Rain doesn't stop activity at Old Victoria Craft Fair

By P.J. GLISSON

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ROCKLAND - Steady rain hampered attendance at Sunday's 37th annual Old Victoria Craft Fair in Rockland, but that didn't stop dozens of folks from making the most of their day with the aid of hardy character and umbrellas.

"If you wait for the weather here, you'll never do anything," said Bev Michaels, who traveled to the site with her husband, Bob, from Ironwood Township.

They joined many other folks in walking the grounds and mingling with visitors, vendors and volunteers while watching kids play and eating treats such as warm hot dogs and cinnamon rolls.

There also was plenty of what one volunteer called "cowboy coffee."

Candy O'Connell of Laurium said they were making the beverage over a wood fire with the grounds left in it.

"We've got some dedicated people who are going to come, no matter what," said volunteer Lynette Webber of Calumet, who was hosting one of the site's mining homes.

Webber, who is also a park ranger at the Keweenaw National Historic Park, said the small, quaint structures were built by The Victoria Copper Mining Company in 1899 in order to shelter its workers while the mine operated from then until 1921.

The home in which she was stationed had a relatively spacious kitchen that doubled as a dining room and foyer. Directly behind it was a tiny living room with an adjacent bedroom that was large enough to hold only a double bed and bassinette.

Upstairs was an open bedroom with a several beds of various sizes. In mining days, a family living on the first floor might have boarders sleeping on the second floor.

Volunteer John Westerinen of Mass City said most mines in this region closed after World War I ended in 1918, but the Victoria Mine lasted a few years longer because it had its own source of power retrieved from the Ontonagon River.

Westerinen was showing a small structure with a single open room. "They used to call this the bachelor quarters," he said, explaining moreover that boarders in some homes slept in "swing shifts" because there weren't enough beds.

They used wood heat but did not have the luxury of electricity or running water, and they took their meals in a separate cabin for that purpose.

Despite the conditions that seem limited by modern terms, Westerinen said many mining employees were immigrants who regarded the situation as a good "stepping stone."

Once they were more financially stable, he said, they would leave the mining housing and buy farms.

Volunteer Greg Nelson of Ontonagon was the host in the third house on display, which also had a second floor for possible boarders.

He warned people checking the upstairs to be careful on the slim, steep steps and explained that, at the time the homes were built, carpenters did not waste material on spacious stairways, doorways or ceiling space.

Behind his building was a sauna, where occupants of the homes did their bathing. Outhouses also stood nearby.

Nelson said Sunday's turnout wasn't as great as they expected, but he is among volunteers who also provide tours of the facility during the week and on weekends.