COVID-19 in the Upper Peninsula, around the nation

I have been reluctant to do more reporting on COVID-19, which might be why I haven’t come up with any decent ideas for new angles that haven’t already been done ad nauseam.

If you feel like you know of a COVID-19 story that hasn’t been told already, please let me know. As much as it drags and grinds on all of us, I do feel that telling as many stories as possible in this moment of history is very important. Every story only happens once.

In the meanwhile, here’s a quick look at local, state, and national numbers.

The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department reports that we have been deep in the “High Transmission Rate” area for weeks now. Here’s their report, but it’s a little hard to break down so I’ll do a little number crunching below, too.

Obviously, red is bad, and there’s a lot of red. That’s pretty easy to interpret. Where all that redness comes from is the Case Rate/100,000 population number. Anything over 100 is considered high, and as you can see, Houghton County is at 308.2. Of course, Houghton County only has a population of around 37,000, so we don’t need 308 cases to get to 308 per 100,000, that’s just the ratio.

A quick comparison to last week’s numbers shows that this isn’t a significant departure from the trend, but the percent positivity has gone down slightly from a week before that.

According to data from michigan.gov, Aspirus Keweenaw reported that they had three COVID-19 patients in their ICU, with 42% bed occupancy. UP Health System - Portage reported three COVID-19 patients, but none in the ICU, and 44% bed occupancy. The state average bed occupancy is currently 83%, with at least two hospitals reporting 100% occupancy.

On Monday, Lake Linden and Calumet both reported new school-based outbreaks of COVID-19 to the state. Lake Linden reported one involving 9 students at the high school and another with 8 students at the elementary. CLK schools reported an outbreak involving 13 students at the high school.

Data from michigan.gov/coronavirus

As you can see from the graphs above, the number of deaths (in red) in Michigan is lagging behind the previous waves, but the fact that we haven’t seen the peak of this fourth wave yet is troubling.

Data from Johns Hopkins University of Medicine shows that all in all, Houghton County and the nearby counties aren’t doing too poorly, with cases seeming to be concentrated in states to the south and west of Michigan so far.

It also shows that we’re the most virulent country on the planet (in part due to our size, the data isn’t population-adjusted, but Russia, China, India, and Canada all have much better 28-day totals than us).

Music program marches on

Houghton-Portage Township Schools keeps music program running through pandemic

Over the past 16 months, life in the Copper Country, as it has throughout the world, has been greatly impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Virtually all aspects of life have been affected, perhaps none more so than education. Colleges and universities relied heavily on online instruction as did most middle and high schools. In public schools, extracurricular activities were curtailed, altered or suspended altogether. The impact of the pandemic on high school sports, where local teams’ quests for state championships abruptly ended, received the most attention and media coverage. Parents and supporters were vocal in their insistence that the benefits of participation in sports must continue despite the concerns of COVID-19.

There is no argument that athletics is an important part of school life, but not every student is a student-athlete. Area schools offer a plethora of outside-the-classroom activities that don’t require skates, cleats, sneakers, pucks or balls. The pandemic took its toll on programs ranging from robotics and Lego League to marching band.

At Houghton-Portage Township Schools, a thriving music program continues to thrive, albeit a bit differently. Music Teacher Kelly Fontaine said the research she conducted before the start of school last fall made all the difference.

“I found help with a University of Colorado study that showed ways we could continue our music program while using precautions and staying safe.”

Fontaine said the school allowed the band to hold daily rehearsals in the school auditorium where musicians kept at least six feet apart. Students were given special masks with a Velcro slit in the middle and bell covers for instruments. Additionally, special singing masks for the choir were used.

The music program’s efforts were appreciated by the student musicians and their families.

“In general the students were very receptive and the parents were very understanding,” Fontaine said. “They were very appreciative that we could continue learning through band and choir safely.”

As you might expect, there were some unique challenges.

“Getting a mouthpiece through the slit of the mask takes a little bit of time, and I don’t have a lot of patience. Toward the end of the school year, the students were very excited to practice marching outside without a mask if they chose to do so.”

Fontaine said they found some very creative ways to make music in the time of COVID-19. Daily Google meets were held for students who chose to do band or choir virtually.

“When the school shut down for a few weeks, rehearsing became tough via computer, so we learned about fundamental music theory, rhythm and score study.”

Fontaine anticipated the school shut down in December acted accordingly. She made recordings of all of the groups from grades 6 to 12 in both band and choir. Michigan Tech’s audio department recorded some of the groups as well. With these recordings, they were able to stream a virtual concert.

