articles from August, 1994 newsletter:
President's Message
Summer is upon us. Boats going by have put a crimp in my neck turning to see if it's anyone I know. I've had some great boat rides myself. I've checked out the two shore lunch sites -- good places to picnic with company. Gets them a boat ride as well as a chance to eat and be eaten outdoors. And how about those loons? Seems to me they're more numerous and vocal than usual. I can hardly wait for the Loon Count results. We've been picking up a lot more flotsam this year with the high water levels -- some of the stuff could do serious damage to a fast moving boat, so be extra careful. And with the higher than normal water temps, the deadheads are popping up more frequently too. Maybe we. should all slow down a bit, not only for the water hazardls but just because it's summer.
I feel a certain calm every year with the coming of summer. Spring is the time of excitement -- snowmelt on the sidewalk, northerns in the fish trap at Sunset Creek, ice-out, noises coming from the winterclosed cabins, the fishing opener and the abandoned rush to fish as much as possible. Not necessarily to catch a lot but just to be there fishing. Kind of like - "Eat your heart out, TV fishermen, l'm now doing it on Lake Vermilion." But after a while that urgency wans and the slow, peaceful pace of summer sets in. Those close to me refer to my pace as "Pa Kettle'ese." You know what I'm talking about. The grass needs mowing, but "Hey, tomorrow is a better day to cut it." Or how about those steps that need a paint job, but "I need to have at least two good days of drying weather before I paint"? Then there's my favorite. "Why go out to see if it's raining, just let the dog in and see if he's wet." Shouldn't we take the advice of those two great philosophers "Porgy and Bess"? "Summer-time -- and the living is easy." I don'y know. Maybe after two marginal summers it's just the heat. Pour me another glass of sun tea and I'll think about it.
To the Lake, Rick Pearson
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26th Annual Meeting is Saturday, August 6 in Tower
The 26th annual meeting of the Sportsmen's Club will be held at the Tower Civic Center on Saturday, August 6. The social hour will begin at 5 p.m., with dinner to follow at 6 p.m. The buffet dinner will be catered by Zups of Ely. Cost of the dinner will be $6.50 for adults and $1 for children under age 6.
The following directors will stand for reelection: Barb Shook, Pat Patrow, Patti Bergstrom and Rlck Pearson. Nominations from the floor will be accepted, but please have the potential nominee's permission before presenting his/her name.
The program will consist of a review of the past year's activities and members will have an opportunity to bring up matters of personal concern regarding club business or problems around the lake. An added attraction this year will be the awarding of a special door prize - a fishing rod, handcrafted by Jack Sparks.
Dinner reservations are necessary and must be received no later than Tuesday, August 2. Please contact one of the following to make your reservations: Barb Shook, 666-2222; Vi Harris, 666-2300; Shirley Korpela, 753-3034; or Paula Bloczynski, 753-2107.
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New Shore Lunch Sites Completed
So how do you get to these new shore lunch / picnic sites? On the east end of Vermilion, just take your boat on the north side of Pine island and look for a new dock that is located about a third of a mile east of where Bear Creek enters Vermilion.
To find the shore lunch site on the west end of the lake, just boat around Norwegian Point heading northeast up into Norwegian Bay. The dock is located on the mainland just south of Goodwill Island about a mile east of Norwegian Point.
You will know when you've reached the shore lunch / picnic sites because both docks have signs. Both sites also have a picnic table, fire grate and a latrine.
Please enjoy these new recreational areas on our beautiful lake and please help us keep them clean. Remember to make sure your fire is "dead out" and your garbage is picked up before leaving these areas. Thanks and enjoy!
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Trumpeter Swans Released
or Will Somebody Shut That Kid Up?
On or about June 3 of this year, the DNR Nongame Wildlife Program released four Trumpeter Swans at a location near you. If the time and location sound vague, they were meant to be. Confidentiality of this release was a requirement for an invite to the event. The release is part of a continuing effort to re-establish Trumpeter Swans in Minnesota. Similar efforts are underway in Wisconsin and Michigan.
The near extinction of the Trumpeter Swan was a symbol of man's greed and stupidity way back when I was growing up. Cries were heard across the land to save, if they could, this magnificent bird. There were thought to be less than 50 of them left alive in the world. It made for quite a symbol too. The bird is the largest, that is, the heaviest native bird in North America. Only the California Condor has a larger wingspan. Given that bird's condition, long wingspans might not be all they're cracked up to be. In the years since, the Trumpeters have been tracked in their annual migrations and hunter alerts given as to their location so no accidents would happen. At their nesting sites, eggs were counted and chick births were tallied and celebrated. But progress at restoration was very slow.
