple question:  Why do you Love Lake Superior?

The constant changing in the “look” of the lake; the width and length of it - takes me back to a time when American Indians were the “guardians of the Lake.”

Scott Gischia, 
Manager of Environmental Services at Northshore Mining Company, Two Harbors

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

All my life - I grew up near Marquette, Michigan, and have lived in Two Harbors, Minnesota, for the past nine years.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

I moved to Minnesota for a job and ended up staying.  Now I see it as a wonderful place to live and raise a family.  Because of the lake, the summers are moderate, spring and fall are wonderful and the winters are not too terrible, but still harsh enough to keep the population from getting too big.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

Northshore Mining depends on Lake Superior water for non-contact cooling water for its Power Plant, which absorbs some heat from the plant and is returned to the lake.  Taconite pellets are shipped from Northshore solely via lake carriers.

More specifically for my career, the issues that revolved around the former owners of the Silver Bay facility in relation to Lake Superior really resulted in establishment of a well-staffed, professional Environmental Services department at Northshore Mining.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

I love swimming in Lake Superior and make a point of doing it as often as I can during the summer.  On the days when the wind is just right, you really can spend hours in that crystal clear water.  Even on the days when the water is more toward the ‘breathtaking’ side, it’s completely invigorating to jump into the lake and be instantly and totally stripped of the August heat.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

With my family still back in Michigan, I get a sense of connection back home when I look out over the water in Two Harbors or Silver Bay.  It’s somewhat awe-inspiring to think of a lake as large as Superior, yet consider that the same water hitting this shore is also hitting close to home.

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

I love that this lake is so big that you can measure it’s volume in cubic MILES of water.  I think the lake volume is something around 3 quadrillion gallons (3 + 15 zeros).  That works out to something around 2,700 cubic miles of water.  Unfathomable …

Adolph Ojard, 
Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, Duluth

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

Absent 12 years where I held positions in Pennsylvania and Alabama I have lived by Lake Superior my entire life.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

I was born here, my grandparents on both sides of my family immigrated from Norway at the turn of the century and located in Knife River where the family worked as commercial fishermen on Lake Superior. Fishing was a way of life in Knife River. My grandfather on my mother’s side ventured out in late November to lift gill nets and got caught in a November gale. His newly built gas powered 28 ft open boat swamped by the heavy seas and he along with three helpers drowned with two other fishermen in 1928. Our family also has strong roots as merchant mariners having sailed on both the Great Lakes and the oceans. The bottom line is I have strong ties to Lake Superior. Growing up in Knife River I spent my youth in an almost idealic setting and similar to a bare foot Tom Saywer, I spent my summer days; swimming, fishing, exploring and building rafts on the north shore of Lake Superior.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

While going to college I worked on the Duluth ore docks loading ore boats.  Following graduation I reviewed my options and rather than continue my post graduate education I saw an opportunity and decided to stay with the Duluth Mesabe & Iron Range Railway, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel. This resulted in a 31-year career with U.S. Steel with my last years serving as general manager of the DM&IR and USS Great Lakes Fleet.  Changing careers ever so slightly, I was appointed executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority so one could say that the lake “is” my career.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

When I was 12 years old I had an opportunity to work with my grandfather during the summer and help him with his commercial fishing business that he was doing in retirement. Three days a week we would leave the Knife River harbor at 6 a.m. in a 20-foot, open boat and motor several miles to our gill nets , set in 300 to 400 feet of water. We would haul the nets aboard, pick our fish and reset the nets in water only to repeat the process two days later. This was not only an opportunity to spend time with my grandfather but an opportunity to connect with a way of life that had grown up with. The early morning summer days on Lake Superior were extremely calming. As we laid at our nets  in calm seas with the morning sun burning through the morning mist you could almost call the experience spiritual.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

It is my heritage.

Wisconsin

We speak to folks who live and work around our lake to hear their stories and their sentiments about this water that defines us.

