• Armed Forces Day-What'sUP May 19 - 08:55 pm

In honor of Armed Forces Day, we're focusing on ways the Keweenaw honors those presently serving and those that have served our country. E. Neil Harri supplied us with an aerial of the USS Kearsarge monument and memorial to our U.S. Veteran's, located in Kearsarge. It used to be just the stone boat, constructed by the WPA (Administration of Public Works), but in recent years, Calumet Township spruced things up and turned it into a memorial with all known war veteran's names from the township, listed there.

The second and third photos come to us from the City of Hancock webpage and were snapped during a previous Parade of Thanks. That same parade is taking place today at 10:00 a.m., traveling from Houghton to Hancock, to honor and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.

What a fitting way to celebrate this special day set aside to do just that. A big THANK YOU, to all our sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, friends and all currently serving military and veterans, for all you do to keep protect our freedoms.

Thank you to all our Armed Forces and their
families! America honors your service!

Kearsarge has done a great job designing and
constructing the memorial combining old and new.

To all those serving, and who have served, in the U.S. Armed Forces, thank you, especially those in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Amen!

We can never celebrate enough our men & women who have served or are currently serving our Great Country! God Bless them all and America!

WOW, There were 5 ships named "Kearsarge",even a Battle ship "BB 5" and a aircraft carrier. But when I visit the Copper Country I always visit the "Boat that don't float". Once again a big "THANK YOU" to all that have and are serving in our armed forces.

Thanks for the reminder about Armed Forces Day ... better get my American flag back out on the porch ... still put away because a recent storm. And THANK YOU to all who have served or are currently serving in any branch of the United States Armed Forces, including the Air National Guard!!

And also HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to PASTY.NET today! WOW!! ;-)

God's Blessings and Protection to all....and THANK YOU all Vets!

God bless all who serve/served this beautiful country called the U.S. of A. Today would also have been my sweet husband's 79th birthday. He served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s. A salute to them all!

I grew up playing on that boat and selling copper to tourists at my stand next to it.
I never expected my name to be on a memorial there.
Many thanks to Paul Lehto for getting it built. Thanks to all my veteran brothers.

Remembering and thinking about all of the men and women who have fought for our country today and in the past. Remembering you son, Kosk, and thanking him for his service and ultimate sacrifice. And thinking about you, losing your son over there, and the toll it had to have taken (and still takes) on your every day life.

To all who have loved ones fighting for our freedom, or who have lost loved ones for that very reason, know we appreciate it more than you could ever know. They are all heros, and so are the loved ones they leave behind.

Thanks and God Bless all who have served, are serving or gave their life for all of us.

The Quincy Mine Hoist is now designated as a BLUE STAR MUSEUM to thank our Military Personel and their Families for their service. This affords year-long free admission for our Nation's Finest!

See arts.gov for more information.

Very cool Mr. Bill!

Just saw where the active military get free
admission to the National Parks. Great to see these
recognitions and benefits going to America's finest!

I just received a correction from Helen Niska about the USS Kearsarge:
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I would like to correct an error on who built the stone boat in Kearsarge. My husband, Pete Niska, being from Wolvrine/Kearsarge himself discovered the error. Then he looked it up in a book by Clarence Monette, called Upper Peninsula's Wolverine.

Here is the article. "The old mine rock and Jacobsville sandstone boat floating on the grass alongside
U.S. 41 in Wolverine is an unmarked monument to the Great Depression. This reproduction of the U.S.S. Kearsarge, a famous battleship in the United States Navy, was completed during the depression days of 1933 - 36. It is said that the Houghton County Road Commission furnished the idea and some of the materials, the WPA (Administration of Public Works) provided labnor, and Calumet School District Numnber 2 also furnished some of the materials. A former Wolverine resident, Sam Lark, now deceased, helped built it.
The WPA had from thirty-five to forty men, all from Wolverine and Kearsarge, working on the project. Mr. Rosemergy from Centennial drove the truck that hauled both the men and the stone. No one seems to know why the boat was built of both mine poor rock and Jacobsville sdandstone. It is reasoned that the men used what was on hand, but there was lots of mine rock at all eight nearby mining locations."

If you happen to have the book by Clarence it's on page 72.

Helen Niska
St. Johns, Mi.
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Thanks for setting me straight, Helen. I'll correct my notes up above now, too. :-)

We will have a continuation of this discussion on today's Sunday Shoebox Memory, coming just a bit later this morning.