Recently, H. Donn de Yampert put his drone in the air on the Ripley side of the Portage Canal to check out the Quincy Smelter buildings from above. Great photos with glimpses of the canal, too. I can’t tell for sure, if that’s clear ice though or open water. I’m leaning more towards clear ice, as there is a dusting of snow on top in the second photo and the reflections seem a bit icy looking. Either way, they sure are beautiful shots. I like being able to look down on the buildings and even inside that one without a roof. I wonder what all those items are that are left in that building. Looks like maybe a small trailer parked there on the back wall. If only it could talk, it might be able to tell us some stories from the mining days there at the Quincy Smelter.

Across the Canal is the Dee Stadium – The Birthplace of Professional Hockey. Visit Keweenaw gives us “A Brief History of Hockey In The Keweenaw”, which starts out with the following paragraph: “Hockey holds a significant place in Keweenaw history. As you drive into Houghton via US-41, you will see the iconic sign that reads, “Welcome to the Birthplace of Professional Hockey.” The region’s enduring love for the winter sport can be traced back through generations, with hockey becoming a cultural cornerstone for both recreation and competition throughout our region.” Click here to learn more about ice hockey’s special place in Keweenaw history: History of Hockey in the Keweenaw

And since we’re on the subject of hockey and if you clicked above and read about the rinks and arenas around the Keweenaw, I figured a look at the Houghton County Arena in Hancock, HOCO for short would be a nice video for the day. Thanks to Visit Keweenaw for the info and video!

Nice pictures. Just told my hubby
last night that we should have a
drone, but neither of us figured
we'd be able to operate it, lol.
Anyway, I didn't know those
buildings didn't have a roof. Nice
job.

I love those drone vids and pics. Wow....

And hockey? Mega stories, and as always, the quote
I have no idea where it came from...but...

"A kid on ice is never in hot water"...and that's
pretty true. You don't hear of lil hockey players
getting in too much trouble.

My bro owns the Nahma Inn B&B and has a "pond
hockey" tourny down there...Although, I don't know
if it's frozen there or not...And he's always up
for the St. Patricks' Copper Country Oldtimer's
Hockey Tournament. Those boys are getting older,
but they still play hard!

Go for it Deb. You have a good eye for
interesting subjects and scenes based
on your prior photos.
If I could do it, I always thought that I would
start with a cheap kids drone just to get
used to the movements and once I
felt comfortable with it, I’d move up
to a better one with a camera.

With all the expertise we have on Pasty Cam i'm hoping someone can tell us what the roofless building used to be.

Great perspective and views of the Quincy Smelter. If anyone is interested in seeing all the details, up close, the tours offered are great. I did the tour back in 2016 when things were just starting up. Here are the photos I took then:
Quincy Smelter Photos 2016

The tours are much more organized now and more equipment is on display. The next tour is this Saturday (2/24) at 1:30pm:
Quincy Smelter Tours

jbuck,

I'm sure I was told during the tour but I don't remember. Pretty sure MTU Professor Emeritus, Karl B. Rundman will know.

A History of the Quincy Smelting Works by Karl B. Rundman