Evergreen Content Articles

Timeless articles about the Park and Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Lakeshore Logbook – Stu Whipple

Lakeshore Logbook – Stu Whipple

As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 24th in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. C. Stuart (Stu) Whipple worked as Stockton Island Ranger in 2011 and 2013.After a long career teaching at the university level, Stu...

Lakeshore Logbook – Jim Feldman

Lakeshore Logbook – Jim Feldman

Jim Feldman As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 23rd in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Jim Feldman served as a seasonal interpreter, stationed at Raspberry Island lighthouse in 1999 and for a couple of weeks in...

Explorer’s guide to the Apostle Islands just released – buy a book to support the park

Explorer’s guide to the Apostle Islands just released – buy a book to support the park

Bayfield, WI – "My first visit to the Apostles was over two decades ago. Every wave over to Basswood Island made me wonder if we were going to die," says longtime explorer, paddler and author John Frank. "That feeling has since been replaced with a sense of awe and respect." Frank has just released the second edition of Apostle Islands Water Trips, an Explorer's Guide. And thanks to his generosity, we at Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are pleased to be able to sell a thousand copies of the book, with proceeds benefiting the park that we - and John Frank - love. Apostle...

Lakeshore Logbook – Diane Chalfant

Lakeshore Logbook – Diane Chalfant

Diane Chalfant As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 22nd in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Diane Chalfant worked in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore from the spring of 1984 to the fall of 1990. She served...

Lakeshore Logbook – Ian Williams

Lakeshore Logbook – Ian Williams

As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 21st in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Ian Williams served as Stockton Island Ranger during the summers of 1988 and 1989.  It’s strange to think that APIS was still a fairly...

Real-time wave information expands for paddlers and boaters in the Apostle Islands

Real-time wave information expands for paddlers and boaters in the Apostle Islands

APOSTLE ISLANDS NATIONAL LAKESHORE, WISCONSIN (Wisconsin Sea Grant News Release)  – The brains behind the SeaCavesWatch.org website have developed a new website that offers real-time wave condition information for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Lake Superior. Before venturing onto the lake, paddlers and boaters should check WISC-Watch, which stands for Water Information for a Safe Coast Watch. The WISC-Watch site provides information from seven spotter buoys recently deployed throughout the islands, plus Chequamegon Bay near Ashland and Siskiwit Bay near Cornucopia. The buoys...

Lakeshore Logbook – Dave Chesky

Lakeshore Logbook – Dave Chesky

As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 20th in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Dave Chesky worked as a Seasonal Park Ranger GS-5, during the 1978 and 1979 seasons. What is the coolest thing you did in Apostle...

Lakeshore Logbook – Daniel Blankenship

Lakeshore Logbook – Daniel Blankenship

Daniel Blankenship As part of our 50th Anniversary celebration, we are collecting and sharing the stories of people connected to the islands, whether they are park guests, former residents or former park employees. This is the 19th in our series called “Lakeshore Logbook,” a collection of memories provided by former National Park Service employees. Living and working in the park on a day to day basis, they’ve experienced a lot to be sure. We hope you enjoy their perspectives. Daniel Blankenship worked in the park from 2008 to 2014. He worked for the interpretive division of Apostle Islands...

History Mystery: Who is considered the “father of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore?”

History Mystery: Who is considered the “father of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore?”

A Legacy of stewardship.  Gaylord Nelson was born in Clear Lake, Wisconsin on June 4, 1919.  Nelson was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1948 and held that office for a decade before becoming the Governor of the state. After two terms as Governor, he was elected to the US Senate in 1962 where he served until 1981. Gaylord NelsonIn 1969, then US Senator from Wisconsin, Nelson formulated one of the most powerful ideas of the century.  On April 22, 1970 the first Earth Day was a resounding success, celebrated by 20 million people across the US who came together in their communities to...

History Mystery: How did his support for the park cost Julian Nelson a job?

History Mystery: How did his support for the park cost Julian Nelson a job?

Julian Nelson was born in Bayfield in 1916.  His father moved to Bayfield from Bergen, Norway in 1897 and took a job with the Booth fish company.  He eventually became an independent commercial fisherman operating out of a fish camp in Julian Bay on Stockton Island.   His sister watches Julian work on a gill net at his fish camp In 1938, at the age of 22, Julian bought out his father’s fishing business.  Julian bought property on Rocky Island in 1947 and moved his fishing cabin there from Stockton Island on a barge.  Moving the Nelson cabin from Stockton to Rocky Island in 1947 Julian Nelson...