NOSOTROS to host potluck beach potluck July 29

HOUGHTON -- NOSOTROS will host a family-friendly potluck from 6 p.m. to dusk this Friday, July 29, at the East Houghton Waterfront Park (next to Super 8 Motel). Eating will start at 7 p.m.

Click on poster for larger version. (NOSOTROS poster courtesy Julio Rivera)

'Expecting great weather, we are planning to have games and enjoy the sun," says Alessia Uboni, NOSOTROS vice-president. "You can bring any outdoor game (Frisbees, etc.), dominoes, board games, a beach chair, etc."

There are no BBQ facilities, however you are welcome to bring your own grill.

Music will be playing so you can dance or listen to it, or you can just hang around, sit by the deck, and meet new friends.

* Bring your own dishes and silverware
* Bathroom facilities available
* Dogs allowed
* No glass containers (see poster)

If you have any questions, please feel free to email auboni@mtu.edu.

NOSOTROS is a student organization established to create a "sense of community" of the Hispanic/Latin culture at Michigan Technological University and to share the Hispanic/Latin culture with the campus community and others. You don't need to speak Spanish or be Hispanic to attend NOSOTROS events.

Click here for the location of the East Houghton Waterfront Park.

Recall Rick Snyder petition signing July 29 in Houghton

HOUGHTON -- Volunteers for the Recall Rick Snyder petition effort will be at Veterans' Park in Houghton from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 29. (Just up from the Portage Lake Lift Bridge)

Come to sign your name on the petition to recall Governor Rick Snyder. Any Michigan registered voter can sign at this event. You do not have to be a resident of Houghton County.

For more information visit the Web site: http://www.firericksnyder.org/

Keweenawan Jewels

By Jack Parker (aka jprockdoctor)*

Guest author Jack Parker, mining engineer, calls this rock an "amygdaloidal beach cobble." See below to learn why. (Rock painting by Gustavo Bourdieu. Photo © 2011 and courtesy Jack Parker)

You think it’s hot here this month?

You should have been here a couple of billion years ago, when it was being built. The whole earth was in a state of upheaval. There were no trees, no grass, no lakes or beaches. She was rumbling and shaking, as if waking from a bad dream.

Volcanoes were showering bombs and hot ashes on Keweenaw County, cracks opened up and vast flows of molten rock oozed across the land. Fire and brimstone -- the brimstone being sulfur. The atmosphere was really toxic -- there being no EPA to regulate it.

Thirsty? Sorry, there is no fresh water. Hungry? You’re going to have to wait. There’s nothing to eat yet …

But there is so much going on -- it keeps the amateur geologist thinking and wondering and puzzled to this day. Always looking for clues.

Vesicles for example: As those lavas flowed across the landscape gas bubbles rose to the tops of the flows and many of them were preserved in the rocks as they cooled, bubbles large and small. So we can recognize a flowtop when we see it.

Then, again over a very long period of time, fluids passed through the rock and entered the bubbles, often precipitating new minerals in them. The filled bubbles are called amygdules (from the Latin word for almond), frequently white with calcite, glassy with quartz, yellowish- green with epidote, sometimes banded with agate, occasionally with native copper and rarely with native silver.

If there is enough value we mine those flowtops, calling them "Amygdaloids." Some folks search in them for semi-precious stones, including agates, amethysts, greenstones, and thompsonites.

Today folks scour the wasterock piles and gravel pits and the beaches to find specimens which please them -- tons of them. Michigan Tech has contributed to a lot of what is called "student erosion" of the UP, now scattered all over the world in showcases, basements and garages.

One very special collection can be seen at the "Tori Market" in Hancock on Wednesdays and Saturdays. You will find vegetables, honey, artwork, handicrafts and not a few tall stories, in the open air or under canvas.

The above photograph is of an amygdaloidal beach cobble, about three inches long -- the prettiest I have seen in eighty years of looking. It’s a happy rock. Just to look at it makes me smile.

* Editor's Note: Keweenaw Now guest author Jack Parker of Baltic is a semi-retired mining engineer / geologist, who specializes in practical rock mechanics.

Updated: MEA reps to hold petition signing on EFM legislation at Firefighters' Tournament July 29

CALUMET -- MEA (Michigan Education Association) representatives will have a table during the 117th annual U.P. Firefighters' Tournament from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, July 29, in Calumet. MEA will have give-away items and petitions to place the Emergency Manager legislation on the ballot.

Update: The table will be at the tennis courts next to the Gipp Arena in Laurium.

The Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) law passed in March of this year gives Governor Snyder the authority to assign emergency financial managers (EFMs) to any community or school district that has to request assistance in times of financial stress. The EFM will have the full authority to dissolve unions and overrule local governments. The EFM legislation is a serious concern for Upper Peninsula educators since Hancock and Ewen Trout Creek schools have been targeted for an EFM because of financial deficits.

The Calumet Village, Laurium Village and Calumet Township Fire Departments will be hosting the U.P. Firefighters' Tournament this Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- July 28, 29 and 30. Firefighters from throughout the Upper Peninsula will be attending this three-day event in the Calumet-Laurium area. Click here for the schedule of the tournament and maps.

Updated: Climate activist Tim DeChristopher sentenced to two years in prison

From Peaceful Uprising:

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Climate activist Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to two years in prison on July 26, 2011, at the Salt Lake City federal courthouse. He was taken immediately into custody, being denied the typical three weeks afforded to put his affairs in order and say goodbye to his friends and family.

Tim by Daphne Hougard. (Press Photo from peacefuluprising.org)

After the sentencing, the Web site Peaceful Uprising, which supports Tim's civil disobedience to call attention to climate change, reported the following: "Federal prosecutors asked for Tim to receive an extra harsh prison sentence in an effort to intimidate the movement that stands with him. They hoped that by condemning him to years behind bars, they would 'make an example out of him' and deter all of us from taking meaningful action."

Click here to see a video of the call to action by Tim's supporters outside the courthouse.

Editor's Note: In March 2011, DeChristopher was found guilty on two felony counts for derailing a Bureau of Land Management auction in December 2008.

Update: The auction was later overturned by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, who ruled that the majority of parcels (including land adjacent to recreation areas, national parks and private residences) had not undergone adequate review. Despite cancelling the auction, the Obama administration proceeded to indict DeChristopher, whose trial and sentencing has continually been rescheduled for the last two and a half years. Judge Dee Benson ruled early on that Salazar’s dismissal of the auction and DeChristopher’s motivation would not be admissible in court during his trial.

Update: Tim DeChristopher was also sentenced to a $10,000 fine. Peaceful Uprising activists initiated a sit-in to blockade the two front entrances of the federal courthouse and emphasize that they had no hesitation in joining DeChristopher in jail, giving meaning to the slogan, "We are all Bidder 70 (Tim's number during the auction)." Members of the community joined the blockade to show their love and outrage, and by the time police had finished, 26 people were arrested.

DeChristopher acted to stop the oil and gas industry from drilling in pristine Utah wilderness near Arches and Canyonlands national parks and to prevent the release of greenhouse gas emissions.

Click here to see a video interview with Tim just before his sentencing.

Keweenaw Now has been following Tim's case since we met him at the 2009 Protect the Earth event in Marquette and on Eagle Rock. See our Aug. 5, 2009 article, "Protect the Earth 2009: Part 1" on Tim's presentation at Northern Michigan University. See also our Aug. 8, 2009, article, "Protect the Earth: Part 2, Walk to Eagle Rock," for Gabriel Caplett's video clip of Tim DeChristopher pouring water from Salt Lake City during the water ceremony at Eagle Rock.

