Phoning It In

Representative Tiffany to hold a "telephone town hall" Wednesday, Sept 4th at 7pm on the proposed park. Is he just "phoning it in"?

(the screen porch of the Shaw Cabin on Sand Island)

In November of 1918, something happened on Sand Island that had never happened before - the phone rang. Thanks to an investment of some $1500, the Sand Island Telephone Company had brought a telephone line two miles underwater to Sand Island (the first and only to any of the islands except Madeline) and its first message: an announcement of the signing of the Armistice. Regular phone service began on December 17, 1918.

And ended just about as quickly. Not too long after the original ring, the cable was severed. The phones went silent. And the Sand Island Telephone Company came to the conclusion that it would prove too costly to repair and maintain in the tempestuous waters of Lake Superior. Apostle Islands land line phone service faded into history.

(Sand Island under the northern lights)

Until now that is. Later today (Wednesday, September 4th, 2024) the phone will once again play an important role in Apostle Islands history. Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI) will hold what he and his staff are calling a “Telephone Town Hall” to “answer questions on redesignating the Apostle Islands to Wisconsin’s first National Park, the economy, border, and more.” All in a single one-hour meeting.

Here is the press release in full:

This is a complicated issue with far reaching ramifications inside of the park and beyond (to read a more in-depth essay on the bill, click below):

The proposed change will impact tourism, housing prices, the trails and campgrounds, as well as the environmental integrity of the park itself. There are concerns about the lack of Search & Rescue resources, the capacity of other local services such as roads, parking, and hotels and restaurants. What impact will an added influx of tourism to the area have on affordable housing for workers and the quality of life for residents? What changes might it bring to treaty rights? Why is Sand Island singled out for “National Preserve” status instead of “National Park” status like the rest of the Lakeshore? The plethora of questions that have met with only dial-tone from Tiffany and his staff have caused both the Bayfield County Board and the Red Cliff Tribal Council to issue resolutions opposing the bill until more information is offered.

So many questions, so few answers. Some people feel like the phone line has been cut.

So, I laughed when I read that Representative Tiffany was calling his Telephone Town Hall a “convenient way to ask any questions you have right from the comfort of your home.” I thought of Burt Hill, the local postmaster, newspaper man, and telephone investor over on Sand Island picking up the phone only to find the line severed, no dial tone, no connection to the outside world. History does not record what Burt said that day when the phoneline to the islands stopped working but it may well have been something like “well, if it is so dog-gone important, people will just have to come to the island and talk face-to-face. That’s the way we do things around here anyway.”

(Burt Hill of Sand Island - Bayfield Press/NPS photograph)

Making the islands a national park and preserve is “dog-gone important.” So, I ask Representative Tiffany to do the same. Come to Bayfield or better yet, come to Sand Island (the very place you have singled out as a “National Preserve”) and tell us face-to-face what it is you hope to accomplish with the Apostle Islands National Park and Preserve Act (H.R. 9111). Don’t just pick up the phone. No one is looking for a “convenient” way to engage. We are looking for a meaningful, in-depth, heart-to-heart discussion about a complicated issue effecting a place we love.

When Gaylord Nelson first began discussing the idea of creating the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore he held dozens and dozens of meetings including bringing President Kennedy here to speak in September of 1963. In the course of the five years the bill took to gain traction after being introduced in 1965, Nelson would hold hundreds of meetings in total resulting in thousands of pages of public testimony. He answered every question and explained every detail. He listened to fishermen and sailors, hikers, and local business people. He spoke to the tribe, heard their concerns and made changes to the bill because of all those discussions. Perhaps most importantly, Gaylord Nelson came to the islands, touched the beaches, listened to the wind and the waves. He even did something few politicians today would ever think to do: he took his shoes of and walked the beach barefoot.

(Gaylord Nelson on Julian Bay beach, Stockton Island - National Park Service photograph)

So sure, we will be on that “Telephone Town Hall” if that is all that is offered but as Burt Hill might have said, if it is important enough, don’t just phone it in. Stand in front of us, stand with us, look us in the eyes, and listen Mr. Tiffany.

Don’t let the phone line be severed on your chance to be heard. Push Representative Tiffany to hold a real Town Hall, in Bayfield, in all the towns impacted by this potential change, or in the islands. Don’t let him get away with simply phoning it in. Remember Burt Hill and tell him to do more than pick up the phone. Remember Gaylord Nelson and tell him to walk on Julian Bay beach, barefoot, and listen.

That’s the way we do things around here.

To join in the “Telephone Town Hall” call 833-946-1523 at 7pm on September 4th. (Note: Tiffany’s press release seems to infer that only people living in Wisconsin’s seventh congressional district may be on the call, interesting for a call about a “national” park).

— Jeff Rennicke (all photography by the author unless otherwise noted)