Captain Dave Strzok
, Apostle Islands Cruise Service, Bayfield

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

40 years.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

I love the lake, its weather effect, the geology around it, the wealth of cultural history of native peoples, the handy and hearty folks who live here.  It’s an “on purpose” choice most of the time.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

I operate tour boats among the Apostle Islands and we’ve very much needed the lake.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

A water taxi trip to Devil’s Island in 1980 to pick up campers. I felt compelled to recover them and went out in 12-foot to 15-foot seas, very cautiously. After recovering them, we endured monstrous (to us) seas returning. It made a prayerful man out of me!

Gene Walroos, 
General Manager for Fraser Shipyards, Superior

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

62 years.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

I work here now. For many years, I worked elsewhere but lived here. My wife and I were born here and we both have family and friends that live in the area.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

I started working on the ore carriers in 1963. I worked on and off on ocean going ships starting in 1965. Eventually I came back to the Lakes and worked for 14 years on three vessels - S.S. Walter A. Sterling, S.S. Pontiac and S.S. Cliffs Victory. Now I work at Fraser Shipyards.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

I was on a vessel that was up bound on Lake Superior the day the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost. I had worked with one of the crewman on the Fitzgerald two years before. We were the same age. We saw one another in Toledo earlier in the spring of 1975. I remember how excited he was about landing a job on the Fitzgerald. I still think of him on occasion when the storms roll over the Lake.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

I wouldn’t say love. Respect is a better word.

Bonnie Dahl, 
Author-Sailor, Rice Lake

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

We have been boating on Lake Superior since 1974. Until 1996 we spent the three summer months each year on the lake. Now it’s more like 4 1/2 to 5 months.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

We love the natural beauty, change of seasons, flora and fauna of living in the North Country. The wilderness areas and wildlife are especially dear to us. We also like the people of the North Country. There is a special down-to-earth quality with a caring for your neighbor in the folks that live here.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

My secondary occupation (writing) is most often centered around Lake Superior and our experiences on the lake. I have written numerous articles for national magazines on the lake and the Cruising Guide for Lake Superior: Superior Way.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

I recall our first crossing of Superior from Grand Marais, Minnesota, to the Apostles. It was our first summer of sailing (1974), we had two small children aboard (ages 4 and 8) and we were quite “green” when it came to “knowing the ropes” of sailing. In those days, weather forecasts of lake conditions were almost non-existent - a far-cry from the continuous weather forecasts we have today. We left early in the morning and as we got farther and farther away from the shore, it became apparent the winds were getting stronger and stronger. We shortened sail (as the books said) and prepared ourselves for the ride across. And ride we did! We put the children down below with a bucket and tied ourselves on with dock lines - we didn’t even have safety harnesses that first summer. Since we had been reading books about ocean sailing during the winter we thought this was all-natural - the way it was suppose to be. We did hear communications between a couple of lakers about “that crazy little sailboat out there.” It was a very fast trip. When we got to Stockton Island in the Apostles, fellow boaters asked where we had come from. When we told them “Grand Marais” they couldn’t believe us. They had been marooned for two days and didn’t dare to make it into Bayfield because of the strong winds. Apparently with out knowing it, we had sailed across the lake in a full-blown northeaster!

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

We love the variety that Lake Superior has to offer:

• progressive cities such as Duluth, Thunder Bay, Marquette, the Soo.

• small picturesque towns like Bayfield, Grand Marais (both Minnesota and Michigan), Rossport.

• the sand beaches and sea caves of the Apostles.

• the intricate rock formations of the Pictured Rocks.

• the hiking trails and hidden anchorages in the long channels at Isle Royale.

• the rugged pristine wilderness of Superior’s North and East shores.

Lake Superior truly has it all.

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

We have taken our sailboat out through the Great Lakes, down the Eastern Seaboard, to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and then down the island chain in the Eastern Caribbean to South America. In the 4 1/2 years we were gone, we visited many beautiful places and many different cultures. Yet in all our travels we found that there was no place that could compare with the rugged rocky shorelines and unending forests of spruce and balsam of the greatest of the Great Lakes. There just is no place like Lake Superior.