Several years ago researchers in Alaska, studying the Tundra Swans, discovered a large flock of Trumpeters living with the Tundras. And the rush was on. Biologists started collecting "first" eggs from the nests in Alaska and hatching them here in the "lower 48." One of those locations was at the Carlos Avery Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota. From there 1-1/2-year-old "sub-adults" have been moved to various locations and released. Before you begin to imagine a large flock of juvenile swans wandering around Carlos Avery there is one other fact about swan chicks that needs to be mentioned. As the chicks develop in their first year they "imprint" on their siblings as well as their parents so they won't breed with them later. So these birds have been raised as a group, but separate from other birds and have had minimal contact with humans.
And now for the four swans released near here. They are all from the same nest and parents. They are all subadults with their primary feathers clipped until new ones grow this summer. Two of them are male and two of them female. They have large numbered orange tags affixed to their wings for identification. The males have them on one side and the females on the other. Don't ask me which is which, I got so excited watching them being released I forgot to write that down. This fall the birds will migrate south to wintering grounds from as close as southern Minnesota to as far as Texas. Hey, just like many other friends we have. As they pair up and move north next spring they will either come back to this area to nest or to the area their mate was raised. So we have a 50-50 chance to see two pairs nesting next spring.
The Trumpeter Swan is more a prairie bird than one of the boreal forest so we are on the marginal edge of its normal habitat. But they have been successfully released and raised in similar areas. Their prime food is aquatic vegetation and the DNR assures us that enough is found in our waters. As their primary feathers grow back they will be doing trial flights around the area to orient themselves with "home" and other food sources. Let's hope we get a chance to see that sight. Oh yes, if you hear what seems to be the neighbor kid taking up the French horn, don't rush out to chase him back in the house. Turn your eyes skyward, it's probably the Trumpeter Swans. That sound gets to you after a while, like that of our wolf and our loon. And who knows, the French horn may also enjoy a revival.
Rick Pearson
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Loon Lover's Digest
The Next Ten: For Serious Loon Watchers
11. What's the wild calling at night all about?
The extravagant calling at night is probably part of territorial defense. Loons like to keep track of each other. In daylight they can see each other, but at night they have only calling. Termed night chorusing, this calling peaks in early spring and has to be considered as one of nature's most exciting audio events.
12. How large are loon territories?
Territory size will depend upon the quality of habitat and the density of loons in the region, but 20 to 200 acres covers the range. In prime northern Minnesota loon country, the average territory on large lakes is about 70 acres.
13. How many species of loons are there?
A very small family, there are only five species of loons -- the common, the red-throated, the arctic, the Pacific and the yellow-billed. There are no sub-species.
14. How large are loons?
Common loons average around 10 pounds. There is a size gradient. Loons from the northeast are larger (averaging about 12 pounds) than loons from the Upper Midwest (averaging about nine pounds). The typical loon is about 30 inches in length with a wingspread of 30 inches.
15. What's the ideal nest site?
Imagine a spot right next to the water on the protected side of a small island with plenty of low vegetation. Have the water drop off quickly to a depth of around five feet. Now you have a picture of a perfect loon nest site. If your lake has only one small island, odds are high that your loons will be nesting there.
16. What does courtship activity look like?
There will never be an X-rated loon movie. Loon courtship is rather mild; combinations of short dives, bill dipping and bill flicking while quietly swimming near the shoreline.
17. Who builds the nest?
Loons have been liberated for milions of years. Males and females divide about equally the nest building duties. Loons are not careful builders. They simply throw whatever vegetation is handy on the nest.
18. About the eggs, how many and how big?
Loons aren't like ducks which lay clutches of a dozen or more eggs. Generally, loons lay two eggs, sometimes only one and very rarely three. Of course if ducks laid eggs which averaged 3-3/8" in length and 2-1/4" in diameter, they would not lay a dozen either. Loons incubate their eggs an average of 28 days, but successful incubation can be as short as 25 or as long as 33 days. The eggs are turned(very carefully) with the loon's open mandibles at irregular intervals.
19. What predators go after loon eggs?
The masked bandit (raccoon) we all know and love is presently loon enemy #1. Primarily nocturnal, raccoons are aggressive enough and large enough to barge into a mainland loon nest, chase away the adult and feast on loon eggs. Before-New Hampshire's loon rangers started using artificial nest islands (raccoons can, of course, swim but they rarely bother loons on islands), raccoons destroyed up to 80 percent of all loon eggs on some New Hampshire lakes. Raccoons, though, tend to be a problem only where people with their garbage have inflated raccoon populations. In wilderness areas, avian predators such as ravens or crows probably take more eggs than mammals.
