Following the sale of a lot in the business park, there was a ribbon-cutting celebration for Nesgoda Services at Cedar Grove Business Park on Wednesday, August 15. Pictured holding chainsaws are business partners Gary Nesgoda (left) and Nick Hingos. Gary and Nick are contractors that perform Firewise-related work in the county. To start with they will clear a roadway and build a storage shed for their equipment on the lot they just purchased from the Cook County/Grand Marais EDA. Joining the celebration was the family of Nick and Gary, their hard working crew, and representatives from the EDA. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
The fishing tug Neegee has just gotten a fresh coat of paint, thanks to a family reunion project.
In the late 1890s two brothers arrived on the North Shore from Larsmo, Finland. Known as “Swede- Finns” they were part of a larger group that had created Larsmo. Victor Samskar was a sea captain on what was locally known as the “mosquito” fleet, a series of smaller 40- to 60-foot boats, which collected fish and passengers along the North Shore and Isle Royale. The other, John Samskar, became a commercial fisherman. John’s son, Raney, owned a fishing tug similar to the Neegee in the 1950s and also fished out of the harbor in Grand Marais.
Their granddaughters, Debbie Samskar DiNieli, Pat Zankman, and Nancy Lind Nosker, along with some 15 other “grands” from Cook County, Alaska, Washington, North Carolina and Wisconsin gathered to work on a project meaningful to the reunion. What might have been a task in other hands became a delightful way to work together, acquaint and re-acquaint far-flung family members.
Now owned by the Cook County Historical Society, the Neegee at one time was a commercial fishing tug that plied the waters of Lake Superior in search of herring and lake trout. Today the craft is on display in the Grand Marais recreation park on the waterfront. Grandchildren and relatives of local fishermen who operated and owned a fishing tug similar to the Neegee recently painted it as part of a family reunion. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
In preparation Cook County Historical Society volunteers spent hours scraping existing paint. Patty Eckel Nelson, whose dad Dick had once owned the Neegee worked along side, and was a big part of the planning. Audrey and Isabell, children of Mindy Silence, pictured here, represent the sixth generation. Needless to say the Historical Society welcomes projects from other family reunions. An idea heartily endorsed by our family experience.
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