Pancake / French toast breakfast, bake sale, raffles to benefit Logan Muljo Oct. 4

Logan Muljo. (Photo and text courtesy Jill Codere)

LAKE LINDEN -- A pancake / French toast benefit breakfast, bake sale and raffles will be held for 9-year-old Logan Muljo from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, at the Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary School Gym.

Logan Muljo, a student at the Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary School, has a case of congenital scoliosis. Logan had surgery on his neck August 13, 2009, at the Gillette Children’s Hospital in Minnesota, where doctors removed part of his hip bone to make a c-1 vertebrae, since he was born without one. They then put screws in his skull and had to put rods in his neck to fuse vertebrae c-1, c-2 and c-3 together.

Logan is in a halo for 3 months, and then will be in a neck brace for 6-8 weeks. Then the next surgery will be started, which involves fusing his low back together, as it is not fused at L-4, L-5, S-1, and S-2.

Logan's heart is also located on the right side of his body instead of the left, and he has a horseshoe kidney, so he will have to see a urologist and a cardiologist for these problems for a long time. Logan has a 42-degree curve in his neck, and then a 36-degree curve, which will also require surgery.

Logan will have to have many surgeries in the next year or two, but he is one brave little boy! The reason for the benefit is to help with medical bills and travel expenses for all the trips his family must make to Minneapolis.

Tickets for this event are available at the door or from his mother, Joanie, at 906-296-0631 or his grandmother Joan at 906-296-0346. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children 6-12 and free for children 5 and under.

Tomasic / Fitzpatrick duo to perform at Portage Library Oct. 5

HOUGHTON -- Singer/Songwriter Lindsay Tomasic returns to the Copper Country and will play a free concert at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 5, at the Portage Lake District Library.

Lindsay will be joined by long time singing partner, Jesse Fitzpatrick. The duo has had notoriety since the 70s while performing across Michigan with their band, TREES. Since the late 1980s, Lindsay has been living in Los Angeles and working full time as a singer/songwriter/composer and recording engineer, writing and recording music for television and film through her company, Frameworks Music. Frameworks is a production music catalog with a worldwide presence. In addition to some TREES favorites, Lindsay will perform songs from her latest Datolite Records release, "The Most Amazing Dream."

This concert is free and everyone is invited to attend. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

First Friday in Calumet to offer art exhibits, music Oct. 2

CALUMET -- First Friday in Calumet, Oct. 2, offers four new exhibits -- in the Vertin Gallery, the Copper Country Associated Artists, the Miskwabik Ed Gray Gallery and the Tamarack Trading Company (formerly Beadazed Studio) -- and a musical event at the Calumet Art Center.

Meegan Flannery's Dream of the White Horse and the Tilting Field of Wheat. Oil, 2009. This painting is part of her exhibit, "Dreaming in Color," which is on display at the Vertin Gallery in Calumet through Nov. 4. 2009. (Photo courtesy Vertin Gallery)

At the Vertin Gallery an opening reception will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, for the new exhibit, "Dreaming in Color," by Meegan Flannery.

"An obsession with oil painting began immediately after I graduated from Northern Michigan University with a B.F.A. in painting and drawing and a minor in creative writing," Flannery writes in her artist's statement. "I was suddenly free to explore forbidden subject matter such as landscape, wildlife, and flora. What turned me onto paint was the intensity of color, flexibility and the thickness of this medium. Art was once again fun."

Flannery says she grew up in several small towns around the U.P. and she finds the landscape of her childhood most fascinating to paint.

"Most of all, art for me was a means to study naturalism, diagram childhood inventions and put a face to the characters of my dreams, which were as vivid and surreal as motion pictures," Flannery writes.

The Vertin Gallery is at 220 6th St. in Calumet. For more information call 906-337-2200.

Copper Country Associated Artists Gallery to host Homespun Art

First Friday at the Copper Country Associated Artists (CCAA) Studio/Gallery is the first day of the Fall/Winter member exibition program at the Member Gallery -- and color is the thing.

