Wolf Management in 1923?

In light of the recent change to wolf hunting in the upper midwest, this article from the 1923 Ironwood Times caught my attention.

Gogebic County paid $10.00 for a wolf or coyote, which equates to about $140.00 today!  And...the resident could keep the carcass!

How about current experiences?  Over the past two decades, I have seen my share of wolves at the Point, with no negative encounters.  However, in the western UP there are many documented stories of livestock, pet and (excessive) deer predation by wolves.  This probably indicates an increase in the wolf population and expectations of additional problems.
I think the government actually had it right by removing the wolf from the endangered species list and setting up a managed hunt.  We seem to manage all hunting and fishing activities with acceptable results.  I think we can coexist with the wolf via DNR management.  For me, it is thrilling to hear the howling or get a glimpse of one in the woods or at the side of the road.

It is always interesting to follow the ebb and flow of the political process in this country.

The Fabled Legend of Little Girl's Point

This rendition of the legend of Little Girl's Point hangs on the wall in the Oman house.  I always liked this version, maybe because I read it so many times.  I don't know the author's name, so I can't give the credit he/she deserves.  Many of us believe the Sacred Grove exists as the Hemlock forest behind and adjacent to the County Park.  If you have walked this forest, it is truly a magical place as it makes the legend come alive.  Hopefully this legend will be passed down for many more generations.

Here is the story of Lilianau or the Lost Daughter for whom Little Girl's Point is named, as handed down for generations.

    Lilianau was the beautiful daughter of a famous hunter who lived near the base of the lofty highlands, called Kaug Wudjoo.  Lilianau loved to climb to the upper heights of the Kaug and look far out over the waters of "Gitchee Gumme", to the Islands of the Apostles in the great inland sea.  Her view along the coastline to the west ended where a point of land projected out into the water.  No place had as great an attraction for her as the forest of pines stretching westward along the shoreline to the point called Manitowak, or Sacred Grove.  In the Sacred Grove there lived the Little Men of the Forest, Puk Wudjinees,  who came from the Evening Star.

    The Sacred Grove was seldom visited by the Chippewas, but in stormy weather, hunting parties in their birch canoes were driven ashore there, they never failed  to leave an offering of tobacco and meat for the Little Men of the Forest.

    The child of the great hunter did not share with her parents their fears of the fairies and so from the perch on the summit of Kaug Wudjoo she looked out over the Great Waters, the Sacred Grove and the shoreline where the fairies dropped to the earth from the Evening Star. 

   One day, unnoticed, she ventured into the edge of the Sacred Grove.  Her parents, when informed of her trip told her never to visit it again, but this only increased her visits, going farther each day, until she reached the point itself.  Her mother who followed her to the edge of the forest one day, especially feared that some evil spirit had enticed her daughter.

    On one of her trips through the Sacred Grove, the hunter's daughter murmured as she leaned against a tree: "Spirit of the green wood plume, shed around thy leaf perfume.  Such as spring from buds of gold, which thy tiny hands unfold.  Spirits hither, spirits repair."  And like an answering echo, the rustling of the leaves seemed to say:  "Maiden, think of me not a tree, but thine own dear love free; tall and youthful in my bloom, with the bright green nodding plume.  Thou art leaning on my breast; lean forever there and rest."

    Lilianau, now being of age to marry, her parents chose a husband for her, and fixed a date for the wedding.  The wedding day arrived but Lilianau had disappeared.  Search was made, which extended even into the Sacred Forest by torch light.  But the girl returned no more to her father's lodge at the base of Kaug Mountain.

    One evening, years later, a party of fishermen passing close to shore near the Sacred Grove saw a female standing near the shore at the point.  They paddled closer but the figure retreated.  She was clad in green, and the youth who accompanied her, wore a waving green plume in his hair.

Banana Belt?

As we all know, the winter of 2013 -2014 was brutal.  However, those of us familiar with the south shore of Lake Superior know the winters there are a bit milder than those 'on top of the hill'.  If one is looking for a bit of validation...well here it is.

I like how the writer expressed his thoughts with a "if you build it, they will come" mentality.  At least to me, his vision for Little Girl's Point matched the weather, natural resources, electrification and community development.  A breakwater and port for Oman's Creek is mentioned.  As we know, the talks and planning for a breakwater and fisherman's port are still simmering.  We've had renewable hydro electricity for many years, but in 2014 the small community and tourists are asking for reliable cell phone and internet services...we're always a step behind!!

Many of us remember Ivar Peterson.  When I was a kid, 'Peterson's clearing' was a landmark we all knew.  In the 60's, his berries and apples were the best!  The lakeside clearing that became a landmark is now hidden by the trees and bushes.  From the big lake, one can sort of make out it's boundaries.

Credit the Ironwood Times for this article.  It was posted on December 20, 1935.

