The 4^th of July was really nice this year. The parade was very nice and the fireworks were outstanding.

 Millie (Bailey) LaFraniere was in from Ithaca over the 4^th with Chris Bailey. Chris was able to visit with her dad, Bill Bailey and stayed with her sister Nadine. Chris loved the fact she had her own room with a TV.

Scott and Chris Roberts are in from Mt Pleasant for most of the summer.

Janet and Hayward Peacock are in from TX visiting the Peterson family. Janet will be staying on for a few more weeks while Hayward must return home to golf.

Donna Oglevie is enjoying two of her son’s visiting this summer. AJ and Pete will be staying on keeping mom and Marc company.

Dick & Carol Miller had a full house over the 4^th with the arrival of their daughter Kathy and son-in-law Tom Baker of Calumet, MI; granddaughter Jennifer and Mike Maciejewski along with children Hannah, Emma & Luke of Marquette; granddaughter Jessica Moore and daughter Lily from Eatonville, WA and daughter Peggy & friend Rick from the Soo.  

A family BBQ was held on July 3^rd in honor of Miss Lily! This was the first time for the Grand Marais side of the family to meet Jessica and Mike's daughter, Lillian Noelle.

Congratulations to Jennifer Maciejewski on her 4.0 Grade Point Average. Jen is continuing her studies in an Audiology doctorate program while working full time! Proud parents (Tom & Kathy Baker of Calumet, MI) and grandparents (Dick & Carol Miller of Grand Marais) can't wait until they can call her Doctor Jen!

Gene and Mary Jane Beaune from Mason spent a week in Grand Marais over the 4^th. Mary Jane says what a great parade and beautiful fireworks. Seems like it gets better every year. On July 1^st they had a memorial service for Lloyd Quartz (Mary Jane’s Brother). Attending were his daughters Norma Smith, Renee (Rick) Flint, Ginny (Gary) Camp all from California , daughter Mandi Quartz, wife Darlene, sons Scott Davolt and Alan (Andrea) Quartz, all of Illinois, grand daughters Jessie Davolt and Cheyenne Quartz, grandson Aiden Quartz all of Illinois, sister Mary Jane (Gene) Beaune of Mason, brother Bob (Edna) Erickson of Sault Ste Marie, nephews Kevin Erickson of Buda, Texas and Bob (Betty) Braune and children Brittany, Brooke, and Brett of Mason. We spent the rest of the week visiting friends.

My sister Maggie Smith from Ithaca was in with her husband Greg, and grandchildren, Paige, and Skyler. Also in were her daughter Allyson and friend Nick also of Ithaca.

In over the 4^th were our two daughters. Wendy and husband Steve, children, John, Evan and Charles Lenz. They just returned from OK and are on their way to Memphis TN for 6 weeks of work. Daughter Jenny, and husband Ben, along with son Logan were in from Ithaca. We had a great time with all the kids together.

Daughter Sara Scaife came in after the 4^th with her children Reid and Cecelia from Michigan Center. Friend Christy Smith joined her and spent 4 nights here. They also went to Grandma & Grandpa Scaife’s house and Reid was able to spend some time playing with Aunt Elizabeth. Elizabeth with be traveling back with Sara and spending some time in Michigan Center.

Happy birthday to Connie Johnson, Dick Casebeer, Susie Troeger, Josey McDonald, Pam Lundquist. Jim Lowe on the 23^rd, and Jack Hubbard July 29^th.

Get well to Linda Caryl. Hang in there girl we are all thinking of you.

