Post # 2

Quote of the Day  "In the winter we shovel snow and in the summer we swat mosquitoes. During the spring and fall we rest up from swatting and shoveling." Peter Oikarinen's reply to the often-asked question of Yoopers, "What do you people do up there?" 1987

REVIEWS

100 Things To Do In The Upper Peninsula Before You Die 
by Kath Usitalo

A 100 things to do in the U.P. could add up to a might too many things to add to one's bucket list. But what should be on every Michiganians list, as well as anyone from around the Great Lakes, is at least one extensive trip to the "Land Above the Bridge." Kath Usitalo's book, 100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die, will help you choose what interests you and what not to miss.

Michigan's northern peninsula contains a third of the state's landmass but only .3% of her population. And all it takes to see what a different world lies north of  Big Mac is to cross the Straits and drive. It becomes readily apparent within a few miles that the U.P. might not be a different state than below the bridge, but it certainly produces a different state of mind. It can be hours between billboard sightings or passing a Golden Arches. Virtually untouched natural beauty can be seen around almost every bend, and you can pass through several small towns before spotting a stop sign or stoplight. Hand lettered signs abound, and it seems half of them advertise homemade pasties or bait. The former is a Cornish pie stuffed with meat, potatoes, carrots, rutabagas, and anything else Cornish men and women can think of to stuff into a pocket of dough before sticking it in an oven.

The author warns the reader that in the U.P. many businesses are seasonal, cash is highly prized, and in many places credit cards won't get you the time of day. GPS systems don't always work in the U.P., cell phones are often useless, and many back roads are not passable by the family car unless its a 4-wheel SUV.

The author hits all of the do-not-miss sights from the Keweenaw Peninsula, and Pictured Rocks, to the Soo Locks, Mackinac Island, and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park with its 60,000 acres, 90 miles of trails, great campground, spectacular views of Lake Superior, and abundant wildlife. But any guide book can lead you there.

The author also leads curious and intrepid travelers to singular roadside attractions the likes of which define the U.P. experience. Such as the Hilltop Bakery in L'Anse that is famous for its one pound cinnamon roll. Yes, a cinnamon roll the size of a small loaf of bread and so damn good they sell them all over the country via the internet at sweetroll.com. You can also get them as takeout but there is no way one can drive and eat this monster. Besides its best to sit down in Hilltop and let the smell of the rolls waft over you and then get one served right out of the oven when the butter, sugar, and cinnamon has become that delectable syrup within the roll and the sticky icing runs onto the plate until the huge roll looks like its swimming in the stuff.

The book pinpoints lighthouses that are B & B's and takes you to Whitefish Point and the oldest operating lighthouse on the Great Lakes which is within steps of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. If that's not enough, you're standing on one of the best bird-watching sites in the state during the spring and fall.  At the other end of peninsula there's Fitzgerald's in Eagle River on the Keweenaw Penisula that specializes in southern BBQ and a world class collection of great whiskeys from around the globe.

The author makes it clear that if you're in the Keweenaw Peninsula  you must stop at the JamPot Bakery in Eagle Harbor. It's operated by the Society of St. John Monastery and the baked goods including jams, jellies, muffins, brownies, cookies, and breads are all heavenly. The JamPot and Washington D. C. are nearly of equal distance from downstate Michigan, but one trip to the JamPot and you would crawl through broken glass to return. And if you want to really get closer to heaven, altitude wise, take the black-topped Brockway Mountain Drive. At it's highest point, it is 700 feet above the big lake, and on a clear day one can just make out Isle Royale shimmering in the distant blue of Superior. It is the highest elevated road lying between the Rockies and the Appalachian Mountains.

Usitalo also finds winter fun for those who don't snowmobile or cross country ski. In February, St. Ignace hosts 200 teams from across the U.S. and Canada in a pond hockey tournament played on 30 rinks laid out on the bay. During the tournament, hockey players may out number villagers.

This is a must guide for enjoying all the strange, one-of-a-kind, and breathtakingly beautiful attractions of Michigan's real Up North. The descriptions are succinct, give all the pertinent information, and will have the readers itching to travel.



Usitalo, Kath. 100 Things to Do in the Upper Peninsula Before You Die, St. Louis:Reedy Press, 2017. $16

Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination 
by Herb Boyd.

As the title suggests, this very readable narrative history of the Detroit Black experience does more than recount the abuses, discrimination, and outright violence visited on its Black citizens. It also records in fascinating detail the contributions in music, art, sports, Black culture, civil rights, and the slow but eventual gains in political power made by Detroit's Black inhabitants. 

