“Only in Houghton.”  That’s a phrase you hear a lot around here, often in a good way, or in a quirky way, and thankfully rarely in a bad way.  One of the town’s biggest selling points is its safety (Take a look at the front page of the Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton on any given day and you’ll see that the crime blotter here is limited to some pretty minor stuff.).

Here’s a quick story that illustrates what “only in Houghton” can mean.  As Dave Barry would say, I swear I did not make this up.  Really, I didn’t:

A Michigan Tech professor parked his car at the Houghton County Airport and flew out on a trip.  Apparently the gentleman was a little overconfident even for this community, and left the car not only unlocked but with the keys in it.  Not surprisingly he returned from his trip to find the car was gone, and reported the theft to the local police.

Some days later he got a call from the police that his car had been found.  Not only had it not been stripped or damaged in any way, but the thief had returned it to the airport parking lot from which it was taken, and with a full tank of gas!

Only in Houghton…

What only in Houghton (or Hancock) stories do you have?  We’d love to hear!

Still looking for a place to have dinner with your valentine this weekend?  The Rock House in Houghton is offering some dinner specials: In addition to filet mignon there’s a chicken breast stuffed with spinach, artichoke hearts and a blend of cheeses.  If you want to add some surf to that turf, they’ll be happy to give you shrimp in lemon butter as an add-on to any meal.

Probably not the lowest-fat dishes ever concocted, but Valentine’s Day only comes once a year, right?  Besides, once you’re done you can go next door to the Mine Shaft and work it off with a few frames of bowling.

It’s nice to see some new options on the Houghton dining menu, perhaps enough to tide us over until De La Terre French bistro opens in Lake Linden in the spring.

Update: We did actually eat dinner there tonight, though none of the three people in our group ended up having the Valentine specials.  Two of us had dishes that featured flat iron steak (one a salad with candied walnuts, gorgonzola, romaine and roasted tomatoes, the other a more standard steak with veggies and rice).  The third person had a cheeseburger.  In every case the meals were fine, even pleasant, about what you’d expect from a restaurant attached to a bowling alley and arcade.

What wasn’t pleasant was the wait – it took about 30 minutes to get our three meals, and of course by that time they were no longer completely hot.  True, the restaurant was busy (as was the Mine Shaft), which is absolutely great to see, but it’s the kind of thing that will drive Houghton diners away if not corrected.  We get very used to not having to wait for anything around here, it’s one of the advantages of small town living.  The Rock House can do better; we’ll check back soon to see whether the timing issues have been resolved.

Image via Wikipedia

My daughter announced this morning, “The sun never shines in Houghton anymore.”  That’s an exaggeration of course, but it is certainly true that January can be a difficult month on the Keweenaw Peninsula.  The Holiday festivities are over, Michigan Tech’s Winter Carnival is still a month away, and it’s way too early in the year to even be thinking about when we might see leaves or grass again.  To make matters worse, it’s also the snowiest month (actually the wettest month of the whole year with an average of more than 4 inches of precipitation), which means you hardly ever see the sun.  Suffice it to say, it can really wear on a person after a while.

Fear not, intrepid winter warriors, this too shall pass.  The dark mornings with late sunrise, 8:40 a.m. at their worst, start to shift in January and you begin gaining a minute of morning daylight almost every day.  The regular snowfall of a little bit most days ensures optimal conditions for the incredible snow sports this area offers.  And if nothing else, January inevitably gives way to February, when the average precipitation is cut in half, you see more sun and the days get much longer.

To get through the month (and the season) like a pro, make plans to spend time playing outside.  It’s not enough to snuggle up by the fire with a good book; the Upper Peninsula winter is too long for that, and besides you’d be missing out on all the fun if you did.   Instead try something new: Rent some snowshoes and make your way through the woods, or head up to Swedetown in Calumet where you can sled on a groomed sledding hill or cross country ski, then take a break over hot chocolate and a board game in the facility’s chalet.

No sooner did I put up the last post about keeping the Upper Peninsula snowfall in perspective but the whole area, and particularly Houghton-Hancock and the Keweenaw, got hit by a massive blast.  This is a storm that’s getting measured in feet, not inches, and it’s been cause for comment even among the snow-tested locals.  It only seems appropriate, then, to offer the following list:

You Know It’s a Big Snowfall When

- Even the local news says it’s “worried” about the weather in your area.

