Happy (Second) Big Lake Thanksgiving
If you're a big lover of Thanksgiving, living around Lake Superior gives you the excuse to double your opportunities for that great meal every year.
Today we celebrate the U.S. Thanksgiving, but just a little more than a month ago residents of our Ontario shore celebrated the Canadian Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October.
Our own Recipe Box writer, Beth Dooley, offered up a recipe for a Canadian Tourtière (in photo) in the magazine awhile back. You can get the recipe, and read about the two Thanksgivings here.
Both countries, by the by, embrace Black Friday sales this week and Cyber Monday sales. Don't forget Small Business Saturday in your town either.
In the United States, the national Native American Heritage Day is Friday. Watch on your shore for local opportunities to celebrate this culture of the region.
Happy holidays!
Wrapping Up the Buoys, Prepping for Winter
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Spar posted a couple of fun videos this week – one exiting under the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge and another on choppy Lake Superior.
The cutter has been collecting NOAA buoys off the Lake before the season turns too stormy.
Meanwhile … U.S. Coast Guard Station Marquette's pups – Loki and Thor – made the news on ABC 10 UP. Both have "petty officer 2nd class" status, Cheyenne Basurto, a firefighter at the station, teases. Apparently, Thor is the mischief maker of the two. (One might think it would be Loki.) See the full story here.
A 70-Year Mystery, Still Unsolved
On this date – Nov. 23 – in 1953, the radar tower at the Calumet Air Force Station in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula observed what was believed to be a Canadian aircraft on its way to Sudbury, Ont., but some 30 miles off course.
Given that discrepancy in trajectory, the aircraft was reported as "unknown," and an F-89C Scorpion, nicknamed Avenger Red, took off from the Kinross Air Force Base with 1st Lt. Felix E. Moncla Jr. and 2nd Lt. Robert L. Wilson to intercept it.
Visit Keweenaw takes up the story: "Nearly 30 minutes into the flight, Calumet
directed Avenger Red to descend for interception. The target was said to be 10 miles out at Avenger Red’s 11 o’clock position. This was the last order that received a response. Three minutes later, Avenger Red approached the intercept target’s radar blip. The two aircraft appeared to converge on the control screen at Calumet, then Avenger Red disappeared from the radar."
Two more F-89Cs would be sent out from Kinross – Avenger Black and Avenger Purple – to search. After 40 minutes, one of the pilots and a radio operator allegedly heard a short transmission in the Felix Moncla's voice. It was the last contact from that crew and the jet was never found.
The rest, as they say, is history, or more precisely is mystery. Alien abduction? Miscalculation and a watery descent? A hoax? Many theories have been suggested.
Open Skies Project, a group of Michigan Technological University alumni who now own and are restoring the former base property for visitation, have performed intensive research on the topic in anticipation of this year's 70th anniversary. The group offers insight and questions on its Kinross Incident blog here.
Darryn King did a story on the mystery for the The History Channel in 2020, which is updated online here.
Perhaps 2024 is the year this mystery will be resolved …
Make Plans: Here are a few events coming up soon to put on a fun-do list:
Michigan
Friday & Saturday, Nov. 24 & 25: The annual Parker ACE Hardware Parade of Lights starts at 7 p.m. in downtown Sault Ste. Marie on Ashmun Street and Ann Street. The parade will travel north on Ashmun to Portage Avenue, where it will turn right to City Hall. The even wraps up with the annual Christmas tree lighting and special guests Mr. and Mrs. Claus in front of City Hall. Then on Saturday, check out this list of participating businesses and deals for Small Business Saturday.
Friday, Nov. 24: The annual Christmas Walk: Miracle on Quincy Street in Hancock runs 6-8 p.m. with a Christmas Parade (6 p.m.), dog sled rides, hay rides, Christmas cookie decorating, hot chocolate stands, crafts stations, live music and Santa Clause to light the city of Hancock’s Christmas Tree at 6:10 p.m. The Hancock Police Department encourages folks to help them "Cram the Cruiser" with new, unwrapped toys at City Hall to support Toys for Tots.
Saturday, Nov. 25: The lobby of the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Houghton becomes a bountiful holiday gift shop, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., for the 25th annual Home for the Holidays Gift Market. You'll find high-quality, hand-crafted items to decorate your home, stuff stockings or gift to loved ones. It's also a juried show.
