Keweenaw National Historical Park to present local history program on backyard farming in mining towns July 22

HOUGHTON -- "Cows, Cabbages and Clotheslines: Backyard Farming in Mining Towns of the Lake Superior Region" will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 22, in room G002 of the Noblet Forestry Building, on 7th Street near MacInnes Drive and US Highway 41 on the Michigan Tech campus.

If you walked down a backyard alley in an iron or copper mining "location" one hundred years ago, you’d likely meet a child leading a cow out to pasture. On a summer day, you’d see backyards planted with rows of peas, beans, and carrots, along with flocks of chickens and an occasional pig. In fact, mining company officials encouraged workers and their families to raise their own food by providing fencing, barns and pasture land.

Join Lynn Bjorkman and Arne Alanen as they survey the history of backyard agriculture in several mining communities in Minnesota and Upper Michigan, and explore what’s left on the ground today.

This program is part of the Fourth Thursday in History program sponsored by Keweenaw National Historical Park.

For more information, including specific directions to the event, please call Keweenaw National Historical Park at 906-337-3168 or visit www.nps.gov/kewe.