FERRY LINE ACTIVITY UPDATE

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

After nearly 48 hours of rain and strong NE winds, we now have sunshine, warmer air (and still strong NE winds.)  The day has shaped up, however, and as we approach the Memorial Day weekend,   the first holiday weekend since this Covid-19 business began, and since people have stayed in or very close to home, and businesses have remained, for the most part, closed, we do anticipate seeing more traffic coming to Washington Island.

Ferry trip frequency may be fluid during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.  In mid-to-late June other adjustments may be made, in accordance with general traffic patterns.

The four-trip per day schedule, which has been sufficient, for the most part, is about to be expanded.  This change will begin Thursday, May 21, with six scheduled round trips--which was actually the ferry schedule that we had intended to run through April into early May, before bumping up to 11 round trips daily.

We're increasing trips, according to Hoyt Purinton, but not getting carried away.

Ferry schedule effective Thursday, May 21, 2020

Lv. Island                               Lv. Northport
  7:00 am                                   8:00 am
  8:45 am                                   9:30 am
10:15 am                                  11:00 am
NOON                                       1:00 pm
  2:00 pm                                   3:00 pm
  4:00 pm                                   5:00 pm

FRIDAY NITE TRIP SCHEDULE (begins May 22, 2020)

    7:00 pm                                 7:45 pm

Its advisable to look at the drop-down box on the website   wisferry.com  in order to get the latest schedule information.

Anticipating there will be more folks showing up at Northport, and not knowing just what that traffic volume might look like, a second boat and crew will be ready to follow up.  If need be, a third ferry will be available Saturday through Monday to jump in when necessary.  All crew and shore staff will wear masks, gloves, and will try to reduce interaction with members of the public to the extent possible.  We would appreciate it if the public takes the same measure of safety:   keep a generous distance whenever possible; be considerate and wear a mask in close proximity to others;  stay in your vehicle for the ride across, if you boarded in an auto;  and be patient!  These are like baby steps, ones that are a long time in coming, still a bit unsteady on our feet.

What about the Karfi to Rock Island?

Aside from high water and potentially dangerous landing situations ( the dock surface potentially being swept by waves), which is daunting enough, we are uncertain at this point to what extent the State Park will be up and running.  If, for instance, the buildings are not open, that might be a disappointment to the general public, especially those who count on going up in the lighthouse, or looking around in the Thordarson Boathouse.  But, we should remember how difficult it will be to keep surfaces sanitized, and by placing the public feet, or even inches, away from docents and Park employees, a potentially hazardous situation may ensue regarding transfer of the coronavirus.  The same can be said for the small, close-quartered Karfi, where passengers mingle, and camping gear and picnic baskets mingle, and our vapors can also mingle.   How can we do this and maintain best social distancing practice, even while wearing masks and rubber gloves, and sanitizing seating after each run?  I'm not sure, and I have misgivings about schlepping hundreds of pounds of camping gear across the rail to the foredeck (where, due to space, it is co-mingled with the gear of others).

For those reasons, a decision regarding service via the Karfi to Rock Island won't be made until June 15th.  By then, we hope the picture will become clearer to us and to the State Park management.

What else is happening on Washington Island?
As one who seldom strays beyond the intersection with Main Road these days, I'm hardly one to offer advice.  There are restaurants serving from a takeout menu.  Not sure what taverns are doing, locally.  Mann's grocery and the Mercantile have been open throughout the winter, making it possible to live here through a time period through little or no off-island travel, and we're fortunate to have both of those businesses.  Island churches remain closed to services and group activities as of this date, but we know that congregations are anxious to begin holding worship services again, once a way is figured to safely bring people together again.

With no locking hardware (never locked
since it was built in 1995)
the only way to secure the Stavkirke,
is with screws and strips of wood.

Speaking of churches being closed for worship, public visitation and regular church activities, the Stavkirke building is now officially closed.  This comes as a result of discussion, and a new policy adopted by the Trinity Church Council Monday, May 18.

With Mary Jo's assistance, I fastened wooden strips across each side door, and to the inside of the church front door.  The Stavkirke grounds will remain open and available for meditation and enjoyment of the paths, but visitors will not be allowed inside the Stavkirke proper until a future date.  This has to do with the difficulty of assuring that interior surfaces will be sanitized and safe.  Even if very few visitors appeared each day (which has not been the case during tourism season) cleaning tasks would still require a full-time effort to keep the building--chairs, guestbook and so forth--sanitized.

It may well be that some, or maybe even a good number of Island visitors will wish the summer activities were open and going strong, like in past summers.  We don't quite see that happening, nor do we think it's in the public's interest to encourage open buildings and facilities that cater to the public.

It may not be good tourism practice, but it's probably not going to happen this summer.

-  Dick Purinton

Rock Island: Diploma frame with a story

Thordarson's honorary Master of Arts diploma is framed by what appears
to be a story carved in wood by Halldor Einarsson.

- Detroit Harbor, Washington Island

We recently traveled to Northern Europe and began a two-week journey by ship in Stockholm, ending in Oslo.  In between we visited various ports, most of them along the Baltic seacoast.  Our cruise was advertised "On the Trail of Vikings," which for me was an important interest.

One of our Viking Sun presenters spoke about Old Norse and of Futhark, the ancient runes and literature of the Viking era.  I introduced myself to Dr. William Whobrey afterwards.  We met later in the afternoon, and then I showed him several Rock Island photos from my iPad.  I explained the significance of Thordarson, and also the man I believe had carved the oak frame surrounding Thordarson's diploma.  Although it hangs in full view to the right of the large fireplace in the Thordarson boat house on Rock Island,  I'd never paid particular attention to its detail.  At least, not until it was pointed out to me by Icelandic guest Jonas Asgrimsson in June 2018.

I interpreted the carved symbols on the frame as follows:

The child in the cradle at the bottom center (Thordarson) begins life under a shining sun.  He then embarks on two routes (in bare feet) toward achievement of his life's meaning ("X"), at top center.

His life's journey in one direction (to the left) signifies his growth through books, learning from the ideas of others.  The candle above a bookshelf shows both a humble beginning and enlightenment.  Thordarson, in fact, was largely self-taught.

This child prodigy advances in life, accumulating knowledge, and eventually he's recognized as  learned, the mortar board and tassel in the upper left hand corner of the frame symbolizing achievement.

As he advances in life, and prospers, too, his footprints reveal wooden sandals, not bare feet.  And once he receives his diploma - a recognized achievement learning - imprints are made by leather soles with heels, toward his ultimate life meaning at "X."

Do you know what this is?  Would it be a medieval crest
worn by a guild master?  Or something similar?

     

But, Thordarson's growth benefitted equally from hands-on experimentation as much as from books.

He tinkered, invented and manufactured.  He proved his ideas in the physical world and soon masters electricity (he holds the bolt of lightning in his fist).  Then he works his way upward in a poor man's footwear, wooden shoes, toward further achievement.  


At the upper right hand corner is a symbol that I believe is the equivalent of a Middle Ages guild hat or stole, sign of having achieved prominence by doing.

We know that Thordarson won several medals through his exhibits at the World's Fair in St. Louis, and at the Panama-Pacific Exhibition in San Fransisco.  He was noted for such achievements.

I have not been able to positively identify the particular symbol of the upper right corner.  Nor have I obtained a positive answer from anyone, so far.   If you have insight into what this symbol is, please let me know!