“This was not an easy process. Our choir director, Hillary Arundel, spent many hours splicing videos to make it perfect for our students and their families,” Fontaine said.

To be expected, there were some sacrifices. Some performances were canceled such as the UP Honors Band. However, they were able to hold a Virtual Solo and Ensemble Festival where many of the local students received high awards.

“The highlight of the year was an in-person spring concert. We were able to perform in our high school gymnasium where parents and students were spaced six feet apart and wore masks.”

Fontaine said that despite everything they’ve gone through, the music program at Houghton – Portage Township Schools thrived because of cooperation from all involved.

“Although this was the craziest year to date in my career, I am very proud of the way everyone at Houghton handled the pandemic. From students to administrators and everyone in between, we were in it together.”

Photo by Beth Macdonald on Unsplash

Ontonagon pursues federal MERS relief, approves more sidewalk dining

A full Council was present as well as Interim Manager William DuPont at the Ontonagon Village Council’s May 24 meeting.  

DuPont reported that the village currently owes the Municipal Employees Retirement System (MERS) $139,563.76. The village will manage to make the Feb. 20 payment of $35,400 within the next 30 days. DuPont also added that the possibility of receiving funds from the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act is being pursued. On March 11, as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, President Biden signed the Butch Lewis Emergency Pension Relief Act into law. The law will preserve and restore the pensions of more than one million retirees and workers in an estimated 200-225 severely underfunded multi-employer pension plans.

Another restaurant in the village, the UP North Cafe has made an application to conduct sidewalk dining on River Street. The necessary insurance and other required permits are in place.

In the ‘new business’ portion of the meeting, the following items were discussed and acted upon:

•  Resolution 2021-14: A resolution to designate May as Motorcycle Awareness Month in the Village of Ontonagon was approved.  This resolution would call attention to motorcycle and moped traffic from this time forward during the month of May in recognition of the increase in two-wheel traffic in the village.

The local ABATE organization supports this resolution and the council wishes it to be known that motorcyclists are welcome in Ontonagon

•  River’s Edge Boat Rental: A request from Bryan Hamilton and Donna Nethery to use the former State Police Post and JJ’s Tackle Shack Building near the marina as a base for their boat rental business. Plans are to also offer kayaks and canoes and the sale of fishing tackle and other recreational items. The matter was referred to the Building Committee to work out the details.

•  Heritage Antiques Request:  Penny Jilbert and Pattie Roehm propose to hold a one-Saturday–a-month sale of antiques, or miscellaneous items, and homemade goodies on the vacant lot next to the current antique store location. The first sale date was scheduled for May 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m..   Permission to also use the adjoining former site of the Wagar Restaurant which was demolished last fall,  was requested. 

There will be no fees charged to sellers. It is to be considered something of a flea-market/garage sale enterprise.  

• The Ontonagon Eagle’s Club #2239 requested the closure of the street in front of the lodge building in order to provide for outside street dancing, once a week or on the occasion of special events. As this is not a state road, no road closure permit is necessary, however, proof of liability insurance will be required. 

•  County Road Commission offer:  Some years ago the former SPEC building, which was built by the Ontonagon Village Downtown Development Authority,  was sold to the Ontonagon County Road Commission for $75,000. A part of the purchase was an agreement that the village would receive $50,000 in cash and $25,000 in services to extend Giesau Avenue through to the Rockland Road thus connecting M-38 to US 45. 

 The street extension has not been undertaken and instead, the County Road Commission is prepared to simply pay the Village $25,000 in cash and terminate the commitment to extend the street.  

The matter was tabled in order to review the contract. The road was to be put through by 2021. 

•  Kori Weisinger rehiring: Weisinger had resigned as Village Clerk and Treasurer in the fall of 2020 and William DuPont was hired to replace her effective Jan. 1. In the meantime, Weisinger had been retained on a part-time basis to continue serving as clerk until DuPont was available to assume his new duties and then continued to work part-time until DuPont became familiar with his new duties.  

Subsequently, then-Village Manager Joseph Erickson was discharged and DuPont was retained as interim viIlage manager and Weisinger continued part-time as clerk on a contract basis.

Weisinger has now completed college coursework and is now available to resume full-time employment with the village, adding, “With the amount of items we are trying to correct and move forward on, I have been working nearly full time since March. I can’t see leaving the village when we are moving forward in such a positive way.” 

