Marquette

Marquette, Michigan; from Presque Isle Park.

Marquette, Michigan; late 1980s. That's Presque Isle Park in the background, and Lake Superior in the foreground. Taken from the foot of the LS&I dock. Camera: Minolta Freedom 100

Been playing with m' scanner again this afternoon. This is Interlake's Elton Hoyt 2nd at the Lake Superior and Ishpeming dock in Marquette, Michigan. Photo was taken on August 19, 1989 with a Minolta point'n'shoot camera (one of the Freedom series, but I've forgotten which). The lousy quality is mostly because I liked (still like) to shoot with fast film. Some things just never change, by the way. The boat's now called Michipicoten; Marjorie O'Brien shot a picture of her at the same location just yesterday. ============================== Reposted: A cleaned-up version, 11/24/2008.

I tend to vacation in mining areas.... Cliffs Shaft Mine, in Ishpeming, was perhaps the most important of all Michigan iron mines. There were a few mines which shipped more ore, but this was the first great Marquette Range mine, and it was an important producer for decades. Now a museum, and definitely worth the stop. Our guide was a retired Cleveland Cliffs engineer, and most informative. To me, the most interesting thing he said was that he doesn't believe the Negaunee/Ishpeming mines will ever reopen, despite significant remaining deep-underground deposits, because the economics seem unlikely ever to justify the effort. I've heard other opinions from apparently-knowledgable people, but this guy seemed to have impeccable credentials.

September of 1990.

The LS&I Railroad (a Cleveland-Cliffs subsidiary) built this iron ore dock in Marquette's upper harbor 99 years ago. It's still in use, though the cargo's evolved from raw ore to taconite pellets. This is one of the best places on the Great Lakes to view ore carriers up close. The not-quite-visible ship in this photo is Kaye E. Barker.

Hadn't planned to post this one, because it's (shall we say) less than sharp. But then--well, here's the picture I intended .

Still on Coast Guard property in Marquette, Michigan, but tours are guided by the staff of the Marquette Maritime Museum. A fascinating building, slowly being restored.

Another view of the Marquette light.