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

30 years ago

PALMER — More than 60 Palmer residents, claiming they’re fed up with years of damage from ore dust and nearby blasting, are suing the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co. and the Empire Iron Mining Partnership. The lawsuit was filed in Marquette County Circuit Court by Negaunee attorney E. Nickolas Bridges, who likened the issue to a negligent neighbor who dumps garbage over his fence for others to clean up. “We’re asking for civil damages to compensate for what the people have had to put up with over the years,” said Bridges. “The people decided to stop complaining and do something about it.” “The dust ruins your lawn furniture, makes windows difficult to slide up and down, and makes your house unsightly,” said Elaine Ault of Isabella Avenue, a Palmer resident for more than 20 years. “We painted our house brown seven years ago to match the dust. We’re even thinking of moving out of Palmer because of it. It’s in the air so we have to be breathing it.” The plaintiffs also allege the frequent blasts have caused structural damage to their homes, in addition to disturbing the peace. “They blast every day at 12:15 p.m. and the whole town shakes,” said Bridges. CCI spokesman Don Ryan said this morning that he had not yet been informed of the lawsuit, which was filed Friday. Ryan said CCI has maintained a “cooperative spirit” with Palmer residents. “We think we’ve been responsive to their concerns,” Ryan said. Not so, says Bridges, “They did a lousy job and let people loose with spray guns and made a mess.”

60 years ago

MARQUETTE — Hardware dealers in Marquette and Alger Counties will hold a group meeting in Marquette on September 21 and it is expected that a number of merchants from Delta, Iron and Houghton counties also will be present. Harry L. Kelly, of the Kelly Hardware Company, is chairman of this meeting, which will open with a dinner at 7 p.m. in the Northland Hotel. The subjects to be discussed are “Management and Merchandising,” “Pulling Out of the Depression” and “Salesmanship.” This last discussion will be amplified by a movie prepared in a hardware store and will be followed by a practical demonstration on selling. Problems in hardware management and merchandising especially applicable to this district will be carefully gone over and the meeting will close with a round table discussion by all hardware dealers.