The Copper Country in the winter!
There IS NO Place like the Copper Country!
I want to create jobs for the residents so that they don't have to leave for work.
My creative pieces are designed to utilize Birdseye maple from the UP and when the volume increases, to have these products made locally in the Copper Country.
I want to create jobs for the residents so that they don't have to leave for work.
My creative pieces are designed to utilize Birdseye maple from the UP and when the volume increases, to have these products made locally in the Copper Country.
Like many others, Due to economic conditions, I don't live in the Copper Country.
The Copper Country, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula has always been a part of my life. I have always felt re-charged with a visit to the U.P.
My parents hail from the Copper Country, Mom born in Calumet and Dad, although born in Castlewood South Dakota moved to the KALLIOINEN Homestead in Toivola Michigan shortly thereafter. My Great Grandmother named TOIVOLA which in Finnish means HOPE. When my Uncle and Grandfather worked at FORD Motor Company, people had a hard time pronouncing "KALLIOINEN" so they shortened our name to "KALEN". Recently, My brother Gary and myself spent a day cruising around the area and had to marvel at the fortitude that our fore fathers had to have to live in such a remote location those many years ago. No electricity, no running water, no indoor toilet, no automobiles... the list goes on and on.
The original homestead has been sold off and the log house as well as the log garage was recently sold off to someone in I believe Wisconsin who dismantled and moved the structures.
Every summer, Mom and Dad would drive up from Garden City, Michigan to the Copper Country to bring us up to spend the summer in the area. Although we were there to work on the farm, we never thought of it as anything other than a yearly vacation. We learned to work hard and through the years, we gained valuable knowledge on such things as driving tractors, cars, trucks, making hay, tying bales on back of the baler,milking cows, herding cattle, slaughtering cattle, maintaining farm equipment, carpentry, picking berries,tearing down buildings,picking copper, selling copper souvenirs to tourists on Quincy Hill.
We moved to the Copper Country for good in my Junior year of high school. By that time, Gary had been appointed to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO to eventually become an AC-130 Pilot during the Vietnam War. I went to Michigan Technological University and graduated in 1976.
Like many before me and many after me, I was not able to find employment in the area and moved from the area. I have always called the Copper Country "HOME" as it holds so many pleasant memories. I hope you take the time to share with me and others your fond memories of the good ole U.P. and the Copper Country.
My parents hail from the Copper Country, Mom born in Calumet and Dad, although born in Castlewood South Dakota moved to the KALLIOINEN Homestead in Toivola Michigan shortly thereafter. My Great Grandmother named TOIVOLA which in Finnish means HOPE. When my Uncle and Grandfather worked at FORD Motor Company, people had a hard time pronouncing "KALLIOINEN" so they shortened our name to "KALEN". Recently, My brother Gary and myself spent a day cruising around the area and had to marvel at the fortitude that our fore fathers had to have to live in such a remote location those many years ago. No electricity, no running water, no indoor toilet, no automobiles... the list goes on and on.
The original homestead has been sold off and the log house as well as the log garage was recently sold off to someone in I believe Wisconsin who dismantled and moved the structures.
Every summer, Mom and Dad would drive up from Garden City, Michigan to the Copper Country to bring us up to spend the summer in the area. Although we were there to work on the farm, we never thought of it as anything other than a yearly vacation. We learned to work hard and through the years, we gained valuable knowledge on such things as driving tractors, cars, trucks, making hay, tying bales on back of the baler,milking cows, herding cattle, slaughtering cattle, maintaining farm equipment, carpentry, picking berries,tearing down buildings,picking copper, selling copper souvenirs to tourists on Quincy Hill.
We moved to the Copper Country for good in my Junior year of high school. By that time, Gary had been appointed to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO to eventually become an AC-130 Pilot during the Vietnam War. I went to Michigan Technological University and graduated in 1976.
Like many before me and many after me, I was not able to find employment in the area and moved from the area. I have always called the Copper Country "HOME" as it holds so many pleasant memories. I hope you take the time to share with me and others your fond memories of the good ole U.P. and the Copper Country.
