30 years ago

HOUGHTON – A Governor’s Honor Roll Award was given to Laurie Hazzard last week for her work with the Copper Country Community Transition Council, a group dedicated to making trips from school to work more accommodating for students with learning disabilities. For six years, Hazzard had been content teaching geography, but upon learning of her son’s own learning disabilities, she became moved to better fill the gaps that traditional education overlooks. After working with her son and his teachers, Hazzard went back to school to become a certified special education teacher. Hazzard was surprised to receive the award, but none of her colleagues were. Houghton High School Principal Tim Murphy said that Hazzard’s classroom leadership translates and is inspirational for the leadership in the entire school.

60 years ago

BLANEY PARK – At the end of this year’s deer season, the U.P. resort known as Blaney Park will be closing its doors. The area is one of the oldest and best known vacation spots in the Midwest, covering 54 square miles in Germfask. Stewart E. Earle, who has been with the resort for 40 years and its sole owner since 1948, remarks how it became impossible to continue keeping the business afloat after recent profit losses, differences in the traveling public, and high taxes. Earle believes that people with the resources to vacation are looking abroad, and would rather jet off to Europe in less time than it would take them to drive to Blaney. Earle also feels remorse at the Government’s veto of Blaney becoming a vocational school as it has all of the facilities required to support that change.