- Your weather is national news.

- School is canceled.

- Your driveway gets plowed more than once in a day.

- People who’ve lived in the area for decades make comments like “this storm is something.”

- You lose track of how much snow you’ve gotten, and the prospect of another 15-32 inches in a day and a half seems manageable.

- Major landmarks — like your mailbox — start to get buried.

- And a related item, the snowplow knocks your mailbox off the post and you have to wear snowshoes to retrieve it from the snowbank (this really happened in this storm).

What additions would you make?  Got any storm stories to tell?  Leave a comment and share them here!

To the great relief of many, the snow has finally arrived in the Keweenaw.  This is a community that proudly runs on the white stuff half the year, so going all the way through November this year without any snow was at first welcome, but by the end of the month a little worrisome to those who look forward to months of snow sports:  pristine downhill and cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling and more.

Houghton snowfall

The concern was short-lived, however: Houghton residents woke up to 6 inches or so of new snow on Friday morning, and it just kept coming from there, as it often does in December, and so far we have as much as a couple of feet from this storm.

Upper Peninsula and specifically Houghton snowfall is the stuff of legend.  The community’s residents tell with great pride tales of annual snowfalls of as much as 400 inches, although 200-250 inches is more typical.  For those who find that thought daunting, keep in mind that that’s happening over a period of six months or so (yes, really) and most of it is lake effect snow, which is so powdery you can almost blow it off your windshield.

If you’re new to the area there are a couple of things you should understand about the snow here.  First off, in general the towns know how to handle it (main roads are usually kept well plowed, for example).  That means that you can expect to go about your daily business for the most part and won’t need to worry about rushing to the supermarket to grab the last loaf of bread or gallon of milk.  At the same time, that also means that events go on as scheduled, so plan accordingly.

The most trouble you’re likely to run into with the snow is getting out of your own driveway.  Having a snow plan is essential here, whether it’s a standing arrangement with a snowplower or your own snow blower, you’re going to need to know in advance how you’re going to get rid of your snow, and where you’re going to put it all.   The locals also know to watch out for “plow poop,” the chunky, more compact snow that city plows can push into your driveway as they go along the street.  Keep a shovel in your car, it’s easier than you think to get stuck going over those berms.

By the way, all life-as-normal bets are off when there’s a blizzard warning.  Those people do take seriously, and cancel school, performances, and even hockey games if it’s really bad.  If there’s a blizzard warning your best bet is to put on some fuzzy socks, build a fire (or turn it on, as many do here with gas fireplaces) and just enjoy watching the snow pile up.  Unless of course you work at or attend Michigan Tech, in which case you’d better get a move on or you’ll be late for class…

Did I miss anything?  What’s your favorite Houghton winter horror or glory story? Share it here.

Jazz fans, you’ve now got a place to find great music on your Houghton radio dial.  If you like jazz, then The Other Eric Hall Show on Michigan Tech’s radio station, 91.9 WMTU, is not to be missed.  The show runs on Sunday evenings from 6-8 p.m. and offers a wide variety of jazz, blues and other instrumental music, along with some tongue-in-cheek “commercials” for local businesses.  Artists heard on recent shows include Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and John Scofield.  Pretty straight-ahead, pretty great.

Too bad the show only runs two hours – its host, Eric Hall, clearly knows his stuff and often peppers the program with interesting background on the artists, their tunes, or the time period in which they were written.

It’s great to see this new addition to the radio music scene in the Copper Country; we hope it’s around for a long, long time.  And if live music is your thing, you can keep abreast of the many live music concerts of all kinds that happen in the area every weekend on the Keweenaw Music fan page on Facebook.

Support local music in the Copper Country!

It’s sad to say, but summer’s clearly giving way to fall in the Upper Peninsula.  The leaves are starting to turn, the nights are getting cooler, the days noticeably shorter.  Worse than any of that, we just discovered an amazing frozen yogurt stand — on its last day in town until next summer!  

Merry Berry Frozen Yogurt sells a sweet-tart, fresh-tasting version of the icy concoction that is absolutely refreshing and delicious (like Pinkberry, for those who are familiar with the popular chain).   When we visited there was a choice of passionfruit or “plain” yogurt, with a wealth of toppings including fruit sauces and chocolate chips — 100 percent delicious and grown-up tasting, though the 11-year old we had along loved it too.

