Peter White Public Library in Marquette is pictured. (Journal file photo)

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

30 years ago

MARQUETTE — More loons are raising families in Michigan, but the enigmatic birds are still avoiding the central and eastern Upper Peninsula. The Michigan Loon Preservation Association reports that a recent survey found 493 nesting pairs of loons in the state, a 218-pair increase over four years ago. Loon numbers increased most in the northern Lower Peninsula, said Bill Robinson, Northern Michigan University biology professor and a member of the loon association. The best thing people can do for loons is to keep their distance from them, according to Tom Weise, endangered species coordinator for the state Department of Natural Resources. Known for its eerie call and isolated ways, the loon has been classified as endangered in Michigan since 1987.

60 years ago

POWELL — An organizational meeting of the Powell Township zoning board was held Wednesday evening in the Powell Township School. Donald E. Claus was elected president and Robert H. Lyons was elected secretary of the zoning board. They were appointed by the Powell Township Board to serve without compensation. Lyons noted that the extensive recreational development program known as Alpine Village now taking place in Powell Township, plus the reactivation of the old Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad line between Marquette and Big Bay, necessitates that the zoning be immediately undertaken “to promote public health and general welfare of residents, and establish an appropriate trend and character of land, building, and population development.”