Protect the Earth 2011 will take place Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, at Van Riper State Park on the shores of Lake Michigamme in Champion, Mich. Watch for details, coming soon.

Historian to discuss life of pioneer resident Lucena Brockway July 28

HOUGHTON -- The life and experiences of Lucena Brockway will be the topic of a public presentation at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 28, in the East Reading Room of the J.R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie library at Michigan Tech. The presentation is part of the "Archival Speakers Series" and is free and open to the public.

Lucena Brockway was one of the first white female settlers in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Visiting historian Kathleen Warnes will discuss Lucena's pioneer experiences at a public presentation at 6:30 p.m. on July 28 in in the East Reading Room of the J.R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie library at Michigan Tech. (Photo courtesy Michigan Tech Archives)

Dr. Kathleen Warnes, an independent scholar based in Allendale, Michigan, will discuss her research into the life of Lucena Brockway, an early pioneer resident of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. A native of New York State, Lucena arrived in the Lake Superior region in 1843 with her husband Daniel Brockway as one of the first white families to settle the area. Initially living in L’Anse, where Daniel worked as a government blacksmith, the Brockways moved to Copper Harbor in 1846 and remained linked to the Keweenaw until their deaths in 1899.

Details of Lucena’s life are captured in a series of personal diaries, photographs, and family and business papers preserved at the Michigan Tech Archives. As her children matured and left home, and as her husband spent more and more time at his various business ventures, Lucena found herself increasingly isolated and alone. Brockway’s diaries document her daily activities and struggles, pointing out the type of independent character required of women along the copper mining frontier.

Lucena and Daniel Brockway on the porch of their home in 1898. (Photo courtesy Michigan Tech Archives)

Warnes’s research is supported by a Michigan Tech Archives travel grant, with funding provided by the Friends of the Van Pelt Library. Since 1998, the Michigan Tech Archives Travel Grant has assisted more than 25 scholars advance their work through research in the department’s varied historical collections.

For more information on the July 28 presentation, call the Michigan Tech Archives at 487-2505, e-mail copper@mtu.edu, or click here.

House debates conservation funding bill this week; Michigan projects at risk

WASHINGTON, D. C. -- The American public strongly supports the federal government's decades-old program of protecting land with money received from oil companies, a new bipartisan poll showed today. The poll was released as the House of Representatives prepares to vote this week on whether to siphon off almost all the money in the program putting projects in Michigan and across the country at risk.

Support for the program, known as the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), was at 85 percent in the poll, which was taken by two polling firms.

Since 1965, the LWCF program has been the nation's primary tool to conserve land for parks, wildlife refuges, forests, rivers, trails, historic and cultural sites and other important federal, state and local public lands.

By similar margins, the poll finds that a vast majority of Americans want Congress to honor its commitment to dedicate LWCF funds to these purposes rather than diverting them for unrelated uses.

The telephone poll of 800 likely voters was conducted during the week of July 10, 2011, and was undertaken jointly by two research firms, one Republican (Public Opinion Strategies) and one Democratic (Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz and Associates). The poll's major findings (margin of error of +/- 3.46 percent) include the following:

• An overwhelming majority -- 88 percent -- of voters support continuing to deposit fees from offshore oil and gas drilling into the Land and Water Conservation Fund. In 2009, 81 percent of voters supported continued LWCF funding.
• Voters from all major segments of the electorate support continued funding for LWCF, including 93 percent of Democrats, 87 percent of independents, and 83 percent of Republicans; 95 percent of Latinos, 88 percent of whites, and 85 percent of African Americans -- as well as 86 percent of voters in each region of the U.S.
  

The poll's findings come at a time when the U.S. House of Representatives has proposed a draconian 78 percent cut to LWCF in the FY 2012 Interior funding bill to $65.8 million -- the lowest level of funding since the law establishing LWCF was passed in 1965. The cuts have been proposed despite the fact that the fund uses no taxpayer dollars.

LWCF protection in Michigan

Over the past 45 years, LWCF has helped to protect land in every state, and in 98 percent of U.S. counties. In Michigan, LWCF has provided approximately $292 million in funding to help protect the state's most special places and ensure recreational access for hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. Public lands such as the Pictured Rocks and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshores, Keweenaw National Historic Park, and the Hiawatha, Huron, Manistee, and Ottawa National Forests are among the places that have benefited from LWCF funding. Several pending and proposed projects in Michigan are still awaiting LWCF funding.

"Americans across the political spectrum recognize the importance of investing oil and gas revenue in protecting our outdoor recreation heritage," said Nancy Warren, board member of the Upper Peninsula Public Access Coalition and resident of Ewen, Michigan. "The House of Representatives is set on dismantling a program that has done so much for our state in spite of overwhelming support for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Congress needs to restore its promise to the American people and set things right by not diverting these funds away from their intended purposes."

The House began to debate the Interior Appropriations bill, which includes funding for LWCF, on Monday, June 25. A vote on the bill is expected this week. Michigan Reps. Dale Kildee, Sander Levin, John Conyers and John Dingell recently joined a bipartisan group of 150 House members who signed a "Dear Colleague" letter requesting "robust and consistent" funding for LWCF.

The LWCF Coalition comprises conservation, recreation, business, and sportsmen's groups working together to support the LWCF program in order to meet America's conservation and recreation needs in the 21st century. For more information on LWCF and the places in each state that have been protected using LWCF funds, visit www.lwcfcoalition.org.

Trio Tumpelot to entertain at Copper Island Beach Club July 27

HANCOCK -- Trio Tumpelot (Anna Gawboy, Meghan Pachmayer and Pasi Lautala) will double the number of their public performances as they perform from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27, at Copper Island Beach Club, Hancock waterfront.

They also expect to have the master accordionist Don Reinholm join the trio for waltzes tangos, etc. (If somebody sees him, tell him that he has a gig on Wednesday.)

Today, July 26, is last day to register for Summer Arts Camp

HANCOCK -- The deadline to register for Summer Arts Camp is today, July 26! Call the Copper Country Community Arts Center in Hancock at 482-2333.

Poster announcing Summer Arts Camp at the Copper Country Community Arts Center. Today, July 26, is the last day to register. Call 482-2333. Click on poster for larger version. (Poster courtesy Copper Country Community Arts Center)

Summer Arts Camp is in its 26th year and provides a week of art activities for 3rd-6th graders including painting, collage, writing, sculpture, dance, puppet making, and music.

Gabriel Caplett: Letter on "special interest law"

ESCANABA -- Gabriel Caplett of Headwaters News has written a letter to the editor, published July 23, 2011, by the Escanaba Daily Press: "Watch out for special interest law," concerning the legislation proposed recently by State Sen. Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba) and State Rep. Matt Huuki (R-Atlantic Mine).

Caplett points out in his letter that this legislation "will strip every Michigan township of the right to deny any mining project."

Click here to read the letter on why this is a "special interest" law.

Editor's note: Click here for background on this legislation from the Michigan Townships Association.
Click here for a June 24, 2011, Daily Mining Gazette article, "Controversial mineral extraction bill debated" and click here for the Gazette's July 2, 2011, article, "Legislation concerning mining approved."

Community Arts Center to host final Art in the Garden lectures July 26, Aug. 2

HANCOCK -- The Copper Country Community Arts Center (CCCAC) in Hancock is hosting a series of lectures and demonstrations leading up to the Art in the Garden Tour at the end of July.