The carving details and the cleverness of the story as revealed in the elements, I am convinced, were the work of Icelandic wood carver Halldor Einarsson.  He, of course, was responsible for the Norse-mythology carvings that embellish Thordarson's furniture, and I believe, the runic symbols over the fire place hearth.  But for whatever reasons, this diploma frame has escaped previous attention.

And now, moving on to a further question, one that I was able to receive help with from Dr. William Whobrey.  Upon my return home, I emailed him an improved photo of the baby in the cradle, with tiny rune characters carved into the footboard.  What could those runes tell us?

He responded:

      "It's taken quite a bit of work, but I think I've deciphered and translated the saying on the cradle.  The runes are from the Younger Futhark, which has quite a bit of variation.  Here is the transcription:

              MATINN AF MONNUM VITRUM MISSKILINN OFT IF HINUM

"In Icelandic, this means something like: "The food of wise men is often misunderstood by others."   That's rather prosaic, but perhaps you can imagine a more poetic version.  I hope this solves the mystery of the cradle's proverb.  All the best."



I then forwarded this to friends Almar Grimsson and Lydur Palsson in Iceland for their input.

Almar wrote back with a suggestion to change two letters, so that it would read in Icelandic:

        METINN AF MONNUM VITRUM MISSKILINN OFT AF HINUM

Lydur, Museum Director in Eyrarbakki, wrote:  "Matinn af monnum vitrum misskilionn oft af hinum" is not everyday talk here in Iceland!

So, dear readers, any thoughts?

I think the proverb aptly applies to Thordarson, the "wise man."  He was fed, and grew, by doing and by reading, along paths not always understood by others.   Too simple an explanation?

Here is a color photo of the frame, one that better shows the tiny footprints carved by Einarsson.

- Dick Purinton

High Water, Family Ties...and More!

With less lawn to mow, time can be devoted to redoing the boardwalk
along this dock.  I began my work wearing loafers and soon found myself
standing in ankle deep water that crept up around me as
silently as the fog bank observed in the background. 

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island -

When one isn't talking about the weather on Washington Island there is always the topic of lake levels.  The two are related, of course.

On the rise since the official, new low recorded in January of 2013, we've observed water levels creeping upward steadily, approaching record high levels seen in 1986 and 1987.  This has caused problems for boaters, shoreline owners, pier owners, and for the Ferry Line, trying to adjust to increasing water levels and shorelines that disappear one day, only to reappear a few hours or days later with a shift in wind or rise in barometric pressure.

I asked Island meteorologist and recorder of local data what might have prompted the unexpected rise and fall of the water observed on May 25th (and on several days since then).  Here is a portion of John Delwiche's reply:

"Dick: Yesterday was a very unusual day (I feel) from a meteorological standpoint. There was a shortwave impulse lifting NE thru Northern Ontario, and at the surface, a trailing Cold Front that extended across far SE Lake Superior and the Eastern UP. In other words, very close to the Island. The Storm Prediction Center mesoanalysis showed Mid-Level CAPE's edging upward ahead of the Front. (CAPE means Convective Air Potential Energy.) There was a narrow zone between the Front surging South, and the edge of the Lake Michigan modified air mass with the SSW winds you mentioned. This is only a guess, but I bet the action was going-on there, and it could have been a meso-Low. 

The narrow zone between the air masses probably showed-up best on Water Vapor Imagery from the GOES-16 (or 17) satellite that the NWS and SPC use. I don't know if I can "go back in time" with the GOES's images that I download, but I can try tomorrow morning. The best time for me to try downloading those images is very early morning(4AM-6AM). The files are so big, and it is futile to try downloads midday, much less on a weekend. I will try emailing NWS-Marquette as well. One of the guys there used to work in Green Bay, and I have emailed him in the past. "

John continued to dig for data that would help explain this observed "seiche," and hopefully he might give us greater explanation in one of his Island Observer weather columns.

The photos I've shown here exemplify what is becoming a daily challenge in ferry operations.  The Karfi, passenger ferry to Rock Island relied upon by hundreds of campers and day visitors over the summer months, operates from a landing near the boat house that will be in jeopardy on certain days when exposed to westerly or northwesterly winds and seas.  They can, and will, wash over the pier on those windiest days.  Wet feet and wet camping gear will result, and that's if the ferry can safely land behind what was formerly a protective pier.

What do 42 campsite fire rings and two semi loads of bundled firewood
have to do with high water, you may ask?  Staged on the lawn at the State Park
property in Jackson Harbor, they await transport to
Rock Island.  The previously assumed method - by one of the large 
Washington Island ferries - is out of question due both to lack of exposed pier to
butt against, and for the steepness of ferry ramp should the first evolution
be possible.  This cargo thus awaits transport by barge.

One can chance splitting the crotch in a pair of jeans
while getting to or from the Karfi deck.  The difference from
boat to pier has been eased somewhat with a step box. 
Shown here near the bow helps customers when hoisting
heavy camping gear over the rail of the ferry, items that are
often a challenge even for the muscle-bound Karfi crew to
handle with a smile.

Boaters are finding little to moor their craft against, unless pier supports are raised along the dock faces, a feat not easily or cheaply achieved.

Who's your daddy?

We recently attended a memorial service at Bethel Church for the former Island Archivist Barb Ellefson.  Barbara was known for her interest and enthusiasm for researching and teaching others the art of genealogy.  She carried the belief (unofficial, of course) that if you were from the Island, or from and Island family, then you were likely related not only to family A and B, but also C and D.

We test Barbara's theory in a combination program and teaching moment when the Archives presents "Island Genealogy," Sunday June 23 at 4:00 pm, in the Rutledge Room of the Community Center.  This location, a change from most of our public programs, means that activity will be centered next to the Archives computers and vault, and where those present may learn how important updating family records can be, and actually learn steps necessary to accomplish such a thing.  It may not matter as much to us as it might to our children, those of the next several generations who will someday wish to trace their family connections.  So, please mark June 23rd on your calendar, and spend a hour or so with Archivist Steve Reiss and the Archives volunteers to learn more about recording your family tree for posterity.  

Heading overseas!

Meanwhile, Mary Jo and I will take a leave of absence during most of June to attend to matters abroad...in this case a smattering of cruise stops in the Baltic countries.  We'll board a sister ship of the Viking Sun in Stockholm (remember the piano, chairs and plants sliding back and forth in an internet  video taken by one of the passengers on a fateful day aboard the Viking Sun in the North Atlantic? I knew immediately that was the cruise experience we were after!)

Truthfully, We've been assured that all four of the ship's engines will function smoothly (with lube oil day tanks filled and alarms reset to "Manual"), with little-or-no chance of failure, and that all itinerary stops scheduled along our route will bring smiles and education to our hearts and minds.  (What's the point of an adventure if there's never a concern for one's welfare?)   We're ready to cross the gangway and get started on our tour of Viking homelands.

In the meantime, in our absence, consider doing the opposite of the rain dance to induce a dry spell over the midwestern portion of the United States, with added emphasis and twisting movements to induce lower Lake Michigan levels during the coming months.

A show of hands...

One, last request before I close:  Be ready to put your hands in the air by the end of July if you're excited to join an Island delegation to travel to Iceland in early June of 2020.  A recent communication from our Icelandic friend Almar Grimsson prompts us to get seriously organized, which, in turn, will help our hosts and counterparts to plan for either a handful or a busload (or maybe two busloads) of Washington Island-connected folks.  Plans are to visit the seaside village of Eyrarbakki during the first week of June to join Icelanders in CelebrateIceland2020 - in whatever shape and form seems most appropriate --- "To Be Determined" during the coming months.  

