West End News: December 17

I’d like to extend heartfelt thanks on behalf of a grateful community to Amity Goettl, who recently resigned from her position as the Lutsen Township Clerk.  The clerk is the hardest position in township government, requiring many, many hours of tedious and complex work.  I don’t know how long Amity was the clerk, but it was for a long time, and she did a good job.  Thanks also to Sharon Hexum-Platzer, for agreeing to step into the Clerk position, at least until the next election.
 
The three township boards of Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder that make up the West End do a ton of good for our communities.  Take a minute to say thanks to your township officials the next time you see them at the post office or in the grocery store.  Also thank them for the growing spirit of cooperation between the three townships of Lutsen, Tofte and Schroeder.  My parents always taught us that you actually get more through cooperation than you do from competition.  That has certainly proved to be true here in the West End.
 
The new Six Hundred Road bridge across the Temperance River near the Sawbill Trail in Tofte appears to be completely done.  The crew from Edwin E. Thoreson did their usual professional job.  The iconic old steel bridge, which was famous for being pink, was taken down and cut up with torches.  The new bridge used the existing cement piers in the river and is made almost entirely with wood.  It is just one lane, like the old pink bridge was, and fits well in its truly scenic location.  The only part of the design that makes me nervous is the very low railing that runs along each side.  They only come up to about knee height, which makes me wonder about being a tripping hazard.  Even more alarming is the very real possibility that a heavy snow year will raise the snowmobile trail level even with, or maybe even above, the height of the railings.  It’s a long drop from the bridge to the river, which may not be obvious to riders at night.  However, I know that civil engineers know their business, so I assume they know that it will be OK.
 
For all the years that I’ve lived here, I’ve never been able to determine how the Six Hundred Road got its name.  Heartbreak Hill, which is on the Six Hundred Road, is well known to have been named by teamsters who struggled to get heavy loads up and down the long, steep hill during the horse logging era.  If any history buff knows which 600 things the road was named for - please let me know.
 
It’s fun to live in a community that has so many vivid place names.  From the Scandinavian to the descriptive, most of the local names have a story to tell. Of course, for the various roads that are tagged as trails, it comes from their history of being literal trails in the past.  The township names are mostly Nordic, except for Grand Portage and Grand Marais, which speak to a French connection.  Grand Marais is widely believed to mean “Big Swamp,” but some historians suggest that it actually had a meaning of “Big Harbor” in the older French dialect. 
 
Don’t even get me started on lake names, which are as colorful as we could ask for.  I remember years ago, when Garrison Keillor had a weekday morning show on Minnesota Public Radio, he would read BWCA Wilderness Lake names just to revel in their sounds.
 
The new high-speed gondola is finished at Lutsen Mountains Ski Area and is being dedicated this week. Many dignitaries will be attending the ceremony, but the arrival of colder temperatures and snow are even more welcome.
 
I had a chance to visit the new pumping station in Lutsen that will soon be supplying water for the Poplar River Water District, including the snowmaking at Lutsen Mountains.  The three massive pumps are each 36 feet tall and can pump an incredible 3000 gallons per minute.  It’s been a tough fight to install the pumping station while dealing with the troublesome soils and the fury of Lake Superior, but it looks now like the battle is nearly won.