Magnaghi, Russell M

English

Northern Michigan University: The Commons

Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region Volume 7 Article 3 4-2020 Remembering John B. Anderton (1964-2014) Russell M. Magnaghi Northern Michigan University, rmagnaghi@nmu.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.nmu.edu/upper_country Recommended Citation Magnaghi, Russell M. (2020) "Remembering John B. Anderton (1964-2014)," Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region: Vol. 7 , Article 3. Available at: https://commons.nmu.edu/upper_country/vol7/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals and Peer-Reviewed Series at NMU Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region by an authorized editor of NMU Commons. For more information, please contact kmcdonou@nmu.edu,bsarjean@nmu.edu. Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region, vol. 7, 2019 Remembering John B. Anderton (1964-2014) Dr. John Baye Anderton played a significant role in the development of the archaeology of the central and eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. As a result of his work we gained extensive knowledge of the land and its prehistoric inhabitants. Thus we are honoring him in this edition of Upper Country. Dr. Anderton was a descendant of the pioneer Philip Marchetti/Marketty family of Negaunee, one of the first Italian families to settle there. He was born on 15 July 1964 in Marquette and raised in Negaunee un-der the eyes of his grandparents throughout his childhood. At an early age he developed a loved for the woods – hunting, hiking and camping. There, he discovered his passions for running, biking, and cross-country ski-ing.He graduated from Negaunee High School in 1983 and in the fall began his academic career at North-ern Michigan University. As a student, he participated in his first archaeological dig in 1985. Dr. Anderton graduated in 1987 with a B.S. in Earth Science with minors in Biology and Anthropology. He then moved west to pursue a master’s degree from the University of Wyoming. He graduated in 1990 with his M.A. in Ge-ography with minors in Geomorphology and Archaeology with a Geoarchaeology emphasis. Dr. Anderton continued his graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1995 he received his Ph.D. in Geog-raphy with a minor in Archaeology with a Geoarchaeology focus. During this time he met and married Laura Ricklard in 1990. Their first daughter, Karalyn was born in 1994. Four years later his second daughter, Colleen was born. In 2005, the sparkle of his eye, his son Jack, was born. John loved reading nightly stories to his three children, taking them backpacking and on other wilderness adventures, introducing them to both downhill and cross-country skiing, and teaching them about the history of the U.P. through stories.  Dr. Anderton took his first tenure track position in 1996 at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. His knack for hands-on-learning became immediately apparent in his field trips. At one point he even led a group of students from UND to the Upper Peninsula and Mackinac Island. In the summers, John loved backpacking with his children along Pictured Rocks. He also enjoyed bik-ing, and was able to ride the 28-mile Ore to Shore in 2013 with his son Jack, and his daughter, Colleen. He loved being out on Lake Superior on a standup paddle board or in a kayak and above the lake hiking the many trails of the Marquette area. Every outing involved a lesson on geology, history, archaeology, or geography. He will always be remembered for sharing his knowledge with others. As his home life was unfolding, suddenly the opportunity arose in 1999 that allowed Dr. Anderton to make a decision and move his family to the Upper Peninsula. He took his dream position, teaching at his alma mater, Northern Michigan University. Almost immediately Dr. Anderton became known among his students was known for his excellent teaching style and his interest and concerns for his students. Field trips were com-mon. He led students on archaeological projects and in most cases got his students totally involved in the study of geography and archaeology and even interested some in the studies of soils. During the summer Dr. Anderton directed his time towards archaeological projects. The projects were found across the Upper Peninsula. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore was the focus of several summers. While he conducted his extensive archaeological research, Dr. John B. Anderton was a member of the Earth, Environmental, and Geographic Department and served as its acting department head from 2008 to 2011. Between 2003 and 2006 he was Director of the Center for Upper Peninsula Studies. During his administration of the Center, Anderton proved to be an excellent choice for the position. 1Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region, vol. 7, 2019 Dr. John Anderton: Remembered Over the years he put on three Sonderegger symposia and participated – presenting stellar papers connected to his on-going research. He also worked with community organizations through an outreach program. He helped the Bonifas Art Center in Escanaba obtain a grant for a historical exhibit and over the years presented numer-ous talks on the subject of his research to the general public at such events as Pioneer Days held in Negaunee in July. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Marquette Regional History Center. He was not only a member of the Board but served as the vice president. His involvement with community groups was one of the Center’s goals. During his directorship, Anderton was conducting archaeological research around the Upper Peninsula. One of his biggest projects was working with the staff at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on locating the original Lake Superior shoreline and then studying Native villages on sites above the present lakeshore. This study became a major part of his research and teaching life as he used the material gathered for talks and for his classes.  