Award winning author Mary Doria Russell will be coming to Houghton for two special events centered around her recent novel The Women of the Copper Country. The Portage Lake District Library (PLDL) and the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library (Van Pelt and Opie Library) are excited to host her for . . .
Flashback Friday to a view of the stamp heads at Cliff Mine in Keweenaw County, 1926. Owned and operated by the Pittsburgh & Boston Mining Company, the Cliff Mine was established in 1845 and quickly became the first profitable copper mine in the region. By 1849 the mine had paid out its first dividend and . . .
A few weeks ago, Flashback Friday took readers to Copper Harbor’s Brockway Mountain to visit with Bill Mattila, who lived in a modest home perched atop the scenic spot for many decades. This week, we return to Brockway for a look at another staple of the mountain that has since vanished: the Skytop Inn. Travelers . . .
Just in queso didn’t know, some of the staff at the Michigan Tech Archives really love cheesy puns. So for this week’s Flashback Friday we couldn’t resist highlighting a piece of cheesy Copper Country history: the establishment of the Stella Cheese Company in Baltic, Michigan. What would later be known as the Stella Cheese Company . . .
The press called Maggie and Bill recluses and hermits, not people. At different times, in different parts of Keweenaw County, Maggie Harrington and Bill Mattila chose lives of solitude. Maggie kept her home in Central Mine as that community faded and her neighbors moved away. Nearly thirty years later, Bill climbed Brockway Mountain to build . . .
The Michigan Technological University Van Pelt and Opie Library is pleased to announce that it is currently hiring for a Library Assistant 4 position within the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections. This position supports the Archives with excellent customer service, patron support, collaboration, and creative problem solving. Outstanding communication, referral, and . . .
We say goodbye to our Summer Intern, Gabby, as today is her last day in the archives. Over the course of seven weeks she had a major impact on our customer services and assisted with a plethora of processing and backlog projects. She was a joyful presence this summer and we are sorry to see . . .
For many Yoopers, if you refer to the news, the water cooler chat, or your social media feeds, there is plenty of mention of seafaring vessels the past few days. Today’s Flashback Friday is a short and sweet glimpse back to a boat that is a little more my personal style. On this day in . . .
The Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections is updating its list of local historical researchers for hire. We are seeking individuals interested in providing a fee-based research service to patrons unable to travel to the Copper Country to undertake their own research projects at the Michigan Tech Archives. Although our primary interest . . .
Arguably, no event changed the Copper Country more than the 1913-1914 Western Federation of Miners strike, and no tragedy has left a deeper mark on the community than the Italian Hall disaster. Those who grew up in Houghton County or who have studied its history know immediately what these words connote. For others, some background . . .