Marina Lachecki, 
Minister of St. John’s United Church of Christ, La Pointe

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

I have lived by Lake Superior all my life. Born and raised in Duluth, after graduating from the College of St. Scholastica, I moved to Ashland, Wisconsin, another port town. I have also lived in Bayfield, Washburn and Port Wing, Wisconsin. Currently, I serve as pastor on Madeline Island.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

I felt all my life a deep connection with Lake Superior, that if I left her shores, a part of my soul would be left behind.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

I have had two careers, one as an environmental education and citizen participation advisor, and as a minister. As an environmental educator, I worked for the Northern Environmental Council and the Sigurd Olson Institute, part of whose missions is to work for the protection of the Lake Superior watershed.

As a minister, I worked with college students and church people to honor the Lake, to pray for and work toward her care and protection both through education, with children, and through liturgies on Lake Superior Sunday and other care of creation times.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary)?

How about something ordinary that others may relate to? My relationship with the Lake has not been one of adventure, but of presence. I grew up in Duluth Heights and you couldn’t see the lake from our house. But I knew she was there, waiting to greet me when I went downtown to Sacred Heart Grade School with my siblings and father. I greeted the waves and morning sparkles of the Lake every morning, a practice I continue to this day, for I have never left the Lake’s shores.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

I am a grand-daughter of immigrants who came to the Lake’s shores over 100 years ago. When I was born, I was named “Marina” which means “of the sea.” For me, it is a spirit name, “daughter of the sea.” The Lake and I are one. I am one among many who call to her, who seek to protect her, who go to her shores to speak to God. I have walked to her shores to bless her, to pray for her care. I have gone to her in times of life’s passages from births and baptisms to marriages and memorial services. I have witnessed women recovering from breast cancer seek her peace and strength on their healing journeys. I listen to the Lake. She teaches me.

Is there anything that you’d like to add?

My great-grandfather worked on the Duluth waterfront in the early 1900’s. He was part of the rescue team when the “Mataafa” grounded off the harbor pier. When they reached the broken vessel, nine men were found frozen. One man held a rosary. My great-grandmother prayed for the men and their families on that rosary until the day she died  in 1951. It was buried with her in the Polish Catholic Cemetery. I wrote a folk-song about this story in 1985.

Claire Duquette
, Editor of the Ashland Daily Press, Ashland

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

All my life, except for a brief hiatus for college.

Is there a reason that you choose to live here rather than elsewhere?

It sounds corny, but the lake gets into your soul. I feel an emotional attachment to the big lake that is visceral. It’s a part of me.

I love the people here, too. Especially my mother, Celia Duquette of Bayfield! But this is a wonderful place to live, filled with great outdoor recreation opportunities, a vital arts community and wonderful, wonderful community members.

How did your occupation depend on the Lake?

It depends on the lake only insomuch as it provides a great topic for stories and editorials, and the people drawn to this area have fascinating stories to share.

Can you remember an experience that defines your interaction with the Lake and why you feel as you do about it (something particularly inspiring, breathtaking or even a wee bit scary? ?

Nothing exciting. I have always looked to the lake as a place to meditate and think, even as a youngster, I’d sit by the lake and think. My mother would probably say that a defining moment was when I was about four and followed our family cat out onto the spring ice as it was breaking up. I was oblivious. She was terrified.  (Editor’s note: Poochie, the cat, survived, too.)

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

It’s powerful and beautiful. The history is fascinating and the present-day population is diverse and interesting.

Jeff “Captain Buddy” Bodin, 
Commercial Fisherman, Bayfield

How long have you lived by Lake Superior?

I love the Lake’s smell, its taste, its sounds, its feeling.  I am a fourth-generation member of a commercial fishing family. I was raised on the family’s homestead on the shore of Lake Superior. The sound of water is always in reach. My occupation is buying and selling fish each day, year-round, is done here on the dock at Bayfield.

His “lake effect” story:

No one thing can define my life on Lake Superior. Having been raised on the shore from childhood, every day is an experience. The Lake has changed a lot, and yet in other ways it is that not changed at all. Where there were the large rocks that we played on as kids is now just sand on the beach, but the waves that took the rock from us are still the same ones today.

How would you answer this simple question: Why do you Love Lake Superior?

I love its smell, its taste, its sound and its feeling.