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• Monday June 30, 2003
• 18:02:53

Some of the radio catch phrases that stick in my memory are: "There's a fungus among us." "Whopper Waffles" "Hootie Sapperticker Day"- a day dedicated to doing absolutely nothing. JM'68

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• Friday June 20, 2003
• 09:25:24

I remember Mrs. Aukee freaking out over the Woodstock soundtrack. She got a little nervous when we sang along to "I Feel Like I'm Fixin" To Die Rag" by Country Joe McDonald, but she drew the line at "The Fish Cheer"....Gimmee an "F"! Jim Sisko '71

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• Thursday June 19, 2003
• 18:08:53

Art Roberts was one of the great ones. He died last year in Nevada at the age of 70 after suffering a second stroke. All the guys from WLS' Golden age of Rock like Dex Card, Ron Riley, Bernie Allen, Clark Webber, Dick Biondi, Don Phillips and Larry Lujack. WLS also like WEBC would tounge-in-cheek compete with television by calling themselves 'Channel' 89. And don't forget the competitor of WLS, WCFL Chicago's 'Sound of Labor' that we could also pick up as far away as Ironwood at night. BC'72 mentioned 'Beaker Street' on another station we could pick up at night, KAAY in Little Rock, Arkansas and it's host Clyde Clifford. John O '72

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• Thursday June 19, 2003
• 14:34:42

A "Real trip back" is the understatement of the year! Put Art Roberts and WLS playing in the background and look at old Hematites. It's gotta be as close as possible to going back in time!!!

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• Thursday June 19, 2003
• 14:20:06

Even in Highschool whenever we had Mrs. Cloon for a substitute we would act like little grade school kids and ask her to read us a story. No matter what our assignments were that day she would find some sort of storybook (we didn't care what) and she would read to us. She probably well knew what we were up to and just went along with us....

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• Thursday June 19, 2003
• 12:09:01

Do you remember Mrs Cloon , the sweet little sub teacher in study hall?what she put up with from some kids. how about the sheeps eyeball that we had to disect in science, or the time someone played music from woodstock in Mrs Aukees class. the look on her face will never be forgotten

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• Thursday June 19, 2003
• 09:55:28

CHICKEN MANNNNNNNNNNN! He's everywhere, he's everywhere.....

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• Thursday June 19, 2003
• 06:54:55

Any of you gals remember watching Joe Johnson (68) on the trampoline in the gym at noon time .WOW

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• Thursday June 19, 2003
• 06:26:21

I am wondering if a certain person remembers taking anise candy from my desk when i went home for lunch . (Norrie School)

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• Thursday June 19, 2003
• 01:47:48

I remember Joe Louis coming to Ironwood to fight a journeyman after he had been retired for quite some time. The 1953 football team was a powerful forjce and routed Menominee 32-0 in a battle of unbeatens. This version of Red Devil football went on to be voted Class B state champs. The 1961 U.P. basketball champs losing by a bucket to Alpena Catholic Central as we huddled around the radio. I believe the next game would have been against perennial power River Rouge for the state championship. D.H.

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• Wednesday June 18, 2003
• 22:29:37

I don't have too many fond memories of my school years .Not only did I not belong to the in crowd but had a harder time learning. there were a couple of kids that were cruel and made my life miserable,but thru the years I have forgiven and moved on. My life now is good and am sad to say my school years are just a bad dream. Now years later I see my children as caring and loving people from what I have taught them from my experiences. Thankyou for letting me vent. this web site is AWESOME.

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• Wednesday June 18, 2003
• 18:44:14

Yes, we wouldn't miss it for anything! Here are a couple of sound bytes of Benton Harbor himself, better known as Chicken Man. ....Ed       http://www.sandyorkin-crs.com/cmtf.html

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• Wednesday June 18, 2003
• 18:06:25

Does anyone remember Chicken man on the radio in the late 60's?

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• Saturday June 14, 2003
• 13:13:14

Remember when GCC was on the third floor of LLWright? I remember when the only lounge was for the guys. Well, one day in 1966, a group of girls stormed in and demanded that it should be coed. The faculty agreed, but the guys were not so easily persuaded. With a lot of coaxing and a "sit-in" we were able to use that lounge. Also how about the hoot-nannies we used to hold in the first floor lounge? At the time it was a lot of fun.

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• Thursday June 12, 2003
• 12:13:19

1968 Big brass buckles on mens shoes. Tom McAn $8.95 to $10.95 ..That IS yesterday!

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• Thursday June 12, 2003
• 11:19:49

The Ben Casey Blouse for $3.98. The season's newest fashion sensation. It's the blouse that's Ben Casey all the way with buttons on the side, an intern collar, three quarter sleeves...an authentic two-pocket doctor style.

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• Thursday June 12, 2003
• 09:57:17

Hill Billy Jeans for $4.50

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• Thursday June 12, 2003
• 09:10:26

It was Dick Biondi bringing in the WLS Countdown back in the 60s', and let's not forget the ads for "Lonesome Larry" clearing up his skin problems the "man's way," with Tackle Medicated Clear Gel.

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• Wednesday June 11, 2003
• 19:19:33

OK, all you old WLS fans.   Remember Chuck Buell, Ron Riley, Bill Bailey and Art Roberts?   Stumbled across this site that has old time broadcasts from our high school years.    News, weather, sports, ads and tunes.  Actual recordings from way back then.  It's a real trip back for anyone who listened to WLS.  All the jingles, even the news reports of November 22, 1963.   Go to www.reelradio.com  and type in WLS in the search box, sit back and remember.  There is also Casey Kasem, American Top 40, Wolfman Jack and many DJs from other stations we couldn't pickup on our old 6 and 12 transistor radios in the north country of Ironwood.   Some of the recordings play the whole song when music is being played and others only play the beginning and the end. ....You have to have Real One Player installed to listen.

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• Tuesday June 10, 2003
• 19:25:49

Yeah, good old WLS. Always came in handy at night when WJMS went off the air at midnight. Sometimes during the day you could pick it up real good on the top of Mt Zion. Greta '70

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• Tuesday June 10, 2003
• 11:32:45

Haven't checked in on the Memories site for a while. All this music talk made me pull out my collection of WLS Silver Dollar Surveys, almost complete from '61-'63. Got 'em at the Record Hut I think. Maybe Johnson's Music Store too. June 9, 1962 had "I Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles on top. Definitely remember those days falling asleep to WLS Countdown. And later pulling in Beaker Street if the weather was right. Remember once in the 70's getting Pink Floyd's "Meddle" after a night out (Frog Hollow down in the Flats perhaps?) and thought I'd never be the same. BC'72

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• Monday June 09, 2003
• 08:08:43

The other guy in the Henchmen was Scott Heinske. JM'68

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• Sunday June 08, 2003
• 23:22:58

As I remember the Henchmen consisted of a couple of guys, one Chris Fanaras from the Chicago area, Bob Durand from White Pine and one other guy from the Hurley area. I still have their one and only LP. They attended GCC from 1965-67.

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• Thursday June 05, 2003
• 18:05:17

There sure was a lot of talented local bands in the 1960's in the northwoods. I remember seeing The Bossmen and and The Arthurs as a kid on weekend afternoons when they would play at Powderhorn and Indianhead. Two great bands. Also remember another band from that era out of Houghton called The Henchmen? They were on Cuca Records. The same record company that first signed The Fenderman with 'Mule Skinner Blues.' John O '72

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• Thursday June 05, 2003
• 16:56:40

The Pharoahs from Ashland also had a record--Jeanette. The lyrics were "Jeanette, Jeanette, you've got the prettiest face than any other girl all over the place. Jeanette you've got a way about you that makes me want to sing a little louder; Jeanette, Jeanette...You get the picture...JM'68

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• Thursday June 05, 2003
• 16:52:26

Do you remember Jimmy Reed from WEBC and were you a member of the WEBC Air Force? The Battle of the Bands featured the Conspirators (Rod Nolcox, Marty Murto, Ben Finco and Joel Lahti) and the Arthurs (Chuck McClone, Rod Koivisto, John Pera, Jeff "Bubba" Hill and Bobby Anderson). There was also a band from Houghton that had just released a version of "Susie Q" two weeks after Credence Clearwater Revival. Another band from that era was The Bossmen (Tom Clark, Butch Osterholm, Dan Jerik and G.I. Berquist). I think the drummer for the Galaxies was Andy Abraham and I think when they were on Bandstand he broke his arm or his leg going crazy on the drums. JM'68

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• Tuesday June 03, 2003
• 14:50:45

To: The GALAXIES "groupees"....I believe Bernie Michelli from Bessemer was the drummer for the band. Does anybody remember the "BATTLE OF THE BANDS" and the Eleven bands that DUELED in the LL Wright Gym "one" night?? Best to you all from the Class of'67-Roy Minkin

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• Monday June 02, 2003
• 18:56:40

I remember Johnson's Music Store had a black and white framed picture on their wall of The Galaxies giving a concert inside the music store that was taken in about 1959. That picture was on their wall for many years. Maybe up to the time they closed. John O '72.

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• Monday June 02, 2003
• 15:52:55

The Galaxies did cut a disc titled "If you want to be my baby"this is what you gotta do! And this was the early "60s".Greg Wynn was also a member of this band on guitar with Danny Sullivan on guitar and lead vocals. I can't recall the drummer. Wolfman Jack where are you? Henry T and The Rockets with Pete Kopecko on guitar also played at some local gigs. Henry Thunander played the accordian. The bands picked up keyboard musicians universally later in the 60s and rock & roll was here to stay. D.H.

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• Monday June 02, 2003
• 10:52:11

Besides the Galaxies there was a group called the Pharaohmen (they were originaly the Pharaohs but got in trouble with that name when Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs became famous) They even put out a record as recall (or was that the Galaxies?)... Jim Sisko '71

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• Monday June 02, 2003
• 09:49:28

There were live bands at the Memorial Building. I think it was around 1960 - 1962. One of the local bands that was really good I think was called "The Galaxies". Danny Sullivan was one of the band members. Does anyone remember who the other band members were? Patty '63

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• Friday May 30, 2003
• 22:46:02

Yeah the various 'Battle of the Bands' competions didn't really start till the British Invation happened and maybe WEBC didn't host any as far east as Ironwood. Wow, The Stroll. That's really going back. The slide, step, pivot two wall line dance with two long lines of dancers facing each other as they stroll across the dance floor. Knowing the Ironwood crowd with everybody else who wasn't dancing walking around the dance floor in a giant circle that must have been quite a sight. John O '72

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• Thursday May 29, 2003
• 23:44:18

There were no live bands that I remember, only LP's. Jimmy Reed does sound familiar. There was no cover charges and the auditorium was packed. The twist was just becoming popular, and the Beetles were not yet known in the US. The Stroll was the most popular dance. Also cruising between Ironwood and Hurley was a Friday must.('61-'65)

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• Thursday May 29, 2003
• 17:20:04

WEBC usually had something to do with the dances. The only DJ I remember is Jimmy Reed. If you signed up you could join the WEBC Air Force. The last bands I saw at the Armory were the Unbelievable Uglies and the Electras. JM'68

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• Thursday May 29, 2003
• 00:37:00

WEBC 560 AM "Channel 56" often hosted 'Battle of the Bands' dances in towns across the northland featuring their DJ's such as Lance 'Tac' Hammer, Dave Duluth, Lew Lew Latto, Doctor Don Rose and Dave Gordon. Bands from the Iron Range to the Gogebic Range might travel to any town there and in between to compete against local bands. Could this be what you remember? John O '72

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• Friday May 23, 2003
• 23:15:20

Does anyone remember the dances at the Armory with DJ's from Duluth? This was during the early l960"s.

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• Wednesday May 07, 2003
• 13:04:07

Speaking of ropes tied to car bumpers. I don't know if you know but there was a record of sorts set in Ironwood Township in the late 60's. I'm sure that the Guinness Book of Records knows nothing of it because we didn't think we were doing anything extraordinary that day, so we didn't call them up. It all happened on one of those hot summer days when kids got bored and wondered what to do to liven things up a bit. Well my brother Bruce and I got out my younger brother Steve's little red wagon, one of those Radio Flyers and tied a 30 ft. rope to the front of it. The other end we tied to the rear shock of my Honda Super 90. Bruce jumped into the wagon and me on the bike and we headed across the field. The Honda would do 40 miles an hour in second gear and that was where we kept it. Shifting into 3rd would have just defeated the purpose because the weight of the load and going through the hay, even though it wasn't that tall, caused the 8 horse Honda to just slow down. Then we got the bright idea to try it on the road. Well the road was gravel and we were able to shift up into 3rd gear. It was quite a sight in my rear view mirror to see that little red wagon crusing along at 40 to 50 mph. Bruce was fishtailing a little and kicking up quite a cloud of dust, his knuckles white on the steering bar. I don't know if there ever was a Radio Flyer that cruised along at that speed before or after that. I know they don't advertise to their customers to try it. Oh yeah, just so you don't think that we were careless back then, we did plop a helmet on Bruces head. One of those football helmets we had bought at "Gambles". That was a gamble in itself. Ed Estola '71

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• Wednesday May 07, 2003
• 08:36:05

Remember the old car hoods, the ones with the high sides. They made excellent boats if you could find two to match. Just weld them together and cast off into Spring Creek. Make sure you had a bailing bucket along, they were known to have a few leaks. In the winter you could take a hood, knock off the ornament and flip it upside down. Tie a rope to a car bumper and away you go. If the snow banks were high on the side of the road, all the better. Side to side, up the bank and then down across the road and up the other bank. Good cheap fun. I bet we had as much fun there as we would have had at "Six Flags".

