John McGivern’s Main Streets

– John McGivern: I am in the largest city in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, overlooking the largest freshwater lake in the world.

– Announcer: Thanks to our underwriters.

- Wisconsin's picture-perfect historic downtown Greendale isn't just a great backdrop for photos.

It's the perfect place to find unique gifts, spend time with a friend, enjoy a perfect brandy old fashioned, learn about the past, and enjoy the beautiful flowers.

Ask anyone who's made memories here.

We'll all tell you the same thing.

You just gotta see Greendale!

- Twenty-minute commutes.

Weekends on the lake.

Warm welcomes and exciting career opportunities.

Not to mention all the local flavor!

There's a lot to look forward to in Wisconsin.

Learn more at InWisconsin.com.

- Looking to bring life to your Wisconsin Dells getaway?

Bring your family, bring your friends, bring an extra suit, and bring on the water parks.

Summer in Wisconsin Dells: Bring it on!

Wisconsin Dells, the waterpark capital of the world.

WisDells.com.

- My father taught me that to make great bakery, you have to do it the right way.

O&H Danish Bakery, where kringle traditions begin.

- From the Green Circle Trail to Point Brewery, you'll find more fun in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

- At We Energies, we believe communities are stronger when we all work together.

For more than 40 years, the We Energies Foundation has supported charitable organizations across Wisconsin.

Together, we're creating a brighter future.

- Heiser Automotive is honored to help John McGivern and his team arrive safely to many Main Streets.

We are committed to remaining true to the Heiser way: Do what's right for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve.

We are happy to help.

– Announcer: Thanks to the Friends of Plum Media and to the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

'Cause these are our Main Streets Somethin' 'bout a hometown speaks to me There's nowhere else I'd rather be The heart and soul of community's right here On these Main Streets - I'm in Marquette in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on the shores of Lake Superior.

This city of 22,000 is the county seat of Marquette County and boasts having 83 miles of scenic shoreline.

Marquette is 175 miles north of Green Bay, Wisconsin and 250 miles east of Duluth, Minnesota.

Emmy, why did you want to meet here to talk about history?

– Emmy Fink: Because of that.

– John: I know that.

I've seen one of these before.

It's an ore dock.

- Yes, absolutely it is.

So they discovered iron ore here in 1844, and it's really what founded this town.

So this is the lower harbor ore dock.

It has been in use from 1931 until '71, but it's funny, this dock, it's more loved and appreciated now than it was when it was in use.

They do laser light shows on it at the holidays.

It's iconic.

- So you called that the lower harbor ore dock.

- Right.

- Is there an upper harbor ore dock?

– Emmy: It's just 10 minutes north of here, and that one still is in use.

Guess what?

They do 10 million tons of ore shipped out of that dock every single year.

It's 20% of the ore shipped around the country.

– John: So is ore still the major industry?

– Emmy: No, it isn't.

So for about 40 years, there was a military base here, and when that base moved out in '95, they really switched their focus to education and to tourism, and Marquette is thriving now because of those two.

- Tourism, that's our job.

- It is.

- I think we should go do it.

- Let's go be tourists.

- Let's do that.

- You are looking at the oldest and probably the most significant structure in the city, the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse.

It was built in 1853, just four years after Marquette was incorporated.

And it was so critical to trade that honestly, without it, well, Marquette just wouldn't be what it is today.

Over the years, there's been a lot of changes to the lighthouse, including a complete rebuild, all to keep it unique compared to the other Great Lake lighthouses.

And I gotta say, I think red was absolutely the perfect choice.

[gentle music] - John: We're on the shores of Lake Superior at the Marquette Maritime Museum.

What was this building?

– Hilary Billman: This was the 1891 City Water Works Building, and we opened in June of 1984.

– John: Who's your audience?

- We get locals, but we also get a lot of tourists that come in, and how would you like to go underwater in that?

Makes me claustrophobic just to look at it.

And then we've got all of our shipwrecks that were on Lake Superior.

Everybody's always interested in the Edmund Fitzgerald.

So here we get our grand Fresnel lens collection.

So Fresnel lenses are the lenses that were made for lighthouses as a way for lights to go out even further.

– John: And what does the campus consist of?

- So this is a seven-acre campus that has the museum.

We have the lighthouse, we have the old captain's house from the Coast Guard.

So originally, this was all Coast Guard property, which is military property and not something that you could usually just wander around.

So this is our beautiful lighthouse property.

This building was built in 1866.

This is the second lighthouse that was built.

So we do three lighthouse tours a day at 11: 30, 1:00, and 2:30.

