• Sunday-What'sUP February 14 - 05:41 am

Here's a rugged crew 140 winters ago, heading out from Sault Ste. Marie with a load of mail bound for Marquette. Based on notes from ancestry.com we could write a book about these men, of which all but one are identified:
George Bernier came from a large pioneer family of the Soo. He and his wife would lose a son to infant death two decades after the picture was taken.
Loius Cadotte was born on Mackinac Island, often employed by the Government as an interpreter, proficient in regional dialects of the tribes.
Eli Gurnoe - another of Chippewa county's pioneers - was a Catholic, born in the Soo, and outlived two wives who "preceded him to the vast beyond."
William Miron was an inlaw of Gurnoe. He was a well-known carpenter, apparently moonlighting for the post office in the off season.
Unknown... but isn't it an interesting hat he's wearing? Perhaps a forerunner of the Stormy Kromer?
Antoinne Piquette had a daughter who was tragically murdered in a love-triangle suicide at Niagara Falls. Antoinne's mother lived with him until she passed away at age 105, having been born in the 1700's, lived through the 1800's, and died in the 1900's.

What a colorful group of postal workers, frozen in time, passed on to us courtesy of the U.P. Digitization Center. By coincidence, postal service in the U.P. is again in the news this weekend. Last week the closing of a long list of mail service centers was announced, from all over the country. The one near Iron Mountain (Kingsford) that serves much of the U.P. was on that list. Overnight delivery of most letters around the peninsula - which we have enjoyed for years - will soon be a thing of the past. When you visit the U.P. this summer, better send your postcards home the day you arrive - or you might beat them.

Today's picture is also a reminder of another dogsled race coming this week, the CopperDog 150 in Calumet March 2-4. For mushers, spectators and support crew, Pasty.NET will be providing Internet service along the route - Calumet, Gay, Eagle Harbor, Copper Harbor (and points between). Besides increasing bandwidth for open hotspots at select businesses we serve in those areas (like Eagle Harbor Inn), during race days you can also use the ID "copperdog" and password "pastynet" to log on any of the public hotspots (look for "pasty" in the name). This will help connect smartphone, iPads, laptops, etc. during the race, which travels "off the grid" of most cell service.

Never a dull moment here in the U.P... Have a good week :o)

These men had the true pioneer spirt. Knowing that they had to travel that distance. "WOW".

"WOW" for sure. SISU, I'd say!!

Those guys didn't have skin, they had hides!

If I didn't know better, I would've thought this photo came from Russia or the Ukraine, with all those heavy coats, hats, dog-sled and snowshoes. Beautiful! Very hardy bunch of MEN! And you're right, Charlie, that hat does look like a "Stormer Kromer". ;) (sorry...couldn't pass that up)

The unknown looks like he could be American Indian.
This crew definitely looks gangsta.

None of those dogs look like Huskies....those men are tough and the critters are too!

Bloody awesome when men were men!!!

Looks like the Copper Country is getting what it needs for the Copper Dog: (current view)

(AMEN Susan!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my darling nephew, Derek Griffin! Love you! XOXO

I agree with you, Donna, those look like regular 'pooches'...sweet!
In reference to Hollidays' post the other day...I'll bet none of those fellas thought of these doggies as "just a dog".;>
Oh, and Happy Birthday to your nephew, Derek!

The US Postal Service was instituted by the US government during our country's early days primarily to get information to the public. Postage for newspapers was subsidized by the government for the same reason: to distribute information, to have an informed public which the country's Fathers recognized was necessary for a democracy. Rural areas still exist where postal service is a primary source of information. The USPS is truly a remarkable organization! Letters go to Australia, Russia Tanzania, Amasa (!) AND GET THERE. Further, people check their mail
boxes daily which is not always the case with electronic formats. Closing Post Office services (processing centers or local offices) is truly a regrettable action.

By Charlie at Pasty Central (Chopper) on Sunday, February 26, 2012 - 07:54 am:
What a colorful group of postal workers, frozen in time,...

Something tells me you hit the proverbial nail Charlie!! With the future of the USPS and the budget cuts expected, don't be surprised if this isn't the way mail gets delivered again, especially in the UP (probably be faster service than the current method though...).

I'm not sure why the speed of the postal service gets so many negative comments. I think that the service is excellent and is also at a bargain basement price. When I can send a letter across the country and have it hand delivered to the recipient within a few days for 44 cents, that's a real bargain. I guess it's slow compared to e-mail but what does e-mail cost? $600 for a computer, $30 per month for internet, $39.95 for the latest antivirus, $150 when you have to bring your computer to the computer Dr. I'll take the good old reliable U.S. Mail any day even if they have to deliver it by dogsled or pony express.

Shirley, you are right, none of those doggies are "just a dog".

Daveofmohawk (Daveofmohawk) I agree, the cheapest thing we have so far is to be able to mail a letter for under fifty cents, can't even buy a candy bar for that. Captain Paul, maybe you need a sled dog team to get your mail to it's destination faster. Aren't those also government employees?

True Joanie, but at least I don't "hate" them...

I love my computer, but I also love the mail service. I get annoyed when I'm making out my bills and some of the envelopes have this printed on them: Save stamps, save trees, pay online. Sometimes I take a red ink pen and cross that off and write: Buy stamps, save American jobs, use the United States Postal Service.

I know no one probably ever reads it, but it makes me feel better to write it. :-)

I am very happy with the postal service. In all the years I've been paying bills, there has been very few times that they did not get there on time.

Some of these companies charge fees to pay by phone or online. I hope we never lose our choice of how we pay our bills. Not everyone has or uses computers.

Dave, you're point is well taken, but don't try to send those letters for 44 cents. First class postage recently went up to 45 cents.

I will not do online or phone means to pay bills. I just don't trust the system to make sure my bills are paid ontime. At least with the USPS I know it will get there, just might take a few extra days. I also send out bills with those other almost obsolete things; personal cheques!!

Interestingly enough, when inflation and the cost of living are factored in, the price to mail a letter first class has not changed very much in 50 years, it's just that everything else has skyrocketed in price around it.

I agree, Capt Paul. I don't do any online banking, etc.

Love your posts, Capt.

I agree with you all...NO online anything payment related. It all goes w/the USPS...good folks there!

Well said, Dave. Having been a victim of ID theft myself, I can truly appreciate the built in security of the USPS. Sure, someone can steal my mail, etc. But the chances of a small handful of potential perpetrators with access as opposed to an entire planet of hackers and thieves that can - and will - get to my personal and financial information from afar, are pretty good odds in my favor. So sorry to see more rural offices closing, when I've got no less than 6 PO's within a 5 mile radius of my suburban stead.

George E. Bernier is my great, great, great
grandfather. Thank you for sharing! I have been
truing to look up more info on him and am glad to
have found these images. Where did you find these,
may I ask?

Annie...in Charlie's note under the photos, it says:"What a colorful group of postal workers, frozen in time, passed on to us courtesy of the U.P. Digitization Center."
Here is a link to the U.P. Digitization Center:. U.P. Digitization Center