January 2008
For those of you who lived in or visited Grand Marais during the 1960s, you probably remember the signs that were displayed on the pole outside of the Dunes Saloon, now called the Lake Superior Brewing Company. The founder of the museum Axel Niemi, was actually one of the movers and shakers that helped develop Grand Marais as a tourist destination. During that time, he managed Woodland Park and helped to develop tourism-related resources to draw more people to the area.
We are not sure exactly when the signs were put up, or when they were taken down. Most likely the Chamber of Commerce was responsible for installing them.
All in all, though, it was nice to run across this newspaper clipping and include the photo as this month’s History Gem. I remember many a summer evening when us kids hung out in front of Kozy Corner across the street from the sign post. We watched tourists try to read the signs and figure out what Grand Marais destinations they wanted to check out.