This post was originally posted on Michigan in Pictures.  They were kind enough to let us repost it on Yooper Steez.  Michigan in Pictures posts a photo a day, every day, from the great state of Michigan. Check out their blog and subscribe, it’s a good one.

Today is the last Wednesday of June, and on Absolute Michigan, that means it’s a Weird Wednesday. Today Weird Michigan author Linda Godfrey has a piece on Shocking but Scenic Seney that features Hemingway and the Ogre of Seney and the seedy history of this town that you’ll want to check out.

Hunt’s UP Guide says that while Seney was once the Upper Peninsula’s most raucous lumber town with a population of 3000 – now just 300 – today Seney is best known as the start of The Seney Stretch:

…that mind-numbingly monotonous 30 miles of M-28 between Seney and Shingleton that’s the most direct route from the Mackinac Bridge to Pictured Rocks and Marquette. Here the highway is almost straight as an arrow and flat as a pancake because it’s crossing a swamp. The scraggly, flat, boring landscape can get burned into a motorist’s brain and mistakenly become representative of the entire U.P. interior.

Wikipedia’s entry for Michigan Highway M-28 adds that the Seney Stretch is the longest curveless section of highway in the state, and one of the longest straight stretches of curveless highway east of the Mississippi.

Man vs. U.P.

Well done Kris, now let’s see if Bear Grylls or Les Stroud come to the Upper Peninsula for an episode of either of their shows.

Also, might not want to giveaway that we have pasties growing in the wild, or beer trees, too many people might start moving to the U.P.

Win this shirt!

Three easy ways to win. Apply all 4 ways for more chances to win!*

1. Say hi to Yooper Steez on Twitter using @UpperPeninsula

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3. Leave a comment anywhere on the Yooper Steez blog

4. Sign up for our blog’s RSS feed in your e-mail inbox (below)

A big shoutout to Justin who made this happen.  Tom Izzo certainly became a little more famous this week, though not everyone agrees that he’s the most famous yooper ever (feel free to share your take).  Rather than sitting on this shirt for a while it’s a perfect time to give it away to a lucky person.  It’s even in NMU colors, his alma mater.

Tom Izzo has certainly made an impact on the Upper Peninsula and the entire state of Michigan.  He has brought us a lot of to cheer for, is one of the biggest advocates of Michigan, and goes about his job and life with great class.  Give him some props at www.weloveizzo.com.

A random entry from all of the combined will be selected on July 1st, 2010.  If you do all over the above your name can be entered 4 times, giving you more chances to win.
* You must mention us and be a follower so we can direct message you about winning
- You must write on the Facebook Page wall (a new post, not a comment)
- Your e-mail address must be verified so you can be contacted
- Only entries between June 16-30 will be collected

Tom Izzo is certainly all over the media right now as we wait his decision to stay and coach at Michigan State or go on to the NBA to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers.  There’s no doubt that the Iron Mountain native has made a permanent impact on college basketball.

But is he the most famous Yooper ever?  He does have some worthy competition with friend and classmate Steve Mariucci and football legend “The Gipper”.

Tom Izzo clearly has my vote, but I will admit that I’m biased as an MSU alum. So what do you think? Please leave a comment after you vote.

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*Update
Check out this site and let the world why you love Izzo: www.weloveizzo.com

An old 35MM scan of one of the old miners houses at the ghost town, taken probably 10 years ago, don’t think it is still standing. cminer52 on Flickr

About 12 miles southwest of Copper Harbor is the old ghost town of Mandan, a tiny mining town that was vacated in 1909. It was the site of the Mandan Mine and the Medora Mine.

At the turn of the century Mandan had a few hundred residents with a few dozen houses. Today, only a few of the buildings remain. Over the years there was a post office and a general store and Mandan marked the end of the line for the Keweenaw Central Railroad.

And of course, Mandan Road is one of the most scenic drives in the Keweenaw to see the fall colors. A worthwhile loop to take.

“The mine evidently underwent considerable hardship as there were huge beds of sand that made it difficult to mine the four inch wide band of very rich copper.

It is assumed that the mine closed in 1866 and remained dormant until 1899 when the Mandan and Medora Companies were sold to the Keweenaw Copper Company and reorganized in 1905.”

Check out Exploring The North for more detailed information.

Mandan Ghost Town, off US-41

View Larger Map

Thanks to Kimberly and David for bringing Mandan Ghost Town to my attention, it was a good topic to touch on that I didn’t know very much about.  Feel free to leave additional comments if there are other topics you’d like covered or specific places you’d like to know more about.

Yooper Steez now has more buttons! You can choose from…

• White Upper Peninsula on green background
• I [heart] Upper Peninsula
• and Lake Superior

We have variety packs in 12 and 24 so you can get a collection of all styles to share with your friends, family, co-workers, and whoever else.  But if you keep them all to yourself, we understand.

Photo by sophnsoph9 on Flickr

It was difficult to see my beloved Red Wings get thumped by the San Jose Sharks in the playoffs this year. During game 2 of the series, however, I found a wonderful consolation prize if the wings weren’t going to pull off the series. That’s when I realized that Dwight Helminen, a native of Hancock, was playing for the San Jose Sharks.

