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Dec 29, 2003 There’s this place called the UP, ( Upper Peninsula of Michigan ). It’s like no other place on earth. It’s stuck in time in a verity of decades, one is the economy, one is the social structure, and one is their political view. The locals call themselves Finlanders, They call every one else Trolls. To understand the Upper Peninsula you must understand the Geography of the State. Michigan is divided in two Peninsulas, lower and upper. The Lower Peninsula is accessible from Indiana, Ohio, Canada, by Air and Water. It’s easy to get in and out of the Lower Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula is an other thing. It borders only Wisconsin and water, lots of water. There’s a Bridge at the Straights of Mackinaw if you have the courage to cross over it.. It’s prudent at this point for me to say I Love it in the UP. I love the people in the UP. I love visiting the UP. There’re no people on earth as giving, as caring and as friendly as the Finlanders of the UP once you pass the Troll test. Trolls are any one not from the UP. The economy is stuck in the late 1930’s, just above depression levels. The UP once provided millions of tons of Iron Ore for the steel mills in Detroit and Gary Indiana. The steel mills are gone now and so are most of those jobs. Now steel comes from South America or the Orient, who knows where. We do know it’s not from the UP. Logging was once a thriving industry. That’s been reduced to a trickle by Environmental rules and imports from Canada. Commercial Fishing was good for a long time but now they buttheads with local Indian Tribes for space and allotments. The people of the UP are reduced to collecting each others empties ( beer cans ), cutting each others lawns and plowing each others driveways in winter. Being an industrious people this is only temporary. The UP is embarked on building a year around Tourists Paradise. Let the Trolls support them with their quest for the good life. Hunting, fishing, hiking, canoeing, snow-mobileing, letting nature absorb their every being. The UP has some of the most beautiful scenery in America. The people of the UP are not ones to sit back and let the Government support them. They have survived the deer fly’s, cold winter nights and economic downturns for decades and will for decades more. The social structure of the UP isn’t that hard to understand. I visit the little village of Gwinn. It’s located as close to the middle of the UP as is possible. It was once the home of K I Sayer Air Base, That’s gone now and so are the jobs it provided. They’re slowly developing a Tourist business. The Escanaba River runs through town. There are hundreds of acres of forest for deer hunting, the fishing is out of this world. They’ve discovered Nature is a sellable commodity. The Up North Lodge provides comfort for the Trolls, the Lower Peninsula crowd. That or they can go to Escanaba or Marquette for dinner and entertainment. The locals hang out at the Gwinn Inn, Tavern, Pool Room, Bowling Ally, Pizza Parlor and they provide a few rooms over the Bar for Saturday night drunks. There’s always Rick, Char, Dinky or Butch to serve drinks and take an order for Pizza. It’s the kind of life everyone say they want but after a week their ready to go back to the grind of the city they came from. It takes a very special kind of person to live full time in the UP. The Politics of the UP. This is where the Finlanders and I part company. I am a Conservative Republican throughout. This is a position you don’t want to take in the UP. They get their News and Political Views from National Public Radio and Canadian T. V. Peter Jennings picture hangs in the public library. They attend Church, they worship the Green bay Packers, I guess you know where they stand now. Gummer ( He works at the local Ace Hardware store) threatened to throw me overboard into a lake once, I happen to mention I was a Republican. That’s a mistake I wont make again soon. I was told I could stay if I agreed never to use that kind of language. I am sure this story sounds fabricated and who cares, to a lot of readers. I just wanted to share there are places in this country where life is still lived with Out-houses, Kerosene lamps, Guns, God and a mans sex life is his own business, no one cares or questions it. About the only thing I left out of this story is Bonny’s, you’ll have to go to the UP and find that out for your selves. Trolls are always welcome to come enjoy the UP, bring money and leave any attitude you have at home. ------------ About the Author: Ken Hughes is a retired businessman. A political junkie who's passion is the re-education of Liberals and Term Limits for Congress. He has had very little sucess at either. Email Ken Hughes: uncleken@wwnet.net Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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