On the recordSeptember 29, 2010
As Members of the Senate, we work every day with public servants who fill an amazing variety of roles, and when one of those servants fills his or her role with exceptional skill and dedication, they deserve our praise. One such public servant, Jim Corless, the superintendent of Keweenaw National Historical Park in Michigan, is preparing to retire after nearly 30 years of Federal service, the last 3 of which have come in helping build one of the most unique national parks in the Nation. Jim Corless came to Michigan's Copper Country from Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway, AK, making him that rare person who moved south to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. This was good fortune for those of us who care about preserving the history of Michigan's copper mining era because Jim's career had prepared him well. As a trained historian, Jim had already helped bring alive the drama of our Nation's founding, the frontier grit of the earliest Texas settlers, the history of Ozark waterways in Arkansas, and the growth of textile manufacturing in Massachusetts in parks from coast to coast.





