• Sunday-What'sUP January 31 - 12:19 am

In my 12+ years at Still Waters in Calumet, it has been a pleasure to meet hundreds of elderly local residents, all with interesting stories from their younger days. One such friend passed away a few years ago, and I often fondly remember Rudy Bylkas and the common interests we shared. Around the time the Pasty Cam began, Rudy mentioned to me his love of photography. As evident in today's Shoebox memories, Rudy had a good eye for dynamic scenes. While the guys on the sled are having so much fun, you can almost hear them say, "I can't feel my feet!". And in the second shot at their Centenial Heights home, little Bobby is just about to bean Dad right in the lens.

We've had a reprieve from the extreme cold during January. It's right around freezing this morning in the Copper Country, and should be quite comfortable this afternoon for the Tech students busily preparing for Winter Carnival.

Have a good week!

Good Morning to all :)
I love visiting with the elderly in our community. I have found that they have a lifetime of memories and so many wonderful stories to tell, all you have to do is ask. They do the rest. Often times a picture is a very good way to begin that convestion. I especially love the old pictures that are posted on Sunday morning.

Good Morning to all! Looks to be a mild day,
temperature wise, Glad our house was shoveled off
yesterday. Snow was heavy and plentiful but we
had a great friend who did it for us. Have a great day everyone!!!

Good morning all from bright and sunny Rochester, NY. Still cold, but it's gonna be a real pretty day. Man those kids look c-c-c-cold.

Charlie and Anita have it right. Talk to the older folks. Especially family. First, they appreciate it. Second, if you're working on your family tree, do it sooner rather than later. Later may be too late. If you haven't started your genealogy, they are your first step and contrary to the old saying, you DO take it with you. (the memories and information that is.) Oh what I would give to be able to ask my grandmother or great-grandmother just a few more questions.

I enjoy talking to the elderly as well. Some of
my favorite, though poignant times have been
spent visiting relatives at the Houghton County
Medical Facility at Christmas and during the
summer on my return trips to the "homeland."
I love to hear the stories my old aunties tell.
There are some wonderful volunteers who
bring joy by playing the piano and regular
visitors who spend time with their own
relatives as well as with those who have few
or no visitors. God Bless them All.

By the way, who are the youngsters in today picture? How many years ago was the photo taken?

I believe the picture was taken by Rudy in January 1953, and the boy on the left (who is also the one in the second picture) is Rudy's son Bobby. His co-pilot was not identified, perhaps a cousin.

That second picture of the little boy with the snowball should be matted and framed. It's PERFECT!

Good idea Brita.....can't you just see the mischief in his eyes!! It's on my desktop right now.

Good Morning to all and from Finland! Blackwhite photo is better or colorphoto..

Where would we be without the elderly!!! Their lives were so hard when they were young and they had experiences some of us will never have!! I cannot imagine being a mom back in the 20's and 30's.......what a job it must have been....and how their hearts must of hurt for their children during the hard times. Me, being a City (Detroit) girl all my life find the history here so fasinating and wonderful. Being an aide for years I have heard many wonderful stories....like the Lablanc brothers (Joe and Carlos) Mr Wesley M. from Arnhiem and many others now gone whose contributions to this area are priceless......To all you old timers...I LOVE YOU ALL xoxoxo.....

My parents never got over the depression. Although, my Dad had a good paying job at the mine when his children were being raised, they both carried on frugel activities learned during the "dirty thirties". When I went to Detroit to visit relatives and saw that every day when the Good Humor man came by, every kid bought a popsicle. I thought everybody that lived in Detroit were rich.

Great Pics!!

Our senior citizens are our richest resource for the younger
generations. We need to get their stories before it's too
late- there's nothing that compares to the fullness of an
oral history. Maybe we can all take a moment to interview
someone today~

I couldn't agree more to spending as much time with our seniors as possible to hear their stories. They not only tell us who they were, but who we are now and how we got here. The time spend is truly rewarding!

