Episode 13: September Celebrations
On the one-year anniversary of Bayfield County Wild, Co-hosts Nancy Christopher and Mary Motiff, director of Bayfield County Tourism, have some fun with Mary Grant, the owner of the Keeper of the Light Gift Shop and coordinator for the Annual Apostle Islands Lighthouse
Celebration. It’s also the 20th Anniversary of the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center, so let’s get this party started!
Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center’s 20th Anniversary Celebration
For 20 years, the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center (NGLVC) has been keeping the history of the area alive on its 150-acre site on County Hwy. G, just south of Washburn. Run by six, partner organizations – the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Wisconsin Historical Society, the University of Wisconsin Extension and the Friends of the Center Alliance, the NGLVC is hosting a day-long event on Sept. 29 packed with activities for everyone.
Starting at 8:30 a.m., you can sign up to participate in a native grass planting on the property. There will be book signings by area authors and a visit by the artist who painted the huge mural on the back wall of the center. In addition, a ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for the new exhibit documenting the Center’s $2 million Energy Renovation Project. U.S. Fish & Wildlife staff will lead guided hikes on the boardwalk trails. Plus, there will be Junior Ranger activities hosted by the National Park Service and appearances by Smokey the Bear. There will also be face painting and prizes for scavenger hunts.
Throughout the day, visitors will have a chance to participate in voting for the winner of an art contest where artists submit photos of artwork that has been inspired in some way by the Visitor Center. The artwork can be anything from paintings and drawings to pottery or woodcarvings or whatever medium the artists choose. Artists who want to enter can find out more on the 20th Anniversary Celebration of the NGLVC Facebook Events page. The artist with the most votes will win a cash prize.
Visitors won’t want to miss “Who Goes Bump in the Night,” an evening hike on the NGLVC’s boardwalk to listen to the owls and other night critters.
The NGLVC is open 7 days a week, except holidays. Many of the exhibits are interactive with local personalities featured in interviews portraying commercial fishermen, loggers, Native Americans and others, and sharing stories of the past. For those who have an interest in Lake Superior, shipwrecks or lighthouses, there is a great collection of books, some with rare titles, in the Gift Shop. And you don’t want to miss the breathtaking views from the NGLVC’s five-story Observation Tower with spotting scopes.
Apostle Islands Lighthouse Celebration
From now through Sept. 15, the community is celebrating the largest collection of lighthouses located in a national park in the United States. The celebration includes guided cruises to all six lighthouses. Every lighthouse is different, so every cruise, conducted by Apostle Islands Cruises, is a different experience.
Mary Grant coordinates all of the cruises from her Keeper of the Light Gift Shop in Bayfield. She says her favorite lighthouse is on Sand Island. After the cruise over to Sand Island, you’ll take a two-mile hike through beautiful, old-growth forest to get to the lighthouse, which built with Brownstone that was quarried from the island.
The “Showplace of the Apostle Islands,” according to Mary, is the Raspberry Island Lighthouse. It’s the easiest lighthouse to get to (although there are quite a few steps once you arrive) and is a duplex with furnishings from the early 1900s. This is a living history exhibit, where your guide dresses up as the Keeper and gives you a tour of the lighthouse from his perspective.
There are very few Lighthouse Keepers left. New technology has made it no longer necessary to have working lighthouses, which for many years served as beacons to safely guide mariners through the waterways surrounding the Apostle Islands and into the protected waters of the bay.
Mary says there are lots of great stories about the lighthouses the guides love to talk about. One haunted tale involved a cruise to Raspberry Island, where during the tour, the group heard cries from a young girl coming from the Assistant Keeper’s quarters. When they asked their tour guide who was crying next door, the guide assured them there was no one there. When the group returned from their cruise, they learned there was an Assistant Keeper who lived on the island with his family, and one of his children was a girl about the same age. Needless to say, they were all quite spooked.
Mary tells another story from Michigan Island, where the head keeper and his assistant went on a fishing trip. They left behind the Keeper’s wife and three children. Gone...
2984 North Shore Rd. Lake Superior view, LaPointe, WI 54850 - Madeline Island Realty
Vista from the shoreline at 2984 North Shore Road, listed for sale by Madeline Island Realty, LaPointe, Wisconsin (715-747-6500).
With a westerly view of five of the neighboring Apostle Islands (Basswood, Hermit, Stockton, Oak and Manitou), this property affords some of the most breathtaking sunsets on Madeline Island. Contact Broker Eric Kodner for more details via email, at MadelineIsland@Gmail.com.
Property is co-listed with Reed Realty of Bayfield, WI (715-779-5000).
Around the Corner with John McGivern | Program | Bayfield (#409)
[Latest Airdate: August 16, 2018]
[Original Airdate: March 19, 2015]
John and the crew finally made it to the very northern tip of Wisconsin. Bayfield sticks out into what is by volume the largest freshwater lake in North America – the third largest in the world! That’s why it’s called Superior – did you know that? (Yes, we learned that from John Gurda.)
So you’d expect to go fishing, swimming, boating and kayaking, right? But how about doing all that surrounded by 22 islands? Yes, islands. It’s like our own Caribbean, only colder. In fact, in the winters when the conditions are right, there are ice caves – and people come from all over the world to see them.
