I was so
bothered by the lack of information available about the community life of Maple
(March 22) and my own response to it, that I couldn’t let it go. I e-mailed the chairman of the town council
(who includes “finn” in his e-mail user name) trying to get more information
and more of a sense of the community. I
heard back from Jim Pellman, a man who calls himself the “town historian” in
quotes, and apologized ahead of time for being long-winded. I see him as a long-time resident who knows
many interesting facts and stories about the community but does not have enough
of an audience. So now I have plenty of interesting
information & insights into the community.
Maple has
become a bedroom community for the Twin Ports, about 15 minutes away by
car. According to Jim Pellman, “Many businesses,
transportation industries, hospitals, universities, professional offices, etc.,
serve as employers for those who enjoy the rural setting here in Maple and
nearby.” Lake Superior is a dominant factor
in all of their lives, both for work and recreation.
Many of the
early farming families were of Finnish ethnic origin, and Finnish could be
heard in the local co-operative stores and in the churches up into the
1960s. Two churches are still active in
the community, both founded by Finnish settlers.
The Widdes
Farm and Feed business has new owners, and is now called Maple Hill Farm &
Feed. The area was once full of small
dairy farms, but with changes in the dairying industry all but one of these
farms have left dairying. Some farmers
switched to beef cattle, but many of the farms now grow hay and alfalfa for
those still in the cattle and dairy business.
Some logging continues in the many forests in the area.
Sundown
Truck Stop and Restaurant, which I showed on my blogpost, was a Maple community
hub for generations, but went out of business a couple of years ago. Other
businesses in town have closed over the years, but now they are used for the
town government services. Lind Well
Drilling, Maple Hill Bakery & Restaurant, and EMJ Auto Repair have become
the Fire Hall, Town Hall, and Town Garage.
The
centralized regional high school for 11 towns, which Google Street Views shows
under construction, is now complete and teaching over 400 students, preparing
them for “the rigors of college as well as direct training for careers in the
trades.” The new building looks stark
& prison-like in this picture, but the school website shows a range of
lively activities going on.
The railroad
track which ran parallel to US Highway 2 has been pulled, and the railroad bed
is now a part of the Tri-County Corridor which serves off road vehicles and
hikers year round.
Finnworks
Gallery used to be a service station on Highway 2 that was converted into Pellman’s
art studio.
GrizzWorks, also on Highway
2, is the workshop and display space for Justin Howland, a wood sculptor who
specializes in bears of all types and sizes.
I imagine that these are chainsaw
sculptures. One 8-foot tall bear guards
the entrance to his business.
It appears that Maple has been gentrifying and becoming more
of an exurb of the Twin Ports. I’m so
glad that I got this chance to take a closer look at this living community.
Northwestern
High School: http://www.nw-tigers.org/northwestern-high-school
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