As we enter the spooky season, why not celebrate with a cemetery tour?
The Keweenaw Green Burial Alliance is sponsoring its third annual cemetery tour on Saturday, September 21. This year, the tour will visit the historic Kargi Cemetery in Portage Township and offer an optional tour of the nearby Hanka Homestead Finnish Museum. The scenic cemetery, also known as Old Askel Cemetery, is situated above Otter Lake, adjacent to a serene waterfall and idyllic gorge.
Oscar Heikkinen, known for his years of volunteer service leading historic tours and telling entertaining stories at the Hanka Homestead Finnish Museum, has also offered to give a special tour of Hanka Homestead after leading the cemetery tour. The Hanka Homestead Museum highlights pioneer life in this area in the 1920s.
Access to Kargi Cemetery is limited due to road conditions and limited parking space, so attendees will meet at the nearby Hanka Homestead at 1 p.m., where carpooling to the cemetery will be arranged.
If the weather is bad on September 21, a rain day is scheduled for the following day, at 1 p.m. Sunday, September 22 at the same place.
Pre-registration for the tour is requested so that rain day notices can be sent to participants. Pre-register by contacting Frann Grossman by email at fgrossma@mtu.edu or by text to 906- 370-9800.
To gain a deeper understanding of the area’s local culture and traditions, participants can head up to Askel for lunch or a snack before the tour, at three landmark food sites along Tapiola Road. For take-out or picnicking, try the hand-built roast beef or corned beef sandwiches and other delectables at 101-year-old Karvakko’s Market. A block away is breakfast or lunch fare at the Bosio Biscuit Company. Farther up the road is Kurt’s Korner, featuring handmade pizzas and deli foods.
Directions to the Hanka Homestead or any of the food establishments are available online. Those interested can also ask when they pre-register.
The Keweenaw Green Burial Alliance is a non-profit local group that promotes education about green/natural burial and green burial cemetery development.