In summer, you can take the ferry, like John did, and explore the largest island, Madeline, by bike, car or foot. When John found the Madeline Island Art School, he wanted to enroll right then and there. But there’s plenty to do back in Bayfield, too. You’ll find good food at Ethels at 250, great entertainment at Big Top Chautauqua, and if you’re lucky, you’ll see a ghost or two as you explore the cemeteries. (Hint: go with Mrs. Currie Bell. She died in 1882 and has the inside scoop!) Or just relax, be a tourist, and soak up the New England-like atmosphere.
If John could figure out a way to shorten the drive, he’d spend every summer weekend in Bayfield!
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Episode 21: Bayfield County Wild Talks Natural History with Emily Stone
On this episode of Bayfield County Wild, Tourism Director Mary Motiff talks about the rich history that’s been preserved in Bayfield County with more museums per capita than most of the country and 22 sites on the National Registry of Historic Places. Co-host Nancy Christopher learns what a naturalist does from Cable Natural History Museum Education Director, Emily Stone. Plus, we highlight some great events in May.
Making History
A few years back, the Washington Post did an article about the number of museums in the United States, which is about double the number of Starbuck’s and McDonald’s locations combined. Data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services shows that Bayfield County had the 6th largest number of museums per capita in the entire United States. If you are a history buff, there’s a lot to see and do at museums and historic sites in Drummond, Cable, Mason, Bayview, Oulu, Cornucopia and beyond. According to Mary, many of the County’s 16 museums can be found along the WI Lake Superior Scenic Byway, which received that designation because of all the natural, cultural, historic and geographic resources and attractions along the way.
Those who like architecture will like visiting Bayfield County’s historic sites which include the Apostle Islands Lighthouses, Bayfield and Washburn’s Historic Districts and seven shipwrecks, some that are so close to the surface you can see them while kayaking or taking a cruise in a glass bottom boat. A brochure, produced by the Bayfield County Historic Society, can be ordered online by clicking on the “Request information” menu item on the Visitors section of the Bayfield County website.
Observing & Learning About the Natural World
A naturalist is “a type of biologist who studies the impacts of living species on each other and the environments in which they live.” Naturalist and Education Director at the Cable Natural History Museum, Emily Stone, says the best stories can be found in nature. Emily has a degree in outdoor education with an emphasis on natural history and a minor in geology from Northland College. She also has a master’s as a field naturalist from the University of Vermont. Emily says she is lucky to be working in Bayfield County where glacial history, protected lands and cool plants make it such an exciting place to explore. She shares her discoveries in a weekly column she writes for about a dozen newspapers called “Natural Connections” in Wisconsin and Minnesota, plus a compilation of her writings that can be found in two books of the same name.
Emily says the main mission of the museum is to showcase its collections of Northern Wisconsin native species, which she calls the “dead stuff,” and it's living collections which include a Red Tail Hawk and an American Kestrel, plus a salamander and two snakes. The staff puts on about 200 public programs every year. This year a new exhibit opens at the museum on May 25 called “Power Pollinators” featuring birds, wasps, beetles, bees, butterflies and moths and a new Curiosity Center for kids. The Center includes a two-story tree that kids can climb up - one branch of the tree has a slide and climbing wall. The other side has a bird’s nest where you can launch a flying squirrel on a zip line.
The museum also hosts master naturalist training and advanced master naturalist training throughout the summer for those who are interested in high-level training on land management and citizen science to work as volunteers at non-profits and other agencies.
On July 27, the museum throws its biggest party, its Summer Benefit, featuring a dinner, live music and auction. Proceeds benefit the museum.
The museum also conducts Junior Day Camps and Storytime at Redberry Books, as well as many more lectures and family programs. If you want to learn more about all these programs, you can visit the Cable Natural History museum’s website and sign up for its weekly e-newsletter. The newsletter includes Emily’s weekly column, a calendar of events and blogs by museum staff. You can also follow the museum’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
May Activities:
May 4 – 31: Hauser’s Annual Red Barn Plant Sale
May 9: Dam it: Why Beavers Matter, presented by Ben Goldfarb
May 11: Hungry Bear 100 Race
May 15 – June 9: Eat. Drink. Washburn
May 16 – 18: Chequamegon Bay Birding & Nature Festival
May 25: Cable Natural History Museum Grand Opening
May 18 – Oct. 20 Apostle Island Cruises begins regular schedule
May 25 – early October: Port Wing Saturday Market
June Preview:
We’ll talk about the world-class sailing opportunities and chat with Tim...
Apostle Islands Area Campground Camp Cabins
Our Apostle Islands Area Campground Camp Cabins are beautiful, one room log cabins, in a lovely wooded setting, but very rustic. There is no electric or water, however, you are close to our park facilities. You park near the cabins, but must be able to go down 4 or 5 steps and walk a 50 foot boardwalk to the cabins. They have fire rings and a picnic table and a very nice covered porch. The cabins have bed frames and mattresses. One cabin will sleep 3 adults comfortably, one double bed and one twin. The other cabin will sleep 4 adults comfortably, one double bed and two twins. You need to bring everything as if you were tenting, sleeping bags and pillow, a lantern or flashlight and you will love our cabin. Our cabins are smoke free and pets are not allowed. These cabins are hand built log structures. I sawed all the logs and lumber for them and built them onsite. You will enjoy your stay in them, and with us! Sam and Mary
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (Wisconsin) - Free Public Domain B-Roll
Free, Public Domain B-Roll of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (Wisconsin) for the National Parks Service
Public Footage from the National Parks Service
Dining at the Rittenhouse Inn's Landmark Restaurant