MICHIGAN TRAVEL TIPS
FROM
THE HOLOGLOBE PRESS
(The 30th Edition)by
Victor Edward Swanson,
Publisherwww.hologlobepress.com
RULES OF USE
The reports and stories contained on this Web page have been put together with information taken from "The Victor Swanson Fabulous Files of Places to See in Michigan and Wisconsin" and with information obtained from operators and staffers of tourist attractions and from press releases, Web sites, and other sources. The reports and stories are provided as a public service by Victor Swanson and The Hologlobe Press. Almost all persons and entities, such as staffers of radio stations, may freely use the materials; neither AAA Michigan nor any employee of AAA Michigan may use, distribute, download, transmit, copy, or duplicate any of the material presented on this page in any way or through any means.
- - - Travel Thoughts for Everyone - - -
Right before you went on the Internet and came to this page, you could have been doing one of many possible things. You could have been setting short cedar logs in to holes in ground--logs that will be used to support railings that are ten-foot-long cedar logs. You could have been changing a defective fuel-pressure regulating valve on the fuel rail of some type of vehicle with fuel injection. You could have been looking at the moon rise over some body of water, maybe Lake Huron. You could have been kneading a batch of cinnamon-swirl bread. You could have been staring outside a window at whatever was outside to be seen. Or you could have been doing countless other things.
No matter what you had been doing before you got to this Web page, you must forget about it and clear it from your mind, because you are now going to be taken to a place that I will use to pass along news related to things to see in Michigan.
Here, you must now begin to pretend or imagine, based on real facts that I will provide. You are in a dark tunnel, though not a completely dark tunnel, and the temperature is 45-degrees Fahrenheit. Along one side of the tunnel is a string of lights, such as 75-watt light bulbs that you might use in a lamp in a bedroom. The lights are spaced from about ten-paces to more than ten-paces apart and are about four or five feet above the floor of the tunnel. The tunnel is rocky--that is, it is made up of a lot of little rocks and, though there are bare flat spots that look like the tops of really big boulders that are buried beneath your feet. The floor and the walls are dark, and it is hard to determine what color the rock surfaces have for the most part, and the walls are damp, as if covered with dew or a dew with a bit of slime of some type. Off to the right and to the left of where we are standing, the tunnel goes off for several-hundred feet. No one else is around to be seen in either direction, and I tell you that no one else is in the tunnel, so we are the only two persons in that tunnel that is underground. There is not much to hear. From time to time, you can hear drips of water falling somewhere near, but you cannot be sure from where they fall and to where they fall. If I were to walk about twenty paces from you, you might not be able to see me, because a light bulb could make it difficult to see what is beyond it, and if I were to walk about twenty paces from you, you would be able to hear me, but you would have a hard time determing whether or not I am really twenty paces away. You are in a real mining tunnel at some place in Michigan, and you are with me.
Imagine this for a moment that you are alone in this place, though. Think about what it would be like to have to hammer on the wall in search of an ore that you are supposed to find for eight hours or more hours each day. Think about what it might be like to be in the mine day after day, hitting rock and moving rock to get that ore out to the surface, where some days it could be thirty-degrees Fahrenheit below zero and where some days it could be a wonderful eighty-degrees Fahrenheit.
Now that I have set the mood, I pass along real facts about real places in Michigan, all learned on a recent long-distance trip in Michigan.
For years, people have visited the Quincy Mine Hoist, which is at Hancock (in Houghton County of the Upper Peninsula), and during those years, generally speaking, the museum was not open to visitors between mid-October (of one year) and mid-May (of the next year). I visited Quincy Mine Tours on Thursday, October 5, 2006, and learned new information for my files. Glenda Bierman, who is an administrative assistant at the museum, told me that the Quincy Mine Hoist and more will be open many days between mid-October and mid-May--for the first time ever. All the open dates and closed dates have yet to be finalized. At this moment, it looks as if the next edition of Michigan Travel Tips will have information about the open dates and the closed dates. For now, I do know the place will be closed for much of November. Quincy Mine Tours is located along US-41 at Quincy Hill.
One of the pieces of information comes from Barry James, who is the curator of education, of the Michigan Iron Industry Museum, which is at Negaunee and is where the first iron-ore forge in the Upper Peninsula was once located. Barry reported to me that the museum has been expanded by about 4,000 square feet within the last year or so. One thing new is a display area to the right of the main door way, and two of the items there are a Jeep and a model-A Ford. It was on Friday, October 6, 2006, that I talked with Barry in person and he said both vehicles were finally on display together for the first time about three weeks previously. Officially, the jeep is a 1941 Ford Model GP, and the Ford car is a 1929 Ford Model A, and some of the other items in this new display area are a Balphot Metallograph Microscope (made by Bausch & Lomb Optical Company), ceramic pieces of the area, and a merritt plate (part of a firebox). Also for this edition of Michigan Travel Tips, Barry noted that a library at the museum is being worked on and is currently not open to the public. For the remainder of this season, which ends on November 17, the museum will be open weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
I added a statue to my files of places to see in Michigan (the statue is not new, but it is new to me). At Calumet, there is a statue of Alexander Agassiz, who lived from 1835 to 1910 and who was associated with the "Calvmet & Hecla Mining Company" as it is witten on the statue (or "Calumet & Hecla Mining Company"). The statue is located across the street from the park headquarters of the Keweenaw National Historical Park (which is at Red Jacket Road and Calumet Avenue).
