The art of storytelling is alive and well in Cook County. On March 9, 2013, the Arrowhead Center for the Arts was packed with people eager to hear these speakers: (L-R) Victor Aubid, Alta McQuatters, Sue Kerfoot, J. Milt Powell, Chet Lindskog, Tim Cochrane, Gene Erickson, Carrie McHugh, and Billy Blackwell.
The art of storytelling is alive and well in Cook County. On March 9, 2013, the Arrowhead Center for the Arts was packed with people eager to hear eight people share “stories you’ve never heard—and good ones to hear again!”—true stories—about Cook County’s history over the last billion or so years. It was an event coordinated by Billy Blackwell, whose Anishinaabe roots go deep into the area’s history, and Cook County Historical Society Museum Director Carrie McHugh.
There were many memorable moments, but one was the story of a little boy who found a very old spear point on the shore of the East Bay in Grand Marais a couple of years ago on his third birthday. Cook County Historical Society Museum Director Carrie McHugh said experts have varying opinions on its age, ranging from as few as 1,300 to as many as 9,000 years old. The spear point is made of a stone called Hudson Bay Lowland Chert.
The little boy’s family donated it to the Cook County Historical Society and it is on display in the museum’s recent acquisitions display.
On his third birthday a couple of years ago, a little boy found this spear point on the shore of the east bay in Grand Marais. Cook County Historical Society Museum Director Carrie McHugh said experts have varying opinions on its age, ranging from as few as 1,300 to as many as 9,000 years old.
The U.S. Forest Service has loaned the Historical Society a large collection of points that will be on display this summer.
At the storytelling event, Grand Portage National Monument Superintendent Tim Cochrane showed a slide from the collection of Rick Anderson, who has a spear point dated at 10,500-11,000 years old. This was a tough environment back then, Cochrane said, right after the glaciers moved through.
Watch the Cook County News-Herald’s Historical Reflections in upcoming issues for more about the storytelling event.
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