Cook County News Herald

Down Memory Lane


10 YEARS AGO
JAN. 9, 2010

Work is scheduled to begin on the Pine River bridge on the Arrowhead Trail on Jan. 13. The bridge over the Pine River, which flows between McFarland and Little John lakes, was restricted to vehicle weights of five tons in September 2009 due to concerns about the aging bridge. In fact, a study done by a Bloomington engineering firm determined the bridge had only three or four years of life left.

A “Blue Moon Gala” brought in the new year at the North Shore Care Center on Dec. 31, 2009. The event included songs with moon lyrics, dancing and music by the Blue Moon Band, and lots of folks wearing blue.

20 YEARS AGO
JAN. 10, 2000

A long-standing agreement between the Grand Marais Rec Park and area churches came under scrutiny last week when the park board began discussion aimed at forging a long-term policy. Under the existing arrangement, the North Shore Recreation Ministry is given the use of a campground lot free of charge in exchange for providing ecumenical outreach and counseling to vacationers. The agreement has recently been questioned by some disgruntled residents and campers who wondered “why they (churches) don’t have to pay like everybody else.”

Twice last week searchers were called to the Gunflint Trail to locate skiers who didn’t return to their lodges on schedule. In both cases the skiers were indeed lost, but unharmed.

50 YEARS AGO
JAN. 8, 1970

The Happy Fisherman Steak House has been sold to Mr. and Mrs. Albert Voce of Duluth. The new owners will take over the business about May 1, and plan to operate it as it has been, with Mrs. Voce doing the cooking.

A 600-foot tow rope, meant to be used on the Sawtooth Mountain Ski Area, was stolen New Year’s Eve! Sheriff Emerson Morris says he has had no leads on where the rope went, nor can he understand why anyone would want to take the heavy rope. Two coils of rope were delivered to the lower road leading to the bottom of the ski area and left overnight near the Gunflint Trail. Next morning one of the coils, weighing about 160 pounds, had been taken. The larger coil was still there.

90 YEARS AGO
JAN. 9, 1930

Raymond Wahlstrom, son of Mr. and Mrs. P.O. Wahlstrom of this village, was quite seriously injured last Thursday evening when the sled upon which he was coasting collided with another. His injuries at first were not believed to be serious, but he kept getting worse steadily. He was brought to Duluth the next day for a thorough examination which revealed that he had suffered a broken rib and that a serious operation had to be performed immediately. The boy survived the procedure and is now getting along fine. It is the second such serious accident of the season.

A Lake Superior herring was caught by Hans Toftey last Tuesday morning which had a rubber band around its body. The band covered one gill but did not hamper the other one. At one place the flesh had been injured by the constant action of the band rubbing over it. It is Mr. Toftey’s opinion that someone placed the band on the fish either as a joke or as an experiment of some sort. It was caught at Red Cliff.

Do you have an old picture or a story from years gone by that you would like to share with the Cook County News-Herald readers? We’d love to hear your Historical Reflections Call (218) 387-9100; e-mail ccnh@boreal.org; or stop by our office at 15 First Avenue West.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.