Friends of Fashion Show
The past week started with the Friends of Fashion Show at the Chassell Heritage Center. I made seven appearances over the course of the two hour show called “Riding the Rails” which provided an interesting historical perspective regarding the area’s railroads through models wearing original historic fashions. Sandi Engel did another amazing job of melding an interesting script with the FOF’s collection. There was a great crowd on hand and I will share photos from the show once they become available.
In one segment of the show I shared a how my Meyer great-grandparents had come to Chassell about 1915 after emigrating to New Jersey from northern Germany in 1891 and moving subsequently to central Illinois. They had been drawn to Chassell to start a dairy farm by the Worcester Land Company advertising which promoted fertile land (aka cutover timberlands) in the U.P. My talk centered on a photo of my great-grandfather with one of his cows and a photo taken at the Chassell depot that included my great-grandmother Augusta with her daughters and her daughter-in-law (my grandmother Nellie Barringer Meyers). Models wore period clothing portraying each of my great-grandparents.
Monday, after putting in a 2,500 yard swim at MTU’s SDC, the Chassell Historical Organization would receive a generous donation from an anonymous contributor who would help us address additional expenses related to our accessibility project. On behalf of our board, I would like to extend our sincere thanks for this important support! There would also be additional updating needed to the EGLE permit application for the two bridges and boardwalk at Maasto Hiihto. Mark Roberts assisted me with the needed information and I would get the application back to EGLE for its ongoing review. Jeff Ratcliffe from the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance would contact me regarding any local requirements that might need to be met regarding the demolition of the former Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. None are required. Jeff is in the process of getting the RFP on the street for this important demolition. While I was tied up with these activities, Brian Waters met with Dan Palosaari to resolve the location of the pickleball courts at Centennial Park that are being funded by an anonymous donor.
Tuesday, Jeff Ratcliffe would be back in contact with me about historical information needed about the Chassell Mercantile site for the development project there. Our Chassell Historical Organization Curator, Mat Moore, would run down the needed information. I would also talk with Jeff Kakuk from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources about the FEMA storm water project on 4th Street, the possibility of the township entering into an agreement to take over maintenance of the rail-trail within the township, and easement associated with the trail. That afternoon, I would be out at Maasto Hiihto with Mark Roberts to meet with Eric and Brett Palosaari to talk talk about potential trail improvement projects that our board is contemplating.
While examining potential needs on Sidewinder we smelled skunk. Sure enough, one was right nearby but took absolutely no interest in our presence.
After getting in a 2,300 yard swim on Wednesday morning, I got into contact with Chris Holmes at U.P. Engineers and Architects to discuss my conversation with Jeff Kakuk. Chris would go ahead and set up a meeting for Friday morning. I would also provide Chris with copies of the approved permits from the EGLE and the Corps of Engineers for the waterfront boardwalk project that is part of our MDNR Spark Grant. This portion of the project is currently out for bid which closes on August 27th.
Julie and I would then head down to the Canyon Falls roadside park to the south of L’Anse to put in a 4.6 mile hike on the North Country Trail heading to the east along the Sturgeon River. We are both nearing 90 miles toward our #hike100NCT for 2024.
Even though it had been fairly dry, we did make some mushroom finds along the way.
The dry conditions were having quite an impact on the water level in the Sturgeon River. At Flat Rock, the water appeared to be down over a foot!
At the Humpback Bridge we took in the upstream view of the forest’s reflection on the river’s dark water.
Hiking a bit farther upstream, we stopped to take a dip in the river at the location below before doubling back to where we started.
You can check out my GoPro video from the hike on the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel at this link:
After returning home, I wrapped up the tedious process to seal the spindles, railings, and steps on our deck out back! I have been squeezing in all the scraping and sealing in whatever spare moments I could find in the schedule.
Thursday would be spent drafting minutes in preparation for that evening’s Planning Commission meeting and following up on projects we have in process. I would also stop by the tire recycling event coordinated by Township Clerk Lynn Gierke at the DPW to drop off a tire I pulled out of the lake.
As I was heading out the door to the Planning Commission meeting, Julie’s sister, brother, and sister-in-law were walking in. We would be busy with them throughout the weekend, but more about that next time.
Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will find ubiquitous natural beauty, no congestion, and lower crime! Not sure? Come UP for a workcation to check it out! Learn how at Visit Keweenaw at https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/plan/trip-ideas-itineraries/workcations/ Visit Remote Workforce Keweenaw at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com. Learn about those making the decision to locate here by following the Remote Workforce Keweenaw Newsletter at https://www.facebook.com/RemoteWorkforceKeweenaw.