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• Tuesday May 06, 2003
• 22:10:16

In the spring when the snow melted and the little streams ran down the sides of the hilly streets, we would build dams out of snow and mud and come home filthy and wet. Karen Murto Ziminski '62

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• Saturday May 03, 2003
• 23:41:29

That's IT, Spruce Haven. Many good times were had. We also used to have good times Smelt fishing at Lake Superior. All we caught, we ate over a camp fire on the beach. Do they still have Senior Class Picnics there? Remember the RED PEPPER CLUB, and our shopping trip to Duluth? Class of "65.

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• Friday May 02, 2003
• 20:34:15

How 'bout my favorite - the Gallery Bar on US 2. Loved that cocktail hour from 4 to 9 pm - my way to tell time. Pitchers of tequila gimlets - mm, mm, mm - and cannibal sandwiches on Fridays. Remember when Tom decided to expand the bar and held a party the night the wall was ready to come down between the old and new sections - chain saw and sledge hammers away. The wall wasn't the only thing that got hammered. And playing frisbee in the big yard out front in the summer while sipping brews. Greta '70

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• Friday May 02, 2003
• 16:52:22

Let's not forget 'The White House' in Gile just down the street from 'Gotta's'. John O '72

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• Friday May 02, 2003
• 16:37:21

Spruce Haven comes to mind. Remember "where 51 ends the fun begins" Mike 71

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• Friday May 02, 2003
• 15:23:32

I sure remember the Hamilton Club. There were some good bands there. The club on Hwy 51 was owned by the Bergquists. I can't remember the name of it, but I had a good time there, too.Those were some fun times. I'd dance almost all night. Susn '66

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• Thursday May 01, 2003
• 23:44:32

Remember the drive-in movies. We'd try to get as many kids as we could into one car. We'd even get a few kids to crowd into the trunk. Hey, for two dollars, seven or eight of us had a great time. The mosquitoes were a bit of a problem, but then who noticed? Also does anyone remember the Hamilton Club, and another club on Hwy.51? Class of '65.

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• Thursday May 01, 2003
• 14:11:44

Remember the A&W before the canopy and the squawk boxes were put in? You'd nose the car up to the building and wait for the girls to come out and get your order. A dime beer in a frosty mug. If you were loaded you could get a hamburger. Roll the window part way up and they would hang the tray on it. I wonder if Sue Olson remembers when I gave her a $3.00 tip (in pennys). We just emptied out the glove box coin collection. Hey, maybe the coins were spilling off the edge of the tray, it was two hours wages. Ed '71

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• Tuesday April 29, 2003
• 13:06:52

I have some "tasteful" memories. Does anyone remember the huge single-dip ice cream cones (for five cents) at the Sunset Dairy on Ayer Street? Also, what about the delicious hamburgers at the Silver Cup -- with the bun toasted on the grill and topped with catsup and pickles -- perfection!! Patty '63

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• Tuesday April 29, 2003
• 09:59:16

Read about this site in "The Globe" and have enjoyed reading the memories. I attended 3 of the elementary schools due to moving and consolidation and have memories of all-Newport- Mrs. Edmark in first grade- handing out brown paper towels on Friday to spread on our desks and then she would go around with a huge bag of popcorn and put a handful on each desk; Roosevelt-Mrs. Liimakka making us wait when the dismissal bell rang-stand next to our desks, push in our chairs. Then she would say "Good Night Boys and Girls" and we would answer in unison, "Good Night, Mrs. Liimakka" and then we would file out row by row. Central- Mr. M. Krznarich patroling during noon hour and swinging his yardstick around "threatening" anyone not in their seats. It's also amazing how vivid memories of those 4 years of LLW remain in your mind. Trix Johnson Tahtinen LLW "76"

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• Friday April 25, 2003
• 17:42:59

Something I've noticed when I visit the U.P is two cars stopped alongside each other facing in opposite directions. The drivers are talking to each other, probably planning to meet later, and I'm imagining them saying something like, "Go bar, eh?" Now, how would I possibly know that? Susan '66

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• Thursday April 24, 2003
• 17:45:51

Ooooh Ya..way ta go der John O. A goot lesson fer all of us der hey? Always have tos choppers on when yer pank'n dat snow der. JM72

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• Thursday April 24, 2003
• 00:25:27

The word 'Pank" meaning to compact material(i.e. snow)appears to be found only in the Keweenaw and the Western U.P. and it's origin has never been determined so it is a true colloquial term of the area. Let's not forget some others that are also found in other regions but are prominent in the area like 'choppers' for leather mittens and 'pop' for soda and 'make wood' for making or cutting firewood and 'yoose'the northern equivilant of y'all. And substituting d for the th sound as in da for the, dis for this, tink for think and tree for three. Grammatical structure such as ending sentences with eh in the form of the French-Canadian tag question. A recurring sentence structure such as "let's go town." or "I'm going Post Office." Both staements drop the preposition 'to' and the article 'the'. That phrasing comes from the Finnish influence because Finnish has no preposition like the English 'to' and there are no articles at all. Finnish also commonly stresses the first sylable in a word and not the second sylable as in English. From the Swedes, Norwegians and Germans we get the heavily used and accented word 'ya'. So to speak like you come from the range or da rainch use a Finnish brogue with phrasing and words borrowed from the Scandanavians, the Slavic, the Germatic, Canadian and the Chippewa and Ojibway and don't forget to use lots of long o's and hard r's. Then once you master this language and the accent you may be able to disguise it but you can never lose it. John O '72.

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• Wednesday April 23, 2003
• 11:30:35

In the early 60's I remember Theresa Mestnick teaching us about idioms, colloqualisms, dialects and vernaculars. Now, to tell you the truth, I've rarely used those terms since. While reading this section on Memories, I started thinking about some words and terms unique to the Ironwood area. I had a good laugh about some of them. Here are three. Everyone else in the world goes skiing but in Ironwood we went "ski riding". Oh, and when you went ski riding or built a snowman or snow sculpture or shoveled snow you didn't pack the snow down, you "panked" it. When I went to school below the bridge (the land of the Trolls) I was in for a surprise. Coming home from class one day, I was asked to play touch football with some other guys in the dorm (all Trolls, of course). I told them that I had to go back to my dorm room first to put on my "tenners". "What are Tenners?" they asked. How uninformed those Trolls were. I told them that every 10 year old boy (and some girls also) who lived in Ironwood owned a pair of tenners (tennis shoes). Thanks Theresa! Spruce Briar '62'

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• Tuesday April 22, 2003
• 08:19:18

Good Friday was very eerie. Remember how everything came to a standstill. No traffic downtown. Every store was closed and everyone either attended the church of their choice or stayed indoors. Then all of a sudden, everything came to life. I remember working at Carlson's Supermarket and having Good Friday be one of the busiest days of the year as everyone shopped for Easter Dinner. Brian 74

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• Monday April 21, 2003
• 20:01:23

How about going to Good Friday services, all dressed up in a spring dress, high heels, and a hat. And then going to the pie social at the Masonic Temple after the service. And then walking home in the high heels. I felt like such a grown up lady and nothing could have made me put a pair of flats on for the walk home even if my feet were killing me. Susan '66

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• Saturday April 19, 2003
• 23:18:12

Also had a year of Eric Kettula. Don't remember the "booger" thing, but all I remember of the year was that he & his wife had a pact that they would never go to bed angry with one another---even if it meant not going to sleep at all. Not a bad way to live life. '73

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• Thursday April 17, 2003
• 18:59:36

And the marshmellow bunnies covered with chocolate. Dressing up for church on Easter morning....

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• Tuesday April 15, 2003
• 09:26:25

Ah, Easter, who could forget the egg dye kits with the wire egg dippers, the box that became an egg holder, the tablets you had to mix with vinegar and water in coffee cups, the wax crayons for writing...Jim Sisko '71

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• Friday April 11, 2003
• 17:25:03

I walked to and from school in good weather and got a ride in bad weather. We must have had a different idea about what bad weather was back in those days because I remember taking the short-cut over the RR tracks to LLW too, and sometimes the snow was too deep to cut across so we went over the viaduct. And those stairs! They'd get filled with snow and ice and it was treacherous footing especially carrying books. I don't know why we didn't take the long way through downtown on days like that. All that walking kept the weight off though, didn't it? Susan '66

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• Tuesday April 08, 2003
• 12:47:43

Those of you who had Eric Kettula for Sociology HAVE to remember him telling his classes the proper way to conduct themselves and not to "clean out the ballrooms" (another way of saying picking your nose) in public. A whole year of that class and that's all I can remember.

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• Sunday April 06, 2003
• 14:27:22

Hey Norrie girls do you remember the walks we made singing song all the way? I don't remember where we were going just that it was school related. How about the norrie girls softball team Were we good or what. Seems like such along time ago. "jo" class of 69

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• Friday April 04, 2003
• 17:15:44

And don't forget the "walking" that some of us did as we delivered "The Globe". We had to walk our bikes up the Norrie hills and then we'd get to ride down! On other days I would walk the whole route so I could take the good shortcuts and sneak by the mean dogs! 69 :)

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• Friday April 04, 2003
• 08:48:33

I suppose the bus rides weren't total boredom either. I remember the big "dip" in the pavement on Vanderhagen Road, that came every spring. The bus driver knew enough to slow right down for it. One day when Mr. Longhini was our substitute bus driver (he didn't know about the dip) Muzza and I (freshmen) watched with delight as Larry Kinnunen (senior) was ejected from the back seat. The tough part was not letting him see us laughing. It would have meant getting a good headlock and noogie if he had. Ed

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• Thursday April 03, 2003
• 21:29:45

I know that walk was a bear! From the house to the end of the driveway to the bus. Then.... from the bus, UP the steps before the sidewalk into the school. .......Sorry, I couldn't resist....... I guess that was another benefit to living in the Township...Ed '71

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• Thursday April 03, 2003
• 20:16:12

Yeah, the walk - leave for LLW at 7:45, leave for home at 11:45 - eat a quick lunch - leave back for LLW at 12:35 - walk back home at 4 pm. Remember either spring of '69 or '70 when the army worms were so bad that you had to walk in the middle of the road 'cuz the trees were so full of worms they would drop on you while you walked by. And the roads got greasy-guts from the squished things. And all that walking with the mini-skirts in the winter - no wonder so many girls of my vintage have arthritis in the knees now. Hard to admit that we thought we knew best. The path over the tracks was always such a challenge - either under or over the train hook-ups, and you had to go quickly so the RR guys wouldn't yell at you for trespassing. Then up the hill to the lower practice field and voile' - there you were. G - '70.

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• Thursday April 03, 2003
• 17:40:13

Talk about walking to school,we used to crawl under trains by the viaduct, or even more dangerous hop on moving trains to get across so we wouldn't have to take the"long" way around to school. The girls were just as gutsy as the guys. Lunch was a quick hello and then back to school. Why we didn't take our lunches, who knows?

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• Wednesday April 02, 2003
• 22:56:41

Walking, walking and more walking. I swear that's all I did. I walked to school on the morning, walked home for lunch, walked back to school, had marching band practice after school and then walked home. There wasn't a chauffer at my house, just 2 feet being picked up and put down. Walked downtown to catch a ride on Friday nights to cruise for awhile. I guess that builds character, cuz we sure were. Walked the halls at LLW just to see what everybody was wearing and who was holding who's hand. But, if you were short like me, the view wasn't very good. Had lots of fun after school racing for rides home in bad weather. Had lots of guys wanting to ride my new little Suzuki fat tired bike that I bought my Senior year. I only broke three mirrors learning to ride it. Kids these days don't know the meaning of WALK. I did. Betsy "73

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• Tuesday April 01, 2003
• 19:59:26

More memories of Sleight School. Seems like all of the fun memories included Mr. Vizanko. I'm so glad I ran into him at a funeral lunch and actually sat across from him. I'd been wanting to tell him for many years that he was my favorite teacher. Do you remember building snow sculptures in the winter? We even painted them with powdered paint. Then there was enlarging and developing our own pictures in the dark room next to the furnace room in the basement. We made pinhole box cameras. I still have a picture taken with one. Susan '66.

