I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that there have been thousands of kids featured on the Pasty Cam in the last 19 years. Some of them in play, others in their school activities and with the school activities I'm sure there have been a number of teachers featured, too. If we look back to 2011, there was a teacher on the Pasty Cam who was celebrating her 100th birthday, Mrs. Pauline (Picchiottino) Steck. She taught foreign languages in the Calumet Public Schools. Pauline was 29 in the first photo and celebrating her 100th birthday in the second shot. Mrs. Steck actually lived to be 105, passing away in August, 2016, less than a year ago. Her obituary tells quite the story of an educated woman, who even into her later years was helping former students to translate Latin texts. You can read about it here: EricksonCrowley.com.

There are probably a number of youngsters that Mrs. Steck taught, in the Copper Harbor School photo that was on the Pasty Cam back in 2013. That is assuming that the students from Copper Harbor went to High School in Calumet back then, like they do now.

Students in the Copper Country excel in many fields, due to teachers like Mrs. Steck and countless others. Today's video features some of those students, from the Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Schools, who back in 2013, won the George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Group. Along with their teacher, Mr. Zimmer, they designed an underwater robot to search for zebra mussels at Isle Royale. Plenty of time and hard work, both from the students and their teacher, led up to receiving that award.

Last summer and fall I had daily walks from our home in Eagle River to Evergreen Cemetery, where Edie is buried, and where I always enjoyed the view looking back down M-26 to Lake Superior. One day I happened to notice the marker for Pauline Steck, as I had not been aware of her passing. Edie and Pauline were good friends, who along with a couple of other Eagle River ladies were known as the "Out to Lunch Bunch" back in the 80's and 90's. I think Marda Roberts had conjured up that name because of their frequent Tuesday excursions to some local eatery for a mid-day meal. Edie and I had the privilege of visiting with Pauline at her 100th birthday. Good neighbors in life, their graves are just a few yards apart at Evergreen, where I suppose one of these days I will join them. Edie and I always regarded that lovely park in the Keweenaw woods as a peaceful place to await the Resurrection.

Thanks, Mary, for the link to Pauline's obituary.

Interesting lady...thanks for the pix and link.
And nice video too, what a great achievement! What was I doing as a kid? Trying to get that dang kite up in the air. :-(

Didn't know the kids from Copper Harbor journeyed to high school in Calumet. What a long trek back & forth 5 days a week in all kinds of Copper Country weather. Kinda feel sorry for the bus driver!

Very cool video, congrats to the $ Bay Students as well as Mr. Zimmer !!

Great achievement, you should be very proud of yourselves!!


Alex, I was playing baseball and dreaming of my first car, a used Mustang Mach 1 .... lol

I was playing baseball also. It was my passion.
I could never get that darn kite up in the air,
lol. We built a lot of forts up in the woods
behind our house, also. Fun times.

Charlie, how awesome that you can just walk to
Evergreen cemetery. I love stopping at that
cemetery and walking around. What a wonderful
final resting place.

Congrats to the $ Bay students. Once upon a
time, my boys went to that school. They loved
it!

Charlie: I often reflect on the fact that our son Matthew, your wife
Edie and the Stecks are neighbors at the Evergreen Cemetery. One
of Mr. Steck's paintings (which my parents purchased many, many
years ago, graces our dining room. It is a wintry painting of Eagle
River. Right below the painting is a photograph of our son.