Then and Now

Lori and I went to church with Betty B. today. Yes, we got there early so we got first dibs on the Backlund pew, left hand side, four rows from the back, and one row behind the Johnson pew.

After church we decided to take Betty B. for a little breakfast at the Blue Water Cafe www.mn-usa.com/bluewatercafe/dinner.html  While there I thought it would be fun to show a Then and Now picture of the site where it stands.

When you grow up in Grand Marais time seems to stand still like waiting for water to boil as one day melts into the next, but when you compare a picture from 83 years ago (1927) to today, you can see that indeed Grand Marais has an ever evolving skyline......so to speak. Anyway, to prove a point I took a picture from the exact same spot to compare them side by side.

The picture on the left is the intersection in front of the Tourist Hotel formerly the Hotel Paine the celebration was known back in the day as an International Day where the folks from Fort William would come to town (to do what, I don't know) . The Tourist Hotel burned Dec 31, 1931 and was later the site of Tony's/Cartier's Lunch. To this day I still hear about the hamburgers served there.

The picture on the right is the Blue Water Cafe today, formerly the El-Ray Cafe. 

So the next time you hear someone complaining that they wish things were just like they always were, or that nothing ever changes, you can prove to them that in fact a lot does happen when you let enough time go by while waiting for the water to boil.