Herbal Medicine Lecture July 26

The fourth program in the series will be a lecture about medicinal plants. Join botanist Andrea Corpolongo Smith from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26, as she describes a few of the many medicinal plants that call the Copper Country home. Get to know Yarrow, the herbal first aide; St. Johns Wort, the nerve remedy; Usnea, the antibacterial lichen; and more. Andrea will share photos, home made tinctures, as well as samples of the plants discussed. The fee for this lecture is $7, or $5 for those taking the Art in the Garden Tour, with proceeds benefiting the CCCAC.

Design Principles in the Garden Aug. 2

The final lecture in the Art in the Garden series, Design Principles in the Garden by Lynn Watson, will be at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2, at the Community Arts Center.

Alexander Pope said, "All gardens are landscape paintings." With this truth in mind, "art in the garden" is another creative expression for good design principles. The principles of line, direction, shape, size, texture, and color apply to any well designed garden. Establishing pattern through repetition, alternation, harmony, contrast, and balance moves the eye through the plantings -- guiding the viewer.

A thoughtfully planted garden intrigues at a distance and, like a tapestry, gets more interesting upon close inspection. A good garden satisfies through multiple seasons. This lecture with Lynn Watson, Michigan Tech University gardener, will show how these elements can be applied to your garden planning or resetting. At Michigan Tech, Watson's work includes the Rosza Performing Arts Center gardens and plantings throughout campus.

The fee to attend this lecture is $5 with proceeds benefiting the Copper Country Community Arts Center.

The Community Arts Center is at 126 Quincy Street in Hancock. Please call 482-2333 to RSVP.

Sidney Butler to present solo Harp Concert July 26 to benefit Keweenaw Heritage Center

CALUMET -- Sidney Butler will present a solo Harp Concert at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26, at the Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne's in Calumet (corner of 5th and Scott Streets).

Sidney Butler explains three types of harps during her 2010 solo concert at the Keweenaw Heritage Center. (Keweenaw Now 2010 file photo)

From Ragtime to The Beatles and Bach, Sidney will be playing 200-year-old classics interspersed with popular tunes -- a variety of music for all ages. Tickets are $6 at the door, with proceeds benefiting the universal accessibility project at the Keweenaw Heritage Center.

The weather forecast is for a cool and pleasant evening in Calumet!

Response to "Minerva" on the Petition to Recall Gov. Snyder

By Joanne Thomas*

I am a petitioner in the firericksnyder.org effort. My time is valuable to me, and I only care to invest it where I feel my abilities will go to the most good. The gravity of this governor's actions, so early in his term, is drastic and largely unnecessary and may carry dire consequences if not halted. Simply not liking a Republican governor in office would hardly be a motivator.

There is one particular transgression from the Snyder administration that pushed me into action, and that is the seizing of the Jean Klock Park in Benton Harbor. An order the EFM issued on May 4 restricts access to the public waterfront park. This park was deeded to Benton Harbor in 1917 "in perpetuity." Part of it has now been turned into a private luxury golf resort, with the help of an economic development group that until recently included the sponsor of the Emergency Financial Manager (EFM) law on its board of directors.

Yes, having a full account of another of Snyder's actions -- implementing the EFM -- is important and difficult to understand. And yes, I like your "Exercise your mind, don't wash it" quote. Here is one caveat in this law that you, and the sources you received your information from, may have missed. It is apparent that these regulations were not followed.

A member of one financial review team explains, "The EFM law has been on the books for years. Unfortunately, it had no teeth. Also, by the time an EFM is appointed, the public body will have had (?) a number of warnings and hearings (?). In fact, the public body must execute a Consent Agreement which includes a road map of how to comply with applicable laws that govern financial management and reporting. It is only when the public body violates the Consent Agreement that an EFM is even considered. Even then, the public body has a right to a hearing before an EFM is appointed. The entire process can take 18 - 24 months." (So, how long has Mr. Snyder been in office?)

During that time the citizens have plenty of opportunities to convince their elected officials to clean up the problems. Only after these phases does the EFM law actually benefit the citizenry and provide fair warning that their elected officials are not in compliance with law.

While this Web site, like many others, offers the advantage of anonymity in posting comments, I believe those who post comments still need to be correct and civil and to be responsible for the content of their words. And it is unhelpful when any of us resort to verbal attacks like "greedy" and name-calling -- such as "dictator," "thugs," "hacks," etc. It is an unfortunate tendency on all sides of the political spectrum. I trust that you correct your associations when you hear them make such calls about our president and other Democratic officials. I will try to be more vigilant about that too.

* Editor's Note: Keweenaw resident Joanne Thomas is responding to the first comment under our July 1 article on the Recall Rick Snyder petition signings.

"Many Waters" to be theme at 5th Annual Omega House Benefit Recital July 26

HANCOCK -- The 5th Annual Omega House Benefit Recital of mostly vocal music will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 26, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hancock. This year’s theme is "Many Waters" -- Songs of Seas, Lakes, Streams, and Fountains.

"Heed the call to go the sea: feel the moist sand between your toes, taste the salty breeze, go fishing or harvest kelp near the shore, sail far away, feel the rising waves, plunge through the storm’s crashing waves, wait hopelessly at the shore for your loved one’s return," says Ruth Robertson, recital coordinator. "Or not… sit instead by a still Loch Lomand, or the Rosenlagen or Keweenaw Bay, watching twinkling harbour lights."

Ruth Robertson, recital coordinator and mezzo-soprano, presents performers during the 2010 Omega House Benefit Recital. (Keweenaw Now 2010 file photo)

New this year is jazz guitarist Steve Jones, who will join baritone Mark Oliver in a medley of River Songs, including such favorites as "Up the Lazy River," "Moon River," and "Old Man River." Jones and saxophonist Paul Keranen will play a jazz set with "Cry Me a River," "Chattanooga Choo Choo" and "Soul Eyes." Also in the jazz style will be torch singer Karin B. Schlenker singing "Stormy Weather."

Torch singer Karin Schlenker performs at the 2010 Omega House Benefit Recital at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hancock. This year Schlenker will sing "Stormy Weather." (Keweenaw Now 2010 file photo)

Also new this year is a segment of audience sing-along songs led by David Owens: "Harbour Lights," "Keweenaw Light," and the series theme song, "Summertime," with a new alternative text.

Folk music reigns supreme this year with three songs in French, three in German, one each in Swedish and Spanish. Translations of the texts are in the printed program so people can follow along. Even the classical songs are, for the most part, settings of folk tunes including a section of haunting chanties and other songs by British composers.

Returning vocalists are basses Jeff Massey and Barry Pegg; Ann and Greg Campbell; Sopranos Patricia Helsel, Katie Zutter; mezzo-soprano Ruth Robertson and tenors Bill Francis and Robert Suits of Houghton and Jacob Laitenen from Marquette .

New vocalists this year are contralto Barbara Lide singing a rollicking Swedish waltz, tenors Nathan Held and Nick Bohmann, and soprano Courtney Clisch.

Also new this year will be David Bezotte’s group, the Maple Sugar Folk, singing French water songs: "Partons, la mer est belle!" -- an Acadian folk tune; "Santa Maria de la mer" by Christian Bruhn; and "Youpe, Youpe! sur la rivière." Maple Sugar Folk singers include Amanda Binoniemi, Evan Dixon, Marcia Goodrich, Barbara Lide, Ralph Horvath, Barry Pegg, Ruth Robertson, Karin B. Schlenker and Jan Wieber.

Maple Sugar Folk perform French songs during a 2009 performance at the Calumet Heritage Center at St. Anne's. This year they will sing French water songs during the July 26 Omega House Benefit Recital at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Hancock. (Keweenaw Now 2009 file photo)

Accompanists include Susan Byykkonen, principal piano accompanist; Susan Rokicki, piano accompanist; Ruth Robertson, piano and guitar accompanist; and David Owens, sing-along leader.

