The Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections, a department within the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library, is currently seeking applicants for the Friends of the Michigan Tech Library Graduate Archives Internship for spring 2022. The intern selected will receive experience in a variety of collections processing tasks…
The Sigma Rho House, May 1976. K-Day, short for Keweenaw Day, is today! An annual tradition at Michigan Tech, held on the Friday of the week of Labor Day, K-Day is a great way to make new connections, learn about student involvement, and catch a break from classes. This year’s theme is Camp K-Day and…
Early construction on the Copper Range Railroad, undated. In October 2018 the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections launched its traveling exhibit, Becoming the Pride of the Upper Peninsula: The Formative Years of the Copper Range Railroad. The first installation took place in the Van Pelt and Opie Library from October 2018…
From the Harold Putnam Photograph Collection, a young girl and her dog enjoy some strawberry shortcake. Today’s Flashback Friday celebrates local strawberries…and all the sweet delights they help us create. What better way to kickoff Strawberry Festival weekend! Strawberries have been an important part of the Chassell economy since the early 1920s. Strawberries became such…
Flashback Friday takes us back to a winter tradition oft forgotten; the annual ice harvest. In frozen waters across the Great Lakes region, the new year took commercial fishermen and local folks to the shoreline to harvest “ice cakes.” Townsfolk up and down the coasts of Lake Superior and inland lakes in the Upper Peninsula…
The Upper Peninsula Digital Network (UPLINK) project is currently seeking an archivist or related professional to serve as the Digital Project Manager for a term-funded project. This position is made possible with support from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) Implementation Grant program. UPLINK is a collaborative administered by the Northern Michigan University…
Flashback Friday looks back to this weekend in 1978. It seems appropriate to share, given the fact we’ve been in a snowglobe for the past few days, with 12-14 inches of accumulation in some Copper Country areas. “You’ve seen them picking it up, but where on earth do they put it down? Houghton’s extra snow…
Shelden Avenue in downtown Houghton after a snowfall. Flashback Friday takes us back to this weekend in 1958. From the Daily Mining Gazette: “Go Ahead, cry in your beer, but the fact of the matter is, Copper Country cars are at least visible beneath their snowy burden. Houghton boasted a paltry 69 inches this morning,…
In honor of the upcoming holiday season, Flashback Friday reminds us that not all meals are traditional. This image, of Sigma Rho students cooking lunch underground at Copper Falls Mine in the 1950s, shows us that we can still smile and be safe as we share a meal. While safely gathering may have a new…
Entries into a campus pumpkin carving contest. Perhaps there is no surer sign of Halloween than pumpkins carved with ghostly and grinning faces, lit up with candles and perched on porches and in darkened windows. People have been making jack-o’-lanterns during the late fall season for centuries. Seasonal vegetables like large turnips and potatoes were…