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

30 years ago

REPUBLIC — Six-year-old Katie Lynn Granlund of Republic is excited about her upcoming visit to Sesame Street. “I can’t wait to get my picture taken with Big Bird,” said Katie, who will fly to New York City with her mother Tamara Granlund for the public television program’s 20th birthday party. Katie’s name was randomly picked in a drawing of nearly 8,000 entries. The contest was sponsored by WNMU, Public TV-13 in Marquette and McDonald’s Restaurants of the Upper Peninsula and northeastern Wisconsin. Katie and her mother will fly to New York Sept. 8 and will spend two nights at the Sheraton City Square Hotel. They will attend Sesame Street’s birthday party, hosted by the Children’s Television Workshop. Children and parents from public television stations nationwide will have the chance to have their picture taken with the Sesame Street cast, watch a special taping on the show, and enjoy cake and ice cream, and party games. “It’s thrilling to make a younger’s dream come true by giving her this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet her favorite Sesame Street characters right on the actual Sesame Street set,” said Dave Baston, McDonald’s marketing president for the northeastern Wisconsin and Upper Peninsula. Since its premiere on Nov. 11, 1969, Sesame Street has won 28 Emmy Awards.

60 years ago

REPUBLIC — Six hundred bags of charcoal briquettes went up in smoke in a fire in a boxcar here Thursday afternoon. A Milwaukee Road boxcar fully loaded with briquettes from the Cliffs Dow Chemical Co. plant in Marquette en route to Des Moines, Iowa, caught fire, apparently from spontaneous combustion. The blaze had gained considerable headway when the Republic Volunteer Fire Department arrived at the scene. Firemen, hampered by intense smoke and gasses, had to remove hundreds of paper bags of briquettes in order to get at the fire. The car was switched to a siding, where many hours of work by firemen and railway employees were needed to bring the fire under control. Firemen used a booster tank and had to make six trips, carry 500 gallons of water each trip, before suppressing the fire. Firefighters managed to save 65 percent of the cargo. About $100 damage resulted to the boxcar. Of the eight firemen who battled the blaze, one became ill from effects of the gasses and was incapacitated for the remainder of the day.