10 Years Ago • March 26, 2001
A rapid response by local firefighters and police limited the damage caused by a fire at the North House Folk School that began about 4:10 p.m. on March 19. Staff noticed smoke seeping out of the roof at the base of the chimney and noticed the inside of the Red Building was filled with black smoke. No one was inside the building at the time.
The Grand Marais Lions Club donated $750 on March 21 to Cook County Community Education for summer kids programs. The money will be used to provide more diverse programs and activities for local youth.
A crowd of passionate county residents let the school board and administration know how much they valued the Birch Grove School, how desperately they wanted to keep all three teachers on staff and just how hard the community would work to accomplish that during a March 19 board meeting. The impetus of this was the proposed termination of two of the three Birch Grove teachers; the cuts are part of the district plan to get out of Statutory Operating Debt.
20 Years Ago • March 25, 1991
Each year a group of neighbors gathers at Dorothy Powell’s Resort on Saganaga Lake to harvest ice and fill the ice house. It takes about 700 cakes of ice, each a little over a foot square, to carry them through the summer. There were about 30 people helping at this year’s event last week.
Gunflint Ranger District’s Tom Peterson has issued a decision to issue a special use permit for a commercial outfitting business at Top of the Trail. Top of the Trail is a government-owned facility on Saganaga Lake, 60 miles northwest of Grand Marais. The facilities are presently under permit but that permit expires this year. Other alternatives considered included issue a nonprofit special use permit; remove the buildings; administrative use of facilities; and no action.
The Grand Portage Reservation Business Committee is nearing its goal of an April 15 start-up date for their new mill at Red Rock. At present, a skeleton crew is working, getting the job site ready for a mobile home that will serve as a temporary office.
50 Years Ago • March 23, 1961
A maple syrup gathering venture has been started at Hovland. Frank LaRue and William Deater have purchased an outfit in use there last spring and plan to produce 500 gallons of maple syrup this spring if weather conditions cooperate. The company product name will be known as the Hovland Sugar Bush.
An unusual fire flare-up that might have been serious was extinguished Tuesday night before it gained headway in the downtown Grand Marais district. It is believed that spontaneous combustion may have been responsible for a fire that was discovered burning in a metal refuse basket on the roof of Humphrey’s clothing store. A mop hung over the handles of a wheelbarrow by workmen who were re-roofing the building is believed to have caught fire. The mop was hung so it would drip into the metal basket.
There were six Canadian skin divers at Nels Norman’s shoreline last Sunday afternoon. They came from Fort William, and finding the bay at Hovland filled with too much slush ice, they went on to Norman’s place and spent about an hour there. They dove about 60 feet into the water but didn’t find anything but rocks.
90 Years Ago • March 24, 1921
An auction of the gasoline boat confiscated by federal officers a short time ago was held at the post office on Tuesday. S.C. Murphy was the successful bidder, $275 being the highest bid.
John W. Kelly of Colvill was a caller in town Tuesday for the first time since July. Mr. Kelly is over 80 years old and worked every day this winter, cutting 240 cords of pulpwood by himself.
Chris Peterson of Lutsen motored to town Saturday. He left his auto here to be repainted. V.N. Johnson is to do the work.
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