[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO THE VILLAGE AND TOWNSHIP OF CALUMET, MICHIGAN ON ITS 
             SELECTION AS A MICHIGAN MAIN STREET COMMUNITY

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                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2003

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements 
of historic Calumet, Michigan, which was named as one of four Michigan 
Main Street communities for 2003 in a statewide competition.
  Calumet is in the northernmost part of my 1st Congressional District, 
halfway to the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. Between 1867 and 1884, 
Calumet alone produced half of this country's copper from the Calumet & 
Hecla Mining Company mines.
  Parts of its historic downtown have formed an integral part of the 
Keweenaw National Historical Park, which tells the riveting economic 
and cultural story of the migration of miners and their families to the 
wilds of northern Michigan to work the copper range in the 19th and 
20th centuries.
  Recognizing the value of its historic resources and the economic 
benefits of the Main Street program, in January 2003 Calumet formed a 
steering committee and this spring submitted its application for the 
Main Street designation. A hallmark of the presentation was 
communitywide cooperation between public and private resources.
  The managing director of the team from the Michigan Economic 
Development Corporation which administers the program said that out of 
literally hundreds of communities MEDC has worked with, Calumet's 
combination of public/private sector effort was very rare. As reported 
by the Houghton Daily Mining Gazette, the director described Calumet's 
presentation before an MEDC and Michigan State Housing Development 
panel in Lansing by saying, ``[Calumet was] absolutely the top 
presentation we had in those two days . . . [It] left a buzz in that 
room.''
  Calumet had to come up with substantial seed money toward 
administrative costs, and it has done that through pledges from the 
Village of Calumet, Calumet Township, the Downtown Development 
Authority, Keweenaw National Historical Park and local businesses. Main 
Street program professionals will visit Calumet on a regular basis to 
work with local participants as they market Calumet's historical 
community and encourage economic development.
  The aim of the program is to stimulate economic growth, and Calumet's 
successful application may result in a return of nearly $40 for every 
dollar it spends, according to Main Street's 2001 national re-
investment statistics. The program was developed by the National 
Historic Preservation Trust.
  Calumet already has embraced the concept of preserving its historical 
resources. It welcomes and entertains the many visitors it receives 
every year with proudly preserved facilities such as the Calumet 
Theatre, the Upper Peninsula Fire Fighters Memorial Museum, Larium 
Manor and the Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne's. The work that 
resulted in the Main Street designation is just one more example of 
Calumet's legacy of community effort in support of its history. Calumet 
already knows the value of sharing that history with visitors and 
scholars, and will bloom even more beautifully as a Main Street 
community.
  I ask you, Mr. Speaker, and my Colleagues in the House of 
Representatives to join me in congratulating everyone in Calumet who 
put their effort, heart and history into Calumet's selection as a Main 
Street community. I offer my heartiest congratulations.
  With this honor, Calumet will move even more quickly to transform its 
downtown into a thriving, appealing Main Street center of commerce.

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