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Michigan Tech Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections

 
A Sense of Place
A photographic essay linking location, community and campus in the Copper Country

About This Exhibit
Although the Michigan Technological University Archives and Copper Country Country Historical Collections focuses its energies on supporting research into aspects of regional history, the department also undertakes exhibit projects to interpret and share the rich history of the Keweenaw Peninsula to the general public. This exhibit of photographs provides a visual introduction to this history, including the significant geological and mining activities which have drawn people to this region for centuries, the social aspects of the communities and lives which have occurred here, as well as the place that Michigan Technological University has had in these stories.

Jonathan DeCleene (1984-2007)

Jonathan DeCleene (1984-2007)

Projects such as this begin as ideas and only take real form when others provide inspiration and support. For this exhibit, the inspiration came from Jonathan DeCleene (1984-2007), a student assistant who worked in the Archives in 2005 and 2006. Although Jonathan's life ended at a young age, it was his zest for life and adopted love of the Copper Country which formed the energy for this exhibit. Financial support from Jonathan's family, Gloria Kennedy and Valerie DeCleene, as well as a grant from the Friends of the Van Pelt Library, provided the funding to complete the installation. Images were selected by the staff of the Michigan Tech Archives, caption text was written by Julia Blair, and graphic design for the exhibit was completed by Mike Stockwell of Cranking Graphics.