A Little Slice of da Harbor...: Copper Harbor Cemetery

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Copper Harbor Cemetery

Last Thursday I served a lady chardonnay, and she proceeded to tell me what she did with her day. The event that stuck out most in my mind was her visit to the Copper Harbor cemetery. She said it was beautiful with the falling leaves. I went there today to show you. Come on!

The official sign

The gates were open, and Duce was waiting

The first marker to stick out, decked with a copper nugget!

This cemetery ascends in elevation

A cliff from Brockway is right behind it

Lots of empty fences

Dr. John Livermore died October 14, 1861

(I don't know who he was, but that was a long time ago!)

The last line stuck out to me:

"At peace with God, beloved by all.

And ready at his Savior's call.

Be ye also ready"

"AMANDA" That's really all it said. Yikes!

A view from the back toward the bottom

The leaves fell upon her leaves

I noticed the "NO HUNTING" sign on my way out the gate

I am not (well, at least I try not to be) an overly sentimental person. I try to view life's events as lessons and journeys. I'd rather learn than cry. So it was interesting walking through these stones. Some people I knew. Some I had heard of before. Some are still alive, just marking their resting place.

It was a little different for me to be in there, since I don't wish to be buried in that fashion. Throw my ashes off the top of Brockway in the wind, and I'll end up everywhere I want to be. Maybe I'll even wash up on Isle Royale someday! But I'm getting a little too personal for this blog's purpose.

As you can see from these pictures, the leaves are still really colorful up here. It's been a beautiful fall, and now that I am done working six days a week, I'm going to take full advantage. Hello Life! Here we go!

3 comments:

AnonymousOctober 16, 2012 at 7:51 PM
As visitors we walked and contemplated in the cemetery, just to see the names and some of the history, I am glad you did it especially with the fall colors. The cemetery down toward the end of 5 Mile road is interesting too. There are a couple more near the old mining towns we haven't done yet but will do.

Thanks

Denny FL
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Carla from The RiverOctober 16, 2012 at 10:52 PM
Enjoyed your ending comments! My ashes will be tossed in the wind too...South Shore of Lake Superior, Wisconsin.

Great photos!
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PatOctober 17, 2012 at 1:24 PM
Beautiful pictures and the falling leaves are fitting for the seen. Thanks for my Copper Country fix. If I had the means I would live out my remaining days in Da Harbor.
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Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

“If you’ve never been there, you wouldn’t understand” is a quote printed above an outlined picture of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on a t-shirt sold in gift shops in the area. Some people cock their heads in bewilderment of what this could mean. Well, if you’ve never been there (to da U.P.), then you wouldn’t understand.

It’s simple really. Where are you guaranteed to see more trees than people on any drive or walk? Where can you sit in a bar in April and know everybody’s name? Where can you wear flannel and Carharts anytime of the year without a flinch from a passerby? Where can you end most of your sentence with the colloquialism eh, eh? Where can you go to truly get away from the civilized world? If you answered “da U.P.” to all of these questions, why, you must have been there.

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula makes up one third of the state’s land mass, but only 3% of its entire population. It’s no wonder the average number of people per square mile is 19.3. Nineteen people per square mile! Its lack of inhabitants combined with a plethora of wilderness, unique geographical features and an abundance of water is a big part of what makes the U.P. so unique. In fact, it was included in the Sherman Travel worldwide “Top 10 Places to Go in 2005."

And unique in itself, at the most northern tip in the Keweenaw Peninsula sits the little village of Copper Harbor. “Tops in Michigan,” “the beginning of the road” and quite frankly, the hardest place to leave once your soul has found its peace. It’s the least visited and most revisited place in America. Returning visitors make an appearance at least once a year, no matter what gas prices are. And when they’re back at home, they dream of their next visit to the end of the world.

Why would people want to return to a place where their cell phones don’t work and they can’t get a Big Mac for at least 54 miles? Once you drive through the one and only blinking stop light in town, you are 99% guaranteed not to see any authorities. The town can take care of itself for the most part, and people respect each other and each other’s property.

To the local residents and the handfuls of returning tourists (of which some have been adopted), Copper Harbor is the only place where they can be themselves -- completely and shamelessly (at least until the next morning). Fashion does not exist, but comfort is a must. Possessions mean nothing, but attitude means the world. Loitering is encouraged, and talk is ceaseless. Fresh air is plentiful, and serenity is down the block on Lake Superior’s shore. Ahhh.

Only 90 people can bear to live there year-round (good thing because the post office only has 130 mailboxes), but the population peaks around 250 in the busy summer months when people reopen their business or their summer home.

Copper Harbor and the rest of the Keweenaw Peninsula average 270 inches of snow each season. Whether it falls consistently throughout the winter or all in one dump, it’s guaranteed to fall if it isn’t drilling sideways. Only four businesses stay open through these long months because sometimes, there’s just nobody there.

U.S. Highway 41, which runs all the way to Miami, Florida, begins in Copper Harbor, and yes, it gets plowed the whole way up. A half mile north, six miles east and five miles south of this landmark puts you in magical Lake Superior. I know it’s magical because I’ve caught myself and many other people staring, mesmerized by its pure vastness, undulations and crashing waves.

When you can enjoy every breath of Lake Superior air, wear clothing soley for funtion and not mind seeing the same people day after day after day after day, then, my friend, then, you’ll understand.

A Little Slice of da Harbor...

Copper Harbor, That is!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Copper Harbor Cemetery

3 comments:

Unofficial Overview from a Resident's Point of View

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