Presentations on a variety of topics related to the history, life and culture of the Upper Peninsula are being offered at the Sonderegger Symposium XVI at Northern Michigan University on Friday, Sept. 9. The event is free and open to the public. The NMU Center for U.P. Studies is hosting the event, which will take place in the University Center Great Lakes Rooms. 

A continental breakfast begins at 8 a.m., followed by opening remarks from Michael Broadway, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The remaining schedule of presenters and topics follows:

8:45-9:15 a.m. Phillip Johnson, president of Finlandia University, “Finlandia University: Rooted and Relevant”

9:15-9:45 a.m. Russ Magnaghi, NMU professor emeritus, “Booze and Bootleggers on the Border: Prohibition in the Upper Peninsula”

9:45-10:15 a.m. Bob Archibald, NMU alumnus, “The Upper Peninsula in 1640”

10:15-10:30 a.m. Coffee Break

10:30-11:00 a.m. Brian Cabell, independent scholar, “A Stranger Comes to Town”

11:00-11:30 a.m. Fred Stonehouse, president of the Marquette Maritime Museum, “The Iron Beacon, Marquette Harbor Lighthouse at 150”

11:30 a.m.-Noon Mark Ruge, J.D., Washington, D.C., “The Frostbitten Convention: A Birthday for the Upper Peninsula”

Noon-1 p.m. Lunch break

1:00-1:30 p.m. Ron Jones, U.S. Park Service, “2016: 100 Years of the National Park Service and 50 Years of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore”

1:30-2:00 p.m. Hilary Virtanen, Findlandia University, “The Emerging Legend of John Wesley Saatio, Copper Country Outlaw”

2:00-2:30 p.m. Howard Nicholson, NMU, “The Studebaker Avanti: A Personal Journey in Unraveling History”

2:30-2:45 p.m. Coffee Break

2:45-3:15 p.m. Michel Graydon, Algoma University, “Word Games: Opposing the 1990 Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Municipal English-Only Resolution”

3:15-3:45 p.m. Laura Walikainen Rouleau, Michigan Technological University, “Saunas, Bathhouses, Locker Rooms and Tubs: Copper Country Bathing Experiences, 1900-1930”

3:45-4:15 p.m. Allie Penn, Wayne State University, “No News is Good News: The Slanted Reporting that Followed the Italian Hall Disaster”

4:15-4:20 p.m. Closing Remarks

The symposium is supported by an endowment from Marion Sonderegger of Marquette in honor of her husband, Richard Sonderegger, former head of the NMU history department.