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• Tuesday April 01, 2003
• 17:14:28

Was this just a coincidence or did you notice it, too? In the 60s we had parakeets and so did just about everyone we visited! Which one of the dime stores had that neat pet section? There were fish, (we had), little turtles, (we had) and all the parakeets and canaries. Not to mention the pollywogs we hauled home from the swamp by Ahonen's mill, and the grass snakes we caught in the fields! I wouldn't touch half that stuff now, but sure loved it then! And remember the toy store where you could cash in rare coins? I remember picking out my Barbie there when they first became popular. Lynn 69

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• Monday March 31, 2003
• 22:19:48

Yeah - Good old Newport school. Countless fond memories - especially the bus rides to and from school. In bad, icy weather we often had to walk from the bottom of the hill by the grocery store (Peterson's?), up past the Malt Shop and on to school - a good 3-4 blocks uphill in the snow and ice, guided by our fearless bus patrols. They'd never allow kids to do that now. The marble tournaments in the winter - what fun. Baseball in the spring - the boys on the big diamond and the girls on the smaller-scale diamond just a bit downhill. Signing out the jump ropes and big kick balls. Checkout out everyone's lunches and trading 'sammiches'- feeling sorry for those who only had bags and not the special lunch boxes. But oh how those thermoses would break - and then the replacement thermos didn't match your lunch box - horrors!! The music room which doubled as the movie room. Going to the kitchen for milk break - or when it was time to record height and weight for the report cards. The school nurse picking through your hair checking for lice. Lining up for the polio and TB shots - or the air raid drills, kneeling in the basement hallways and covering our heads. And our parents actually went to PTA meetings and teachers conferences and made us accountable..... yes, how the times have changed. Greta '70

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• Monday March 31, 2003
• 15:03:06

from a "bar's" point of view! :) hi y'all ....... paula morgan here. i'm the granddaughter of mike & lou morgan who owned 'morgan's bar' on the point. spent many days in the summer there with grandma & grandpa AND my cousins, the hulstrom's, playing in the lake, looking for agates and eating their ice cream! thanks ... i appreciated it. i'm the daughter of barney morgan (of fast cars fame), and the cousin of 'rooster' hulstrom (of FUN fame!) saw 'DH Central 60' entry about barney & his cars earlier on this page. any one remember either of them? anyway ...... back to my point. i kept a journal thru out my high school years .... well ... 1971 - 1973. yes ..... names are mentioned (tho it's funny to read it now and go WHO in the HELL was THAT????) yikes! it seems that the drinking age at 18 just fueled the fire for this "young" person to hang at the bars! yes .... my mom knew (i was only 16 - 17)!!!! but as long as i didn't drive (how could i, i didn't have a CAR!) and as long as i was home by 11:30. i either 'warmed up' to the bouncers/ID checkers or i used a fake ID that i made out of my real ID. many of them knew i was under age and hid me or shuffled me out the back doors when cops came in. THANKS BOYS!!! :) so i never got in trouble ... whoo-hoo! here are some bars that have MANY a mention in my journals ....... khoury's (of course ..... it was where many of us had our first beer/tequila/lime vodka. the gallery ... i think it was on US 2. driftwood ..... some where just off silver st. in hurley. crawdaddy's ....... i think it was by connie's in hurley. and one that is usually called "rip's place" in my journals ... but i really think it's called frog hollow. anyone used to go to these places or was it just me! lol oh ... just to show you i wasn't JUST a party girl, i also remember campaining for george mcgovern ... and spending my 16th birthday at democratic HQ in downtown ironwood ..... crying because he lost sooooooooooooooo bad to nixon! also remember: lopez's, sher's (sp?) and gosh ..... one more store just across from sher's. oh crud! there was a dairy queen that was there on the corner and was only open in the summer. hmmmm .... ravey's????? sher's (or whatever) was run by a guy named jake, i think, and had great penny candy. ravey's had the best comic book selection. lopez's had the best actual food! hahahaah! looking forward to coming up this summer and seeing some faces at our 30 year reunion in july!!! til then ......... adios, from paula in dallas, class of 1973!

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• Monday March 31, 2003
• 12:00:45

Memories of Sleight School.....The Fun Frolics with the haunted room and the cake walks; the ice rink and warming shack; Father & Son Banquets/Mother & Daughter Teas; visiting Mr Vizanko's farm ; sleepovers at the Extension Camp; sledding on the hill behind the school; skiing at Mt. Zion as part of Phy Ed; shooting marbles out front in the winter months; movies in the gym; big sandbox & toys and taking naps on mats in the kindergarten room...Jim Sisko '71

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• Sunday March 30, 2003
• 23:28:16

Memories of Norrie School.....The Fun Frolics with the haunted room and the cake walks; the ice rink and warming shack; school picnics at Norrie park; 8th graders taking our turn in Mr. Slade's office to answer the phone and helping in the library. Getting all dressed up for the 8th grade dance, and a different dance that we invited the Central School kids to. Practicing at the High School for the Christmas concert with Mrs. Burla, and walking there as a class to take Home Ec.

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• Sunday March 30, 2003
• 18:04:07

How many of you remember Newport School in the 50's? Taprose store, exploring all the run down vacant homes at lunch time, jumping off the back wall, teachers, Mr.Brack, Litsiem, Novak, Milakana, Sorenson and the others? How about the Halloween Fun Frolic and the night bus rides, also the bus trying to make it up King's Hill? Anyone else have memories to share?

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• Friday March 28, 2003
• 16:48:20

What about Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers song; I was Barney Rubble? JM'68

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• Monday March 17, 2003
• 11:00:42

What about candy sales, at Roosevelt? The anise candy was always a hit! So was the homemade fudge! And does anyone remember the ice cream stand, on the way to the bus garage? The ninth graders sold the ice cream. Popsicles (Blue Ribbon brand) for a nickle! And how about the lyciums (spelling?) when the whole school would watch a movie, from the Roosevelt balcony. Or the scoreboard, in the gym that had the clock with the hands on it to keep time and the numbers that moved up/down to record team scores. The locker rooms underneath the balcony. How about Ms. Maki (think she is sill alive!), Mrs. Liimakka and Mrs. Jacquart. Had them all and they were awesome teachers! Especially Mrs. Richards (first grade) who taught me to read. Last of all what about the principal, Mr. Mattson. Kind of scared us all. I really have great memories of that school. I went there when the ninth grade was still there! Then I was transferred to Norrie. Memories there, also, but not like Roosevelt! One last one...my old bus drivers..Eino Leviokki and Ed Routsala. Wow! Can you believe I still remember stuff like this? Guess it really was a special time in my life! Dave '75

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• Monday March 17, 2003
• 10:12:34

Remember playing baseball at the Roosevelt School field during the summer? I recall the sound of the North Central Airlines DC-3 coming in for a landing. We would put the game on hold, jump on our bikes and race down to the terminal to watch. The DC-3 is a tail-dragger plane. We would wave to the pilot sitting high up in the cockpit. The best part was when the plane would turn to leave and the wash from the props would blast us with sand and send our hats flying......then we'd be back on our bikes up to the field to finish our game....carefree memories of Ironwood Township...Ed '71

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• Thursday March 06, 2003
• 21:13:46

Remember when "Big G, Little O" hit town? I'm on the D.J. side of music here, but Chucky G. brought a new excitement to local radio---"To the babes, ducky duck, baby love & teeny boppers everywhere", you're listening to Big G, little O, Chuck Gervasio!! He brought local pop music to town. JL-'73---see y'all in July, classmates!

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• Thursday March 06, 2003
• 20:13:25

Tutti fruitti, oh Rudi - wang, dang, doodle - sha na na na - and what in the world is an aqualung, especially with the snotty nose? Could we communicate or what!

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• Thursday March 06, 2003
• 20:00:33

how 'bout - thank u fulettin me be mice elf agen - and the many other variations.

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• Thursday March 06, 2003
• 17:50:38

Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do

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• Thursday March 06, 2003
• 10:19:30

And of course there's the infamous "Scuse' me while I kiss this guy" from Purple Haze...Jim Sisko '71

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• Wednesday March 05, 2003
• 21:31:15

Another silly one...."My boy lollipop, he makes my heart go gidyup!" :)

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• Wednesday March 05, 2003
• 10:32:25

How about "Bad Moon Rising"? A lot of people thought the chorus said "There's a bathroom on the right" instead of "there's a bad moon on the rise"... Jim Sisko '71

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• Wednesday March 05, 2003
• 08:02:06

I remember when "Lola" by the Kinks was popular. I thought that was the coolest song. There were probably a lot of "chickens instead of tickets" when I sang it because I never knew what the lyrics were about. Years later after I found out I about gagged!

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• Tuesday March 04, 2003
• 21:05:35

Speaking of dumb words to songs, for a few months in '67 I went around singing "Give me a chicken for an airplane, don't have time to take a fast train." I guess the radio reception kind of garbled the lyrics, but would those lyrics have been any dumber than the real lyrics to some of the songs that were popular? I listen to an oldies radio station when I listen to radio, and I'm amazed at the lyrics to some of the songs. And speaking of music, do you think the music when we were growing up influenced our thinking and behavior? I do. Susan '66.

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• Tuesday March 04, 2003
• 20:32:20

Speaking of Wooly Bully. Sometimes we "dis" the kids of today because the lyrics of their music are just plain dumb. But when we remember the words of 'ol Wooly, well what can I say..........

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• Saturday March 01, 2003
• 20:19:30

I have a lot of Colonial memories, too. The slow songs were great because it was couples, but the fast songs were so much fun! Remember "Wooly Bully?" and all of the Beach Boy songs?

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• Saturday March 01, 2003
• 11:01:12

Some of my favorite memories are the fun times I had skating at the Colonial. I'm Susan Thomas, class of '66 so my memories go way, way back. I was a real rink rat. I had skates on any chance I had. I met so many friends while skating. And met some cute guys, too. And did I mention that I met some cute guys there too? Oh I guess I did. I roller skated and ice skated. I also ice skated at the Sleight School outdoor ice rink. I'd love to read about other peoples memories about skating.

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• Monday February 24, 2003
• 11:58:16

Don't forget evening radio, WLS Chicago. Remember their weather jingle? What's the weather for the weekend going to be? Will it be hot, cold, rain, snow, woo woo woo!

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• Monday February 24, 2003
• 01:03:19

I remember wearing out a new pair of choppers on the Mt. Zion rope tow or worse getting one's ski jacket entangled in the rope--yelling stop the tow until it stopped or we hit the mattress in front of the wheels. The goal judges standing behind the net at Jets hockey games--a slapshot by Don Zerbst was always an imminent risk that came with the territory. Sled dog races with the family pet on Suffolk Street. The dogs became entangled in their makeshift rope harnesses and were more interested in fighting than racing. The popularity of Sundrop Cola and the old brown orange crush bottles. Sulky races at the fair and wondering if blue and white silked Tiny could win despite his horse Goose Bales having to race with such a massive load to pull.The media was WJMS radio,Channels 3 and 6 out of Duluth, and a 7 cent Daily Globe. The late night horror flicks at the Ironwood theater were well attended, and the walk home was scary--especially cutting across the tracks. D.H. Central "60"

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• Friday February 14, 2003
• 19:41:59

Ah.. Valentines Day! Remember getting the class list and writing the cards, carefully picking out who would get each one. Then came the party and the fun of opening them, some with the little conversation hearts inside. Those were the days!

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• Tuesday February 11, 2003
• 19:34:50

Shirts with fruit loops......and the guys that collected them..rrrrrrrip.

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• Friday February 07, 2003
• 22:10:13

Don't forget the leisure suits in pastels for the guys.

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• Friday February 07, 2003
• 10:26:10

As long we're on a clothing kick: paisley shirts, dickies, Neru jackets, monster bells, Beatle boots...discuss...Jim Sisko '71

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• Thursday February 06, 2003
• 22:27:52

I liked the furry hats, and remember the fuzzy balls we made to tie onto our skates?

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• Thursday February 06, 2003
• 12:53:29

Remember the flowered corduroy skirts with the wide belts worn with a matching turtleneck? Also those furry hood-type hats with the balls of fur on the end of the ties. Hiphugger pants with the wide belts. Fake crushed fur coats (went good with those furry hats!)