This time, the color is Homespun Art, with hand weaver Eve Lindsey and spinner Jean Medlyn. For inspiration, on display will be the work of Sandstone Piecemakers Quilt Guild, showing a work dedicated to the benefit of the Heritage Center at St Anne’s. Plenty of hands-on work for all. All CCAA creative sessions are free, so come and enjoy.

First Friday CCAA activities are an opportunity to introduce your visitors to a variety of arts and fine craft techniques by some of the area’s most talented practitioners.

The CCAA Studio/Gallery is located at 112 Fifth Street in Calumet. Gallery Fall/Winter hours are Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. First Fridays, the Gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information about the CCAA call 906-337-1252 or visit their web site at ccaartists.org.

Miskwabik Ed Gray Gallery to offer "Sawdust / Loose Threads" exhibit

"Sawdust / Loose Threads," a two-person show by artists Pam Beal, fiber, and Wayne Walma, wood, will open with a reception from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, at the Miskwabik Ed Gray Gallery, 109 Fifth Street in Calumet.

For more info call 906-337-5970.

"Making Music with Friends" to be First Friday music event at Calumet Art Center

As you take in the First Friday art exhibits, stop in at the new Calumet Art Center for some musical entertainment.

"Making Music with Friends" will feature Savannah Clayton on flute and Julia Feeley on violin between 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, at the Calumet Art Center, 57055 Fifth Street.

Tamarack Trading Company (formerly Beadazed Studio) to feature wood carver Stuart Baird

This carved hawk by Stuart Baird was exhibited at a Calumet Heritage Celebration. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

Tamarack Trading Company (formerly Beadazed Studio) will celebrate the craftmanship of Stuart Baird, "The Birdman of Albion," from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 2. Stuart will be demonstrating his wood carving techniques, along with live background music with Heaven and Tony -- also fun nibbles!

The Tamarack Trading Company is at 300 Fifth Street in downtown Calumet.

PasiCats to play in Republic Oct. 2

PasiCats' poster for their dance in Republic Oct. 2. (Poster courtesy PasiCats)

HOUGHTON -- The PasiCats Finnish dance band will play from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 2, at the Republic-Michigamme School (in the south part of Republic). Good music, dancing and great friends, thanks to the Republic Lions Club, sponsors of the event.

Refreshments will be provided for a free-will offering. Tickets are $5 for adults, $1 for students; children are free.

Hancock Tori farmers' market still open Wed., Sat. through Oct. 10

John, a resident of Atlantic Mine, is the Hancock Tori's "tomato specialist." He offers locally grown heirloom, hybrid and standard tomatoes. Come and check them out! Click on photo for larger version. (Photo by Gustavo Bourdieu)

HANCOCK -- Hancock's Tori -- the farmers' market with fresh, local produce, art work and handicrafts -- is still open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays in Montezuma Park on Hancock Street (US 41 heading south), behind Citizens Bank.

You can still buy fresh, homegrown tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, carrots, herbs, baked goods and more from local gardeners' and farmers' harvests. This is your last opportunity to eat fresh, healthy, local vegetables before the snow flies!

In addition, local artists and artisans are still selling their original creations in the market.

The Tori will continue to be open one more Wednesday and two more Saturdays. The last day of the market will be Saturday, Oct. 10.

Tervetuloa (Welcome!) to the Tori! For photos of this season's Tori products and the people who provide them, visit http://torimarket.blogspot.com.

Reflection Gallery Reception for Bay College Faculty Oct. 1

HANCOCK -- The Finlandia University Reflection Gallery will host an opening reception and artist talk from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 1.

The reception is for the four artists included in an exhibition of work by faculty from Bay de Noc Community College. The exhibit is on display through Oct. 21, 2009.

The exhibition includes oil paintings by Joann Biallas Leffel, drawings by Craig Seckinger, ceramics by Al Hansen, and glass art by Beth Cox.

