Marquette Organizations Fighting to Keep Glacial Copper

The largest piece of glacial copper in the world is on display in the Upper Peninsula, and a community group is raising money to protect it. The 28-ton piece of copper in Marquette’s Presque Isle Park has been on loan to the community, but the owners want to be paid for the copper’s value. June Rydholm is spearheading the campaign to get the money before the owners sell it to industry. She says that the Smithsonian Institute confirms that this is the largest piece of glacial float copper in the world. The Friends of Fred Rydholm, the late Marquette historian and storyteller, is trying to raise $250,000 to save the copper. June Rydholm says that the copper has become a tourist attraction in Marquette, with thousands of people coming to see it. She says it would be a shame to see it melted down into copper wires. To make a pledge, contact the Marquette Community Foundation.