This is an image of an imaginatively decorated souvenir shop once present in Arnolds Park, Iowa. The Kurio Kastle was originally located at 169 U.S. 71, Arnolds Park, Iowa, and recently moved to the new location of 709 16th Street, Spirit Lake, Iowa, a nearby town.
It has been repurposed in its new location as a do-it-yourself pottery decoration center, a popular activity around the country. The image shown likely dates to the 1940s.
Tag: postcard
Pillsbury Point, West Lake Okoboji, Iowa
This image begins a series of cards featuring East and West Okoboji Lakes, in northwestern Iowa. The first image here is of a promontory of land at the northern end of Pillsbury Point State Park, a sliver of park land along the southwestern shore of West Okoboji.
There is no description on the back of this card, as it is a typical photo made into a card by stamping the back with markings for address, message and stamp locations. It is also unclear what purpose the partially submerged wheel serves in the middle of the lake. This card likely dates to the 1940s.
This post marks one year of daily postcard postings. There are enough for about 3 more years of daily posts.
Keweenaw Park Bears, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan
The bears on display here are black bears common to the forests of the Upper Midwest at the time. They are engaged in scavenging through a garbage dump on the grounds of Keweenaw Park, a historical site commemorating the development and exploitation of the world’s largest and purest lode of copper ore.
Such dumping is now vigorously discouraged and fined, for it lures wild and dangerous animals to the food, and when they are threatened or frightened, they can become aggressive. It also creates dependency in the wildlife, and can encourage disease.
The caption states:
Bear at Keweenaw Park, Michigan Copper Country N2105
This image is from the 1940s.
Copper Harbor, Michigan
Finally the images close in on the village of Copper Harbor, which in this time was a bustling mining region, with this locale as a shipping point for the extracted copper. With the decline of the mines, which closed in 1968, the town declined as well. Much of the area has been dedicated as historical sites and state parkland.
The building visible in the background is part of the Fort Wilkins Historic State Park, and is called the Copper Harbor lighthouse, one of the first lighthouses on Lake Superior. The metal tower is a more modern light design.
The caption states:
Copper Harbor, Mich. 15
This image is from the 1940s.
Lake Fanny Hooe and Copper Harbor, Michigan
This image follows on the previous one, from a closer vantage point on the western side of the final hill before Copper Harbor. The town is clearly visible now, and Lake Superior to the left. Lake Fanny Hooe is visible to the right, but it is not clear how it is separated from the larger body of water because of the obscuring trees.
The caption states:
Lake Fanny Hooe and Copper Harbor, Mich. E-1144
There is a couple sitting on a bench at the very bottom of the image, and the man appears to be viewing the distant town through binoculars. Their attire is very typical of travelers during the 1940s, particularly in colder areas.
Lake Fanny Hooe and Lake Superior, Michigan
Moving to the far eastern end of Brockway Mountain Drive, before the final switchbacks which descend the mountain ridge into Copper Harbor, there is this pull out for viewing a beaver dam, which is not visible in the photo.
What is visible is part of Lake Fanny Hooe, a long narrow lake that parallels the Lake Superior shoreline, which is barely visible beyond the hill and the distant haze.
Beaver dams were still common in the mid-20th century throughout much of the United States, but extensive river flood management, hunting and habitat loss have made these structures very rare.
The caption states:
Lake Superior and Lake Fanny Hooe from Brockway Mountain Drive C-1162
This picture dates from the 1940s.
Lake View and Agate Harbor, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan
This image is also from the Brockway Mountain Drive, now much further to the west, looking westward towards Bailey Lake, Upsom Lake and Agate Harbor. Upsom is the closer of the two lakes in the distance, Bailey the more distant, while Agate Harbor is the lake shore to their right.
The ribbon of cleared trees in the right middle is the continuation of Brockway Mountain Drive towards the west. The closer lake is now spelled Upson on modern maps.
The caption states:
Lakes Bailey Upsom and Agate Harbor Michigan Copper Country J772
This postcard dates from the 1940s.
Ravine with West Bluff in Distance, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan
This image is from the distant viewpoint of the previous picture, again looking back at West Bluff between the trees and off into the distance.
The road in this area was simple packed dirt and crushed rock, but has been upgraded to asphalt over the years, along with other safety improvements.
The caption states:
E-1147 Ravine showing West Bluff in the distance Michigan Copper Country
This picture dates from the 1940s.
West Bluff View, Brockway Mtn. Road, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan
This image shows a different angle on the same location seen in the previous image. Instead of being across the road, this image is below the viewpoint and road level, looking along the edge of the bluff into the distance.
This card, like the previous images of Northport, has no descriptions on the back, as it is a photo simply stamped with the words Post Card and some markings to indicate where to write and affix postage.
The caption states:
West Bluff Brockway Mountain Drive Michigan Copper Country D-1633
This card was used and is postmarked August 1948.
West Bluff, Brockway Mtn. Drive, Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan
The locale now changes to the upper peninsula of Michigan, in specific the Keweenaw Peninsula, which is the northernmost extension of the state of Michigan. It extends into Lake Superior above the bulk of the upper peninsula. This image shows a segment of Brockway Mountain Drive, which extends from Copper Harbor in the east to Lake Bailey in the west.
This site is still actively maintained, and a current image of the area and signage is shown here.
The caption states:
West Bluff Brockway Mountain Drive Michigan Copper Country D-1629
This image, like the ones that follow, are a different style of photograph print. The previous ones were sepia tone, and these are more typical black and white images. These are also from a different series, and likely date from the 1940s.