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• Sunday February 02, 2003
• 22:53:43

Just saw in the Daily Globe that Mrs. Larson passed away. I remember her as my 6th grade teacher at Norrie. She was a good teacher, and I will never forget her smile. Brings back some good memories of our little school. Lynn "69"

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• Sunday February 02, 2003
• 01:14:50

I remember warm summer ninghts and Adam's popcorn stand--five cents a bag or ten cents a box-the popcorn was delicious and didn't even need butter. Tucking our football gear in generic khaki football pants with the helmet sticking out the top to show yuour school colors.Stock car races with the Phillips 66 car being popular as the station handed out stickers to the kids and with A guy with a racing name like Barney Morgan at the helm the car usually won. Hiking to Mt. Zion in our ski boots with over sized skis on our shoulders--ouch! Ski jumping copetions on the Burma Road jump. We figured why not ride a flying saucer off the same jump. Double ouch!! Early Saturday basketball games to get ready for the tournament in February when you could win a trophy for your school. Wearing woolen green or red hunting togs with a deer license on the back. Cars with their prize buck on the fender to let it be known they had got a buck this year. Bob Olson doing the play by play of all the big games. A lot of good memories and a lot of good people. D.H. Central 60

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• Thursday January 23, 2003
• 22:22:20

Jim,It sounds like you were living my life! I guess Yooper memories are just that ... Yooper memories! Remember the melting snow being red from the iron as it flowed down the hills in Norrie? The corner stores had all that neat penny candy.How about smelting in the spring? "69"

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• Thursday January 23, 2003
• 17:23:29

Ahhh...penny candy, wax lips, wheel covers and dirty tricks, lucky strikes rolled up in the sleeve of a white T-shirt, baseball cards with bubble gum, poodle skirts and saddle shoes and Elvis Presely singing the blues, B52's flying over town, Mom and dad wearing suits and dresses to dinner parties, snow tires, home made Chef Boy-ar-dee pizza, playing on or under the viaduct, drive-in movies, malts at Len's Dairy Store, Cherry Cokes at Triers drug store, going through the records at Johnson's Music Store or Music Hut, kick the can, Simon says, redlight - green light, tag, ollie ollie in come free....the cemetary after dark, Bird Valley, baseball in the park, fireflies in a jar, dances at the Memorial Building or the Armory and fights between the Ironwood guys and the Hurley guys, Saturday matinee at the Iwd. Theatre, every kid had a knife and was able to bring it to school without being expelled, mustard plasters for that bad chest cold and house calls by doctors, A&W Root Beer and the little glass mug for kids, drives to Lake Superior. Mount Zion, Tank Hill, downtown on a Friday night, picking worms for extra cash, comic books, model cars, football helmets with no face guard, pickle (or monkey) in the middle, it would snow for days and it didn't seem to bother anybody - no snow days( I can't remember even one), the statue of the soldier in the lobby of the Memorial Building, Hiawatha's erection, the caves, the county fair in August, the first day of school and the smell of those stiff new jeans your mom bought for you at Penny's, walking home from school for lunch, snowball fights, hitching cars, throwing snowballs at cars, halloween and fright night at school, art projects and color crayons, construction paper, the paper route and the day JFK was shot, civil defense drills, Little Debbie snack cakes, lunchboxes, Weber Lake, the shack in the woods behind your friends house, the Job Corp guys, the new used car your dad just bought - let's go for a ride, paper dolls, Monarch Field where now the K-Mart is, catching tad poles, rainy days and nothing to do, playing army with a play rifle that your dad bought for you, skating and the warming shed, Ed Sullivan on Sunday nights, the Beatles and the Stones and the parents disapproval, mop tops and Beatle shoes, sledding down the hill by your house, doing (or not doing) your homework, Malones and Cromer caps, building forts in the snow, snow angels, the winter snow melting in spring, marbles, board games, Smeeth's Sporting Goods Store, letter jackets with the "I" sewn on the front and the face of the red devil sewn on the back, white sox with the two colored stripes on the top, Welches creek, Roosevelt, Sleight, Central, Norrie, Newport and St. Ambrose schools, the leaves in the fall and that smell in the woods, counting the stars and the Northern Lights, I Love Lucy and the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, Sky King (brought to you by Nabisco), Kaptain Kangeroo and the siren at 9 pm everynight. Time to go home. JM72

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• Wednesday January 22, 2003
• 11:33:23

MEMORIES from a friend: My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but Kati had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to "sprinkle" clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old. How many do you remember? Head lights dimmer switches on the floor. Ignition switches on the dashboard. Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall. Real ice boxes. Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards. Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner. Using hand signals for cars without turn signals. Older Than Dirt Quiz: Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about! Ratings at the bottom. 1. Blackjack chewing gum 2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water 3. Candy cigarettes 4. Soda pop machines that dispensed bottles 5. Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes 6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers 7. Party lines 8. Newsreels before the movie 9. P.F. Flyers 10. Butch wax 11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (Olive-6933) 12. Peashooters 13. Howdy Doody 14. 45 RPM records 15. S&H Green Stamps 16. Hi-fi's 17. Metal ice trays with lever 18. Mimeograph paper 19. Blue flashbulb 20. Packards 21. Roller skate keys 22. Cork popguns 23. Drive-ins 24. Studebakers 25. Wash tub wringers If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age, If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!

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• Wednesday January 15, 2003
• 03:16:51

Ed, Was just checking the web site tonight and found your recent entry. Roosevelt was GREAT! Remembered "Alfie' and his great song (sung to the tune of The Beatles' "We all live in a Yellow Submarine"), "We all live in a cigarette machine"!! Remember study hall and Kevin O'Neill doing his imitation of the robot on "lost in Space" ("WARNING, WARNING...JACK APPROACHING when Mr. Nelmark was coming back! Dave Manki, remember "Deadrock"? Let me hear from you when you get a chance. I haven't seen you since the football game the other year. I still remember your reunion (was it the 20th?) when we sat around "Swede's" and you and I and Corky Korhonen and Tom Hill and "Wirt" and "Chubba" sat at the Bar? Even though all of us didn't graduate together, I remember you commenting on how all of us "from the township" had such such a tight bond! Best regards to everyone who grew up in the greatest town in the world.. Salmo

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• Saturday January 11, 2003
• 21:10:26

It was nothing for us to walk over a mile to the rink, skate all evening and then walk home! By the way, does anyone watch American Dreams on Sunday nights? Talk about memories! It's a great show.

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• Saturday January 11, 2003
• 19:54:03

Yeah, the Colonial rocked for skating nights. Lots of times we would put on our skates at home and skate down the streets, through the trailor factory parking lot and dart across U.S.2. The skate home was a little bit harder 'cuz the ankles were plenty tired by them. Remember when they would dim the lights and play a "romantic" song and everyone who couldn't find a partner to skate with just sat the song out instead of looking like loser geeks.....also, you could get quite a ride hitching bumpers with skates on....yeah, Jim, those were the days! Greta '70.

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• Saturday January 11, 2003
• 18:21:08

Some of my best memories are of skating at the Colonial while the ice shone from colored lights. Good 60s music, good friends, and fun!

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• Friday January 10, 2003
• 17:57:51

Remember the dances (or sock hops for you old timers) at the Memorial Building? All the girls dancing in the center of the floor while the guys circled around them waiting for a slow song? My wife and I had our first date (and first kiss) there. It was a great venue for the local bands (XTCZZZZ or Red Orange) to get some playing time. Plus there was the added bonus of beating up on the out-of-town skiers...good times, good times. Jim Sisko '71

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• Monday January 06, 2003
• 22:24:32

The Cracker Barrel restaurants and gift shops might have the teaberry and clove gum.

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• Monday January 06, 2003
• 12:05:46

Greta - We used to hang out at the old Mt Zion bar between classes at Go Go U (when we weren't in the lounge playing smear) I recall the time school was called because of a snowstorm and we spent the entire day there playing pool and listening to The Lion Sleeps Tonite by Nillson on the juke box (wimewe, wimewe, wimewhe) Jim Sisko '71.

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• Monday January 06, 2003
• 10:45:44

where can i purchase some teaberry and clove gum for keepsake and memories?

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• Friday January 03, 2003
• 18:08:21

I was just a little older at that time and at Gogebic CC. But we used to go to Khoury's and Rainbow Tavern to "do homework" in the afternoons (loved that flexible class schedule). And there was something about eating pickled eggs, probably at the Rainbow.....My how time flies. Just remember writing English papers while drinking tequila at Khoury's, often with Patrick O'Neill joining us - no doubt giving English pointers. Greta '70

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• Friday January 03, 2003
• 17:22:52

Jim S '71 is correct. I turned 18 three months after the Michigan drinking law was changed and can remember studying and doing my homework at Laura's bar. Ah the good old days... JM72

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• Thursday January 02, 2003
• 17:57:51

Ah, New Year's Eve...The State of Michigan in it's ultimate wisdom decided to begin the 18 year old drinking age on January 1st 1972. We happened to be 18 that year and spent the first part of New Year's Eve at my girlfriend's (now my wife) apartment above Monkey Wards until midnite when we proceded to hit the bars which stayed open all night. We spent the greater part of the time at the old Wigwam bar as I recall...good times, good times...Jim Sisko '71

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• Wednesday January 01, 2003
• 18:57:12

.........Make believe???????? Virginia '55

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• Wednesday January 01, 2003
• 12:01:57

To Ed '71, even though I graduated in '66 and attended Sleight and Central Schools before LLW, I remember Santa as being played by Mr. Velin, so that might be the same Santa as you remember. I don't think he was Dr. Velin, the dentist. Maybe his brother? I have a picture of myself and my neighbor sitting on his lap. That neighbor moved before we went to kindergarten. So if it's the same guy, he had a long career as Santa Claus. Does everyone remember the exact moment and circumstances of finding out Santa was just make believe? I think my parents had a harder time letting go of it than I did. In my 40's I still got presents from "Santa".

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• Monday December 30, 2002
• 21:14:04

Memories of Roosevelt School.....Ironwood Township...Late 50's into the 60's. Kindergarten, Mrs. Olson, wearing that large brooch, circle time on floor, wooden shoe to learn to tie, cloak room, small playroom in back, Buster and me on cymbals, could never get it right........First grade, Mrs. Peterson....going to speech class with Miss Simpson, she fixed my lisp, "say after me, Miss Simpson sat on the seat of her Sting Ray". Funny, I remember her saying that but I thought the Sting Ray came out in '63. Maybe it was something my other siblings had to say... Second Grade with Mrs. Gustafson, shuttled over to North Bessemer school. Marbles for the boys and jump rope for the girls.. Yep, the 55 gal drum for gool... Third Grade, Mrs. Solin across the hall... Getting hauled out of the room by my ear for laughing during "The Festival of Song". Trying to reach the floor with my tiptoes, right ear looked like Spock's. Whatever happened to Joanne Lennetz? my first crush... Riding the bus to North Bessemer watching the clearing being done for the new ski hill called Powderhorn. Fourth Grade, Miss Maki, back from exile. Toe the mark. Going to the library, reading all the "Sandy Steele" and "We were there" books...Santa would come visit the kids in the gym. What was his name? Mr. Valeen or something? Fifth Grade, here come those strangers, the McKinley kids, invading our school. Split into two classes, Mrs. Liimakka and Mrs. Duffin. Getting the news of JFK being killed, acting out the Ruby, Oswald thing at recess. Alfie teaching us boys things on the playground. Why did I feel we shouldn't be learning that stuff yet?... Little League, I played Indians, Jeff played Dodgers and Larry, Cubs.....Sixth Grade 6P and 6J, Pavlovich and Jacquart. Big shots on the playground. The seventh grade..... Now you were a big kid... No more recess... switch rooms each hour. Home Ec for girls, Shop class for boys. Mr. Pallin and Mrs. Derubis were home room teachers. Fly tying in shop. Pump lamps. Big Key holders. Bread Boards. Braiding classes. Making the chokers for the refs whistles. Getting excused from shop to go to the boys room. Carrying that plywood paddle with the word "LAV" painted on it. Slapping your thigh as you walked down the hall past the person on hall patrol. Eighth grade, Mr. Torro and who? Did Mrs. Pavlovich move up? Playing basketball against all those far away teams like Ashland... St. Sebastion... Erwin Twp and "Butchie" Saari. ...........Then came the mysterious happening called "The Consolidation". I didn't know what it was, but this much I knew. We the future class of '71 was being robbed of the honor of being the biggest of the big shots at Roosevelt School. We moved to the LLW High School the same year that the class of '70 did. One thing we were denied by the consolidation was having our own yearbook the "Roosette". We also missed having Mr. Nelmark and Mrs. Ekstrom for home room. (was that a bad thing???) I did have Mrs. "E" for English in the eighth grade. I still remember going to her class down the 3 steps by the telephone and up the dogleg stairway by the east side entrance. Now you were walking on her turf. Tread lightly my son. She would be standing there at the top of the stairs looking down at us as we approached.. I remember looking up at her until our eyes met and then I'd quickly look down. I am still amazed at the respect she commanded. Endless stream of memories of that old school. The sloped floor at the north entrance, the hiding spot under the north stairway. The cafeteria, yes with those special dishes, meat roll and mashed potatoes and hamburg gravy. Don't forget the cornbeef hash and "Pigs in the Blanket". The little bottles of milk with the cardboard caps. The Lyciums we would have for entertainment. Jugglers and trampoline artists and "Peter Pan" plays. Then came the movies, Tom Sawyer, Heidi and National Velvet and so on. The ice-cream stand and the bus garage with the buses all in a row. That's enough, I'm going to steal Jim's quote and say, "sorry for the mental enema" ;-) Ed '71

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• Saturday December 21, 2002
• 12:34:48

Manki, now that is a tough question!.. I have a good cop out though. I didn't have tumbling class.. Maybe if you hum a few bars and save it in a wav file, I'll post it and see if anyone remembers. Ed

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• Saturday December 21, 2002
• 12:26:34

Susan, I assumed it was Phil '71 but there was no name signed... Since my last day of highschool was also my last day living in Ironwood I'm not going to argue with to many people, especially the locals. I hate the taste of my hat, even if it is a Kromer. Ed '71

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• Saturday December 21, 2002
• 10:09:39

Gosh darn, I thought I had the Jupiter/McClellans/Kresge store mystery figured right. You see, I used to live across the hall from the manager of Jupiter stores back in the early 1970's. That was in the apartments above Ironwood Glass.(does enyone still live there?) I thought that Kresge's was still in business when he lived there. I remember thinking that Jupiter wasn't as nice as Kresge's, but I didn't want to tell him that I felt that way. I thought I was still shopping at Kresge's when Jupiter opened. So who was our Jupiter expert who actually came up with the right answer? Susan '66.

