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City
Notes
by MM Staff
U.P. Books
Entries are being accepted for the third annual Upper Peninsula Publishers
and Authors Association Book Directory. Book authors and publishers
residing in the Upper Peninsula and bordering communities are invited
to be a part of the directory, which currently features pictures, descriptions
and ordering information for more than 100 books. The directory will
be distributed to booksellers, libraries and organizations.
A three-dollar-per-entry fee is charged to help pay for
printing costs and membership in the group is required. The purpose
of the UPPAA is to support and encourage networking and idea exchange
among U.P. publishers and authors, and to promote books published and
authored by members. Membership is open to anyone interested in publishing,
including related and associated businesses. Membership dues are $20
per year.
To be included in the directory, or to receive one, contact
Sue Robishaw, Rt. 1, Box 52, Cooks, MI 49817, (906) 644-2598, sue@manytracks.com,
or www. manytracks.com The deadline for entries is January 30th.
Two percent to go
The Peter White Public Library Capital Campaign is at ninety-eight
percent of its goal of raising $4.5 million for the expansion and renovation
of the library. With $100,000 donated in December 1999 alone, just $250,000
remains to be raised. If it is raised by the end of this year, a $200,000
challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation will be received. When the
official Grand Opening Celebration is held on October 1st, won't it
feel good knowing you helped close the last gap?
Dog days
Even if you can't command a dog sled through woods and across rivers
in the middle of a U.P. night, you can be part of the UP 200. Volunteers
are needed to help with set up downtown or the Vet Check at the Holiday
Inn on the morning of Friday, February 18th; with crowd control, dog
handling and clean-up on Friday night; and with road crossings, timing
and clean-up on Sunday morning. Volunteers also can help at UP200 Headquarters
at the Holiday Inn during race week. Contact Mary Cassidy at 228-8738
or Jane Barnes at 225-5596.
So far, nineteen teams have registered for the UP 200, which
is a twelve-dog, 240-mile run through the central U.P., and twenty-two
have signed up for the Midnight Run, which takes riders and their six-dog
teams from Chatham to Escanaba.
The timing of the teams will be computerized with a new
system that lets people keep track of each musher's progress on the
Internet! Check out www.up200.org
Did you know that a total of 2,000 dogs have run in the
races since the inaugural run in 1990? That approximately 300 pounds
of dog food are carried in the sleds out of the starting chute? That
the youngest musher to ever run the UP 200 was fifteen-year-old Josh
Lindstrom of Marquette, and the youngest Midnight Runner was thirteen-year-old
David Balding of Marquette? Any idea at what temperature eyeballs are
in danger of being frost bitten? The answer: 0 to minus 10 degrees without
goggles.
The big race starts in downtown Marquette at 8:00 p.m. on
the 18th. The Finish Line Awards Ceremony will be held at 2:00 p.m.
on the 20th at Mattson Lower Harbor Park. Mush!
Art on the Rocks, already
Artist applications for Art on the Rocks 2000 are now available at
local galleries, Peter White Public Library, Marquette County Chamber
of Commerce or from Judy M. Johnson at 942-7865. Mark your calendars
for July 29th and 30th.
Bye, bye books
Say goodbye to your piles of old, neglected books and hello to helping
young women earn a college education by donating your books to the annual
Marquette Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW)
Used Book Sale.
Collection barrels are at MFC First National Bank University
Branch, National City Bank Third Street Branch and Marquette Community
Credit Union. Or for pick up call Bea Hughes at 225-0091 or Marilyn
Klahn at 228-8028. The sale, which always is full of great finds, will
be May 4th, 5th and 6th.
Party all night
The committee for the Marquette Senior High School "Project Graduation
2000" is planning this year's All Night Senior Party at the Superior
Dome. This event provides a safe, substance-free environment for young
adults to celebrate their graduation.
Since community support is necessary to make the party a
reality and success, the committee requests that people consider making
a donation. Checks made out to Project Graduation can be mailed to MAPS—Project
Graduation, 1201 W. Fair Avenue, Marquette.