The Personnel Committee, all of whom were present, were in agreement to recommend reinstating Weisinger’s full-time status and this was carried on a roll call. 

•  Housing Commission Vacancy and Appointment: The Village Housing Commission has had a vacancy for some months.  The housing commission, which oversees the operation of the Cane Court federally subsidized housing complex in the Village, consists of five commissioners who are appointed by the village council.

Currently, the Housing Commission consists of President Rich Ernest, Dorothy Phillips, Robert Seid, and Steven Maass. 

An application was received from Danielle Reath of White Pine for an appointment to the vacancy.  It was moved and approved to appoint Reath to the Village Housing Commission.

• An inquiry from a council about the severance benefits to be paid to the former village manager was explained. As Erickson was terminated without cause, he is entitled to specific benefits which could be a total of $81,910.36, which includes insurance, however, if Erickson secures paid benefits from other employment, these costs could be less.

Ontonagon Village approves sidewalk dining, sewer line correction

At their May 10 meeting, the Ontonagon Village Council approved Syl’s Cafe for sidewalk dining this year again. Last year the outdoor dining saw good use and the restaurant wants to offer it again this year. Approved dates are May 25 to Sept. 6.

 Interim Manager William DuPont presented a brief report and update, in part, as follows:

•  The documents for the forthcoming audit are due on June 1, and the interim manager foresees no problem in gathering this information on time. The audit is expected to be completed by July 1. DuPont reaffirmed that his priority is to have the village’s financials where they need to be. Council can expect to receive relative financial statements by July 1 and every month thereafter.

•  One more auditor’s finding, as reported in the 3/31/2020 audit has been addressed but DuPont reported; “We are still bogged down in issues that we have  frequently uncovered but once we get through these, we will make solid progress.”

DuPont added; “I feel good about the direction the village is heading and we will do our very best to resolve any outstanding issues.”

It was moved by Councilor Donald Chastan to approve the Interim Manager’s report and carried.

The Village of Clinton had sent a letter dated March 10 inviting the Village of Ontonagon to become a participant in a class action suit against the mandate of the State of Michigan to require municipalities to pay for replacement of specified water lines on private property. They claim this is contrary to General Law Village Charter.

If the legislature is unwilling to change the law(s) involved it may be necessary to take legal action against the State of Michigan. Ontonagon was asked to pledge $2,500 as a share in the legal costs of such a suit.  At issue was whether or not it is legal for one municipality to donate to another community to carry on litigation of this nature.

In the opinion of the Michigan Municipal League, this would be quite legal and further more the MML  would like to see this matter considered by the courts. The village was advised, however, to consult with its local attorney if there is any uncertainty in the regard.

A recent  communication from the Village of Clinton updates the matter in their taking a “different route.” Further action was tabled until matters develop further.

Two bids had been received for installation of the new lift station on Tin Street, as follows:

Northland Electric, $125,531

FA Industrial Services, $187,166

The review of the bids by GEI (engineers) found that both bidders satisfied the requirements. It was recommended that the contract for the 2021 Tin Street Lift Station be awarded to Northland Electric.

It was moved by Councilor Mike Rebholz to accept the Northland Electric bid for the amount listed and this was carried.

A proposal by GEI was considered, in response to the questionable installation of sewer service for the Kulis residence on Gorman Avenue.  The project had been authorized by the former manager but was not supervised by a certified engineer and the property owner whose parcel the new sewer line was to serve had serious doubts about the installation. After investigating the situation, the interim manager recommended correcting the problem.  GEI Consultants presented a proposal to provide professional engineering services to install 300 feet of 8” sewer main. This is for the design work only and not for the actual construction. The project could total up to $15,000.

It was moved by Trustee Elmer Marks to make matters right by approving the GEI contract for the Gorman Avenue sewer line installation and this was supported by Sarah Hopper and carried.

The US Coast Guard will be holding a free boat inspection on May 13 at 1:30 p.m. at the marina pavilion.

Rebholz reported that he has applied for three sizeable grants:

  -Marina Travel Lift: $373,725.00

  -Turnout gear washing for the fire department    $  16,134.00

  -Rescue truck also for the fire department, $227,995.00

Area businesses putting community, staff above ease and profit

Pulling into Ontonagon on Wednesday, the roads were wide but empty. Empty roadside parking lined the street in front of the village businesses. Until I got near the end of the street. For almost a block in either direction, cars filled the parking in front of Syl’s Cafe.