The author makes this a very personal history by filling the book with stories of Detroiters and how they changed the city and the state. A few well-known names get a lot of  ink but there are many more whose stories will take even the well informed by surprise. Like Cora Mae Brown who came to Detroit during the Great Black Migration, attended Cass Technical High School, Fiske University, and then Wayne State Law School before entering politics. She became Michigan's and the nation's first Black state senator in 1952.

Then there is Norman "Turkey" Streans who starred for the Detroit Stars in the Negro National League. In 1926 he batted .352 for the season and an astounding .474 in the playoffs. In 1927 the team's spark plug hit .375 with 20 home runs. Streans also led the team in doubles, triples, and stolen bases. His stats equaled those of the Tiger's great Ty Cobb who vowed to never play ball against an African-American. Boyd also covers the Black leaders who used the UAW and the Civil Rights Movement as a training grounds for their political futures, and in doing so, changed the political landscape of Detroit and Michigan.

Reading Boyd's account of the 1943 Detroit Race Riot and its aftermath almost had me believing I was looking at an all too familiar blueprint or model for the race riots of the Sixties. There had been considerable friction and resentment among Detroit's Black population in 1943 due to second-hand jobs, housing, and overt racism. On June 20, 1943, 90-degree temperatures and suffocating humidity brought 100,000 Detroiters to Belle Isle seeking relief. The weather and the grievances made for short fuses, and fights broke out between Whites and Blacks. The fighting spread along the Belle Isle Bridge and into the city.  Blacks started breaking into white businesses, and police were ordered to shoot to kill. The uprising lasted two days, resulted in 34 deaths, and almost 2,000 arrests. Not a single White was convicted of any crime. Committees were created to get at the root cause of the riot but neglected to consider racism or discrimination in jobs and housing, and declared White citizens only became violent when defending themselves. It also found the police were without fault. The mayor's staff (oblivious to the irony) came up with its own "white paper" that also turned a blind eye to the real causes of the riot.

Herb Boyd has produced a powerful, eye-opening history of Black Detroit and the growth of the city's energetic and resilient Black Culture. The book is a testament to and a celebration of Black Detroit's love for their city.




Boyd, David. Black Detroit: A People's History of Self-Determination, NY: HarperCollins, 2017. $27.99

Beyond Streaming: A Sound Mural For Flint 

by Broad Museum, MSU

There have been quite a few books written about the Flint Water Crisis, and I'm sure there will be quite a few more.  But this little booklet that accompanied an exhibit on Flint's water catastrophe is, and will remain one of the best. Funded by the MSU Federal Credit Union Artist Studio Series, the exhibit (and this booklet) were the work of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum and artist Jan Tichy while in an artist residence at the museum.

Ms. Tichy worked with students from Carmen-Ainsworth in Flint and Everett High School in Lansing to plan the exhibit and prepare its installation. Tichy paired Everett and Carmen-Ainsworth students together to dramatize through the exhibit and the booklet their feelings about the water crisis and how it has changed lives. The Flint students wrote poetry about what happened to their city and their lives, and the Lansing students drew pictures to compliment each poem. The exhibit has closed, but this booklet remains as a testament to the exhibit and to what the people of Flint have endured.

The poems are heart-felt and raw. They speak of how young people reacted to a world suddenly gone wrong and with dire results for their long term health. Who in this state or any state in the nation expects to turn on a faucet and drink, bathe, and cook in water so corrosive it tarnished metal, and so tainted with lead it will have lasting effects on children's cognitive development. The poems and drawings are emotional gut reactions to when the water as well as local and state government all turned on the citizens of Flint. These are powerful poems that speak of loss, fear, sickness, bewilderment, and a striking sense of betrayal. The booklet is not for sale but you can write for one, while they last, at Board Art Museum MSU, 547 East Circle Dr., East Lansing, MI 48824. Better yet you can read and/or download the booklet by clicking here.  Thank you to The Broad Museum and Carmen-Ainsworth student Allison Clark for allowing the following poem to be quoted.

Cold

by Allsion Clark

Water is a life necessity

So why do people treat 

It like an accessory,

Life is dependent on

This steady supply

but that supply has been tainted, 

How can we prosper when we cannot grow

How can we forgive with no one to blame

How can we blame with no one taking responsibility

How can the world, 

a city,

a government, 

a person

be so cold?

New Books Coming in September

Carney-Coston, Barbara. To the Copper Country, WayneState Univ. Presss, 2017. $14.99
    An11-year-old Croatian girl's trip to and living in Keweenaw Copper Country in the1880s. A               novel based on a true story.

Chengelis, Angelique. Michigan Man: Jim Harbaugh & the Rebirth of Wolverine Football, Triumph Books, 9-15-2017. $25.95
 
Milan, Jon. Iconic Restaurants of Ann Arbor, Arcadia Pub., 2017.  Paperback  edition. $22.95