We welcome everyone who is a new visitor to Pasty Central ! You may be surprised to find we are more than just pasties, but also a visual treasury of Michigan's Upper Peninsula (ground zero for the best pasties in the universe).

It was a shock this morning when we did a picture & page count of pasty.com. There are now over 60,000 images and almost 4,000 pages on this website. An archive search reveals that over 10% of those pages contain the word "father". Art Chaput has been one of those fathers mentioned in the past, and he was also the co-sculptor of the giant Bishop Baraga statue which overlooks Keweenaw Bay. In today's Shoebox Memory from Rick Anderson, we see Art adjusting the Bishop's eye shadow, somewhere back around 1970 during construction.

The U.P. of Michigan is a fascinating world of natural beauty, people, culture and history. We are honored each day to bring you a glimpse of life from the region. There are so many good reasons to visit us this summer, for example, Copper Country Homecoming which starts one week from today, concluding on the 4th of July with Pasty Fest 2004 in Calumet.

On your way up to the Keweenaw as you pass through L'Anse, remember to wave to the ever-watchful Bishop.

Good morning (afternoon here) from Kuwait

Good Morning and Happy Fathers Day. In response to the June 16th Pasty Cam notes regarding the Shoreline at Eagle Harbor. Yes it is opened and Lissa stills owns it. We were the first to spend 11 days there in the apartment unit. Was just like home.

Good Morning from Denver-
We have actually had rain here for the last 4 days. Everything is now more green than brown, for a change. Almost feels like home. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads.

happy father's day to all the yoopers! Our son is one of them! Looks like it is going to be a nice day above and below the bridge

Here is yet another perspective on the Snowshoe Priest. http://pasty.com/pcam/keithinks/scan_116
Have a great Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day. Thanks for giving world wide attention to our brother Art on this day. Not only was he the welder but also was the model that dressed in a bishops garbs to get proper perspective and dimensions for the large BARAGA statue.

Good morning! We are enroute to the Copper Country and will arrive in time for the Lake Linden-Hubbell H.S. reunion and PastyFest 2004. We are presently in Denver for our Grandson's wedding and then on to Bete Grise where we will be in residence for the remainder of the Summer. Can't wait!

Mornin' Cyberians! Morning Coffee could never be the same without Pasty Central. Life is good. Pasty people are real people. . . great people. . .even in cyber Keweenaw! Happy Fathers Day to Dads everywhere. Especially to the K.P. A Father to many, and more to come!

Good morning/Afternoon to Dave in Kuwait! Please know all the military personnell are still in our hearts & minds. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! Please also extend a special hug to all the dads there that would rather be home with their kids but are doing a job they know needs to be done.
God Bless you all!

Just curious. . .does Ed C. or anyone else remember who designed the cross the Bishop is holding? Looks like a Sun symbol in the center. I read somewhere that the priests used their crosses (at least the ones with circles around the center of the cross)to find their way in the wilderness. Also known as Celtic crosses, I think. A Sextant, maybe? I remember touring the building where B.B. was pieced together years ago. Seems to me that one or more of the walls of the art gallery needed to be removed to get the Bishop (or parts of him) out of the building. Foggy memory though.

Was there an insulation fire inside the bishop on the day it was put up? ..I also remember Mr Anderson and Mr Chaput and I think Mr Gariepy working on the statue.I still wish I had bought one of Mr Anderson's coppper ships.

Wow! Eight-track flash-back! Or should I say two-track flash-back? I forgot all about the copper ships, and roses, and. . . ???

Do you supose laser surgery?

A little food for thought, on crosses, for anyone interested in learning more. http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_5.htm

Happy Fathers Day to My Uncle Art welding the Bishop Statue............& all the Other Dads out there too!!

I think I saw two of the lost Sand Hill Cranes at Kensington Park down here in late April...has anyone heard if they ventured accross Lake Michigan to get home to WI? Happy Fathers Day to all dad's out there, surrogate or othewise.

Theresa Colorado Good morning and Happy Fathers Day to all the Dads. Mine is watching from above but he knows my heart is with him.. I miss you Dad,. Veronica Colorado Hey we could use some of that rain here on the Western Slope.

I will see Art and Claire Chaput at the LLHS class of '49 reunion, July 1.( I appreciate being invited in Gary's place)... Glad to learn Mary Louise Pearce Strohl & Tom are heading home,too. These reunions become more important as the years fly by. Mr Anderson and Art started the statue in a building just off my dad's back yard in Lake Linden...what a beautiful work of art..and now it is in such a beautiful spot....."Bishop Baraga blessing the entire Keweenaw".............

