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.

Winter Day in the Soo

The latest report from the Soo states that there is lots of snow. That's from my mother and father. My father is working hard to keep the driveway cleared and the Christmas decorations uncovered from the heavy snow.

I found an interesting picture of the Soo in the winter on-line today and you might find it interesting. The Soo in Winter. Enjoy

Sault Tribal Chairman Heading to Washington

Sault Tribal Chairman, Joe McCoy, has been invited to the White House by President Obama. He will be attending a Tribal Nations Conference today. There are 564 Federally recognized tribes in our country and the Sault tribe is the largest tribe east of the Mississippi River.

That is amazing to think our Sault Tribe is that large and now the Chairman is bringing the concerns of the Tribe, which seem to be mainly financial, to the attention of the President.

The Tribe is one of the largest private employers in the area as well with over 1700 employees. I'd like to read more about the effect of the Tribe and its operations on the economy of the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Salmon Fishing that Rivals Alaska

I read an article on-line this morning detailing the glory of salmon fishing in the St. Marys River. Pink-chinook salmon says that salmon fishing near the Sault rivals fishing in Alaska.

Here is a description of river fishing from a guide. Even describing a new hybrid species called the pinooks.

Happy fishing to all of you. I'd love to hear your best 'fish story'.

"When pinks first showed up 30 here years ago, they ran every other year, like they do out west," said John Giuliani, a St. Marys River guide. "Now they run every year. One year there are huge numbers of them. The next there aren't as many, but they're bigger. This is a year for the smaller run, but they're just pouring in right now, and we're seeing a lot that go 4 to 6 pounds."

In the past week, anglers also have caught several fish that look like pink salmon but weighed 8 to 12 pounds. Fish that size almost certainly are pinooks, the hybrid that looks like a pink on steroids.

"They're amazing," Giuliani said. "They get their size from the chinook side, but they look just like a pink. We're really doing well on them on flies right now, mostly caddis larvae, and there's hardly anybody on the river. We're out here today and there are, what, two other anglers?"