The Reflection Gallery is on the second level of Finlandia’s Jutila Center campus. The reception is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

For information, contact Yueh-mei Cheng at 487-7375.

Alex Mayer receives 2009 MTU Distinguished Service Award

By Marcia Goodrich

HOUGHTON -- Faced with two extraordinary candidates, Michigan Tech University recently selected two faculty members for the Distinguished Service Award. Professor Alex Mayer, who has a primary appointment in civil and environmental engineering and a secondary appointment in geological and mining engineering and sciences, receives the 2009 award. Janice Glime, professor emeritus of biological sciences, was honored for 2008, since no Distinguished Service Award was given last year. Each receives a $2,500 prize.

Professor Alex Mayer is the 2009 winner of Michigan Tech's Distinguished Service Award. Mayer's research projects range from a study of the local Huron Creek watershed to a $1 million National Science Foundation study of water as a material in the Great Lakes region. His international outreach has extended to Mexico, Cuba and Vietnam. (Photo courtesy Alex Mayer)

Mayer, who is founding director of MTU's Center for Water and Society, was cited for forging collaborations that cross disciplinary boundaries, particularly in his quest to enhance teaching and research and to expand awareness of water-related issues.*

"Because of Alex, the importance of water quality and quantity issues is apparent to hundreds of students, faculty and staff at Michigan Tech," wrote Kathleen Halvorsen, associate professor of social sciences, in nominating Mayer.

Read the rest of this article by Marcia Goodrich, MTU senior writer, on the MTU Web site.

*Learn more about Michigan Tech's Center for Water and Society by visiting their Web site.

MTU receives state grant to help science teachers

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech has received nearly $200,000 from the Michigan Department of Education for a professional development program for physics and chemistry teachers. The initiative is funded by the Improving Teacher Quality Grant, which covers schools throughout the state, including all schools in the Upper Peninsula.

The project focuses on improving teaching and learning through enhanced classroom inquiry and technology. Teachers of grades 5-12 are eligible to participate.

The deadline for applying is Friday, Oct. 2.

The course includes an online component as well as sessions at Michigan Tech and other sites in the U.P. Participants can earn up to 10 graduate credits at no cost.

To apply or for more information, teachers should contact their school administrator or Lori Witting, coordinator of teacher professional development at Michigan Tech, 906-487-2263 or lori@mtu.edu.

MTU to host Gala Latina Dance Oct. 3

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech's fifth annual Gala Latina, featuring a 15-piece Latin dance band from Milwaukee, will be held from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m, Saturday, Oct. 3, in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

Want to polish up your salsa before you hit the dance floor? Michigan Tech's Social Dance Club, in collaboration with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, will teach a variety of Latin dances; everyone is invited. And if you know some of the dances and want to help teach, you're more than welcome.

Lessons are set for tonight (Wednesday), Friday and Saturday.

For the full news release on Gala Latina and a schedule of the lessons, CLICK HERE.

Cuna Indians and "molas" subject of presentation at Jutila Center Sept. 30

HANCOCK -- Peter Hoheisel will give a presentation about the Cuna Indian culture and their traditional women’s garment, the "mola," at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the Finlandia University Jutila Center campus.

The talk will take place in the Community Training Room of the Jutila Center, located at 200 Michigan Street, Hancock.

The Cuna Indians currently live on the San Blas Islands, which are on the Caribbean side of the Isthmus of Panama. Originally part of a blouse, molas are part of the traditional dress of the Cuna women. A mola is made using a reverse appliqué technique and each one is unique as it is created by the woman who wears it.

Hoheisel has collected hundreds of genuine molas, and he will display some of them at his presentation. Molas will also be available for sale.

Hoheisel is chair of the religion and philosophy department at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas. He lived in the Upper Peninsula from 1979 to 1989.

For information, contact Denise Vandeville at 487-7379.