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• Friday December 20, 2002
• 17:24:09

For music buffs only. What was the name of that song played at the Roosevelt School during the tumbling exhibitions? I can hum the darn thing but I'll be darned if I know the name. Dave Manki

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• Friday December 20, 2002
• 10:27:20

Ed - I recall that Stern& Fields and Albert's were THE places to get that prom tux. Baby blue with a ruffled shirt....stylin'...Jim Sisko '71

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• Thursday December 19, 2002
• 19:14:20

Whew! I'm glad the dime store dilemma is over with. I thought my memory would serve me well to at least 50 years old, but I guess it's slipping a few months shy. I do remember going to Stearn and Fields and getting a pair of Levi jeans for $6.50. That was right about the time that the flare leg was coming out. As a red blooded Ironwood Township lad, I said I wouldn't be caught dead in flares or bell bottoms. The following year after I had moved to NH I finally broke down. I was told that only nerds wore straight leg pants. Oh, that my problems were only that big today! Ed '71

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• Wednesday December 18, 2002
• 18:45:33

Ed, The Jupiter store replaced the S.S.Kresge store. McClellans was a few stores east of us.That was a while back but I actually do remember.Have a nice Christmas and take care.

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• Tuesday December 17, 2002
• 10:38:28

Seventies Flashback! Driving out to Idele's Hideout and drinking PBR's while listening to One Is The Lonliest Number by Three Dog Night or Wild World by Cat Stevens on the juke box and then piling back into the car for the ride to the Hamilton Club...Jim Sisko '71

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• Monday December 16, 2002
• 22:34:10

Hey, I almost forgot about the pumpkin carols - I think I may have them buried in a box of memorabilia somewhere. They were pretty creative, if I remember right. And we sure did get strange looks from people as we went up and down the main street singing them around Halloween. I guess we could have done worse things. I still do like to compose alternative lyrics to familiar songs. I just did one for our business Christmas party tomorrow based on "The 12 Days of Christmas". Greta '70

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• Monday December 16, 2002
• 12:00:58

I can remember my friends and I going Christmas caroling (or pumpkin caroling at Hallowen, right Greta?) just for the fun of it, we usually scored some cookies or candy too! Then there was the time we stopped to visit the Santa who was set up in one of the empty store fronts and he smoked a cigarette using a cigarrette holder so he wouldn't set his beard on fire (or maybe he was just being continental)...Jim Sisko '71

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• Monday December 16, 2002
• 07:52:20

Jerry, maybe you are right. I seem to remember that SS Kresge changed to K-Mart with the move to the Highway. I e-mailed Phil Anderson '71 who worked at one of the stores downtown (I believe it was Kresges) and later made the move to the Highway K-Mart. We'll see if he replies. Ed

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• Monday December 16, 2002
• 00:06:48

Remember the pnuematic air tubes that delivered reciepts, money and messages throughout the S&L store in Ironwood? John O '72

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• Sunday December 15, 2002
• 22:52:27

Jupitor stores were a division of SS Kresge Company, so I would think the Jupitor replaced the old Kresge store. Speaking of Sears, does anyone remember the Lionel train layout they used to set up in the basement every year at Christmas. We used to go down there after school (Central) to watch them run it. Jerry '59

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• Sunday December 15, 2002
• 20:57:31

Of course! As soon as I read that Susan, I said why didn't I remember that. This section is starting to sound like a trivia game. Hmmm, that gives me an idea...... Ed '71

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• Sunday December 15, 2002
• 09:40:51

Didn't the Jupiter Store replace the old McClellans Store? Susan '66

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• Saturday December 14, 2002
• 18:15:18

Here is one other thing I have forgotten. I remember shopping at the dime stores. S.S. Kresge (sp) and Jupiter. I seem to remember when Jupiter was a new store. So my question. What was the name of the store that Jupiter replaced? Ed '71

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• Friday December 13, 2002
• 17:38:11

Yeah, those Ironwood Theatre Christmas parties were great. You gotta think the parents loved it - they could drop the kids off for 2 hours of cartoons, treats and fun with Santa and get some "Santa shopping" done themselves. Hitching cars was a blast, except for when the driver would stop suddenly to yell at you. Remember doing the first power whip turn after you got your license? Some roads were better for those than others. "Whip road" up in Norrie was a good one - you could sort of bounce off the snowbanks if your technique wasn't too good. Brings back a lot of winter memories....... Greta '70

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• Friday December 13, 2002
• 13:43:50

Ah, Christmas time in Ironwood growing up...You could hear the Christmas carols from the Salvation Army booth downtown from our house on Pewabic Street. The toy area up in the balcony at Sear's (they would set up a huge slot car display for the kids to play with). Or hitching car bumpers to the Colonial for skating (make sure to get your ticket at school) Santa making an appearance at the Ironwood Theatre (where you'd get the chocolate marshmallow Santas)...good times, good times...

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• Thursday December 12, 2002
• 16:52:50

Speaking of whitewalls. Do you remember when they were red? I remember John and Danny Niemi buying their GTOs, I believe they were '66's (correct me if I'm wrong Bruce). They were red and black and had "red line" tires. We went right out to the shed and got a can of red barn paint and painted red lines around our bicycle tires. Had to have 'em. Ed

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• Thursday December 12, 2002
• 16:37:12

Jim, Baby Moons were one step up from the "poor mans" mags which were "black rims and whitewalls" They looked good on my '65 Galaxy. Ed '71

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• Thursday December 12, 2002
• 12:36:53

Len's Dairy Store...now that brings back memories. How about buying baby moon hubcaps or cherry bomb mufflers at Rice's or drinking green rivers at Trichner's (sp?) Drug Store?...Jim Sisko '71

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• Wednesday December 11, 2002
• 00:30:50

I believe Johnny's Drive In is correct and was owned by the Nasi family that lived on the corner right next to the drivein. Jerry '59

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• Monday December 09, 2002
• 18:36:28

Maybe JM '72 was part right in his remembrence of 'Johnny's Drive-In. The root beer they served may have been Richardson's, spelled RICHardson's and "mixed fresh in the mug when the spicket on the barrel is flipped open." John O '72

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• Monday December 09, 2002
• 11:30:44

Yep, Bruce your right. It was Johnny's Drive In and Joe's Drive In was on the Highway. I must be starting to lose it. Ed

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• Monday December 09, 2002
• 11:11:03

Ed, the name was Johnny's Drive In, I can't believe there is something about the old days in Ironwood I remembered and you didn't! Anyway I had this info confirmed by the Twp Supervisor to make sure. Bruce '73

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• Monday December 09, 2002
• 10:53:20

Wasn't it called Richards Root Beer Stand? I remember stopping there often when I was a kid usually on the way back from spending a summer day out at Little Girls Point or Black River Harbor. They served a tall cold mug of foamy frosty rootbeer - Hire's I believe. JM 72

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• Friday December 06, 2002
• 17:14:07

I remember that drive near the corner of Sunset and Lake Road very well Ed, however as much as I try to think of it's name I can't remember but I went there hundreds of times over the years. Great place for a root beer after a bike ride in the Township or a trip back from Lake Superior. They had a big wooden barrel with root beer on tap and it was either Hire's or Dad's. By the way Root Beer ain't what it used to be. In the 1960's the Food and Drug Administration ruled that Sassafras contained a suspected carcinogen called Safrole, and Safrole was an essential oil used in Root Beer flavoring but they made all Root Beer companies discontinue the use of Safrole. Other artificial flovorings were substituted. So if you think Root Beer doesn't taste as good as you remember it when you were a little kid you are right. John O '72

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• Friday December 06, 2002
• 08:21:55

I faintly remember a Drive-In restaurant near the Resettlement in North Ironwood on Lake Rd. Does anyone remember the name of it? Ed '71

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• Thursday December 05, 2002
• 22:28:59

Just finnished reading all of the memories posted in this section. Great memories. Couldn't help but notice that no mentioned hanging out on the corner of Len's Dairy Store or going to movies at the Rex Theater. Jerry '59

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• Thursday December 05, 2002
• 20:39:03

If you lived as a child in the 40's, 50's, 60's or 70's how did you survive? Looking back, it's hard to believe that we have lived as long as we have... As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention hitchhiking to town as a young kid!) We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Horrors. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable. We played dodge ball and sometimes the ball would really hurt. We got cut and broke bones and broke teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame, but us. Remember accidents? We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it. We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank sugar soda but we were never overweight... we were always outside playing. We shared one grape soda with four friends, from one bottle and no one ! died from this. We did not have Play stations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, video games at all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones, Personal Computers, Internet chat rooms ... we had friends. We went outside and found them. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rung the bell or just walked in and talked to them. Imagine such a thing. Without asking a parent! By ourselves! Out there in the cold cruel world! Without a guardian. How did we do it? We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't, had to learn to deal with disappointment..... Some students weren't as smart as others so they failed a grade and were held back too! Repeat the same grade..... Horrors. Tests were not adjusted for any reason. Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. No one to hide behind. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law, imagine that! This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors ever. The past 50 years has been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all...............And you're one of them. Congratulations! Author unknown Ed

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• Saturday November 30, 2002
• 15:41:44

Class of 1968! Now that's OLD! My memories include Oscar Sjowell as Driver's Ed instructor and Ernie Mattson as Geometry Teacher....I had Driver's Ed then went to Geometry and when I drove, I was a wreck for the next hour!!! Also what about French Class with Sara Tabacci..I probably spelled her name wrong (I'm a Finn!). I remember the Ironwood Drive In..wish there still were some Drive-Ins. Also the great Ironwood Theater downtown Ironwood. Workers were Sandra Sisko and Ron Pelkola plus others. What about Home Economics? Does anyone teach their kids to make Souffles? I went to Roosevelt School near the airport...in fact, just about a month ago I got to walk the old halls of the Roosevelt School...what is left of them, anyway. Dr. Gresham is the owner of the building and is putting in 1 and 2 bedroom apartments...the only part that was left like a school was the library and Mrs. Ekstrom's room on second floor. Wondering who I am? Linda Toolanen/Pelkola/Graham LLWright Class of '68, Gogebic Comm. College Business Degree in '69. Lots of on-the-job training after that and I'm still learning! When is the class of 1968 going to do a reunion??????

