Local museum in a pinch after severe storms

ISHPEMING — The week of April 9, 2017 was certainly one for the books as Yoopers experienced all four seasons in as many days.

Severe storms bringing in hail and wind up to 80 miles per hour started the week off on a pretty rough note. The damage was county-wide, but Republic and Ishpeming took the brunt of the beating. While some structures were left unharmed, one local museum dedicated to preserving the history of the area wasn’t so lucky.

The board for the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum estimates that the storm caused 5-10,000 worth of damage to two buildings on the property. The wind caught under the metal paneling and ripped half the roof off the building seen here. And the “C” shaft, a local landmark for the area, had a piece of sheet metal ripped clean off the building, bringing up several concerns, safety being one of them.

“It detracts from the appearance of the site as we try to preserve it,” said Vice President for the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum, Mark Dryer. “But as it opens the hole, it allows the air to get inside and strong winds could cause more damage.”

The museum does operate on a private organization budget, collecting funds primarily from donations and summer admissions, making it difficult to repair the structures.

“We were just starting to get our footing and make ends meet, and these types of costs will now dig into that so anywhere where we can stir up some interest and help support the group will certainly help us fix these and maybe even move on to do other repairs,” Dryer said.

Dryer says no matter what, the museum will be opening as planned in mid-June. If you would like to donate to the museum to help them with repairs, you can find them on Facebook.