House votes to expand National Marine Sanctuary in Lake Huron, near Alpena

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation Tuesday extending the boundary of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (in Lake Huron). The expanded boundaries will include waters off Alcona, Alpena and Presque Isle Counties in Michigan and east to the international boundary with Canada. U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) introduced H.R. 905, which passed the House 286 to 107. The bill was co-sponsored by Michigan Congressmen Dale Kildee (D-Flint), Thaddeus McCotter (R-Livonia) and Vernon Ehlers (R-Grand Rapids).

"Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a place dedicated to highlighting and honoring our state’s rich Great Lakes shipping history," Stupak said. "This expansion will help protect and preserve this Michigan treasure, while providing communities with the benefits of increased tourism, a key source of economic growth in our state. I was pleased to work with my colleagues in the House to pass this legislation and ensure continued success of the sanctuary."

Kildee, a senior member of the House Natural Resources Committee, noted the Sanctuary is a resource for families from across the country to learn about Michigan’s rich history.

"By authorizing an expansion to the sanctuary, we will help preserve this local treasure as well as improve its draw for tourists, helping to boost our local economy," Kildee noted. "I am committed to preserving the Great Lakes so that our families can enjoy them for years to come and I am proud to have joined my colleagues to introduce this legislation."

Both McCotter and Ehlers said they were happy to work with Stupak in this preservation effort.

H.R. 905 expands the area covered by the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary to 3,722 square miles of water and 226 miles of shoreline, up from 448 square miles of water and 115 miles of shoreline. The expansion adds an additional 180 shipwrecks to the sanctuary. The legislation also directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to produce updated charts of the newly designated areas and apply the protection and preservation provisions in the existing management plan to the newly added areas.

Thunder Bay on Lake Huron was declared Michigan’s first Great Lakes Bottomland Preserve in 1981, and in 2000 became the Great Lakes’ first National Marine Sanctuary. The sanctuary is a federal-state partnership with a focus on preserving the large collection of underwater cultural resources, consisting of more than 100 shipwrecks spanning more than 200 years of Great Lakes shipping history.

In 2005, NOAA and the state of Michigan established the Great Lakes’ Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena, Michigan, to allow visitors to learn about Great Lakes’ maritime history, explore shipwrecks via live satellite feed and see how archaeologists continue to preserve these historic sites.

To continue this positive outcome, the Thunder Bay Sanctuary Advisory Council -- a 15-member group representing local fishermen, business leaders, educators and government officials -- passed a resolution recommending the sanctuary be expanded. The sanctuary designation in no way impedes recreational boating or fishing in the area.

H.R. 905 now awaits consideration in the U.S. Senate, where Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) has introduced companion legislation.

For a map of the National Marine Sanctuary, showing shipwreck locations, click here.

Photos: Local Dems, supporters greet Sen. Carl Levin at Houghton breakfast

U. S. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) speaks to Democratic supporters at a breakfast organized for him on Sept. 26 during his recent visit to Houghton County. (Photo by Michele Bourdieu)

Senator Levin is pictured here with Houghton County Democratic Party Co-Chair Brian Rendel during the breakfast with Houghton County Democrats and supporters at the North Shore Grill restaurant in Houghton on Sept. 26. Visit Brian Rendel's Flickr photostream for more photos of Senator Levin's visit. (Photo courtesy Brian Rendel. Please note photo rights under Creative Commons.)

Rozsa Gallery opens with Smithsonian's photo celebration of dance

The Rozsa Center's new art gallery opens today, Sept. 28, with the Smithsonian exhibit, "The Dancer Within." (Photo and text courtesy Michigan Technological University)

HOUGHTON -- The Rozsa Center celebrates the grand opening of its new art gallery at noon on Monday, Sept. 28, with the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibition, "The Dancer Within."

The show is free. The art gallery is in the lower lobby and will be open -- and the exhibition available for viewing -- from noon to 4 p.m, Monday through Friday, and from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on evenings when there is an event at the center. The exhibit runs until Sunday, Nov. 22.

