UPPAA

U.P. Notable Book Club - Deborah K. Frontiera and Living in Sisu
2026-05-14 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Detroit) | Zoom
UP Notable Book Club: The Crystal Falls Community District Library in partnership with the U.P. Publishers & Authors Association (UPPAA) has scheduled author events with winners of the UP Notable Book List. The 58th event is with Deborah K. O. Frontiera (Calumet, MI), a prodigious poet and author of fiction and non-fiction for Middle Grade readers (grades 4 to 6+). Living on Sisu: The 1913 Union Copper Strike Tragedy was honored with the 2013 Purple Dragonfly Award from StoryMonsters. In 2026, it was honored as a U.P. Notable Classic owing to the power of this perennially relevant storytelling. In today’s world, where our country is riven into opposing factions, many valuable lessons can be learned from Frontiera’s fair and balanced treatment of history. Not just for middle graders, the novel contains life lessons that everyone in the family can grasp.
When: Thursday, May 14, 2026 at 7 pm Eastern / 6 pm Central
Where: on the Zoom platform — please contact Evelyn Gathu in advance at egathu@crystalfallslibrary.org, or by phone at (906) 875-3344. We recommend you borrow a copy of these books from your local library or purchase from your local bookseller in advance to get the most out of these events.
DEBORAH K.O. FRONTIERA grew up in Lake Linden along with some friends whose fathers worked in the Calumet & Hecla stamp mill, others whose Finnish parents and grandparents farmed the Traprock Valley, and a father and grandfather who were in business and mining engineering. She, like her character Emma, found it difficult to sort out the multiple sides of the 1913 union strike.
She taught in Houston public schools from 1985 until 2008 and then taught creative writing part-time for Houston’s WITS (Writers In The Schools) program. Upon retirement from teaching, she and her husband moved back to her beloved U.P., but they head south during part of the winter to be with their daughters and grandchildren.
She has written for children, young adults and adults, fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Visit her website for more information: www.authorsden.com/deborahkfrontiera

“Deborah K. Frontiera’s Living on Sisu: The 1913 Union Copper Strike Tragedy offers a candid view of a violent strike against the mining companies in Houghton and Keweenaw counties. Twelve-year-old Emma Niemi narrated the story about her family’s participation in the strike and what else happened during that fateful year of 1913 in Calumet. Other characters in the book include MacNaughton, general manager of the mines, and Big Annie, one of the leaders of the strike.
The story takes place predominantly in Calumet, a community in the Keweenaw Peninsula. The term in the title “sisu” is a Finnish term meaning stoic determination, bravery, and persistence of purpose. It also means inner strength, action-oriented, and cultural identity for the Finnish people. When Emma’s family was going to face a loss of income as a result of the strike, everyone in her family worked together to take care of their needs. The year 1913 was a tumultuous time in Calumet; many lives were lost, and many people’s lives were in danger. Some of the main themes in this book were determination and violence. Emma’s parents, along with others such as Big Annie, marched daily to support the strike. Emma was determined to help her family financially.”
Read the rest of Sharon Brunner’s review at U.P. Book Review
More information about the U.P. Notable Book list, U.P. Book Review, and UPPAA can be found on www.UPNotable.com

Book Club "Enduring Legacies: People of the 1926 Barnes-Hecker Mine Disaster" with Mary V. Tippett
2026-09-10 19:00 - 20:00
UP Notable Book Club presents a Q&A session with Mary V. Tippet ⛏️ author of Enduring Legacies: People of the 1926 Barnes-Hecker Mine Disaster
UP Notable Book Club: The Crystal Falls Community District Library, in partnership with the U.P. Publishers & Authors Association (UPPAA), has scheduled author events with winners of the UP Notable Book List. The 62nd event is with Mary V. Tippett, whose book Enduring Legacies tells the life stories of each and every one of the 51 men who died on November 3, 1926, when Barnes-Hecker collapsed and flooded. Tippett reaches far beyond names and dates and includes interviews of many of the families of survivors. Each story is well documented by newspaper accounts, meticulously restored photos, and after-accident reports recorded a hundred years ago. Join us for a tribute to these brave men who went down to the man-car to work one day in 1926, never knowing it would be their last on earth.
When: Thursday, September 10 at 7 pm Eastern / 6 pm Central
How: Everyone is invited to join the Book Club by using the signup form on the sidebar of www.UPNotable.com and enter your email and contact info. You’ll automatically receive an exclusive Zoom link a week prior to the event. Alternately, you can contact Shirley Frank at the Crystal Falls Library.
We recommend you borrow a copy of Enduring Legacies: People of the 1926 Barnes-Hecker Mine Disaster from your local library or purchase from your local bookseller in advance to get the most out of these events.
Mary V. Tippett
MARY V. TIPPETT is a granddaughter of Walter Tippett, who perished in the Barnes-Hecker tragedy. In 2016, she led the 90th Anniversary Barnes-Hecker Remembrance Project, and continues to manage the Facebook page with a following of more than 850 people. She currently serves on the board of the Friends of the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee. In 1994, she conducted oral histories with underground miners of her Dad’s generation, and all materials are in the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives available online. The Tippett family genealogy has been traced back to the mid-1600s in Cornwall, England, with the first documentation of mining in the 1860s. Both the Finnish and Cornish sides of Mary’s extended family including her Dad, brother, and son-in-law are among several generations of mining people. . .
“… no one is more qualified to tell this story than Mary V. Tippett—a granddaughter of Walter Tippett, who perished in the Barnes-Hecker tragedy. In 2016, she led the 90th Anniversary Barnes-Hecker Remembrance Project, and continues to manage the Facebook page with a following of more than 850 people. She currently serves on the board of the Friends of the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in Negaunee. In 1994, she conducted oral histories with underground miners of her dad’s generation, and all of those materials now reside in the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives, available online.
“Tippett’s book is deeply researched and provides salient facts sourced from mine records, contemporaneous news stories, and rare documents and photographs. More than just a recitation of text, Enduring Legacies includes never-before seen family photos from the participating descendants of the fifty-one men who perished. In total, more than 150 of these photos have been meticulously restored. Of course you can see the sisu of the steely eyes of the miners but equally compelling are the tender wedding photos, family portraits, and club photos which humanize and personalize each story. The family stories were contributed by descendants from seventeen states and five countries who Tippett has reached out to either locally or through her worldwide social media network.
“Each family has its own unique story and hence its own chapter in Enduring Legacies. The book details families that lived right at the Barnes-Hecker location and in neighboring Diorite, Ishpeming, North Lake location, and West Ishpeming. The ephemera with this book is even more surprising, there are pictures of dolls that belonged to the children, employment cards, newspaper clippings, CCI issued safety fobs indicating the miners had first-aid proficiency, the pocket watch of Thomas Kirby Sr. which was found in the connecting drift between Barnes-Hecker and Morris-Lloyd Mine, and much more than I can possibly list here.”
Read the rest of the story on U.P. Book Review

More information about the U.P. Notable Book list, U.P. Book Review, and UPPAA can be found on www.UPNotable.com

Book Club: "Straw Horse: A Kat Wilde U.P. Mystery" with Terri Martin
2026-10-08 19:00 - 20:00
When: Thursday, October 8 at 7 pm Eastern / 6 pm Central
How: Everyone is invited to join the Book Club by using the signup form on the sidebar of www.UPNotable.com and enter your email and contact info. You’ll automatically receive an exclusive Zoom link a week prior to the event. Alternately, you can contact Shirley Frank at the Crystal Falls Library.
