We travel to Calumet, Centennial to be exact, where Joe Dase has preserved some fall colors in the trees and in the buildings. If I was a betting man, I'd bet there's a bit of color in the stories the men who worked this shaft could tell.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Check out Joe's Gallery for about 25,000 words about mining around the U.P.

Did you see the Bridge Cam this morning? Another 1,000:

I was about halfway through Joe's gallery before I noticed that there was snow everywhere. Haven't spoken to the family back home so wasn't aware of current weather. Is the snow still around up there?

In the 50's this mine was known as "Little Korea" because it was so cold down there.

Bob from Peoria, Arizona....the bridge view is looking across to Houghton from the Hancock side; Dollar Bay would be four miles to the left (east) on the Hancock side....all in all, a beautiful pix!

No snow on the ground but check tomorrow. It's been on the cool side with drizzle/rain. I believe I did here that "S" word in the forecast for us later this week. Just in time for a cold messy Halloweend for the little ones.

This is just how I remember it to be...a horserace to see which would arrive first: Halloween OR the snow-that-stays! Some things never change, I guess.

Oh WOW the bridge was beautiful! Just checked and the water is so calm it looks like glass. I love the bridge scenes it can look so different each time you look at it. I wish I was crossing that bridge and heading for Dollar Bay!!!

Just looked at bridge cam. I love when the water looks like glass.

Send some cool weather out here! It is going to be 91 degrees today. I am tired of summer like weather. Ready for fall and winter.

Its' a "balmy" 44 degrees here in Warren, MI!!
I Love it!@@@

We went in from centenial and timbered no. 6 shaft in kearsarge it was so cold there was 12 inch's of ice on the foot so we had to hold on to a rope with one hand and work with the other. kind of scary.

Whew! Mining must be extra tough in the cold weather months. Short days, so it's dark when they go to work and dark down in the mine and dark when they go home. Most of us have jobs where we at least see some of the daylight while we work!

Bob- The Shaft you’re looking at is Centennial Number 3.

Mike B.- The pics with snow in them were from last winter.

Actually this picture is a year old also, I haven’t gotten back out to et any new pics from there, despite the fact that I worked there part of this summer scrapping the Mill, I did get to go down number 3 shaft to the water, we were inspecting timbers because as some of you know this shaft is collapsing slowly.

Dave- Which Centennial did you go down? I know that Shafts on the Calumet conglomerate do connect to number two and number two connects to the Centennials on the Kearsarge I believe on the 21st level but that would be a long haul. Right now the company I work for is capping no.3 Kearsarge, I think the collar failed down to bedrock.

And for anyone interested my Pics of the cap job on C&H #17 will be uploaded soon, now that the job is finished.

Joe We went down in cent. no. 3 and there were cross overs on 9 level, 17 ,and 31. Dave

On a related note, you (iron) mining and UP history buffs out there might enjoy The Iron Hunter, by former Michigan governor (1911-1913)
Chase S. Osborn. Just finished the 1919 MacMillan
edition, but I understand there is a recent paper-back version still in print. A great autobiography
containing some little-known tidbits of political
and historical note. For instance, who knew that O.C. Tompkins, warden of the Marquette Prison, shot off the fingers of Rhinehardt Holzhay, the notorious Gogebic stagecoach robber? Certainly not I.

To Fran, GA,
Would you have known any of the Stetter's or Beaumont's from Dollar Bay? Thanks - Kath

I like all the pictures in your gallery Joe. Can anyone tell me exactly what is the area of a mine that is called "the coller"? Also, how do they close off the old entrances to all the mines in the area?

Fred- The collar is where the shaft enters the ground, its sometimes called a portal also depending on the type of opening, if its a decline for example it would be a portal. There are many ways to close off old mines, the most popular way to do it is push as much into it as you can, you can collapse the shaft or adit, or you can put in a concrete cap, which is basically a reinforced load bearing wall over any opening.

Remember my Dad and Grandpa referring to Centennial #3 as the sh_ _house on stilts!!!

I was working for C&H when they were developing Centennial #3. The best mine they had going at the time was Centennial #2. It was down 51 levels or about 5100 ft on the incline. The vein was at about 36 dgrees. You had to be half mountain goat to get up and down the stopes. The drillers were on incentive, so much per foot drilled. Drill-blast-muck, drill-blast-muck,that was the cycle. The mine captain would make the rounds each morning to every work station. His parting words to the miner at the face was always "bar your loose".

Great gallery, Joe!
Ahh...if only you, digital cameras and the internet had been around back in the 1950's what wonderful Copper Country mining history pictorials we would now have.

The tough working and living conditions are what make Yoopers so tough & special...nothing was easy for the good folks I knew........even job-security was uncertain. Families and friends had a tight bond and found joy in the simple pleasures...... a proud heritage of strength, honesty & devotion.

Hey that was taken by my house!!!