As this is a little bit self-guided in here, you can just walk through and see great old pictures.

Like, I love this one of the ladies just hanging out on the rock.

And then we can also go up in the tower.

So this lens, its characteristic is it flashes every 10 and a half seconds.

Every light has its own characteristic.

- No waiting, you're next.

- So where we're going now is a catwalk, which is how the lighthouse workers would get from the lighthouse out to the foghorn building.

This whole area is the Marquette Underwater Preserve, so a lot of the shipwreck scuba divers will come and explore them.

And Lake Superior is so cold that it really preserves its shipwrecks.

So this is the only spot in Marquette where you can see both the upper harbor and the lower harbor at the same time.

This is my favorite spot in Marquette.

It's just so beautiful.

- Marquette is well-known for its year-round outdoor activity, and a lot of that activity happens right here.

This is Presque Isle Park, 323 acres of pristine land.

And how pristine?

Okay, back in 1891, Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park in New York City, was asked to come and give advice on what to do with this peninsula.

He spent some time on this land and he came back with three words.

"Don't touch it."

I have a little wall space at home, so I really should look around, shouldn't I?

– Shawn Malone: And this is our bestselling photo ever.

It has a feel to it, it has a vibe to it.

- It sure does.

- It's kind of a full circle picture for us because our gallery is right here.

- And this was taken the day before this thing was taken down?

– Shawn: Yes.

– John: How long you been doin' this?

– Shawn: I'd say a good 25 years.

- 25 years?

- Yeah.

- Are you from Marquette originally?

- No; I was actually living in Chicago and me and my fianc started vacationing in the UP and we just loved it so much, so we made a decision and just quit our jobs, and moved up here without any jobs.

– John: Wow, faith.

– Shawn: After that, I fell into photography.

I think it was kind of a latent thing with me.

It was always an interest, but I had never done anything with it.

- Tell us where these happened.

- Okay, this is a landmark in Pictured Rocks called Lover's Leap, and we just hit the light perfect on this day.

This is Sullivan Creek.

It's just the lighting changes and you get more contrast.

So that could be actually an artist statement; that's me.

- Is that you?

- Yeah.

And then this one is a landmark in Marquette.

It's called The Cove.

This is the infamous black rocks that people jump off of.

This is taken out in Isle Royal.

- And it's real.

[both laughing] Because somebody may say, "Come on, is that real?"

- I just got really lucky with this 'cause it's a perfect boreal forest.

It's perfect.

And I managed to capture a time lapse of this as well that just ended up on National Geographic, America's National Parks episode, so, yeah.

- Shut up.

- Yeah, right.

- This I love.

- Yeah.

- It looks painted.

It looks so almost, again, I don't mean to say your work looks fake.

- You just said it.

- I don't mean it that.

I mean it as a compliment.

– Shawn: We'll take it as a compliment.

What you get on the camera, on the images with some of these major displays, it just really is incredible.

– John: This work is really gorgeous.

– Shawn: Thank you.

– John: And it's indicative of this area.

– Shawn: It is.

– John: It's really beautiful.

- This is the Marquette County Courthouse.

In 1913, there was a civil case that was tried in that courthouse.

Teddy Roosevelt was suing the local newspaper for libel and he won that case.

How much was he awarded in 1913?

[playful music] - Ishpeming newspaper publisher George Newett had to pay Teddy Roosevelt six cents.

The judge said, "Here, here's your six cents.

Go buy a newspaper you like better."

– John: So it's a drive-through sculpture park called Lakenenland.

– Tom Lakenenland: Yep, that's my last name, is Lakenen.

So we came up with Lakenenland.

– John: Lakenenland.

What's goin' on here?

- I quit drinking about 25, 30 years ago and started.

- Had to find something to do?

- Right, exactly, yep.

I had all this scrap, and was like, "I'm just gonna build something kind of stupid and see what happens."

– John: So are you an artist by trade?

What are you by trade?

– Tom: Oh, no, I'm a welder and work construction.

I'm in the Boilermakers.

- So 25 years ago, let's say you started, how long before you started puttin' it on this land?

- It's goin' on 20 years right now.

– John: 20 years.

- Yeah, the township was getting after me for having the stuff in my yard, so refinanced our house for another a hundred years and bought this property.

And once I started the park, it's like, yeah, I'm just gonna throw it out here in the woods for people to see it.

- So is there admission here?

- Nope, it's free.

- We gotta talk a minute here.

[laughing] What do you mean... - That's an act of it.

If you can afford to throw a donation in, good, and if you can't, just come on out anyways.