Dave in Kuwait, I hope you had a great Father's Day!! Thank you for protecting "OUR" country from harm's way. I hope your stay overseas isn't too long. We appreciate everything you and other military service have done for us.

Happy Father's Day to all Dad's. My dad is no longer here with us but he is forever in my heart.

Dave in Kuwait,stay safe and come home soon.

We stopped and saw Bishop Baraga's statue on one of our visits and it was amazing sight to see. Just beautiful and put in the perfect spot.From what I have read he is looking across the bay to where his house and Mission once stood.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO THE MANY ON THIS SITE. ESPECIALLY TO CHARLIE... THE FATHER OF THE BEST PASTIES AVAILABLE! :)

Patt - Although I live in Kuwait, I am not in the military. I work for the State Department at the U.S. Embassy. And my family is here with me :)

former range kid - I remember something about a fire too. Didn't it happen when they were moving the statue?

Talking about crosses and the old Victoria mining village outside of Rockland. I have been there several times, and am always fasinated with a cross with a Swaztica on it; in one of the cabins. This is a turn of the century artifact long before the Nazis. The caretaker/guide hasn't got a clue as to it's meaning. Can anybody give me an explanation?
By the way, this site is well worth traveling out of your way to visit.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

I've said it more times than I can count ;) Love Pasty.com and happy to hear you've contributed so much to the World Wide Web! You're the best!

Joe Finn:
Now I'm intrigued. . . And on a mission of discovery. Have you ever ventured out to "Old-Old Victoria"? It's a little ways out back, behind "Old Victoria"?

Former Range Kid.....Yes, the Snowshoe Priest did catch on fire while he was being erected the first time; I seem to recall welding sparks igniting his insulation...

surprised to see the picture on L Anse spent many a summer there like say 60 years ago
memories

Here's a picture of the Bishop Baraga Statue on fire, from Rick Anderson's gallery. I also found this story about the fire, in the archives: Was statue fire 'another miracle?'

RnR
If you mean the old boarding house on the hill, yes. If you mean something else, let me know I would like to see it.
The caretaker I knew used to live there year round. At the end of the winter he was a classic case of cabin fever. I have seen it before in Manitoba and Alaska. If you were the first visitors in the spring, you had a real treat. He can't stop talking!

I have two more years left on my assignment in Kuwait, but I'll be home in Lake Linden on vacation in August. Wish I could make it sooner for the all-school reunion and Pasty Fest.

Gee Da Keweenaw to Kuwait Now that otta be some culture shock ..all n all I would rather be at the Loading Zone ..or the VFW.. or the Leaf or Dreamland...But what an experience!

Just back from a trip to the U.P. and am enjoying visiting this website even more, if that's possible. To Sarah K - I read your comment about Sandhill Cranes. I don't know which cranes you're referring to, but while in the U.P. we took the time to go to the Seney Wildlife Refuge and saw many Sandhill Cranes there. (in fact, saw all kinds of wildlife there.) To RnR, thanks for the link about the crosses. I found your theory about using them for sextants intriguing. Happy Father's Day, Dads.

Joe Finn,

Swazticas were at one time put on things as good luck symbols. My grandfather use to make furniture way before the rise of the Nazi party and their use of the symbol, and he use to put it in the woodworking as part of the decoration. I still have a piece of his work.

What looks like a swastika is probably a native american symbol. There is one in the entrance to the original Walled Lake Schools' administration building, which caused great controversy and was covered with a rug for a time. Then research uncovered its origin and the board of education wisely decided to let it be open to view. The symbol at Walled Lake is actually backwards from the swastika. I don't know if this is the case on the crosses that were mentioned. I also could be wrong that this pre-Nazi symbol was native american, but I think that was what it was.

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful dads out there-
mine, yours, those dearly missed, and those about-to-
be!

If John Saari is still around can you post your up-to-date e-mail.My parents were from Mohawk

HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD! See you in 12 days!!!!!!

the North American Indians Used the swastika as a symbol but it was usually backwards of the Nazi one. It is an old symbol thats been around for a long time. I have an old door or gate latch that was made here in Missouri and it also has that emblem on it. From what I can find out about the company that made it they were around before WW II. Seems like I've also seen it in some pictures of buildings etc. from Europe.

To Sonja, Michigan: It is not so much a home or place, but a feeling...particularly if you no longer have a home to go to...I know I have bouts of homesicknes on a regular basis.

To: RnR
Read that article about the cross and found it quite interesting. Thanks for the web site.
Thats what I like about this web site. Someone always has something that is interesting plus all the pictures of the U.P.
Happy 'Father's Day" to each and every father out there.

Just a question, Why would a metal statue need insulation?

to avoid condensation perhaps?