Talk it up.  Get on the internet.  Check out the site, "Hey Iceland!"   Contact your friends and relatives for what could be both an epic and extremely meaningful trip to Iceland.

-  Dick Purinton

ARCHIVES WELCOMES GISLASON DESCENDANTS

Members of our group posed beneath the flag of Iceland in the Thordarson
artifacts room of the Boat House on Rock Island.  From left:  Craig Welt,
Laurie Latimer, Amy Welt, Jeannie Hutchins and special guest,
Almar Grimsson of Iceland.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Nearly 150 years ago, in 1870, four men from Iceland came to Washington Island, encouraged by William Wickman who purchased Island property here and offered the men the opportunity to work for him in his woods.

One of the men was Jon Gislason, who began working in the Danish outpost in Eyrarbakki at age 14, and who had come to know fellow store employee Wickman.  At the time, Eyrarbakki was a small seaport, but a major shipment point for exporting wool and cod from Iceland's southern coast.  It was Wickman who, removed to Milwaukee a year or so later, encouraged his Icelandic friends to join him in America.   These young men might have gone on to live productive and relatively comfortable lives in Iceland, but it was the adventure as much as anything that encouraged them to leave their homeland and seek new opportunities.

This past Tuesday, the Washington Island Archives held an Open House in the Rutledge Room of the Community Center, welcoming members of the community to learn more about the Archives, but foremost, to greet three guests who are descendants of Jon Gislason.

Almar Grimsson, Iceland, recently traveled to Grand Fork, North Dakota, to attend a convention celebrating Icelandic roots in North America.  He's been to the U.S. and Canada numerous times, tracing his ancestry and meeting with others of Icelandic immigrant descent. A common goal is to maintain strong ties with Iceland, the mother country, its history and culture.  Grimsson then drove from North Dakota to Washington Island for his first ever visit here.  He met up with two Gislason cousins of his, Amy Welt, joined by her husband, Craig, of Iowa City, Iowa, and Laurie Latimer, Evanston, Illinois.

Archivist Steve Reiss prepared a Gislason genealogical tree, based on information available in the Island Archives, and with help from Jeannie Hutchins and others, connections to Jon Gislason were made.  In Almar Grimsson's case, his great grandfather was a brother to Jon, and as a Lutheran minister, slightly older than Jon, that brother chose to remain in Iceland.  Amy is a great-granddaughter of Arthur Gislason, and Laurie is a great-granddaughter of Esther (respectively, brother and sister to Lawrence Gislason.)  Island residents may remember best Lawrence and Ruth Gislason who continued to run the Gislason family store in Jensenville, situated along the shores of Detroit Harbor.  This building later became the Island's first Community Center.  It was later demolished, and there is a sandy playground today where it once stood.

After closing their store in the 1930s, Lawrence and Ruth then sailed on Great Lakes vessels as a couple, for a time.  Gislason Beach, across the road from the present day Red Barn facility and adjacent to the Shipyard Marina, was the site of Gislason pier, once used by freighting vessels for the shipment of potatoes and lumber, and for receiving incoming products and visitors around the turn of the century, in the early 1900s.

One daughter of Jon and Augusta Gislason, Evaline, married Ben Johnson ("Hotel Benny" as he became known) who built Hotel Washington next door to the Gislason residence and boarding house.  It was at this same boarding house that a young couple, Julianna and C. H. Thordarson, for several years stayed when visiting the Island. This was before Thordarson purchased his property on Rock Island.  At the time, Julianna's mother and father lived on Washington Island.

Jeannie Hutchins adds meaning to what seemed like a mile-long
list of family names provided by Archivist Steve Reiss.
All named are descendants of Jon Gislason, one of
four earliest Icelandic immigrants to settle here.

  

On hand during Grimsson's visit, and most helpful in sorting out the often confusing family lines of descent (not to mention the many other associations and connections made in a small community over the decades) was Jeannie Hutchins.

Jeannie is both an Archives volunteer and a volunteer docent at the Jacobsen Museum, and she can claim perhaps the closest association of any Island person to the Thordarson family.

It was Jeannie's Aunt Helga (Lindal) who married the Thordarson's oldest son, Dewey.  Dan Lindal, Jeannie's father, answered an ad placed in the early 1920s by Thordarson in an Icelandic newspaper published in Gimli, near Winnipeg, Canada, and Lindal (and later his sister, Helga) came to Washington Island, working first as a foreman on Rock Island for C. H. Thordarson, and then as an Island fisherman.

Jeannie (Lindal) Hutchins poses with the traditional
 Icelandic wedding dress of Julianna Thordarson,
on display at the Thordarson Boat House.

My first association with Almar was through filling his email order for a book about Thordarson and Rock Island.  Several exchanges and several years later, and serving as an Island Archives representative, I offered to prepare an agenda of activities during his two-day stay that might prove meaningful in connecting with his family Icelandic heritage, and also with the Rock Island and Thordarson history.

Looking back at the opportunity to visit with each of our guests, I believe we had a most rewarding time, during which new bits of information and history about the Gislason family or Rock Island came to light.

Casual conversation revealed that Almar and Mary Jo are also cousins, through a Dane named Knudson who came to live in Iceland.  Shown photos from our recent, 2015 family trip to Iceland, Almar recognized several faces, including   Mary Jo's Gudmundsen cousins, Dora and Bjorg Thorsteinsdottir, who were also his relations.  So, in this way our visiting was both enlightening and entertaining.

Grimsson, who is a retired pharmacist, is also a past president of the Icelandic National League of Iceland. He became actively interested in pursuing general Icelandic genealogy and emigration, and in particular his own family ties, approximately 20 years ago.  But until a colleague asked him a specific question about Washington Island, he was not aware of the Jon Gislason family connection, or of the importance of Washington Island's place in the minds of fellow Icelanders.

This Island is considered the first, true settlement location by most Icelanders (although there was also a large group who left from southern Iceland in the 1840s, following a Danish Mormon leader to Spanish Fork, Utah).  The arrival and subsequent settling here by those first four men then became a wave of emigration to North America - many settled on the plains of Canada - that spanned approximately 1870-1914.

Having gained deeper knowledge about his family and this island community - the one Icelandic settlement location he had yet to visit in the United States - Grimsson hopes to return again some day, along with his wife.

Welcoming Almar Grimsson (center) at the Archives Open House
Tuesday, May 9, were Karen Jess, Connie Sena and Judie Yamamoto.

Wednesday, May 10, we stopped at points of interest that aren't typically open to visitors until later in May. We were accompanied by videographers Brett Kosmider and Andrew Phillips, of Peninsula Filmworks, LLC.  Their company is associated with Peninsula Publishing and Distribution Company and was commissioned by the Door County Visitor's Bureau to produce short video segments on Door County culture and history.  These productions, approximately five or six minutes in length, play on the DCVB website. The topic chosen by Phillips and Kosmider to air in June will describe Washington Island's Icelandic connections.

I received Andrew's email contact out of the blue, at about the same time Almar's plane touched down at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.  Through this coincidental timing, we linked up and were able to provide timely opportunities for them to witness Icelandic connections as they unfolded.  We look forward with interest to viewing the results of their interviews and photography, based on our day together at various Island locations.