David and Deanna Morin after their lunch at Syl’s Cafe. Behind them, the photography of Bryan Byrnes adorns the walls. Photo by Joshua Vissers

“Syl’s is our social event,” David Morin said.

David sat at a table near the window with his wife Deanna and Wanda McKay having lunch.

They’ve ordered takeout regularly during shutdowns as well as the tourist season--to keep away from the vacationers. Now that it’s an off-season, they were happy to feel safe coming back to the dining room. David called Syl’s Cafe a lifeline of Ontonagon through the pandemic. He said Kathy Wardynski, the owner, has an eye for hiring good staff.

“The kids that work here are just outstanding,” he said.

The Morins even started going to some of the local ball games to cheer for the girls who waited on them. Wardynski says she hires as much as a quarter of the local senior class.

Linda, who declined to give her last name, said she didn’t like the pandemic regulations, but came out to support Syl’s Cafe, and got takeout regularly, especially the Friday night salmon.

“I think they’ve handled it really, really well, I think they’ve outdone themselves,” Linda said.

The group also really appreciated the outdoor dining that was set up for the first time.

“She took care of tourism as well as her regular customers,” Sandy Morin, sitting with Linda, said.

They complimented Wardynski’s creativity in adding new menu items, like breakfast bowls and a weekly Chinese food night. They were also supportive of the way she took care of her staff.

One of Joseph Del Real’s arrangements on a table at Syl’s Cafe. Photo by Joshua Vissers

“Which is wonderful, and lots of people didn’t, which is so sad.”

Wardynski’s care for her staff didn’t start or stop with the pandemic. Her core staff is full-time with retirement and paid vacation benefits. She hires college and high school students part-time to handle tourism seasons and fill in the rest of the regular schedule.

When the pandemic struck, she was able to keep all the full-time staff on part-time, and secured government assistance for them to cover the lost wages.

Kristy Strauch has worked at Syl’s Cafe “off and on for probably 12/13 years.”

She jumps back and forth between working in the kitchen and serving tables.

“Kathy is one of the best bosses that we could have,” Strauch said. “She has taken care of us through all this.”

Joseph Del Real, one of the cooks, also makes silk flower arrangements. When Syl’s Cafe reopened with social distancing restrictions, Wardynski partnered with him to decorate the blocked-off tables with flowers. He said the extra exposure hasn’t helped much yet but hopes it will as the pandemic eases and people feel safe spending more money again.

Melissa Preiss, who has worked at Syl’s for about ten years, said they’re staying pretty busy, despite the seating restrictions. She said a lot of the locals are still coming out, even though snowmobilers aren’t around as much this year.

Dawson Pollard works the grill at Syl’s Cafe. Photo by Joshua Vissers

It has also been a little more difficult interacting with even the nice customers.

“When I smile, they would smile,” Preiss said.

Now that they can’t see her face, she says she talks with her hands a little more.

Preiss has also had to deal with some customers not wanting to comply with pandemic regulations.

“There are definitely some people that give you a hard time,” she said. “Don’t want to fill out the papers, won’t wear the mask…”

She said while it’s been hard to deal with, Wardynski has always helped out with difficult customers.

“We’re just happy to be back open and have our locals back,” Preiss said. “And we are ready for whatever is next.”

Stephanie Ferrard has worked at Syl’s Cafe for about five years now. She said that initially, the pandemic was really scary.

“You know, just not knowing,” Ferrard said.

Once the lockdown opened up in the summer, she said things bounced back fast.

“It was the most-wildest, crazy summer we have ever worked,” Ferrard said.

She said it was hard to keep up with impatient, “hangry” people while also keeping up with extra cleaning and sanitation steps.

“And then we closed up again,” Ferrard said. “We went down to take-out only after that, because the numbers went up.”

Kathy Wardynski

At 25% capacity, they had to create a waiting list for many people, which was another thing for the servers to handle alongside their tables and sanitation.

She said when people argue with her about the rules, she tries not to let it bother her.

While we spoke in a booth, a customer nearby pushed back against Preiss about leaving contact tracing information.

“It just is what it is,” Ferrard said. “And we have to follow the rules and you know, try not to make a fuss about it.”

She said there are also customers who have been extra nice because they see those who aren’t.

Wardynski’s grandmother, Sylvia, opened Syl’s Cafe in 1972. When she decided to sell in the early 1990s, she offered it to her family first. Her daughters were grown and moved away and were busy with other things, but Wardynski and her husband were living downstate and looking for an opportunity to start their family closer to some of their grandparents.