If you have any news for Around the Bay let us know. Until next time.. Keep on smiling… Evie

morriso3@jamadots.com

Until next time, see you Around the Bay. Keep on smiling…Evie

morriso3@jamadots.com

I can’t decide if Georgie Boy should be thrown out of office for his Iraq invasion and occupation or his foreign policy in general. Despite the rhetoric flowing from the Whitehouse his support for his Iraq-Afghanistan military actions continues to erode even from his ex-staunch supporters, Warren and Luger, are joining the “rats from a sinking ship” parade. Georgie continues to say “Patience”. The problem is that congress has no plan that most will agree to implement in order to force the end of this fiasco. In the meantime, American service personnel and innocent Iraqis (collateral damage) are being killed in great numbers. This administration led by Georgie boy, Cheeny, Rum Dum and Rowe have us mired in a no win situation. From several reports the successes in Afghanistan are also reverting to pre-“war on terror” conditions. Al Quaida has just relocated and Georgie’s ally in his “War on Terror”, Pakistan, right next to Afghanistan, has become the training ground for Al Quaida and other radicals. I think this is the same Pakistan whose nuclear scientist created the nukes in Pakistan and sold the technology to other countries, reportedly North Korea, Iran and other countries. Apparently the scientist had achieved hero status in Pakistan. Georgie’s response; “Duh, I wish you hadn’t done that but I need you so I’ll sweep this under the rug.”

Then of course there is Saudi Arabia, the personal friends of the Bushes. The facts are that the vast majority of the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks were from Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabian royalty is a personal friend (not to mention huge campaign donator) and they would have major problems if this “war” resulted in the wrong faction gaining power in Iraq. The fact that the vast majority of insurgents in Iraq are Saudi and at least half of them sworn to suicide missions to kill Americans and Iraqis, apparently means little if anything to this administration. This administration swears repeatedly that it will not tolerate countries that support terrorism yet continues to allow some countries to pretty much do as they please.

And let us not forget another problem that has mushroomed under this administration, our astronomical trade deficit. Leading the pack lately is China. I understand that Chrysler, an ex-American company is now going to import a new car called, I believe, the “Cherry”. If I heard right the vehicle will sell for about $2,000.00. How can this be? Well when labor is dirt cheap and the Chinese keep their monetary value at a ridiculously low value and our gutless government, both asses and elephants, refuse to apply reasonable tariffs, a sort of unfair advantage exists. I understand that the tariff on an American car sold in China is about $2,500.00 and that the tariff on the Cherry will be $2.50. Remember that China also has “favored nation” status despite the fact that China’s treatment of its citizens makes Saddam Insane’s look like child’s play. Unless you have been living in a closet lately you have heard of major problems with food and other products from China being imported with dangerous and outlawed additives. Reportedly about 100 Panamanians have died from using toothpaste made in China and there is supposedly a panic by some retailers to pull this toothpaste off the shelves in American stores. No wonder our trade deficit is out of control; hell the Chinese are allowed unfair advantages in addition to poisoning us.

It appears as though the two border guards who shot the drug smuggler are going to get a congressional hearing. If the victim was a drug smuggler and was shot, whether in the back, the butt, the head or another tender area, he has no right to complain and belongs in jail. If there are extenuating circumstances that also implicate the guards in illegal activity, lets hear them. So far all I have heard from the injustice department is that the guards shot the druggy in the back and that, too, has been called a lie. I don’t know much of the details but it sure appears as if the guards got a raw deal and the major criminal got nothing except for a pocket full of cash from his drug sales.

Most political pundits are writing McCain off as out of the race for the elephant nominee for president. Seems kind of early to me but if he is out, he did it to himself. To support Georgie boy and his war-monger administration was akin to political suicide. At one time I would have supported him and regardless of his stance on the Iraq fiasco, I respect him for his service to this country and admire him for surviving the Hanoi Hilton. It is a little strange that a non-candidate, Thompson, is running second to the leader Giuliani, and only ten points behind. Another non-candidate for the asses, Al Gore is running third. Although it is mighty early to make any reasonable guesses as to whom the major parties will nominate, it sure is already a mighty strange race.

