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

30 years ago

MANISTIQUE — Manistique Papers Inc. and Edison Sault Electric Co. still want to seal contaminated sediment at the bottom of the Manistique River instead of remove it. The two companies, which have been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as “potentially responsible parties” for the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in the river and Manistique Harbor, today again recommended installation of a permanent cap over the sediment. Manistique Papers and Edison Sault have denied responsibility for the PCBs, which were used in a variety of manufacturing processes through the 1970s, when they were identified as a cancer-causing material. The cap, according to a news release issued jointly by the companies, would consist of a 20-inch-thick covering of sand and a 5- to -74-inch-thick stone armor which would prevent the PCBs from leaving the river sediment and entering Lake Michigan. James Hannenberg, remedial project manager for EPA in Chicago, said the decision would include consultation with both Edison Sault and Manistique Papers. Initially, EPA planned to dredge the river and harbor last summer, but additional testing indicated a higher than expected concentration of PCBs, Hannenberg said. Late last year, a temporary cap was installed while an engineering evaluation and cost analysis was being conducted by the two companies. That analysis, according to the companies, showed capping as the best solution to control the PCBs and avoid further environmental damage. A combination of dredging and capping would not be environmentally sound, the companies said.

60 years ago

MARQUETTE — James Kangas, Trout Creek, sophomore music major at Northern Michigan University, will attend the sixth annual American Federation of Musicians’ Congress of Strings this summer. He is being sponsored by Local 218, AFM, in cooperation with several other musicians’ locals in Michigan, and will take part in the summer string program on Michigan State University campus in East Lansing. The AFM’s Congress of Strings is a continuing music program dedicated to the development of young musicians in the United States and Canada and to the expansion of opportunity in the music profession. All expenses of the eight-week program are provided through the congress program, which offers a regular symphony orchestra repertoire, as well as chamber music instruction. Several public programs are planned during the summer by and for those attending the Congress of Strings, and several internationally-known conductors will instruct during student orchestral sessions