20. Are loon eggshells getting thin?
Pesticides, especially DDT, have created problems for many birds. While eagles, ospreys and peregrines have suffered from eggshell thinning, though, loons have continued to sucessfully reproduce. Loon eggshells are about 10 percent thinner than eggshells from the pre-DDT era.
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Robert B. Olson Scholarships Announced
The Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion announces the recipients of this year's Robert B. Olson Memorial Scholarship Awards. The two high school students are Zack Aune and Erin Elliott from Cook.
The Robert B. Olson Memorial Scholarship was established March 13, 1991, by the directors of the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion, Inc. with the approval of the Olson family. The scholarship honors the memory of Robert B. Olson, a Tower civic leader and Lake Vermilion resident. He was an avid hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman who was serving as a Sportsmen's Club director at the time of his death October 5, 1990. With matching funds from the Sportsmen's Club, the scholarship has a value of $200.
The scholarship is open to any high school senior who is a resident of the Tower or Cook school attendance areas and is intending to study a college curriculum relating to conservation or the environment. The scholarship recipient is selected by the directors of the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion, Inc., who review and score each candidate's application form, letter of recommendation, essay and transcript. The' scholarship is awarded on the basis of leadership qualities, scholarship and career potential. The candidate receiving the highest numerical score was the year's scholarship recipient. Rick Pearson, this year's president, presented the awards.
Pearson stated this year's applicants scored so high in all categories that the Board of Directors had a difficult time coming to a decision. "When it finally came down to a coin toss," Pearson claims, "even the coin landed on its edge. So we awarded a scholarship to both of them." Zack is the son of Sharon and Glen Aune from Angora and plans to attend Northland College at Ashland, Wis., in the fall. Erin is the daughter of Kathy and Jeff Elliott of Cook and plans her matriculation at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Pearson says both are excellent students and along with the whole membership of the Sportsmen's Club of Lake Vermilion wishes them well in their college careers.
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Another Lake Vermilion Family History
by Robert O. Ferguson - Pine island
"Of course my family doesn't live here so my story may not be of interest. A relative, O.H. Clark of Duluth (an old trader in the area) fell in with the Gray- Wertin RealEstate people and succeeded in interesting a cousin in Vermilion Dells. The cousin was a professor at the University of Nebraska. This was in 1915. The sale of lot #9 and #194 was consummated, but before the buyer could bring his family up to investigate, WWI blossomed and the Officers Reserve had first call.
"It wasn't until 1919 that summer break let the family come up. They had the LAKE VERMILION brochure in which the maps of five surveyed areas were shown: Oak Narrows, Ne-Pah-Win, Ne-Na-Mik-Ka-Ta, Vermilion Dells, Daisy Island, Birch Point and Birch Grove. They would find Tower on the third railroad system from Lincoln on the "Duluth and Iron Range Railroad." They would meet Walter Aronson, Sr. who would put them aboard one of his two launches, the Mayflower or the Maryland.
"Prophetically the Mayflower was the vehicle, but only after the trunks, boxes, tents, an introduction to Herman T. Olson and his store, groceries, first-aid kit . . . anything they might need considering the proximity to medical aid, etc., had been acquired and loaded on board. The lady of the foursome was herding two children. One, a girl, was 11; the boy was 8. The Mayflower stuck its nose into the East Two canal and began its eight-mile run across Big Bay to the V. Dells.
"Julius Konitz was the next.person they met. Julius Konitz was his real name, but for reasons unknown to me he preferred to be called 'Jack Kelly'. . . which in short order was further simplified by dropping the 'Jack.' 'Kelly' was the Vermilion Dells caretaker' and when he was sober he was very helpful. 'Camp was established and the four tenderfeet spent six weeks learning the ways of the woods. Refrigeration was a hole in the ground where each morning the snakes ate the eggs if you didn't provide a deterrent. Rain managed to find its way through the tent roof and umbrellas sprung up over the cots. A four-tree canvas shelter provided cover for the cook's fire. A rowboat on which Olie Evinrude's 'thumb-breaking,' one-lunger outboard motor could let you tour the lake. The lady wasn't too venturesome and the kids used the oars.
All in all, they fell in love with the place. In 1920, they didn't come because a baby brother was born in August. It wasn't until 1922 that they returned. And when they did, the family had another baby: a 3-month-old sister. The mother, the older sister and the two babies were housed with the relative (O.H. Clark family) in Duluth while the father, the oldest son, along with a Towerite (Mr. Osterburg), carpenter, assembled a Togan Styles prefab cottage. 1 don't know how long it took for the assembly, but it was ready "quickly" and all six people moved in.