While traveling in Calumet (in Houghton County of the Upper Peninsula) on Thursday, October 5, 2006, I received news from Tim Bausano and Tony Bausano (Tim is one of Tony's sons), who are some of the people who run Copper World, which is a copper-themed shop, at Calumet (which is located at 101 Fifth Street and is under the direction of Tony, who took it over from his father some years ago). Tim and Tony told me that sometime in the near future--no sooner than 2008--the Union Building at Calumet will be a new museum to see. Tim said that the outside of the building has received some restoration work within the last year or so; for example, he said that work has been done to the facade and to the back wall. The building was erected in 1886, and, for one, became a central meeting place for various fraternal organizations, such as the Masons. "Fraternal organizations"--this will be the theme of the new museum. Specifically, the theme will deal with fraternal organizations of the Calumet area, of course. The Union Building is located several buildings away from Copper World, where I talked with Tim and Tony Bausano, and the Union Building, which is at 98 Fifth Street, is something to see at Calumet.
The entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan is one of the designated "districts" of the Michigan State Police, each district of which encompasses several state police posts, and in the Upper Peninsula, there are thirteen posts, one of which is the post at Negaunee (right along M-28 and across the street from TV 6 (or WLUC)). Actually, the state post at Negaunee is the district post for the Upper Peninsula, which is like a headquarters post, and the other posts are simply regular posts. I learned on October 6, 2006, through a visit to the state post at Negaunee to see some acquaintances (dispatchers and officers), that there is a small museum in the lobby. My using the term "museum" in the previous sentence stretches the definition of "museum." What I have just called a "museum" is really only a display case with a few pieces of police memorabilia, such as photographs, one of which shows the first building used for a Michigan State Police at Negaunee (a photograph taken in 1917). During the daytime business hours, if you happen to come across the state post at Negaunee, you might think about stopping in at the post to see the items in the display case and say "hello" to the guys and gals for yourself and for me.
And I have information to pass along to you that should help clear up a problem. Along US-41, about six miles north of downtown Baraga (in Baraga County of the Upper Peninsula) is a combination motel and restaurant that is identified by a sign as "Lake Shore Motel / Carla's Restaurant." Maybe, you have seen the place, or maybe you have tried to contact the owners of the place so that you can stay there, since the place does sit on the west side of a body of water called L'Anse Bay, and since it sits on the west side of L'Anse Bay, a person who stays at the motel can see sunrises and sunsets easily, if the weather is not cloudy. I learned that the place has a new name, but it has the same owners (a husband-and-wife team (Doug Engle, who is a teacher, and Carla Engle, who is a nurse)), and the place is now called "Carla's Restaurant and Lake Shore Motel" (the name of the place was changed, for one, because of the confusion that people were having trying to find the telephone number for it in telephone directories, since another place had a similar name). Incidentally, to me, the place looks like it was built in the 1950s, and because it is not a modern-looking place, people might avoid it, but it is a pleasant place to stay (though the floor of at least unit Number 7 is not level, caulking work in the bathroom is poorly done, and the motel has other physical defects, which could be easily corrected). (Believe it or not, the next edition of Michigan Travel Tips will talk a bit about historical restoration of buildings and will provide information about doing caulking and painting properly.) Carla's Restaurant & Lake Shore Motel, which is still identified by a sign as "Lake Shore Inn / Carla's Restaurant," is located at Baraga, and the telephone number is 1-906-353-6256. (Do not expect the place to be one of those modern places with exercise equipment and what I might call useless extras for vacationers.)
That concludes the facts that I have to pass along to you through this edition of Michigan Travel Tips, and now I will tell you at what place in Michigan you were pretending to be while I passed along the information. The place was the Delaware Copper Mine--down below ground in a former real copper-mine tunnel. You were on the first level--other levels below are flooded by water. To get back up to the surface, you are going to have to walk up a flight of wooden stairs, about one-hundred stairs.
I have to pass along real facts about the Delaware Copper Mine. As a rule, the Delaware Copper Mine is open for tours from May through October. Since this edition of Michigan Travel Tips is an October edition--particularly the edition for October 2006--the mine may or may not be open for tours when you read this edition of Michigan Travel Tips, but at least you now have an impression of the Delaware Copper Mine and being in a mining tunnel underground.
