• Tuesday-What'sUP February 21 - 09:03 pm

Driving along US 41/M 26, making your way from Houghton to Copper Harbor, you pass through a number of small towns, so the opportunity to spot a little neighborhood grocery store becomes more frequent. This one photographed by Dave Antikainen, is the Wolverine Market, located in Kearsarge. It's a 'hop, skip and a jump' from the USS Kearsarge stone boat, pictured below from the archives. Corner markets such as the Wolverine, are truly convenience stores in every sense of the phrase, since you can buy everything from 'soup to nuts' there and probably hear all the neighborhood 'goings on' at the same time!

No way I'm first!! ??

Way to go, Teach!

Didn't the old store also serve as the post office many years ago?

I think it's still the post office.

It's too bad that those type of stores can't survive in today's bigger is better and cheaper marketplace. I'm sure if I went in there, I'd be welcomed with a honest hello and could strike up a conversation in a heartbeat! Looks like winter has finally arrived(again) for all of you UP there!

Love the Mom and Pop stores from back in the day. Bartonen's in Fulton, Chopp's in Ahmeek are two that come to mind from my day's in the Keweenaw. Loved the smell of those stores, with the aroma of the fresh breads and meats wafting through. You could walk in with 10 pennies and walk out with enough candy to fuel your sugar tank for hours!!! LOL Ahh, memories.

Those are the type of stores we all need to make an effort to patronize. We live in a small farm town and still have a couple of places like this left,although wallmart tries their best to do them in.We run a small greenhouse operation here,and while our prices are a little higher than the big stores,people come in for the quality of the products and the service.By the way isnt there more than one stone boat up there? I seem to recall one that is a bit off the beaten path.

How I love the old mom and pop stores. For years, my uncle had a store like that, in St. Clair...by the landing for the ferry to Canada. I loved going to his store...and to this day, I still chose the mom and pop stores, when I come upon them.
A couple of years ago, hubby and I stopped at one by the Hartwick State Park, enroute to a camping trip in the UP. The minute I stepped in the door of the store, it felt like I was home :)

Gosh, those were the days.

lotsa good memories walking from no.4 to Wolverine Market and the brick ship!

Thanks for the neat pictures. Looks like a little slice of Americana. The buildings would make great models for a model railroad layout also! Love your site!

dotti you'll love copperrange.org then

Oh days gone by! There was a mom and pop store on my route to elementary school. Great location for my friends and I to stop to or from school to stock up on those wax lips, teeth, tongues, mustachs, and the little 6 packs of favored drinks in wax bottles. The older kids bought candy cigarettes.

I worked in that store when I was 12 years old. My mother sold it in about 1964. My dad ran it as a fresh meat market until his passing in 1953. It was originally a Peterman store in the old mining days.

Bobbysgirl, I bought the same kinds of things when I would stop in the little mom & pop on my way to and from school. I LOVED the wax stuff. Also would buy the long shoestring licorice. UMM UMM Good ! Those were the days. I think about them so often. We always stop at the little store in Eagle River for an ice cream cone, or the one in Eagle Harbor. I think the one in Eagle Harbor doesn't have ice cream cones any more so we just got them in Copper Harbor. It's a must to have a Jilbert's ice cream cone while in the UP. Maybe even two or three, eh:)

That brings back memories, that area has not changed at all, it is the same as I remember it in the 60's - 70's. Who built the brick gunboats and when. That is a question that has puzzled me over the years, not that I am that old.

Last 4th of July I bought a six pack from this store on my way to the beach at Lac La Belle..........and I have never and will never set one foot in a Wally Store.....That chain will kill every small town in America if it gets a chance.......Many small communities are now actively fighting the building of those stores nearby, even though their prices are low because they destroy small stores and downtown America....One guys opinion anyway....See you on the 4th.........Booking at the Laurium Inn tonight.........

The store hasn't been the post office for at least 10 years now. The residents in Kearsarge have rural delivery now. I remember walking to the "corner store" many times as a child to get the mail.

