Virgin Mary no-show leaves its legacies

Mike Shannon was such a curmudgeon - with a capital C - a picture of him could be expected next to the word in any illustrated dictionary. I had many maddening conversations with him in low light at the Gaslight tavern in Sandstone. This small town in Pine County had an inordinate number of talented musicians at the time, now nearly 20 years ago.

Just when Mike would tear at the last remnant of likability I may have had, he would shuffle over to the piano and start playing.

He was transformed. His reputation saved for yet another circular, despondent conversation some other time.

I thought of Mike immediately when I came across a news item from 30 years ago this week. The pilgrimage to a plot of land outside of Kettle River to see the Virgin Mary, who had reportedly been visiting for some time and telling Stephen Marino that she wanted to make a very public appearance on Easter Sunday - April 11, 1993.

I called Marino and his partner in dusting up a huge scene in this tiny corner of Carlton County, Earl Nett. They didn't return my calls, which I fully expected given their rather mute stance while news of the expected sighting spread, leading to an estimated 3,500 people in a muddy field. It turned out to be much like Woodstock, but without the concert. The Virgin Mary never showed. I wanted to know what Nett and Marino thought of all the fuss three decades ago. I'm told they still live in the Kettle River area.

"I was there," a friend told me this week when I mentioned the anniversary. He was 20, and a group from Duluth thought it'd be a real gas to head down and check out the site. He recalled settling into a ramshackle motel, downing some beers on Saturday night and then waking up to a "virgin" coat of new snow, making the traipse to the cross in an open field even muddier.

The county spent nearly $10,000 on making sure nothing crazy happened during the pilgrimage. The Catholic diocese in Duluth was flummoxed by the whole ordeal, and perhaps fanned the flames of interest by denouncing the event and telling people to stay away.

And so they came. People walked Brown Road, just off Minnesota Highway 73 north of Kettle River, past the Holy Trinity Cemetery, over the Kettle River, past the Co-op Cemetery and over the Dead Moose River to the site off Birchwood Road.

Marino wasn't even there, having been lured to some other religious phenomena in Europe. He remains in the religion game, under the name of Catalyst Complex Inc., which has an online presence explaining things it does that I don't really understand. I'm not very curious about how people practice or weaponize religion. Many people over the years have accused Marino and Nett of exploiting faith. Yes, a dollar was asked for use of a portable bathroom that Sunday. Yes, T-shirts were for sale. The pair had also mentioned seeking donations for a seven-story hotel and a chapel on the property. That never came to fruition, although Marino's Catalyst Complex touts some kind of retreat there.

But back to Mike Shannon. He immortalized this whole crazy chapter in area history with a song, aptly titled "Virgin Mary." I assumed it was a made-up scenario, license for a talented singer-songwriter.

"Virgin Mary, she's coming to our town this year. Some fellow had a vision and the virgin said 'I will appear, I will appear.' Kettle River, Minnesota," the song goes. His seeming acceptance of the whole thing was a reversal from the Mike I knew. It was optimistic, and not unlike many people who made the trek to see Mary and, instead of being disappointed, were enthralled by the spectacle and vowed self-reflection. I think Mike just enjoyed taking an anti-establishment stance, notably against the edicts of the Catholic Church on high.

"Everybody's talking about it. Well, the bishop told all the people, she can't be coming here. But I don't recall the virgin tryin' to get no bishop's ear. 'Cause she just talks to children and crazy people everywhere. And I ain't no children, let me tell you people I'll be there. I will be there."

I'm not sure if Mike actually made the pilgrimage. The song is enough, I say.

Mike died far too young, 66, in 2015. His music, while rare to find, lives on. The lead song off his "Everything in Time" album from the mid-1990s is "Everything Takes Time." I remain hypnotized by the optimism shown in his lyrics, including "Virgin Mary," but settle down a bit knowing he's admitting his own conflictions, his own addled and off-kilter mind.

"It's gonna be good someday. It's gonna feel real good someday. Hey, everything'll be fine. It's gonna be alright. And I'll be, you'll be, we'll all be real."

The Virgin Mary was a no-show in Kettle River. But was that the point at all?

Mike is a reporter and page designer for the Pine Knot News. He welcomes your own Virgin Mary stories from 30 years ago and can be reached at [email protected]