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Decade of the Pasty Cam on this day ^{Printed on Recycled Internet}

What boulder is mentioned in Friday's "Day in History"?

the Ontonagon Boulder

Friday's Day in History

To the parents of the young boy on the railroad bridge, that is a very dangerous place to be. By the looks of the shiny rails and very good track, it is a fairly busy line and a train could sneak up and trap anyone caught out on the bridge.

Theresa....just cam back to work last night and in catching up, saw your question....it was great while it lasted! But snow would be better! lol

I've been trying to picture a train sneaking up and trapping anyone caught out on the bridge! Nice play on words, it goes well with my breakfast.

Hey Susan it's supposed to get to 89º today here in Tampa. But I can't really enjoy it cause I was laid off yesterday ... again.... and I have to look for a job. Man I am very tired of this country's downturn. I just wanna work, eat and pay my rent. Is this so bad? Is Obama listening?

The railroad bridge photo reminds me of the movie "Stand By Me".

While attending NMU, I had a friend who got caught out there on the platform of the tressle when the train went by, we had to go out and pry him off the platform after it went by. Alex, your right, reminds me of the movie Stand By Me as well- great movie.

Wonderful!

Charlie,

Just to add a bit to your "Day in History" about of the Ontonagon Boulder and its journey to Washington D.C. for anyone who might be interested in some more of the details:

The Ontonagon Boulder arrived in Detroit on October 11, 1843, from Sault Ste. Marie on the schooner Brewster. Julius Eldred had arranged and paid for it to be taken from the Ontonagon River to Detroit. In Detroit it was seized by the United States and taken by the revenue cutter Erie to Buffalo. It left Detroit on November 1, and arrived in Buffalo on November 9. Two days later it was transported with some considerable fanfare through the streets of Buffalo on a four wheeled truck pulled by two decorated spans of horses on its way to the railway station for the next leg of its journey to Albany. Arriving in Albany on the 13th, it was put aboard the rather posh and newly commissioned steamship Knickerbocker. Traveling from Albany down the Hudson River it reached New York City on November 15. After a couple of days in New York, the boulder was placed on board the schooner Alexandria and departed for Washington D.C. Eldred, who had accompanied the boulder from Detroit to New York, parted company with it there and traveled overland to Washington. He met the Alexandria when it arrived at Georgetown on November 26. From there he accompanied the boulder as it was hauled on a dray from the docks to the yard of the War Department. It was on display at the War Department for a number of years before finally being moved to the National Museum - now known as the Smithsonian. While in Washington D. C., Eldred petitioned Congress for reimbursement in the amount of $12,402.03 for the expenses he had incurred in acquiring and removing the boulder from the banks of the Ontonagon River to Detroit. A few years later the government awarded him less than half the amount, $5664.98, for his efforts.

Wow! $12,000 would have been a LOT of money in the 1800s. Is our Boulder still display at the Smithsonian? Our yearbook at Ontonagon Area High School was/is called the Boulder.

As kids we used to go across the C&H trestles up the hill from Tamarack/Hubbell. Was a great place to get a picture of the Hungarian Falls upstream. The C&H trains went slow enough and made enough noise that there was plenty of time to get off before they got to the bridge. There were 2 trestles, one was C&H and I think the other was the Mineral Range RR.

Yes, Cindy, it's still at the Smithsonian. It did make a trip back home to Ontonagon and was in the Labor Day parade - sometime in the late 1980s I think it was. It was displayed at other points in the UP at thata time too, such as the Seaman Mineralogical Museum at MTU. There have been a few unsuccessful attempts by Ontonagon and the Native American community to get it back to the UP permanently. (As a kid I thought all HS yearbooks were "Boulders")