- Here, you get on one end.

[upbeat music] You look great.

- No real rhyme or reason to any of this junk.

Yeah, here's them dancing wolves.

Them were, say, some of the first things that I made.

- The band looks great.

That one on the left looks like Rick James.

[both laughing] - Yeah; I built the slot machine.

Thought maybe it'd keep the old lady out of the casino, but it didn't work.

[John laughing] And believe it or not, that is a real big favorite for a lot of kids that come out here.

They like the pooping thing.

– John: They like the poop.

[both laughing] Do you sketch out before you start or do you just...?

- No, not really.

No, I'll just draw a little bit and then I start cuttin' it, and this is a favorite for a lot of motorcycle people that come through here.

- Your scale is impressive.

I mean, it's all huge stuff.

- Yeah, 37 and a half acres.

I thought my whole lifetime, I'll never fill this up, but it's getting pretty small.

– John: And how many pieces on here?

– Tom: There's, I think, a little over a hundred now.

– John: A little over a hundred.

You're very talented, like, you're really good.

- I don't waste a whole lot of time on 'em.

- You don't?

- No, no.

Use up the scrap and get it out of the garage.

Make room for the next one.

[both laughing] [upbeat music] - I am inside the Lake Superior Theatre.

It's a theater that was built inside a working boathouse.

This is such a great story.

25 years ago, a group of people from a theater company popped in here because it was raining, and one began to sing and they realized that the acoustics were terrific.

25 years later, the owners of this boathouse, Pete and Peggy Frazier, leased this space to the theater company for $1 a year.

Over the course of a season, six or seven shows, plays, and musicals and pieces written to give voice and honor to this region.

They've been so successful.

So great; theater is alive and well in the UP.

- If your goal is to learn more about this area's story, then you have to come here, the Marquette Regional History Center.

And this right here is a must-see.

This is an authentic Ojibwe wigwam, and it was made right here in the UP by a Native American elder and his community.

So the structure and everything inside, it's all hand-done.

The same techniques that have been passed down from Native Americans for hundreds and hundreds of years.

What a true gem to have here, and what a great way to honor this community.

– John: I love a bakery.

– Joe Heck: All bakery is valid bakery.

There's nothin' wrong with a guilty sweet or a guilty little bit of bread.

– John: French petites, you call 'em?

- French petite.

They're petite gateaus, which translates into small cake.

You can charge more if you say it in French.

- Is that right?

- Yeah.

- That's how you do it, John.

- Put it on the sign!

- And those are called what?

- Macaron.

And a macaroon is coconut.

So it's just that one vowel makes the world a difference.

- This is a macaroon, this is a macaron.

– Joe: So this is mostly used for cookie dough, cake batter.

– John: Can I lick the beater?

[Joe laughing] - God, the chocolate raspberry bomb is my signature cake.

The week of Christmas, we make about 450 of just this cake.

And we're gonna do a little rosettes in white.

– John: I was gonna say, rosettes.

- And then we do a traditional shell border around the edge, and we're gonna just do the scroll work on the side, so everybody's scroll work will be a little different.

Cake makers are kind of the crazy ones in the baking world because you have to be ultra scientific for the first part and then it's all the artsy, like, "What can I do with this chocolate?"

And "What if this color combo?"

So it's really a nice way to exercise both halves of your brain.

- Looks good, looks perfect, doesn't it?

What is all this?

- This sleeve is actually, 15 years it took me to get it.

So that's a slice of raspberry bomb.

We got an angry hedgehog making red velvet, beaver with the icing bag making a wedding cake with his tail.

Got the little blind mouse, the little sneaky fox.

Finished it up.

Actually, the sleeve is what got me on Food Network.

- And which show were you on?

- It was called Winner Cake All and it was a episode called "The Broadway Princess Party."

Who would've figured, you know?

Was one of the best happenstances of my life.

It's been fun.

- I can't, I won't, I'm not gonna, you know, I just...

I just am on it.

Why, whose hand is this?

Oh, my, what?

Don't ever do that again.

[Joe laughing] That's good.

When the Landmark Inn opened in 1930 as the Northland Hotel, it was known as the premier place to stay.

It was renovated in the 1990s and it's known as that again.

It's known for its amenities and its meeting rooms, but it's really known for the rooms that are named after its famous guests.

Amelia Earhart, Abbott and Costello, the John McGivern suite.

It's really just a power box, but hey, that's all right.

Okay, they don't have that quite yet, but I hope they do because I wanna come back to Marquette.

[upbeat music] Emmy, you know this is my favorite.