"The family was the Olin J. Ferguson and Hannah M. Ferriss Ferguson family of Lincoln, Neb. I am the 1920 child and Ruth Young was the 3-months-old baby. Elizabeth Bitney was the oldest sister and Richard Ferguson, the older son. But for 1920, '21 and 1944 when 1 was in the Army, I have spent every summer of varying length at the place called TEPEE NOPAH . . . named by Chief John Good Day and means TWO TENTS. A shirt-tailrelative on the family tree is Charlemagne Tower, Sr. and Jr.
"I am writing a book for my descendants in which the Vermilion Dells portion will be a part.'
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Please Report Unsafe Boating Practices
Your board members have been receiving a disturbing number of complaints and reports of unsafe boating practices this summer.
There has been a substantial increase in boat traffic again this year and along with that comes a greater probability of boating mishaps. The trend toward larger, faster, noisier boats also continues, which is intimidating to boaters in smaller craft.
Board and Club members have observed numerous cases of inconsiderate and even dangerous boating practices. We have concuded there are basically two reasons for this. First, a sizeable number of people operating boats are inexperienced and unaware of proper procedures. Second, an alarming number of them are under the influence of alcohol.
Your board will continue to do its best to distribute educational information promoting safe boating. We will also continue to lobby the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department to increase the level of enforcement on the lake. They have been very cooperative, but like every other government agency, their budget is limited.
Sergeant James P. McKenzie, boat and water safety coordinator, has suggested the amount of their department's budget allocated to Lake Vermilion is based partially upon the number of complaints called in to the county.
If you witness the unsafe or unlawful operation of a watercraft, call 911 and report it ASAP. Try to get the boat's license number, but if that is not possible give a description of it and the date, time, location, etc. The offending boater may not be apprehended, but your action will at least result in an increased law enforcement presence on the lake, which will make it safer for everyone.
Ultimately, each one of us must take responsibility for our own safety while out on the water:
1. Remember, there are more boats out there, so be alert at all times.
2. Pick up a copy of the Minnesota Boating Regulations and review it before each boating season.
3. Don't tolerate unacceptable behavior from other boaters. Make the effort to call "911" and report them.
Your actions may save the life of someone you love.
Dale Lundblad, Director
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DNR, PCA Offer Environmental Tips for Boaters
Clean water is the foundation for enjoyable boating and fishing. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Pollution Control Agency (PCA) have a few tips for boat owners to help make sure that our lakes and rivers remain enjoyable places to recreate.
Marine toilets-- More than 10,000 boats in Minnesota have some type of marine toilet (also known as a marine sanitation device or MSD) on board. With the exception of three areas in Minnesota, all marine toilet waste must be retained on board for proper disposal on shore. Boaters should note that it is illegal under both federal and state law to deposit untreated sewage in the water anywhere in the state.
Oil and gasoline - It is illegal to discharge either of these harmful substances into the water. Spills can be avoided by ensuring:
--built-in fuel tanks not be filled completely to the top, especially on a hot day (fuel expansion can occur);
--fueling on trailered craft be done on land before the boat is launched;
--all fuel tanks, lines and fittings be checked periodically to make sure they are tight and no leaks are present (this is also a good practice to prevent fires and explosions);
--crankcase oil be properly drained and recycled; and
-spilled oil and fuel in the bilge (or bottom of the boat) be cleaned-up and properly disposed of on shore.
Antifreeze - Most inboard or inboard-outdrive engines need only be drained thoroughly each fall to prevent damage to the engine block from trapped water freezing and expanding. Some owners, however, may still fill the cooling system with ethylene glycol antifreeze each fall. When this fluid is flushed or drained in the spring it should be done on land and disposed of in a sewage system prior to launching.
Litter - "Stow it - don't throw it" is a good motto to remember on the water. Nothing is so disgusting as seeing cans, bottles, styrofoam cups and plastic bags floating on the water, or as a shoreland owner, having it wash up on your property. Litter is also a hazard to waterfowl, fish and other marine life. Always carry on board a litter bag or can and dispose of trash properly after reaching shore.
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Charter Members -- Let Us Hear From You!
Following is a letter we received from a charter member.
From the enclosed copies you can see we three have been "CharterMembers"for 20 years. Thought you might like to see them. We were wondering how many charter members are still members?
You are asking for members. I would think all the lakefront owners and others who live up there and use the lake would be members.
We feelgood about supporting Lake Vermilion with our dues and fishing licenses.
Don't get up there as much as we would like too. We come up in June and then September. Maybe someday we can spend more time up north.
Our cottage is two doors away from Sandi and Dean Buchanan. Bought the lake frontage from Sandi's parents, Gladys and Ray Ronning.
1 almost forgot we had Charter Member certificates, until I came across them cleaning out a drawer.
Sincerely,
Vi Vodicka
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