Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
AT LAST Sunday's Old Victoria Craft Fair in Rockland, children participate in an old-fashioned race that required them to run sideways.
By P.J. GLISSON
ROCKLAND - Sunday's 40th annual Old Victoria craft fair was a big hit in Rockland, as sunny weather drew a large, ongoing crowd to the historical site nearly 12 miles southeast of Ontonagon.
Numerous canopies featured a wide variety of arts and crafts by artisans who traveled from near and far to be part of the day-long event.
"It's a good little fair they've got here," said Jeff Peot, who has a cabin in Bergland and a home in Watertown, Wisconsin.
Peot was among a group of men who were admiring a 1915 Model T that John Westerinen had driven to the site from Mass City. Westerinen was happy to start up the car for his audience and to explain its various intricacies.
Nearby, children were playing lawn games under the direction of Celeste Hendrickson.
The old-timey races included running sideways, hopping in potato sacks, or running with an egg on a spoon or a copper cup full of water. Between each race, the kids were rewarded with a small piece of candy.
Fair attendees also toured several hand-hewn log cabins that are fixtures of the site.
According to Rockland officials, the cabins at Old Victoria were used by miners and their families from 1899 until the Victoria Copper Mining Company closed in 1921. For decades, the homes stood empty until restoration began in the 1970s.
Refinements continue as needed, as with a cabin roof replacement recently funded by a Keweenaw Heritage Grant from the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission.
That cabin generally is used as a visitor center, but on Sunday it was reserved for the making of cinnamon rolls, which are always a fair favorite.
"We left Ironwood at 4 a.m.," said Laurie Cleland, who was kneading dough while Cadence Cleland placed rolls on a pan and Terry Sievers baked the goodies in a nearby wood stove.
Also helping from Watersmeet were Shelly Smet, who was in charge of frosting, and Janice Kangas, who was assisting in other tasks, which included delivering trays of finished rolls to an outdoor table.
Sievers, who said that making the rolls has been a tradition for the past 20 years, speculated that their day might not end until 7 or 8 p.m.
Craft booths showed a range of talent, ranging from arts and crafts to goodies such as homemade preserves.
"My thimbleberry jam is thimbleberries and sugar - that's it," said Teresa Palosaari of Chassell as she chatted with a couple women from Grayslake, Illinois.
Meanwhile, Morgan Buschkopf of Wakefield was displaying a table full of copper-plated jewelry that he had fashioned via a complex electrochemical process. His pendants included Brazilian quartz crystals. "They're all unique in their own way," he said of the resulting necklaces.
Old Victoria is open from June through September with tours available on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT. Donations are appreciated.