We're the Vierling Restaurant, and this is the Marquette Harbor Brewery.

And one of the best things, historical photos.

I just love it all.

- This place is really Marquette history at its finest.

So the story starts back in 1883, Martin Vierling wanted to build a respectable gentleman's saloon.

- A saloon?

- A saloon.

– John: So women weren't allowed?

- They were, but back then, they had what was called sample rooms where women would go dine, I think to maybe stay away from all the shenanigans of what was happening out here.

Either way, they made that really pretty.

Vierling decorated it with his own personal stained glass collection and his artwork.

I mean, it was nice.

- It's beautiful.

Yeah, so I love the artwork, I love the stained glass, but what I'm really excited about is that we are on Lake Superior, meaning that we have to taste some whitefish while we're here.

- Absolutely.

So can we do it without a fork?

Look at this.

How's the tartar?

- No, I'm serious about this.

- You don't even need the tartar.

That's when you know it's really good.

- It's great, isn't it?

This is great, and do you know in 1995, this was actually one of the first Michigan brew pubs.

And you know how you make sure the beer is really fresh?

You brew it in small batches, and it's what Vierling here does really well.

They pride themselves on that.

This is the blueberry beer.

Do you see those beautiful blueberries at the bottom?

- Yeah.

- Yum.

- You know what this is?

- What?

- Marquette water.

- Yum.

- Do you wanna toast to something?

- I do.

- What should we toast to?

- I say we toast to Mr. Vierling and to the fish bites.

We all know high schools, they're full of minors, right, but here at nearby Negaunee High School, we're talkin' a different kind of miner.

The kind who wear this, the lighted helmet.

And given the history of this town, it only makes sense that mining would be their mascot, but it goes a little bit deeper than that.

The high school used to actually be a mining facility up until 1986, so, I mean, this mascot, it only makes sense!

[upbeat music] - John: We're inside Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum.

– Mark Dryer: This is the main museum room.

Used to be part of the operating mine, but what we have done is converted it into a area where we display many different aspects of mining and the history of this particular mine.

– John: And it operated for how long?

– Mark: This mine operated from 1884 to 1967.

So that's 83 years.

– John: And what were they digging out of this earth here?

– Mark: Oh, they were taking iron ore. Iron mining was a very important part of the development here of the Upper Peninsula.

When you go underground, of course, it's pitch black, but every miner has their own light on their helmet.

So you would put that electric light on your hard hat and the battery pack would be on your belt.

In the very early days, they did use candles.

- This is the access tunnel?

- Yeah.

These tunnels were put in specifically to protect the miners from our winter weather.

So this shaft actually has access to 85 miles of tunnels.

- It's amazing.

What's this here?

- Ah, when the miners came down to work, the first thing they would do is register with the clerk in this room.

His primary job was to make sure that every miner that went underground came back up.

And a miner would get his brass check, and then at the end of the day, the clerk would put it back, but if there was one missing, obviously there was a miner who didn't return.

Go ahead, give it a push.

There you go, see?

- Okay, I gotta take a nap now.

- This is the shaft right here.

You're looking up into the shaft head frame.

– John: And the bottom is how far down?

- 1,300.

- How many stories is that?

- 13 plus.

- 13 stories down!

No thanks, I'll go to 12.

- Look at that.

He's ready to go.

I assume that those are steel-toed shoes you're wearing.

- Yes, they are.

- Okay.

- Steel-toed Hush Puppies.

- What we'll do is we'll walk up here.

Stop at the blacksmith shop.

- Oh, this is cool.

- Hey, Blacksmith!

- How are you, sir?

- Pretty good.

What are you doin'?

– Blacksmith: I'm just making a little medallion right now.

- This is tricked up right here.

You want me to pound it for ya?

[hammer clanging] - Okay.

- Flat as can be.

- Wow, you've done that before, huh?

It was in the very early days, very hard work, very dirty work, dangerous work, but there was quite a comradery too underground.

They'll tell you it was a good experience.

[bell ringing] - Lunchtime!

[Mark laughing] - Mining has a lot of stories to tell.

We're real lucky it's still standing and we can share it with people today.

You just got the tour, please pay on the way out.

[John laughing] - Marquette is not the largest city on Lake Superior.

Do you know what city is?

I'll give you a hint.

It's got a well-known bay.

[playful music] - The largest city on Lake Superior.

You're probably thinking Duluth, Minnesota, right, because of it's large port.

And if that's what you're thinking, I'm sorry, you're wrong.

The largest city is 120 miles northwest of right here, and it's Thunder Bay, Ontario.

