• Sunday-What'sUP April 20 - 01:03 pm

It was a treat to do today's Pasty Cameo and learn about the history of Old Victoria. We have mentioned the Ontonagon Boulder on the Pasty Cam before, but I was not aware of its key role in the modern era of copper mining. Of course, Native Americans worked with the metal many years before the English mae their first attempts in 1771. It was a generation later until the rush began on the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Have a good week :o)

I would love to live in one of those little cabins. Would be such a simple life, so small and easy to take care of. Thanks for the interesting Cameo, Charlie, we always look forward to what you have in store for all of us, every day. My mom was born on this date in 1902.

The cameo was very interesting again, Charlie. I didn't even know about that place and now you've added another one for me to visit. Thanks for the great info.

Me being a natural born citizen of Michigan's Upper Peninsula an being familiar with the names of Rockwood,and White Pine.I think it's neat that here in Tennessee we have a Rockwood and White Pine named towns also, both printed on the same sign, one pointing left < the other right > It reads like more Yooper's see more of their Native land while back on Vacation,then they did when they resided there eh?

Oh, I know all the towns, and as a teenager I actually visited them. But I'm not familiar with this particular history of Old Victoria. I have to visit it to see it for myself. As usual, so much to do, so little time. I have friends who may move to Ontonagon. Then I'll have even more reason to go to the area and explore.

my aunt and uncle, Betty and Al Londo, used to live in Rockland. I remember this old house with , what seemed at the time, a huge front porch, overlooking a large lawn.
It would be interesting to find that house again, if its still standing.
They moved to White Pine.

My great-grandfather, John Heinonen, came from Finland to be a miner in Victoria, and later went back to Finland and brought my great-grandmother, Ida, and my infant grandmother, Saima, back to Victoria, where they had another two daughters, Jennie and Signe. There's a journal in the old Alexander house that mentions the three Heinonen girls, Sima [sic], Jennie and Signe. My grandmother often revisited Victoria, as it was being restored, and told me that the half-restored cabin was the one her family lived in. If they still have the collection of pay stubs, one can find a few copies of my great-grandfather's paychecks. The former caretaker at Old Victoria gave me one for a keepsake.

My grandparents lived in the first of the Old Victoria houses to be restored (now called the Arvola House). My grandfather worked at the mine and my grandmother took care of boarders in the house, in addition to her own family. When they left Victoria in 1905 to begin farming at Green, the Arvola family moved in.

Dave, Al Londo was one of the great teachers at White Pine when I attended school there. He and Betty remained good friends afterward. We used to get tomato plants from their greenhouse every spring.

I had a Teacher in Dollar Bay, Dean Londo. He taught Driver ED and we student's would take turns driving to White Pine in a 1967 Chevy Impala like the one in tv show (Super Natural) with brothers Dean and Sam. Dean Londo was from there, and would visit family, while us young driver's had lunch in a Restaurant in Downtown White Pine. Should I assume Al is his Father, or other family of sort?

Deb, I did not mean what I wrote on vacation to be directed to any one in particular. Other then choosing the time and place we take vacation, all other plans are made while on it. Nothing falls thru that way.

Rockland and Victoria are a stone's throw from my Dad's house at the end of the East Branch Road. Now, if you ever want the ride of your life on a sled (not the motorized kind, I mean the Rosebud kind), then take a sled down the hill to Victoria. Wooooooo hoooooo! What a ride!

Want great food? Go to Henry's in Rockland. Love that place.

Henry's does have good pasties, or at least they used to.

Hey David,

Yes, Dean was Al's son, which makes him my cousin. I think he still lives in Lake Linden, or maybe Florida. He is a pretty good guy.

I knew you weren't directing it at me, David. Just thought that I'd clarify that I actually do know where all these towns are, just not the tourist attractions that would draw one to them. Seems weird since I lived in the Copper Country until I was nearly 30 years old.

I have been to Victoria and walked around the flat area on top of the rock dumps. There is an engine/ hoist foundation and remains of the walls that housed it. A little westward and inline with this is a substantial concrete piece that is triangular with heavy bolts. I have never been able to find any pictures that would help determine its purpose.

Henry's has a great smorgasbord on Friday nights!! Been there a few times.

Henrys' fish fry was the best.

My family and I had a great tour at Rockland last summer, i'd highly recommend it. Getting inside those log cabins and actually going up the ladder into the top bedroom was very neat for our kids ... Back in the 80's/90's you could rent out a cabin and actually stay the night or weekend in one!! I'd love have been able to do that in the winter.

Back in the mid fifties my baby sitter was Bea Bessonen. I may be wrong in the last name. But I remember her getting married in the late fifties and I was heart broken to lose her. Her father and mother would visit my father , Wally, and mither , Lynn, in Dollar Bay. His name was Andy again if my memory serves me right. We would go picking blackberries with me ,as I had to show him what we we had in Dollar Bay,too.

Did anybody else see today's Chicago Trib "Travel" section. The Geoquiz was:"Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula juts into which of the Great Lakes?" Of course we all know the answer...Lake Superior.

The kids in my class would be able to answer that one too!

An interesting side note to the discussion of Old Victoria is the ingenious Taylor air compressor:

http://www.sections.asme.org/milwaukee/history/51-taylorcompressor.html

I was somewhat amused at the comment regarding living in the cabins. No way! My great grandmother did - - with a house full of kids and miners who boarded there too. Rumor has it she suffered a nervous breakdown. A lot of the work on the half-restored cabin was done by my brothers, nephews and my husband in 1999. The family hoped to complete the work but the promise of additional logs was never forthcoming. However, it's an example of the work required to build a house in those days.