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

30 years ago

ISHPEMING — Graveraet Middle School took third place in the fifth annual Douglass Houghton MATHCOUNTS competition held last week at Westwood High School. Graveraet, which won last year’s Upper Peninsula championships, was edged for second place by Vulcan Middle School of Norway by a ?-point. Winning the competition out of 13 schools participating was Houghton-Portage Township School, who will represent the U.P. at state competition in East Lansing on March 18. About 30 teams are anticipated for the state competition, with the winner to go to the national competition May 12 in Washington D.C. Members of the Marquette team were eighth graders Steve Hoffman, Amanda Jenkinson and Kevin Gill, and seventh grader Laura Eilders. This year’s competition was sponsored by Champion International and hosted by the Quinnesec Mill.

60 years ago

MARQUETTE — Approximately 150 boys and 30 adult Scouters are expected to be on hand for a Klondike Derby for all Scouts of the Pere Marquette District, which includes Marquette and Alger Counties tomorrow from 2 to 4 p.m. The derby, a part of the Boy Scout’s year around outdoor activities, will be held at the intersection of County Roads 480 and 553 in Sands Township. Scouts will be given an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to cope with weather and travel safety in the wintertime. They will prove their skills in lashing, tent pitching, signaling and measuring and will also be given an opportunity to pass tests to become a Frist Class Scout. All events will be scored competitively and the four leading patrols will participate against patrols from the entire Upper Peninsula at Munising. Klondike derbies are said to have originated in the Upper Peninsula about 10 years ago and since their origin have become a nation-wide annual even in Scouting.