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This post was written by Audrey Jiang, a long-time resident of Houghton and current sophomore at Yale University. She worked with Dr. Sarah Fayen Scarlett to complete this project.
I am pleased to report that the contents of the Copper Country Architects website has been entered into the Keweenaw Time Traveler! The Copper Country Architects website, which can be visited here, is an extensive online biographical index of architects who worked in the region and their respective buildings. The highlight of the website is the historical research about each building, which can be sorted by time period, location, and type. These architectural historical profiles were researched and written by Professor Kim Hoagland and students in her SS3515 History of American Architecture course mostly completed in 2006 and augmented in following years. My project builds on their previous work by mapping the information from the Copper Country Architects profiles in location-specific stories in the Keweenaw Time Traveler. Just enter the keywords “CC Architects” into the KeTT search bar, and you will be greeted with a torrent of story entries – chock-full of information about the history, purpose, and design of 150 buildings in the Keweenaw. All of these story entries have been carefully placed on their respective historic maps – which is the magic of the Keweenaw Time Traveler. Here, in this environment, visitors can sift through different layers of a rich storied landscape, with the ability to see how it has changed and continues to change.
The work for the project started by condensing the information from the CC Architects profile of each building into a few sentences for each Keweenaw Time Traveler story point. The content of the profiles vary widely — some are very brief, others very long. For example, in the profile of the Ulseth House below, there is only one paragraph detailing the design of the house. Other profiles, however, such as the profile of the Hugo Field and Lucy Gartner House, read more like lengthy encyclopedia entries. This presented a challenge — how was one to choose the right framework for these entries, considering their differences in content and style?
As I worked, I started to fall back on my two handy tools of narrativization and familiarity. I’ve always believed people connect well to stories that relate to them – as a result, I started looking for familiar details that I could bring out, such that I could trace the arc of a building’s origins to how it became what it is now. I also looked out for specific people or families as anchoring points, so to speak, of a story. I definitely think my experience growing up in the Keweenaw helped me in this respect – I came into the project with a good idea of what people like me might know and be drawn to. After I condensed each of the CC Architects stories, I deposited them into a Google Doc, which was organized by location. Last came the step of entering all of these Google Doc entries into the Keweenaw Time Traveler itself. While not “that difficult” by any means, finding the buildings among the interconnected web of map, icon, and text sometimes required an underrated kind of care and patience. In this task, however, I also felt like I really started to understand the appeal of the Time Traveler – yes, sometimes you may have to search extremely closely for what you are looking for, but in the process of doing so, you get to experience the complexities of many real-world stories in one virtual space.
I came into this project with the mindset of creating engaging stories for others. What I didn’t expect, though, was how those stories would imprint themselves onto me. Suddenly, buildings that I had seen almost all my life weren’t just “that building there,” they were “St. Anne’s Church from my architects project.” I remember walking past the Blum Building in Calumet with a friend, and experiencing the shock of recognition when I saw its distinctive red and gold color scheme. In some sense, trying to create familiar stories for other people familiarized me with the structures of my own life. In addition to a newfound appreciation for the local area, it was also eye-opening to see a different kind of history than the type I’m used to doing. Nowadays, I spend a lot of time in a distant place, reading histories of distant times and regions. It’s nice to get a taste of history that is more intimate, more grounded in my own life and surroundings. So here’s to bringing history closer to communities! Big thanks to the Michigan Tech Social Sciences Department, and especially Dr. Sarah Fayen Scarlett, for making this possible! (And please do check out both the entries on the Time Traveler and the Copper Country Architects website!
