Charles Kauppi was a commercial fisherman, operating out of Gay, Michigan on the Keweenaw Peninsula. By the summer of 1930 he had moved his base of operations to Copper Harbor and started the first charter ferry service to Isle Royale on his converted gill-net fishing boat, WATER LILY.

With the publicity surrounding the establishment of Isle Royale as a national park, Kauppi saw his business grow, and he commissioned a local Keweenaw boatbuilder to build the 48-foot COPPER QUEEN, planning to run a regular ferry service. With problems obtaining Coast Guard certification, Kauppi continued to run charters, stopping at the lodges and campgrounds on Isle Royale.

In 1938 he commissioned to the 40-foot ISLE ROYALE QUEEN from the Wiinikka Boat Works of Portage Entry. With watertight compartments, ISLE ROYALE QUEEN was Coast Guard certified and Kauppi could operate a set schedule. With his son, Willard (“Sully”), Kauppi operated the COPPER QUEEN and the ISLE ROYALE QUEEN, until his death in 1955.

His family sold the COPPER QUEEN to the Grand Portage-Isle Royale Transportation Service running from Grand Portage, Minnesota, to Isle Royale. Re-christened VOYAGEUR, she served another 15 years. The Kauppis sold the ISLE ROYALE QUEEN and the Copper Harbor business to Ward Grosnick (excerpted from http://www.lakesuperior.com/blogs/superior-notes/323jrnl, accessed August 2012).