A donation of $5 or more is suggested. All proceeds will benefit Omega House, the Keweenaw's only hospice care facility.

For more information call Ruth Robertson, recital coordinator, at 573-761-1433 or Omega House at 906-482-4438.

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (ELCA) is at 1000 W. Quincy St. in Hancock.

Walk of the Drum completed at Eagle Mine site

By Cynthia Pryor*

The Ceremonial Walk of the Drum is completed and it is Done.

More than 50 people arrived on a blistering hot day of 90s (July 17, 2011) to make the Trek around the Eagle Mine site three times -- 12 hot, dusty, trudgy miles.

Drummers drummed for six hours as people made their way around the mine site. Drummed and were tormented by flies of all kinds and drummed on without stopping.

Amazing.

About seven of those people made it physically around three times and many, many more contributed to the three times around with their efforts! A special nod to the indomitable Laura Gauger, who was the only woman to physically walk the three times around the site.

Our gratitude and humble thanks to Tom Verboczki, a native man from the Madosh family. He and his wife Michelle and their friend Gerriann traveled from Gwinn believing in the dream that prompted this walk. He, especially, believes in the power in dreams and wanted to be the man that would bring this one to fruition. His humility, spiritual strength and belief galvanized him around the site to be the first to complete the three counter-clockwise circles around the Eagle Mine. . . . and the people passed from one drum to the next and it was done.

A special heartfelt thanks to Richard Sloat, Catherine Parker, John Jungworth and Bob B., who also heard and believed. Their work in the logistics of making this dream a reality was without peer.

To all who helped with tents, drum shelters, water and other support items -- my personal thanks. To those who traveled from Wisconsin and Minnesota to support us -- WOW.

To Bob, whose dream this was, and whose belief in it made this all possible -- we all owe him our appreciation.

The point of this counter-clockwise walk, as it was explained to us by Native elders, is an un-doing, a healing and a cleansing. It was important and needed to happen. The people who came together for this effort were of all peoples -- as the dream indicated. Human beings believing that we can make a difference -- no matter the politics, cultural differences or belief systems.

As one person said -- if we go forward pure of heart and with good intentions, what we do is the best we know how to do to stop this mine. Yes.

We humbly thank all who strive, in all of the many and various ways this can be done, to stop this mine on the Yellow Dog Plains.

* Guest writer Cynthia Pryor is the Sulfide Mining Campaign Director for the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve.

Jens T. Carstensen "Love of the U.P." paintings at Michigamme Moonshine Art Gallery through Aug. 14

MICHIGAMME -- "Love of the U.P." -- an exhibit of new paintings by Jens T. Carstensen -- continues through Aug. 14, 2011, at the Michigamme Moonshine Art Gallery, 136 E. Main, in Michigamme.

Jens T. Carstensen: "River Hamlet." Oil Painting. (Photo courtesy Michigamme Moonshine Gallery)

A landscape painter needs to feel a connection to the places he paints. Fortunately the U.P. provides just such inspiration for Jens Carstensen.

Noting the striking resemblance of our area to his native Denmark, he says, "The Upper Peninsula makes me nostalgic for the places of my childhood."

The painter and his wife, Cathy Karr, make visiting the U.P. a top priority every year.

"The U.P. is a great place to paint," Carstensen explains. "I love the quiet, longer days of summer that give me plenty of daylight for painting."

Carstensen produces some of his finest landscapes paintings of the U.P. during his frequent Artist in Residence stays in Michigamme. The artist is confident that viewers will enjoy his new creations.

"It’s great to come back to a place where you feel at home. Returning to the Upper Peninsula stimulates my desire to paint and provides me with fresh material. I wish I could be here all the time." Carstensen notes.

Call 906-323-6546 for more information.

Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks to host public events July 23-24

CALUMET -- The Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association (IRKPA) invites the public to their annual meeting events this weekend, July 23-24. Some events require advance registration or ticket purchase. Here is the schedule:

Becoming Wilderness: Nature, History, and the Making of Isle Royale National Park. Author Amalia Baldwin debuts IRKPA’s latest book, on the little-known backstory of the two-decade effort to make Isle Royale America’s first wilderness national park -- 2 p.m, Saturday, July 23, Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne’s, Scott and 5th Streets, Calumet.

Free presentation with book signing to follow. (Books $12.95 or $11.65 with IRKPA member discount plus tax.)

Through the 3D Looking Glass: A Stereoscopic Tour of Lake Superior, Isle Royale, and the Keweenaw, 1860s-early 1900s -- 7 p.m., Saturday, July 23, Calumet Theatre. Add a dimension and subtract a century or so as Jack Deo presents more than 200 stereo-view images (many new since last year), starting with the 1868 University of Michigan Foote Expedition, on the historic Calumet Theatre’s big screen. 3D glasses provided. Fundraiser for the Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association.

Sponsors: Book Concern Printers, College Avenue Vision Clinic, Cranking Graphics, 5th and Elm Coffee House, and Michigan Tech's Industrial Archaeology Program. Tickets $15 ($10 IRKPA members, seniors, students; $7 children under 13; free for children under three; $35 household up to four people). For tickets call 906-337-2610 Mon.-Fri., noon-5 p.m. or email BoxOffice@calumettheatre.com

Cliff Mine Archaeological Site Guided Tour: 1-4 p.m., Sunday, July 24. Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association hosts a narrated trolley ride from Calumet to the Cliff Mine with Drs. Tim Scarlett and Susan Martin of Michigan Tech's Department of Social Sciences and Red Jacket Trolley’s Wil Shapton painting the bigger picture of copper mining on Isle Royale and the Keweenaw. Limited space, advance registration, $10. For more information email irkpa@irkpa.org or call 906-482-3627.

The Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association is the nonprofit cooperating association that partners with Isle Royale National Park and Keweenaw National Historical Park to support their educational, historical, interpretive, and scientific missions. IRKPA provides high-quality educational products and programs to enhance the understanding, appreciation, and protection of the parks and their natural and cultural resources; financial support to the parks for research and interpretation; and outreach activities to increase public participation and promote partnerships with communities and organizations.

Updated: Recall Rick Snyder petition signing events to be July 22, 27

HOUGHTON -- Volunteers for the Recall Governor Rick Snyder Petition Campaign will be at Veterans' Park in Houghton from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. this Friday, July 22.

Weather permitting, they will also be on the sidewalk next to Sharon Ave in Houghton near Econo and Shopko from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, July 27.

Any citizen of Michigan can sign the petition. It is not necessary to be a resident of Houghton County.

Editor's Note: See our July 1, 2011, article on the Recall Rick Snyder petition signings in the local area, along with recent readers' comments. Feel free to join the discussion and post a comment.

Portage Library to hold music, storytime programs

HOUGHTON -- The Portage Lake District Library invites everyone to bring a lunch and enjoy "Music on the Menu," an outdoor series of events held on the dock outside the library.

"Trio Bibliothèque" will perform from noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, July 22. Libby Meyer on fiddle, Anna Gawboy on concertina, and Oren Tikkanen on guitar will play a lively eclectic mix of folk music and other genres.

Everyone is invited to eat, relax, and enjoy the lunch hour while listening to some great music. In the event of bad weather, the program will be held in the community room.

This event is part of the library’s Summer Reading Program and is free and open to all. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Graduates of Storytime to present Storytime at Portage Library July 23

Three graduates of Storytime will present a Storytime program for young children at the Portage Lake District Library.

