There have been a few spottings of the US Coast Guard Cutter, Alder here UP North last week and this week. Thanks to Marcy Bessolo Hermanson we have a few shots from last week (the first two) and from this week, Monday (the last two). That’s a sure sign of spring when the Buoy Tender comes and sets the buoys for the spring, summer and fall season of boating. The buoys are removed in the late fall, so the ice on Lake Superior doesn’t destroy them and now they need to be back out there guiding the big boats and eventually the small boats once again.

The first two photos were taken last week as the Alder was coming in the Upper Entry and pulling in to the Lily Pond, during one of the snow squalls we experienced then. I was asked this week, if I knew why the Lily Pond was named as such and I don’t, so if any of you viewers know the story behind the name, please let us know.

The remaining two photos Marcy took on Monday, as the Alder was going under the Portage Lift Bridge. Always an exciting sight to see when a bigger boat comes down the Portage Canal and under the Bridge. Then the shot at the Upper Entry near McLain Park, as the Adler goes out into Lake Superior, heading out to tend more buoys on the Big Lake.

Nancy Haun was in Marquette last week, when the Alder was in port there and she captured a video of it moving slowly along in the Harbor.

Mary, I was stationed at the old Coast Guard station next to McLain many moons ago(1970-71, yikes!)They called that area where the Corps of Engineers dock is located the Lily Pond because it was a wider, calmer portion of the canal, thus resembling a pond, versus narrower stretches where the current was swifter. I don't recall seeing any pond lilies there, however. There was room for a ship or two to tie up to the dock and/or anchor in that area during big storms.

The dock that George refers to is shown in the second picture of the Alder. The Coast Guard station itself would be further to the right if the picture were wider.

My Dad bought a 30' Winikka fishing boat in 1949, powered by a Ford Model A engine. In August 1952 we made a two week trip to Isle Royale. Before crossing the lake, we laid up at the Lily Pond for two nights, due to the Coast Guard station warning us of an impending storm.

My recollection is that south of the Coast Guard station and the dock where freighters occasionally tie up, there was a swampy area just beyond the east shore of the canal. At that time, there were two or three old wooden tug boats that had been abandoned there years before.

It was my understanding that the swampy area was known as the Lily Pond, and there were in fact lily pads there.

Of course, this is a very old memory of someone who was 7 years old at the time, so others may have more accurate information.

The soundtrack on that video was refreshing.