OT: What is really considered "Up North?"
Being that the Memorial Day weekend is almost upon us, I've always wondered what most people truly consider "Up North."
Is it just absolutely over the bridge or anything north of, say, Flint? I've always thought that if you draw a line across the state parallel to the tip of the thumb maybe that would be a good cutoff point. Thoughts?
You may be right. Walmart could hold the key to the up north dilema.
I always preferred Meijer over Wal-Mart
Co-signed, Meijer is definitely the pinnacle of shopping super centers in this state.
I'd rather give my cash to a Michigan based company.
I only know it as "Meijer's."
in "Meijers", heathen!
agreed.... and for those who are curious, I found this Gem a while ago...
http://www.michigannative.com/ma_home.shtml
Company names as possessives
In the early 1900's, the Ford Motor Company's sole factory was known by people all over Michigan as "Ford's Factory", since it was owned by Henry Ford. Like a virus, this wacky mispronunciation spread to any large shrine of industry or commerce.
"Where do you work?" "Oh, I work at Ford's." "I see, and evidently you were schooled in Ohio."
So "Meijer" became "Meijers", "Kroger" became "Krogers", and inexplicably, "K-Mart" became... "K-Marts"! For the record, folks... there is no family by the name of "K-Mart" that owns that chain.
I do also say "Kroger's," but I've never said "Ford's." That one always sounded weird to me. (I would not say "K-Mart's" either.)
I've never said "Ford's" either, but Meijer's, Kroger's, Farmer Jack's, Damman's, Penney's, and everything else. Never even realized I did it or that it was a Michigan thing until I left the state for college and people asked why the hell I was talking about going to "Teeter's."
I do that with "Nordtrom's.' A lot of people correct me on that one.
Born and raised in Michigan, I don't add an 's' to anything except "Nordstroms" for some odd reason. Anyway... This post made me think of this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDKmtwpJ0Tk&playnext_from=TL&videos=ZV6-…
There are a lot of places in the UP where the only convenient restaurant derives a large percentage of its profits from pasties. Does that mean it isn't Up North?
Yes and pasties suck.
My Yooper friends are hunting you now. Beware overweight men dressed in camo gear and bright orange vests.
I've seen these guys before...good strong men, with strong values and substandard dental care.
So true. And if you're in Ishpeming you have to add in cudighi.
north of gaylord
I am north of Sault Canada to cottage about 8 times a year and it doesn't feel to "north" until I get north of Gaylord. Just FYI, but for any of you MGoBloggers with the kids the Energy Outlet Kids Park next to the Gaylord arena is a really good kids playground and free with a quality picnic area if you are doing that drive.
when i was playing hockey in mt. p we would play cheyboygan several times a year and it always seemed like there was a snow belt in gaylord, not much snow before, a shit ton afterwards
to me. From the time I was two in 1966 until the property was sold and the lodge and all the cabins destroyed, Glen Eden on beautiful, crystal clear Glen Lake was my "up North".
I have been to Hawaii, California, Florida and many points in between, but nothing on this earth compares to the beauty of Glen Lake in the summertime.
I learned as a small child that Clare was the "gateway to Up North", but I never feel like I'm getting there until I pass Cadillac on 115 going North.
On the eastern side of the state, I'd call Grayling Up North.
I spent the first 13 summers of my life at Glen Eden until it was sold. We now head over to Arcadia.
North of Clare is Up North to me.
I know I'm officially 'Up North' when I can walk into one store and buy pasties, smoked fish, and porn.
I grew up in Houghton Lake and I always considered Clare and above "Up North." Unless you live there in which case anything above you is now "Up North"
the side of the road when someone says"I have to piss".
growing up in the ann arbor area and never getting to the cross the zilwaukee bridge (we took 96 to 127 north) id give 'up north' the old porn definition: i know it when i see it. That being said, i am headed to Glen Arbor this weekend and am incredibly excited.
I am from Traverse City and now live in Grand Rapids but since i have lived here i have considered TC to be up north. TC is a great place to be in the summer.
On the Ann Arbor-to-cabin run (Garden Peninsula) I usually started feeling it just past West Branch. On Memorial Day weekend, though, if you aren't there by now you are fucked.
But if you want to consider north of Cadilac up north, I could live with it.
