Growing up in the 1950s there were always lots of ways for a child to make money. Seasonal concerts like shoveling snow, mowing lawns, gardening, washing windows and even picking thimbleberry provided more than a change of pocket. My first clients were Ms. Frimodig, Ms. Irene Prisk, Mr. Carlos Haug and Ms. Linda Nikula.

My other casual jobs included delivering the “Squeak” newspaper, for which EB Pancratz had the franchise, and also delivering catalogs for Mr. Moll of Fuller Brush Company.

I would later graduate from my regular paperboy routes for the Daily Mining Gazette and the Sunday Milwaukee Journal. I also washed windows for several downtown stores, which helped me set up a large savings account at Houghton National Bank – with the guidance of the friendly banker, Dick Rowe, to keep myself equipped with the latest sports equipment and other popular goodies.

My clients include window cleaners, King’s Gift Shop, Nantel’s Beauty Parlor, Marty O’Connor Insurance, Dale’s Flower Shop, Healy Insurance, Wilcox Photo Studio and Fashion City.

In the 1950s, downtown Houghton had two new car dealerships at Shelden – Copper Motor Company (Ford), across from the post office, run by the Sanregret family, and another dealership owned (I believe) by the Kaiser family, across from Houghton. National Bank. But it was common for people to brag about going to Detroit and saving a lot of money by buying a new car. “From the factory.” The new cars did not yet have seat belts and came with protective clear plastic covers, which people sometimes left behind and suffered from the discomfort – summer and winter alike – to preserve the look and feel of their cars. new car. Factory “Invoice stickers” were often left on the side window as “badge” of what their new madness had made them recoil.

As for air travel, double helix, “Tail sled” North Central Airlines (aka the “Blue Goose”) DC-3 planes served the Houghton County Airport, with incredible ability to land in blizzard conditions.

Air service was also available to Isle Royale. These little planes took off and landed at “The sands” Airstrip east of Houghton, where several private planes were guarded by local pilots like Professor Gil Boyd. Carlos Wenberg had a store that served the Studebakers and other declining car models.

At the time, there was also a daily train service between Houghton and Chicago. The Milwaukee Highway “Copper Country Limited” (aka. the “Limited to square wheels”) ran on a fairly difficult old track. He ran on the current cycle path along the east Houghton waterfront, crossed the old bridge on a love bridge, and finished his run north at Calumet.

If I remember correctly, heading south towards Chicago, the old “Limit” made a memorable stop – at Channing (I think) where passengers could disengage and walk to a nearby cafe for quick snacks – even in the dead of winter. Surprisingly, when I was 12, I took this train on an unaccompanied trip to Chicago to visit my parents, the Asselins.

As a kid who had never left UP, the spectacle of being disrained in Chicago’s cavernous Union Station and being met by my cousin, Tom Asselin, is still alive in my memory. Over the decades, a lot of young guys have taken this train to their Chicago draft and have seen skyscrapers for their first time – and possibly their last.

Another form of transportation was a fallback solution for the residents of Copper Country – the Greyhound Bus. Even in the dead of winter it usually passed, with stops at Goodman’s in Houghton and the Kaleva Café in Hancock. The former Copper Range Bus Company provided limited service beyond Houghton. Although the old electric streetcar system was long gone, it is interesting to note that there were still traces of it in the form of the old tracks visible in parts of the sidewalk near our house on Jasper Avenue near Agate Street.

Back then, getting to Hancock involved crossing the old swing bridge. (The current lift bridge was not completed until 1959.) Cross; especially via the lower rail tracks, it was a rite of passage for young boys, to explore the world of Hancock, with perhaps a sneak peek into the forbidden behind-the-scenes world of Legault’s Pool Hall, located on the back filled with smoke from their family liquor. store on Quincy Street. The pool was 10 cents a “shelf” (game) by player, and the young boy Legault (Albert?) walked through the smoky room, promptly responding to a request for “Rack em,” while the dimes were turned over on the well-worn green felt. Friday and Saturday nights were especially crowded with older dudes slick and starting a full night on the town.

Hancock also had a cool teen center in a large old ballroom above the old downtown stores near the current Bleacher’s bar. It was for high school kids, but in 1959, when I was 13, I begged my mom and dad to go for the first time because the popular Bobby Rydell was showing up!

For the teens of Houghton and Hancock, this center became the hub of social life throughout the high school years. What place! There was an adult chaperone area and a stage for occasional bands and visiting stars like Rydell. If these big names could make it to the land of copper, they could make it to any small town in the United States.

A few local bands also did their best at times, but most of the time the dancing was on records. The boys tended to be wallflowers when it came to dancing, so the girls usually danced with each other and most of the boys just looked sideways. Lake Linden and Laurium also had teen centers in the early 1960s. By the 1950s there had also been a teenage center in Houghton, above Andy’s (McCormack) restaurant next to the old store. Kirkish furniture in Shelden. Too bad these places no longer seem to exist in cities.

As young people we were always looking for a place to go out at night, and a popular hangout was the Dairy Queen. When the new lift bridge was built in 1959, the Dairy Queen was moved from its historic site at the Houghton end of the bridge to a new location on College Avenue, adjacent to the former Civil War Memorial Park . (The park, along with the monument, has long since been moved to the Houghton end of the bridge). Along with DQ cones for a nickel, and sundaes and quarter malts, this ensured a high sugar diet for us kids.

Colorful owner Mr Jacobs drove around town in a white mini station wagon (a Fiat?) With a big DQ cone on top. There were also a few small neighborhood shops to hang out, including Vivian’s (later Babe’s then Cracker Barrel) Market near Tech, Matson’s Market on Jasper near present-day Jim’s, Gauthier’s near St. Ignatius, and Lehti’s Market in West Houghton. .

Perhaps the real saving grace of living in this remote part of Michigan was the presence of a college. The Michigan College of Mining and Technology (MCMT) as it was called at the time, supplanted copper mining as a mainstay “industry,” and gave us the locals a lot of resources that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.

For us kids, it offered a city campus and various interesting facilities to explore, such as the Student Union Building (snack bar, pool hall, bowling alley), Sherman Gym, Engineers Field, Hubbell Field, Dee Stadium, an area ski area, a golf course, a shooting range and, yes, even the library. We have used them all. Of course, we have been following technological sports closely, especially hockey and football. But a special thrill was Tech’s annual engineering fair, a big “Open day on campus” event which allowed the public to see many magical scientific demonstrations and exhibitions. I still believe that the many benefits of growing up in a “University town” cannot be overstated.

I concluded that with all the good memories of the 50s, any flashback can, at best, scratch the surface and reach a few highlights. In my next segments, I’ll be looking at some seasonal memories from my early days. “Mayberry” years. Stay tuned!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Roger Smith now resides in California and can be reached at: [email protected]