Jack, Lily, and Henry Ashburn will present "The Dog Days of Summer" from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, July 23. The Ashburn children will read stories about dogs and lead a craft project that participants will make and take home.

Graduates of Storytime are children who participated in library Storytimes when they were young and now know how to read. They plan every aspect of their Storytime program including the theme, books they will read, and the activity for kids to do. All materials are supplied by the library, and all graduates of Storytime are invited to plan their own event. Contact Chris Alquist at the library for more information.

All library programs are free and everyone is welcome. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Please note: The Portage Lake District Libary will be closed from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, July 25, for staff training. Regular hours will resume at 5 p.m.

Lindsay Tomasic and Jesse Fitzpatrick to perform July 26

Fans of singer/songwriters Lindsay Tomasic and Jesse Fitzpatrick will be treated to another great concert when the duo performs at the Portage Lake District Library at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26.

Copper Country natives, Lindsay and Jesse of their band TREES have been crafting songs and creating fine acoustic music since the early 1970s. The earthy sound of TREES created a buzz that has now spanned over three decades and just keeps getting better with time. Their intricately woven vocal harmonies coupled with exquisite acoustic production continue to please audiences year after year.

TREES will perform in a variety of shows this summer including two days at the Hiawatha Music Festival in Marquette, Mich. Their 2010 CD release "One Voice" is currently available at www.datoliterecords.com.

Library programs are free and everyone is welcome. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Before curtain call for opera "Rockland" Premiere ...

By Michele Bourdieu

HOUGHTON -- Keweenaw Now caught some of the action at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Houghton just before the curtain call for the Pine Mountain Music Festival's New World Premiere of the opera Rockland on Friday, July 15, 2011.

As a crowd gathers in the lobby of Michigan Tech's Rozsa Center, a small orchestra provides a musical preview for the Pine Mountain Music Festival production of the opera Rockland on July 15, 2011. Covering the windows are cloth panels of artist Mary Wright's "Story Line" exhibit -- a community art and history project featuring stories of ancestors who, like the striking Finnish miners in the opera, faced adversity. (Video clip by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Waiting for the opera to begin last Friday, community artist Mary Wright gives her "thumbs up" gesture in celebration of her "Story Line" project. Wright collected more than 7000 submissions of stories from schools and communities in the central and Western Upper Peninsula. The stories and photos are printed on cloth panels covering the windows of the Rozsa lobby and also hung outside on the Michigan Tech campus. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)*

Ann Pace of Hancock, musician and Pine Mountain Festival volunteer usher, offers festival tee-shirts for sale in the Rozsa Lobby before the curtain call for the July 15 New World Premiere of the opera Rockland. (Photo by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now)

Outside the Rozsa Center, Senator Carl Levin (D-Michigan) offered media a few minutes of interviews before the July 15th Rockland performance. Here he is speaking with a reporter from Marquette's WLUC-TV6 concerning the deficit problem and the beginning of troop reductions in Afghanistan. In addition to attending the opera, Levin explained, he was also in town to meet with National Park Service officials. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

With just minutes to go before the curtain call, Senator Levin tells Keweenaw Now Editor Michele Bourdieu he is familiar with the story of the opera, based on a 1906 miners' strike in Rockland, Michigan; but he contrasts Upper Peninsula mining during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with the present and potential mines in the UP today. Levin said there should be mining in the UP if it's done properly: "It's a totally different world now than it was 100 or 150 years ago when people didn't care about the environment," Levin noted. "There are now environmental protections, so if there's mining it has to be done in a way which is environmentally approved. So long as it's done environmentally correctly, as far as I'm concerned it's appropriate that it be done. If it's going to disrupt the environment or spoil the environment, obviously it shouldn't be done. But we've got agencies now which protect our environment, and we are properly relying on those agencies." (Photo by Alan Baker)

*Editor's Note: Click here for more about the "Story Line" project.

Scott Rutherford continues fast to stop Eagle Mine

MARQUETTE -- In conjunction with U.P. Grassroots Campaign to Defend our Water and Stop the Eagle Mine, organized by WAVE (Water Action Vital Earth) and SWUP (Save the Wild UP), WAVE member Scott Rutherford of Hancock began an open-ended water-only fast on July 9, 2011.

During the July 9, 2011, Rally kicking off the UP Grassroots Campaign to Defend Our Water and Stop the Eagle Mine, WAVE member Scott Rutherford of Hancock announces his open-ended water-only fast. Rutherford addresses the crowd gathered in front of the Marquette County Courthouse for the rally, which included several speakers, chants and songs for the water. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

The purpose of the fast is to say "NO" to the unknown and possibly devastating consequences of the mine and "YES" to protecting our water and assuring a sustainable future for our children.

Rutherford’s hope is that his fast will further the objectives of the Campaign to arouse and inspire the people of Michigan and others to make a renewed effort to block further development of this deeply flawed project that threatens our environment, especially our water resources, with irreparable damage. SWUP and WAVE want concerned citizens to contact Governor Snyder and tell him to halt work on the mine until a third-party Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), encompassing all aspects of the mining project, can be conducted.

Rutherford explains his fast as follows:

"In March Governor Snyder, in response to a well documented appeal from WAVE, refused to call a halt to the development of the Eagle Mine and order a much needed comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). He was clearly placing the short term economic gain from the development of the mine above the risk of irreparable damage to our water resources and our health and well being for generations to come.

"I was morally anguished by his decision. My response is this fast. I perceive the fast as a way to nonviolently place myself between the Eagle Mine and our precious water resources and the people whose health and well being depend on them. If the Governor will not take responsibility for these matters, then we-the-people must do so.

"Through the fast I am bearing witness to a truth that places people over profits. The fast is also a prayer and a surrender to a higher power whose merciful, compassionate and wise intervention is so critically needed at this time.

"Perhaps the Governor will listen. Perhaps he will give some thought to his decision. Perhaps his conscience will tell him that he should do the right thing and suspend work on the mine."

Scott Rutherford is a 77-year-old resident of Hancock. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he served three years in the U.S. Navy. He worked for A.I.D for six years and for the Economic Development Administration for 19 years before retiring from government service in 1986. He is one of the founders of Omega House, the home for the terminally ill in Houghton, and was instrumental in the formation of the Western Upper Peninsula Health Care Access Coalition. He is married to the artist Joyce Koskenmaki. He has three children from a previous marriage and five grandchildren. He is a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Houghton.

July 14th update on the fast:

By Scott Rutherford

I’m now in the seventh day of a water-only, open-ended fast in Marquette, Michigan, a hundred miles from home. So far so good. I’m watching myself very carefully, and am taking a product that will balance my electrolytes. I can tell that I’m not in the shape I was when I undertook fasts in 1989 and 1992, so I’m proceeding cautiously.

I’m not optimistic that we will succeed. But I am hopeful. Action brings hope. Moreover, I think that witness cannot be results-oriented. It is undertaken because it is the right thing to do.

I want the Campaign and my fast not only to halt the Eagle Mine but to serve as a catalyst for concerted action across the western UP to anticipate and resist future mines that are planned for our region. There has been and continues to be extensive exploration for new mines. Recently Kennecott Minerals began exploratory drilling in the Ottawa National Forest.

Monday through Thursday at 4:30 p.m. I will sit in front of the Post Office in Marquette with a sign to get my message out more widely to the people of Marquette. I’m also planning to do a blog and do something with Facebook and Twitter. We’ll see.

I am receiving a great deal of support, most especially from my wife, Joyce, for which I am very, very grateful.

I welcome your prayers for me and for the success of the Campaign. And WAVE will appreciate any support you might provide. For more information about the campaign, visit savethewildup.org.