*        *         *

For the fine welcome given our Gislason relations guests, I'd like to thank Archives committee members and volunteers for helping to prepare the Open House event.

Also, I must give special thanks to Rock Island State Park Supervisor, Michelle Hefty, who allowed us the opportunity to visit the Thordarson Boat House prior to its official opening date.  And to Terri Moore, who prepared the pioneer buildings and opened up especially for us at the Island Farm Museum.  And Jeannie Hutchins, both for knowledge shared over the days during our guests' visit, and also for the private opening of the Jacobsen Museum at Little Lake to see artifacts there.

Each of these above-named facilities, as well as the Stavkirke, display facets of Island history and culture, and each helps to educate and interpret Washington Island's development as a community over several generations.  These institutions become important stops for Island visitors, but also for residents, especially during the "warm months" of the tourism year.  

-  Dick Purinton

EARLY CHART OF GREEN BAY

Photo of the Green Bay chart reprint includes (top left) the early
settlement at the mouth of the Fox River with symbols representing
dwellings along the east bank of the river, and
Fort Howard shown on the west bank. 

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

This morning we awoke to rain and overcast, a perfect morning to straighten out my desk and to report on a package we received late last week from Eric Bonow.

Eric seems to have a nose for out-of-the-way documents and maps and in his searching he came across a very early "Chart of Green Bay" that was based on surveys under the direction of CAPT. W. G. Williams, assisted by Lieut. J. W. Gunnison, Corps of Topograhical Engineers, in 1845.  This chart was then "Reduced from the original Map in the Topographical Bureau" by W. B. Franklin, Lieut. Corps Topographical Bureau, in 1846.

The body of water of Green Bay is shown horizontally in order to include as much of the bay from the settlement at the mouth of the Fox River (Green Bay) to the very southern point on Washington Island, including the all-important passage of Porte Des Morts.   It's a shame Rock Island was not included, as it would have shown the first federal lighthouse in the northern Lake Michigan area, Pottawatomie Light, established in 1836.

Rock Island at the time this chart was published quite likely had a more sizable population with people of European origin than any other location north of Green Bay.  Large encampments of natives along peninsula shores of the bay had already disappeared following a treaty between the Menominee Indians and the United States, ceding a huge area which included present day Door County and "all the islands on Green Bay…"  (Rock Island, p.8, published 1969, Conan Bryant Eaton, Washington Island, Wisconsin.)

According to the late Island historian Conan Eaton,  by the time this 1846 chart was published, shipping would have relied on the lighthouse built on Rock Island's northern bluff.   The settlement of Rock Island's fishermen around that time, though small, would continue to grow over the next ten-to-fifteen year period, making Rock Island the setting where Washington Township was then organized in 1850 before the population rapidly declined in the late 1860s and 1870s.

Aside from the Green Bay settlement, long a trading center and a military fortification, no other settlements are shown or named along the entire peninsula.   There is a "Little Sturgeon Bay" and a "Big Sturgeon Bay" to denote shoreline indentations, but no villages named.  For instance, you will find "Eagle Bay" and "Eagle Hard" (the bluff that we know as Eagle Bluff), but as of that date no Ephraim.  

Bay water depths are shown with quite extensive soundings, and navigational features that showing bays, outcroppings and rocky shoals, well-depicted but generally without names.   Exceptions that are shown are:  Hat Island; Chambers Island; Strawberry Islands; Horseshoe Island and "The Sisters."   In Porte Des Morts we see the early name given to today's Plum Island but with the original and correct spelling of "Plumb Island."   This word "Plumb" which can be found on other early charts, denotes this island's location as dead-center, in the middle of the passage, between the peninsula and Washington Island.

The only named feature shown on the 1846 chart on the Lake Michigan shoreline was Baileys Harbor, "discovered" as a harbor of refuge a few years earlier by a Capt. Bailey, who then bought land there for the purpose of logging and quarrying.

The Sturgeon Bay Portage is depicted using a horizontal
scale of "1000 feet to an inch," while the
vertical scale is "20 feet to an inch."   The
highest elevation separating the two waters
was about 20 feet, then, and nearly all sand.

An interesting feature added to the chart was the "Profile of the dividing Ridge at Sturgeon Portage."  We conjecture that by 1846 not many travelers found it necessary or productive to portage across the sandy separation between Lake Michigan and the eastern end of "Big Sturgeon Bay." In earlier centuries, natives and then French voyageurs and pioneers would have carried their canoes or small boats from one waterway to the other.

It would be approximately 35 more years before a canal would be dug and completed to connect the two waterways, providing an economic boost to Sturgeon Bay's prominence in trading and shipbuilding, short-cutting the longer and sometimes treacherous route around the tip of the peninsula. In 1846 the peninsula itself was not yet named "Door Peninsula," but rather, "Wisconsin T.y" for Wisconsin Territory.

The 1846 sailing route around the peninsula and through the Door passage could easily have added a day or more to reach a point but a few miles to the west of Sturgeon Bay, a sailing route that also required avoiding many islands and shoals, none of which were yet marked by federal navigational buoys or markers.

 - Dick Purinton

SUMMER ARRIVES!

Ken and Barbie go camping!  A sampling of the
toys and gear hauled to Rock Island on the Karfi
to make a family's camping experience complete.

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Schools are out, weather has finally warmed (although it was in the 40s two days ago), families are here on vacation, and our ferries are on their full summer schedule.

Karfi, loaded with gear, campers and hikers
for Rock Island State Park.

Aboard the Karfi we carried many families headed to campsites for their Fourth of July weekend.  Saturday, near the Thordarson boathouse, there will be a picnic for the public, sponsored by Friends of Rock Island.  It's their annual fund raiser and opportunity to attract new members and supporters.

This noon picnic follows a popular morning pancake and sausage breakfast held at the Island Fire House, an annual event sponsored by the Washington Island Fire Department and Rescue Squad, as much a social event as fund raiser.

Then, there's a ball game scheduled for Saturday afternoon at the Island Ball Park.  This is a departure from the traditional Sunday afternoon ballgame.   If you still have an appetite when the last inning's been played, you might want to drop by the annual Fourth of July Fish Boil at the American Legion Hall, a little further up Main Road, serving from 4:30 to 7:00 pm.  When the Legion fish boil winds down, children will begin to line-up for the Fourth of July Children's Parade, on the roadside in front of the Legion Hall.   Parade time this year is 8 pm, which assured time enough for Legionnaires to change from serving attire into uniform, and to position themselves as standard bearers at the head of the parade.

Four ferries ran steadily from Northport
Thursday in the buildup to the Fourth weekend.

Around 9:30 pm, once darkness finally sets in, nearly an hour of fire works begins, volleys lit off by Volunteer Firemen from locations behind centerfield fence, and a few of the largest mortars from the depths of the nearby Hagen gravel pit.  In all, this will be a day filled with activities, with hopefully enough time in between to rest or enjoy other activities.

Wherever you are, enjoy the Fourth of July celebrations in your communities!

-  Dick Purinton

Crews were ready to receive early Friday morning traffic.
Coulton Valdez and Christian Foss decked on the first shift
aboard the Arni J. Richter for Capt. Joel Gunnlaugsson. 