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• Tuesday November 19, 2002
• 20:24:13

I have an old memory somewhere around 1955. We had moved from Oma township, Wisconsin, to Celia street in Ironwood and I had to cross the viaduct to go to Central School. I was going to school one day with some new-found friends, and seeing a steam engine coming, I got the brilliant idea of throwing a snowball down the smoke stack. So I formed a snowball and leaned over the wide cement railing of the viaduct and waited for the train. My friends ran and I waited for the train and when it came underneath the viaduct it threw up so much smoke I couldn't see anything, I didn't get to throw the snowball, so I ran to catch up with my friends and they looked at me rather strangely, and I said "What"? They said I had black specks all over my face and went to rub off the oily soot, and all it did was smear, so I went to school with a very black face, that was very hard to wash off. I never tried that trick again. I think it was 1956 when steam engines were replaced with electric engines. And I still feel a loss. Jesse 1962

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• Tuesday November 19, 2002
• 19:47:42

A North Ironwood boy most of my life, I have enjoyed all of the memories and comments. A recent incident has made me realize I am now one of the "old folks". I bought my grandmother's house this summer. While a niece was visiting, she asked to use the phone to call her mother. Upon picking up the phone, she got a puzzled look and asked me how to punch the numbers into that circle with holes in it. She had never seen a rotary phone before. Also, still remember our "Party Line" phone number. Thanks for the memories. Keep them coming. JeB '69

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• Tuesday November 19, 2002
• 09:15:06

i remember him he was a nice guy

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• Thursday November 14, 2002
• 21:04:08

Does anyone remember the Sammy Held Charlie Semo fight, I remember it was a classic. Bob Tollison, thanks for the nice picture of my wife and myself.  Sure had a good time at the 30th reunion. Hey Betsy Popham, what did you ever do with your Chevy Vega??? Mike Odden 72

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• Sunday November 03, 2002
• 17:19:18

Betsy, you mentioned Mr. Held. If there was any one thing that I learned from his class it was the meaning of the word "essentially". I remember Jeff Aho and I keeping tally of how many times he would use that word in a class. Ed '71

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• Saturday November 02, 2002
• 23:31:51

Here goes- in bits and pieces. Mr. Pinski- teaching LATINA, conjugating every possible verb in Latin and his very precise pronunciations/ Mr. Held and his ever-present coffee thermos (was it only coffee). I used to sit in the back row of our science class.. On days that those wonderful movies were shown (teacher was napping) I would take candy orders and money for anybody that wanted something and I would go down to the vending machines by the gym and buy goodies for everybody. I was never questioned because I was in the Intercom Club, had a permanent hall pass so that I was never questioned. Marching in the Band with snow up to our butts, but that was part of Yooper life. I remember one basketball game-played in our gym against Hurley. We sang OUR version of their school song so loudly that we were heard over the radio and were very sternly scolded and told not to do it again. Of course. we obeyed. I had Mr. K. for Gov't, Mr. Passint for Driver's Ed. Of course we had a good time, but they were 2 of the best. Had a blast being a part of all the Musicals-orchestra, makeup, promotions and parties. Are there plans for a 30th Reunion for the Class of '73? Those are just a few memories, more later. Betsy Pulliam POPHAM Class of '73

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• Friday October 25, 2002
• 13:53:54

If you are reading this there is a good chance your life was touched by Mr. Krznarich in some way during your days growing up in Ironwood. Mine certainly was. Mr. K. died in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 20th. I never had Mr Krznarich as a teacher, but had him for study hall and as a coach for football, Little League and freshman basketball. When I decided to quit the freshman basketball team (he was the coach) I remember being extreeeeemly fearful and afraid to tell him so. Wasn't so bad though...I still remember it. I explained to him that I was so busy with school, a job and homework. I had a difficult choice to make - he understood. He put his big hand on my shoulder, squeezed the back of my neck (ouch?) and asked me to think about it and if I changed my mind I was always welcome back on the team. At that moment I realized his soft side.

I got a chance to talk with Mr. K. and Pat, his wife, this past summer - in early August. I thanked him for all he had done for so many years for so many kids of the area... as a teacher, coach, mentor and friend. He accepted my thanks in a very humble manner. His wife said that to this day he often receives letters of appreciation from former students and athletes many of whom probably didn't fully appreciate all he had done for us until years later.

My wife and I went to the football game on Friday, October 18th and I was a part of the halftime ceremony to honor Mr. Krznarich and Wayne Melchori. There were probably 30 - 35 former football players there that night. It was not a good night weather-wise but all went well. Because of illness Mr. K could not attend but my brother-in-law (Percy Smith the superintendent of schools and a very good friend of Mr. K.) got a tape recorded message from Mr. K. that Friday afternoon. The recorded message was played over the PA system during the half time ceremony...he told the crowd via tape that he loved what he did and loved each and every kid he ever worked with either as a coach and a teacher. He also referred to all of us as "knuckeheads" one more time and got a laugh for it. It brightened up the occasion briefly on an otherwise somber night. Calumet -vs- Ironwood. It was a very exciting game with the Red Devils scoring with third down and 31 yards to go on their own 10 yard line ... the winning touchdown was scored with 1:11 left in the game running a trick play in the muck and mud. The play called the "hook and ladder" was very effective and executed with perfection ... the Devil defense held off the Calumet offense from scoring with a minute left in the game. Only a field goal needed to win. Didn't happen. Final score Iwd 16 - Calumet 15. The win - a fitting tribute to the man who spent countless hours on that very field coaching and teaching and molding young lives. Considering the events and circumstances around that cold, wet October night it, all in all it, was a good evening and I felt proud and honored to be standing on that field at halftime to honor such a man as Mr. Krznarich.

 JM '72

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• Wednesday October 23, 2002
• 20:43:01

A couple of thoughts on education: "If you hit a pony over the nose at the onset of your acquaintance, he may not love you but he will take a deep interest in your movements ever afterwards." - Rudyard Kipling "Education should be gentle and stern, not cold and lax." - Joseph Joubert In memory of John J."Johnny K" Krznarich 1914-2002 John O '72 student and friend since Ironwood Farm leauge 1962.

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• Friday September 27, 2002
• 18:31:19

I was just looking over the Guest Book and I saw something from Dave Manki (Class of 70). It just occurred to me that Dave was my recruiter when Jerry Moon and I joined the Army back in January of 75. I will get back at you Dave for enlisting me. Not really. I enjoyed my 2 years active. I was stationed in Brooklyn, New York. It's strange not seeing the Twin Towers when you see the New York skyline. Anyway, thanks so much Ed for this site. It really is something and congratulations on the new child Grandpa Ed. For those of you who don't know I basically grew up with Ed and his brother Bruce. We were born and raised a mile apart in Ironwood Township. Many great memories of good ol Ironwood. Brad '74

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• Tuesday September 10, 2002
• 21:06:59

Were you a kid in the Fifties ? Everybody makes fun of our childhood! Comedians joke. Grandkids snicker. Twenty-something's shudder and say "Eeeew!" But was our childhood really all that bad? Judge for yourself: In 1953 The US population was less than 150 million... Yet you knew more people then, and knew them better... And that was good. The average annual salary was under $3,000... Yet our parents could put some of it away for a rainy day and still live a decent life... And that was good. A loaf of bread cost about 15 cents... But it was safe for a five-year-old to skate to the store and buy one... And that was good. Prime-Time meant I Love Lucy, Ozzie and Harriet, Gunsmoke and Lassie... So nobody ever heard of ratings or filters... And that was good. Every Sunday come rain or shine we were up early and had a BIG breakfast. Afterwards we got all dressed up in our "Sunday best clothes - suits and dresses" for church with the whole family in attendance... and that was good. We didn't have air-conditioning... So the windows stayed up. Folks sat out side on lawn chairs and on the porch and talked to each other as well as anyone who walked past the house... and that was good. Most of the mothers did not work outside of the home and dinners were eaten around the dinner table and made from scratch. When we came home from school, Mom was in the kitchen getting our milk and fresh baked cookies ready for us... and that was good. If you were sick, a neighbor would run over and keep an eye on you while your mom took the bus for the prescription. If a child fell off a bike, half a dozen mothers ran outside to comfort the child... and that was good. Your teacher was either Miss Matthews or Mrs. Logan or Mr. Adkins... But not Ms Becky or Mr. Dan... And that was good. The only hazardous material you knew about... Was a patch of grassburrs around the light pole at the corner... And that was good. You loved to climb into a fresh made bed... Because sheets and blankets were dried on the clothesline... And that was good. People generally lived in the same hometown with their relatives... So "child care" meant grandparents or aunts and uncles... And that was good. Parents were respected and their rules were law.... Children did not talk back..... and that was good. After school we played hide and seek and kick-the-can and Simon Says, and sand lot baseball games and our best friends lived in the same house from birth to marriage... and that was good. On weekends there were amateur shows at the local theater before the Saturday matinee, bowling and visits to the pool...and eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar and wax lips and bubblegum cigars... and that was good. TV was in black-and-white... But we spent all our time outdoors enjoying the glorious color....And that was certainly good. Your Dad knew how to adjust everybody's carburetor And the Dad next door knew how to adjust all the TV knobs and tubes ... And that was very good. Summer vacations were spent roaming the hills and woods, playing pirate, cowboys and indians and building forts in the trees. Fishing in the pond and swimming in the lake were our form or recreation... and that was good. Your grandma grew snap beans in the back yard And chickens behind the garage... And that was definitely good when Sunday dinner at Grandma's house rolled around. And just when you were about to do something really bad... Chances were you'd run into your Dad's high school coach... Or the nosy old lady from up the street... Or your little sister's piano teacher... Or somebody from Church... ALL of whom knew your parents' phone number...And YOUR first name... And even THAT was good! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ REMEMBER.... Send this on to someone who can still remember Nancy Drew The Hardy Boys Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello Sky King Little Lulu comics, Brenda Starr Howdy Doody The Peanut Gallery The Lone Ranger The Shadow Knows, Nellie Belle, Roy and Dale, Trigger and Buttermilk. Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, yeah, I remember that! And was it really that long ago? I'm of course not THAT OLD to remember. Ha! Ha! Jean "74"

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• Thursday September 05, 2002
• 02:06:02

Here is Ironwood's connection to 'The day the music died.' On January 31, 1959 the Winter Dance Party tour with Buddy Holly, Richie Vallens, The Big Bopper and Dion and the Belmonts played the National Gaurd Armory in Duluth. After the show the tour headed east on US2 before turning south on highway 51 on their way to a February 1st afternoon show in Appleton, then an evening show in Green Bay. The bus broke down and drummer Carl Bunch suffering from frostbite to his feet was transported to Grandview Hospital in Ironwood by a Sheriffs deputy. On February 2nd Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper played their last show at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa and tired of cold and broken buses flew a four seat chartered plane to their next show in Fargo. They never made it. The bus with the other muscians did. Carl bunch got the news in the hospital in Ironwood. John O.'72

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• Sunday August 11, 2002
• 12:02:15

Grade school: walking past the caves to summer oboe lessons with dear Mr. Wiele (perfect pitch, beautiful white hair). High school: Friday night football game in Ashland, snowing, halftime, in marching band, heavy glockenspiel hurting my neck, freezing in a geeky red uniform. Karen Murto Ziminski, '62

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• Saturday August 03, 2002
• 15:46:59

How many remember Mr. Desautelle losing his cool with Lyle? Marched him out of study hall, walking behind him with his hands on his shoulders and his right knee making intimate contact with his tailbone on every step. Then we heard what sounded like lockers being ripped out for new ones, and back in they came, still doing that same march. I can't remember what it was that set him off, either a squirt gun or a clicker under his foot. I guess kids naturally like to find out where a teachers breaking point is. That day we found out where Mr. D's was.

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• Saturday August 03, 2002
• 15:24:51

Remember welding class with Jim Hocking? Walking past the arc welding booths when guys were taking tests and cranking the voltage on their machine or shutting off the oxygen tank and watch someones perfect bead of brazing go up and float away in a bunch of of stringy soot. The equivalent of real old time stories of dipping a girls pigtails in an ink well.

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• Thursday July 25, 2002
• 01:51:42

Someone mentioned swimming at the Memorial Building pool. Remember when Rudy would go around & tap guys on the head with his middle finger & call us "knuckleheads?" Also on all the men's only nights, no one was allowed to wear a swimming suit. Don't know if that was the health fad of the day, or just some "local" perversion??? dd '69

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• Monday July 22, 2002
• 21:42:35

Accompanying Lady Bird Johnson on that Ironwood trip was Muriel Humphrey, wife of the Vice President which brings to mind this true story of long ago when I was in Kindergarten at Roosevelt School. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey was campaigning against John F. Kennedy for the 1960 Democratic nomination for President and Humphrey came to Ironwood on the campaign trail landing at the old airport by Roosevelt School. Humphrey actually stopped at the school and thirsty from his flight asked a student where he could get something to drink. The kid told him Hautala's bar was just down the road. John O.'72

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• Monday July 22, 2002
• 13:04:41

Lady Bird Johnson, the first lady at the time, was in Ironwood to dedicate the opening of the Sylvania Recreational Area which is a beautiful tract of virgin timber and crystal clear lakes about one hour east of Ironwood. I have many memories of visiting Sylvania since it opened, camping and fishing there and enjoying the beauty and all it has to offer. On the day of the dedication I remember getting out of school for a part of the day to watch for her as her Limo made its way through downtown Ironwood. People lined the streets with signs and waved as she rode by. A big deal for little Ironwood back in the mid-sixties. JM'72

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• Monday July 22, 2002
• 07:39:01

I also remember Lady Bird Johnson's visit to Ironwood. I was attending Roosevelt School at the time and remember the entire school standing in front of the school on Airport Road with homemade signs and smiles. We were all expecting to have the First Lady stop and at least say Hi but were terribly disappointed when she sped by with barely a wave. Brian "74"

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• Saturday July 20, 2002
• 23:29:59

Another "famous" siting: Paul Hornung and other Packers used to come up to Hurley to party in the late 60's. Paul always stayed at the Mt Zion Motel in Irwd on US2, probably so no one else knew what he was up to. He used to go to the PineAire Cafe where I worked as a waitress and act like a complete A___H____, demanding this and that and always cranky and hungover. Plus, he never tipped! I hated those days waiting on him and cringe every time someone mentions how wonderful he was. GAB '70

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• Saturday July 20, 2002
• 20:21:21

Those of you who went to Norrie School, remember the popcorn and candy sales? Anise candy and fudge were the big thing. One class would make candy and popcorn and then go to all the other rooms to sell it. That homemade anise was soooo good!!!

