• Tuesday-What'sUP December 22 - 02:08 pm

One of our astute Pasty Camwatchers spotted quite the shot from the Houghton County Airport Cam yesterday afternoon and quickly alerted us! Looks like somebody is going to definitely argue about the vitalizing, pure air statement made on the sign from the Pasty Cam Archives. Normally you can smell the difference in the air of the Keweenaw, from that of city air. It has something to do with being so close to Lake Superior, the largest (by volume) inland freshwater lake! Talk about being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. By the looks of the air blowing towards this unsuspecting person, it's likely he/she isn't smelling anything fresh at all!

At least that person is experiencing temporary!

Cold looking picture, like Saturday.

You're right - there's nothing like the clean air UP there, but it doesn't look quite as refreshing in this picture from yesterday!

So you're saying the harbor haus DIDNT coin that phrase
themselves? :)

the air up there is a huge part of why i come back every chance i
get.

Looks to me like the person is purposely standing in the exhaust, for the heat maybe?

What's better than a shot of aircraft JetFuel exhaust for an airport worker...Nothing.... As a former air carrier employee (30 + years) I enjoyed this odor now and then...I surely would not want to inhale it daily but it sure is better than a Diesel engine exhaust from a vehicle at a Stop Light as it is sucked into the ventilation system or thru an open window. Clean air is fine but what the heck go for the gusto....Life is great all over the USA... A great photo of the SAAB by the way. I bet Nate Rounavara had his share during his Houghton (CMX) career at
North Central/Republic/Northwest!!!!!

I see a few sno-mobile trailers in the Ramada parking lot.

'Tis the season, eh?

Cough, cough, cough....
Is that smoke coming from the plane, or out the side window of the truck??!!
Do you think the people on the plane are a little worried about making it?

I remember when those signs about the vitalizing air in the Keweenaw were posted along side of the highways. Is this one one of the remnants?

Mary. Baikal Lake in Russia is the largest lake by volume. Lake Superior is the largest lake by surface area.

I stand corrected! I knew it was the largest something! Thanks, John. :->

Just overheard on the scanner the Mt. Bohemia crew readying to open this Thursday. For sure there's plenty of fresh air atop there ...

That fella kinda looks how I feel sitting in the traffic around the Henley Street exit on I-40E in Knoxville around 330pm every day. Nothing like being a Hyundai driver in a vast sea of 18-wheelers. Goes from a dead stop inch forward, to ZOOOM 85mph in about 6 blocks. Life in the fast lane...

I believe the sign was posted on US 41 just as you entered Houghton--before you get to the MTU parking lot. Too bad it was removed. It's a great combo with the plane exhaust!

I remember passing that 'vitalizing air' sign when I was a kid, and my family summer vacationed in the U.P. My grandfather who lived near Calumet Waterworks would ask me if I saw it, while he puffed on a cigarette. I guess I was too young to realize the conflict in reasoning at the time.

Lake Baikal I've heard has the only population of fresh water seals. Think they'd like Superior?

just to give some stats on the max lake depths:
lake superior - 1333 ft
crater lake - 1932 ft
lake baikal - 5371 ft
baikal has almost twice the volume of superior, but superior has about 712 times the volume of crater lake. indeed, lake superior has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in the world (and is the most beautiful, IMHO).

I remember seeing that sign as you entered the MTU campus as a kid, to me it said we were entering vacation land! Great memories!

As for the airplane, they smoked back then too!

Tomorrow afternoon we will be touching down in Hancock for a week, yipeeeeeee!!!!!!
Happy Holidays to all of our deployed service members, you are not forgotten.

Maybe there was 2 of those signs. I know there was also that fresh air sign on the hillside to the left of the beginning of the old airport road. That road was just north of the present one. Anyone else recall that one?

As our family didn't travel very often beyond Houghton/Hancock in the 50&60's, from Keweenaw, I mostly remember the sign at the airport road and another near Tech.

jim, i remember the old air port road. back in "69" we were up at my gramps, the old kinnunen farm, got our car stuck on that old road and it took the v-plow to pull us out.the next year we bought our place behind the bay next to kolkas house. sure remember it being one heck of a winter. did a lot of snowcattin and we didn't have all those groomed trails we cut our own.

Roudy - there are also seals in the Caspian Sea. The area closest to where the Volga River enters is fairly fresh (though not necessarily clean.) The further south you go the more salty the water - we saw seals, or TULEN' as the Russians call them, in all parts of the Caspian. Of course they floated higher in the water at the southern end.

I would imagine that smoke is from a auxilery ground heater. Probably a Janitrol or Herman Nelson .

That sign always meant we were finally home! Ahhh to be there again.....

Next time somebody says that sure is
a big lake, you comment that is only
the top of it....

As stated in a posting, it's DEEP!

I have a question- was wondering where Coberntown is located in the area? Seen it mentioned in a Gazette obit.

IF I didn't know better,I'd say that was my wife in that picture...She has been described as a true "jet fume junkie" ; )

I think the person is standing on the other side of the plane. Those things smoke like that when they're first started or when they're just shut down, don't they, RCW?

Must be unburned fuel, 'eh?

Hey CC historians, what exactly was this Copper Country
Vacationist League? Their name is on the bottom of the
pure air sign.

COBURNTOWN is on top of Quincy Hill going north from Hancock. There's the old Shell station where they sell used cars now. The road is right by that turning right off US41.

still... there is nothing better than the air in mohawk.

Well sometimes that does happen Ken, however not to often as I can recall.Seem to recall when we had hot starts they called it Torching!!

Thanks Al. My memory still works. LOL

Wasn't there a sign at the top of the ski hill?

I think it was called ONIKO airport in the begining---I remember the air show when it was dedicated--realy high winds--people were killing geese with clubs on the ground in albion

TS its ONECO. Well, you were close, Ive got a few photos in my gallery of that air show dedication. I recall that year of the geese clubing, wasn't that in the late 40S

Coburntown was also known as "Helltown" back in the day. They have an outdoor ice rink. My wife grew up in Lower Pewabic which is separated from Coburntown by a road.

RCW, I was at the dedication of the Houghton County Airport. I think it was '47 or '48. My mother, brother, little sister and I walked there from Paavola. I was 8 or 9 years old, what an exciting day that was! After we were on top of the Arcadian Hill, some one came along with a car and gave us a ride to the show. Hei, Kaija, do you remember the 'hairport'?

That sign meant We were finally at Gramma's! I missed it last wer visited.

TO: pete, illinois on Tuesday, December 21, 2004 - 07:18 pm

Here is Coburntown (listed as Pewabic on the map) {coburntown}

oops, map didn't load:

GOOD PLUG FOR NORTHWEST AIRLINK (AIRLINES)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!