Tomorrow's rain will usher in a cooler spell than we have lately enjoyed. Daytime temperatures should remain below the seasonal average, while several nights will fall into the 40s. Following the rain, expect brisk northwest winds for a day before calmer conditions return. The remainder of the week should bring partly cloudy skies, light winds, and enough humidity that the air may feel cooler than the thermometer suggests. If you think it feels more like September than July, you will not be mistaken.
There is good news for those who enjoy music and laughter. Olle i Skratthult and his celebrated Loafers' Band are scheduled to perform at the Rustic Room of the Trading Post on July 29. Miss Fjell has invited me to attend, and I accepted before remembering that our editor has an unfortunate talent for discovering such things. If next week's paper contains rumors of a weatherman smiling too broadly, you will know where they began. Elsewhere about the county, Mrs. Leslie Bean and Miss Esther Anderson have been camping at Sawbill Lake, while John A. Dewar and Arthur Allen expect to leave shortly for the Nipigon country to inspect a trapping line in preparation for next winter.
Progress continues elsewhere in the village. The new diesel engine has been installed at the Grand Marais Light & Power Company, with a second engine already on order to meet the growing demand for electricity. At last week's commissioners' meeting I was asked, quite fairly, how matters stand with our weather radio station. I believe the village deserves an honest answer. The work has taken longer than any of us expected, but each delay has brought us a little nearer the day when the first forecast is carried across Cook County by radio. If all goes well, that day should arrive in early August.
George Eliot once asked, "What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other?" I have thought often of those words while waiting for engines, radio parts, and the many small pieces that seem determined to arrive after they are needed. A weather forecast cannot stop the rain, nor can a radio hasten the delivery of machinery. But if it helps a fisherman choose the safer day to set his nets, or a family postpone a long journey until after a storm has passed, then perhaps the waiting will have been worthwhile.
Editor's Note: The opening photo is of Gustav Nyberg and Olle i Skratthult in 1916. He was born in Munkfors, Värmland, imigrated to the US, and settled Willmar, Minnesota. Eventually, he became an entertainer and moved to Minneapolis. He traveled the country with his band. You can watch a documentary about him on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPHxQh66Rok