Strange Little Tribe

We're a strange little tribe here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, aren't we?

That observation came through to me clearly Wednesday night as I wandered the campus of Michigan Tech in Houghton. The university's enrollment is about 6000, and I'd guess at least 3000 of them were outside, bundled up but smiling, well into the early morning hours.

It was all part of Tech's Winter Carnival. The temperature? Eighteen degrees, with light but steady snow falling, and yet the campus was crawling with revellers.

Some observers might wonder, "What the hell is wrong with those people?"

I would have liked to ask that question, or something like it, of a blonde coed who was standing amid a crowd and watching a broomball game at the festival. For the uninitiated, broomball is like hockey except 1) the rink is tiny  2) the players use little brooms and big nerf balls instead of hockey sticks and hard pucks  3) the players scramble awkwardly around the rink in shoes rather than skates, and  4) the goalie (usually a large guy) kneels in front of his tiny goal rather than stands.

The game ain't pretty but it's fun.

Anyway, the blonde student stood there alone in the crowd, with a subtle smile on her face and talking to no one, for forty-five minutes, and she actually seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the experience. In eighteen degree weather with snow pelting her!

I don't know, maybe she had a boyfriend out on the ice, but still. There's something going on out there that only those in the U.P. tribe (and maybe their brethren in Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Dakotas) can understand.

Other images from this strange but exhilirating snowy festival:

           High-spirited students lining up patiently to play minigolf on a makeshift, icy course that rewarded luck rather than skill.

          Two girls, away from the lights and fanfare, sharing a teeter-totter and a conversation as part of a Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser. They and their friends see-sawed for thirty-six hours straight, day and night. I stopped by twice with donations. Couldn't help it.

          Students selling hot chocolate for fifty cents and "flaming" hot chocolate for a dollar. The "flaming" hot chocolate contained chili peppers.

          One student giving away bowls of chili. Free. No idea where the food came from.

          Maybe a hundred students, arms in the air, dancing wildly in the snow to the deafening music that came out of an enormous boombox made of ice. Had to be at least ten feet tall. The music reverberated throughout the campus.

          And of course, there were the dozens of snow sculptures, all under feverish construction by student groups, armed with axes, hammers and chisels. They had until 8 a.m.Thursday to finish their works of art in the campuswide competition.

Like I said, we're a strange little tribe.

I suspect folks in Florida and California, so proud of their year-round warmth and sparkling beaches, wouldn't get it. But that's the beauty of it, isn't it? It takes a strange and special kind of person--or 3000 of them--to appreciate a party in the dark, in the snow, in the cold.



 

Up With Local

It's sometimes hard to determine whether we're witnessing a profound national trend or just strictly a local phenomenon.

I'm speaking of the push we're seeing here in the Upper Peninsula to "grow local" and to "buy local". Two events last weekend spotlighted the movement: the first, held at the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum, brought together local merchants from mostly small and independent stores to celebrate and promote the "Up with Local" campaign.

Is the campaign working? Well, from the manager of the Marquette Food Co-op, I learned that business was up about 17% this year. That's in a depressed economy! And further, the Co-op now has almost 3000 members. Some of them come from Alger County and maybe a handful from other counties, but still, when you consider that Marquette County has about 65,000 people, 3000 is a considerable amount for what was once considered to be a marginal business catering mostly to "tree-huggers."

Not anymore. Not by a long shot. Consumers increasinglywant local and healthy food grown by local farmers and producers. It has nothing to do with politics.

Further evidence--the increasing popularity of farmers' markets, across the U.P. and across the nation. Have you ever been to one? They're fun, the food is fresh, and when you buy it, you're helping your neighbors.

Also last weekend, independent Marquette restaurateurs got together at the Marquette Commons to show off their food and raise a little money. In spite of the cool, blustery weather, people turned out (at $25 a ticket), and helped raise a $1000 for the Children's Museum, $1000 for the History Museum, $1000 for the YMCA, and $1300 for the restaurant association.

Win-win-win-win.

On Sunday, I travelled up to the Keweenaw for the fall colors but I specifically wanted to visit a new restaurant in Lake Linden--De La Terre.

It's a classy re-make and expansion of an old restaurant there. Great food, wonderful atmosphere, and a welcome addition to the food scene in the Calumet-Laurium-Lake Linden area. But what was especially impressive was that virtually all of the produce and the meat come from the local area, and the materials used in renovating the restaurant were all local, as well. Some came from long defunct mines.

UP With Local is for real. It's certainly a national trend, but I get the sense that the Upper Peninsula, which is already set apart by geography, is ahead of the curve. There's an immense local pride here, and clearly many of our neighbors are doing more than just talking about it.