ROCK ISLAND STATE PARK GETS NEW WELL

Rock Island and Thordarson boat house, after rain clouds cleared Wednesday.  
(Purinton)

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

I had the pleasure of operating the Karfi this past week on Tuesday and Wednesday.   Weather wasn't so great.  We had heavy fog early Tuesday, and then light rain, with rain again the following morning, finally giving way to a short stretch of afternoon sunshine and clear atmosphere.


Tuesday saw light passenger traffic and  a few campers heading back home.  Wednesday, after transporting a few passengers in the rain on the first run at 10 am, there were no takers for our noon trip to Rock Island. As it turned out, there were none waiting to return from Rock Island, either, so Christian Foss and I took advantage of the empty vessel to shut down, moor, and hike up the trail toward the lighthouse to examine the predicament faced by well drilling trucks the previous afternoon as they traversed the rugged, mostly uphill route.

Unloading the well drilling rig, one of the heaviest pieces of
equipment, with close wheel base, of the various vehicles carried
aboard the ferries.  (Purinton)

At midday Tuesday, in the height of the fog, Jeff Cornell and Hoyt had brought three trucks from Detroit Harbor belonging to Charlie's Pumps and Well Drilling, Brussels, Wisconsin.   As it turned out, transporting the equipment to the Rock Island dock and unloading it over the rather narrow pier was the easy part.

Karfi approaching Rock Island Tuesday morning.
(Kathleen Ernst photo)

The real challenge lay ahead for Randy Holm, Park Manager, his co-workers, and the operators of the trucks.   Anyone who has walked that trail knows that it is steep and rutted, sometimes sloping away from the hillside.   In addition, soils were soft and greasy from consistent rains over the previous several days.  Progress toward the light was halted, temporarily, approximately 3/4 of the way to the light.  That's where the trucks were parked for another attempt on Thursday, in hopes the rains would let up, giving the trail a chance to dry.

On Thursday, efforts to get the drilling rig and pipe truck to the light resumed.  Sixteen fiberglass mats were transported to Rock Island that morning, weighing approximately 100 pounds each, which were then laid end-to-end to ease the trucks over the, muddiest, steepest, and toughest patches.  Randy Holm described this operation as successful, but not without intensive labor on the part of the two drivers and the park employees who laid mats, then lifted them after the trucks had passed, scraped mud and rock from each, and then reset them on the trail that lay ahead.  With that effort, the drivers managed to get their trucks to the lighthouse grounds.

Then, as a first step, the well head was removed from the original, three-inch well, giving the drillers access by means of a pump dropped down the hole to a ready water supply, and with lubricating water, drilling commenced.  However, at approximately 25 feet, the drill head bit broke from the drill shaft.  As of this Saturday morning, their hopes are to retrieve it from the hole, possibly by adding cement and then pulling the entire plug, drill bit and all.   Not only is the drill bit worth several thousand dollars, it currently blocks drilling efforts made thus far.   If extraction is unsuccessful, a new hole using a new bit will have to be started.

This rather involved effort to provide a new well is designed to replace the original well, one that's been in use by lighthouse residents since approximately 1904-06 (the date is uncertain), when it was drilled by the Koyen brothers using a drop drill.  Randy Holm believes the old well was drilled to a depth of 155 feet (probably close to the vertical distance to the lake level from the top of the bluff).   For the past 100 and more years this well tested A-OK, but as older wells go it was uncased, and the State wishes to replace it with a new, cased well.   Undoubtedly, this new well will be of a deeper variety, probably producing typical iron content and water not nearly as tasty.  [Note:  In a conversation with retired Rock Island Park Manager Kirby Foss this afternoon, he said that August and Volney Koyen towed their drilling rig over the ice to Rock Island by horse team, and drilled the well in winter, to a depth of 195 feet.] 

This newly acquired liquid may be some of the most expensive water-per-gallon in the state!  We wonder how many cases of bottled drinking water could have been supplied for the same cost as drilling this well.  There would, of course, have to be the carrying of the occasional bucket up the steps from the lake for washing dishes and clothes, bathing, etc., the way it was done in the old days!  The thought of it all gives one a greater appreciation for life at the lighthouse prior to advent of the turn-of-the-century well, when fetching water from the lake must have been routine, in addition to capturing rain water.

Those new knees worked just fine

Christian and I paused near the Thordarson gate at the top of the first hill, above the tank house.  It's been fenced in for safety reasons recently, and in fact it was slated for removal this spring due to its deteriorating condition and the resultant liability it posed for park visitors.  However, keen public interest in trying to replace it with a similar structure brought a temporary stay to its demolition.  During what might be a rather limited window, Friends of Rock Island and park officials will seek funding and ideas to construct a similar replacement gate, one that might weather another 70 or 80 years.

Gate with hanging flower planter, made of native cedar, one of several
iconic structures on Rock Island built by Thordarson.  From this
location, visitors can enjoy a sweeping vista of the boathouse grounds
and Washington Island's northern shoreline.   (Purinton)

Christian and I then hiked past the gate another half-mile or so,  where we came upon the trucks parked in the center of a level section of trail.  This truck roadblock was the reason Holm had elected to temporarily close this trail to park visitors (other trails remain open), and for obvious safety reasons the grounds at the lighthouse will be likewise be closed during drilling operations - at least through June 6th.   Reopening of the lighthouse will depend on progress made in drilling during the coming week.

Every so often along the trail shoulders we saw deep ruts where the wide-tired front wheels of the well driller rig had gotten slightly off to one side.  On steeper portions of the slope where there were rugged vertical sections, there was evidence of struggles to move forward, and then get unstuck, using planks and gravel fill.  Given the challenges faced, it was surprising these two trucks got as far as they did that first day in the rain, with the steepest portions still awaiting passage.

To aid this project along, on Friday park workers carried a portable mixer and sacks of cement in the park's backhoe to the light, from the closed truck that was parked in the field near the boathouse.

When completed, this well drilling effort will mark a bizarre beginning to what we hope will be a good season for Rock Island park visitors.  Memorial Weekend traffic was steady, for both Washington and Rock Islands, and there are widespread hopes for good summer weather to provide many pleasant days outdoors for visitors.

Well drilling rig operated by Charlie's Pumps,
Brussels, Wisconsin, when progress was stalled
partway up the lighthouse trail.  (Purinton)

Meanwhile, our family has been preparing for months for a trip to Iceland, and in future blogs I'll feature what we'll see and do, as well as concerns we have regarding our travels.

-  Dick Purinton

VILHJALMUR STEFANSSON - THORDARSON ACQUAINTANCE PART III

Arctic explorer and anthropologist,
Vilhjalmur Stefansson (1879-1962)

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

My final entry in this series of three people who knew or corresponded with C. H. Thordarson - the Icelandic immigrant, inventor and title holder to many U. S. patents, manufacturer of electrical transmission and lab equipment, and a leading bibliographer of his day - is about Vilhjalmur Stefansson.

Having included the several letters I found between Stefansson and Thordarson in my chapter from Thordarson and Rock Island titled, "A Magnificent Library, a Lifetime of Books," ( beginning on page 265) I at first had no idea who Stefansson was, his background or what his accomplishments were.  The more I read about Stefansson, the more intrigued I became, because his life connected with other notable figures of Arctic exploration, a subject I've always found fascinating.  If Thordarson seemed a fantastic personality and individual of his day, Stefansson was his equal.

Map showing approximate routes of Stefansson over several
Arctic expeditions - nearly all on foot, towing a sledge.