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 The Keweenaw Time Traveler is partnering with Wayne State University and Michigan Tech University's Social Sciences Department on a pioneering project that will bring together scholars, students and professionals from around the world to explore the emerging field of deep mapping. The joint initiative, called the NEH Community Deep Mapping Institute, will be led by the Keweenaw Time Traveler, and the Hamtramck Spatial Archaeology Project teams and is supported by a $250,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The Institute will run for one year, beginning in January 2025. It will operate virtually throughout the year and also includes an immersive, two-week on-site component that will take place in the Keweenaw Peninsula and at Michigan Technological University in July 2025 and aims to host a diverse group of 40 fellows from around the world. The Institute will fund fellows or teams of fellows who wish to learn the range of skills necessary to create their own public-facing deep map. The goal being to create a diverse group of fellows including students, early career to senior scholars, and professionals in history and heritage who work with public audiences including public historians, interpreters, and those who work in museums, parks, and historic sites and houses. Applicants selected to be fellows will receive a stipend to support travel to and from the Keweenaw. Fellows will be in residence at the Laurium Manor Inn during their time in the region. You can learn more about the criteria and apply for a fellowship on the Deep Mapping Institute website!  More News on the NEH Deep Mapping Institute On Thursday night Ph.D. candidate James Juip joined Chassell Historical Organization President Keith Meyers in a presentation the Chassell Historic Trail. The presentation took place in the ballroom of the Chassell Heritage Center to an audience over 30 community members. Keith and James discussed the importance of collaboration between the Chassell Historical Organization, the Keweenaw Time Traveler, Michigan Technological University's departments of Social Sciences and Humanities, and Chassell Schools in completing this project.
The trail shares the, often overlooked, story of the lumber milling operations in Chassell. The Keweenaw Time Traveler not only helps guests visualize the former mill landscape through historic maps, but also works to interpret the site for children through a digital storybook trail. 'Stanley the Strawberry's Great Adventure' is designed to engage young children in the history of the lumber industry in Chassell. In this short children's book Stanley the Strawberry discovers this forgotten past with the help of Sheila the Shingle and friends. Work on the trail was extensive. It involved historical research and site archeology done by members of the Michigan Technological University Social Sciences Department. Chassell Township School students helped design the interpretive signs based on this research. A generous grant from the John and Melissa Besse Foundation made this work possible. The grand opening of the trail took place in July, 2023. The trail is free and open to all. 
 Anishinabe youth from across the Lake Superior Region have made their way to Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College to attend a Geospatial Summer Camp that is taking place over the next two weeks. This camp focuses on developing computer literacy and Geospatial skills to help solve community identified problems. The camp integrates these technical skills with traditional teachings, cultural practices, and public engagement methods to develop a uniquely Indigenous approach to GIS. Students are engaging with lessons developed by Ph.D. Candidate James Juip that uses the Keweenaw Time Traveler to not only develop their geospatial skills but learn about the past and how it shapes our present landscapes. Students are taking the lessons they learn to develop their own storymaps that share their experiences as Indigenous youth. This camp will continue to run each summer. For more information about these unique experiences and how you can be involved contact Courtney Kowalczak, Environmental Institute Director, [email protected]
This week Michigan Technological University’s Social Sciences Department hosted the Vernacular Architecture Forum’s Annual Conference. Conference attendees came from all over the United States to explore the buildings and landscapes that tell the stories of copper mining, immigration, urban growth along with stories of post-industrial patterns of recovery, reinvention, and re-interpretation. Dr. Sarah Fayen-Scarlett and Dr. John Arnold led a team from the Keweenaw National Historical Park, Michigan Technological University, the Keweenaw County Historical Society, Visit Keweenaw and countless Copper Country community members to create three memorable field trips that showcase some of these special places. You can explore these memorable places on the Keweenaw Time Traveler mobile website. Each of these unique places is marked with a star in a purple circle, click on the circle and explore these special spots that will be toured by the Vernacular Architecture Forum. The Keweenaw Time Traveler also held special events for V.A.F. participants including Historic Landscape Bingo. Both the Daily Mining Gazette and the Vernacular Architecture Forum have more coverage of this unique conference experience.
