WONDERS OF THE U.P. - PAST AND PRESENT
by Tony Taton

I can see the hunter's tracks in the snow and hear the commotion as the hunters and their dogs return to the camp with their kill.

See the little ones running and hear the dogs barking as they thank their God for his providings. Those were the days men lived by and on the land and that was all they needed.

Is it any wonder they enjoyed great health and lived to old age?

When our children were young, there was a TV story called Centennial, telling the story of the exploration of the Great Lake area by the French Priests (Jesuits), and the hunters, trappers and settlers.

My father was a lumberjack, hunter, trapper and fisherman and his sons also hunted, trapped and fished.

During the TV story, our children became entranced with it and we watched it faithfully.

The French canoe fur traders wore red wool toques on their heads. (I have a couple of them, which I have worn each winter of my life.)

Amy and Matthew, our children saw the caps and pointed and said to my wife, look, there's dad in the canoe.

If I would have been born during those days, I may have well been in one of those canoes.

I have worked in the real estate business well over 40 years with my partner John A. Rowling, and we worked commercial property all over the state and also in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana.

We traveled the upper from east to west and knew the area well; in fact, John's father, Tom Rowling was born in the upper and worked in the mines as a boy.

We loved our time spent in the UP and did a good job of providing for our families while there.

If and when you get to Marquette, don't miss stopping at the old fish shanty (Thills) at the foot of the East-West Street at Lake Superior and purchase some white fish (smoked if you like), herring and chubs. Take a cooler with you for you'll want some for home.

Pasties were a treat in the upper along with good home cooking in the small hamlets, villages and wide parts of the roadways.

Just south of Marquette is a Swedish motel and diner named Holstoon's, the food is excellent and the motel is A-1.

The copper country, the many rivers with falls, Tahquamenon Point, Crystal Falls, Norway and others are always beautiful.

In the evening, one can almost reach up and touch the stars for they shine extra bright in the upper.

Truly God was generous when He made the state of Michigan in all of His Glory. Whenever I cross into the upper I think of a great hymn (How Great Thou Art), and thank God for our beautiful state and all He provided for each of us.