My initial reasons as author/editor for including the letters between Stefansson and Thordarson was simply to demonstrate the range of Thordarson's correspondence regarding personal library acquisitions, and to illustrate the thorough knowledge he had for certain books, titles, editions and quality of copies.  Thordarson could be very discerning in his book selection, and this showed in his exchange with Stefansson.  But, by digging further I learned more about Thordarson and about Arctic exploration efforts that were either just completed or were being planned for the Arctic region.

Stefansson dragging a seal across the ice.

Thordarson's most frequent correspondent, Eugene McDonald of Zenith Corporation, you may recall, was a co-leader of an expedition to northern Greenland and the Arctic with Capt. Donald McMillan and LT Richard Byrd.  Their expedition in 1925 pioneered the use of aircraft for Arctic reconnaissance, and the use of short-wave radio for long distance communications.  Thordarson, an Icelander by birth, and one who seemed interested in all such ventures, must have found his friend McDonald's Arctic reports fascinating, and the use of Zenith Company products aboard his ship, for which Thordarson Electric Manufacturing supplied coils, meant that Thordarson had a personal stake in the success of that mission as well.

Book collecting helps display Thordarson's range of knowledge

Let's review Thordarson's ambitions in collecting rare books by reprinting several of his letters of correspondence with Stefansson, who at first I believed to be simply another ambitious, well-intentioned middleman of used and rare books.  How uninformed I was, and what a pleasant surprise to be introduced in this way to one of the most notable Arctic explorers of the 20th century.

Stefansson, born in Gimli, Manitoba in 1879 to Icelandic immigrant parents, was given an American name, William Stephenson.  He later changed it back to the Icelandic Vilhjalmur Stefansson,  which is probably a clue to his great amount of self esteem and self confidence, characterized throughout his life.  His family moved to North Dakota, to an area where many Icelandic immigrants had settled, and he received higher education in North Dakota and in Iowa.  Later, he was a graduate student at Harvard, first in the School of Divinity, then specializing in anthropology, which became his chosen and lifelong work.

He participated in his first Arctic expedition as a field researcher, but he was dissatisfied and quit and went on his own, later forming several of his own expeditions.  He approached his research and work during these several long expeditions by first learning the Inuit dialect, and he became fluent enough to understand most conversations, enabling him to live with and among the native people and be accepted by them.  His field notes and journals included observations on every phase of their lives from survival techniques to religious beliefs.  Stefansson was quite critical of the way in which Christian missionaries had influenced the Inuit, replacing their native beliefs, sometimes without clear guidance as to how interpretations ought to be made of scripture, and by the encouragement of the use of wood-framed structures instead of traditional skin tents or igloos, which Stefansson believed promoted disease.  He observed how they made their clothing and existed exclusively from fish and game (no fruits or vegetables) and he chose to do the same through hunting, fishing or trading with those he encountered for his survival.

Fannie Pannigabluk and son
Alex Stefansson.

One of his expeditions lasted four years, from 1908-1911, during which time he trekked hundreds of miles on land and over ice, lived 'off the land' (a remarkable feat compared with the many European explorers, some of whom met their demise, who packed in sacks of rice, flour, sugar and other western food items).  As a result of Stefansson's conscious choice to live as the natives did, he was rewarded with a less costly mission, less reliance on being resupplied, being more mobile - all of which made his research efforts highly successful.  (Stefansson later wrote a book extolling the benefits of living very well from a meat-only diet, and he carried out experiments to prove this could be done.  Stefansson himself was never choosy as to his source of food.  He ate whatever was available, including parts from a whale beached several years earlier, wolf (which he rated as tasting excellent), polar bear, seal - and when nothing else was available and starvation was a threat, he boiled the skins of animals that had been saved to be shipped to the Natural History Museum of New York.

From his journal book, My Life With The Eskimo (from his 1908-1911 years), he opens with this entry:

"I lived with the Eskimo at all, to live exactly as one of them, in their houses, dressing like them, and eating only such foods as they did.  I now found myself, in accord with my own plan, set down two hundred miles north of the polar circle, with a summer suit of clothing, a camera, some notebooks, a rifle, and about two hundred rounds of ammunition, facing an Arctic winter, where my only shelter would have to be the roof of some hospitable Eskimo house.  These were ideal conditions for me…This gave me a rare opportunity to know them as they are."

Stefansson is an objective observer who matter-of-factly retells in his journal one tale after another of survival, any one of which could have gone wrong had he not had his wits about him and a bit of fortune on his side.

Stefansson in the Arctic (possibly aboard ship?)

One of his intended goals was to find the "Copper Inuit," natives with blond hair and blue eyes who used copper tools, and who lived in the area of Banks Island, far to the north in the Canadian Arctic.  They were claimed to have been visited by one whaling ship captain a few years before.  Stefansson was successful, trekking every mile on foot, in finding the people who had never before seen a white man, and who exhibited characteristics of (Stefansson surmised) the Greenland Viking settlers who disappeared centuries earlier.  He makes his case that these native people assimilated the roving, or lost, Greenland settlers.  (A theory challenged since his time.)

In a letter to the American Museum, he announced his discovery:

   West of Coppermine we found over 200 people who had never seen a white man, whose ancestors had never seen one, who knew of no past relations with people to the west, and whose territory was supposed by geographers to be definitely known to be uninhabited (so labelled on official charts of the Canadian Government)…
   The general appearance was non-Eskimo - a sort of "portly appearance.
   It is hard to be specific in this matter, but the general impression is definite. My Eskimo companion was impressed no less than I.  He said, "These are not Eskimos, they are just like fo'cas'le men"  -  he has worked many years "before the mast" as a whaler. 

Stefansson returned from his four year excursion - during which time he also fathered a son, named Alex, born to his Inuit friend and one of several journey companions, Fannie Pannigabluk - and immediately mounts another expedition, one even more complicated in scope with a large crew, employing the former whaling ship Karluk.

On this expedition, 1913-1918, one member was photographer George H. Wilkins, a New Zealander with roots back to Britain.  Wilkins' photos, which he managed to salvage during an extended time on the ice, over the ice, and on Wrangel Island, after the Karluk was crushed by ice, help to illustrate the hardships of that journey, along with the excellent book written by Captain Bob Bartlet, "The Last Voyage of the Karluk, Flagship of Vilhjalmar Stefansson's Canadian Arctic Expedition of 1913-1916."  This book is tale of survival that easily rivals that of the more famous Sir Ernst Shackelton with the crew of the Endurance in the Antarctic, which occurred about the same time (1914-15).

Ill-fated KARLUK eventually was crushed in ice north of the Siberian Peninsula.  Stefansson had
left the ship to find provisions ashore, and the ship began drifting in the ice pack, separating him from
the ship and its crew.  Captain Bob Bartlett successfully, epically, made it to shore, and
secured help to rescue the remaining survivors from Wrangel Island.

George Wilkins, he learned, had a relative, Bishop Wilkins, who was prominent in English government in the 1600s, and who wrote about his idea for the submarine in his book, Mathematical Magick, quite possibly the first written account for underwater transport.  George Wilkins then, with his accumulated experience as a participant on several Arctic expeditions, and from his successful, first-ever flight across the Arctic by airplane (April 1928), plans to sail under the Polar ice cap by submarine.  That venture was brought with mechanical problems and went wrong, in part due to his lease of a poor, used U. S. Navy submarine.  But, his exchanges with Stefansson, and with Thordarson through Stefansson, apparently aided Wilkins in forming his plan.

