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Altoon's Alehouse & Agate Hilton

6/9/2014

2 Comments

 
Perfect weather + mosquitoes = poor outdoor filming in perfect weather. This weekend I filmed interviews both Saturday and Sunday. Both would have been perfect weather for outdoor interviews. Mosquitoes love video cameras though. All the outdoor shots have mosquitoes buzzing around the lens. It makes for interesting shots but would have been terribly distracting interviews. During a tour outside one camp along the river I probably had 200 mosquitoes swarming me. Try holding a video camera still as they’re biting your hand.

Saturday morning’s interview was Brett Niemi, leaseholder of Altoon’s Alehouse. The original camp, built by his grandfather Aale Kurtti in the late 60’s burned down in 1991. A benefit was held at a local bar to raise money to rebuild Altoon’s camp. $6,000 was donated by the community! That shows how much the town cared about Altoon (Aale) and found it necessary that he have a camp to relax, hunt and fish at. If that doesn’t say how much these camps mean to the area, I don’t know what does.

During Brett’s interview I left my GoPro recording outside the camp, hoping to catch a time-lapse of the rain storm coming in. It never rained. The radar looked like it was supposed to rain an hour after I arrived at the camp. My meteorologist friend texted me after the interview to tell me the rain should hold off for my shoot. Yes, it did and I managed to get some great video. The overcast skies made the green forest really vibrant on camera. Now if it weren’t for those darn mosquitoes.

Sunday morning’s interview took place at the Agate Hilton. There is a severe lack of hotels around this area. If you do need a place to stay I would recommend calling Alvin Hiitola to see if you could crash at his camp. If you’re up for a ¾ mile ATV ride through mud, up and down steep clay trails, you could awake to the sound of the river flowing and birds chirping. You won’t get that at any other Hilton. Plus, chances are you would see a Bald Eagle soar above the river through the large windows in the camp. One did during the interview. My camera wasn’t pointed in that direction.

One story of Alvin’s I can’t wait to share in the film is about a tame partridge that hung around the camp area for seven years. It would meet Alvin along the trail into camp and ride on his ATV and keep him company out deer hunting, either on his head or a nearby tree branch. You certainly are one with nature when you’re out at camp.

2 Comments
James L Johnson
6/13/2014 12:44:56 pm

I spent a lot of time at Altoon's Ale House with my dad Carl Swede Johnson. Also, with the original ower's Frank Looney Johnson, Kenneth Ahola and Aale Kurtti......All of us from Bruces.........

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Kristin Ojaniemi
6/16/2014 09:43:35 am

Kenneth showed up for part of the interview as well. I got him to share a few memories of when the camp was built but he didn't stick around too long to talk! I'm glad he came though since he is one of the original owners.

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    Kristin Ojaniemi is the producer/director of the documentary "UP A RIVER"

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