And finally. The Independence Day celebration was great. All those who had any part in making it a fitting celebration deserve a big THANK YOU! The parade solidified our support of restoring our harbor which I understand got an additional $1.5 million allocated for the project. This gives us $2.4 million according to reports in the Mining Journal. I thought we already had $1.5 million which with the new allocation should add up to $3 million. Regardless it isn’t enough so we must keep up the battle. Only two of my grand children and my daughter were able to make it here for the 4^th; the boys and their friend from Marquette, Zack (alias Sam) managed to haul in a large supply of candy and other prizes. The flag retirement service went well and many tattered flags were disposed of with deserved honor. I think the company of old Vets even marched in cadence most of the time. Thank You Gee and fellow Veterans. We also spent some time with John, Jen and Hannah Bleckiner and George and Linda Radcliffe. Hannah kept Grandma Linda and the boys busy chasing her all over the yard. I have a feeling that Hannah will have some green eyes when her sibling comes. Dick Miller also introduced me to “the Greatest Great-grandchildren; I won’t argue at least not now. The fireworks display was fantastic for such a small community. We saw the Negaunee Pioneer Days fireworks last weekend and I don’t think they were much if any better. This past weekend Sherri and I went to Marquette to watch granddaughters Doc and Dizzy play softball. On Saturday they came from behind to win by a 4-3 score. Doc pitched and did a great job striking out 11 in six innings and allowing no earned runs. On Sunday they again came from behind to eek out an 8-7 victory which sends them to the quarter finals. Dizzy was an outfield starter in both games and, as did all the girls, did her part to bring home the victories. I continue to be impressed by the skill of these young girls and especially by their sportsmanship; major leaguers could learn a lot from them. I am pretty sure that Doc and Dizzy had the largest fan club there including their parents, cousins, grand parents, Great Uncle John, Great aunt Jen and cousin Hannah.

And finally, finally. Although there is finally some serious movement toward getting out of Iraq, our troops continue to be killed and injured. Their families continue to live knowing that some day there might be a knock on the door from a by the military telling them that their loved one is coming back in a box. Continue to pray for them and don’t even think about criticizing them regardless of your opinion of this battle.

Until next issue. Hungry Jim

Tudy Tornovish and her son Al get up early and have coffee in their kitchen most mornings. Usually Bill Bailey and Brody Block and Charlie Bugg are there too. I go only rarely but each time I think, I have to do this more often. Tudy’s always telling stories and I’m always wishing I had something to write with. So on a bright, crisp morning in July, I went prepared with a notebook and pen.

For a minute we all sat looking at one another a little shyly, but then I said something about writing slowly because of carpel tunnel. Tudy said she had the same problem and had the surgery done on both hands at once, wanting to get it over with. “What a dumb trick!” she declared, matter of fact and lively at the same time. This broke the ice and pretty soon I was saying, Wait, wait! while I tried to keep up with her stories. It was a little like chasing a train, but a lot more fun.

Tudy is a small person—and shrinking, she says—slight and pert, with short white hair and bright eyes. She seems always to pay close attention to everything that’s going on around her. “I’ve always been an inquisitive person,” she said at one point, and that seemed like exactly the right word. Inquisitive and mischievous. She laughs a lot. Her stories pour forth in vivid, abundant detail. I am completely drawn in; she’s like a book that I don’t want to close.

Tudy was born June first, 1916—that’s where her nickname Junebug comes from—at home on her parents’ farm just up Masse Hill. She was one of ten children, the third from youngest. Her parents were Beverly Bugg and Mercy Carpenter Bugg. They christened her Evelyn but I’ve never heard anyone call her that. I asked about her other nickname, Tudy, and she said, “My dad tacked that on. I only weighed three pounds and Dad said I was a little Tudy, and I guess it stuck.”

“My father was a barber with two artificial legs,” she went on. “A train ran over one when he was a young boy, and the other he lost when my brother Charlie dropped a penny under the bed and just had to have it back right now.”

