Keweenaw National Historical Park Headquarters
April 13, 2022
Present: Commissioners
- Glenn Anderson, State of Michigan (V.P. and Chair for meeting)
- Karin Cooper, Houghton County (Secretary)
- Gerald Juntunen, at-large
- Dan Jamison, at-large
- John Sullivan, Franklin and Quincy Townships (Treasurer) (via Zoom)
Absent:
- Keith Koppernolle, Calumet Township
- Dave Geisler, Village of Calumet
Present: Executive Director
- Sean Gohman (also recording Secretary)
Present: National Park Service (NPS)
- Wendy Davis, Superintendent
- Brian Hoduski, Museum Curator
- Steve DeLong, Landscape Architect
Present: Guests
- Paul and Anita Campbell, Keweenaw County Historical Society
- Jean Pemberton, Copper Range Historical Society
- Lindsay Hiltunen, Michigan Tech Archives
- Tom Wright, Quincy Mine Hoist Association
Call to Order
A regular meeting of the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission was opened at 1:03 p.m., Wednesday, April 13, 2022.
Approval of Agenda
Motion to amend and approve agenda to include Dave Geisler’s resignation letter and restructuring of the Board to the agenda. Moved by Jamison and seconded by Juntunen to approve of the amended agenda for January 19, 2022. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0).
Approval of Minutes of January 19, 2022.
Moved by Juntunen and seconded Cooper to approve of the minutes of January 19, 2022. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0).
Commission Committees and Projects
Announcements / Executive
Anderson read and asked for a motion to “accepted with regret” the resignation letter from Commission President, Dave Geisler (attached below). Jamison motioned and Juntunen seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0)
Subsequent to Geisler’s resignation, the board elevated V.P. Anderson to “acting president” with all authorized responsibilities therein (banking account; signatory access on Commission correspondence). Jamison motioned and Juntunen seconded. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0)
Superintendent’s Report
A new Interpretation and Education lead at the park has been selected and the candidate has accepted, though this candidate cannot be named yet. She has served at major historical parks in the country and run partnerships with orgs like National Geographic Explorer that has brought over $370k of donations into her current park. There will be an announcement press release going out as soon as the park can.
The park will bring on a Youth Intern as part of a new national program in NPS to hire youths with disabilities to assist with making parks more accessible to staff and visitors.
The Bi-partisan Infrastructure Act and the Great American Outdoors Act are “pulling money from the park” for slated projects requiring a shifting of priorities and funding sourcing. Specifically, the Abandoned Mine Lands funds, currently slated for several projects at the park, are now on hold while we await how those funding programs will shift.
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Base funds are being used to pay for a day labor crew to work a few projects regardless. For instance, a project at the Quincy Smelting Works will proceed in cooperation with the Advisory Commission to mitigate openings and access points inside historic structures in order to limit vermin and pigeons.
The 30th Anniversary of the park is coming up this Fall. More will be shared by the park at the Spring Heritage Sites meeting coming up next month.
Q&A: None
Executive Director’s Report
In November, the Commission and National Park hosted its annual Fall Heritage Sites meeting in person at the park’s Visitors Center in Calumet. Sixteen Heritage Sites, along with representatives from Painesdale Mine & Shaft, attended the meeting, with each giving a short update on how their summer tourist season went and in some cases what they have planned for 2022. Almost every site reported increases in visitors and/or revenue this past summer. Many of the sites have modified their visitor experiences due to covid-related issues and have seen benefits that will continue after this pandemic has passed us by. It was great to see everyone together and get that reminder that we are all in this mission to tell the story of Michigan’s copper together.
A couple weeks before the Heritage Sites meeting the Commission, along with our partners at the Quincy Mine Hoist Association and Michigan Technological University’s Visual and Performing Arts program, put on a successful three-night Haunted Halloween event at the Quincy Smelting Works. Nearly $6,000 was raised during the event, with over 600 people passing through the gates. The money raised went towards event costs, wages for docents giving smelter tours, and future maintenance at the site. If you had a chance to check it out in person, it was a unique way to experience the smelter. Many of the students involved stated that it was a great event for their own professional experience, as the since presented many challenges in terms of utility use, set design within an historic property, accessibility, safety, and of course, cold and wind! Whether or not this event will return to the smelter is to be decided, but it was certainly a success. I’ve been told it was the most money generated for a Halloween event put on by the Quincy Mine Hoist Association.
