Driving north on U.S. 41, you start the climb up the Quincy Hill. First thing you'll notice is the view as you drive along, then you come upon all the mining history. Jason Jeannette did some creative exploring of the remnants of buildings surrounding Quincy Shaft No. 2. This shaft has been preserved and transformed by the Quincy Mine Hoist Association, so that visitors can have a glimpse of what being a copper miner was all about. Another reason to love the U.P.(if you really need another one!), there is so much knowledge to be absorbed, along with all the beauty to behold.

Toivo, you sure get up early on weekends. Love this site every morning to start the day off right. Thanks to all the photographers.

Smoke is visible on the far left of the BridgeCam this morning from the structure fire on Lakeshore Drive in Houghton.

Check out the smoke from this MTU cam...
http://www.admin.mtu.edu/urel/cams/view/still.html

I had no idea it was such a BIG fire! Great camera. Am I hearing that there are two FD's there?

We just got the news that it is the Gundlach building. We have re-directed the Bridge Cam to see the activity up close.

Viewed from any angle, the Quincy is always majestic. Thanks for the reminder.

I bet the pic was taken from the 'roundhouse' building on Kowsit Lats.

Just heard that the Coast Guard is en route to help firefighting

Another glimpse of mining history in Ripley...
http://pasty.com/pcam/yooper66/100_0369_001

G'morning all- So sorry to see the fire in Houghton, cann't place the building. Sure hope that they can keep it to just the one building. Everyone be safe & have a good week-end.

What is Kowsit Lats?

The RAIL STATION is where in relation to the building/s on fire?

Wow! The tech view cam makes it look like the bridge is on fire. Smoke must be moving that way then new air current moving it off. Thanks for pasty cam bridge view that gives another perspective!

Picture is wonderful. Am so glad you are recording pictures of some of the wonderful stone masonry of the original mine buildings. Hopefully even some of these remnants can be preserved.

One translation of Kowsit Lats is "cow pasture"

Seeing the mine shaft get the feeling for a good hot Pasty and a Frankie Yankovic polka

Very interesting pictures this morning. I'm curious, where did Mt Ripley get its name?

Here is a photo of the fire from Hancock side.



You may click on this link below to see a QuickTime Panorama. (Hint: Click and hold your mouse on the photo to move from side to side once the image loads. You can zoom in or out by clicking the plus or minus sign. Take a few seconds to load on a dial up connection. 800K)
Here's the link:
Panorama view of the fire

Is that the building just down from the Suomi Cafe? Sure hope no one was in the building and no fire fighters are hurt!

The first thing I thought when I popped in was that there was a terrible accident. It LOOKED like the bridge was GONE and there was smoke from its remains. That's what it looked like and I started to panic. I thought a ship hit it or something!

What a terrible fire. I hope it is taken care of quickly and that no one is hurt.

The fireman on the scanner are saying the beams are going to collapse.. They are inside the building and scaring me to death. I wish I had pictures. Anywhoo- The pictures that are already up.. (of the fire) are amazing.. That last photo is a really, really scary picture!This fire is going to be a major loss to the employment up here.

It is a shame there is a fire today- with all the wind today.. This cannot go well.. This is going to be a total loss, like BabyR said, this is a huge employment agency.. This is going to be a large loss for the commuinty. I got some photos, but nothing worth posting. I have been watching the fire since about 7 AM and it's not much better. The MTU cam shows no smoke, when there is still alot out there. I'm afraid to oopen windows at my house for fear that I will choke on it.. Better turn the heat down, eh'? I have been sending water to the fireman, my husband is on Hancock FD...

It looks like the Bridge Cam captured the first smoke in the 6:44 a.m. photo. The fire sure developed fast after that!

What was the building on fire used for? Too bad for the local area. Spectacular pictures.

Congratulations Deb and Fran Gariepy on the birth of your new Granddaughter, born yesterday in San Diego. The Parents are Karen and Erick Switzer

Any updates on the fire?

The Gundlach Champion was one ugly building
for downtown Houghton .Let's hope they get the mess cleaned up ASAP! What is the history of this building?

All them Houghton & Hancock Pasty.Net'ers must be out watching the fire in person.
Hope they update us Youperwannabes with what happened.

With the proximity of the City of Houghton parking deck to the Gundlach Building (If I remember correctly). I'm sure the structural integrity of the parking deck is being comprimised. It looks like it's a hot fire.

The building that was on fire this morning was the office/wharehoues for the Gundlach Champion Construction Company. It was once referred to as the Gundlach Building.

Kowsit Lats is a 'where' not a 'what' As one climbs up US 41 hill from Hancock, there is (or was) a sign near the crest indicating the place just past the overlook turnoff.

My dad told me that the Finnlanders are the ones who named the place.

The building was right next to the northeast corner of the parking structure, I had taken some pics from that very spot 2 days ago.

In loving memory of JRH, Mi. (1941-200) May you rest in peace. We all loved you, John. You would have loved to take some pictures of that fire. Love, your oldest "owlie" sister.