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• Saturday July 20, 2002
• 20:13:27

Reading about famous people being in Ironwood made me remember the time President Johnson's wife, Lady Bird, came to Ironwood. I think it had something to do with Ironwood being the Flower Box Capital or whatever. I remember going with my parents and parking on the side of Airport Road to see her but only saw a glimpse of her as her car drove past on the way to the airport. Did get a picture of her plane - whoopee.

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• Friday July 19, 2002
• 20:55:56

One more on movies. I remember when the 1965 Otto Preminger World War II epic "In Harms Way" came out. At the time of filming John Niemi from Lake Road was serving in the Navy at the time and among other actual servemen was in the background in a scene in the movie. The Daily Globe in it's Ad for the Ironwood Theater billed it as "In Harm's Way, Starring John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and featuring Johnny Niemi from Ironwood Township." John O. '72

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• Wednesday July 17, 2002
• 19:13:25

More on Marsha's '64 memories of the 1962 movie "Adventures of a Young Man" shot in the Ironwood area. Most of the principle outdoor scenes were shot in the towns of Saxon and Mellon. It's all-star cast also included Richard Beymer, Paul Newman, Ricardo Mantalban, Arthur Kennedy, Jessica Tandy, Eli Wallach, Susan Stasberg, Micheal J. Pollard, Dan Dailey and in an uncredited role, Sharon Tate. Martin Ritt, the Director was one of the Hollywood movie people blackballed in the 1950's for alleged Communist sympathies. He went on to direct Hud, Sounder, The Long Hot Summer, The spy who came in from the Cold and Norma Rae among others. I remember as a kid seeing Paul Newman and some of the other stars at the Bell Chalet in Hurley and seeing the movie when it came out at the Ironwood Theater. John O '72

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• Tuesday July 16, 2002
• 21:47:20

O.K. have to make a correction on the name of the actress.. her name is DIANE BAKER. I knew her last name started with a "B" HE HE HE ... Marsha

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• Tuesday July 16, 2002
• 20:43:59

Thanks for the good memories, Marsha. The inside out sweatshirts were pretty cool, and so were cut-off denims pants. Remember putting Dippity-Do in our hair after we "ratted or teased" it? Remember all the Beach Party and Elvis movies at the theater? We couldn't miss even one! L/69

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• Tuesday July 16, 2002
• 05:03:44

O.K. all you youngsters, here's a few things for you all to try to remember from the "60's: >> girl stuff~~ wearing button-down sweaters backwards, and those who could afford cashmere,>>polishing your white tennis shoes and lacing them half way and making sure the tongue flared out >> wearing sweatshirts inside out to look dressy >> the only time girls could wear slacks was in the winter under your skirt or dress if you walked to school, of course you had to take them off before homeroom >> girls who wore "heavy" make-up other than lipstick and a little mascara were considered "not nice girls" >> how about the new fashion arrival of fur lined shoe boots,(kikkarinas), no more rubber overshoes, but then you had to carry your shoes in a shoe bag and if you forgot, ya had hot feet all day >> putting your books in a bookbag or anything else to carry them was nerdy, we had to carry them cradled in your arm and switch arms, guys had "em in their hand hugged to their hip, sure could have used back bookpacks them, eh? >> some guys wore black engineer boots and jeans, I think LLW dress code made the guys wear dress pants or slacks w/ street shoes >> I think someone mentioned the color ice sculptures made by the different clubs, they were awesome >> and I too walked the ledge around the school, so daring we thought >> does anyone else remember when the movie, "ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG MAN", by Hemmingway, was filmed at Black River Harbor? I recall when I was walking home one fall day, I was near Sleight School and in front of me was the female lead of the movie, yes, none other than Diane Black, I'm still mad at myself for not having the guts to say hi to her, I just walked past her and glanced back to make sure it was her, maybe I could have had her autograph. >> How about lime cokes at the drug store, it was the 'halfway home' stop for me so I could set those books down that were now attached to my arm. sometimes we took the viaduct shortcut or the long way thru town. >> Ah,yes,the Colonial, Evar, anyone mention him? kinda scary guy at first till you got to know him. And of course the girls had to have a case for their skates. >> Our parents always got dressed up to go to the "show". >> And buying theme paper counted by the sheet >> Swimming at the Memorial Building and Rudy. Also the dances there. >> LLW had special shows or entertainment of some sort in the gym, I recall animals, an elephant left a huge puddle on the gym floor,that was a big laugh for all of us. >> Miss Zera Tabbachi said she always wore black because some relative always died and she was forever in mourning, at least that's what she told our class. I think she just liked to wear black! >> These are my memories from the '60's, other stuff has already been said. Would be nice to hear from other fellow classmates from the class of "64, if I stayed I would have been with that class. Anyone from Central? Attended 3rd thru 8th, then 9th and 1st sem. of 10th. I remember most of you from scanning the year book. Some of you changed a lot, some did not. Enjoyed it! Marsha ~~ MJW '64

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• Saturday July 13, 2002
• 00:02:08

How many of you out there delivered the Daily Globe like me? My route was in Norrie, so I had to walk my bike up the hills so I could ride it down. Friday was collection day, and back then the paper was 40 cents a week!

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• Tuesday July 09, 2002
• 16:23:22

ED JUST HAD A GREAT REUNION,WAS NICE SEEING EVERYONE AGAIN. HAD OUR WARM UP PARTY FRIDAY NITE AT THE COUNTRY CLUB. MANY PEOPLE REMARKED THAT IT LOOKED LIKE "KOURY'S ON A FRIDAY NITE" LOTS OF GOOD STORIES AND MEMORIES MIKE O 72

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• Saturday June 08, 2002
• 15:30:19

Does anyone remember "Shoe-locks" The boys or mens shoe that had a rigid "tongue" on the outside of the shoe. When the top was pulled toward the toe the shoe would loosen. Once you got your foot in you pulled the "tongue" back and the clasp and wire mechanism would tighten the shoe. Now there is one style that I haven't seen come back around.

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• Friday June 07, 2002
• 19:47:50

How about the Halloween Parties in the gym of Newport School. The gym looked so big and was full of fun things to do.bnantell @yahoo.com

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• Monday May 27, 2002
• 10:04:54

This may be putting a real strain on my memory bank, but here goes.   Correct me if I don't tell it like it was.   Going back to the early sixties, the teen hangout in Ironwood township was the "Corner Cafe", a small home that had the living area converted into a restaurant.   It sat across Lake Road and a few hundred feet toward town from Gramps "City Service" gas station.   Maybe it was already changed to Citgo gas, I'm not sure.   Anyway, the Corner Cafe was owned and operated by my uncle and aunt.   It had a counter with stools, a juke box and a couple of pinball machines.   I was maybe nine or ten at the time but I remember some of the "big kids", the teenagers, that hung around there and the "big" motorcycles they rode in on.   My brothers, Len and Rick had to share a big 5 horse power Cushman with a shifter on the left side of the gas tank.   I remember Dennis Tervo with his Vespa scooter, and Dave "the governor" Wainio, with his mini-bike.   He got the name "Governor" because he would always lean over and reach under the seat and push the throttle past the governor to make the bike go faster.   My cousins, Bart and Brad, who lived in the back and upstairs of the house, and my brother Bruce stood in awe of these big kids.   Hair slicked back in a DA and a pack of Luckys rolled up in the sleeve of their t-shirt.   Now these guys were cool!   I remember almost like yesterday the afternoon that Jack Grandahl rode into the parking lot with his "new" Lambretta scooter.   Everyone piled out of the Cafe and gathered around.   Man, this was a nice bike, it even had a headlight and a speedometer, and two seats!   Quickly the talk changed to whether or not it was faster than the Cushman.   That was the buzz around the township for quite awhile.   And you know, I don't know if I ever found out.   At least that part I don't remember. Maybe someone out there does.     Ed Estola '71

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• Monday May 27, 2002
• 06:04:58

I rmember well the Summer afternoons swimming at BAB and Jack Pine getting relief from the hot summer days (when It got HOT) Art Hill `63

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• Friday May 24, 2002
• 21:29:02

How many guys remember running laps in gym class around the top of the balcony. How many remember when Mr. Melchiori was looking the other way we would lie down on the floor where the top row of seats rose higher than the running surface. We would come around a corner and find half a dozen guys lying on their stomachs like so many beached "whales" (Sorry coach it just slipped out).

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• Friday May 24, 2002
• 20:13:53

i lked the bic mood pens but i cant seem to find them even on ebay.

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• Friday May 24, 2002
• 14:43:29

Does anyone remember the Talent Night shows put on by the PTA's where our parents would put on these hilarious skits? I was pretty young then, but I remember them being very funny.

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• Monday May 20, 2002
• 13:55:39

I remember being in a "sit-in".   I believe it was because we wanted to be able to wear pants/jeans to school.    Memories: house parties, morning hall walks, home-coming float building (Hi! Brian), 10 show tickets for one buck!! for Saturdays and the goofy space-ship pre-movie cartoons, penny-nickle candy from Cowlings (You Norrie School chums) and Hulstrom's: candy dots on paper, little space-ship shaped candy with little candy ball inside, red coins, n---er babies, hot dog bubble gum, chum gum, licorice whips and circles with a candy in the middle, ice cream cones made out of some kind of "puffy sugar stuff".   Dances in the gym with a local band, "battle of the bands", Pep assembly skits-too funny!!   So many good memories.   Jean M 1974

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• Tuesday May 14, 2002
• 15:27:39

I remember the Halloween parties at the Ironwood Theatre where we would march up and down the aisles in our costumes before the show and then go up on stage where Al Wright would choose the winners by the cheering from the audience...how about those Father/Son & Mother/Daughter banquets at Sleight School? - Jim Sisko '71

• Sunday May 12, 2002
• 17:26:29

I remember going to a Christmas party at the Memorial Building sometime in the 50's when I went to Elementary School.I got picked up at school by a business man, I think Kiwanis club. We had a meal, and Santa handed out gifts. There were a lot of kids there. Thanks for bringing back that nice memory.

• Saturday May 11, 2002
• 21:51:55

Does anyone remember the United Steel Workers Union Christmas parties for kids at the Memorial Building? How about the big Christmas shows at the Ironwood Theatre? It's funny how reading the comments of others will sometimes trigger a flood of memories. ...Ken '72

• Wednesday May 08, 2002
• 15:57:22

Correction to previous statement - 17 laps equals two miles!

• Wednesday May 08, 2002
• 12:51:39

Yes, the kids do still walk around and around the halls every morning. Although, there doesn't seem to be as many students of the male gender standing along the walls watching students of the female gender walk by like when we were in school. Also - 17 laps equals a mile!

• Tuesday May 07, 2002
• 18:33:01

Do the kids at the high school still act like lemmings and by instinct just walk around and around the hallways while the other half stand on the side and watch? I remember walking (12 laps equal a mile) and I remember watching. Never once did I think it strange. Maybe it's a human trait, now that I think of it, kids do it in shopping malls across our country.

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• Tuesday May 07, 2002
• 12:43:38

Thought those of you who haven't stepped foot in LLW since you graduated might be interested in the changes. Granted, most of the school is still the same, but there are a few differences. The main one happened last summer with the closing of Newport School. All of the sixth graders came to the high school and are housed on the first floor, the southwest corner. There are now doors by the boy's bathroom (near the welding shop) and by the maintenance shop (near the girls' locker room)to keep the sixth graders separate. The Little Theater is no longer the Little Theater. All of the theater style seats were taken out, the floor was leveled, and it now is a classroom. For those of you who remember the Activity Room on first floor, those round seats around the poles are long gone and that room is now a lunch room. The cafeteria, lunchroom, and some hallways now showcase some of the artistic talent students have had over the years. Those old crummy lockers by the gym on second floor were taken out and now there are some nice trophy cases in place of them. The room that used to be the French room is now the Distance Learning Room with TV's suspended from the ceiling. The Guidance Office is no longer on first floor but on third floor across from the balcony. Other than that, the school has not changed much from when we were all there.

