• Sunday-What'sUP June 13 - 08:51 am

Yesterday in Houghton the new Portage Lake District Library had its open house and dedication. We ran into Jim Curtis, who pointed out that the new building is on the spot where Herman Gundlach went to the office for so many years. (You may recall on the Pasty Cam seeing almost-live reports of the fire which destroyed that building a couple of years ago.) This lot on the waterfront has been transformed, as you can see in this PLDL Slideshow.

Mr. Gundlach passed away a little over a year ago. What a remarkable man and a full life. Throughout the web you can find a number of tributes to "Winks" Gundlach (or "Gunny" as he was known at Harvard.), including a nice one by Bill Wallace about his early football years.

A notable part of the legacy of Herman's family is the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Home in Calumet. Perhaps you can add a link or memory here, too.

Congratulations to all who had a part in the new library. You will certainly want to include a stop there when you are in the Copper Country this summer.

Was the fire the old library? And when did it take place?

What a beautiful library! Enjoyed the slide show. Sure would be a wonderful day reading and enjoying the view.

Loved the slide show :) As Fran said, what a beautiful library and location :)

When I saw the picture, before I read the
words below it, I knew it had to be of Mr.
Gundlach. I met his wife, Barbara Kettle, as
well when she came down to study at U of M.
the two of them must have been quite the pair
back in the day.

One of Herman Gundlach's daughters was my
roommate at the University of Michigan so I
actually had a chance to meet him and to hear
lots of stories about him. Sometimes when
he came to Ann Arbor he'd take a group out to
dinner. He was a generous, decent man and
well loved by his family. Last year when I read
his obituary, my favorite part was about how
his mother had given him a Bible verse and to
the day he died he carried it in his wallet. More
importantly, he lived by those words. Wish we
all could.

Beautiful location for a library. Must stop to see it this summer or fall.

Deb S. (Usedtobeayooper):
"Was the fire the old library? And when did it take place?"

No, the fire was at the Gundlach (Herman Gundlach, Inc.) building, on the Houghton waterfront, "... where Herman Gundlach went to the office for so many years."

See more post-fire photos.

The Portage Lake District Library was formerly located on the corner of Montezuma Avenue and Huron Street in Houghton.

.....spending some time at the new library is #3 on my list of things to do when I get "home" for the 4th...... after visiting with family & classmates at LLHHS, which is #1 on the list..then Pastyfest which is #2.......#4 is a day at the "Harbor".....ahhh the "Good Ole Summertime"....we use to tie up the Gunlach dock when we would buzz into Houghton from our camp at Bootjack...lots of great memories on "The Portage"

Thanks Fran. Those were good photos. Funny I never heard about that. My parents usually tell me what's going on UP there but I don't remember them telling me about that. The other pictures on the site that day were gorgeous. They're worth going back to look at for those of you who like waterfalls.

Kosk: Was it Gretchen? My cousin Judy and her were best of friends at one time back then (late 50s) We all hung around together for a time then. So I remember at least once meeting Mr. Gundlach!
Memorys here being jogged now!

the library looks like a great building...but i note the roof is flat and there didn't appear to be any supporting columns within the building...one wide open space, unless the room dividing walls are going to support the entire roof area.

There was a parking ramp built in Madsion Wi that the engineers forgot to take into effect the snow weight...the supports had to be redesigned.

Dave..you are correct to question...we had a problem here in Escanaba with our beautiful new library.. the architect did not take into consideration the anmount of snow and ice and we had many problems.....mostly leaks....I think we had to go to court ... we do not get anywhere near the snow you receive in the Copper Country...

Look at the construction photos in the slide show. There are plenty of trusses. The drop celling hides them in the finished building.