Anecdote of the Upper Peninsula’s Geography

Posted October 20, 2008 | Share this | Leave a comment

Last night I arrived in East Lansing where I’ll be giving a couple lectures this week at my alma mater, Michigan State. I crashed at my cousin Sara’s place (who is from Sutton’s Bay, north of Traverse city) for the night.

This morning, my cousin’s roommate’s boyfriend came and visited with me for a few minutes and this is how the conversation went.

Dude: So are you from the Sutton’s Bay area as well?

Me: No, I live in Marquette.

Dude: Oh, in Wisconsin.

Me: No, in the Upper Peninsula.

Dude: Where is it about?

Me: North Central Upper Peninsula.

Dude: Ok, so in the Petoskey area?

Me: No, north of the bridge.

Dude: Oh… uhhh, ok i think I know what you mean… (as conversation ends awkwardly)

Maybe I can give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he’s not from Michigan originally. Obviously he is confused if he was wearing at Michigan State University shirt and he goes to the University of Michigan. Perhaps his first thought was Marquette University, which is in Milwaukee.

It’s not the fact that I’m offended as a Yooper that bothers me. It’s the idea that this guy may have grown up in Michigan and does live here now. There is absolutely no reason he should not know where Marquette is, or what “North Central Upper Peninsula” means.

I’ve always been big on geography, especially Michigan geography and the Great Lakes region.

The irony is that tomorrow evening I’m giving a lecture to some undergrad students about hometowns and even hometown stereotypes. At least I have an anecdote to start the lecture with now.

Does anyone else have similar stories?

Save/Share:

4 Comments

Rachel Putnam | October 20th, 2008 4:48 pm | Permalink

busgy!

HaHA!!! I love this story, poor kid! What can i say, you might want to offer him a yooper steez shirt, then he will really get the idea of where Marquette is :)

Rachel
(Kentucky)
Mike | October 20th, 2008 5:26 pm | Permalink

Going to school at NMU, originally growing up in Illinois and Ohio, I found that when people would tell me they were from some tiny Michigan town in the LP, it’d be very helpful when they’d use the hand method.

But then someone told me they were from some small UP town that I’d never heard of, and he showed me the upper peninsula with his left hand, by curling in his pinky and sticking his thumb upwards.

Ever since then, I haven’t had trouble telling people where Marquette is, or another smaller UP town that I’ve been to, for that matter.
Keirsun | October 28th, 2008 7:44 am | Permalink

When I lived in Washington state, I seldom met a native who had any idea where Michigan is located within the U.S. Most people thought it was on the East Coast.

Geographical ignorance seems to be on the rise in our country. And it doesn’t help any that companies that are essential to the online generation are fanning the flames. I wrote this post on Google’s Michigan blob:
http://www.straightupsearch.com/archives/2008/08/cmon_google_len_1.html
Rachel | November 5th, 2008 11:15 pm | Permalink

I grew up in Gladstone and moved to Grand Rapids to attend GVSU. I was writing a check at a Best Buy down there and the lady at the register asked where the 906 area code on my check was from. I explained the UP and that 906 is the area code for the entire UP She looked confused and said “It can’t be for the whole UP, I was just up there a few weeks ago and the area code was 616.” Of course then I was confused (well, mostly amused) and asked where in the UP she had been. She told me Boyne Falls!!! Boyne Falls is in the LP near Charlevoix. Poor lady.

Also, while at college I liked to introduce myself as being from the UP and I met lots of fellow Yoopers at GVSU. I also met one geographically challenged boy who told me he was also from the UP. When I asked where in the UP he told me Cadillac! Um, not even close dude. :)