Pasages North turns twenty
Passages North literary magazine is celebrating its twentieth birthday
this year with a new lease on life—and a special double issue and
national poetry competition.
Inauguration of a new Master of Fine Arts degree program
in Creative Writing, slated to open in the Department of English next
fall, will greatly enhance the magzine, which is published at Northern,
according to Editor Katie Hanson and MFA Director John Smolens. Passages
North will gain prestige and personnel for the demanding job of putting
together a high-quality, nonprofit magazine featuring short fiction,
poetry and essays. Students in the MFAprogram can learn about literary
criticism, editing and publishing in a hands-on setting.
"One of the essential components of a successful MFA
program is a literary magazine with a national reputation, and fortunately
Passages North at twenty years old already has that," said Smolens.
As it enters its third decade, Friends of Passages North
want the magazine to become as self-supporting as possible. They hope
to provide funds for literary awards, promotional activities and increased
production quality.
For information about subscriptions, manuscript submissions
or the Friends, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Passages
North, English De-partment, Northern Michigan Univers-ity, Marquette,
or call 227-1795.
Philanthropy 101
Students across Marquette County are learning a new word: Philanthropy,
and that it's a verb: an action word.
Three NMU students in the Student Leader Fellowship Program,
Melissa Fritz, Jim Daley and Josh Simondet, as part of their internships
with Kim Smith-Potts of United Way and Terri Gadzinski of the Marquette
Community Foundaton, are teaching elementary school students and youth
groups about community service through a program called The K-12 Education
in Philanthropy Project.
Developed by the Council of Michigan Foundations, this project
integrates established curriculum with themes of community involvement
and private action for the public good. A commitment to empowering young
people to take action in their own societies is what supports this project
and motivates its participants.
Do you drink your
fertilizer?
You might. Many of your everyday household activities can threaten
the source of your drinking water. Dam-aged or overused septic systems,
improper waste disposal or incorrect use of pesticides and fertilizers
could contaminate your groundwater. With a "Home*A*Syst" booklet,
provided free- of-charge by the Michigan Ground-water Stewardship Program,
homeowners can confidentially evaluate their household's risk for groundwater
contamination.
Each booklet contains eight bulletins, on Lawn and Garden
Care, Managing Household Trash, Managing Hazardous Household Products,
Stormwater Management, Household Wastewater, Drinking Water Well Management
and Proper Use of Liquid Fuels. The booklets are for residents with
municipal water or private wells.
"Lake*A*Syst" booklets also are available for
those who live on or near surface water.
For either booklet, contact Mari Vaydik at the Marquette
County Conservation District, 226-2461, e-mail fomarqu!mari@miso.mi.nrcs.usda
.gov
Chamber music grant
An amateur chamber music trio recently received a $650 grant from the
Marquette Community Foundation Amateur Chamber Music Fund. The trio,
of Kristine Keranen, Mary Lou Pesola and Leslie Gibbons, sponsored by
Peninsula Arts Appreciation Coun-cil, will play music for the flute,
cello and acoustic guitar as a community enrichment service.
Blast off at PWPL
While NASA continues to explore the boundaries of our solar system
and beyond, the Peter White Public Library's Youth Services Department
is pleased to be participating in an exciting educational program here
on earth. It's called the Space Place, an ongoing space science and
educational exhibit for children and anyone interested in learning about
space.
As one of only 100 participants in the nation, the Space
Place is provided by NASA's New Millennium Program. One Space Place
component is a display wall with mission posters, lithographs and postcards
highlighting current space activities. The display is updated regularly
with new topics. Currently it highlights the Earth Observer 1 (EO1),
scheduled for a spring launch. In conjunction with this mission, the
Space Place is offering children and adults the opportunity to create
an original work of art that shows the spirit of exploration, while
artistically interpreting one or more of the EO1 mission's new technologies.
