Lakefront Property Mystery, Redmen Retired, Racial Covenants, the Brownstone Opens, History Nerds Rule, and Barrel and Beam Defies the Skeptics

The Latest from Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell

HARD TO BELIEVE, but there are still no plans—even preliminary plans—to develop that lakeshore property where the Shiras Steam Plant used to stand…"We’re keeping it clean and we’re using it as a staging area for some of our equipment,” says Tom Carpenter, the executive director of the Board of Light and Power, which owns the property. “We’ve heard a few suggestions for the property—like a dog park, maybe—but nothing definite.”

And no, it’s not going to be condos. Likely, it’ll be transformed into some sort of green space for public use, if someone ever comes up with a viable plan for it…“We don’t have a stance on it,” says Mayor Cody Mayer. “I don’t think it’s even come up for discussion yet.”…Strange, given that it’s a prominent lakefront parcel and it’s a ten minute walk from the center of downtown…

THE REDMEN AND the Redettes are now part of our history…The school board voted 4-3 earlier this week to terminate those mascot names for Marquette Senior High School before a crowd of 150 residents…Remarkably, only a few of the residents who spoke publicly at the meeting supported keeping the names…Their reasons: 1) the name isn’t a disparagement of Native Americans 2) It’s really about red coats 3) The entire controversy was generated by “wokeness” 4) The change wipes away the legacy of the Redmen and Redettes of yesteryear…

No, those memories are intact, they’re history…What’s really important about our high school years are the experiences we had, the relationships we formed. Not the name of our mascot.

Suggestion: Let the students at Marquette Senior High School choose the new mascot name and do the logo artwork…Make it a campaign that the entire student body can get excited about…Make it about them, not us.

SOMETHING ELSE THAT came up at the school board meeting—at least a couple of residential neighborhoods in Marquette used to have covenants prohibiting African-Americans from buying properties. Yikes.

FURTHER EVIDENCE OF our toxic polarization (from a University of North Carolina poll)…In 2016, 35% of Democrats said Republicans were more immoral than Democrats. Now, 63% say that…In 2016, 47% of Republicans said Democrats were more more immoral than Republicans. Now, that figure is 72%…So we don’t agree with each other, and we also think that folks in the other party are bad people…Not good for a democratic society.

“WE WILL BREAK ground next Spring,” says 906 Adventure Team executive director Todd Poquette…This comes after the program, which gets kids off their phones and onto mountain bikes, received a $150,000 grant from the Great Lakes Sports Commission…The grant money will go toward building a track at the Adventure Team’s new location on Lakeshore Boulevard. Total cost will be about $350,000. Poquette’s now looking for corporate help—and individual donations—to fully fund the project…A pavilion and storage building will be built as part of a future phase of the project.

By the way, the Adventure Team—which originated in Marquette—has now spread to 10 communities in Michigan and Wisconsin. 800 kids, 400 adult volunteers…And five more communities are asking to join up.

WELL, THAT DIDN’T take long…(pause for laugh)…The Brownstone Inn, after a prolonged battle with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, reopened Thursday…”It’s restaurant time,” says an enthusiastic and relieved co-owner Tom Dolaskie, whose company bought the Brownstone last fall with hopes of opening last winter. “We’re now ready to go.”…EGLE had a problem with the Brownstone’s well water as well as its backup plan of hauling in bottled water…It’s been resolved and finally, a northern UP institution is back in business.

DO WE LOVE history here in Marquette? Sure seems that we do…Jim Koski, the radio and TV personality who leads the summertime history walks for the Marquette Regional History Center, was shocked last week when he glanced back at the crowd that was following him on his latest walk. It was two blocks long…"I felt like the pied piper of Marquette!” he tells us…In the past, he’s described himself as a nerd; seems like there are a lot more nerds out there…This was the last of the scheduled history walks this summer, though Koski says there might be a pop-up walk or two in the next few months.

YEAH , WE GRUMBLE about the occasional un-summerlike weather here. Then we read about three straight weeks with temperatures over 110 degrees in Phoenix, and 92 degree water off of Florida, floods in Vermont, tornados in North Carolina, and 25 million acres burned in Canada…Suddenly, a cloudy, drizzly 62 degree day doesn’t sound so bad.

KINDA SURPRISING—THREE major beer festivals in Colorado and Oregon are being cancelled this year…Changing tastes apparently, less interest…No problem here, though. The UP Beer Festival, which has been remarkably popular, is still on for Saturday, September 9th, at the Lower Harbor…$50 bucks for tickets in advance.

WHEN ENTREPRENEURS Nick VanCourt and Marina Dupler opened up the cool and rustic Barrel and Beam Brewery five years ago, there were skeptics among us…They had bought a big property (the old Northwoods Supper Club) far away from downtown Marquette…They were a skeleton crew…And they’d be selling something new…Was this young, starry-eyed couple possibly getting in over their heads?…The skeptics were wrong. “It’s going great,” VanCourt says confidently. “We’ve really grown.”

It’s true. Not only are they serving and distributing their distinctive farmhouse and barrel-aged beer, they’ve got mead, cider, kombucha, and Michigan wine…and a kitchen serving food, including Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwiches, which, we’re told, go well with the beer…They’re open five days a week, they’re a popular spot for events, they offer catering, they’ve hired a sales and distribution manager.

Not a fly-by night operation, by any means. And not a bad place to spend a summer’s afternoon or evening, inside or out, while cradling your favorite beverage and a Banh Mi sandwich…

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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