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& Other Important Things
A glorious trip ’round Marquette
by Don Curto
Almost without our noticing it, Marquette has become a beautiful city. Slowly but steadily, for many years, improvements in the appearance of our homes have almost erased the signs of neglect and gray poverty that were persistent hangovers from the Depression and the war.
Changes along the shoreline and harbor have made huge improvements in appearance. What was an industrial shoreline has become a scenic area for residents and tourists. Needing obliteration still is an immensely ugly and useless remnant of an ore shipping dock. It has been a site for a number of hare-brained ideas such as half a million dollar condos. Just think what a beautiful sweeping view we would have of the whole harbor without the structure that never was successful or needed.
But it is along the city streets in every neighborhood where the accumulating changes almost suddenly demand to be noticed. Homes look better with new siding and new roofing.
I suppose we need to credit lending institutions for seeing the need to make loans for so much home improvement as well as the firms doing the work. (And let’s not forget the hail storm.) It is true there is some siding that is so common there are some short stretches looking too similar. But yet, the improvement overrides the sameness.
During the Christmas season, we offer awards for the best and most imaginative lighting of homes and yards. The listing for these accolades gives us a road map of the city so we can take a scenic trip to review the beautiful lighting.
Perhaps we might consider doing something similar with homes showing thoughtful, imaginative, artistic plantings. These would be mostly flowers, of course. I know that much of what I think is beautiful is judged subjectively, but I bet a city committee (I can’t believe that I would ever suggest a city committee. I am getting old.) could be formed and come up with some more objective standards to be cited.
Cathy Moore and I toured the city several weekends ago to find homes we thought were especially worthy. Cathy is my special research assistant and also Nanny to my dog, Lute. (In her time away from these activities, she is an esteemed federal court secretary.) We agreed we would not cite the site of those magnificent homes in the wealthy residential areas, even though the sight was wonderful. (I know it proves I am still a kid intellectually, but I really like to get “cite, site and sight” in the same sentence.)
There are some very beautiful places in the more upscale areas, but we think this is sort of expected. I suppose there might be an element of prejudice here, but none is intended.
Clearly the most elegant plantings in the city are at the waterfront, framing the “bird houses,” or “salt boxes” and also the adjacent condo and business complex. This is the work of Barb Kelly, the doyen of city beautification, and is not to be confused with rank amateur gardening.
So, here is a list by address for you to take a beauty tour of what has now become a really beautiful city. Tiger lilies of all stripes are the dominant flower this year. I don’t doubt we inadvertently missed some worthy places, but if we did, you can send us an addition via the Marquette Monthly.
• 616 and 624 Hampton Street. Not nearly as many places on Hampton as I expected to find.
• 1201 Tierney Street. This is the home that gets so many awards for Christmas lighting. Summer plantings are fine, too.
• 404 Genesee. This house presents itself as a small estate in the middle of a city. Trees, plantings, design all work together.
• 112 Newberry. Recently renovated home with a great view of the lake and gardens still under development. You might have a little trouble finding this home, but the search is rewarded.
• 806 Champion. Solid brick house, great adjoining garden, wonderful view of the lake and the new “Roundabout.”
• 244 Rock Street. A beautiful setting with nice landscaping.
• A couple of corners: Hewitt and Pine and Hewitt and Spruce. Years of care are clear here.
• 403 East Michigan. This elegant corner home is so well attended it is beautiful even in the dead of winter. A lot of work goes on here.
• 1043 Pine Street is a work in progress, but the progress is helping to cheer up the whole area.
• 411 Wright Street is quite nicely done.
• 2231 Presque Isle and 900 Lakeshore Drive are worthy additions.
• 710 on Horizon Drive at Harlow Farms. I cite this because, from the very start of that home, the yard has been beautified and is quite elegant now.
And then, there’s the new roundabout
I guess it will be open for use shortly after this issue of MM hits the newsstands. The best place to get a good view of it is from the Champion Street bridge. It is partially open now and seems to be working quite well. There is some talk about erecting bleacher seats overlooking the roundabout so one could sell tickets to watch the accidents.
I recall when West Washington Street was changed from four lanes to three lanes with a turn lane in the center. Predictions were dire, especially by businesses along the changing section. It would slow traffic and jam things up. It would be awful and drive traffic from Washington Street to Bluff, etc. I seem to recall that I joined in the worry (actually none of my business) with a friend who has a business there. Well, the three lanes are working just fine and the flow of traffic actually is much better.
I stood on the bridge this morning and watched traffic in the roundabout. Two huge trucks came by. One was a limestone truck with double trailer and the other a flatbed with double trailer. Both took the turns easily and tracked very well staying in the proper outside lane. They did not slow down very much. I wouldn’t invest in the bleacher project if I were you. In this case I think we can trust the computers and experience of MDOT.
However, there are semitractor delivery vehicles around town that deliver goods to local businesses. Some of these do not track at all. Sometimes on taking a corner, the rear wheels of these vehicles ride over the curbing. And at other times the truck driver must stop and maneuver around you and other cars. These probably will be a continuing worry to drivers on the roundabout.
You might not be aware of it, but there is an old roundabout in the small village of Alpha, near Iron River. My first experience with a roundabout, however, was in England.
As you have heard, those foolish people drive on the wrong side of the road, so when one goes into a roundabout, on the left, there is a natural tendency on the part of those of us who drive on the correct side of the road to drift to the right. Don’t do it. The angry reaction of the British drivers is most unflattering. You would think by now they would have caught on and would drive on the right side of the road, which also is the correct side. Stubborn people that they are, they moved the steering column to the other side of the car instead.
And while we are thinking about those crazy people, we might wish to be aware they probably are responsible, all by themselves, for the fact that Hitler never had his headquarters in New York. Bless them.
See you on the roundabout.
Some other stuff
Once again this year, my generous friend, Michael Kettu from the Menominee area, honored Ted Bogdan and I with a generous bag of the year’s first chanterelles. These gifts from God are beautiful in all respects: shape, texture, color, taste and versatility. I can’t give you any chanterelles, but I can pass on a simple way to make a delightful pasta dish using shitake mushrooms, which are readily available, but quite expensive and not quite as romantic.
With chanterelles, you can use the stems as well as the wonderful trumpet-shaped cap. But with shitake I suggest not using the stems for this dish, just the caps. I assume you know the simple methods for making a simple pasta sauce, so I won’t waste time and space by giving quantities.
Take some shitakes, cut off the stems and save for another use, flavoring for instance. Sauté gently in a pan that has a blend of unsalted butter and good olive oil and just a touch of garlic to flavor. You can use a small amount of chopped onion in place of the garlic if you wish. Cook properly a required amount of spaghetti or fettuccini, or best of all, some bucatini, the pasta that looks like thick spaghetti, but has a hole down the center.
After you have cooked your mushrooms (don’t kill them) and your pasta is ready, add to the mushroom pan quite a lot of heavy cream…no, half and half will not do. Stir and simmer until the cream bubbles, losing some water.
The butter and the mushrooms will color the sauce. Go easy, but you might need some salt and a good sprinkling of coarse black pepper. There are those who would tell you to use white pepper, but I am not one of them. Add the drained but still warm pasta, stir, mix gently and serve. Forget the cheese; you don’t need any.
Some wisdom from the elderly: It is a rare night that I awake worrying about the things that I have done right.
—Don Curto
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