ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – This week, a club based in Delta County is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
The Marble Plus Knife Club was started by a group of Gladstone residents who enjoy collecting products from Marble Arms. Marble Arms, also founded in Gladstone, was opened and by and named after inventor and outdoorsman Webster Marble.
Over the last three decades, members have raised approximately $65,000 for local charities, including Bay Cliff Health Camp and Tri-County Safe Harbor. After 9/11, the club raised $5,000 for equipment for New York Firefighters.
Member Dennis Moberg says the group also works to keep the legacy of Marble alive.
“The collectors are also historians,” Moberg said. “We learn a lot about Gladstone, the U.P., the effect of Marble not just Gladstone and the local economy, but the U.P. in general. We’re celebrating 30 years, and Marble has been around for 130 years.”
Moberg says in its prime, the Marble Plus Knife Club had around 400 members. Membership now stands at 165, with members from each coast of the United States, as well as Australia, France, and Germany.
“The group is still ongoing and always looking for new members,” said Mobert. “We’re trying to get young people involved in this.”
For more information on the Marble Plus Knife Club, visit the group’s Facebook page.
To learn more about Webster Marble and Marble Arms, visit the Webster Marble: Inventing the Outdoors Museum” at the Delta County Chamber of Commerce.