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• Tuesday May 07, 2002
• 07:17:05

If people are more willing to participate in this section if they don't have to sign their name, have at it, I promise not to hound you anymore for names. I would rather see more entries without names, than just the same few submitting everything. Thanks to all who have contributed thus far. Ed

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• Tuesday May 07, 2002
• 07:05:38

How long did the paper dress fad last? Until the first rain storm? %)

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• Monday May 06, 2002
• 22:41:02

Hey gals, Did you ever iron your hair when "straight" was the style? How about those white boots we wore with short skirts, and the short-lived paper dress fad?

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• Thursday April 25, 2002
• 21:29:23

I wonder how many girls actually thought that their boyfriends would think their hair was clean when they sprayed that powdery junk called "Pssssst" in their hair when it was oily and they were too lazy to wash it? Ed '71

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• Thursday April 25, 2002
• 21:09:04

I'll sometimes pass up a dare, but never a "double dog dare". Bill Immich '70 dared me so here goes.

Double Dog Dare You > > If you don't remember this, you're too young anyway.   This is a time we can feel good about remembering so much! I am sharing this with you today because it  ends with a "double dog dare" to pass it on. Always remember that the perfect age is somewhere between old enough to know better and young enough not to care.   How many do you remember? > 1. Candy cigarettes. > 2. Wax coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water > inside. > 3. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles. > 4. Coffee shops with tableside juke boxes. > 5. Blackjack, Clove and Teaberry chewing gum. > 6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles, with cardboard > stoppers. > 7. Party lines. > 8. Newsreels before the movie. > 9. P. F. Flyers. > 10. Butch wax. > 11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix, > (Drexel-5505). > 12. Peashooters. > 13. Howdy. > 14. 45-RPM Records. > 15. Green Stamps. > 16. Hi-fi's. > 17. Metal ice cube trays-with levers. > 18. Mimeograph paper. > 19. Blue flash Bulbs. > 20. Beanie and Cecil. > 21. Roller skate keys. > 22. Cork pop guns. > 23. Drive ins. > 24. Studebakers. > 25. Wash tub wringers. > 26. The Fuller Brush man. > 27. Reel-to-reel tape recorders. > 28. Tinker toys. > 29. The Erector Set. > 30. The Fort Apache Play set. > 31. Lincoln Logs. > 32. 15 cent McDonald hamburgers. > 33. 5 cent packs of baseball cards...with that awful > pink slab of bubblegum. > 34. Penny candy. > 35. 35 cent-a-gallon gasoline. > > AND A TIME WHEN ................. > Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo." > Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Do > over!" > "Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest. > Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire > evening. > It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. > The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties. > Having a weapon in school meant being caught with a slingshot. > A foot of snow was a dream come true. > Saturday morning cartoons weren't 30-minute ads for action figures. > "Oly-oly-oxen-free" made perfect sense. > Spinning around, getting dizzy, and falling down was cause for giggles. > The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team. > War was a card game. > Water balloons were the ultimate weapon. > Baseball cards in the spokes transformed any bike into a motorcycle. > Taking drugs meant orange-flavored chewable aspirin. > If you can remember most or all of these, then you have lived!!!! > > Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their  "grown up life...." 

I double dog dare ya!

Ed '71

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• Wednesday April 17, 2002
• 19:11:23

To "D '71": I'm happy that you submitted your comments -- a reminder that not everyone has pleasant memories. Not all of my memories are happy ones -- made a lot of bad choices, did a lot of stupid things -- but, I feel fortunate to say the good times by far outweigh the bad. Kids can be so cruel. Since I was also at Newport, I hope I didn't contribute to your bad memories. If I did, I'm sorry -- ignorance of youth. But, the very best part of your comments was the relaying of your ultimate success in life. I'm so happy for you! Thanks for sharing. Patty '71

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• Saturday April 13, 2002
• 02:51:46

Here's to those who remember McKinley School and there's not many of us. It was just a four room brick school house, grades one through four, part of the Ironwood Township School District. But it was around for 65 years of elementary education. It was named for America's third assassinated President, William McKinley. One of the little quirks of the little school was it only had one telephone and if it rang when classes were in session one of the fourth graders would be assigned to answer it, because the school janitor Mr. Wilson was down in the boiler room. The week it was my turn to answer the phone it never rang. All week I waited to get out of class but it never rang. Then one dreary Friday afternoon on my last day of phone duty there it was. It was ringing and off I went to the hallway phone. That was November 22nd, 1963. Soon we gathered around Mrs. Norin's transistor radio listening to news flashes. The buses came early for us and we went home. I'll always remember that phone call. The only one I ever answered in four years at McKinley. John O.'72

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• Saturday April 13, 2002
• 01:52:08

Wow, people are really getting into the spirit on this page! Lots of postings in the past week or so. Something to do with spring, maybe? Hey brother John, you may have wished you were ’72, but you were ’73, young fella. You conjured up some fond memories though....thanks to you and JM, it doesn’t matter that my memory sucks because I can relive the good old days through the keen memories of you guys. Longyear Park baseball – were we down there all day, every day, all summer long, or does it just seem that way? I don’t remember any "Hurley kids" in the ballgames, but I do remember the rock-throwing wars with Hurley kids that were waged across the Montreal River behind JM’s house....remember a game we played called "ditch"? I think it was basically hide and seek on bikes....you didn’t ever want to be "it" because the whole town was in play and you could be "it" for half the summer. Here’s one for the west side guys – remember picking nightcrawlers for $3.50 per 500 for Mr. Gotta? These days your kids won’t take out the garbage for $3.50, but back then you pick 500 worms 3-4 times a week and you were richer than Bill Gates. Back to baseball – remember graduating from Longyear Park pickup games to "Farm League" up at Randa Field? As far as I can remember, the whole league was managed by one guy – John Krznarich ("Johnny K."). I hope the town recognized how much he did for youth sports in giving all of us little Micky Mantle wannabees an opportunity to play "organized" baseball and providing a launching pad to the big time – LITTLE LEAGUE!! I barely remember what I did yesterday, but I remember what teams most of my buddies were on in Little League....go figure! Well, that’s enough for this memory lane stroll....Brian ‘72

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• Friday April 12, 2002
• 22:34:28

JM72 brings back fond memories of the bandshell at longyear park. I remember, although vaguely, both cool and warm spring & summer nights listening to the surprisingly good accoustics of the city band. A couple of years later it got even better with the games of scrub, football and basic clowning around. Many times we would be shooting hoops at my house & someone would shout out SCRUB!! That was followed by a chorus of scrub one, two. three etc---we would try to manage Bob Carlson's fastball, "Jeffy's" pull down the third base line & brother Brian's no less than spectacular infielding. If I recall, we even had a few "Hurley Kids" that would join us on occasion at the Longyear diamond. We have fond memories of Pizza Villa, A&W, Richards popcorn--but those of us in about a six block area, lets not forget "Cubby's"---Penny candy, pop, chips & stuff that your folks needed you to go & pick up. In retrospect, a pretty successful guy considering the physical limitations he lived with. Thanks for the recall, JM---I vote we get the old "gang" back for a re-run of Scrub--it would be a hoot. John L.-'72

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• Friday April 12, 2002
• 19:38:17

I wanted to add my memory of building homecoming floats at Linda Forslunds house. We had such a great time. Do you guys remember how much fun we had? What a great group. I don't remember if we ever won anything or even if the floats were any good at all. Is there anyone out there that can refresh that memory. Brian Gaudreau - Class "74"

• Friday April 12, 2002
• 07:51:46

Does anyone remember Miss Fafford who taught 9th grade English and ran off with a priest in the middle of the school year to get married? That's when the whole school experienced Ed Martinson for the first time at the beginning of 2nd semester. The school has never been the same since! Ed just retired last year but still manages to make his rounds to bug all the secretaries (of which I'm one!). Remember when we used to bring squirt guns to school in the spring? I remember being in Ed's class and it was one of those theme weeks where everyone wore a certain outfit each day. This particular day was hats. I remember Gary Kuklinski, who was seated in the first seat of the middle row, wearing a large cowboy-type hat and having a squirt gun. Ed either noticed the squirt gun or was just suspicious. Anyway, somehow Gary hid the gun in his hat. Ed started walking toward Gary and those of us sitting behind him could see the gun slide out of the hat and down into his shirt! Gary had a fun time turning every which way so that Ed wouldn't see this lump in the shape of a squirt gun in his shirt. I also remember Zera Tabacchi who always had chalk on her teeth! Zoot Flute! (or however it's spelled) I remember when Mr. Hyry came during my junior year and we girls no longer had to wear dresses!! Remember eating lunch in the balcony before we had hot lunch and then when hot lunch came, having tuna noodle casserole every other day, it seemed? I also have memories of K.P. Silberg. I'll never forget how I felt when we had those Christmas programs at night. Everyone got all dressed up in their best clothes and met in their classrooms until it was our turn to go down to perform on the stage. There was just something special about going to school at night for those programs. Remember the "trick bars" which were just see saw bars with no see saws. We sure had fun flipping ourselves over them! Remember the Halloween Fun Frolics in the gym and the haunted house in that one room off of the gym? Those were the days! Darlene '73

• Wednesday April 10, 2002
• 18:44:52

...and going to the Ironwood Theatre on Saturday afternoons, especially in the winter months. Car loads of kids from all over town would be dropped off, stand in line to buy a ticket, with ticket stub in hand... take the long walk past the glass doors, up the carpeted, inclined entrance and into the area of the concession stand. To either side of the concession stand were the doors to the main level or you could take the spiral stare case up to the balcony. Candy, boxes of popcorn and oh! those round flat suckers with the swirl of colors...where they called "all day suckers"? (the source of several cavities for me). The afternoon entertainment would start with cartoons, next the short features like the Lone Ranger and eventually on to the featured movie "Son of Blubber" or a horror movie or whatever. Remember the intermissions and the contests? Al Wright would play game show host to 300 screaming kids. I think one of the best prizes to be given away was one of those all day suckers I described earlier. The ushers, one in particular, who looked like he was the first cousin to the Hunchback of Notre Dame and belonged in a horror movie himself? ...they would patrol the crowd of kids with flashlight in hand - shine it in your face if you were misbehaving...kids in the balcony throwing gumdrops onto the mainlevel crowd below. Sneaking friends in through the fire exits. For shame. What was the candy called that came in a box, capsule shaped candies, pink and black - licorice? Anyone? anyone? I hadn't been inside that theatre for many years until I went with my parents to "The Towering Inferno" (1976?) Somehow or other the place had shrunk - seemed much smaller than when I was a kid. And they had painted over the beautiful ceiling mural of all those naked (well nearly naked) ladies....for shame....JM72

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• Tuesday April 09, 2002
• 22:05:19

Ironwood Township, Roosevelt School, Buster throwing a fire-cracker in the school, playing baseball with a superball, playing the anvils like drums in Mr. Pallin's shop class. Winter fun, sleigh riding at Walkonens or Olson hill, tubing off the headwall at Powderhorn, tobogganing at Wolverine and Copper Peak (not for the faint of heart). Dragging bumper (lost another new chopper), skating the Colonial, I only knew how to turn to the left. Snowmobiling with the old "Roundie" Ski-doo and Artic Cat Wankel. Umpteen dozen brands to choose from. Summertime, swimming at Haanpaa's Bridge. Camping out at Little Girl's Point, jumping off the Black River Bridge, swimming off the breakwater. Motorbikes, my brother got stopped driving without a drivers license by Sheriff Bennetts, he told him that if he caught a fish in five minutes he would let him go. He did and he did! How about it Larry, have things changed at all? Biking the logging roads and out to Mud Creek Dam. Making hay to get money for the fair. Hanging at the Terminal or Bertrams shack. Pizza Villa, Alpine, A&W. Bagging groceries at Carlsons. I wiped out a full cart (seven bags) in the main entrance to the parking lot. Grid-lock in downtown Ironwood. Don says he doesn't need me cause the Christmas rush is over. Next week I see Nick started working. Oh well, can't win 'em all. Anyway I'll never get to be a lawyer working at Carlsons. Right Nick? Ed '71

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• Tuesday April 09, 2002
• 19:23:54

Remember the fires at Ahonen's mill? We would stand out in our yard and watch the flames. I also remember the corner store at the bottom of Pine St.(Carlson's first store) It served as our bus stop when we boarded for Norrie School.

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• Tuesday April 09, 2002
• 18:52:19

I do believe the Memorial Day service is still held every year.I haven't been to one since I was a kid. I lived five houses down from the cemetary so I was a regular on that special day to honor our vets. I remember a wreath of flowers being thrown into the river and the 21 gun salute. We would rush in after the ceremony and gather the spent shells like they were actually worth something of value but that's what kids do I guess. It would be interesting to go back after all these years to witness another Memorial Day service in Ironwood.