Speaking of the Quincy Smelter, a rough edit of an educational video being created about the smelter has been completed by Alexis Dahl. The roughly 10-minute video outlines the process of copper smelting using on-site imagery and animations geared to a general audience. We are hoping to have a completed video up and running by the start of this year’s spring/summer tourist season, so be on the lookout for that.
The Commission and National Park Service will be meeting shortly to discuss how to spend this year’s funds on a variety of projects mentioned at our last public meeting. $80,000 was secured thanks to Keweenaw NHP staff. A rough outline of funds and projects:
- $15,000 for interpretive trail work at the Quincy Mine.
- $5,000 for a traveling exhibit that we are working on securing a home for.
- $25,000 for an art installation/artist in residence program.
- $30,000 for addressing openings in the Quincy Smelter property that animals and birds have been using to access interiors and damage things.
- $5,000 for new a new entrance interpretive sign at the Quincy Smelter.
Finally, the Commission would like to announce that thanks to the continued support of the Keweenaw National Historical Park and an anonymous donor, the Keweenaw Heritage Grant program will be accepting applications for 2022. $120,000 will be awarded this year to support projects that further the preservation and interpretation of the story of copper on the Keweenaw Peninsula. For the 2022 grant program, the proposed project or program must be: located within the boundaries of Keweenaw NHP; affiliated with an existing Keweenaw Heritage Site; or located at the Cliff Mine, along Torch Lake, or within the community of Painesdale. New application forms will be found on the Keweenaw National Historical Park website shortly. For more information contact Executive Director, Sean Gohman at 906-483-3040.
Q&A: none
Budget / Finance
Motion to approve the bills moved by Sullivan and seconded by Juntunen to approved in $7,126.00 billing and wages and tax of $14,992.34. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0)
Other reports from Commissioners
Jamison spoke on behalf of the Calumet Theater (he is president of the Theatre Board). The Theatre as a “better” insurance policy.
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Opened in January to show a movie, but keeping things slow and sporadic while they get up to speed after so many changes to the Board last year.
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A Heritage Grant application is in to address the heating system, which requires a massive overhaul in order to remain open in the winter months.
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The Building Assessment paid for by the Advisory Commission thanks to funds from KNHP is wrapping up soon. This assessment will help identify and prioritize needs with the theatre’s envelope. Again, to help keep this building operational.
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A records handling agreement with the park will assist taking care of several boxes of materials the theater has been keeping inside but should be handled with more care.
Comments from Legislators or Legislative Staff
None
Comments from Keweenaw Heritage Site Representatives
Anita Campbell from the Keweenaw County Historical Society. Mel Jones is now the new President of the Society. Campbell is sad to report that two pivotal members have been lost in eh last year: Ginny Jamison and Dick Mintken. Mike Cooper, involved with the Central Mine museum, is having serious health issues and the Society is in need of someone to take that museum on for the future. The Teacher Conservation Corps is also coming up to work on a variety of projects to be determined.
Lindsay Hiltunen announced that the MTU Archives will maintain its “By Appointment Structure.” The Archives is open M-T 1-5. You can make an appointment via the website. This allows for better service and saving researchers a lot of time with the appointment policy.
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The Great Michigan Read, about the Women of the Copper Country, has involved 7 lectures across the state, mostly via Zoom. The final lecture is this weekend.
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Traveling exhibit on the Strike of 1913-14 is downstate for the first time and will be set up at several museums/sites this summer.
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Hiltunen has been elected as a council member for the Midwest Archives Conference, the regional professional policy maker for the Midwest.
Tom Wright from Quincy Mine Hoist Association updated the board that hiring is a challenge at the site. Other sites he’s been in contact with have also had issues filling staff positions.
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Another big issue has been getting stock for the gift shop. The QMHA Board decided to overbuy stock to keep things on hand anticipating inflation to get worse before it gets better.
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Cog tram rehab will cost $75,000 but this is a key piece of equipment for the underground tours. Locating vendors and parts is difficult due to logistics issues.
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The silver lining of covid has been improvements to accessibility for visitors.
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A new online booking system will hopefully improve visitors ability to book tours as well as capture “impulse buying” scheduling you can’t capture over the phone.
Q&A:
Comments from the Public
None
Comments from NPS/KNHP
Brian Hoduski from KEWE echoes the difficulty finding people to work due to not just wages and moving costs, but a lack of housing itself.
Motion to Adjourn
Moved to adjourn by Jamison, and seconded by Cooper at 1:55 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. (5/0).
Next Meeting
Wednesday, July 20, 2022 at 1:00pm at Keweenaw NHP Headquarters.
