Town of the Week, September 5, 1998

Take a visit to Ishpeming, Michigan; listen in.

Ishpeming, Michigan

It's 90 meters and a long way down from the ski jump called Suicide Hill. The hill is located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula at Ishpeming, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States.

Ishpeming is the home of the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame and Museum. Ishpeming is a Chippewa word meaning "high ground" or heaven. The first settlers arrived here in the mid-1800's, after the discovery of iron ore; and the town's major industry is still iron ore mining.

The Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company is the city's largest employer, with over 1800 workers. The city's skyline is dominated by three concrete-encased headframes from the Cliffs-Shaft Mine, which closed in 1967.

This property, and these obelisks, will eventually become the Marquette Range Iron Mining Heritage Theme Park. Ishpeming's 7000 residents are predominately Finnish, Welsh and Italian -- descendants of workers who found employment in the mines.

Tourists seek out the world's largest gemstone, Jasper Knob, located on Jasper Street. Another downtown landmark is a statue of a Native American called "Old Ish." More than a century old, it's one of about 20 mass-produced iron statues of Indians found throughout the country. This is the home of the high school Hematites and Patriots, our Town of the Week, Ishpeming, Michigan.