Beverly was the town treasurer at that time—“when Grand Marais was booming”—and handled so much money that he was in the habit of carrying a gun. It was hanging on the bed frame’s scrollwork and her father bumped it when he leaned down to fish for the penny. The gun went off and shot him in the leg. “They strapped him to a fish tug and took him to Munising to the hospital and cut the leg off.” Tudy shook her head, seeming rueful but not tragic. “Isn’t that something? To lose both legs in freak accidents like that?”

Her father died at forty-eight, of what the family now thinks was colon cancer, though there wasn’t a name given to his ailment then. Tudy was only seven or eight when he died, but remembers him well.

“He played the guitar. He could play Hawaiian attachments just beautiful. He’d take his legs off at night and we kids would stand them in a corner. Then we’d sit around the fire and he’d sing. He made up songs for each of us. He’d sing ‘I left my love in Evelyn,’ and oh my—I thought that was my song.”

Beverly’s parents came to the United States from England and Beverly grew up in Saline, Michigan. He left home young to work on the railroads because he didn’t get along with his stepmother, and eventually ended up in Grand Marais. Mercy grew up in Grand Marais, and went to work at an early age in her parents’ hotel because she didn’t want to go to school anymore. The hotel sat right across the street from the Tornovish house. There was a bar in the basement, and lots of rooms upstairs. Mercy’s father had come down to Grand Marais from Canada; their heritage was “a duke’s mixture.” It’s a hardy stock, apparently—Mercy lived to be nearly 102 years old, and at ninety one Tudy seems to be going strong.

When Tudy was young the family lived in east town, just a handful of houses beyond their current home, in a big white clapboard place that doesn’t look as if it’s changed much in the intervening years.

What was it like, growing up here? I wondered, and a whirlwind of stories erupts. What I take away from it all is that it was fun. Also close knit. It was as if the town was one big family. “We were in and out everyone’s houses just as if they were our own. I mean we practically lived at the Oliver house, and the same with the Olli’s. And all these women around baked the best cookies. Bill Lacombe’s grandma, Grandma Houston, had a pantry off her kitchen and we’d go in and wait for the cookies and sometimes we’d go right in the pantry and she’d shoo us out. But she’d always give us cookies, we knew she would, we’d come when they were just about done.”

Grand Marais was an isolated place, much more so than now, but that doesn’t seem to have been any kind of a hindrance. Instead I wonder if that’s what has made Tudy and her peers have such vivid memories, such bright and staunch attitudes.

“We went to Seney once. We got to stand on the platform and watch a train come in, and my, that was a big deal. We thought we’d really been somewhere.”

“In the summer we spent all our time on the beach, down east. Mother could stand on our back porch and see us down there, and call us in when she wanted.”

Their pursuit of entertainment led them into numerous scrapes. Tudy told about a ride on the bobsled Bill Lacombe’s grandpa had made him; they came flying down Masse hill and crashed into the wooden fence that surrounded the Lacombe’s property. “It’s a wonder we weren’t all killed. My grandpa came down with an axe to chop the sled out of the fence, but I thought he was gonna chop us.”

Also they loved to spin on the net drying racks. “It was quite a sport. We couldn’t wait ‘til our legs were long enough to do it.”

“Oh, we all went through that,” Al put in quietly, and Bill and Brody nodded. I thought how many things have changed since the big commercial fishing boom ended. I wished I could get a spin on a net rack myself.

“One would hang on, and the others would push. It was kind of dangerous.” One time a younger boy insisted on a ride until the older kids finally let him get on the rack. “He fell off and broke his leg and was hollering blue murder. I run like the devil home. My mother asked, ‘What’s the matter?’ and I said, ‘Nothing!’ But she saw the doctor going to Masse’s house and she went down there to see what was going on, and they were setting Burton’s leg. Boy did us kids get it for pushing him on that reel. It ended up they put him in traction.”