“So on June 1, 1994, was my first official day as owner,” Wardynski said, “and I was 25 years old at the time.”

Wardynski has steered Syl’s Cafe through other economic troubles before. The nearby paper mill closed about ten years ago, and the highway, which used to run over a bridge down the block, was rerouted to a new bridge about half a mile away, too.

“So we used to have first crack at all of the snowmobilers that came into town because they would come across the bridge and be here,” Wardynski said.

When the bridge moved, Wardynski took a job at Michigan Technological University, and worked there for 12 years as the manager of purchasing and process improvement for dining services. It was there that she first realized the impact the pandemic would have.

“We got really lucky,” Wardynski said. “We were already planning to be closed.”

She was starting a renovation project about the same time as the pandemic regulations began. Wardynski called the sheriff and confirmed it would be okay for the three contractors to work during the shutdown. While Syl’s Cafe closed down, the staff worked out of the local golf course clubhouse, as they are also contracted to feed inmates at the Ontonagon County jail. Once it was allowed by regulations, they started serving curbside meals to customers out of the golf course kitchen, too.

 Wardynski is developing a new menu that will be easier and faster for her waitstaff to sanitize between customers. She experimented with different packaging to improve the takeout dining experience. She bought a $1,000 electrostatic sprayer that mists with a sanitizing solution and they use that through the dining room every day.

A proof of Syl’s Cafe’s new menu. With a larger spiral binding, Wardynski anticipates her servers being able to slide a dowel through it, dunk it in sanitizer, and hanging it to dry. This will be a lot faster than wiping down each page one at a time. Photo by Joshua Vissers

“You can do the whole restaurant in like 10 minutes,” Wardynski said.

Syl’s Cafe is putting the work in but is still caught between trying to keep people safe and serve as many people as possible.

“It feels like you’re continually walking on a tightrope of just trying to do the right thing and keep employees safe,” Wardynski said. “I tell them, we wear a mask to keep us safe from you. Because we don’t want to be sick, and we all have families, and we have grandparents and different things. And so we’ve tried to do everything that we possibly could to keep everybody healthy, and not be the ones that spread it because my worst fear would be to be the one place that was identified as the super spreader place because of something that happened.”

Wardynski also recognizes how well-positioned her business has been. For instance, she pointed out there are no nearby drive-thru restaurants to compete with. The serendipitous planning of their renovation was also a lucky break. And because they’re a fair distance from the Wisconsin border, the more relaxed restrictions there didn’t poach her customers, either.

Syl’s Cafe is a stand-out, both in terms of precautions and successes, but a lot of other businesses and their employees in the area have been fighting the same fights with varying degrees of success.

Leanne Weeks, the manager of Swift’s Tru Value Hardware in Houghton, said she figured something serious was happening when they started checking people at the airport.

“Usually, the government doesn’t spend money to have a precautionary effort like that,” she said.

She kept a close eye on CDC and WUPHD guidelines after that and made every effort to follow them. Cleaning frequently-touched areas, requiring facemasks, instituting social distancing, and check-in and check-out procedures for staff. At first, masks were difficult to source, so they used painter’s masks and respirators off the shelf.

“We just tried our very best to make sure that we could help protect the community,” Weeks said.

After a year, she said a lot of the procedures have become “old-hat”. They also continue to provide curbside service for those who don’t want to come into the store.

Weeks said she appreciates the community support and the people who make the extra effort to shop at the store.

“It’s definitely not an easy time for anybody,” Weeks said.

Marilyn Swift, the store’s owner who was traveling to see family after being vaccinated, said in a text message, “Even when some didn’t want to wear masks in the store for whatever reason, we wanted to stay in business and felt that this had nothing to do with truth or lies. I obey the law. I follow rules. I believe in police and military. I fly the American Flag in front and in back of my business every day. I am proud to be an American and am grateful for all of my customers.”

Peg Kauppi and her husband have run The Mariner North in Copper Harbor for 44 years. They were traveling home from a wedding last March when they heard about an outbreak in the Boston airport.

“So we kind of knew something was going on,” Kauppi said.

The small size of Copper Harbor, with only about 100 year-round residents, made people feel safe initially, until they considered the scope of their business. Their guests travel from 42 different states, and Washington, D.C..

“We were like ‘Wow, we are as out there as any metropolitan area,” Kauppi said. “We felt very, very vulnerable.”

