• Sunday-What'sUP January 21 - 11:43 am

I wonder how many snowmobilers - zipping between Calumet and Hancock - realize what lies beneath the snowy trail: the bed of a narrow guage railroad known as Mineral Range. In its day, this thouroughfare carried passengers and cargo up and down the Peninsula, to serve the bustling economy and expedite the Copper Boom. Keeping the tracks clear in the Winter sometimes required quite a few hands.

Less than five years after the top photo was taken, the train was traveling these same tracks one morning in September, with a cargo that included an entire monthly payroll for Calumet & Hecla - $70,000. Three men in masks pulled off a daring heist and didn't wait around to have their tickets punched. Can you imagine the robbers' surprise when later that day they were robbed of the ill-gained fortune? This bizarre incident will be the subject of a presentation by Dick Rupley of Chassell on Tuesday 1/22 at the Bluffs in Houghton, during this year's annual meeting of the Houghton County Historical Society. Some of our Husky Alumni may remember Dick's entertaining historical accounts at MTU.

Thanks to HCHS for the photo of the snow crew. Also, if you haven't visited Copper Country Reflections lately, Chuck Voelker updated it just before the holidays, a delightful online museum of visual history, part of the rich heritage of Pasty Central over the last decade.

Have a good week :o)

All I have to say is GO PACK GO!!! The weather is definitely on there side today.

Interesting choice of google links being chosen. At first I thought, "highlighting
(ok, pun intended) makeup on pasty?" Then I realized: minerals. Ok, I get it!

Hey, wait! Now the google links have changed! Before my post there was a link to railroads and bare minerals makeup. ??
Tradewinds sailing school?
Bungee Zap shoes?

now they've changed again...guess there's a rotational thing going. Sorry if my posts seem to make no sense!

Very interesting story, Charlie! Thank you!

Dick Rupley's presentation is a "don't miss" story of an obscured piece of local history.

Hello all! I actually wondered what this was a couple summers ago, figured it was what it is! Not sure how to put the pictures in my message so I'll just give you the links :) Go Pack!

http://gallery.pasty.com/yooperkate/albut32/albuy64/old_train_1_1.jpg.html
http://gallery.pasty.com/yooperkate/albut32/albuy64/old_train.jpg.html

I mentioned this a year ago that I have over 300 railroad depots pictures from the U.P. on disc and am willing to email them n/c to viewers of this great site..

All set to throw on another log and watch 8 hours of football today. Good luck to the Packers today and it is Hard to imagine that New England quarterback Tom Brady was a back up for 3 years at the U. of M.

I enjoy the old time pics and the great lakes freighters. I see the names Jared Tormala and Katie Tormala. Are you any relation to the late Henry Tormala, a fisherman of Portage Entry? He and my dad were two of the many fisherman that fished the great lakes in the 50's.

Ernie, I don't really know too much of the Tormala family history, I married into the name about a year ago :) Used to be a Keranen!

It sure was great to be back up in Calumet although not for a great reason. My Aunt Joy (Siira) Thurner died unexpectedly last week and we were there for the Funeral Service on Jan 17. It was a fast trip. In spite of the sadness of the occasion it was nice to see family and all the snow. I know it's not a lot compared to when I was a girl but it's a lot more than we have here in Fowlerville. Cold but oh so beautiful!!

One question my husband asked that neither I nor my mother could answer: Where did the name BUMBLETOWN come from? Anyone know??

Col. Richard Rupley!! Boy, there's a name I remember well from my time at Tech. I took his military history course and it was one of my favorite history courses I took at Tech. The best was Larry Lankton's Auto History class when we got to watch American Graffiti and order out for pizza.

What a bummer in Green Bay eh?? I'll have to take tomorrow off and recover. Oh wait, I have tomorrow off anyways..........

I forgot to mention for Eliisa; to answer your question, no one really knows where the name came from. Some say it was from the Indians that lived nearby to swarms of bumblebees that lived on the hill.