• Sunday-What'sUP April 30 - 11:45 am

This month we have been shuttling around through time, spending some weekends up at Fort Wilkins in that "in-between" period... after it had ceased military use, and before it became a State Park. That finally happened in 1923, and I think the second photo must have been kind of a "victory lap" for the Keweenaw Historical Society the following summer (1924). The top scan of the old postcard is from 1930, according to the date on the file from the Michigan Historical Center.

I am reminded of one of our early Pasty Cam calendars, with a winter photo of the cabins at the Fort taken by Daryl Laitila. (She was the first full-time staff member of Pasty Central). As you may have heard, Daryl passed away this week, after a battle with cancer that began some years ago. Along with her family, she will be greatly missed by all of co-workers as well. We'll have more to say about Daryl in tomorrow's end-of-month memorial.

Love these old postcards.

A must stop when back home. Looking across Lake Fanny Hooe and imagining birch bark canoes crossing. An escape from reality is good therapy sometimes.............

I'm so sorry about Daryl. Time and the end of earthly life march on without regard to how we feel about it. It is so important to find beauty in every day, even on those days when it may not be obvious. It is one of the reasons I stop in nearly every day and see what's going on UP north. I am sure Daryl knew how much everything she contributed to Pasty Central was appreciated.

My grandfather, Pierce Hanrahan was a Civil War veteran and the First Sgt. of the last unit stationed at Fort Wilkins. Grandmother was a laundress and her photo is in the window of one of the barracks. Pierce went on to be a Captain in the Detroit Police Department.

I too love old postcards!! Thanks!

It would be interesting to know if there was a unified Historical Society in those days. Today there are separate societies for the two counties, Houghton and Keweenaw.

This note comes from the current President of Keweenaw County Historical Society, Ginny Jamison:

THe Keweenaw Historical Society (KHS) represented Keweenaw and Houghton Counties from the early 1900's to the late 1950's. When it disbanded some of its artifacts when to the museum in Lake Linden which was not yet the Houghton County Historical Society (HCHS). When C&H closed it's hospitals in the early 1950"s that building which was the dispensary for Lake Linden became a museum preceding HCHS.

The archives went to Michigan Tech's Archives.