I know, you weren't thinking about Canada, were ya?

Gotcha.

[upbeat music] - We're on the campus of Northern Michigan University.

This is called the Superior Dome.

This is the largest wooden dome in the world.

This is what I read.

Why and how was this built and when?

– Derek Hall: 1991.

- Okay.

- Our football team used to play out in the weather.

And the guys back then said that's where, when men were men, when they played out in the snow.

[both laughing] All the kids in the UP, high school football players, they wanna come play here.

– John: Of course they do.

– Derek: Sometimes they get that opportunity.

– John: And lacrosse, you said, as well?

– Derek: Lacrosse and soccer, track are the main sports.

- And then this is a community gathering place as well, yes?

- Every day, you'll see people walking the perimeter.

It's open for public use and that's a great thing.

You know, the building's 150 feet tall.

It's five acres, 100,000-square foot right here.

The number I love, the planking that covers the whole structure, 580 miles' worth of that decking.

That's a lot.

- That's a lot.

If this place is packed out, how many people are sittin' here?

– Mark: 8,000 people for football.

You could do 16,000 if you filled the floor.

- It's nice to be able to know you're gonna play every time.

- Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

So here we have the football field.

It's all rolled up, and it takes about 40 minutes to pull that out.

– John: Yeah, this is great.

– Mark: Yeah, it's a big padded carpet.

- Can't go to Carpet Mill for this.

I am telling you.

And I love these cases on this side of this facility.

This honors your history, this honors people who are from here.

– Derek: Our heritage.

– John: Yeah, your heritage; it's great.

- We are an outdoor community, mining, timber, history, and we're a long ways from everything, and we kinda like it that way.

- Athletics, here we go.

- Yeah, here we have some cases that celebrate our past in athletics.

National football champions in about 1990, '91.

Steve Mariucci, famous NFL coach was a student here.

His roommate was Tom Izzo, who's a famous basketball coach down in Michigan State.

We also have a little bit of history with the Olympics.

We were an Olympic training site for speed skating, weightlifting, boxing, and wrestling.

There's so many things that happen in Marquette, and the dome meets that purpose.

- How can you tell that you're really close to Canada?

Take a look at this marquee.

August: Summer is here.

Don't blink.

We're in Marquette, Michigan.

Did you know that their summer is August only?

Whoa.

[upbeat music] - What did you love most about Marquette?

- Of course, your history on ore. - Or what else?

- Or food or art.

- Or outdoors.

- Or, like, all of it.

This is a great community.

There's nowhere else I'd rather be The heart and soul of community's right here - Aah!

- And my shadow Bugs!

Holy ####!

Can you see 'em?

Oh, you can't see 'em, yeah.

- They're everywhere!

- Macaroon, macaron.

- Nope, macaron, macaroon.

This has got the extra O 'cause it's bigger.

Think about it, John.

Bigger cookie, more Os.

[laughing] - Brilliant.

– Announcer: Thanks to our underwriters.

- Wisconsin's picture-perfect historic downtown Greendale isn't just a great backdrop for photos.

It's the perfect place to find unique gifts, spend time with a friend, enjoy a perfect brandy old fashioned, learn about the past, and enjoy the beautiful flowers.

Ask anyone who's made memories here.

We'll all tell you the same thing.

You just gotta see Greendale!

- Twenty-minute commutes.

Weekends on the lake.

Warm welcomes and exciting career opportunities.

Not to mention all the local flavor!

There's a lot to look forward to in Wisconsin.

Learn more at InWisconsin.com.

- Looking to bring life to Wisconsin Dells getaway?

Bring your family, bring your friends, bring an extra suit, and bring on the water parks.

Summer in Wisconsin Dells: Bring it on!

Wisconsin Dells, the waterpark capital of the world.

WisDells.com.

- My father taught me that to make great bakery, you have to do it the right way.

O&H Danish Bakery, where kringle traditions begin.

- From the Green Circle Trail to Point Brewery, you'll find more fun in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

- At We Energies, we believe communities are stronger when we all work together.

For more than 40 years, the We Energies Foundation has supported charitable organizations across Wisconsin.

Together, we are creating a brighter future.

- Heiser Automotive is honored to help John McGivern and his team arrive safely to many Main Streets.

We are committed to remaining true to the Heiser way: Do what's right for our customers, our employees, and the communities we serve.

We are happy to help.

– Announcer: Thanks to the Friends of Plum Media and to the Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

- You may not know this about me, but I suffer from seasickness.

I finally found a boat that I can handle, yeah.