In the history of the league there have only been a few native Yoopers to play in the NHL. Currently, there is one other Yooper playing in the NHL, Jeff Finger for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Though Helminen was born in Hancock he spent most of his youth in Metro Detroit.

Helminen has played seven games for the Sharks in the playoffs thus far, including three against the Red Wings.  On April 22nd he scored his first playoff goal against the Colorado Avalanche.

“It’s definitely a thrill to play against them,” Helminen said, indicating he idolized Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov as a youngster, but as he developed into a checking role on the ice, came to follow another Wing more closely - Detroit centre Draper.

“He’s always been one of the Wings’ go-to penalty killers,” Helminen said. “When I was in school [at Michigan], that was kind of my role, so I used to watch Draper, and tried to emulate some of the stuff he does, especially on the penalty kill.”

This series is causing a bit of a rift amongst Helminen’s circle of friends.

“My immediate family all claim they’re cheering for the Sharks, but my sister informed me that a couple of her friends weren’t,” Helminen said. “They actually live in a house I own, so I’m going to have to adjust the rent. It might be going up.” — CBC Sports

Helminen, 26, was drafted 244th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Helminen played for the U.S. Junior National Team and went on to play college hockey in the CCHA, lacing up for the Michigan Wolverines for three seasons, from 2001-2004.

After playing for U of M he went on to play in the AHL and ECHL.  The New York Rangers acquired his rights in 2004 and he entered the NHL in 2008 after signing a one-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.  He would go on to play 23 games with the Hurricanes that season finishing with one goal and one assist.  On July 16, 209 he signed a one-year contract with the San Jose Sharks.

He spends his off season in Brighton, MI.

If you’re a big Red Wings fan don’t throw out cheering for San Jose just because they beat the Red Wings.  It would be great to see a fellow Yooper have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.  And hopefully he will be able to develop as a regular player in the NHL.

Dwight Helminen after his 1st NHL goal

These crazy photos showed up in my inbox today and I had to share them.  They came from Reg in Cadillac, Michigan.

While I’m at it I should make a call for submissions… Feel free to create your own mockups of people wearing t-shirts and submit them here or else on the Facebook page.

Be creative and I look forward to seeing some more.  If you don’t have photo editing software on your computer, no need to fret.  Here are a few suggestions with free solutions… Aviary.com, Picnik.com, and Photoshop.com.

Whether you’re reading up on the history of the Upper Peninsula or looking for some new places to explore this year, it’s always a good idea to have a few Upper Peninsula books lying around. I recent received the Upper Peninsula Almanac as a gift. Great work by Ron Jolly and Karl Bohnak. I’ve been keeping it on my coffee table and pick it regularly to read just a few pages at a time and always learn some new things I didn’t know about the Upper Peninsula.

Exploring & Guides

• 
  Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
• 
  Hiking Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
• 
  Upper Peninsula Fishing Guide
• 
  Going Back to Central
• 
  Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: Great Destinations
• 
  50 Hikes in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
• 
  Trout Ponds and Lakes in the Upper Peninsula
• 
  Hunts’ Guide to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
• 
  Northern Flights: Tracking the Birds in the U.P.

History & Essays

• 
  Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Almanac
• 
  Lumberjack: Inside an Era in the U.P.
• 
  The Superior Peninsula: Seasons in the U.P.
• 
  Growing Up Yooper
• 
  Folk Traditions of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
• 
  So Cold A Sky, Upper Michigan Weather Stories
• 
  A Ghostly Road Tour of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
• 
  A Most Superior Land
• 
  Geological report on the Upper Peninsula
• 
  An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites
• 
  Iron-Bearing Rocks Volume 1
• 
  Black River Harbor

This week I headed to Washington D.C. as part of my quest to have a beer with Richard Branson.  One of the biggest inspirations for Yooper Steez was telling everyone about the Upper Peninsula and the Great Lakes while on my 50-state road trip.  I still love to share it with people everywhere I go.  So before heading out I thought I’d update the Yooper Steez Facebook Page …

“I’ll be spreading my Upper Peninsula love and knowledge in the Washington D.C. this week :-) What should I tell them about the U.P.?”

I was impressed to see 40+ comments and thought they really provided a lot of great insight to what people think about the Upper Peninsula.

I wanted to share them with all the Yooper Steez readers in case you didn’t see them on the Facebook Page.  Feel free to add to the comments on Facebook or add one here.

And thanks for all the comments and likes on the Facebook page, keep them coming and feel free to share the Facebook Page with others.

• April Riutta-Schoeninger
  Oh my gosh. You should tell them that the people in the U.P. are unique and wonderful people! And to quit forgetting that they are there!
• Jenifer Brady
  Tell them that we don’t have outhouses. My best friend went to college downstate, and when anyone found out she was from the UP, they’d ask her if she had an outhouse. At first she thought they were just joking, but it turned out that they were serious. :) And tell them we aren’t part of Canada!

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