Dotti,Speaking of model railroading..
Do you know of raildreams.com in Lake Linden?.

This store is lots like Karvakko's Market in Tapiola.

There was a little store on Edwards St. in West Houghton called Lehti's. Stopped there many times on the way home from school to pick up a snack or two. Back in the 60's when treats were
so cheap. 5 cents for a Popsicle. 7 cents for a Dreamsicle, all those little candy items, Bazokka
Bubble gum, candy necklaces, etc.etc. It's too bad the mom & pop stores are falling by the wayside.

I love the mom and pop, aka variety stores.
I try to buy locally and at small stores
whenever I get the chance.

Our Internet has been down for several days,
so I'm trying to catch up on things--Pasty Cam
and my e-mail headed the list.

Ah, the old bus stop. I hated winter and trying to beat the snowplow in the mornings so I wouldn't get buried! It was my Grandma Harri's store. My favorite memories were the two cent chocolate ice cubes. My uncle Edwin used to buy me a whole box! No wonder I was chubby... Used to spend many hours sitting on the "Kearsarge" boat watching the "rush hour" traffic go by. Memories...

I am a sales rep that travels the Midwest selling to independent dealers. At home, I always try to shop independent, family owned stores whenever I can. Whether it is a paint store, hardware store, tire shop, camera shop or whatever, I try to support them. They are the backbone of America! And, they truly do have better service, better products and good prices. Don't let the big boxes fool you. Shop with someone who really knows what customer service means. You may be in for a nice surprise.

Hi folks,
I received this email tonight, thought I'd share it with you....

I looked at Dave of Laurium's album today with all his great pictures and was wondering...what happened to Dave? He has not posted for a long time.

John and Anne Kentucky, there is another stone/brick boat up there in Centennial Heights. Just around the corner from the old school that was torn down.

Hello cousin KENNETH!!! ;)

As a teenager in the 50's I spent many nights waiting on (or waiting for) customers here. It was a great place for the local teens to come and "sit a spell". We would sit around an oil stove in the far corner of the store chatting and listening to country music. Sometimes on a slow night I would even get some homework in :>). An old broom held a good supply of 45 rpm records and there were always enough comic books to go around. When we could come up with the money, my "steady" and I would go the newly opened Hut for a burger after I closed shop for the night. The store was built by Peterman and later sold to Mike Foley who also ran a store in Mohawk. The cement boat was built by WPA during the Depression. Thanks for the memories.

John and Inwis : Thanks for the railroading site input! I have already checked Copperrange.org and loved it and look forward to raildreams.com as soon as I can.

To Mantta's reference of Karvakko's in Tapiola...we used to stop there every trip up to and every trip back from the camp in Alston. We'd get a 'frost-stick' as my dad called them, (fudgesicle) or an orange pop and a bag of chips! Thanks for the rekindle of the memory...

What great childhood memories in that store! I remember walking there with my sister, Lynn, when we were very young, probably 4 and 5 years old. I loved the penny candy counter and the pop cooler. My very favorite memory, though, is Uncle Howie buying us popsicles from the freezer chest. Marcia (Oja) Ferguson

My grandmother lives in Kearsarge. I still remember going to check the mail (L. Box 176)with my grandfather and getting to pick out candy. Jerry Lutz owns the store now, and the last time I went there there was still plenty of candy to go around.

The store is synonymous with the boat, built by WPA if I remember correctly. Currently, there is a project to restore the boat and erect an honor roll listing the Veterans from Kearsarge. They have already put a cement walk around the boat, but they still need more funding to realize their original plans to restore this yooper landmark.

You can send donations to:

Paul Lehto
c/o Calumet Charter TWP
106 Red Jacket Rd
Calumet, Michigan 49913
(906-337-2410)

Cheryl, I am sitting here in Austin, Texas, and mother, Nancy (Hilden) Drake is visiting me and says "hello". She would be on here herself, but she's not a computer person.