Dr. Anderton was a published academician. He wrote and contributed to scholarly articles that were presented at local, regional, national, and international conferences. Most of his research was on geoarcheao-logical aspects of the Upper Peninsula from Paleo-Indian through historic era sites, most recently including fur trade. He published many works, most notably a local history book called The Jewel in the Crown: An Envi-ronmental History of Presque Isle Park, Marquette, Michigan, which was published in 2009. Away from academe, Dr. Anderton was an avid cross-country skier, and he truly embraced his love for the sport, when he moved back to the Upper Peninsula in 1999. He participated in 13 Noquemanon half-marathon ski races, receiving 12 bells as prizes ranging from first overall classic skier to third in age group. In his skiing career, he also participated in the Great Bear Chase, the Seeley Classic, the Birkebeiner, the Brock-way Mountain Challenge, as well as other races. John also partook in the Wednesday Night Relays and helped coach the Superiorland Ski Club. John accomplished all of these things after recovering from a heart attack suffered in 1998. Regrettably, Dr. Anderton died on March 2, 2014, while pursuing his passion for cross-country skiing. He was affiliated with the Register of Professional Archaeologists, Association of American Geogra-phers, Society for American Archaeology, Conference on Michigan Archaeology, and Friends of the Pleisto-cene. John served also on the board at the Marquette Regional History Center and the Presque Isle Park Advi-sory Committee.  Papers and Publications 1989 “Geoarchaeological Interpretation of Former Shorelines in the Munising Area. Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan.” Prepared for Geog 676, Seminar in Geoarchaeology, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 1992 “Prehistoric Use of Relic Shoreline in the Northern Great Lakes, An Example from Hiawatha National Forest. Presented at the 37th Annual Midwest Archaeological Conference, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 1993 “Paleo-shoreline Geoarchaeology in the Northern Great Lakes,” Hiawatha National Forest, Heritage Pro-gram Monograph, No. 1. On file Hiawatha National Forest. 1995. John B. Anderton and William Loope. “Burial Soils in a Parched Dunefield As Indications of Late Holo-cene Lake-head Change in the Lake Superior Basin,” Quaternary Research 44:2 (1995): 190-199. 1998 William L. Loope and John B. Anderton. “Human vs Lightning Ignition of Presettlement Surface Fires in Coastal Pine Forests of the Upper Great Lakes.” American Midland Naturalist 140: 206-218. 1999 “Native American Fire-Maintained Blueberry Patches in the Coastal Pine Forests of the Northern Great Lakes,” The Great Lakes Geographer 6:1-2 (1999): 29-39. 2Upper Country: A Journal of the Lake Superior Region, vol. 7, 2019  Dr. John Anderton: Remembered 2002 “A Cultural Resource Survey of Presque Isle Park, Marquette, Michigan. Sonderegger Symposium #2. 2002 Loope, William, Angela Lucas and John B. Anderton. “An Assessment of Upland Vegetation, Soils, and Site History Adjacent to 1911 Diversion of Walsh Creek, Seney National Wildlife Refuge.” Sondereg-ger Symposium #2. 2002 Loope, William and John B. Anderton. “Deglaciation and Holocene Landscape Evolution in Eastern Up-per Michigan: A Field Guide for the 48th Midwest Friends of the Pleistocene Field Conference.” Grand Marais and Munising, Michigan. 2003 “Geoarchaeology of Grand Island, Michigan.” Sonderegger Symposium #3. 2004 William Loope, Timothy G. Fisher, H.M. Jol, R.J. Goble, and John B. Anderton. “A Holocene History of Dune Mediated Landscape Change along the Southeastern Shore of Lake Superior,” Geomorphology 61:3-4 (August 2004): 303-322. 2004 “The Geoarchaeological Context of Grand Island,” Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology Vol. 29. No. 2 (Fall 2004): 113-132. 2004 “The First People of the Upper Peninsula: Paleo Indian Geoarchaeology in Northern Michigan.” Sonderegger Symposium #4. 2005 “The Gribben Forest Revisited.” Sonderegger Symposium #5. 2006 “Bugs and Beaches: Geoarchaeology in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.” Sonderegger Symposi-um #6. 2007 “Prehistoric Site Location Modeling and Archaeological Survey in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.” 2009 The Jewel in the Crown: An Environmental History of Presque Isle Park, Marquette, Michigan. Mar-quette: Central for Upper Peninsula Studies, Northern Michigan University. 2009 “Prehistoric Archaeology Potential of Unknown Places in the U.P.” Sonderegger Symposium #9. 2010 Robert L. Legg and John B. Anderton. “Using Paleoshoreline and Site Location Modeling in the North-ern Great Lakes: General Approach to Prehistoric Archaeological Survey in the Pictured Rocks Nation-al Lakeshore,” Geoarchaeology 25:6 (2010): 772-783. 2010 “Ancient Bridges and Light Keepers’ Dumps: A Phase 1 Culture Resource Survey at Fort Wilkins State Park, Michigan.” Sonderegger Symposium #10. 2013 “Native American Camp in Marquette County.” Sonderegger Symposium #13. 2019 “Native American Camp in Marquette County,” Upper Country: Journal of the Lake Superior Region (2019). Honors 2015, April 23- first celebration of Anderton’s Earth Day/Week, Northern Michigan University. 2017, September 18- Dedication of Anderton Trail System in Presque Isle Park, Marquette, Michigan. 2019- Commemorative issue of Upper Country, Journal of the Lake Superior Basin. 3

Remembering John B. Anderton (1964-2014)

https://commons.nmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=upper_country

Remembering John B. Anderton (1964-2014)

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Northern Michigan University: The Commons