Ore Dock worker, Marquette Upper Harbor ore dock
Where's the St. Patty's Day snowstorm? Looks like we get a break this year! There's always April 1. Wow, we've had some beeautiful days these past few, with another day of thawing forecast today, YES. You shoulda heard the snowsleds on the trails last Saturday. That can only mean one thing this year, that there isn't much snow left anywhere else. Guess better late than never for all the biz's that depend on the season.
We should have been a couple days into the Great Lakes shipping season today, but this year the freighters don't return until the last day in March, mostly due to the economy. We'll probably need the breaker this year. The lake is losing ice fast, but our bay is still ice packed to the horizon,(equiv to 8 miles?) we'll probably be the last to thaw from the looks of the satellite image.
On kinda the same train of thought as the previous post, I found an image from the ore docks and shipping season. It's a pic of what I call, "the doorkickers". If you know the appropriate title of the jobs these guys did, drop me a line. When going to the docks to watch the freighters load, this was my favorite thing to watch, how those guys would actually kick a lever that would open the chute and send the ore down the chute into the freighter. The last of the door kickers at Marquette Upper Harbor Ore dock was the end of the shipping season '07 I believe. From there, all the chutes were automated. End of an era, for sure.
Marquette is one of those cities that, you really can't miss it when the freighters are in. With two ore docks on both ends of town, the history of Great Lakes shipping is frequently in the subconsious.
Mesabi Miner backing into Upper Harbor, Marquette MI One of my images that people in these parts relate to the most is the long gone trestle that would welcome drivers on Front Street. Little by little, time relegates these once unique hallmarks to memories and history.
Marquette memories, Front Street Trestle, "Welcome to Marquette, home of NMU!"
No comments:
Post a Comment
we'd love to hear from you :)