The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-08-04

was the Eighth Annual Reunion of
the Vermilion Range Old Settlers
Association at Tower last Thursday
and Friday. The weather left
nothing to be desired and it seemed
as if the two days had been picked
out for tn occasion, being sand
wiched in between showers and
heat. 1t was not too hot neither
was it too cold but just right.
Early in the morning, cars began
arriving at Tower from other parts
of the country loaded with old
timers and their families bent on
meeting old friends and spending
the day among surroundings, bring
ing to their fond recollectio4s by
gone days and faces gradually slip
ping from memorI The trains
also brought large number, .espe-
cially from here and at II O'Clock
when the parade started there were
several hundred in line besides
many rode in cars in the route OF
march which extended from the
Iron Range depot to the Mckinley
monument. The Ely City Band
and the Soudan Concert Band
furnished the music for the parade
furnished the music for the parade,
led by the colors and color
J. Morcom mounted on gaily de-
corated, prancing charger.
On arrival of the parade at the
end of the march, automobiles We're
on hand and all were transported
to Mckinley Park where the picnic
was held. Many went by boat, and
enjoyed a very pleasant trip on
beautiful Lake Vermilion. I h e
park had been placed in readiness
for the occasion. Many tables and
benches had been provided by the
oliver Iron Mining Company
through their local officials and the
pavilion had been renovated and
decorated most artistically.
The "booyah" kettles were sing
ing merrily over the fires and Chef
Lindstrom pronounced all in readi-
ness soon after the arrival of the
last cars from town. Dinner was
next in order. Baskets began to
appear from all conveyances and
soon everyone was occupied in par
taking of the dainties from the
baskets, ''booyah" from the kettles
and savory coffee prepared by Chef
Berg from Virginia. The Oliver
people had furnished the s'booyah'
and it's preparation and the coffee
was furnished by Barrett Bros. of
Virginia and prepared by the Vir-
ginia chef. Not much visiting was
done during the meal but it must
| be said, invitations to neighboring
groups were extended right and
left to partake of the contents of
this, that and the other basket.
No one went hungry.
After dinner, visiting was the
order and Hello, Tom! Hello Jim,
Hello Mike and Hello every other
name in the category was heard.
Greetings passed between people
who had not met in years. Men,
who thirty and more years ago,
braved the dangers of the hard
winters together around Tower,
Soudan and Ely, met and shook
hands with a merry twinkle in their
eyes and not infrquently the sight
was dimmed with a tear drop which
out of pure joy had appeared. This
meeting feature was worth miles of
travel.
Many old timers who had been
missed from previous gatherings
were present and many who had
previously attended were missed.
The older old settlers are passing
rapidly and the younger old settlers
are taking their places. ,One humid
red and ten were added to the list
at the last meeting. Not all of
these were young old timers but
many of the real old settlers who
had not previously joined, became
members. Fifteen were missed who
will never appear again. Fifteen
deaths have been recorded on the
roster since the last meeting.
Those who have passed since Sep
TENDER 1921 are Victor Takkunen,
John Persiren, ]. A. Graves, John
A. Dinsmore, VIM. Kevern, w. H.
Congdon, Rt. Rev. Jos. F. Buh, DIR.
A. d. Douglas, E. J. Meagher,
Math Smrekar, John Lund, w. J.
West, Roy Jeffrey, Andrew Hawkin-
son and Chas. Hegman.
Music by the bands proved an
irresistible force and many enjoyed
dancing in. the pavilion. A pro-
gram of water and land sports were
pulled off, furnishing much amuse-
ment and Indians from Sucker
Point staged pow-wow. The
motor boat races and the surf boa.
riding stunts seemed to meet with
the approval of the larger number.
President Lon Merritt of the
Association welcomed the guests to
the Reunion. John Owens made
one of his characteristic talks on
conditions past and present. DIR.
Bradley made the main address of
the day. When we state that the
address of this scholarly and fluent
gentleman was one of the best it
ever has hRpn orr nlaas1lra To lie