My First Visit to the New Marquette Regional History Museum

Yesterday I visited for the first time the exhibits at the new Marquette Regional History Museum. My first reaction was simply, WOW! And then as I walked through the exhibits, I felt more overcome with emotion than anything to think such a stunningly beautiful museum should exist in Marquette.

Just how “beautiful” was to me the biggest surprise. I knew that in the new museum the space would be larger, I knew more of the museum’s collection would be displayed, and more history told, but I was not at all prepared for the aesthetic effect. There are gorgeous murals painted by local artist Liz Yelland, there are numerous different subjects, all arranged beautifully, there are interactive parts of the museum, and so many pieces of history I had no idea the museum even had. More than anything I marvelled at the overall layout and all the work and planning that must have gone into the entire building and especially the exhibits.

Somewhere I hope Helen Longyear Paul, Olive Pendill, Ernest Rankin, Fred Rydholm, and the many, many other departed souls who were pioneers and early supporters of the museum could see what all their hard work, devotion, and vision for a Marquette County Historical Society that became a museum and now a regional history center has expanded and grown into.

And of course, most of the success is due to director Kaye Hiebel and all the staff, the museum board, all the generous donors in the community, and all the people who support the museum by visiting it. It is a job well done in every way possible, and I feel personally grateful to everyone who contributed in any way.

I would have loved to provide some photographs of the exhibits but photography is not allowed in the exhibits, so you will just have to visit the museum yourself to see everything, and for $7 per adult, you can see what is worthy of a much larger metropolitan area than Marquette. Plan ahead for spending about two hours. I spent nearly two and a half and I still didn’t get to read everything posted, although I read well more than half the signs and skimmed the others.

Everything I could imagine being relevant to the Marquette region was depicted – displays on wildlife include beaver and wolf and deer. There are extensive collections of artifacts from prehistoric people. A large display of various rocks, minerals, and Lake Superior sandstone are exhibited with enough detail to please the most active rockhound. The Native American imprint on the area is given extensive attention aside displays about the coming of the white men through the discovery of iron ore by William Austin Burt.

The founding of Marquette is told in letters and artifacts from Peter White, Amos and Olive Harlow, and Mehitable Everett. Replicas of Native American lodgehouses are beside early Marquette homes and voyageur fur trading posts. The history of shipping on the Great Lakes is displayed, along with that of farming, logging, and mining.

The area’s brave men and women who fought in the Civil War, Spanish American War, both World Wars and the Vietnam War receive recognition for their sacrifices.

Transportation changes are reflected in automobiles, streetcars, railroads, and snowmobiles. Descriptions of Marquette County’s major communities are provided. And the entertainment, the fun, of living in the U.P. also is provided in a movie projector from the Delft, the story of a pageant on Teal Lake, the creation of quill work and other crafts, the history of hockey, a basketball jersey from J.D. Pierce High School, and early restaurants like Hamburger Heaven.

That’s a small taste of all the history provided at the Marquette Regional History Center. Several fun, interactive aspects of the museum will also provide entertainment for children.

Go visit our wonderful new museum. Marquette, the Queen City of the North, now has a new jewel in her crown, and anyone who loves Marquette and its surrounding communities will be thrilled to see it shine.

For more information, visit the Marquette Regional History Center’s website at www.marquettecohistory.org

Marquette’s Christmas Caroling Burt Family

The following information is taken from my book My Marquette in the section about St. Paul’s Episcopal Church:

St. Paul's Episcopal Church where Rev. Bates Burt was minister

Marquette’s Christmas Carol writing Burt family began in Marquette with the Reverend Bates Burt who was minister of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in the early 1900s. During the time Rev. Burt was St. Paul’s minister, the church’s former Guild Hall was constructed in 1907. Surprisingly, Marquette had two Burt families who were  not related to each other, the other family including surveyor William Austin Burt, who made the famous iron ore find that resulted in Marquette, Negaunee, and Ishpeming being established.

Although Reverend Burt would later move his family downstate, his children, born in Marquette, would make their hometown proud. Son Alfred Burt would become a famous composer of Christmas Carols. The tradition began with his father, who composed a carol every year for his Christmas card, but Alfred was the one who made the family tradition famous nationally. Although Alfred Burt’s life was cut short in 1954, he would write at least fifteen well known carols, including “Caroling, Caroling.” His carols have been recorded by such famous artists as Tennessee Ernie Ford, Julie Andrews, and Nat King Cole. Reprinted her is one of the Burt Christmas Cards with permission from Emily Bates Burt.

Alfred Burt's 1951 Christmas Card that included the carol "Some Children See Him"

Bates Burt’s daughter, Deborah, was also very musical. She moved to Milwaukee where she taught music for many years using the Suzuki method. Another of Rev. Burt’s sons, John H. Burt, followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming first a minister and then eighth Episcopal Bishop of Ohio. As a leading voice for social justice, Bishop John Burt worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Rally for Freedom in Los Angeles, California, even having a bomb threat made on his home for his efforts for civil rights. Later, he would stand up for the right of women to become priests in the Episcopal Church, declaring he would resign if the Episcopal General Convention failed to approve it in 1976. Once women’s ordination was approved, Burt ordained eight women as priests during his years as Bishop of Ohio. Both Burt brothers are buried in the family plot in Park Cemetery.

The Burt brothers’ descendants, although they don’t reside in Marquette, remain closely linked to the town and the family’s Christmas Carol tradition. Alfred Burt’s daughter, Diane Bates Burt, founded “The Caroling Company” in California, and with her husband Nick D’Amico, they released the CD “A Christmas Present from the Caroling Company” which contains eight carols by her father. Bishop John Burt’s granddaughter, Abbie Betinis, today carries on the family tradition by composing an annual original Christmas Carol and her mother, Emily Burt Betinis, illustrates the Christmas cards. Abbie has been featured on Minnesota Public Radio, has received several awards, and been commissioned by numerous music organizations to compose works for them to perform. Her music is featured on six commercially available recordings. More information about this former Marquette musical family can be found at www.abbiebetinis.com and www.alfredburtcarols.com. You can view all the original Christmas cards at www.alfredburtcarols.com as well as purchase the “Alfred Burt Christmas Carols” Golden Anniversary edition.

Merry Christmas to All!

Tyler Tichelaar

My Marquette: Explore the Queen City of the North - Its History, People, and Places