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Hunts' Guide to Michigan's UPPER PENINSULA

JUST OUT! A new edition of Hunts' Mapguide to Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Over 300 entries, all conveniently located on maps and chosen because we think they are the coolest things to do in the U.P. (No ad tie-ins!) Great choices for restaurants, hikes, shops, adventures, museums, boat trips, waterfalls, vistas, road trips, and much more! To learn more click UP MAP GUIDE

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CALUMET
POINTS
OF INTEREST

Albion Station Glassworks

The transfer station of the Houghton County Traction Company was a busy place for decades after the streetcar lines were constructed in 1900. Here cars came and went from three directions: Calumet; Laurium and Hubbell; and Mohawk. A streetcar stopped every 15 minutes during operating hours. Mining families welcomed a chance to get out and shop or visit.

To Alexander Agassiz, CEO of Calumet & Hecla, the car line was trouble, necessitating many trestles to go over C&H's existing tramways for rock cars. Furthermore, historian Larry Lankton adds in Cradle to Grave, "he did not want trolleys to transport worker unrest."

Today this little-altered frame building seems perfectly suited to being a museum/workshop. Here are Dick Dana's bottle collections from the four-county area (Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, and Ontonagon) and his glass-blowing studio, where recycled bottles are melted and blown into traditional, functional forms like vases, plates, bowls, and carafes, usually in earth tones, displayed and sold in the front room.

Visitors are welcome to observe glass-blowing whenever Dick or an apprentice are at work. Woodcarver Stuart Baird (Dick calls him "world class") is at work mornings, creating birds of prey like a peregrine falcon, or a broad-wing hawk, or a kestrel.

A dark, library-like museum room houses medicine bottles, many, many beer bottles, soda bottles, whiskey jugs, and more. Milk bottles are in a room with a cream separator, wringer washer, and ice box. Then there's depression glass, dishes, and a wood stove.

On Rockland just north of Pine in Albion Location east of Calumet and north of Laurium. From U.S. 41, 3/4 mile north of the blinker light at the National Park Headquarters, look for M-203 intersecting on the left. Turn right onto Pine. Or look for sign on U.S. 41 heading toward The Hut. (906)337-0257. Open from May thru Christmas. From June thru color season open Mon-Sat 10-5. Otherwise open 11-4. Handicap access: 2 steps to enter. Single steps between rooms.

Downtown Calumet. Bustling again, downtown was hopping 24 hours a day when the mining boom was at its zenith, from 1890 to 1913. Today it features Ste. Anne's ethnic museum, lavish historic taverns, plus outstanding shops and galleries: skis, bikes, copper books and gifts, minerals, jewelry, beads, art glass, Ojibwa pottery, beads, and more ... more

Coppertown Mining Museum and Gift Shop. Mining aficionados, woodworkers, and those interested in machines, foundries, and labor and Copper Country history won't want to miss this seasonal museum. ... more

Calumet Theatre and Village Hall. One of the Kewenaw's glories, the elaborate 1899 opera house looks much as it did when touring stars played here in mining days. Authentically restored paintings and ornament. A memorable venue for concerts, films, plays. Tours available. ... more

Norwegian Lutheran Church. Norwegian Lutheran Church resembling Old Country architecture, once a wreck, being painstakingly restored. ... more

Calumet's North End. Cheap, often ornate historic storefronts have attracted several original shops: a bookshop/coffee bar, art gallery, dazzling antiques/gems/jewelry store, and the area's best frame shop. ... more

Site of the 1913 Italian Hall Disaster. 73 people, mostly children, died in the stampede that followed when someome yelled "Fire!" in the Italian social hall. It was the 1913 copper strike's defining event, memorialized in song by Woody Guthrie and others, and in story, photos, vivid websites, and a film. ... more

St. Paul the Apostle Church. A magnificentl Catholic church built by Slovenians between 1903 and 1908. Seasonal afternoon tours show off the splendid stained glass, paintings, and altar. ... more

C&H Library/future Keweenaw History Center. Built by the wealthy Calumet & Hecla copper company as a community library, this unusual stone-faced building contains office and work areas of the Keweenaw National Historic Park. Some day it will house the Keweenaw History Center. ... more

Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau. Free tourism and history handouts and knowledgeable advice. Booklet and website include all Keweenaw parks and natural areas. A highly recommended stop for anyone spending time in the area. ... more

CALUMET

Norwegian Lutheran Church

(906) 337-3731 When music teacher and pianist/organist Susan Faksvaag Rokicki came to Calumet to research her Norwegian family history, she immediately came upon this church, then suffering from decades of deferred maintenance. It was intertwined with the histories of the many Norwegians then in and around Calumet, and it was connected with a fondly remembered church organist and local music teacher, Mollie Ulseth.

Mollie's father, Edward Ulseth, had been the moving force behind building the church in 1898. He emigrated from Kristiansund, Norway and worked his way up from a laborer to a business leader, real estate developer, and head of a construction firm with 500 employees. The church is said to be a replica of a church in his home town in Norway.

Ulseth's firm built many area homes and locations, including most of Copper City. A kind, good-hearted man, he encouraged many Norwegian countrymen to emigrate and work for his firm, Calumet's largest construction firm.

As the congregation dwindled in the 1950s and 1960s, Mollie tried in vain to save her beloved church. The steeple was removed in 1961. Vandalism was so bad that the village council considered demolition in the 1980s.

Joseph Mihal arrived in Calumet in 1991 with family members then living in Dallas, Texas, who wanted to relocate to a town with historic architecture. He bought the parsonage from Mollie and promised that he would take care of her church. Not long afterward, Susan saw the church and was encouraged by friends and fellow musicians in New Mexico to give concerts to raise funds to stabliize and restore the church building.

Susan realized that many people who live in southern Michigan and elsewhere had connections with the church. As a musician, she felt she could find employment anywhere, so she took it upon herself to move to Copper Country and start the Norwegian Lutheran Church Historical Society. The group has raised funds, and Susan has herself with benefit concerts. Connections with Detroiters of Norwegian descent have been nurtured, and steady progress on the restoration has been made, as shown by a peek inside and before-and-after photos. Now some of the stained glass is visible, and the Gothic altarpiece can be seen. Thanks to exterior paint, it doesn't look like a ghost church any more.

On Seventh at Elm, a block down Elm from the Calumet Theater. (906) 337-3731. Church open from June into early October, daily 9-5. No charge. Donations most welcome. Handicap access: no. A dozen steps go up to entrance.

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