Keweenaw National Historical Park Advisory Commission Members

Dan Jamison, At-large member

My mother’s family came to the area to be a part of the copper era. My great grandfather A. E. Petermann was the President of Calumet & Hecla in the early 1940s and his son, my grandfather, was General Counsel of the company in its final years. Every summer as a child I vacationed at their homes on Gratiot Lake and visited many of the industrial sites while they were still in operation. Later, when I got my drivers license, I expanded my visits to include even older sites further up the peninsula and watched sadly as the fires of industry to the south grew cold. Even today as I drive back and forth from my home on Gratiot Lake (the camp my Grandfather built in the 1940s, which I was able to buy back from a third party two years ago!) to my office at the Lakeshore Center in Houghton, I am reminded of what was, and I salute the remaining silver sentinels (rock houses) in memory of those that used to exist all along the peninsula. The view from my office includes the smelter works in Ripley and the remaining workings along the hill in Hancock. It never fails to make me smile. I have explored all of these sites extensively over the decades and watched with great interest as some (but not all) have been stabilized.

 

Gerald Juntunen, At-Large Member

Mr. Juntunen is a lifelong resident of the Keweenaw. A former miner with Calumet & Hecla and at the White Pine mine, Juntunen has first-hand experience with the lives and labors of the area’s copper mining past. Now retired, Mr. Juntunen most recently served as the Houghton County Building Inspector. In this position he helped NPS staff with compliance concerns relative to historic structures. If appointed, this would be Mr. Juntunen’s first term on the Commission.

 

Karin Cooper, Houghton County Board of Commissioners

Ms. Cooper currently works as a Project Architect with U.P. Engineers & Architects in Houghton, MI. She has an extensive background in preservation work and adaptive reuse of historic buildings. Ms. Cooper has previously worked on projects related to Keweenaw National Historical Park and is very familiar with the park.

 

Glenn Anderson, State of Michigan

Mr. Anderson is the former City Manager for the City of Hancock, MI. He is familiar with the work required to preserve and adaptively reuse historic buildings and has been a strong supporter of the park’s mission through his involvement with the Quincy Mine Hoist Association.

 

John Sullivan, Quincy-Franklin Township

Mr. Sullivan, born and raised in Calumet, is a retired Civil Engineer. He was a Principal with U.P. Engineers and Architects for 27 years and previous to that he spent 13 years with State and local governments. John is a volunteer at the Quincy Mine Hoist Association and the U.P. Firefighters Memorial Museum.

 

awaiting new appointment, Village of Calumet

 

Thomas Helppi, Charter Township of Calumet

Mr. Helppi has been working in construction for over twenty years. In that time, he was involved in several projects connected to historic preservation and adaptive reuse of historic properties. He believes a balance can be achieved in the interpretation and preservation of our nationally significant local history with present and future needs that will promote and grow the greater Copper Country community.