P.S: I say "hello" to First Lieutenant John E. Halpin (of the Manistique Post of the Michigan State Police), Sergeant Barry K. Koljonen (of the Calumet Post of the Michigan State Police), First Lieutenant Mike Loyd (of the Calumet Post of the Michigan State Police), and Sergeant Joe O'Hagan (of the Negaunee Post of the Michigan State Police) and to others at posts of the Michigan State Police posts with whom I visited recently--to prove that it was indeed I at their posts.
Your travel tips in Michigan in this edition of Michigan Travel Tips are:
Carla's Restaurant & Lake Shore Motel, Baraga, Baraga County, the Upper Peninsula.
The Delaware Copper Mine, Delaware, Keweenaw County, the Upper Peninsula.
The Michigan Iron Industry Museum, Negaunee, Marquette County, the Upper Peninsula.
The Michigan State Police Post at Negaunee, Negaunee, Marquette County, the Upper Peninsula.
Quincy Mine Tours, Hancock, Houghton County, the Upper Peninsula.
The statue of Alexander Agassiz at Calumet, Calumet, Houghton County, the Upper Peninsula.
The Union Building, Calumet, Houghton County, the Upper Peninsula.
- - - Public Service Copy for Broadcasters (four pieces) - - -
Number One:
Big deposits of iron ore were discovered in the Upper Peninsula
in the 1800s, and for decades after such ore was discovered, miners
removed tons of ore from ground in the Upper Peninsula. Today,
people can learn about iron mining in the Upper Peninsula by visiting
the Michigan Iron Industry Museum at Negaunee, which is in Marquette
County. Unless you have been to the museum really recently, you have
not seen everything at the museum. Within the last year, the museum
has been expanded by about 4,000 square feet, and, for instance, in
September 2006, a few new big exhibits were set up, and one of the
new items is a 1929 Ford Model A, and beside that Ford is a real
1941 Jeep made by Ford Motor Company. This year, the Michigan
Iron Industry Museum will be open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
through November 17. Remember: When you go, make plenty of
rest stops to enjoy your safe traveling in Michigan.
###
Number Two:
When you drive on a freeway, you regularly see signs that note
such-and-such an exit should be used to get to such-and-such a
town or city, and from time to time, you may wonder what a town
or city pointed out to you might have. If you drive along US-131
in Berrien County, you should see a sign for Berrien Springs.
Wonder not whether or not Berrien Springs has anything for you
to see. During most days of the year, you can see the Horn
Archaeological Museum, which is at Andrews University.
The museum has thousands of archaeological items. Also at
Andrews University is a Natural History Museum, which
has items found in Michigan. Unlike the Horn Archaeological
Museum, though, the Natural History Museum may only be
seen by appointment. Yes, there are things to see at Andrews
University and Berrien Springs, but you should set up a time to see
the things and not simply drift on in while passing by one day.
###
Number Three:
Scattered all over Michigan are statues of men and women, and,
truly, they exist from Calumet to Monroe and everywhere in between.
At Calumet, you will find a statue of Alexander Agassiz. He was
the president of the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company around the
turn of the twentieth century--a time when copper mining was
important in the Upper Peninsula, such as in the Keweenaw Peninsula
area. Muskegon has a park called Hackley Park, and at the park
are statues that depict presidents and Civil War heroes. And at
Monroe, there is a statue entitled "Sighting the Enemy," and the
statue is a depiction of George Custer, a man often associated with
the statement "Custer's last stand." While touring Michigan anytime
of the year, watch for the statues of various Michiganians, and
be alert for pedestrians at all times, especially where there are a lot
of parked cars, and enjoy your safe traveling in Michigan.
###
Number Four:
When Labor Day passes, some of the tourist attractions in the
Upper Peninsula are shut down to regular visitors for the season,
and one such place is the IXL Historical Museum at Hermansville,
and when mid-October passes, some more tourist attractions are
shut down to regular visitors for the season, and one such place is
the Iron Mountain Iron Mine at Vulcan. Although a number of tourist
attractions in the Upper Peninsula are open for only part of the year
to regular visitors, some of those places can been visited by special
appointment. At Lake Linden is the Houghton County Historical
Museum, and it is one of the museums that can be seen in the
out-of-regular-season time, and the Grand Marais Historical
Museum at Grand Marais is another museum that can be seen
in the out-of-regular-season time. Remember: If you call ahead,
you can often see places in the Upper Peninsula that are normally
closed at this time of the year.
###
- - - Contact Information - - -
The Hologlobe Press
Postal Box 20551
Ferndale, Michigan 48220-0551
The United States of Americacopyright c. 2006
File date: 10 October 2006To see the next edition of Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel #31.
To see the previous edition of Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel #29.
To see the catalog page for Michigan Travel Tips,
click on: Travel.
To go to the main page of The Hologlobe Press,
click on: www.hologlobepress.com.###