Working Man's Fishing Fleet

The working man's fishing fleet.  This describes it perfectly.  The Daily Globe article from June 1950 brought back a lot of memories for me and hopefully will for some of you.

I helped my grandparents maintain their fleet from the mid 60's to the mid 70's.  In the spring we cleaned, painted and inspected the boats before pushing them into the channel.  These were hand-made open wooden boats, so they need a lot of maintenance. They must be seaworthy and safe for guests.  The hand-made oars must be sturdy and without flaws...as they may be needed by a stranded fisherman with motor trouble.  In the summer we continued the inspections and bailed the water that collected with every rainstorm.  We pulled the bow of the boat on top of the dock which caused the water to pool up in the back near the transom.  This made it easier to bail the water with our coffee cans.  In the fall we pulled them out of the water for winter storage.  We used a small dozer to pull them from the water into the storage area...as these were not flimsy craft.  They had a 'deep-v' configuration with a giant hand tooled oak keel running the length.  They were 16 feet long (not the 14 foot described in the Globe article).  They had oak ribs...bent in an improvised steam chamber, oak running boards and gunwales.  When the boat was in the water, I could stand on the gunwale and the boat would barely list.  The design was of the type of fishing boat used in the Gulf of Bothnia off the coasts of Sweden and Finland.

As a kid I felt kind of proud to help with the operations at the Agate Shop.  Now I feel fortunate I had such life experiences and can share.  As many will reflect...our lives are full of routine experiences that don't take on significance until years later.

We have looked at the attached summertime photo in other posts.  It is one of my favorites.

Cribs

It's a bit distorted, but this is a great photograph.  I don't know the year depicted here, I suspect sometime in the early to mid 40's. Look at the trees, it is summertime...my favorite season.  I have been told the 'cribs' that framed the entrance to the channel only lasted a couple of years, but I think the construction of these piers represented a pinnacle in the Point's history. The property was developed with the lake in mind.  The homes, the barns, the carpenter shop, the blacksmith shop and other buildings were built and families were flourishing.  The docks, the boathouses and the boats were built and ready to go.  So what about access to the big lake.  Sometimes the channel was not ready and available for them...just as it is sometimes not available today.  Discussions about keeping the channel gravel free and open were probably not much different than the discussions we have today...what can be done, who's gonna do it?  The obvious decision for them was to build structures that prevented channel closure...thus the rock filled wooden piers or 'cribs'.  I am told the 'cribs' worked quite well until the lake eventually removed them.  I guess it took a couple of years. They were never rebuilt...maybe out of respect for the power of the lake?  

Jump ahead 20 years.  My first memory of my grandfather, Stanley Oman, was his advocacy for a harbor at the Point.  He talked all the time about a breakwater, wider channel, improved boat landing and more dock space.  I have no doubts why he was such a strong advocate.  It was because he made it happen at an earlier time and he knew that with better engineering it could be made permanent.  Sadly he never lived long enough to see his dream come true, but some of us still believe we will be running our boats through a channel protected by a breakwater.  Those 'cribs' are stuck in my mind too.       

Focused Fisherman

The late 19th and early 20th century brought immigrant settlers to the Point.  They arrived with skills to make a living off the land and water.  Amongst many skills and trades, they were fishermen, hunters, farmers, carpenters, loggers, miners and teachers.  We know they worked long hours in tough and treacherous conditions.  From their results (as are expressed in historical articles like the one below) it seems they were immediately proficient and prolific.  It fills us with pride to read about a record setting harvest or catch, but we know the harvests and catches weren't always bumper.  For those of us who spent a lot of time with our pioneer grandparents, we know they experienced the abundance and poverty of nature.

We get gifts from our parents and grandparents.  As for a gift from my grandfather Stanley Oman?  I know I learned how to drive goals, objectives, expectations and results from him, long before it was vogue in my boardroom discussions.  I am thankful for the things he taught me.
   
So I attached this Ironwood Daily Globe article from 1952.  I love these historical pieces my brother finds in the Globe.  The attention grabber for me is the photograph. Look at the focus in their eyes and their faces.  This is a team with their 'game faces' on!  Consider what the reporter experienced that day...the temperature, the smells, the sounds.  I am going to be that reporter this summer when I ask my uncle Eric about that November day on the lake.
  

The Beginning

This day "the ninth day of July in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and four" is the beginning of a new life for Erick and Beata Oman and family.  Life in the new world.  Three hundred dollars for those raw and remote 12.6 acres was a risk we can only imagine.  However, it seems the Omans owned a vision of the future for this beautiful and rugged coast with its unpredictable climate.

This year on the 4th of July, we will celebrate the 110th anniversary of that vision and bear witness to it's progress and fruits.

I am proud to be a part of this epic history.