Correspondence

Hi, Karen!

You have a truly marvelous website for the museum, and it's very easy to navigate. I've enjoyed reading especially about agates and the history of Grand Marais in preparation for my wife and my FIRST TRIP to your part of Michigan.

We live in Three Rivers, south of Kalamazoo and not far from the Indiana border, but love visiting 'up north' every summer for a week. We've already made arrangements for a week in Grand Marais. . . . and for sure we'll want to take one or more of your courses in agates and local history when we visit the museum. I've always wanted to explore the hobby of lapidary, and now that I'm recently retired I think that will be a reality. What better way to start than to find a few agates along the Lake Superior shore?

Looking forward to the sunsets, which I understand are incomparable in Grand Marais with any others!

Sincerely yours,
Vic Eichler

Although the web page has a separate testimonial section, two correspondences deserve to be featured. The first was an email received from Traci Bradshaw:

Dear Gitche Gumee Museum:

I recently took a trip to the U.P. for the first time in my adult life. We camped out in a state forest campground located on Lake Superior. My main focus for the trip was collecting rocks. Before going on my trip I tried to do some research as to what kinds of rocks I was going to be collecting. Other than locating a few pictures online, I was unable to find any good information on agates specifically. I knew very little about them, but I was determined to find at least one. On the second to last day of our trip we went through Marquette and stopped at the mall, where I purchased a copy of your book Understanding and Finding Agates. I wish I had known about this book prior to going up north. I just wanted to tell you that I found it by far the most informative book of its kind, and although it helped me figure out that most of what I found were not agates, it definitely has gotten me more prepared for my next trip (which is currently being planned). Thank you for publishing such a great book for rockhounds like me to use. I look forward to visiting the museum during our next trip.

From one rockhound to another.
Traci Bradshaw

The second letter was received recently from Jim Carter, a native of Grand Marais who has lived in Marquette for many years.

Dear Karen:

I’ve been meaning to write for some time commending you on your excellent guide, Understanding and Finding Agates, which I bought at the Museum several months ago.

It is obviously very well done by a professional in the field. Its excellent organization and clear writing style leads the reader through what is some rather complicated material, and giving in the end a good, informed picture of what this agate business is all about. This publication has all the marks of becoming a standard resource on the subject. The References, Glossary and Index sections are extremely useful features.

The layout and quality of printing are also very good. The Book Concern has always done a top job in printing (although their physical plant isn’t very impressive). I’ve had work done there since the late 1960s--the most recent was my large-scale map of logging railroads in the east-central U.P. and its accompanying historical narrative, done by the Book Concern last year.

For over 20 years I was director of the Northern Michigan University Press, a book publishing operation, and during that time I reviewed many manuscripts, with accompanying illustrations, art, maps, etc. At the same time, I chaired the book publishing operation of the John M. Longyear Research Library here (as a volunteer)--a private non-profit organization not connected with NMU. So a lot of stuff has come across my desk over the years. Yours ranks with the best.

Axle Niemi would pop his buttons with pride over what you’re doing with the museum and publication. By the way, I don’t know if he ever told you the circumstances around his finding of the “big agate.” I was in Grand Marais when he found it. As I recall, he found it on the beach west of Second Creek. I asked him, “What did you do when you found it?” He said he hollered and “did a jig” on the beach. It isn’t hard to picture that scenario!

All the best, Karen. Hope you enjoy the holidays and have a good year ahead.

Sincerely, your friend:
Jim Carter