Still time to enter annual NISGUA drawing for great prizes

HANCOCK -- It's not too late to enter the NISGUA (Network in Solidarity with the people of Guatemala) contest for a free trip to Guatemala or one of many other exciting prizes.

"First and foremost, when you donate $25 for a ticket (or multiples of $25 for multiple tickets), you become a partner in the work of NISGUA," says Sue Ellen Kinglsey, executive director of CCGAP (Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project), the local human rights support organization working with NISGUA. "This is solidarity work; NISGUA doesn't give material 'development' to Guatemala. Our solidarity mission provides the security for Guatemalans to take chances in their struggle for basic human rights. And they do. Our Guatemalan partners have told our accompaniers again and again that our international presence and support gives them the will to continue the good fight for justice and economic and environmental rights. NISGUA needs your support to continue also."

Sue Ellen Kingsley, CCGAP (Copper Country Guatamala Accompaniment Project) executive director, with friends in Fronterizo, Guatemala. (Photo © Karen Endres and courtesy CCGAP)

A second benefit, Kingsley adds, is that you might win one of these prizes:

• Grand Prize is one round-trip ticket to Guatemala and one week of Spanish school (including materials and room and board with a family) at the Minerva Spanish School in Xela. If the winner prefers not to travel to Guatemala, he or she can choose a destination in the continental United States. Winner must contact NISGUA at least six weeks before desired dates of travel. Travel restrictions will apply.
  

• First Prize is $250 in cash.

• Second Prize is a piece of artwork from artist Marilyn Anderson. Examples of artist’s work can be viewed at ProArteMaya.
  

• Third Prize is a framed black and white photograph donated by longtime NISGUA friend Paula Worby.

• Fourth Prize is 10 hours of online Spanish classes with Celas Maya Spanish school, which now offers quality one-on-one instruction through Skype.
  

• Fifth Prize is a copy of Rescatando Nuestra Memoria, the latest book from award-winning photographer and longtime NISGUA supporter Jonathan Moller.

Runner Up Prizes include a variety of Guatemalan gifts -- crafts; fair-trade organic coffee and chocolate; a copy of The Business of Gold: Chronicle of a Conflict Foretold -- the powerful NISGUA-supported documentary about mining in Guatemala by filmmakers Gregory Lassalle and Marcos Perez; a copy of What War? Testimonies of Maya Survivors, the latest book by longtime Guatemala activist Laurie Levinger; a $100 gift certificate for Heart of the Sky Fair Trade and more ...

It's easy to enter: you could go to nisgua.org and do it online. That's easy. OR you could send Sue Ellen Kingsley a check made out to NISGUA, let her know how many times you want to enter ($25 per entry) and give her your contact information or the name of someone you wish to put on a winning ticket -- even your mother-in-law, Kingsley notes.

Send checks to NISGUA Chance for Peace, Sue Ellen Kingsley, 53044 State Hwy M203, Hancock MI 49930.

Don't wait! Do it now!

Music, dance events July 14, 15, 16

Several music events are happening this weekend in the Keweenaw and beyond ...

Cheap Therapy to play in Laurium TONIGHT, July 14

LAURIUM -- Cheap Therapy will be playing from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. tonight, Thursday, July 14, at the beautiful Daniell Park in Laurium. Bring a lawn chair or blankey, your beverage of choice, or avail yourselves of the snack hut. Dancing encouraged! Celebrate Bastille Day!

Portage Library to host musical storytime July 16

HOUGHTON -- A mother and son duo will play old time, foot tapping, mountain tunes for kids at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, July 16, during Storytime at the Portage Lake District Library in Houghton.

Wendy Sharp on the banjo and Sal Sharp on the mandolin will play Ozark Mountain music and read stories that illustrate the joy of listening to and learning to play music. They will also talk about their instruments and explain how the unique sounds are produced. After their performance, kids will make their own musical instruments to take home.

Library programs are free and everyone is welcome. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

A Little Bit of Outlaw to perform July 16 at Dance Zone in Marquette

MARQUETTE -- A Little Bit of Outlaw will perform from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, at the Dance Zone in Marquette. This eclectic duo plays almost all kinds of music including ballroom, country, swing, oldies, jazz, etc., for your listening and dancing pleasure. The Dance Zone is at 1113 Lincoln Avenue (at College) in Marquette.

Admission charge is $6; $2 for full-time students. Please bring clean shoes to protect the dance floor. Call 906-225-5702 for more information.

Aura Jamboree is July 15-16

AURA, Mich. -- The Aura Jamboree Old Time Music Festival will celebrate 35 years this weekend, Friday and Saturday, July 15-16.

Visit their Web site for information: http://aurajamboree.com/

Updated: Long Walk of the Drum to be held July 17 on Yellow Dog Plains

From Save the Wild UP and WAVE:

MARQUETTE -- A Long Walk of the Drum will take place on the Yellow Dog Plains beginning at Noon on Sunday, July 17.

This berm and fence now surround the Rio Tinto / Kennecott mine site at Eagle Rock on the Yellow Dog Plains near Big Bay, Mich. Note crane in the background. Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company (KEMC), in the view of opponents, has illegally leased and obtained state permits for land at the mine site. KEMC says they plan to drill through Eagle Rock to access the nickel / copper ore body. (Click on photos for larger versions.)

"This was a dream . . . lots of people -- all kinds, walking to the beat of the drum . . . from one drum to the next . . . walking, head down, a solemn walk of the drum . . . three times around the site counter-clockwise."

This dream or vision was shared and expressed, separately, by two men. Both men dreamed of Eagle Rock surrounded by a fence with security men looking on as the "people" walked by to the sound of the drum.

On Sunday, July 17th, there will be a walk on the Yellow Dog Plains. Drummers will gather to offer their drum to this walk. It is not important that each person make the total four-mile trek. It is just important that many people gather to participate in the walk.

"Passing from one drum site to the next, the people will pass from one to the next until it is done."

This is not a protest with flags and banners. This is a continuing peaceful protest and effort to stop this mine on public lands and protect our environment. For the last nine years, we have attempted to bring reason, science and the will of the people to this long campaign. It is time to gather the people again, in a united consciousness, for this Long Walk of the Drum around Eagle Rock.

" . . . and the people will pass from one drum to the next until it is done."

Kennecott Eagle Minerals sign and security vehicle at Eagle Rock. The walkers intend to walk where the public is allowed. Walking along a road that is not gated, across private property to access public and/or CFA land is permissible.

Volunteers are needed to assist with the drum sites, which will also be rest stations for the walkers. If you and a friend are available to assist from 10 a.m. on Sunday the 17th until sunset you are needed. Two people per site is what the organizers are looking for. If you have a large tent or tarp that can be set up to give shade and rest -- that would be wonderful.

Please visit Stand for the Land for the logistics of camping on State public lands, fire danger, what to bring (food, water, etc.) and more information.

Click here for a map of the area. Footprints mark the approximate route of the walk.

Volunteers needed TODAY for final day of hanging "Story Line" exhibit

HOUGHTON -- Community Artist Mary Wright is in the final stages of installing her piece, "Story Line," at Michigan Tech’s Rosza Center. This community art and history project, inspired by the Pine Mountain Music Festival opera Rockland, is taking shape around the Rosza building and the neighboring Walker Building on the Michigan Tech campus. Volunteers are needed today, Wednesday, July 13, to complete the hanging of the exhibit. The project must be completed by 7 p.m. TODAY!

