This photo, courtesy of Samantha Elenich, is of Owen, Tanner and Jacob with Santa at the Chassell Heritage Museum.

By Miriam Pickens

For the Mining Gazette

As new parents moving to the UP for work at Michigan Tech in 1985, we placed Chassell first on our list of cool places to live. I was looking for a community centered on art, and a nice place to raise children. The community was welcoming and overflowing with talented artists. Bill and Nancy Leonard of The Einerlei helped organize many local events. The Strawberry Festival in July and the Old Fashioned Christmas were two of my favorites.

The Chassell Old Fashioned Christmas started in the early 1980s with a committee including: Nancy Leonard, Marvyl Wilson and June Michaelson. The goal was to help Chassell be one of those great little communities where the spirit of Christmas thrives. This was to be a child-friendly holiday; the goal was to always keep the activities free and accessible for families. Marvyl Wilson served on the committee until her death in March 2023. Her main focus and passion was the Holiday Market. The committee is currently considering a scholarship fund in honor of Marvyl, who volunteered for 40 years with Old Fashioned Christmas.  

The Old Fashioned Christmas starts today, December 7, with a home lighting and decorating contest. This year’s theme is Candy Christmas, and there are cash prizes for the winners donated by local businesses. On Facebook, there’s a list of all the addresses, so families can take a car tour of all these decorated homes. Last year there was a house on Painesdale Road decorated with a laser light show on their shed, decorated as Santa’s Workshop. One year, a house on Hancock Street was decorated in the spirit of Cousin Eddie from National Lampoon’s “Christmas Vacation.”

The elementary school children have been busy in their classes preparing ornaments for the Chassell Christmas Tree. On Friday, Dec. 8, the children will be bused down to the Hamar Field on the corner of US-41 and the Chassell Painesdale Road, where they get to decorate the tree. Afterwards, they return to school for a little party with cocoa and cookies provided by the Chassell Old Fashioned Christmas Committee. The children sing in a concert a concert that afternoon at the Elementary School.

The Tree Lighting Ceremony will be from 5:30 to 8:30 on Friday evening at Hamar Field. There will be carolers and free horse-drawn carriage rides, along a trail to the Pavilion at the Park with holiday lighting and ornaments. At the VFW Post 6507 and Auxiliary on US-41 right in town, there will be story time, games and snacks from 5 to 8:30 p.m.

On Saturday, the Christmas Market will be in the Chassell School. There will be 60 vendors with everything from homemade jams and muffins to fine art. One of the vendors who has been there for years is Peggy Anderson. She works all year to create Christmas decorations like gnomes and tabletop displays. She will have four tables at the fair right by the exit from the gymnasium. There will be a coffee and pie sale by the Chassell Women’s Club as well as breakfast and lunch for sale by the Juniors and Seniors from the Chassell School.

At the Chassell Heritage Center on Hancock Street, Santa will greet children from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and there will be cookie decorating for children. Children can also choose a free Christmas book, sponsored by a local business. There will also be live keyboarding and Finnish music from 1 to 3 p.m.

Finally, the “Home for the Holidays” Home Tour and Gourmet Tasting will be from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday; tickets cost $10. In 1988, my home was on this tour. I scrubbed it clean and polished, and then my friends Linda and Diane arrived laden with greens and decorations, and turned my house into a holiday spectacular! Food arrived from Marie’s Deli in Houghton, and then the guests … it was a fun experience for our little family. This year, there will be five households on the tour, three of which are in the Portage Entry Road area, and two are off Denton Road by the Portage Lake Golf Course. At every house there is food donated by local businesses and restaurants as well as door prizes at each location.

One of the families, the Holombos on North Entry Road, will have their stable rather than their home on the tour, complete with farm animals and decorations in a live Nativity. It’s fun to see how different families decorate for this.

The committee wants to express deep gratitude for all of the sponsors for this weekend; a list too large to mention here. Because of this generous sponsorship, most of the events are free, and all of the proceeds from those that aren’t will go toward enhancements in the Chassell community, like work on the pavilion to make it more accessible, tree and flower plantings, and snowflakes and Christmas lights for the light posts on the main street.

On Dec. 9 and 10, Keweenaw CAPE, located on the fourth floor of Hirvonen Hall in Hancock near the Superior School of Dance, will be offering classes in the Make it UP! Makerspace. You can preregister for the DIY Travel Watercolor Palette Workshop, where you’ll learn to use the 3D printer. This class will be on the 9 and 10 of December from 1 to 2:30 pm. Only 10 spots available per class, and the cost is $5 per person. Children under 13 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. On Dec. 9, Lindsey Heiden and I will team up to teach the first in a new series of Art for Peace classes for children, this one featuring an exploration of generosity, gratitude and watercolor. This class will be on Dec. 9 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and we ask for a free will donation.

Be sure to stop by the CCCAC in Hancock to check out the 6X6 Fundraiser exhibit. The show will run from Dec. 7 to 23. You can purchase a specific painting on a 6X6 canvas for $100 donation, or buy a $40 ticket for a random drawing, which will be held at the opening reception from 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 16.