Then and Now

The pictures up top are situated near the south east corner of 1st Ave W. and 2nd St. or you could just say across the street south of Matt's store which is now the North Shore Building.

Anyway, the young lady on the left who is smartly posing from the street lamp is Inga (Toftey) Nelson, who from what I've heard, at my home anyway, was the prettiest gal in all of Cook County. She later married George U. Nelson, and they were the proprietors of the Lutsen Resort lutsenresort.com/history.htm# for years and years. 

Based upon the pile of pix that it came from, I'm guessing the picture is from around 1917, and that it was taken by her younger brother Ade Toftey who later went on to be the owner/editor of the Cook County News Herald. www.cookcountynews-herald.com/current/general_news  The weekly Jots by Ade were a staple of Grand Marais life for many decades. 

Note the large building in the distance left of the post. That building is the Shoreview Hotel also known as the Bayview Hotel that is sitting in the same spot that Joynes Department Store is sitting today. Happy 69th Anniversary by the way to Howard n' Julie and the Gang www.northshorevisitor.com/joynes/ The Shoreview was later moved back and turned facing east to make room for the then new department store. The Shoreview building is still standing (though with a mean lean) today.

And for the Now perspective, the gal on the right is my wife Lori. Yes, the driver of the car at the bottom of the street (underneath her outstretched arm) thought my wife was part crazy for posing in such a manner.