From The Keweenaw to the Caloosahatchee and Back

by Richard "Dick" Dana
(Calumet, Michigan)

Dear Mr. Miller:

I ran across your interesting and informative website while looking for more historical information about the little town of Alva, Florida.

My wife and I have recently purchased a home in the northern part of Lehigh Acres in Lee County not too far south of Alva and the amazing Caloosahatchee River. We are looking forward to a few years from now when we can spend our winters there.

Being from a part of the country even further north than you here in the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan we are intrigued by what would seem like a great contrast in things like the climate, geography, flora and fauna, housing styles, ethnic backgrounds, and much more. Yet, it’s precisely those things which make both Florida and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan so unique and wonderful.

This is my 40th winter here in the Keweenaw and it looks as if we will get our usual 250 plus inches of snow if things keep going the way they are now, but that’s just the way winter is here and it’s cold too so why wouldn’t we want to spend this winter time in a wonderful place like Florida especially as we approach our senior years when we can still lead active lives and enjoy another unique and wonderful place on this earth. We want to join the ranks of true snowbirds and live in paradise all year from now on instead of just in the summer.

To me the Keweenaw is paradise in the summer and there’s no where else I would rather be. This wonderful rugged little peninsula stuck out in the middle of majestic Lake Superior has a magical and mystical quality all its own and one I’ve come to be part of over the many years I’ve been here. People often ask me if I’m a native and I answer them by saying that I wasn’t born here, it just took me a few years to find my way home.

I’ve been to Florida many times on vacation over the years past and always loved the Gulf Coast and visited many places from St. Petersburg on down to Naples. I love that characteristic smell of the gulf mixed with a warm breeze. It gives you a feeling you can just soak up whereas the fresh cool and sometimes cold breeze coming off the big lake is so refreshing, at times awe inspiring, but not the kind you can soak up. Still I get very much the same feeling walking along the miles of beaches in the Keweenaw as I do walking the beautiful beaches of the Gulf Coast.

It’s ironic that US 41 should begin in the Keweenaw and end in Florida almost 2000 miles from one end to the other and what seems like worlds apart, but somehow I feel at home in both places. When I was young I basically flipped a coin, Florida or Northern Michigan and here I am as it was meant to be, but now it’s time to go home again. People often say to me how can you expect to stand the heat and humidity? I tell them I’ve been practicing for the last 30 years standing in front of a glass furnace in the summertime pursuing my hobby of glassblowing. Now-a-days I don’t warm up until the temperature rises above 80 degrees and besides winter in Florida is normally the dry season with little humidity.


Your interest in Florida history is as mine is with the history and heritage of the Keweenaw. As one of the founders in 1981 and past president of the Keweenaw County Historical Society I’m gratified to see a robust and progressive society today that boasts over 1100 members across the nation and six major historical sites in the county, the main one being the beautiful Eagle Harbor Lighthouse complex.

2011 will be my 15th year as president of the Coppertown Mining Museum in Calumet in Houghton County a wonderful mining museum in the heart of the Keweenaw National Historical Park. I am drawn to the history of Lee County and surrounding area and am looking forward to learning more already amazed at what I’ve learned so far.

I had to chuckle at your story of your trip with your family to your home in Menominee as I thought I was a prolific writer, but don’t hold a candle to you, although I just began a story I call “From the Keweenaw to the Caloosahatchee and Back”, the story of events and happenings surrounding the purchase of our home in Lehigh Acres. It’s only started and already has over 100 pages, but includes many interesting bits of history and background on places we’ve been to, the amazing flora we have seen, and the delightful animals and birds we have met so far. It may never get finished, but that’s alright too.

I just thought that you might be interested in this connection your website has made as I will be looking forward receiving your e-mail about Florida Heritage Travel. Our Florida travel plans are going to be much easier than I thought. Thanks!

Richard (Dick) Dana
Calumet, MI

PS – In my years of accumulation of historical materials and data I happened upon a nice collection of old Florida postcards. I would think that they are of some interest to Florida historians. Can you direct me to a contact person?