With that background, then, here are several letters or their excerpts.  What had initially caught my attention was that Thordarson expressed no problem in outlining his ideas on how such a submarine expedition of the Arctic should be executed, having little basis other than his well-read opinion.  He also, characteristically, brings up short the well known Arctic explorer, writer, lecturer and academic, Stefansson, on the merits of a particular available copy of Marco Polo.

Stefansson, dressed in Arctic clothing.

In this first letter, Stefansson writes to Wilkins (who was knighted for his efforts in successfully crossing the Arctic ice cap by air):

Dear Wilkins:                                   February 8, 1931

When I came to prepare for the writing of the history of the submarine-polar idea, I could not find my copy of Mathematical Magick nor could I borrow one in New York city except for use in libraries.  My copy had been given me by C. H. Thordarson of Chicago, who has the finest private English language scientific library in America, and I wired him to lend me another.  He replied he would bring it when he came to New York and I received it from him today.

Mr. Thordarson not only has a complete collection of the Bishop's published writings (I believe something like seventeen titles) but also a book that was written at the time attacking him of this advanced heretical views.  This is a polemic against Wilkins' on "THAT 'TIS PROBABLE OUR EARTH IS ONE OF THE PLANETS" and is entitled "THE NEW PLANET NO PLANET, or, The Earth no Wandering Star Except in the Heads of Fallileans, etc." by Alexander Rosse, London 1646.

Here is an obligation on you.  It was Thordarson who first told me about the submarine idea in "MATHEMATICAL MAGICK" and then he gave me the book.   Since you say that you first heard of the Bishop's submarine ideas from me, it is really from Thordarson you got them. He has for years been a great admirer and protagonist of the Bishop and is much annoyed now because Jules Verne is getting the credit for originating an idea which he only copied from the Bishop.  [Presumably for his book, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.]

The way you can discharge the obligation in a manner to please Mr. Thordrson very much is to inscribe to him a copy of your "FLYING THE ARCTIC,"  and say in the inscription something that will tie up him and the Bishop generally with your present submarine plans.  The address is C. H. Thordarson, 500 West Huron Street, Chicago.

A copy of his letter to Wilkins Stefansson then sent to Thordarson, who responded on March 2, 1931:

My dear Mr. Stefanson,

Yesterday, in looking thru the Sunday papers, I found an article on Sir Herbert Wilkins' submarine boat.

It appears to me that it is a very dangerous undertaking and I venture to make one suggestion.  Mainly, I think it would be wiser to plan that trip as a double caravan, one in the submarine under the ice, and the other apart traveling on top of the ice and both moving together as near as possible to that they can be in wirelesss communication every minute of each twenty-four hours.   (Thordarson then continues at some length through several paragraphs to bolster his argument that use of both under and on the ice conveyance would be best and safest.)

Stefansson, who resided in New York at the time, then wrote Thordarson about a book copy he had access to, which might earn him a commission.   I believe Stefansson meant it also as a gesture of friendship to one who might appreciate his tip.  Stefansson alerted Thordarson to an available copy of Marco Polo.

Dear Mr. Thordarson,                           November 28, 1931

I have just received the following letter [from a contact] with regard to the Marco Polo:

    "You very kindly tried to sell my Marco Polo for me, but unfortunately we did not have any luck.  I am just wondering whether amongst your many wealthy friends interested in travel you could find a buyer.   As business is very slow just now I would be willing to take one thousand pounds for it.  It should be worth quite twice this amount in good times.  There are only two other copies recorded, both in London Museums."

You have seen the book.  If this hard times offer interests you, please let me handle it rather than your broker.  In any case, let me know prompt for I have two other collectors in mind.     S.  [Stefansson]

Thordarson responded and didn't hold back on his assessment of the book's condition or price:

My Dear Mr. Stefansson,                                      December 4, 1931

On my return to my office  yesterday from Rock Island, I found a letter from you dated November 28 regarding Marco Polo's book.

Does it not seem strange to you that this book has been going begging now for over two years, in which time, it has been sent two or three times to America?  The reason is obvious.  It was not worth the price the owner asked for it.  [About $3500 was asked.]

In about two months from now there will be a sale of very rare books, one of them is the first edition of Marco Polo.  This book has been described to me as a very splendid tall copy.  There is no question that your book seller is very well familiar with this fact and, naturally, most anxious  to get rid of his copy before the sale.

In view of the present poor business outlook, I would not be justified in bidding at any price at that sale.  It will, undoubtedly, be sold very cheap, probably very much below $3500.

I expect to be in New York City in about ten days and then I would like very much to have the pleasure of meeting you.

We can assume (but don't know) if the two men got together in New York.  There is no evidence that Stefansson ever visited Rock Island, or if he visited Thordarson in Chicago, for that matter.

After receiving a similar, direct reply from Thordarson in 1933 without a hint of 'thanks', Stefansson sent this note to Thordarson:  "I know there must be some misunderstanding and on account of my intermediary relation I hope you will tell me what it is."

Sir George Hubert Wilkins, Arctic explorer,
photographer, first to fly over the Polar ice cap,
leader of first submarine polar expedition.

There are a number of photos, from internet sources, that I've reprinted here, both of Stefansson and of George Wilkins.  (Sorry, but I do not have the photo credits.)  These photos depict a very hardy explorer in Stefansson, and of two men who left a major mark in Arctic exploration.  Both were widely recognized in their day for their achievements.

Stefansson, in excellent company:  Orville Wright, Amelia Earhart
and Henry Sperry, inventor of the gyro compass.

Wilkins renamed his submarine "Nautilus" despite the
controversy over whether his distant forbear Bishop Wilkins
had been the originator of the concept, and not
Jules Verne.

One last item that is related by general topic "Arctic" to Stefansson and to Wilkins:  The Washington Island Literary Festival 2015 will have as its featured guest the author Hampton Sides whose best selling non-fiction history is titled, "A Kingdom of Ice."

This book is about an earlier Arctic expedition, and the struggles of its members to survive.  Sides provides great historical background on why men undertook such risky ventures (we might even say "hair-brained" risks, given the misunderstandings of the times about the Arctic region).   Anyone interested in action, adventure, expeditionary history and tales of polar discovery will enjoy reading Hampton Sides' best seller in preparation for the 2015 Island Lit Fest.

The dates for this year's Island Literary Festival have been moved to:   September 18-19-20.

-  Dick Purinton

H. R. HOLAND - THORDARSON ACQUAINTANCE PART II

Washington Island, Wisconsin -

Among the many men who corresponded with Thordarson over a period of several decades was Hjalmar Rued Holand.

Holand was born in Norway, October 20, 1872.   His last name comes from a farming area known as Holand (with an umlaut over the "o"), in a lower part of a valley slope known as Nedre Rued (Nether Rued).   He emigrated to America in 1884 with a sister, Helen, to Chicago.

He entered University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned a BA and an MA (1898 and 1899).  As a young man with a history degree, he bicycled to Door County.  Based on his pleasant experiences there, he soon purchased land, creating a small farm on rocky acreage in what is now Peninsula State Park.  He remained an Ephraim resident the rest of his life.

Holand distinguished himself locally by writing the two-volume History of Door County, published in 1917.  He served as president of the Door County Historical Society and was also active at the state level, too.

The pages of my book, Thordarson and Rock Island, begin with several paragraphs from Holand's paper titled, "A Forgotten Community:  A Record of Rock Island, the Threshold of Wisconsin," published by the Wisconsin State Historical Society in 1916.

