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

30 years ago

HARVEY – Everything is running smoothly this summer in the more than $6 million renovation of the Marquette State Fish Hatchery in Harvey. “It’s progressing on schedule,” said Frank Opolka, deputy director of the state Department of Natural Resources in the Upper Peninsula. “The timetable calls for completion around the first of November, and it should be done by then.” The 71-year-old hatchery, located on Cherry Creek Road, is being updated to raise more and better quality fish. The hatchery raises lake and brook trout and splake, a cross between lake and brook trout. Its current capacity is about 1.5 million fish, and the renovation should raise that total to about 1.8 million to 2 million. The work includes covering outdoor raceways that fish are kept in, replacing and expanding indoor tanks and replacing the administration building and two residences for hatchery workers. The project’s funding is split between federal and state governments. Federal funds are coming from the Wallop-Breaux program, which gets its revenues from excise taxes on fishing equipment.

60 years ago

HOUGHTON – Two Michigan Tech professors are delving into century-old field notes from the original surveys of Isle Royale to prepare a map of historical sites on the famed island. Working on the project are Dr. Gene A. Hesterberg, head of the Department of Forestry, and Dr. Lawrence Rakestraw, professor of history and political science. The project has been undertaken for the National Park Service under a $2,000 grant. Dr. Rakestraw is handling the purely historical research or the project and Dr. Hesterberg is directing study and analysis of the field notes and the cartographic work. The finished maps will be prepared by Helmuth Steinhilb, associate professor of forestry. “Probably no other island in North America is so steeped in historical background. We will include on the map the historical fishing sites of the American Fur Co. and historic mines such as the Siskiwit, Minong and Island. “Railroads, roads and trails will be important, too, for these reflect white man’s first paths across the island in their initial efforts to exploit the natural resources.” Rakestraw said historical information on Isle Royale has been obtained from old documents stored at Mott Island Headquarters on Isle Royale National Park, government land office surveys made in 1847 and 1848 by William Ives and archive materials from Ann Arbor and Washington.