She told about eyeing a calf in its pen and getting the idea that if the calf wasn’t in there, she and her girlfriend could use the pen for a playhouse. “We never had nothing, you know. So we opened the gate and climbed in but the calf wouldn’t go. I had new shoes on—we only got one pair and too bad if you ruined them. Mostly we went barefoot in the summer to save them. I can see those shoes so clear. They were patent leather slippers with red hearts on them. I had begged for those shoes. Well, the calf wouldn’t budge and I leaned my back up against its rump and pushed and pushed and it ended up stepping on my foot. The shoe was wrecked so bad I couldn’t wear it. I thought I’d get murdered.”

What else did you do? I wondered. Tudy’s eyes sparkled. “When we were a little older we’d go to the park and peek at the lovers.”

I gulped and then laughed.

“One time we got caught. We were about fourteen or fifteen I guess. The fellow started up his car and chased us. We never thought he would but he did. He had Daisy Manilla in there with him—Daisy Harcourt it would have been then. We had our white sailor pants on—we just had to have those sailor pants, you know—and we ran into Kallios yard and hid but he followed us and put his lights right on us. He called us everything but kids.”

The sailor pants were genuine—Tudy had a brother-in-law in the Coast Guard in Virginia and he mailed them the pants from his old uniforms.

Tudy’s mother made most of their clothes. “I never had a boughten coat until I was twelve years old. Then my sister Muda who had gone down toDetroit to work bought me one.” Muda and Charlie had been almost ready to graduate when their father died; they had to quit school and go to relatives in Detroit, and never came back to stay.

In 1933 Tudy married Rip Tornovish, who had grown up in the house Tudy and Al live in now, and in 1944 they moved down to Holland where Rip fished for a living as he had in Grand Marais. Tudy hated Holland, and so did her children. She had six, one who died at birth. “We came back to Grand Marais every summer. The kids would start crying, ‘I want to go home, I want to go to Grand Marais,’ and I’d cry right along with them.” She and Al moved back permanently about six years ago.

I was running out of time by then—I had to get to work. “There are three questions I ask everyone,” I said. “The first one is, what’s the biggest change you’ve seen here?”

“Oh, just everything,” Tudy said immediately. Everyone in the room nodded. “I remember when Mr. Hill had the only car in town. It was a Packard.” Everyone nodded again. “He only used it on special occasions. When Dad died he took us to the funeral in that car. He was good about things like that.”

“The next question is, you’re quite aged and yet you seem so well and young. What’s your secret?”

Tudy looked blank at first, as if there was no secret. Then she said, “My doctors ask the same thing. I tell them, Because I was a northerner. That’s the reason. I was a northerner.”

“The last question: What’s your advice to people in life?”

Tudy thought briefly and then laughed. “Drink a glass of wine every day!”

The Grand Marais Historical Society has undertaken a new project: to relocate the old Post Office building onto Lake Avenue and renovate it into a GMHS headquarters and walk-through museum of Grand Marais history. Most of the hurdles have been cleared, and with luck, the actual move should take place within a few weeks.

This will be a three-to-five year project and will take place in several stages. This summer, the building will be moved onto a new foundation on the lot just north of the Market Place shop. Necessary repairs will be made to the exterior, and the building will be made tight for the winter.

Next spring, the interior will be renovated to showcase exhibits on the history of Grand Marais, from the early Native Americans to the present day. Project coordinator Cathy Egerer explains, “The Pickle Barrel House tells the story of the Donaheys and the Teenie Weenies, and the Lightkeeper’s House gives visitors a glimpse into life in the early 1900s. However, we lack a museum that tells the rich history of Grand Marais through all of its various eras, including the early fur traders, lumbering, railroads, fishing, tourism, etc. The Old Post Office is the perfect size and we’re pleased that we can try to save it. The new location is a great place for a museum about Grand Marais, and we think the building will look wonderful next to the Marketplace. It will be a great new feature on Lake Avenue, and a new destination for visitors to Grand Marais.”

To cap off the project, the Historical Society plans to purchase the property on which the building will be relocated. This will safeguard it against any future moves.

A fundraising campaign is being planned in support of this exciting project. More details will be presented in the next issue of the Gazette. Stay tuned!

OBITUARIES