Hancock Fire Department's Mark Dennis to repeat presentation on historic fires; Fire Department's Pancake Breakfast funds projects

By Michele Bourdieu

Hancock Fire Department Member Mark Dennis, seated right, volunteers at the ticket table during the Oct. 26, 2013, Hancock Fire Department Pancake and French Toast Breakfast. Dennis will offer a repeat of his Hancock Sesquicentennial presentation, "Historic Fires of Hancock, a Photo History," on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Also pictured at the table are Jo Ann Masters, whose husband, Dave Masters, is the longest serving Hancock Fire Department member (37 years), and Phil Verville, a member for 21 years, who started the Pancake Breakfast. At left Hancock resident Bob Mikesch buys a ticket. At far right is Keweenaw Now's Gustavo Bourdieu. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)

HANCOCK -- Mark Dennis, Hancock Fire Department member, will again present "Historic Fires of Hancock, a Photo History," a Hancock Sesquicentennial Event, at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, at the City of Hancock Fire Hall, 900 Ethel Avenue.

The presentation is being repeated because of popular demand.

Dennis was one of many Hancock Fire Department members who volunteered at the 20th Annual Hancock Fire Department Pancake and French Toast Breakfast on Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Hancock American Legion. He said the annual fundraiser supports various Fire Department functions, such as Fire Prevention Week. Recently the Department was able to purchase $10,000-worth of equipment thanks to fundraising, "saving the taxpayers money," he noted.

"We also sponsor a kids' hockey team -- the 'mites,'" Dennis added.

At about 10 a.m. on Oct. 26, about 300 people fill the American Legion hall in Hancock to enjoy the Hancock Fire Department's 20th Annual Pancake and French Toast Breakfast. Volunteers estimated about 550 people would attend the event by noon.

More photos ...

Hancock Fire Chief Joe Neher pauses from his volunteer work in the kitchen for a photo during the Oct. 26 Pancake Breakfast.

Supporting Fire Chief Neher as breakfast volunteers are his wife, Dawn Neher, center,  and her daughter Jordyn, foreground. Also volunteering are Kayla Tchida, left, and (background at right) Fire Department member Joe Pizzi, Sr. (Joe Pizzi, Jr., was working in the kitchen).

Among the pancake customers are two City Councilors, from right, John Slivon and John Haessler, along with Ann Pace (Slivon's wife) -- who were chatting about Hancock history and the Hancock Sesquicentennial book, to which Haessler, Sesquicentennial Committee chairman, contributed significantly.

Visit the City of Hancock Web site to learn more about the Sesquicentennial.

Historian William H. Mulligan, Jr., to speak on Irish in the Copper Country May 21

HANCOCK -- As part of the City of Hancock's Sesquicentennial Celebration this year, Dr. William H. Mulligan, Jr., will present "It’s a Long Way From Tipperary: Early Irish Settlers and Leaders in Hancock" at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock.

Mulligan is a professor of History at Murray State University and resides in Murray, Kentucky. He is the MSU Alumni Association’s Distinguished Researcher for 2012-13, largely for his research on the Irish in the Copper Country -- which he began while living in Negaunee, Michigan, and teaching part-time at Michigan Tech. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and has degrees from Assumption College and Clark University, both in Worcester, Massachusetts.