 Dr. Sarah Fayen-Scarlett and Ph.D. Candidate James Juip presented to the Chassell Lions Club on the recent additions to the Keweenaw Time Traveler historical atlas and community engagement and outreach efforts. The pair discussed the recent additions of Calumet and Hecla mining company records into the Time Traveler as well as the massive increase in engagement with the Keweenaw Time Traveler from across the world. The Chassell Lions Club had great questions about how the Time Traveler could be used and what plans are for the Keweenaw Time Traveler for the future. If you are interested in having the Keweenaw Time Traveler team present to your local organization, please contact [email protected] for more information.
 Members of the Keweenaw Time Traveler Team presented their work at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Industrial Archeology conference in Minneapolis - Saint Paul this week. Dr. Dan Trepal shared his work entitled: ‘Mapping Hamtramck: Reconstructing Industrial Urban Landscapes for Public Archaeology and Heritage’. While Ph.D. candidate James Juip presented his work on creating meaningful engagement in digital heritage projects.
The Mapping Hamtramck project brings together the Hamtramck Historical Museum, Wayne State University, and the Keweenaw Time Traveler team in Michigan Technological University's Geospatial Research Facility, with generous financial support from the National Endowment for the Humanities in an effort to reconstruct the industrial and urban landscape of Hamtramck’s past. Using the Keweenaw Time Traveler as a case study James Juip’s work fills a gap in public participatory GIS research by proposing a new model that measures both the volume and depth of participation grown through public outreach activities. His presentation also described the value of this model in investigating and evaluating the current engagement program in use by the Keweenaw Time Traveler team.
The Keweenaw Time Traveler received a Governor's Award for Historic Preservation in a special ceremony at the Michigan State Capital building on Thursday. This award acknowledges the unique work the Keweenaw Time Traveler team has done to preserve and connect people to the historic landscape of Michigan's Copper Country through the creation of the Keweenaw Time Traveler Historic Atlas.
“The Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation celebrates the collaborative spirit fueling MTU’s Keweenaw Time Traveler project,” said Don Lafreniere, KeTT program director and Department of Social Sciences chair. “We are very honored to have been recognized by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the State Historic Preservation Office for our work.” In its 21st year the Governor’s Awards for Historic Preservation program was created by the Michigan SHPO to celebrate outstanding historic preservation achievements that reflect a commitment to the preservation of Michigan’s unique character and the many archaeological sites and historic places that represent our rich past. The Keweenaw Time Traveler has always been a truly collaborative effort. The digital atlas brings together historical data from archival collections from across the region — including the Michigan Tech Archives, the National Park Service, Keweenaw History Center, and the historical societies of Keweenaw, Houghton, and Ontonagon counties linking the data across time and space. Over 45 students, faculty and staff from across Michigan Tech's campus have worked in collaboration with local and regional partners and countless members of the Copper Country community to make this possible. This project would not be possible without the generous financial support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Council on Library and Information Resources, the Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission and the Portage Health Foundation.
Explore the 2024 Governor's Awards Ceremony and other awarded projects through the videos below:
Discovering the U.P. broadcasted their 80th episode on TV 6 last night. The episode shared the 5-year partnership between the Chassell Heritage Center, the Michigan Technological University Social Sciences, the Keweenaw Time Traveler, Chassell High School and a dedicated group of volunteers that brought about the creation of the Chassell Heritage Trail.
The trail shares the, often overlooked, story of the lumber milling operations in Chassell. The Keweenaw Time Traveler not only helps guests visualize the former mill landscape through historic maps, but also works to interpret the site for children through a digital storybook trail. 'Stanley the Strawberry's Great Adventure' is designed to engage young children in the history of the lumber industry in Chassell. In this short children's book Stanley the Strawberry discovers this forgotten past with the help of Sheila the Shingle and friends. Work on the trail was extensive. It involved historical research and site archeology done by members of the Michigan Technological University Social Sciences Department. Chassell Township School students helped design the interpretive signs based on this research. A generous grant from the John and Melissa Besse Foundation made this work possible. The grand opening of the trail took place in July, 2023. The trail is free and open to all. |
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