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		Points of View November 4, 2001 Guest Column © 2001 Paul Freshwater Published with Permission

Keweenaw County Historical Society Banquet showcases achievements, KNHP plans

ALLOUEZ -- About 75 members and guests of the Keweenaw County Historical Society (KCHS) met for dinner at the Allouez Community Hall on October 7 to celebrate a year of accomplishments, present an annual award and hear speaker Keweenaw National Historical Park Superintendent Frank Fiala outline his vision for the future.

More than 75 people enjoyed the October 7 Keweenaw County Historical Society Annual Banquet in the Allouez Community Hall. Seated at the head of the table in the foreground is guest speaker Frank Fiala, Keweenaw National Historical Park superintendent. (Photo by Pat Ryan)

KCHS President Peter Van Pelt had much good news about both the past year and the coming one. The Society now has 750 members, equal to one third of the population of Keweenaw County, although members live in many places. Van Pelt thanked the many who volunteer as summer docents at the Eagle Harbor Lighthouse and help to manage that and other society sites -- including the Pythian Schoolhouse in Eagle Harbor; the Bammert Blacksmith Shop and the church in Phoenix; and the town of Central, where the KCHS has restored four buildings.

The Phoenix Church, decorated for Christmas 2000 by KCHS Secretary Clarence Monette, is one of the society’s restored historic buildings. (File photo by Michele Anderson)

Volunteers also manage a number of special programs, including a nineteenth- century history series for children, interpretive days at Central, the award-winning quarterly publication Superior Signal, and three other historical publications.

Special events and accomplishments this year included a 150th birthday party for the Eagle Harbor Light Station on July 29. The event, which drew 500 guests, featured a new exhibit of a 1927 Chrysler rescued from the wreck of the City of Bangor near Copper Harbor, repair of lighthouse brick and woodwork, organization of the society's growing archives and a strategic planning session for the trustees.

Keweenaw County Historical Society President Peter Van Pelt outlines the group's accomplishments during the past year and announces the society’s new Web site. (Photo by Pat Ryan)

Van Pelt was pleased to announce to exciting additions in the year ahead. One is the recently launched KCHS Web site, for which Charles Hopper of Pasty Central and Still Waters Community Elders Home has donated two years of free website hosting. Another is a long-term lease from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to operate as a museum the former Coast Guard Life Saving Station on the east arm of Eagle Harbor.

The Society's annual Lauri W. Leskinen Memorial Award was presented in absentia to George Hite of Eagle Harbor, long time KCHS treasurer, membership chairman, unofficial lighthouse coordinator and chronicler of the Keweenaw experience on his world-renowned Eagle Harbor Web site. Since a death in his family prevented Hite from attending, long-time Society Trustee Philip Medlyn of Houghton and Eagle Harbor received the award for him.

George Hite of Eagle Harbor holds the Lauri W. Leskinen Memorial Award, which he received from KCHS for his active leadership in the society and his work as unofficial lighthouse coordinator. Hite is also known for George’s Eagle Harbor Web. (Photo by Pat Ryan)

As featured speaker, Frank Fiala summarized recent progress by the Keweenaw National Historical Park (KNHP) and shared his vision for the future of the unique partnership between the Park and its several local participating sites. As background, Fiala explained that the National Park Service operates 384 sites, each of which has been set aside by Congress as important to our nation's history.

National park status "raised the bar" of importance for Keweenaw copper, which for a century played a key role in America's industrial revolution. Our park is unique because it tries to own as little property as possible while developing partnerships with existing historical sites in the area. Fiala cited KCHS as a model partner with outstanding properties, programs, leadership and a willingness to take risks.

Resources available to KNHP have grown rapidly as partnerships and other plans have unfolded, Fiala noted. From a first year budget of $230,000, the park budget has grown to $1.4 million per year plus several millions of dollars for special projects. Staff has grown from one permanent employee to a dozen, including specialists in such fields as architecture and archiving. Many of these resources have been shared with local partner sites.

Keweenaw National Historical Park Superintendent Frank Fiala, guest speaker at the KCHS Banquet, shares his vision for the future of the Park and its local partner sites. (Photo by Pat Ryan)

Fiala said other resources have been used to acquire, restore and preserve key buildings from the mining era. These include the former Calumet & Hecla administration building, which is being restored as park headquarters; the old C&H library, which will reopen to the public with archives and genealogical information; Calumet's Union Building, which will be returned to its 1910 configuration for hosting meetings of civic groups and large public gatherings; and the Quincy Mine pay office for National Park Service regional offices.

As Fiala put it, restored buildings are "primary source material" for the copper story -- better than words, photos or signs. Visitors need to "taste and feel what it was like to be here then."

Looking ahead, Fiala predicted park resources would likely be affected by the current war on terrorism. He expects a modest cut in next year's funding. This will not change his vision for the park's future, but will require that priorities be set carefully.

The vision includes:

• restoration of more significant buildings, such as the C&H Pattern Shop;
• a trolley to restore rail to the area and to move visitors between parking and park attractions;
• a partnership with Franklin Township to recycle the old Quincy Smelter in Ripley as an orientation facility for the Keweenaw and Isle Royale parks;
• relocation of Michigan Tech's A. E. Seaman Mineralogical Museum to the old Quincy Hill Machine Shop;
• repair of the Calumet power house smoke stack;
• support of the Calumet Theatre as it shapes its future role; and
• a partnership to help Calumet Township buy the old Electric Park.

The Banquet was coordinated by KCHS Trustee Betsi Arend of Eagle River and catered by Finlandia University.

Trustee Betsi Arend welcomes members and guests to the Keweenaw County Historical Society Annual Banquet in Allouez. (Photo by Pat Ryan)

Annual membership in the Keweenaw County Historical Society costs as little as $15 and provides free access to all KCHS sites and a subscription to Superior Signal. The membership fee, which is tax deductible, may be mailed to the Society at HC-1, Box 265L, Eagle Harbor, MI 49950.

Learn more about the author of this guest column, Paul Freshwater.

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