The library then will submit an entry from each age group to be eligible
for display at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A rule sheet is available
at the Youth Services desk, and the deadline is April 10th.
Also at the library is the "Century Classics Challenge,"
where readers can experience some of the twentieth century's most memorable
literature. Participants will receive a log sheet on which to chart
their progress as they read at least one selection from each decade
of the last century. The library staff has compiled two lists of suggested
titles—one for adults, one for children—from Call of the Wild
to Gone with the Wind, from On the Road to Harry Potter.
Stop by the library and visit the past and future.
TRIADvolunteers needed
The File of Life program that TRIAD began (where health information
is compiled and posted on the refrigerators of older residents for easy
access by emergency personnel) has been so successful that the group
needs more volunteers for this and other projects. If you can lend a
few hours, contact the Retired Senior Volunteer Program at 228-4180.
Touring Directory
A reminder to performing artists, painters, humanities scholars, filmmakers,
speakers and other cultural interpreters that the deadline is nearing
to be listed in the 2000-2002 Michigan Arts and Humanities Touring Directory.
Further information and an application form is available
by calling (517) 372-7770 or by downloading it from the website: http://mihumanities.h-net.
msu.edu/culturelink/touring/ The application should be mailed with a
$25 application fee by February 15th.
The gift of Yellow Dog
A gift of 160 acres of Yellow Dog riverian lowlands was given to the
Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve in memory of Jean Farwell, a long-standing
member and supporter of the nonprofit group.
The "Yellow Dog Swamp," or Sosawagamee (Yellow
Water) as it was known by the Ojibway, surrounded and encompassed much
of what is now Lake Independence—roughly 3,500 acres of swampy
lake. In the early 1930s, a dam was built on the Yellow Dog River, which
elevated the swampy lake into the modern-day Lake Independence. The
original Yellow Dog Swamp has been reduced to about 1,600 acres of which
this 160-acres is an important piece, as it encompasses the mouth of
the Yellow Dog River as it enters Lake Independence.
Next spring, the Preserve will begin the process of making
the property accessible to the public with hiking/skiing trails, observation
areas and wildlife-oriented activities.
Last chance to win $250 and become a local celebrity
If you're reading this before February 1st it's still not too late
to enter your short story in the 10th Annual Marquette Monthly Short
Story Contest and if you win, become $250 richer and more famous by
having your story published in our pages.
Once again, the rules: your story must be 2,500 words or
less, never before published, typed and double spaced. Your name, address
and phone number and the story's word count should appear on a cover
page only. It costs five bucks to enter. One submission per writer.
Mail to MMCottage, 810 North Third Street, by January 31st. Good luck!
Historical museum items
The Marquette County Historical Society's request for items for their
upcoming historic advertising exhibit in last month's issue brought
in some great pop bottles and local advertising. They thank you! They
are now looking for the following things either to be placed on loan
or donated to the museum's permanent collection: Log Cabin Syrup tin,
Campbell Soup Kids and Pillsbury Dough Boy items, Mr. Peanut statue,
a "Barney" stuffed toy, sports collectibles, old credit cards,
examples of ads using trademarks and a photo of the Norway dairy that
had a huge milk bottle on the roof. Please call the museum at 226-3571
if you can help.
MMBookshelf
My One and Only Bomb Shelter
Not only is a photograph of downtown Marquette (taken by MM photographer
Tom Buchkoe) on the cover of NMU Professor John Smolens' new book, but
some stories inside are set in the U.P. as well. My One and Only Bomb
Shelter, a collection of short stories published by Carnegie Mellon
University Press, is available at local bookstores, at amazon.com, or
from the publisher at 4902 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213, (800)
666-2211.
One of the stories, "Cold," is the basis for Smolens'
novel of the same name, which will be published by Random House/Harmony
Books in 2001. It's the tale of an escaped Marquette Prison inmate who
underestimates the stories he's heard about U.P. winters…and U.P.
residents!
