EDITOR’S NOTE: Superiorland Yesterdays is prepared by the reference staff at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette.

30 years ago

SKANDIA — The return of cold temperatures this week has kept firefighters busy as homeowners crank their woodstoves up. “Yeah, we’ve been kind of busy lately,” said Skandia-West Branch Fire Chief Leslie C. Johnson. “This warm spell, everybody cranked down their woodstoves. Now with cold weather, we’re getting a rash of chimney fires.” His department responded to three chimney fires within 24 hours Monday, Johnson said. Firefighters also were called to a mobile home fire three miles west of Skandia on M-94 Monday. The mobile home, owned by Ada Crick, caught fire about 5:30 p.m. from attempts to thaw pipes under the trailer, Johnson said. He had no damage estimate, but said the mobile home was not liveable because of smoke and water damage. Negaunee Township firefighters responded to a chimney fire on M-35 shortly after 9 p.m. Monday also.

90 years ago

MARQUETTE — “Floaters” who have been regular “guests” at the city jail every night for several weeks were disappointed Wednesday night when the doors of the jail were closed to them and as a result there were many who decided not to come here again. On Tuesday night, many of the men who had marched in Negaunee’s “hunger parade,” evidently ashamed to seek shelter again in the Negaunee jail, came to the Ishpeming jail, the “attendance” being swelled to 61. The jail only has a cell capacity of 16 so the other 45 slept on the floor and top of the cell block. Some cells contained as many as four men. The jail was fumigated Wednesday morning and as a result Marshal Trevarrow refused to conduct “open house” that evening as he desired to kill any little “crawling things” that might have accompanied the “floaters.”