The stringing is done, and now the pre-strung lines of the remaining panels need to be hung in the installation. Volunteers are needed to get up on ladders to hang the remaining panels. Can you help? Can your son/daughter/friend/neighbor/classmate/fraternity brother/sorority sister?

Volunteers should meet at the Rozsa lobby or look for the crew out among the flapping panels to the west of the Walker building.

Story Line panels have been made by thousands of Upper Peninsula residents and visitors and their family members. These panels tell the story of ancestors who have
faced adversity. The panels have been strung onto wire for installation as clothesline-like Story lines. To honor the efforts of the thousands of folks who have made a total of more than 7,000 panels, just one more day’s worth of work is needed to get them all on display.

If you are available Wednesday at any time before 7 p.m., for 15 minutes or more, please do come. Someone will be there to put you to work.

Community art is about the community. Grab two friends and come on over to the Storyline to be a part of it.

Tickets to Rockland are available for Friday’s 7:30 p.m. premier and Sunday’s 3 p.m. matinee. You may purchase tickets at the SDC box office at Michigan Tech or over the web (fee applies for online purchase) See pmmf.org/tickets/.

Click here to read more about the Story Line project.

Click here to read about the opera Rockland.

Cultural events related to opera "Rockland" being held July 13, 14, 16

HANCOCK -- Several events related to the Pine Mountain Music Festival (PMMF) production of the opera Rockland are happening this week.

At 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13, PMMF will present a free symposium on commissioning new music -- with a panel composed of John and Pauline Kiltinen, Jukka Linkola, Esa Ruuttunen and Peter Van Pelt. This event will be held at Portage Lake United Church in Houghton. The Kiltinens, of Marquette, have been ardent supporters of Rockland from the beginning. Linkola is the Finnish composer of Rockland and numerous other musical works. Ruuttunen is a well-known baritone who will sing in Rockland. He is artistic director of the Jokilaakso Music Foundation in Finland which produced the Old World Premiere of the opera. Van Pelt is executive director of Pine Mountain Music Festival.

At 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, at the Jutila Center in Hancock, Larry Lankton, professor of history at Michigan Technological University and author of several books and articles on the area, will speak on "History and Conditions of the Mining Industry in the Copper Country in the Early 1900s." Lankton is well-known as a popular lecturer on historical topics. The event is free and open to the public.

At 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, Arnold Alanen, the 2009-2010 Finlandia Foundation National Lecturer of the Year and professor emeritus of landscape architecture at University of Wisconsin-Madison, will speak on "Finnish Impact on the Cultural Landscape in North America." His talk will be illustrated with numerous slides and will give special attention to Rockland. This free event will also be at the Jutila Center in Hancock.

Besides these free events, the Ameriikan Poijat (Boys of America), a brass septet from Minnesota, will present a 7 p.m. concert on July 14 at the Calumet Theatre, followed by dancing in the ballroom. Tickets for this event are $15 (or $10 for students and children). Andy Hill, resident of Wakefield and grandson of Alfred Laakso on whose first-hand account the opera Rockland is based, will be narrator for this concert.

Pine Mountain Music Festival will present the New World Premiere of the opera Rockland at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 15, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 17, at the Rozsa Center in Houghton. Tickets are still available.

Click here to read details on the Rockland performance.

Opera "Rockland" is for everyone

Pictured here, from left, are Leslie Hill, Esa Ruuttunen and Fia Hill Murray, in Nivala, Finland, for the Old World Premiere of Rockland last month. The Hill sisters are granddaughters of Alfred Laakso, who wrote the first-hand account of the 1906 events on which the opera is based. Esa Ruuttunen sings the role of Alfred Laakso in the opera. (Photo courtesy Pine Mountain Music Festival)

HOUGHTON -- The new opera Rockland, a Pine Mountain Music Festival (PMMF) production, with a cast of nearly 50 and an orchestra of over 40, will have its New World premiere at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 15, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, July 17, at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Houghton.

Last month, the "Old World Premiere" of Rockland took place in Nivala, Finland. The audiences there felt connected to the opera because many had ancestors who had emigrated to Michigan around a century ago. The idea of the opera came from a first-hand account of the 1906 events written by a Finn in Rockland named Alfred Laakso, and his descendants will be on hand for a reception after the July 17 performance.

The opera is based on actual events in the town of Rockland, Ontonagon County, in 1906, when about 100 Finnish miners went on strike and two of them were shot and killed by sheriff’s deputies.

"There is so much in this opera that is both real and symbolic," said Peter Van Pelt, PMMF executive director. "The heart of the story is literally true, but in a broader sense the opera speaks of the entire history of the U.P. and its mining heritage and different ethnic stories. It’s powerful."

Tickets for the opera are selling well, Van Pelt reported, but there are still seats available.

"This opera is for everyone," Van Pelt noted. "Opera is another way of telling a story, like a book or a movie or a stage play, but with opera you get the thrill of hearing great music and well-trained opera voices -- and that is something that everyone can appreciate."

After one recent rehearsal, a PMMF staff person said, "I knew the principal singers would be well prepared, but I was unexpectedly blown away by the quality of the chorus -- what glorious sound!"

The chorus is composed of local singers plus a number of undergraduates from Concordia College and the University of Michigan.

Tickets for Rockland are available from the Rozsa Center box office, 877-746-3999, or at the door if space permits. The box office is currently operating out of the Student Development Complex at the top of MacInnes Drive in Houghton.

Click here to purchase tickets on line.

Pine Mountain Music Festival presents a season of opera and classical music each June-July in the Dickinson County area, the Marquette area, the Keweenaw Peninsula, and other towns in the Upper Peninsula. Visit www.pmmf.org or call 888-309-7861 for more information.

Editor's Note: Click here to read about artist Mary Wright's "Story Line" project -- more than 7,000 cloth panels telling stories of ancestors -- now displayed in and around the Rozsa Center in conjunction with the opera Rockland.

Portage Library to host webinar, wellness, entertainment July 13-15

HOUGHTON -- The Portage Lake District Library is offering several programs for the public from Wednesday through Friday, July 13-15, this week: a webinar that will explain how to use its two remarkable databases, Mango and Universal Class; "Cirque Da UP" unicycling jugglers; a Wellness series program on Meridian Stress Tapping; and "Music on the Menu" with Jan Arnold.

July 13: Webinar on Mango and Universal Class

Shawn Leche, the library Director, will present the webinar on the library's Mango and Universal Class databases from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13.

Mango is an online language learning system that teaches practical conversation skills for real communication. Each lesson combines real life situations and audio from native speakers with simple, clear instructions. The courses are presented with an appreciation for cultural nuance and real-world application that integrates components of vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar and culture. It includes over 30 languages and 10 courses which teach English as a second language. Patrons can choose a level of instruction from basic to complete courses that are more in-depth. The database features a fluency button to click on to hear a word pronounced at normal speaking speed.

Universal Class offers over 500 online continuing education courses taught by real instructors with remote, 24/7 access so people can study at their convenience on their own schedule. Patrons can enroll in up to five courses at a time and have six months to finish each course. A complete list of classes is posted on the library’s website.

Mango and Universal Class are available free of charge to all Portage Lake District Library patrons.

This webinar is free and open to all. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Unicycling Jugglers to perform July 13

The Portage Lake District Library will host the area’s increasingly more famous and dearly loved unicycling jugglers for a performance at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13. The performance will be held outside the library.

"Cirque Da UP" features athlete-artists who give people a unique style of entertainment featuring a combination of world-class juggling, unicycling, and acrobatics.

MTU alumni Bob and Trish Evans will debut an interactive street show they have created for an international busking (street performance) competition. They will demonstrate joggling, which is running while juggling, and talk about their Guinness World Record attempts at the world joggling championships in Rochester, Minn.

