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CHAMPION
POINTS
OF
INTEREST
Van Riper State Park. This 1,044-acre park, mostly north of U.S.41, began as the popular local swimming beach on Lake Michigamme. Now it includes camping, varied hiking trails (one over rock outcrops with grand views, one along the Peshekee River to big pines) and an outdoor mini-museum about moose habits and Operation Mooselift here, which brought moose back to the U.P. ...
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McCormick Tract Wilderness Area. Only one trail, 3 miles to White Deer Lake, on 27 square miles of rugged uplands and high wetlands, uncut for 100 years. This was the grand camp of Cyrus McCormick of reaper and International Harvester fame. Some white pine 300 years old. Off-trail hiking, snowshoeing, camping. ...
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Region: Marquette Range
CHAMPION
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 | | Higley's Saloon, long a colorful fixture for passing motorists looking north and down from U.S. 41, has been closed for some time now. But its vintage interior remains intact, so don't be surprised if it opens once more. | THIS QUIET VILLAGE straddling U.S. 41 is a pale shadow of the lively town here from 1867 to 1912. The difference: during that bustling era the famous Champion Mine was in operation.
Disguised as the isolated village of Tioga, Champion is known to thousands of enthusiastic readers of Cully Gage's Northwoods Readers, humorous yet utterly realistic collections of character sketches and anecdotes, based on life in Champion early in this century. The mines and logging had drawn together a disparate group of people, and telling stories about each other was the chief form on entertainment. In real life Cully Gage was Charles Van Riper, son of Champion's longtime physician. "Dr. Van" had come here to work as the company doctor for the Oliver Mining Company, then stayed after the mine closed - because he loved to fish and hunt, and he liked the freedom, responsibility, and challenges of being the only physician in a remote area. Retired from a noted career as a speech pathologist, Charles Van Riper started writing for his grandchildren what became a long series of stories, using the Finnish nickname for Charles, Cully, and his mother's maiden name.
"Our little village," he wrote, "consisted of two little settlements, one inhabited mainly by French Canadians and Indians down in the valley, and the other atop a long, steep hill where the Finns and Swedes lived. A straggle of houses and log cabins containing other nationalities lined the hill road that joined them." When Champion Mine was booming, the villages of Champion and adjacent Beacon grew to a population of 2,500. Now the entire township has under 300 residents, many of them of descendants of the Finns and French-Canadians who worked the highly productive iron mine.
Disaster in the form of a cave-in struck Champion in 1912, when "the ground shook, sidewalks cracked, and a dust cloud blocked the sun." A hole, a hundred feet deep and 300 feet wide, suddenly appeared and sucked in several homes. The Champion Mine collapsed and was shut down for good. By that time, mineshafts had penetrated over 2,000 feet into the ground, bringing up over 4 million tons of iron ore. The mine is southwest of town, just outside Beacon.
While some area workers commute to the Empire and Tilden mines to the east, a good many working residents are self-employed loggers. Four miles west of town Mead has a forestry office which manages 175,000 of the company's 675,000 acres of U.P. forest. This Mead yard is also a collection point for the most valuable hardwoods harvested by its contract loggers. These special logs, amounting to a million board feet a year, are resold to hardwood veneer plants. A mile away is an office of Champion International, the U.P.'s other papermaking giant. Its chief forester here manages 90,000 of Champion's 500,000 acres of U.P. hardwoods. Much of that wood goes to Champion's Quinnesec plant near Iron Mountain to make coated papers for the pages of National Geographic, annual reports, and similar glossy publications.
Champion's chief claim to fame these days is as the "Horse Pulling Capital of the U.P." The last weekend of each June a contest at the pulling ground north of the highway attracts thousands with workhorse competitions, mud drags, and other festive events.
Today you can almost count Champion's commercial businesses on one hand. They're all lined up on U.S. 41 to cater to passing motorists as much as to the local population. There's a sporting goods store, a small grocery store, and Bernie's Garage.
Back to Marquette Range
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CHAMPION
RESTAURANTS,
LODGINGS
& CAMPGROUNDS
These are our choices, not ads.
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CHAMPION
RESTAURANTS
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CHAMPION
LODGINGS
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CHAMPION
CAMPGROUNDS
VAN RIPER STATE PARK
(906) 339-4461; fax 339-4159. Reservations: (800) 44-PARKS
Both the modern and rustic campgrounds are south of U.S. 41 close to Lake Michigamme with its warm swimming and good fishing. See above for descriptions of the park's excellent hikes and other recreational opportunities. Both campgrounds are in stands of tall pines, with mixed sunny and shady spots and little in the way of understory to provide privacy from neighbors. The 148-site modern campground ($19/night for the 36 sites with 50 amp service, $17 otherwise) also has two minicabins ($45/night). Summer weekends it's often full; reserve at least a month ahead. For possible last-minute availability, call the park. The new bathhouse is state-of-the-art, with heated floors, and built to last. The nearby 40-site rustic campground ($10/night) is more attractive in terms of natural beauty and privacy. Up to now it fills only on the July 4 weekend. Campers here can use the modern campground's showers by paying $2/shower, or $7/night extra. A recently built rental cabin ($55/night; reservations taken after January 1, call 906-339-4461) is by the Peshekee River off a drive leading north from U.S. 41 just east of the river. Furnished with table and chairs and a wood stove, it sleeps 10 on three bunks plus 4 cots. Book ahead for best selection of dates, especially in summer. Park manager Doug Barry has just the spot for a cabin on Lake Michigamme, whenever funding for materials comes through. Keep dogs on short leashes. Wolves are in the area. Some in other places have killed pets.
On U.S. 41 2 miles west of Champion. Open May 1 through Oct. 15. Handicap access: call. Dogs permitted on leash.
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