By Jim Gallie on Sunday, August 22, 2004 - 07:58 am:
(Editor's note: Our regular weekly Shoebox Memory will return later today. Here are some notes from Jim Gallie about our mutual friend Dan urbanski, whose memorial service is being held this afternoon.)
It was eight years ago when my friendship with Dan and Patty began. I had moved to Silver City the previous year, yet I had only met them in passing. Up to that point, my hiking and exploration had been limited to the Porkies, but that soon changed after meeting Dan. My first experience of spending time with Dan was a trip to the Norwich Bluffs south of Ontonagon. Dan, Patty, Sara, Cosmo and I spent the afternoon tromping around the bluffs, examining the remnants of the old abandoned minesite. This was the start of a wonderful friendship.
I have always been a history buff, but Dan was amazing. Here was a guy who didn’t just sit and read about the history of the area, he went out looking for it! From then on, every trip with Dan was an eye opening experience. I learned about area history, geology, botany, legends, colorful characters and tall tales. With Dan, exploring an area wasn’t a passive pursuit, it was hands on. If he didn’t know what a particular wildflower was (which rarely happened), he made a point of looking it up in a field guide and commiting it to memory. He was always examining exposed bedrock, trying to determine if it was rhiolyte or andesite. Often on our trips we would spend a great amount of our time trying to determine “why” something was the way it was. “Why did they put a mine shaft halfway up that cliff?” “Why is the rock in this area tilted in such a manner?”
In this way, we spent day after day exploring the Ontonagon area. Some of these experiences made it into Dan’s Wilderness Diary--the “Hole in the Wall”, the search for the Trapper’s Shack, the countless trips to the Presque Isle Gorge, the Mother’s Day snowstorm--but many didn’t. Not mentioned were the short hikes along the Union Mine Trail in the Porkies, the cross country ski trips behind Dan and Patty’s house, looking at the rings of Saturn through his telescope(our hands going numb), grilling in the backyard and even a trip to Duluth to see some good live music. All of these, wonderful times. But probably the thing that sticks out imost in my mind was (having just returned from an adventure) sitting in the dining room, pouring over Dan’s extensive topographic map collection and wondering where we should go next. We were always planning and the experiences we had were always special.
While studying European History in school, I remember learning about the “Renaissance” man, a man who seemed to have extensive knowledge of almost everything. This definition fit Dan. He seemed to know a bit about everything and if he didn’t, he was going to learn. And, of course, his art was spectacular.
Dan, my friend, you are going to be greatly missed. You have touched the lives of many people. I consider myself to be lucky to have been one of them.
Patty, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
I thought that since Dan was always behind the camera, I would share a few pictures of him at work and at play.
Jim
