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

30 years ago

MARQUETTE – Ski jumping has joined the list of resident athlete programs at the U.S. Olympic Education Center in Marquette and athletes are just waiting for permanent snow to begin jumping at Suicide Bowl. The USOEC has recruited Olympic ski jumping coach Mark Johnson and eight athletes for the programs, which started this fall. “The facilities are phenomenal,” Johnson said in a press release. The athletes will train at the Suicide Bowl in Ishpeming, with five jumps that include a standard, 90-meter World Cup jump. The Suicide Bowl, opened in 1925, is home to the oldest consecutively run ski jumping tournament in the United States. “This is a hidden treasure up here,” said Johnson, originally from Duluth, Minn. The USOEC, located on the campus of Northern Michigan University, also has programs in biathalon, boxing, cross country skiing, short-track speed skating, and luge. It is the only resident-athlete Olympic program which provides training facilities with an opportunity to attend classes at NMU. USOEC Director Jeff Kleinschmidt said the center is funded through 1994 by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

90 years ago

NEGAUNEE – Affiliation of the Vista Theater, of Negaunee, with Delft Theaters, Inc., was announced here today by Hugh S. Gallup, general manager of Delft Theaters, Inc., and Jafet Rytkonen, owner of the Vista. The affiliation became effective today and Mr. Rytkonen will continue to manage the theater. This development was brought about to combine two of the county’s leading theaters, the Delft in Marquette and the Vista in Negaunee. Mr. Gallup and Mr. Rytkonen pointed out that the partnership brings the Vista into affiliation with the Delft theaters in Marquette, Escanaba, Iron River, and Munising and increases the number of theaters in the Delft circuit to six. The Vista was constructed in 1926 by Mr. Rytkonen, one of the pioneers in the theater business in Marquette County. It is conceded to be one of the best theaters in the county. It has the most modern equipment for screen and stage productions, has an especially attractive interior, and was redecorated this year.