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History matters, especially in Ely
History matters greatly and just as much right here in Ely, Minnesota as anywhere else on this planet. Each of us plays a dual role, we are part of creating it and we can always learn from it.
Gathered at Grand Ely Lodge on Wednesday night were members of the Ely-Winton Historical Society for the annual meeting. The guest speaker that night was Reed Petersen who did something interesting. He tied high school sports to local history.
The timing was perfect as we edge closer to celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the Ely Memorial building during the All Class Reunion June 29 through July 6.
This week we also have guest writer Mike Turnbull taking a look back at going to school here in Ely as well.
The Ely Echo is also working on a special edition for the All Class event. Call Lisa Poppenhagen at 218-365-3141 if your business would like to advertise in the commemorative edition.
For Reed, the rise and fall of Ely athletics oftentimes paralleled the local economy. When Ely’s iron mines were going great guns and helping to build a country, a new school was built and our teams were making their presence known at state competitions.
In 1929, just five years after the Memorial building and its iconic gymnasium opened, the boys basketball team made it to the state tournament. And 16 years later the Ely boys came within a whisker of winning a state title.
As Petersen explained, Ely has had successes against much bigger schools but that was when the town was growing, reaching a population of 6,100 in the 1930s.
But following that time period, other Range towns outpaced Ely in population growth. And over the years it becomes more and more difficult for Ely to compete against the likes of Virginia, Hibbing, Grand Rapids and especially in hockey against International Falls after the sport was added in 1952.
Football, basketball and swimming were the only sports in Ely for many years and there were only boys teams. The federal Title IX program would later even the score.
The now-closed swimming pool in the Memorial Building was the home of six of the top four teams in the state between 1950 and 1958.
Over the years more sports were added and more trophies were inserted into the display cases at Ely Memorial. This is especially true when Ely’s population declined but the High School League added a class system to align schools with similar enrollments.
Wednesday night Petersen gave a history lesson using high school sports as a tool. We’re encouraged of this progressive thinking in telling our community’s story. And we believe the best is yet to come.
Present at the meeting were St. Louis County Commissioner Paul McDonald and State Rep. Roger Skraba. With their interest and advocacy, telling our story could get some needed financial support along the way.
That’s good news because there is so much to tell with more being added every day.
