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

30 years ago

MARQUETTE — City ice rinks are open, but not in good shape after the recent warm spell, according to Barbara O’Neill of the city Parks and Recreation Department. Skaters used the rinks Thursday, but the warm weather and the recent rain doesn’t make for good skating. Crews had worked on the rinks early this year, and had snow cleared and berms built by early December, when they were spraying the ground with water to give the rinks a solid base. However, the warm Christmas weather isn’t helping to keep rinks in good shape. O’Neill said crews are watching the weather and will flood the rinks when it’s cold enough to freeze.

60 years ago

LANSING — The State Administrative Board has decided to drop legal proceedings seeking to recover money reportedly embezzled from estates by the former mayor of Escanaba. Acting on the advice of the attorney general’s office in the case of the late Harlan J. Yelland, former mayor and highly respected citizen of Escanaba, the AD board ordered the case settled for $800 to save the state further time and money. Yelland was found to have co-mingled trust funds with his personal funds. An investigation by the attorney general’s office concluded that it was impossible to determine how much money was taken due to legal entanglements. The report said Yelland’s reputation was so good in Escanaba that when he needed a bondsman he would stop in at a gas station or barbershop and obtain the signature of anyone. The report recommended that each bondsman pay $100 to settle eight outstanding cases, with the money to go to the substitute administrator or guardian to be used for expenses in closing the estates.