A reception for the “Extraordinary Women of the U.P.” exhibit is planned from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the museum, 100 Brady Ave. in Caspian, where visitors can view specially made panels that provide biographical information and photos.

Some notable women in the exhibit include Iron County’s Debra Bernhardt, Marcia Bernhardt, Maxine “Packy” Eckola, Aileen Fisher, Carrie Jacobs-Bond, Julia Nyholm (Odadatabisekwe), LaDena Schnapper, Viola Turpeinen and Pearl Windsor; and Dickinson County’s Beatrice Blomquist, Gloria B. Boyce, the Cotterill sisters and Margaret “Magee” Johnson.

Iron County Historical Museum Director Kathlene Long has invited family members of area honorees to attend and speak if they wish at the reception.

The exhibit was at the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at Northern Michigan University from mid-March to mid-August of 2024, and each county was invited to display artifacts associated with the women. The panels were then moved around to other cities as part of a traveling exhibit and the artifacts returned. After the exhibit leaves Iron County at the end of July, it will return to Houghton.

Some of the panels on display as part of the "Extraordinary Women of the U.P." exhibit at the Iron County Historical Museum through July. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

The criteria to be selected was the women had to have ties to the U.P. and be deceased. The panels are organized by categories, such as art, education and sports. The project began in 2023.

In addition to Long, other members of the committee were Lisa Cromell, director of the Munising School Public Library; Elise Nelson, director of the Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw; Dr. Emily Romeo, NMU assistant professor of history; and Daniel Truckey, director/curator of the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center at NMU.

“Each of us who were on the committee were given geographical areas — like I researched Iron County,” Long said. “We were lucky enough that Marcia Bernhardt put together a book about notable women of the U.P. So basically we just opened the book and started going through it.” Bernhardt was one of the founders of the Iron County museum.

“We were going to be limited by how many people. In the end we couldn’t decide; we couldn’t say, ‘This person deserves it more than this person.'”

“I worked with my own volunteer base — especially Maggie Scheffer; she did a lot of the leg work. And I had an intern, Evalyn Gatien.”

Gatien was in high school and is now a college student. “She helped with research and some of the photographs and helped transcribe the book,” Long said.

Each county was invited to submit people to be included and they were “blown away by the number submitted and we were blown away by the information.”

Students in Romeo’s U.S. Women’s history classes in fall 2023 and winter 2024 did some of the research and writing for the panels.

Additional research and writing was provided by William Cummings, former president of the Menominee Range Historical Museum in Dickinson County; Jean Ellis, Keweenaw Heritage Center; Karen Lindquist, archivist, Delta County Historical Society; Dr. Russell Magnaghi, NMU history professor emeritus; Larry Peterson, president, Schoolcraft County Historical Society; and Erin Vanier, director, Michillimackinac Historical Society.

In addition to the traveling display, Long said Scheffer has done additional research and found several more county women to be honored. This information will remain at the museum along with some of the artifacts. They include Mary Mae Singler Angeli, Eleanore Koester Coles, Mildred Johnson Henricksen, Ruth Daly White, Dale Griffin Safford, Dr. Anne Miller and Mary Krumbein Kale.

Long said she was honored to be asked to be part of the committee that finalized the list of women.

“Every one of them has such a cool story. It’s really fascinating,” she said.

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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.