Where We Live in the UP

(Click on the Pictures to make them larger.)

Saturday, April 29, 2017 -- Thursday, May 4, 2017

It has been a somewhat busy week trying to get things done. We are moving ahead but slowly.
Below is a picture of a lovely large maple tree in our backyard. It actually has small buds and when the leaves come out it will be very full. I remember when my dad planted this tree many, many years ago. (We purchased this house from my parents in 1994. My father had a stroke a few years earlier and the upkeep and yard were becoming to much for him. They had other buyers but the deal fell through and we needed a larger house and so we put in an offer and they accepted.)

Saturday, April 29, 2017

We saw a wonderful blue sky for a
short time on Saturday.

I found a dandelion  next to the house.
Our electric cord from the Stinger B.

On my way to purchase groceries I took a detour down to the
lake. You can see the lighthouse off to the right.

Looking in the other direction at the ore terminal that closed
while we were gone. There will no longer be large ore boats
rounding the corner on the far side of the lighthouse.
 I find it sad, over the years I sat and
watched them coming in and going out more then once.

I found the article below on the internet about the last ore boat. Tom remembers when he was serving on his first ship in the Navy and the guys would not believe we had boats this size and larger coming into port in Escanaba. If they were this large why would they be called boats. The answer because they only sailed on the great lakes. (He ended up having his dad send him and article about the ore boats so he could prove that he was telling the truth.)

Two street views of the Ore Terminal.

I found the picture below, and the one below it, on the internet. It was a described as a post card from the 1950's. This is what the Ore Docks looked like while I was growing up. You can see the ore train above.

My grandfather worked on these ore docks.

This is a picture of the Ore Cars at the terminal. I remember these
across the street from when my parents had a house on the North-side
of Escanaba. It would be noisy when the would start moving.
Not to mention we would always get caught if we spent anytime
by them. The red greasy dirt was pretty noticeable.

Papa and Charlotte fly a kite. The blue sky had disappeared
and the clouds and cold were back.

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Today's picture through the tree is
grey and gloomy.

We started the day by going to mass at St. Joseph and St. Patrick's church. We do not belong to this parish but they have the last mass on Sunday at 11:30AM and we were slow getting ready this morning. (We did belong to this parish for a couple of years and it is where our daughter made her First Communion.)

St. Joseph Church was established in 1865 by Father Sebastian Duroc. (According to one other site about the history of Escanaba it was the first church built. I knew it was the first catholic church but did not realize this.)  St. Joseph Church and St. Patrick Church were merged in 1997 by the Diocese of Marquette, and St. Joseph Church was renamed St. Joseph and St. Patrick Church. The current structure on 1st Avenue South was completed in 1939, and the Vanduzen bells in the bell tower date back to 1898. (This was the 3rd structure.)

The main altar and two side altars.

The above statue of St. Patrick was in St. Patrick's Church until the diocese closed the building and consolidated the two parishes. It was the colors you would expect a statue of St. Patrick to be at that time. It was repainted to match the rest of the statues at St. Joseph's.

The building below was once St. Patrick's Catholic Church and when it closed it was stripped of its stain glass windows, altar, and statues. It is sad to see this once beautiful church building in such disrepair. (This is the parish Tom grew up in, baptized, 1st Communion, and Confirmation. His sister and her husband were also married here.) I was able to find out that 11 of the 13 windows are at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Lemoore, CA. Which opened in 2013

Picture taken from internet of St. Patrick's Church
in 1903, the year it was dedicated.

An interesting side note:  In 1901 the Irish members of St. Joseph Church begin to circulate a petition to form their own parish after disparaging remarks are made about them by the assistant pastor, Father Hubert Kalt, O.F.M., on St. Patrick’s Day.  The petition is presented to Bishop Frederick Eis on July 14 and a vote to separate from St. Joseph Church is taken.  On July 26 Father John M. Langan is appointed first pastor of St. Patrick Church and the formal division is declared by Bishop Eis.

The building below: Originally the auditorium and gymnasium for St. Joseph Church, the building for the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center dates back to 1938. The fine arts center is named for "Big Bill" Bonifas, who immigrated from Luxembourg to the Upper Peninsula in the 1880s and became a wealthy lumber baron. The William Bonifas Fine Arts Center (Click here for more information.)hosts cultural activities and educational programs. They put on activities throughout the year. When our children were in grade school they went to art classes here. Our son sang in one of the cabarets when he was in 8th grade. They also bring in the Missoula Players in the summer and both our children participated in these children plays.
I went to St. Thomas Catholic Grade School and this is where our 7th & 8th Grade basketball games were held. At the time there were 5 Catholic Grade Schools, 1st through 8th grade, in the area.

Growing up this was the Carnegie Library which opened in 1903.
It was built with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie.
Mary Beth, a lifelong friend, and I used to ride our bikes here in the 
summer to take books outs from the children's room in the basement. 
Our children also spent time in that same children's room.  
Tom and I spent many Saturdays and nights here doing homework and 
researching information for papers. (Though not together.)
When they built a new City Hall/Library Complex,which opened 
in 1995, the building was sold to private owners.

(The information about the two churches and the library I found under the History of Escanaba and St. Joseph and St. Patrick's Parish.)

Later in the afternoon Charlotte, our granddaughter, and I went to see "Beauty and the Beast" then Pizza Hut for dinner. She is 5 and very much like her mother so there was a lot of talking. She told me she liked the cartoon version better and I would have to agree with her.

Monday, May 1, 2017

Today's highlight was having my brother stop over for a visit on his way home from work. We had a nice visit and then showed off the Stinger B.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

The sun made an appearance a couple hours before it set and I took this picture of it setting from our front porch. It was 47 degrees today and the predictors are saying 53 degrees for a high tomorrow. Just having the sun and blue skies was wonderful.

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

We opened the shades this morning to blue skies and sunshine and our temperature reached the low 50's. Tom took the opportunity to get the leaves out of the flower beds along our fence. I brought more of our stuff in from the Stinger B and packed. It truly was a beautiful spring day in our part of the UP.

The sun shining through our maple tree.

Another sunset from our front porch.

Our daughter and her three children joined us for dinner this evening. Since, we will be gone for a week it was nice to spend time with them.

Thursday, May 4, 2017

I have to admit we, mostly I, did not get everything done we planned on but we are moving forward slow but sure. This morning we are headed downstate to spend time with our son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren and we are so looking forward to seeing them.

Hope you are seeing blue skies and sunshine.

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