Correction
JRH,Mi (1941-2004)

You can find a picture and rough definition of "Kowsit Lats" at this site: http://www.admin.mtu.edu/alumni/digitaltech/2001/guest/

"KOWSIT LATS" from outer space.....: http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=10&x=1901&y=26105&z=16&w=1

T, how do you look at previous pics on the BridgeCam? That is, pics from earlier in the day?

In Finnglish:

Kowsit Lats= Cowsh_ _ Flats.

How can I post photos from my hard drive to here?

By FRNash, PHX, AZ on Saturday, April 24, 2004 - 05:54 pm:

Q: Where is "Kowsit Lats"?
A: Atop Quincy hill, just north of the senic lookout. Check the map (note arrow).

IS THAT THE SAME JRH,MI THAT HAD POSTED ON 4-20 TUES.?

To Frank, CA, speaking of a hot pasty and a Frank Yankovic polka -- I often tune in to www/247polkaheaven.com & view the wonderful pictures at the same time. Brings back many wonderful memories of polka dancing at the Midway, Sportsman's, the Golden Pheasant, Sis's in Dollar Bay and others. You'll find a lot of good music here and some not so good. You can view the program itinerary and the styles are shown. My favorite is the Slovenian (so many good Cleveland bands). We're still dancing to this music around the country. I felt sorry to hear of the Houghton fire today. Hope no one was hurt.

thanks, everyone. I always wondered about Kowsit Lats as I drove up Quincy.

When I wat at da Tech, we used to stop in at Sis's on Friday night and dance with the wives of the guys who would rather sit and drink beer. We would have rather sat and drank beer too, but we were all underage. Fortunantly, nobody cared, and everybody was happy. We got to dance and drink beer, and the husbands got to sit and drink beer. Four of us were regulars at the little bar in downtown Dollar Bay for over a year until the youngest, (me) turned 21 so we had a party. When the owner found out, he was hot for about ten seconds then laughed and said we never caused any problems, played pool quietly, and were good customers. He bought me a birthday beer. I guess those days are long gone......Go Tigers/Pistons/Wings.....what a day in DEEtroit.

To Shirley laurin, thanks for the info. Will check it out ASAP. Frank, CA

I would like an updated photo on the fire in Houghton today. Does anyone have one? Thanks.

Jason-I like the framing of the quincy mine on today's picture!

Yes, it was the same JRH, Mi.

If you go the last page of the Gliderrider album, there is a separate album of photos of today's fire, during and after. Excellent shots. Sad to see however, and hopefully no one was injured. Reminds me of a couple of fairly large fires near the waterfront in Houghton during the late 50's or early 60's. It seems they always happened in the middle of the night, which made them seem scarier as a kid. Does anyone remember that? Didn't a whole block burn in downtown Houghton back then? I recall burning embers landing in our yard.

it was called, "COW SH*T FLATS", before they
renamed it, because of the new 911 adresses

I'm sorry but I'm having trouble finding the album of Gliderrider. I don't see that listed in the area that names those who have albums. Can some one help me?
Sorry to hear about the fire. Hope the firemen are all safe. The pictures shown here show what a bad fire it was.
Today's picture is interesting. The stone work is really neat.
Thanks.

Here's a direct link ...

http://pasty.com/pcam/albuo61?&page=1

DN----Thanks for the link.

A view of the building from last week.Skypixs
Aerials.

now I can see the parking deck referred to in an earlier post.
and in Gliderriders pics, you can also see the parking deck was not damaged.
Thanks for the pics folks.
Any word on injuries?
Hope there were none!

Hey FRNash, PHX, AZ I live N Central PHX. Good to have a companion Pasty.com watcher in town.

Ouch. Not good. Hope they all will be alright.

One thing that was good yesterday is that there was no wind during the worst part of the fire, so the smoke went way up before moving NW. Kept all of us living in town from getting a nose full.
Question to Pasty cam - How does one post a picture in a message?

Does anyone know if there are members of the CpS Office & School Supply softball team in Hancock still around? Sure would like their email addresses if anyone knows these guys! I had alot of good times when we lived in Hancock in the 60's!

There was a message from "ace,tx" dated Apr 24. I'm curious who might be from Ace and knows about the website. I live in Schwab City and would like to talk to someone from the Copper Country.
328-3882. Love to hear from you!!

Just to respond to some questions about the fire: Gundlach Champion had moved out of that building three years ago. They moved into the UPPCO building across the way.

The building is about 50 yards away from the old rail station (now Yalmer Mattila Contracting). However, there was no damage to the surrounding area from the fire.

There shouldn't be any jobs lost due to the fire because the building was used for storage at the time. Some company records were lost, but they're from up to 20 years ago. Officials said historical records were turned over to Michigan Tech's Copper Country Archives. Current project records are safe and sound in the company's new offices.

Although the building wasn't very attractive, it was about a hundred years old. It obviously was one of the few old warehouse buildings that used to dominate the Houghton waterfront.

There will be full details in Monday's Gazette. ;)

Just got this link on the pictures of the fire sent to me. Myself and 7 other NATIONAL GUARDSMEN from CO A in Calumet are deployed in the SINAI PENINSULA of EGYPT. Good to see some pictures of home sorry they involved a fire but didnt mind missing the winter, no snow here temps were in the 80s when we arrived, near 100 everyday now.