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

30 years ago

MARQUETTE — Once the harbors and bays of Lake Superior are free of ice, anglers begin showing up along breakwaters and piers, such as Jack Webber and Al DuFay at Marquette’s Lower Harbor. Although boat fishermen have better access to fish, anglers can expect to catch coho salmon, splake, and whitefish from shore. The long, cold upper peninsula winter looks to be behind us, but the effects will linger. “One thing that concerns us is whether the brook trout made it through the winter,” said George Madison, state Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologist. “Because of the thick ice and reduced water flow from extreme cold this winter, some brook trout could have been stressed.” Similarly, the jury is still out on how hot the near-shore Lake Superior steelhead and coho fishing will be this spring. As for steelhead — Great Lakes-run rainbow trout — a lot depends on how wet the weather is until the opening of the season April 30. High water will often wash a lot of food into the stream, creating murky water, making it harder to place bait or lures accurately. In addition to a general fishing license, trout anglers must purchase a trout/salmon stamp, which costs $9.85. Trout streams in the central U.P. are listed in the 1994 Michigan Fishing Guide.

90 years ago

MARQUETTE — At the meeting of the library board of the Peter White Public library it was decided to hire three part time workers, so as not to curtail library service which would otherwise be necessary with the cessation of the operation of the CWA program. Miss Phyllis Rankin, Miss Evelyn Bertrand and Miss Ellen Ewing were the library workers to be added as part time members to the staff. Miss Rankin and Miss Bertrand had been employed at the library under the provisions of the CWA and their work under that arrangement ended Saturday. The action of the board Wednesday night will meet with the approval of patrons of the library as it will mean continued efficient service in the children’s room and the reading rooms upstairs.