50th Anniversary Articles

Articles about the Park’s 50th Anniversary.

A Time Capsule Letter to the Future Stewards of the Apostle Islands

A Time Capsule Letter to the Future Stewards of the Apostle Islands

What would you say to the future? Our 50th anniversary celebration of the creation of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is over. The speeches have been given, the cupcakes eaten, the candles blown out. But the legacy of all we have accomplished in the park, our honoring of the past and excitement about the future, will live on in a kind of “time capsule” being submitted to the National Park Service commemorating this anniversary year. It will include pamphlets and pins, photographs and invitations and the texts of speeches given. It will include the proclamation issued in honor of the...

Explore the Top 10 Friends website stories of 2021

Explore the Top 10 Friends website stories of 2021

DRUMROLL PLEASE! It has been a big year in the Apostle Islands -- from fun and fanfare to tragedy averted. During this last week of the year,, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is counting down its TOP TEN Island stories of 2021. In sharing these stories, we thank you, our readers and supporters, for your support and we wish you an adventure-filled 2022 in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. 10 HERE WE GO: Weather stories always resonate with Island Lovers, so the #10 most popular story of the year goes to the tall birch trees dancing in the big gale. 9 At #9 on our...

Celebratory candles, commitment and cupcakes mark finale of 50th Anniversary festivities

Celebratory candles, commitment and cupcakes mark finale of 50th Anniversary festivities

Happy Birthday to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. On September 26, 1970 Gaylord Nelson and others lit a light symbolically that has been shining brightly for over half a century. On Saturday night, September 25, 2021 Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore held a candlelight ceremony on a Lake Superior beach to celebrate, to honor, and to recommit ourselves to keeping that light burning bright as we step into the next 50 years at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. There were speeches, a proclamation from Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, flags created by the Stewards of...

Wisconsin Governor issues proclamation celebrating Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and its positive impact

Wisconsin Governor issues proclamation celebrating Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and its positive impact

Today, September 25th, 2021 marks the end of the 50th Anniversary celebration for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore; tomorrow will be the start of the park's 51st year and an exciting future. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers issued a proclamation honoring the park's first half-century and its positive impact on the state and its people. The proclamation also recognizes the need to continue to treasure and protect the park in the future. Read the full text below. Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers STATE OF WISCONSIN: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR PROCLAMATION:   WHEREAS ; on September 26, 1970,...

Luminaires on the Lake: Apostle Islands Anniversary Commemoration set for Saturday, September 25th

Luminaires on the Lake: Apostle Islands Anniversary Commemoration set for Saturday, September 25th

Join your Friends for Luminaires on the Lake: Apostle Islands Anniversary Commemoration on Saturday, September 25th at 7p.m. in Bayfield.You're invited to join us at Washington Avenue Beach for acandlelight commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, to wrap up the year-long celebration. Light a candle at the beach candlelight luminary display. View the collection of flags created by the children of the Stewards of Tomorrow program displaying their hopes the lake and the islands. Be a part of history and the first steps toward the future.If it rains, the...

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...

This month: 50th Anniversary exhibit at Washburn Cultural Center

This month: 50th Anniversary exhibit at Washburn Cultural Center

Visit the Washburn Cultural Center in June to explore and enjoy the intersection of art, poetry and science. The "A is for Apostle Islands" and "Island Intersections" exhibit displays the poetry and visual artwork from two projects celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Original visual art and poetry for the ABCs featured in the forthcoming book, A is for Apostle Islands, edited by Lucy Tyrrell, will be displayed. In addition the exhibit will include trios of “Island Intersections,” i.e. science summaries and the interpretations or responses of visual art and...

You can solve Apostle Islands History Mysteries this summer

You can solve Apostle Islands History Mysteries this summer

The Apostle Islands are full of nature’s beauty, wildlife and adventure. The Islands also have a rich and varied human history. This summer, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the park, we will be exploring that history with a little help from some friends: large, nearly life-sized standing poster board images of lighthouse keepers, sailors, ship captains, fishers, island lovers and more. Each cutout will ask you a question, present a mystery of island history, and offer you a QR code. Point your cell phone camera at the QR Code on the sign and follow the link to learn the answer to...

History Mystery: Francis Jacker marooned on Oak Island!

History Mystery: Francis Jacker marooned on Oak Island!

Francis Jacker was keeper at Raspberry Island Lighthouse from 1885 through 1892. Jacker was born in Germany in 1840 and studied for three years at the Munich Academy of Arts.  He immigrated to America in 1859 and moved to northern Michigan in 1862 to reunite with his brother who was a missionary among the Indians.  In 1863 Jacker married an Ojibwe girl, named Ikwesens (Little Girl), or Catherine, as she was christened.  Her father, Wabos, was one of the great chiefs of the Ojibwe nation.  They built a home near Portage Entry, Michigan and started a family. Francis Jacker at his farm near...