This book relating the history of Sugar Island-part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan-was originally published in 1992, and has been reprinted several times since. For the first time, the author has made some additions, enlarging it by about 10 percent to create this Expanded Edition. Sugar Island is a large island in the St. Marys River, which connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron. The island got its name from the fact that it is blessed with large stands of sugar maple trees. Since maple sugar was an important staple for the Ojibwa Indians native to the area before Europeans first arrived in the early 1600s, they historically have made up a significant part of the population, and still do. Later, French-Canadians, Scots and Finns added different flavors to the ethnic mix of people who call it home. The author, whose family lived on the island when he was born, has attempted to produce a readable history of a small piece of northern Michigan: it is not an academic history, but accuracy was a paramount concern. His parents were both teachers in one-room schools on the island in the 1930s. Much of the material was obtained through oral interviews of the "old-timers" who were still alive in the late 1980s when the research was being done. Since most were family friends, he had an access that others would not have had-for their stories, and for a supply of historical images. There are over 90 photographs, charts, and drawings in the bookThe book, quite naturally, relates how navigation shaped early development of the island; before roads and railroads reached this remote part of Michigan, boats of various types, from canoes to schooners to wood-fired steamboats passed its shores. Some stopped, to drop off people or goods or to pick fuel up. Eventually, in 1928 a regular ferry service was established. A ferry is still the only way for a vehicle to reach the island, since it is separated from the mainland at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan by a branch of the St. Marys River-a waterway that handles one-thousand-foot lake carriers laden with iron ore or coal, or large ocean-going vessels that may be carrying wheat that was loaded in western Lake Superior ports, and bound for Europe or Asia The population of Sugar Island has fluctuated between about 400 and 700 permanent residents over the last 100 years (with the peak of 699 occurring in 1940), while Chippewa County, of which it is a part, has shown a more stable, but still slow, growth. Long, cold winters in the area probably play a role in the keeping growth fairly low. And, for the island, adjusting one's life to a ferry schedule is something that seems to appeal to a limited part of the general population in this day and age. But the ferry has been a factor to keep the character of the island enough different to give it a definite appeal to many. This book will help the reader to appreciate that appeal

A comprehensive travelogue and guidebook exploring island adventures on many of the 135 islands accessible by ferry or bridge in the Great Lakes Basin. The Great Lakes Basin is the largest surface freshwater system on Earth. The more than 30,000 islands dotted throughout the basin provide some of the best ways to enjoy the Great Lakes. While the vast majority of these islands can only be reached by private boat or plane, a surprising number of islands—each with its own character and often harboring more than a bit of intrigue in its history—can be reached by merely taking a ferry ride, or crossing a bridge, offering everyone the chance to experience a variety of island adventures. Great Lakes Island Escapes: Ferries and Bridges to Adventure explores in depth over 30 of the Great Lakes Basin islands accessible by bridge or ferry and introduces more than 50 additional islands. Thirty-eight chapters include helpful information about getting to each featured island, what to expect when you get there, the island's history, and what natural and historical sites and cultural attractions are available to visitors. Each chapter lists special island events, where to get more island information, and how readers can help support the island. Author Maureen Dunphy made numerous trips to a total of 135 islands that are accessible by ferry or bridge in the Great Lakes Basin. On each trip, Dunphy was accompanied by a different friend or relative who provided her another adventurer's perspective through which to view the island experience. Great Lakes Island Escapes covers islands on both sides of the international border between the United States and Canada and features islands in both the lakes and the waterways that connect them. Anyone interested in island travel or learning more about the Great Lakes will delight in this comprehensive collection.

Finnish Settler Colonialism in North America reinterprets Finnish experiences in North America by connecting them to the transnational processes of settler colonial conquest, far-settlement, elimination of natives, and capture of terrestrial spaces. Rather than merely exploring whether the idea of Finns as a different kind of immigrant is a myth, this book challenges it in many ways. It offers an analysis of the ways in which this myth manifests itself, why it has been upheld to this day, and most importantly how it contributes to settler colonialism in North America and beyond. The authors in this volume apply multidisciplinary perspectives in revealing the various levels of Finnish involvement in settler colonialism. In their chapters, authors seek to understand the experiences and representations of Finns in North American spatial projects, in territorial expansion and integration, and visions of power. They do so by analyzing how Finns reinvented their identities and acted as settlers, participated in the production of settler colonial narratives, as well as benefitted and took advantage of settler colonial structures. Finnish Settler Colonialism in North America aims to challenge traditional histories of Finnish migration, in which Finns have typically been viewed almost in isolation from the broader American context, not to mention colonialism. The book examines the diversity of roles, experiences, and narrations of and by Finns in the histories of North America by employing the settler colonial analytical framework.