Too Cold for Ice Cream

We recently visited the Soo on a rare winter time trip. It is sad to see our favorite spots closed up for the winter. You can see that no one will be enjoying a blizzard at the Dairy Queen. I saw a sign at Dairy Queen once that said, "Blizzard courtesy of Mother Nature until spring." That is what is happening in the Soo now too.

Merry Christmas to all my readers. I hope you enjoy a blessed holiday season.

Chippewa County Fair

If you are anywhere near Chippewa County for the Labor Day weekend, you will want to stop by the Chippewa County Fair which is held near Kinross. I'm going to use my post from last summer so you can see the fair pictures. There won't be any blue skies there today but maybe tomorrow.

We went to the fair this morning to watch our friends, the Bell Family, show their draft horses. We ended up spending the whole day.
The Chippewa County Fair at Kinross, Michigan is open through Labor Day. It was a wonderful time. The fair has lots of attractions but is small enough that you can see the entire place in one day. We saw lots of old friends and even made some new ones. While standing in line for the Kinross Lions Club hamburger trailer, we met a nice couple from Cheboygan, Michigan. We saw them again while in the commercial exhibition building looking for ice cream -which we found by the way. The ice cream was sold by the Rudyard Christian School so gave me an excuse to eat ice cream-I was helping a fund raiser for a worthy local school.
The tractors are always a must to view for my husband and I enjoy the 4-H exhibits. When our children were young, I was their 4-H leader and after seeing the wonderful work by the 4-Hers today, I wished I could be a leader for our grandchildren.

July Days in the Soo

July has been busy here. With wonderful weather that includes warm days and cool nights, all the outdoor activities have been great.

Concert in the Park is held on Wednesday evenings in the Locks Park. We really enjoy the free concerts with a variety of music. Plus, while you are listening, you can observe boats locking through the Soo Locks. Last Wednesday night the Saline Fiddlers serenaded us while the John J. Boland locked upbound.




On our way home, we stopped by the Carbide Dock to get a close up look at a tall ship which had tied up there for the night on her way to the Tall Ships Festival in Duluth. The crew seemed very young and very anxious to head to town for the evening.

The long days of sunshine and the cool evenings have made for beautiful, colorful flower gardens around town. Flowers are more brilliant here than you will find downstate. My theory is that the increased sunshine contributes to that. The sun comes up about 20 minutes earlier and sets about 20 minutes later that at our home near Grand Rapids. This really affects the flowers. Also, the temperatures never get blistering hot either. Flowers and people both do better in these conditions!

River of History Museum

The River of History Museum moved to a new location last summer. Yesterday I was finally able to go and see the new digs.

It is very much improved and a treat to visit. We took our 11 year old granddaughter. She especially enjoyed the videos and the life-size models of early settlers.

Sault Ste. Marie has a long history starting with the first people who came here for the abundant white fish. The abundance of wild life also attracted the French and English to obtain furs for the markets in Europe.

In the early 1800's this area became part of the American frontier. In this period, industrialization reached the Soo.

All of these elements are represented in the River of History.





The River of History Museum moved to a new location last summer. Yesterday I was finally able to go and see the new digs.

It is very much improved and a treat to visit. We took our 11 year old granddaughter. She especially enjoyed the videos and the life-size models of early settlers.

Opening Day at Locks

Last Sunday the Soo Locks opened for the 2010 season. The opening came early this year because the shipping companies needed to get transporting goods and spring came early which allowed shipping to resume with minimal difficulty from ice.

A good group of devoted boat watchers arrived in the Soo Saturday evening and Sunday morning to witness this annual rite of spring. The Locks generally open at midnight but this year the official opening came at 7 am much to the delight and comfort of boatwatchers.

The first boat was the Lee A. Tregurtha. This boat has a wonderful story of its past including time in World War II where she saw battle time. When she returned from the Pacific theatre, she was refitted for life on the Great Lakes by lengthening and getting ready to carry peace time supplies.

The Edwin H. Gott was one of several other boats to take advantage of the early opening day as she came up the river later in the morning.

So boat watching is in season now and the Soo is a great place to get up really close and see the boats.

From Asia to Michigan

My parents attended a presentation at the Bayliss Library on Thursday night about the Karen immigration to Michigan. My mother said it was very interesting. The Karen people have suffered greatly and have moved from several regions. A group of them have settled in Sault Ste. Marie. You can read a short story from the Soo Evening News at From Asia to Michigan.

A more detailed article can be found at Karen refugees describe their lives in Burma.

I can't wait to read more of these people and I welcome them to the Soo.