Photo by MTU
Verna Mize is a name some may know. Even if you haven’t heard of her, if you live in the Lake Superior region, you’ve felt her impact. Nearly a decade ago, Mize’s family donated personal letters and other materials to Michigan Tech Archives.
Michigan Tech Archivist Lindsay Hiltunen says among the team, Verna Mize is known better as the First Lady of the Lake.
She was an advocate for Lake Superior when she found out that there were some really egregious environmental concerns coming out of Minnesota. There was the Reserve Mining Company that was dumping its tailings into the lake. Roughly 60 to 70,000 tons were being dumped into Lake Superior, and it was expanding basically across the entire Lake Superior basin. – Lindsay Hiltunen, Lead Archivist, MTU Archives
After returning to her home in Maryland, Mize began researching developments in the Lake Superior Basin by gathering newspaper articles from local communities. She eventually stumbled upon the Reserve Mining Company’s operations in Silver Bay, Minnesota.
The company was responsible for dumping more than 280 million tons of taconite waste, which also contained cummingtonite-grunerite, which is found in asbestos, between 1955 and 1973. Hiltunen says that before a federal lawsuit was filed, Mize wrote more than 5,000 letters to Congress, state officials, local representatives, and media outlets.
One thing I find interesting is that she didn’t just engage in grassroots advocacy. She was actually a human face to the cause because she would share anecdotes about when she was a child, but also align that memory with the importance of the broader environmental resource for everybody, so she could connect her own story with the environmental resource that everybody deserves to enjoy. And she was also a good visual storyteller. She would fill – Lindsay Hiltunen, Lead Archivist, MTU Archives.
Former District 12 representative Philip Ruppe’s name is mentioned throughout the Mize letters at the Michigan Tech Archives. Hiltunen explains that Mize and Ruppe had a complex relationship throughout events.
So this connects to their health, it connects to their recreation, it connects to their general well-being. And I think a lot of that correspondence that Verna was sharing at that time, not only with Ruppe himself, but also local folks in the region, was really trying to get them to see that complex puzzle, but then ask that question, like, what’s more important and who do we need to be taken care of? – Lindsay Hiltunen, Lead Archivist, MTU Archives
On August 2nd, the Verna Mize triathlon will use the water Mize felt so strongly to protect. The run, swim, and bike sections of the race occur along the Portage Canal. Hiltunen says it’s important to remember people and their influences on communities. And it’s interesting to see how legacy can change over the years.
From an archivist perspective, as I look back, you know, we have so many materials, you know, from her research, from the petitions that she created, from photographs, her correspondence files, you know, thinking about that story, it truly touches people from one edge of this country to the other. And in unexpected ways sometimes too. And, you know, just the fact that one person’s story can connect so many people around such an important issue. One of those things is Lake Superior, I think it goes to show the power that we all have to have an impact on our communities. – Lindsay Hiltunen, Lead Archivist, MTU Archives
In 1974, the United States won the landmark case against Reserve Mining, and the company was ordered to remediate the site. The win in court helped expand the EPA’s power to regulate corporate pollution. Federal District Court Judge of Minnesota, Miles Lord, who oversaw the case, said in his decision, “This court cannot honor profit over human life.”
The 5th Annual Verna Mize Triathlon will take off on August 2nd. There are three race distances to choose from, including the Mini-Mize, which cuts the main race in half. The third distance creates the new Maxi-Mize race, which will include a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40 k bike section, and a 10-kilometer run. Organizers ask racers and volunteers to register before July 31st. Those interested in helping support the race or want to register to race for $5 should contact Mary Kaminski. Find more information about the race at vernamizetriathlon.com
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