Literally MM
When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi
by David Maraniss
There was a time in America when things were seemingly much more simple
than they are now; when hard work and determination was always rewarded.
But our recent past was just as complex and dysfunctional as the present.
This is what David Maraniss conveys in his excellent biography of Vince
Lombardi; the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers from 1959 to
1967. Maraniss is an editor at the Washington Post and best known for
his Bill Clinton biography, First in His Class.
Maraniss takes us from Lombardi's grandparents' arrival
from Italy up to the time of Lombardi's death from cancer in 1970. The
book goes into great detail on the landmarks of Lombardi's life: his
growing up the son of a middle-class butcher in New York, his training
under the Jesuits at Fordham University, his stint at Army as a football
coach and then his rise from assistant coach of the New York Giants
to his becoming a legend at little Green Bay.
But the book is not just a "football" book for
sport fans. It is also a social history of the '30s through '70s, using
football and Lombardi's life as a mirror for what life was like in America
at that time. In the framework of the narrative, Maraniss discusses
the consequences of the economic depression and World War II on Lombardi's
generation. He discusses racism, the social turmoil of the Vietnam era
and the change that this country went through with its new found affluence
in the '50s and '60s. All the while keeping focus on Lombardi and his
meteoric rise to becoming a sports icon. The most interesting aspect
of all of this was that here is Lombardi, a strict disciplinarian with
his rigid Jesuit upbringing, really adapting very well to the changes
around him. That more than anything was his key to success.
One other facet of the book that is worth mentioning is
that if you ever want an example of how to write a biography, study
this book. Maraniss is just about the best historical biographer working
today. It is a fast reading 544 pages and is published by Simon &
Schuster at a list price of $25.00.
—Dennis Koers
Gwinn
Juneteenth
by Ralph Ellison
Edited by John F. Callahan
The card in the Peter White copy of Juneteenth shows many readers returned
it in one or two days. To readers accustomed to the pace of a Cornwell
or a Clancy, the movement of the novel is intolerably slow.
The action is almost all in the past, coming to us from
the memories of two men. One is a black man named Hickman, once a horn-playing,
drinking, gambling wanderer, now an elderly preacher. The other, much
less well developed, is the black-baiting Senator Sunraider. The names
suggest symbolism, but what they symbolize never becomes clear.
After the great success of his Invisible Man in the fifties,
Ellison worked for forty years on Juneteenth, leaving at his death two
thousand pages of manuscript. His literary executor sorted, cut and
fitted but could not produce a novel that flows.
Juneteenth may be a failure as a novel, but it contains
some fine studies of American speech, ranging from black boys taunting
each other to a preacher on the condition of Man: "He carried within
him two fatal weaknesses—he was of little faith and he had been
contaminated by the great gust of stardust that swept over the earth
when Proud Lucifer fell like a blazing comet from the skies. For man
had breathed the dust of pride and it wheezed in his lungs like a hellish
asthma."
More important, Ellison has invested here intense thought
and feeling, though he could not incorporate them in narrative form.
The key sentence is "America is the democratic hope—the black
man is the test of that hope." Through the thoughts of Reverend
Hickman we can see that Ellison loved his fellow black Americans. He
dedicated his novel to them. He also loved America, its history, its
culture, its speech, its music. Blacks played a part in all these. Hickman
says whites "cut us to bits, scattered us and pounded us into the
earth. It was in us and we were in it."
Now, "This land is ours because we came out of it,
we bled in it, our tears watered it, we fertilized it with our dead."
Hickman says blacks should not be ashamed. They should not throw away
what they have, but should "learn from what we have lived."
If their lives have often been hard, that fits with God's plan, because
He has work for them, and He does not like to work with untempered tools.
Perhaps Ellison's partial failure came from trying a theme
so large, and one in which he was so involved, that he could not control
it. As it is, there is much here to interest anyone concerned with America's
past, or its future.
—Earl Hilton
Marquette
What are you reading? Drop us a line at 810 N. Third Street or mmtoday@up.net.
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