The Daily Mining Gazette - Published: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Print Article | Close Window Key Ingredients starts Friday in Calumet By JANE NORDBERG, DMG Writer CALUMET — After two years in the planning stages, the Key Ingredients/Michigan Foodways exhibits are finally are on their way up north. The exhibits are scheduled to be installed Thursday at the Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne’s, with a formal public opening event scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday. “We’ve all been very excited about this since the beginning,” said committee chair Kim Hoagland. “It’s great to see it finally all coming together.” The exhibits will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, Saturday through August 26. Key Ingredients is a Smithsonian exhibit depicting national food culture, while the corresponding Michigan Foodways exhibit was created by the Michigan State University Museum to explore the state’s food story, including agriculture, hunting, fishing and ethnic influences. Both exhibits are sponsored by the Michigan Humanities Council, a non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. “We’re pleased to tour a pair of exhibits that examine and explore our cultural and historical connections to food,” said Janice Fedewa, executive director of the MHC. “This collaborative effort demonstrates the tremendous value of working together to provide Michigan citizens with national, state and local exhibits as well as outstanding programs.” Fedewa plans to attend Friday’s opening with her husband, Ron, an Upper Peninsula native, and other representatives from the Lansing-based MHC. State Rep. Mike Lahti, D-Hancock, also plans to attend the opening. “It’s a great honor to have Key Ingredients and Michigan Foodways here in our local area,” Hoagland said. “Those exhibits bring national attention to Calumet, and our regional events, in turn, will provide local impact.” Calumet is the second stop on the exhibits’ six-site tour, which kicked off May 26 in downstate Chelsea, near Ann Arbor. After it leaves Calumet, it will be displayed in Cheboygan, Whitehall, Dundee and Frankenmuth. Unlike the stationary national and Michigan exhibits, which will remain at the Keweenaw Heritage Center during its six-week stay, local contributions to Key Ingredients will be held from Chassell to Copper Harbor all summer long. More than 25 presentations, festivals and special events across the Keweenaw Peninsula will complement the exhibition during its six-week run. A typical miner’s kitchen will be on display at the Quincy Mine Hoist site in Hancock, while a window decorating contest in Calumet has challenged businesses downtown to produce a food-related display. Other presentations investigate what archeological digs reveal about ancient foodways, how many potato farms were once active in the Copper Country and how food was preserved before modern refrigeration. Beekeeping, breadmaking and beer brewing demonstrations will also be offered this summer. One of the first such events is a presentation by author and historian Larry Lankton at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne’s. Lankton’s talk, “Keweenaw Foodways,” will focus on the development of regular supply lines for food products into the remote copper mining district in the 1850s and 1860s. “How did people get their food way out here in the middle of nowhere?” Lankton said. “It’s surprising just how little food people were able to grow locally, and the strange variety of food items that were shipped into the region.” Procurement of a steady food supply was the key to the success – or failure – of most mining settlements, Lankton said. The loss of a late-season shipment of canned goods and fresh meat would pose significant challenges to the survival of local residents. Admission to the exhibits, Friday’s kick-off and Lankton’s presentation are free and refreshments will be served. Volunteers are also needed to help keep the Keweenaw Heritage Center open during the exhibits’ stay in Calumet. Duties will consist of opening and closing the center and answering general questions about the exhibit and the local area. A training session will be held at 1 p.m. Friday for those interested in helping. Those wishing to volunteer for a shift are asked to contact Hoagland at 482-7674. To learn more about Key Ingredients Michigan Foodways, visit www.michiganfoodways.org. For a listing of local events, visit www.keyingredients.org. Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com Main Ingredients events Exhibits Friday to Aug. 26: Key Ingredients/Smithsonian Institute - KHC Friday to Aug. 26: Michigan Foodways/MSU Museum – KHC Now to Oct. 6: “Unfolding the History of Aprons,” Display, Copper Range Historical Society Museum, South Range July and August, Storefront Window Exhibits, downtown Calumet Friday to Aug. 26: “Food for Thought,” group art show, Vertin Gallery, Calumet Monday to Labor Day: “Scrounging for Food: Copper Country Foodways During the Great Depression,” MTU Archives, Houghton July 20 to Labor Day: Miner’s Kitchen – Quincy Mine, Hancock Tours, talks and more Friday, 6 p.m., Grand Opening Key Ingredients/Michigan Foodways exhibits, KHC Saturday, 3 p.m., Larry Lankton, “Keweenaw Foodways,” KHC Sunday, 1-4 p.m., Friends of Fashion and Laurium Manor Inn, “Victorian Tea,” Laurium Manor Inn, Laurium (fee event) Monday, 7 p.m., Grand Opening of exhibit at MTU Archives and presentation by Erik Nordberg, “Houghton County Potato Farming,” MTU Archives, Houghton July 17, 7 p.m., Food Movie: “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” Calumet Theatre, Calumet. Part of the Movie Magic Classic Film Series. Will include a cartoon, selection of newsreels and live performances from jugglers, magicians or singers. Tickets $5 adult, $3 children 12 and under. July 19, 7 p.m. Yvonne Lockwood, “If the Pasty Could Talk,” KHC July 20, 6 p.m., Grand Opening of Miner’s Kitchen Exhibit at Quincy Mine and presentation by Kim Hoagland, Quincy Mine, Hancock July 26, 7 p.m., Chassell Historical Organization and Keweenaw National Historical Park, “History of Chassell Strawberry Farming,” Chassell Heritage Center, Chassell July 27, 3 p.m., Les McBean, “Keeping Bees and Making Honey,” KHC July 30, 7 p.m., Charlie Hopper, “Making Pasties,” Hut Inn, Calumet July 31, 3 p.m., Ed Jenich, “Making Heritage Sausage,” KHC Aug. 1, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Cookbook Fair and 7 p.m. talk by Casey Rudkin - Elks Lodge, Calumet Aug. 3, 8 p.m. Window Walk, winner of Calumet Window Display Contest announced, downtown Calumet Aug. 4, Mike Schira, 1 p.m., “A History of Farming, Gardening and Food Preservation in the Copper Country,” log cabin building, Lake Linden (part of Houghton County Historical Society Railroad History Days events) Aug. 6, 7 p.m., Terry Reynolds, “Farming Upper Peninsula Mining and Timber Cutover Lands,” Michigan Tech University, Room 642 Dow Building Aug. 7, 7 p.m., Tim Bies, “Brewing Small,” Michigan House Restaurant and Brewpub, Calumet Aug. 9, 7 p.m. Tour and winemaking overview, Carrousel Winery, South Range Aug. 11, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Berry, Dairy and Sheep Farms Tour, Chassell Aug. 13, 7 p.m., Mike Schira, “A History of Farming, Gardening and Food Preservation in the Copper Country,” Michigan Tech University, Room 642 Dow Building Aug. 14, 4 p.m., Joan Vinette, “Cooking Fish: The Commercial Fishing Legacy of Lake Superior,” KHC Aug. 15, 7 p.m., Cormac Ronan, “Making Bread,” Irish Times Restaurant, Laurium Aug. 18, 8 am. - 11 a.m., Sons of Norway, Norwegian pancakes and lingonberries, Calumet (during Heritage Celebration, Calumet) Aug. 18, 10 a.m., Erik Nordberg, “Houghton County Potato Farming,” KHC (part of Heritage Celebration) Aug. 18, 11 a.m., Terry Reynolds, “Farming Upper Peninsula Mining and Timber Cutover Lands,” KHC (part of Heritage Celebration) Aug. 20, 6 p.m., Pete Nissila, “Gardening and Nurseries in Keweenaw History,” Nissila Greenhouses, Ripley Aug. 21, 8 a.m., Tour of Baroni’s Canning Facility, Calumet (limit 30) Aug. 22, 7 p.m. “Brewing Large,” Tour of Keweenaw Brewing Company Canning Facility, South Range Aug. 25, 3 p.m., Tim Scarlett and Lee Sweitz, “Foodways in the Long View: Archaeologists talk about Food, People, and the Passing of Time on Earth,” KHC