I'm glad you mentioned this, Charlie, as I recently discovered - too late, of course - that about 80% of ALL of the Army's personnel military records from WWI through the 1960's were destroyed by fire in the 1970's. That means that our friends, parents and grandparents who were veterans of WWII, e.g., are the only resources into their own service. So many veterans, understandably, of course, don't talk about their own service and experiences during war that are important for their children and grandchildren, etc., to know about. Talk to them now, before they are gone forever.

nice to see the pictures of yesteryear hi ho rossini

Wonderful photos! I remember Saturday mornings spent sledding with Dad, followed by hot chocolate and bowling at the Wyandotte Chemical Club.

And regarding our parents' frugality: Dad died seven years ago after working in a chemical plant his whole life. He sent five kids to private schools and college, kept us all well-fed and clothed (second-hand stuff mostly), and took us to museums, the zoo, or on hikes every weekend and camping every year. After the funeral when we went through the assets, we found he left Mom with over $200K to live on comfortably. He and Mom taught us how to enjoy life without throwing away money. Credit-card debt may be fashionable right now, but frugality is the wisest course.

I couldn't agree more about the importance of oral history. Many civilizations have thrived upon it.

I'm forever grateful to one of my son's social studies teachers, Mr. Ruggles, who sent the kids out to do oral histories. My son interviewed a neighbor who lived in one of the original cabins on Lower Straits Lake. She remembered when almost the whole area was farms or woodlands. It had been her parents' summer cabin.

The interview was very interesting. She mentioned how the original lots along Lower Straits Lake were given away in the depression as prizes in movie theaters. The catch was they were half lots, and to build, the winner had to buy the other half! She also mentioned how her family would bring jugs to the cabin to collect the "good" water and bring it back to Detroit.

The interview made my son appreciate older people, even though he was 16 at the time. Mr. Ruggles retired soon after that, and I am sorry his influence is not still at work.

MaijaMI,

I had Mr. Ruggles for Social Studies back in 1982. With his interest in local history, I was able to share my knowledge of the Keweenaw and Eagle River. He used an old photo my grandma had from the early 1900s of ER for one of the historical publications he wrote material for. Glenn is a true teacher; he taught his students that history is not just events that are written about in books, history is everyday events that happen in people's lives. I really enjoyed his class!

k2 Fowlerville Mi: Wow! Small world, isn't it? Didn't think anyone on this site would know Mr. Ruggles!

Another example of how great pasty cam is!

Oh the memories the first pic brings back of sledding down Second Street every night in South Range. Not a care or fear in the world. Just had to watch out for the fire hydrant at the corner of Champion Ave. The good old days when kids played endlessly outside and only went in to warm up and dry our clothes. Lots of red cheeks and so much fun.

Ah memories of sliding down "Harter's hill or the alley behind England"s station. How many remember filling their mouths with water from the fountain on the way out for recess and and then sqirting it out on the boot slides outside the door at Washington School. As soon as we would get a good slide built the school would destroy it because it was too dangerous.

Many years of great sledding memories in Hubbell.One run we would make a few times a winter was the golf course rd. We would start by Hendricksons farm, and have a very fast & exciting ride all the way to M-26. Sometimes a bit scary if meeting a car comming up the hill or crashing into a bank, but it sure was fun!

Hey, I remember sliding down Second Street in South Range-the steepest street in town! We spent most of our time on Fourth Street though.
We used cardboard boxes,plastic trash bags,those good aluminum flying saucers,shovels,and at times we just took a flying leap and rode down on our jackets. Then Santa Claus brought sleds. What a blast! Zig-zagging down the hill,spraying ice,spraying sparks as we flew over the railroad tracks, standing up, lying on our backs while the stars whizzed by, lying on our stomachs in a stack of three to a sled- I could go on and on. So can you. We can still "go there" in our memories,any time.

Joyce, you have a pretty good sledding hill nearby your house now. Every year I talk about organizing a sledding party-weiner roast, but time gets away on me. We had one years ago on New Years eve, and boy did I ever wake up the next day feeling great!