Snow Arrives in Earnest
We saw snow arrive in decent quantities a couple of times this past week with a lot of lake effect wedged in between. Depending on where you were in the Keweenaw, the first snow dropped as much as 17 inches in the higher elevations. I was up in Calumet after the first snow. For something that would have no doubt paralyzed a southern state until warmer weather arrived, I found business as usual. I stopped for an iced mocha at the Keweenaw Coffee Works downtown and could not help pondering what 5th Street looked like when my great-grandfather Sillanpaa walked it 121 years ago as a recent Finnish immigrant at the age of 22. I am guessing that snow removal was a bit more of a challenge at that time!
The Calumet & Hecla Mining Company drove Calumet’s prosperity in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It is hard to believe now, but the population of Calumet was over 32,000 in 1910 and Houghton County’s population exceeded 88,000. The downtown and surrounding area represent a tremendous opportunity for remote workers seeking a location with a rich history. For those wanting to learn more about the area’s copper mining and related labor history, I would highly recommend a couple of books: Larry Lankton’s “Cradle to Grave” and Arthur Thurner’s “Rebels on the Range”.
We had a burst of lake effect snow on Wednesday afternoon that added some powder to the snow total. We enjoyed this view above while having tea with a friend in Dollar Bay! I had hoped to run that evening with the Keweenaw Running Group, but Chassell Township business would cause me to miss that opportunity. I had a committee meeting to the evaluate proposals in response to a recent RFP we let for a preliminary engineering study related to Centennial Park followed by the monthly township board meeting where I was reporting out for Planning Commission and presenting the recommendation from the RFP committee.
Thursday morning was spent with the Chassell Historical Organization board members cleaning and decorating the Chassell Heritage Center for the Chassell Old-Fashioned Christmas. The Heritage Center hosts a museum open house where kids can visit with Santa Claus and decorate cookies. The Chassell Improvement Association holds the Home for the Holidays Home Tour and this year the Heritage Center would be one of the stops including live music provided at the Friends of Fashion exhibit.
The next significant snow for the week was set to move in on Friday night. Early Bird Construction managed to get the roofing completed on the garage project ahead of the incoming snow!
With a window of nice weather on Friday afternoon ahead of the snow, we slipped in a drive up to Calumet and I got in my first cross country ski of the season with a quick ski on the rolled, but yet untracked, Powderhouse and Ed’s Loop. Snow blanketed the trees creating a beautiful backdrop for the ski!
Chassell’s tree-lighting ceremony took place on Friday evening kicking off the Old-Fashioned Christmas events!
Six inches of fresh snow would greet us on Saturday morning, but the sky would clear resulting in a beautiful day for the Old-Fashioned Christmas events!
Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Would you value living in a place with ubiquitous natural beauty that has no congestion? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will find amazing places like Calumet and Chassell! Learn more by visiting the Remote Workforce Keweenaw webpage at: https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com