Black River Harbor      Stories of a Settlement on Lake Superior's South Shore             Book By Nelda B. Ikenberry          (Published November 2009)

Table of Contents

 

THE SQUATTER ERA 1900-1938

1. First to Arrive - Early Visitors Leave signs of their Trail

2. John Morrison - Farmer-Fisherman-Recluse

3. Victor Leppanen - by Betty Christensen

4. Victor Leppanen - Fisherman and Wood-butcher

5. John and Jane Clemens - Lived their Dreams

6. Fred Drier - Typified Roughing It

7. Tom Rule - Harbor Camper in the Early Days

8. Abel Ikonen - Early Harbor Entrepreneur

9. Matt and Annie Maki - Lessons in Frugality

10. Matt Tainio - Sheltered his Family in the Woods

11.William “Billy” Tiebel - Self-sufficient to the End

12. Auvinen’s Corner Grocery - More Than Groceries

13. Martin Christensen - Prominent Commercial Fishing Family

14. Commercial Fishing - by Tommy Christensen

15. Douglas Allen - a Hard Life but Worth It

16. Set-Line Fishing - with Doug Allen

17. Speaker Brothers - Mechanical Inventive Fishermen

 

CCC TO BREAKWATER ERA 1938-1956

18. Civilian Conservation Corps - Transforms the Harbor

19. Tauno Piippo - One Man’s CCC Story

20. Suspension Footbridge - CCC Builds a Harbor Icon

21. LaGrew-Three Generations from Sea- to Tree-to Outreach

22. Jack Ylisto - Charismatic Harbor Host

23. Hugo “Primo” Ylisto - Satisfied to be a Crowd of One

24. Melvin and Dorothy Edwards - Hard to Make a Living

25. Tom and Betty Christensen - Highlighting Their Lives

26. Haven for Hermits - at Black River Harbor

27. Herbert and Melvina Isaacson - by Betsy Isaacson Slabaugh

28. Harbor Caretakers - Never a Dull Moment

29. Ice Making on the Black River - a “Big Deal”

30. Logging Bridge on Black River - Bill Leppanen Did It!

31. John J. Mattson - Stories Surrounding “Big John”

 

BREAKWATERS TO FOREST SERVICE ERA 1956-1967

32.Troller’s Association - Attempts at Cooperation

33. Breakwater Construction - Creating a Harbor of Refuge

34. Al Durham - Fishing on Borrowed Time

35. Boomerang - a Lucky Boat

36. Chilling Lake Rescue - in Denny Forslund’s own words

37. Dewey Isaacson - Trip Down Memory Lane

38. Donnie Hill - Amiable Fisherman for Forty Years

39. Gust Kuismi - Invented Trolling Skis

40. History of the Nancy Jean -a Relic Boat

41. Sail Inn Remembered - Fifty-five Year History

42. Pat Thomas - ‘One of a Kind’ Harbor Resident

43. Surviving Structures - Cache of History

44. Rainbow Falls - Few Survive a Fall!

45. Jimmy Johnson - Charter Fishing - 56 Years So Far!

46. Spotlight on Black River Harbor - 1965

47. Gorge and Potawatomie Falls - Scenic Area Attracts Visitors

 

EPILOGUE

 

FLASHBACKS –ALBUMS OF PHOTOS

1. Flashback- Bill Trappa Builds the Snafu

2. Flashback- Scenic Souvenir Photo Cards

3. Flashback- the Fleet is In

4. Flashback – Happy Harbor Children

5. Flashback – Village – Neighbors

 

APPENDIX

1. Ruth Clemens Ikenberry

2. Frontier Days on the Black River

3. Leppanen Bridge and Logging

4. Lake Port at Black River, Gasp!