Pasty Cam is AWSOME, especialy the people. MIGHTY nice people,from all over. KEEP up the good work Dave in Kuwait, does not matter if your service or NOT, takes a special kind to move family, to a new world. MAY YOU AND YOURS BE SAFE!! AND all of our service's MEN and WOMEN!!

Fred In.
I sentJohn Saari an e-mail awhile back but received no answer.......He was my neighbor in Mohawk

How do you know that these were lost sandhill cranes from Wisconsin? They do live in both peninsulas of Michigan. My brothers see them in the fields near Almont and my sister sees them in the fields out near Brighton. We've seen them quite often in the U.P., near Newberry. They are neat to see and their vocalization is really strange to hear - very different.

TO DM
The name Saari really sounded familiar to me.My Mother used to live right across from the old school in Mohawk.When we were kids we used to walk around that old stone wall for hours.One of the e-mails mentioned Paul Kezele, he is my cousin.

Just thought I would share this almost live 'longest day' sunset as it was from the top of Bumbletown Hill tonite, not the most dramatic sunset, but still nice. Now the days start getting shorter....

Oh, Dave,Laurium, did you have to remind us? Got a nice pic from up there of Copper City and Ahmeek last month when we went up to put flowers at the cemetaries. The sky and sunrises have been so beautimous the past few days. Enjoy 'em while they're here. It's already gettin' daylight before 5:00 am.

Bishop Baraga with a Z-Man touch http://pasty.com/pcam/U-P-SUNSETS/P3090023web

Are the pasties at the 4th of July Fest going to be a regulation size pasty or a bite size teaser that will make everyone's mouth water for more. Inquiring minds like to know.

Good question... The free pasties for the first 400 visitors to Pasty Fest 2004 will be the "picnic size", same as Pasty Central delivers for the Minnesota State Fair each August. Limit one per person, and more will be available for purchase.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the dads out there. "To the world you may be one person; to one person, you are the world."

A note about the lost cranes - it was the Whooping cranes that got sidetracked to Michigan from Wisconsin, not the Sandhill cranes.

My folks have this really neat wall hanging that they got in the 70's that was made from the scraps from Bishop Baraga.

Nice to see a picture of the Bishop. We went on a copper country picnic every summer growing up (Munising) and usually stopped at the Bishop for a runaround. I'm so stoked about my 2 week 4th of July visit coming up. I really miss the U.P. Have a great day all!

THE SWASTIKA GOES BACK TO BIBLICAL TIMES

My husband, Art Chaput was the co-sculptor of the Bishop Baraga statue, and he's sitting right here, and he will try to answer some of the questions on the "Baraga" comments page. The fire was caused by welding torches by construction workers who were setting the statue on the clouds. The bottom of the skirt was being cut away, and the insulation inside caught on fire - it was a windy day, and the fire spread quickly. The insulation was installed so that the Bishop would not make a clanging noise when the wind blew - to cause it to have a "tinny" sound. My husband also worked to restore the statue after the fire. As far as the cross, everything was taken from pictures of Bishop Baraga, and copied exactly to scale. The cross had to be removed in order to maneuver the Houghton bridge crossing, since the statue was too high. It was then re-attached in L'Anse. The trip from Lake Linden to L'Anse took about 6 hours, and was moved on a flat-bed semi-trailor. Thank you all for your continued interest in the beautiful Bishop Baraga statue - it was an honor for my husband to be the co-sculptor, along with Jack Anderson.

To MaijaMi and others. You are right about the native american "swastika" being reverse of the Nazi swastika. Most of them I've seen are in the American Southwest. Interestingly enough, you can see the same "swastika" on the sides of houses in the Republic of Korea.

I am looking at this a bit late but have to tell you that somewhere I have photos of the Bishop Baraga just prior to his ride to Baraga. My mother took them. I remember little things like Mr. Anderson's hair (red? right?) and the building it was in (across from Kiilunen's shop)....I have to go dig these up!!

IT IS MY DESIRE TO DO SOMETHING THAT UNFORTUNATLY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS EMAIL PAGE BUT I CAN FIND NO ONE ELSE TO ASK. I WANT TO VISIT THE GRAVES OF MY GRANDPARENTS IN RHINELANDER WI BUT I DO NOT KNOW WHAT CEMETARY OR LOT THEY ARE IN. THEY ARE ALBERT E AND EDITH PETERS. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE FIND OUT FOR ME. THEY DIED ON THE SAME DAY IN ABOUT 1964.

THIS IS BEVAN AGAIN AND I DO NOT SEE MY E ADDRESS LISTED SO IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTACT ME IT IS BEVAN111@SBCGLOBAL.NET THANK YOU.