The display features photographs by dancer-turned-photojournalist Rose Eichenbaum, who focused her lens on ballet icons, Broadway stars, Hollywood legends, hip-hop artists and modern-dance luminaries.

The photographs, which take visitors on a backstage and on-stage tour of the dance world, depict dozens of famous dancers and choreographers, as well as some of this country’s most respected dance companies.

A companion book, "The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers," complements the exhibition.

The New York Times says that Eichenbaum is one of the most highly acclaimed photojournalists working in the dance field today and her work "opens windows onto the soul of dance." She holds a bachelor’s degree in ethnic arts/dance and a master’s degree in dance from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has taught dance, researched the field and now portrays it.

"The Dancer Within" is part of a national tour that extends through 2010.

Editor's Note: Read more about how the Rozsa's new gallery began in Dennis Walikainen's article on the MTU Web site.

Apple tree restoration project in Central begins with "Heritage Apples" workshop

By Patricia Van Pelt

CENTRAL -- "Heritage Apples" was the fourth and last session of Reading the Landscape for 2009. The theme for this year was "Living in the Landscape." In cooperation with the Keweenaw County Historical Society (KCHS) and the Keweenaw Land Trust (KLT), we met on Sept. 19 at Central, the historic mining town, to study the apple trees that have grown wild.

During the fourth 2009 Reading the Landscape workshop, "Heritage Apples," at Central, Patricia Toczydlowski of the Keweenaw Land Trust leads participants in making cider. Also pictured are Virginia "Ginny" Jamison (foreground, left), Keweenaw County Historical Society president, and Susan de Keyser (background, left). (Photo © 2009 and courtesy Patricia Van Pelt.)

On this site are 10 apple trees that we have named and numbered and monitored since May, so they were our initial focus.

Fifteen participants joined the presenters in the Visitors' Center. Patricia Van Pelt introduced the Heritage Apple project; Barbara Flanagin spoke of the history and importance of Botanical Illustration; Pat Toczydlowski spoke of the KLT's pleasure in taking on the necessarily long-term project of restoring Central's apple trees.

Ginny Jamison, President of the KCHS described the many ongoing projects of the historical society and introduced Phil Mason, historian, who described the life of the mining families in Central at the turn of the 20th century, giving context to the presence of the apple trees.

Led by John Slivon, Ann Pace and Pat Toczydlowski, the group toured the entire site studying the various trees and tasting apples.

After a lunch break, picnic on the lawn in perfect weather, the participants divided into three groups. There were three TASKS, and all three groups participated in all three tasks:

1. Care of Trees -- John Slivon and Ann Pace: Pruning, grafting, feeding.
2. Botanical Illustration -- Barbara Flanagin: Contour drawing, composition, transfer to illustration board and application of color.
3. Cider Making -- Pat Toczydlowski: Combining apples from Ruth, Sarah and the sweet side of Daniel! Pat Toczydlowski produced four plus gallons of very nice cider.

The day ended with cider and doughnuts, provided by Sue Haralson of the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District, who did the registration. There were many handouts and everyone had a very fine day.

For me, the main message was to love these trees, to give them time and attention and not to rush at anything.

There might be a cider-making event before winter to raise money for the KCHS, and there will certainly be some KLT outings in the early spring to prune and clear dead wood and perhaps do some grafting.

Editor's Notes:
Guest author Patricia Van Pelt is a board member for the Keweenaw Land Trust and a member of the Keweenaw County Historical Society.

In 1996, the Keweenaw County Historical Society acquired 38 acres of the old Central Mine site. Some of the residences are being restored, and a Visitors Center provides interpretive exhibits not only about the mine but also about the miners' families, homes, schools and churches. Visit the Keweenaw County Historical Society Web site for more information.

Reading the Landscape is a collaboration supported by a number of conservation groups in the Keweenaw including Gratiot Lake Conservancy, Keweenaw Land Trust, Michigan Nature Association, Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District, Keweenaw County Historical Society, Trout Unlimited, Copper Country Audubon and Northwoods Conservancy.