Minnesota
Friday, Nov. 24: Walkers, jugglers, winter bikes, four-legged furry animals, decorated vehicles and trailers are ALL welcomed – and encouraged – for Grand Marais' Oh Ole Night Parade, starting at 5:30 p.m. The parade starts at the Senior Center parking lot on South Broadway and will make two loops along Broadway, up Wisconsin Street, turning at First Avenue and back around to Broadway. On the second loop, it ends up at Harbor Park for the Tree Lighting ceremony.
Friday, Nov. 24: Glensheen in Duluth launches its Candlelight Christmas tours on Friday. The mansion is open during the day, too, for tours, self-guided or guided, and the halls are well decked out.
Friday, Nov. 24: Drop in at the Surfside ballroom of the Bluefin Bay on Lake Superior in Tofte for the Holiday Art Sale, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 24: North Shore Winery in Lutsen becomes the North Pole Winery for a day, showcasing its annual Holiday Market with holiday decorations, art, wreaths, garlands, maple syrup, wine gift baskets, and warm winter beverages, all by North Shore artists and makers.
Saturday, Nov. 25: The American Indian Community Housing Organization (AICHO) hosts the Biboon Bimaadizimin (Winter Good Life) market from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Dr. Robert Powless Cultural Center. It's a great Small Business Saturday event with Indigenous, BIPOC and local small business vendors, artists/authors and food producers. In addition to the vendors, lacrosse will be taught and played in the AICHO gym from noon-2 p.m. All are welcome.
Wisconsin
Saturday, Nov. 25: Grab the family and head to the waterfront in Bayfield for the Christmas tree lighting at the Bayfield Lakeside Pavilion. Inside there will be music, cookies and holiday spirits. Doors open at 5 p.m. and lighting is at 5:30 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, Nov. 24-25: Lots to do in Hayward this week, including Small Business Saturday specials, of course. On Friday is Christmas in Hayward Open House when merchants stay open until 6 p.m. Friday also launches the Holiday Tour with "holiday lights on" at local businesses all the way through the end of December. Find a full list of holiday events online.
Next Thursday, Nov. 30: Peter Annin celebrates his newest book, Purified: How Recycled Sewage is Transforming Our Water at the Sandbar in Ashland. The evening event starts at 5:30 p.m. with hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar and author remarks at 6 p.m., followed by a book signing and social. Hosted by the Apostle Islands Booksellers and the Northland College's Mary Griggs Burke Center for Freshwater Innovation, where Peter is director. "Not only is water recycling safe and reliable, but it is a much more sustainable alternative than shipping water from the Mississippi River to the Southwest," according to the book promoters. "It’s time to get over the 'yuck factor.'"
Ontario
Friday, Nov. 24: The Ho-Ho-Ho-Homemade Holiday Market at the Victoriaville Mall in Thunder Bay, 2-6 p.m. Expect great local gifts, shop-stamp-win opportunities at participating businesses, horse and carriage rides from Abbott's Dreams, food donations, a parkette light festival and tree lighting, plus sing-alongs and Christmas characters.
Friday-Sunday, Nov. 24-26: The 4th annual Sault Film Festival features workshops, networking and showings of feature-length and short films by Northern Ontario filmmakers. Event centres at The Grand Theatre.
Tuesday, Nov. 28: Thunder Bay Museum hosts a free presentation, A Tale of Two Qallunaat by filmmaker Kelly Saxberg about her newest 1-hour documentary showing the legacy of two women artists who traveled to the Arctic in the early 1970s and what happens when elders and youth in today’s Pond Inlet and Iqaluit encounter that unique record of the past.
Wednesday, Nov. 29: Soo Blaster hosts Randy’s Cheeseburger Picnic Comedy Tour, based on the character from the hit program, Trailer Park Boys. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.
Steamy Opportunity: The 3rd annual U.S. National Sauna Week will be Feb. 18-24, 2024, and the Finlandia Foundation is seeking entries for its inaugural National Sauna Week Poster Contest. The poster art will promote the authentic Finnish heat-and-steam bathing method that is beloved by generations of Finnish-Americans. The competition is open to those 18 and older who reside in the United States and entry deadline is Dec. 1. The winner will receive $200 and a copy of the poster. See details online.
Photo & graphic credits: Lake Superior Magazine archive; U.S. Coast Guard cutter Spar; Open Skies Project; Michigan Tech Archives; Sault Ste. Marie Parade of Lights/Glensheen/Bayfield Chamber of Commerce/Sault Film Festival