Kitchi-Gami Almanac Water Levels
August/September 2011
Lake Notes
JJ Hilsinger, president of the Algoma Water Tower Inn in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, bicycled from Ethiopia’s Ethiopian Highlands (at an elevation of 10,000 feet) to one of the lowest spots on the planet, the Danakil Depression some 500 feet below sea level. “We went from the roof of Africa down to one of the lowest points on the earth, which is also the hottest,” he says. An avid bicycle rider, Jim did the trip this spring for adventure and as part of a mission that raised $8,000 for an Ethiopian Tree Fund Foundation project to plant 20,000 trees in the deforested country.
Duluth Pack’s factory in the city’s west end celebrates its 100th anniversary this summer. Duluth Mayor Don Ness was expected to declare July 15 “Duluth Pack Day.”
In June, Wisconsin Department of Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett presented Big Top Chautauqua with a proclamation that declared summer 2011 “Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua Season” in Wisconsin to honor the northern icon’s 25th anniversary year.
History Notes
August 18, 1929: A 350-pound bear wanders into Hotel Duluth, tracking a truck driver who had hauled fish into the city. (Minnesota Historical Society)
August 22, 1928: President Calvin Coolidge visits La Pointe, Wisconsin, with his wife and son. (New York Times)
September 16, 1904: Pope Saint Pius X formally establishes the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. (Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie)
September 19, 1844: Erratic shifts in their compass needles lead William Burt and a survey team to the discovery of iron ore near present-day Negaunee, Michigan. (Michigan History, Arts & Libraries)