Holand was a prolific researcher and writer, with many book titles to his credit:
   History of the Norwegian Immigration, 1908
   History of Door County, Wisconsin, 1917
   Old Peninsula Days, 1925  (many editions)
   Coon Prairie, 1927
   Coon Valley, 1928
   The Last Migration, 1930
   Wisconsin's Belgian Community, 1931
   The Kensington Stone, 1932
   Westward From Vineland, 1940
   America 1355-1364, 1946
   Explorations in America Before Columbus, 1956

It's clear from the above titles alone that Holand's interest ranged wider in scope than Door County.  Much of his life he pursued the question of origin and authenticity of the Kensington Stone and the possibility of Norse presence in pre-European America.  The Kensington Stone was discovered by a Minnesota farmer, Olof Ohman, a Swede, in 1898, and it was touted as one of the most important discoveries of its time.  However, the stone's authenticity was challenged and discredited by certain experts.

In 1908, Holand took up the argument that it was authentic, and the stone came into his possession for a time, during which he went to great lengths to prove its validity.  (Including a trip to Norway to compare it with other stones with runic inscriptions.)  His defense of the stone extended to other artifacts and signs that had been discovered in the same general area of Minnesota, and also archeological discoveries in Vineland.  One side story to the Kensington Stone debate was that Holand "took" the stone from the poor farmer Ohmann, and that grant had been intended only for research, to eventually turn it over to the Minnesota Norwegian Historical Society, rather than to become, or be treated as, Holand's personal property.

His books, and I must say his arguments, are intriguing even if other researchers may not consider them air tight.   Holand brings forth many supporting artifacts and connections.  An interesting 69-minute video on this topic can be viewed online.  Search:   1362 Enigma documentary of the Vikings Arrival in Kensington   

It was Holand's idea to erect a totem pole on the Peninsula State Park property in order to memorialize the woodland Indians for their way of life prior to white settlement.  Pottawatomie Chief Simon Kakquados helped dedicate this totem pole, and he was buried a few years later alongside the pole on the edge of what by then had become a new golf course.  This historical and cultural monument was erected, despite the fact that totem poles were commonplace in the northwest, but not on the Great Lakes area.

Holand, from his book
"My First Eighty Years"

As Holand turned 90 years of age, a piece was written in the Door County Advocate by David Stevens:

"With a friendly aid from Supt. Doolittle, Holand saw a pine that had been lightly blasted by lightning and taken down.  Its 44 feet of timber were then to be carved by C. M. LeSaar on lines of drawings made by Vida Weborg, and then painted with care by use of primitive color mixtures.  The totem pole was dedicated on August 14, 1927.  Later, at its base, was placed the marker of the friendly chief of his tribe who had shared the days of dedication with his own people and the crowd of visitors.

"The total task of creating this memorial to Indian life and the making of Chief Simon Kakquados perpetually a part of local history, by virtue of burial beside the totem pole, constitutes the most signal act for history that Holand performed, almost singlehanded.  The start of the ceremonies was as taxing and important as the creative work itself.  At dusk, on the day before the dedicatory ceremonies, trucks loaded with 53 Indians appeared at the Holand home south of the park.  They had ridden impassively all the way from Forest County and were to be fed and housed.  Pitching a hayrack full of hay from his barn, Holand then led the way down Chrystal Spring Road to a building in the Park that was to be their community shelter for two nights.  He then carried out his agreements with the seven Ephraim hotels that had agreed to furnish in turn the seven meals required, free of charge, as their contribution to the gala day."

Holand died August 8, 1963 of "old age complications," according to his obituary titled, "Runestone Reader Dies."  

 "Curiosity about the discovery of America, and nonconformity in standing his ground, brought Holand this disputed fame.  Chief encyclopedias mention neither his name nor his stone.  Holand said he "spent 50 years and many thousands of dollars in travel, studying and writing to get to the bottom of the mystery."

A chapter from my book titled "Contemporaries in Door County" includes letters between Holand and Thordarson, at times a fairly regular correspondence.  Each man was driven by his curiosity for local history.  Thordarson was more specifically interested in the pre-European history of Rock Island.

In his letter to Holand of April 1, 1920, Thordarson wrote that he had become a lifetime member of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and he noted that "I believe you and I are the only two members of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Door County, which is a small record for Door County...  I have an album, an extra copy, of pictures of Rock Island taken about ten years ago that I wish to give you."

That album, a gift of Rock Island photos taken around 1914 when Thordarson had just begun renovating old pioneer structures, found its way just a few years ago, after passing through several hands, to the Washington Island Archives.  Holand so enjoyed and admired Thordarson's photos, he exclaimed,  "You certainly had a fine camera."

In May of 1920, Thordarson wrote to say he was mailing several Norse-related volumes to Holand.  One was a catalog of Vineland literature:

"My Islandic library is, next to Cornell, the largest Islandic library in this country and for fine bindings it is the finest that can be found anywhere.  As soon as I have a chance, I intend to send those books to Rock Island and erect a library there, as we are here too crowded for space."  Thordarson closed his letter with, "Hoping to have the pleasure of meeting you some time this summer…"

With their interest in local history in common, the years passed and the two continued to correspond, with Holand making arrangements on several occasions to bring Door County Historical Society members to visit Rock Island.

Despite their apparent friendliness and support of one another, on one occasion Thordarson seemed too preoccupied to show Holand the courtesy of simply writing a check, clearing any obligations he had made for the receipt of a box containing Holand's newest book, Old Peninsula Days, published in 1925.

Holand wrote that he was "scratching in every direction trying to raise enough money to pay my printing bill…I am obliged to write you to ask if you will kindly remit the amount of your bill - $130 - without delay."

Thordarson responded, "I am herewith sending you my personal check for one hundred and thirty dollars… I can only use about twenty of these books as presentation copies to my friends.  The rest I will have to dispose of by selling them to someone."

This tone was not uncharacteristic of Thordarson, and it is one of the reasons why I hesitate to use the word "friends" when describing such relationships, a word connoting warmth over "acquaintance."

Access to Thordarson's Norse library would have been helpful to Holand, although we can suppose Holand had his own sources for independent  research.   But about Thordarson's personal opinion regarding the Kensington Stone?   He was asked this by Eugene McDonald, Zenith Company president and one who was also quite interested in history of early North America.

Pages from Holand's "Explorations" book
show sampling of artifacts used to support
his belief in Norse presence in the 1360s
in Minnesota.

On Sept. 30, 1932, McDonald mailed Thordarson a clipping from the Chicago Sunday Times about the Kensington Stone, and he asked Thordarson, "I recall that the last time I talked with you, you still believed the Kensington Stone was not real.   As I recall, one reason you gave for your statement was that  there was a modern runic letter used.  Do you still feel the same way?"

The manner in which each runic character was made, and the phrases that were translated, put off other experts, too, men who were critical in their dismissal of the stone being real and not a fake.   Of course, Holand supplies a considerable defense of his own defending the validity of the stone, including the runic characters used, and several of his books provide platform for his arguments.

Because of his overall credibility established over a very long career, Holand has earned esteem among local and state historians.  He was an individual whose traits and interests were aligned in many ways with Thordarson.  At the very least, Holand's books make for entertaining and informative reading.

The Sons of Norway Lodge of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, is named the H. R. Holand Lodge.

-  Dick Purinton