• Sunday-What'sUP December 24 - 12:31 am

As we learned in our Day in History for Nov 23, William A. Burt discovered that massive mineral vein that kicked off the Iron Boom in the Upper Peninsula. Most discoveries of this type require 2 essentials: 1) being in the right place at the right time, and 2) having the right tools to detect what others before have not. In W.A. Burt's case, he designed and refined his own tools that were needed. Along the way he developed some useful tools for the rest of us.

Burt's Typographer is cited as the first generation typewriter. I ran across this old Navy training film that references Burt's Typographer as being the first. The mention appears early in the movie clip, which is worth a few laughs if you watch it all the way through. In finding this I also stumbled across an entertaining video about the Typewriter Renaissance and another one - a bit of slapstick - this girl's history class project about Burt's invention.

There is another Marquette Burt we have featured before on Shoebox Memories (Alfred), whom I wondered how he was related to William A. Burt. According to at least one author, their families were unrelated (which is hard to believe), but we'll have to take up that subject next time.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and have a good week :o)

A man of many talents!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Charlie, are you & Edie still going to Marquette every week?

Hi Jbuck, yes we had been continuing hyperbaric oxygen treatments in Marquette up until last week. The week before Edie had discontinued a medication, and after one week it became clear there was a circulation problem. We are back in Petoskey, where Edie is having some help in restoring circulation from the folks at McLaren. Hopefully it's all cleared up, and we hope to spend Thanksgiving with her family in Southeast Michigan. By next weekend we are looking forward to being back in the Keweenaw. Some rough traveling conditions this time of year :o)

A very smart gentleman indeed!

Charlie & Edie, my thoughts and prayers are with you. Be careful on the roads and I hope you are able to spend Thanksgiving with your family!
God speed!!

Safe travels, Charlie and "Happy Holidays" to you and yours!

What a bright guy.

Wishing Charlie and Edie a wonderful Thanksgiving Day
and please drive carefully!

In the use of Roman numbers on the typographer, I noticed that Mr. Burt used IIII instead of IV for the number 4.

haha interesting catch there, Thomas B!

Thomas, I've often seen that on old documents/etc. from times past.

My grandmother had an electric nightstand clock with the number 4 that way, also.

Come to think of it, I think I've seen a clock like that too.

As I reported a while back, I own the original clock out of the Rock of Ages light (on the southwest end of Isle Royal). It's face has 4 roman ones for 4 o'clock. Every day I get to see something from U.P. while live in Fl. Sadly, even though I was born and raised in Houghton, I have never been to Isle Royal.

Blessings and Happy Thanksgiving to you, Charlie and Edie.