This was our first trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula and being there a little over a week has been very enlightening. We learned the following:
1. There has been a movement to make the UP a 51st state, possibly with a little of Wisconsin thrown in. The state would be named Superior. In the 70s, a bill proposing this split only lost by one vote.
2. People of the UP refer to themselves as Yoopers and the people of Lower Michigan as ‘trolls’ because they live under The Bridge. That would be the Mackinaw Bridge.
3. I thought the statehood proposal might be behind the tee shirt I saw in the pastie shop in Munising that said “A State Divided Since 1934.” When I asked what happened in 1934, the nice manager explained that that was when the NFL started and most of the Yoopers rooted for Green Bay while most of the lower part supported the Lions.
4. There are over 300 waterfalls in the UP and only one in lower Michigan.
5. Most signs for grocery and convenience stores list bait as the second or third item they carry.
6. Even though tourism is one of the top two industries, you don’t see very many chain hotels. But there are lots of older and very well-kept motels. There is also a refreshing lack of the commercialism that you see in most touristy areas. Signs are small and discreet--except for the one we saw yesterday for “Da Yooper Tourist Trap.” It was quite large.
7. There are over 4300 inland lakes. And billions of trees. The landscape is stunning.
8. There have been so many Finnish immigrants that the TV station in Marquette broadcast a Finnish-language program until two years ago.
9. Pasties (pronounced pass-ties) seem to be the official food. Originally a way to take lunch to work for the miners in Cornwall, it’s like a beef pot pie in a thicker crust. Then there’s the fudge...
1. There has been a movement to make the UP a 51st state, possibly with a little of Wisconsin thrown in. The state would be named Superior. In the 70s, a bill proposing this split only lost by one vote.
2. People of the UP refer to themselves as Yoopers and the people of Lower Michigan as ‘trolls’ because they live under The Bridge. That would be the Mackinaw Bridge.
3. I thought the statehood proposal might be behind the tee shirt I saw in the pastie shop in Munising that said “A State Divided Since 1934.” When I asked what happened in 1934, the nice manager explained that that was when the NFL started and most of the Yoopers rooted for Green Bay while most of the lower part supported the Lions.
4. There are over 300 waterfalls in the UP and only one in lower Michigan.
5. Most signs for grocery and convenience stores list bait as the second or third item they carry.
6. Even though tourism is one of the top two industries, you don’t see very many chain hotels. But there are lots of older and very well-kept motels. There is also a refreshing lack of the commercialism that you see in most touristy areas. Signs are small and discreet--except for the one we saw yesterday for “Da Yooper Tourist Trap.” It was quite large.
7. There are over 4300 inland lakes. And billions of trees. The landscape is stunning.
8. There have been so many Finnish immigrants that the TV station in Marquette broadcast a Finnish-language program until two years ago.
9. Pasties (pronounced pass-ties) seem to be the official food. Originally a way to take lunch to work for the miners in Cornwall, it’s like a beef pot pie in a thicker crust. Then there’s the fudge...
RSS Feed