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A SNOW BIRD - Carlie and Chloe Beatty of Lakevlle, MN made this snow turkey on Thanksgiving Day near the Fernberg Road. “Love coming to Ely for thanksgiving!” said the Beatty family.

Rev. Alfred Donald ‘Father Al’ Kaster, 85, originally from Long Lake, MN, passed away peacefully at the home of his brother Bill, in Long Lake, Mn. on Nov. 28, 2016.
Born 11/25/31 to German parents, Fredrich and Martha, Alfred was the third of seven children: Bernard, Gertrude, Robert, Paul, William and Stephen.
Father Al’s education included both public and parochial schools. After graduating high school in 1949, Alfred went on to graduate from the Crosier Seminary in 1952. Under the supervision of the Duluth Mn. Diocese. Al completed his Philosophy and Theology education at the Benedictine Seminary. Alfred was then ordained a Priest by Bishop Francis Schenk of the Church of St. George in Long Lake, Mn.

by Tom Coombe
Ely’s high school girls basketball team ended the 2015-16 season on a high note, rattling off four straight wins including a playoff overtime thriller before colliding with state powerhouse Mt. Iron-Buhl.
That gives the Timberwolves something to build from as they embark on the 2016-17 season, which starts with Monday night’s home matchup with Greenway (see schedule).
En route to an 8-15 record last winter, the Wolves fielded one of youngest lineups in program history, with eighth-graders Brielle Kallberg and Erika Mattson fueling the late-season surge.
Both return and are a year older, but Ely still figures to have one of the younger teams in the section, with Susan Cook and Morgan Moravitz the only seniors who had prominent roles last year.

Nina Sparks Haaversen, 51, died in a car accident Nov. 23 outside of Ely. She and her family have been Ely residents for 15 years.
Nina was born on June 30, 1965 in New Brighton, PA, and grew up there. She attended Geneva College in the area then headed for Colorado in 1986. That’s where she met her husband, Carl Haaversen, on the second day after she arrived. They were married in Colorado Feb. 10, 1990, and then moved to Coon Rapids, MN in April ’93. They and their four children moved to Ely April, 2001, where she home schooled her children.
Nina was very active in the community. She was a volunteer for Meals on Wheels and the Nordic Ski Team. She was well known for her cooking skills and supplied the food for countless ski team banquets, events and races over many years.

Barry Edward Williams, 75, of Ely, died peacefully surrounded by family on Sunday, November 26, 2016 at home.
He was born on March 20, 1941 in Ely to Edward and Hannah (Klobuchar) Williams
Barry was a proud veteran having served in the U.S.Air force
Barry was an active member of Ely United Methodist Church for over 60 years.
He was a devoted family man and loved spending time with his grandchildren and great grandchildren. An avid outdoorsman, Barry loved fishing, hunting, camping, and being outdoors anytime he could.

by Tom Coombe -

Ely will soon become the 15th – and newest – northeastern Minnesota community to launch “AGE to age: bringing generations together” and make it their own. The Northland Foundation is inviting Ely residents to attend a kick-off meeting on Thursday, December 1 from 5 - 7:30 p.m. at the Grand Ely Lodge, in the Sunset Room, 400 N. Pioneer Road. A light dinner, free of charge, will be served from 5:00-5:30, followed by the community meeting from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Prizes will also be given away.

I’m sure prayers are said in deer stands. Some may even involve something other than asking for a big buck to walk by.
On Sunday, the last day of the firearms deer season, I said a prayer. “Send a buck Evan’s way Lord.”
Now that’s not the first time I’ve said that prayer and to be honest I struggled with adding in “or Jake’s” since both are due to shoot a buck.
But this would be Evan’s first buck and he’s waited longer. Sorry, Jake.
Settled in a noisy stand on the quietest of days, I didn’t have to worry about shooting a buck myself. Every time I moved a muscle the stand sounded like it was going to fall apart and slide down the tree at any second.
But I prayed and waited. Two hours later the sound of Evan’s rifle barking broke the silence and caused me to jump up in the stand.
Rifle in one hand, cell phone in the other I waited to find out what he shot. There was no second shot, always a good sign.

The holiday season is upon us and we hope all of our readers had a happy Thanksgiving - and we wish all of you a season of warmth and good tidings.
Conversations at family holiday gatherings often turn to the news of the day, but it’s easy to understand if families try and steer clear of politics over their turkey and pumpkin pie. In Ely, it’s understandable to add copper-nickel mining to the do not discuss list, for fear of a food fight. Nobody wants to see grandma or a visiting aunt or uncle hit with an errant drumstick, after all.
But conventional wisdom and a lot of rhetoric from the anti-mining crowd, aided sometimes by gullible or left-leaning media outlets, looks to be misguided or just plain wrong when it comes to sentiment about mining in our neck of the woods.

The Ely Echo has been reporting on the Ely area since 1972. Experienced writers and photographers who live and work here add to the family commitment to maintain the highest standards of news.

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