During the initial shutdown, they searched for guidelines to implement. They put up plexiglass screens, switched to individually-wrapped silverware, and more. They also didn’t reopen immediately after being allowed to, because their staff still felt exposed.

“And we knew we couldn’t make them do anything that we wouldn’t do ourselves,” Kauppi said.

When they did reopen, and diners didn’t honor the tables that were blocked off for social distancing, they decided to entirely remove those tables.

“We had to reinvent the whole thing,” Kauppi said.

Over the winter, when indoor dining was banned, The Mariner North hosted outdoor fire pits for their takeout customers to dine around. This allowed snowmobilers a chance to warm up and socialize even though they couldn’t eat inside around a table.

Kauppi said that while “95%” of their customers have been thankful for the extra precautions, a few have been “angry, and so rude”.

“Our staff has taken a huge amount of abuse,” Kauppi said.

Kauppi has had to postpone reopening for dine-in in part because they can’t find the staff to support it. Some staff have quit over the stress of the regulations and having to enforce them.

Despite the difficulty, Kauppi said she thinks The Mariner North and Copper Harbor as a whole has been fortunate through the pandemic and “weathered this pretty well”.

Jesse Hannon-Manderfield opened NV Salon in Houghton more than ten years ago, when she was 26. COVID-19 has hit her business hard, in no small part because she enforces the pandemic restrictions.

“We’ve lost quite a few people,” she said.

During the initial shutdown, NV Salon sent home its stylists, who aren’t technically employees but independent contractors. After the initial shutdown, the schedule filled up, but not everyone would comply with mask-wearing or social distancing policies.

“I’d have to say it so many times a day, ‘Can you please wear your mask appropriately?’” Hannon-Manderfield said.

Eventually, she took to asking people in advance of their appointments if they were alright with wearing their masks throughout the entire appointment. Not everyone was. Other people would show up for an appointment only to walk away after seeing signs on the door about the requirements. NV Salon lost not only clients but also stylists, who pay rent on the chairs in the salon from their earnings, rather than being paid a wage.

“I just had to change my budget and be okay with it,” Hannon-Manderfield said.

She said some of her clients went out of the way to support her financially, which was very kind and appreciated.

“We’re going to push through this,” she said.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated, March 24, 2021.

Syl’s Cafe on River Street in Ontonagon. Photo by Joshua Vissers

Comments on original story:

Mike Needham

Jessie and NV Hair are great, and I HIGHLY recommend them to anyone and everyone.

Edna Yonker

My husband and I own the Nonesuch Gallery across from Syl's Cafe and have been in business for a little over 20 years. We have been recommending visitors from all over the country to eat at Syl's saying their food and service is unmatched anywhere. People have come back to thank us often. Also, we have been grateful to have people recommended to our shop as well by Syl's staff. I don't know what we would do without our mutually beneficial relationship and are so very happy with the ability of Syl's to weather the pandemic crises. It has been such a big challenge for everyone. In our own business, we were shut down for 9 weeks last year. Worried about what the summer would do to our business when we reopened was a big one. We initiated thorough cleaning and sanitizing constantly throughout the day, putting up a plexiglass shield and washing or sanitizing our hands between every customer. We wore our masks all day long and required anyone who entered to wear one, providing masks by the door for those who didn't have one. Very few people turned around to leave which was good as nearly everyone had no problem with the rules. Now that things seem to be getting better with so many getting vaccinated we will continue to follow all the restrictions until the threat of the virus has gone away. Last summer turned out to be a successful one for us as so many folks came to the area to enjoy the scenery and be able to re-create in safety with camping, kayaking, hiking and doing things outdoors. We have and will continue doing our best to keep them safe in our business and know that Syl's is doing the same. We wish them the best as we all move forward.

Joshua Vissers

Thanks, Edna. I saw your shop, and nearly stopped in, but I, unfortunately, ended up leaving Ontonagon in a hurry for unrelated reasons. Maybe next time!

Steve Knudstrup

Black Ice Comics in downtown Houghton has been super great about keeping the staff and customers safe. They have a walkup window, can do curbside, and will work with anyone to help out how they can.

Tom

So, it can be done, and done properly within the rules. No whining, no complaints about business being destroyed. Decent wages and benefits. Apparently, good food. Kudos to Syl’s, and the owner and staff.

Debbie P

I have driven to Ontonagon for takeout from Syl's numerous times during this pandemic. They evolved a takeout menu to stay operating and I found it worth the 50mile drive to support small business that was complying with mandates. I will continue to make the drive.