Hi Joel,

I live in southwest Michigan and love spending time in the UP where you can
go a whole twenty miles without bumping into a franchise of any kind. I
used to live in North Carolina and found that  a lot of people (not all
natives to NC) had never heard of the UP and needed to hear "Upper
Peninsula of Michigan". Even then, some folks told me they didn't realize
that MI had an upper peninsula or worse, thought the UP was part of Canada.
I also had a fellow tell me that MI is cold and dirty, so I let him keep
that impression.

I've heard that us downstaters are called "trolls" by true Yoopers cuz we
live under the bridge. This always cracks me up but my Yooper friends say
they've never heard of it. Maybe they're sparing my feelings. Better than
being a fudgie!

Amelia



>I guess I should clarify what a "Yooper" is for those far from the midwest...
>
>Those of us fortunate enough to be born in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
>(the U.P.) are often referred to as "Yoopers".  And many Yoopers are of
>Finnish descent.  All of my great grandparents were born in Finland, so I'm
>proud to not only to have 100% Finnish ancestory, but also to be a true
>"Yooper."
>
>I'm sure that many others out there have their own regional terminology for
>their natives.  Let's hear them....
>
>Joel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amelia Hansen
Corvus Art, Natural History Illustration
PO Box 19434
Kalamazoo, MI  49019
(269) 353-2052
http://www.corvus-art.com