You guys just caused me to Google "Zilwaukee Bridge". There's 10 seconds of my life I wouldn't mind having back.
But, on the upside, in that area, there is a township known as Frankenlust. That sounds like one fuck of a place to be from. Word.
North of M-72. Can't wait to go up north this weekend!!!
Because that's where I am for a weekend of work right now, and a lot of the mountain tops still have snow on them.
Could be worse. The other owner and the guy who got me this job went to San Jose this weekend, and Donnor's Pass is still totally covered with snow. That is well south of Boise, and even Michigan.
As far as Michigan goes, I'd say by the time you get past Flint, you're getting "Up North" by most standards. Personally though, I don't REALLY feel that way until I get to around Petoskey or Traverse City, or most epsecially after you get to Mackinaw. SAY YA TO DA UP, EH?
If you're in Boise, McCall is up north.
As a yooper I always defined the bridge to be the "Up North" line, but after a few years at U-M this has become too inconvenient (I would get excited when people said they were from Northern Michigan and meant Bay City or Gaylord) so in my mind "Northern Michigan" is Bay City to the Bridge, and everything north of that is God's Country.
being from the Saginaw area, I always considered north of US-10 (north of Clare) to be up-northish but close enough for a day trip, while I consider North of M-55 (Tawas to West Branch to Cadillac) truly up-north. Whoever said north of Flint is up-north needs to be slapped. if you have ever been 30 miles north of there, Saginaw County is either farmland or gangs.
we had a family cabin that backed up to the southwest side of Huron National Forest. We always said we were going "up north" when we went there. So I'll take Huron National and anything on that latitude.
It was always across the bridge. Usually St. Ignace, which is a beautiful town.
In my home community of Standish, where M-13 and US 23 split, the demarcation line was Worth road. This is now home of a casino, so has some noriety now.
it was amazing how everything North of there, had that feeling (my hometown) of that country, while everything below, Pinconning Kawkawlin and Bay City had some of the city constructs of industry.
Thus I believe anyone who said Sterling, West Branch or Standish is dead on. While Bay City is the biggest town on the South side of "Up North"
is when you are officially up north
I live in the Metro Detroit area and spend many summer holidays traveling to Ludington. I've always considered it "Up North." I agree that anything North of Mt. Pleasant seems reasonable. I guess it depends on where you live.
Coming from Metro Detroit:
Once you cross the Zilwaukee Bridge, you officially enter "Up North"
If you go north or west of our capitol city, you too are "up north."
As a public service announcement, if you go south of Detroit, you are NOT "up north."
....south of Detroit is Canada.
Secord Lake because thats where the cabin is.
I know people who call Gerogia "up north."
In Michigan, though, I consider anything north of I-96 to be "Southern Canada;" eh?
My simple definition for "Up North" used to be road size. If there were only two lanes roads around then you were definitely there. Also, those painted white wood bollards that could be found along side some roads & parking areas also used to be pretty emblematic of Up North to me. Probably development during the past twenty years has obliterated all of this. I used to be an expert since I've been all over the northern Michigan (have even stood on Isle Royale gazing north to the barely visible grain towers of Thunder Bay, Ontario) but it's been so long since I've been any of those places that I probably have no idea what I'm talking about anymore.
Also, slightly off-topic, but Vermont also feels very Up North to be.
Oh, and last thought, I can't believe nobody has said North Campus or Bursley Hall as an example of Up North yet.
As a yooper, when I'm calling something "up north", I'm usually referring to Houghton.
Come on guys. Let's be honest now, if you've lived in Michigan long enough, anywhere in-state that you vacation to is "Up North".
The current cabin is almost dead West of here, but I still sometimes say "up north".
Burt Lake is Up North. Everything else is just riding its coattials.
Seriously, I think first you have to be beyond the 45th parallel, then you're Up North.
And what happens above the 45th parallel, stays above the 45th parallel.
We used to have a cottage in Pentwater, and we considered that up north. Same with Big Star Lake, in Baldwin. Definitely Up North.
I grew up in a small town called White Cloud, about an hour north of Grand Rapids. Our welcome city sign read "Where the North begins and pure waters flow". So growing up I always thought thats where it started. Now that I live in Cincinnati its pretty much anything in Michigan....or God's country, whichever you prefer to call it.