Jason Cattelino, Houghton High School graduate and incoming freshman at Michigan Tech, will add his incredible juggling and unicycling skills to the show. Calumet High School student Maxx Fredrickson will demonstrate his juggling and unicycling prowess.

Everyone is invited to watch as they perform their amazing and gravity-defying feats. After the show, they will help people learn how to juggle and perform other circus skills.

This event is free and open to all. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

July 14: Natural Health and Wellness series continues

The Portage Lake District Library will host its monthly program in the Natural Health and Wellness series from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 14.

Patty Markham Peterson will present "A Medical Intuitive Perspective on Health and an Introduction to EFT/Emotional Freedom Technique." EFT, or Meridian Stress Tapping, is a proven method of tapping on acupuncture meridians to work with the mind-body connection for stress release, anxiety issues, pain, cravings, and addictions.

Peterson is currently a counseling medical intuitive and life coach. Over the last 30 years, she has trained in a variety of traditional medical settings as an RN and in many holistic modalities. During deep grief, she discovered increased intuitive abilities and hands on healing that she now uses along with her other skills to assist others. You may find more information about her practice at www.yourexpandingheart.com.

July 15: "Music on the Menu" with Jan Arnold

The Portage Lake District Library invites everyone to bring a lunch and enjoy "Music on the Menu," an outdoor series of events held on the dock outside the library.

Jan Arnold will perform from noon - 1 p.m. on Friday, July 15. Her easy listening style includes country, folk, rock, and music going back as early as the 30s.

Everyone is invited to eat, relax, and enjoy the lunch hour while listening to some great music. In the event of bad weather, the program will be held in the community room. This free event is part of the library’s Summer Reading Program.

Library programs are free and open to all. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Folk Music Camp to host free Finnish music concerts July 12, 13, 14

HANCOCK -- In conjunction with the Copper Country’s first-ever Finnish Folk Music Camp, three free traditional Finnish music concerts will take place Tuesday, July 12; Wednesday, July 13, and Thursday, July 14.

The Music Camp and the concerts will take place at Camp Lahti on Lake Superior’s Rabbit Bay, near Lake Linden. They are sponsored by Finlandia University and the university’s Finnish Council in America.

Tuesday, July 12, at 6:30 p.m., a collage of traditional musicians will perform, all of them especially well-known to those in the Copper Country and the northern Midwest. The musicians, all teaching classes at the Music Camp, are Oren Tikkanen, Tanya Stanaway, Randy Seppälä, Arne Salli, Kay Seppälä, White Water (Bette and Dean Premo and family), Carl Rahkonen, Red Tail Ring (Michael Beauchamp and Laurel Premo), and Kaivama (Sara Pajunen and Jonathan Rundman).

On Wednesday, July 13, at 6:30 p.m., the Finnish-American brass septet Ameriikan Poijat will share old-time and contemporary Finnish brass band music. Their repertoire includes waltzes, schottisches, polkas, mazurkas, polonaises, and other social dances, as well as the distinctly Finnish dances the jenkka, humppa, and the Finnish version of "tango."

On Thursday, July 14, at 7:30 p.m., under the leadership of master Finnish folk musician Arto Järvelä, the Music Camp faculty and their student ensembles will play a stunning array of instruments and traditional Finnish music.

Each of the three concerts is free and open to the public. Call 906-487-7505 or click here for additional information and directions to Camp Lahti.

Joan Chadde wins 2011 Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award

HANCOCK -- If you or your kids have recently attended a family science night, pulled an old tire out of a river as part of an "Adopt-a-Stream" program, watched a "green film," or otherwise gotten involved in some hands-on environmental project, chances are the activity was part of the hard work of this year’s recipient of the Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award, Joan Chadde.

During the July 4th celebration at Churning Rapids, Terry Kinzel, right, prepares to present the 2011 Heart and Hands Award to Joan Chadde, left foreground, education program coordinator for the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach and for the Western UP Center for Science, Math and Environmental Education at Michigan Tech. Just behind Chadde is Suzanne Van Dam, Heart and Hands Board member, who announced the award. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)

Chadde has been the education program coordinator for the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at Michigan Tech since 1995 and for the Western UP Center for Science, Math and Environmental Education since 2000. She received the award for "going above and beyond her work expectations, tirelessly working to promote environmental education and stewardship in the Keweenaw community." The award selection committee was particularly struck by Chadde’s capacity to affect the future both by working with young people directly and by training the teachers who interact with them.

As one teacher put it, "There would not be any consistent environmental education for students or professional training for teachers to help integrate environmental education into the curriculum if it weren’t for the programs that Joan creates, seeks funding for, and implements."

Chadde was quick to attribute her success to others, saying, "There are very few things that one does alone. All of these activities require collaborators, partners, many assistants behind the scenes, and those who help to pave the way. I feel very humble and appreciative of all of these people over the years. The award means a lot to me, but it also makes me feel undeserving, as there are so many people who do so much for our community in so many ways, some that are not fully visible for us all to see."

In addition to Chadde's designing and implementing numerous K-12 science programs and over sixty teacher professional development workshops and summer institutes, these are a few of her many accomplishments:

• Compiling the Walking Paths and Protected Areas of the Keweenaw publication (2009) which took three and a half years to develop and describes 22 sanctuaries and preserves.

• Co-leading (with Shawn Oppliger and Lloyd Wescoat) the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI) which connects schools and communities in the stewardship of Lake Superior.

Joan Chadde, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI) co-stewardship project advisor and community organization coordinator, is pictured here with the LSSI photo display at the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition's "Celebrate the UP" event in Hancock March 19, 2011. Chadde has selected LSSI to be the recipient of her $1000 award.

• Engaging the community in exploring environmental sustainability in a very successful Green Film Festival.
  

• Annually conducting family science and forest nights in 20 schools in a 5-county area of the U.P.

Founded in 1998, The Heart and Hands Society gives the award annually to acknowledge Copper Country residents who have "given of their heart and hands in the service of peace, justice, or the environment." The winner of the award is honored at the 4th of July celebration at Churning Rapids (Hancock), and receives a monetary award of $1,000 which is to be donated to the local charity of his/her choice. Chadde selected the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, as it involves both of her passions -- stewardship of an important ecosystem and environmental education for youth.

Also nominated this year were Dave Harmon and Lynnette Borree. Harmon has contributed significantly to many organizations, such as FOLK (Friends of the Land of Keweenaw), UPEC (Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition), and Suzuki. Described as a quiet "family man," Harmon has done everything from writing a grant for the waste-oil collection site located at Houghton’s transfer station in the 80s, to building a passive solar home, to forming a recreation committee to work with the Stanton Township Board.

Joan Chadde accepts the 2011 Heart and Hands of the Keweenaw Award from Terry Kinzel. Dave Harmon, right, was also nominated for the award. Not pictured is Lynnette Borree, the third nominee for this year's award.

Lynnette Borree was nominated for her important work in starting a non-profit organization called Simple Kindness for Youth (SKY). She continues to lead the group, whose mission is "to help young people build and maintain their self-esteem by providing means to access basic needs, enable them to feel accepted with their peers, and enable access to educational activities and community participation." Borree’s work was acknowledged as "behind the scenes but crucial, helping teachers and human service staff meet the very real needs of kids in our community."

To obtain more information or to nominate a deserving person for next year’s Heart and Hands Award, contact Terry Kinzel at tkinzel@pasty.net.

Editor's Note: Learn more about the Heart and Hands Award by checking out the Heart and Hands Society Web site.