The brainchild of a West Coast native and former Chassell, MI resident spends her summers in the Houghton area, the yogurt is sold out of a large trailer that is something like an updated, slightly less mobile version of a traditional ice cream truck.   If all goes well she’d like to franchise the trailers and spread yogurt cheer far and wide, and if there’s any justice in the world she should have a chance to do that.

In the meantime, we’ll be counting the days until Merry Berry’s trailer appears again in Houghton next summer.  PS for Merry Berry: We’d love it if you’d leave us a comment here and let us know the date you’ll be back!

It’s official, the Mine Shaft and Rock House Grill & Tavern in Houghton are open again, complete with go karts, mini golf and more (from the Web site):

• 18 state-of-the-art bowling lanes
• Over 40 interactive video and prize games
• 18-hole putting golf course
• Go-kart racing on the Huron Creek Speedway
• Private party/meeting room
• Leading-edge audio/video system, featuring 25 widescreen TVs

Initial reviews for the complex are great, and early concerns that the updated Rock House’s menu wouldn’t match up to the restaurant’s previous version also turn out to be premature, at least based on what they’re offering.    There’s even some pretty good wine on the list at the high end, and a full selection of cocktails.

The Mine Shaft’s Web site says the facility’s grand opening is planned for Sept. 18-20.  That’s a busy weekend in Houghton, with the annual Parade of Nations and the Michigan Tech football team’s first home game so there should be plenty of people around town to make the event a success .

Despite the slight delay on the grand opening, reservations are being taken now for parties at the Mine Shaft, “the largest bowling center in the Northwestern U.P.” (a pretty singular distinction, if ever there was one) and they’ve announced the addition of tailgate parties, bowling leagues, and the like.

It’s great to see the Mine Shaft back, now go patronize it!

A column in the Detroit Free Press has raised a few eyebrows around the Keweenaw Peninsula.  Titled Shades of Detroit in the Keweenaw, it suggests that the Keweenaw is a “miniature Motor City” because the two areas share the visible and infrastructural challenges of communities that were built up around now-declining industries (mining in the Copper Country’s case, and of course autos in Detroit’s).

The author, Bill McGraw, is in no way entirely negative about the Keweenaw Peninsula — he rightly gives a nod to its “natural beauty and friendly Yoopers” amid communities like Calumet (10 miles up the road from Houghton) that still have plenty of charm.   Noting that the Keweenaw is the “Upper Peninsula’s peninsula,” he describes it as “an enchanting land of hills, rocks, forests, bears, eagles, saunas, Lake Superior and pannukakku, Finnish custard pancakes.”

McGraw does, however, also rightly point out some side effects of economic decline that are inescapable for both Detroit and the Keweenaw.  Let’s be honest – it’s hard to miss the neglected buildings that dot the route between Houghton and Calumet and north towards Copper Harbor and the area’s population is not what it was 100 years ago.

It’s negatives such as those that got things going in the comments section of McGraw’s piece, where Yoopers and Detroit supporters traded barbs over the relative merits of city vs. country living.  One man’s unspoiled beauty is another’s animal-infested wilderness, apparently, just as what is to some an edgy, hip urban lifestyle is to others a crime-ridden ghetto.

What those obviously overblown criticisms underscore, as one commenter noted, is that both places don’t have a whole lot of direct contact with each other.  That’s not surprising.  Detroit is a 10-hour drive from Houghton, 3 hours farther away than Minneapolis or Chicago, and the only way to fly between the two is through Minneapolis.   The two communities are almost as far apart from each other as you can get and still be in Michigan.

Image: www.greenwichmeantime.com

And while the article gets it right in many ways, McGraw fails to point out one important distinction between the two: crime.  In a nutshell they’ve got it (like any other big city) and we don’t.  The federal statistics page for Detroit lists tens of thousands of violent crimes per year there, while the corresponding entry for Keweenaw County, where Calumet is located, doesn’t even include an entry for violent crime.

Now, this is not to suggest in any way that there is no crime of any kind in the Keweenaw, nor that you put your life at risk anytime you walk down a Detroit street (being from St. Louis, another city that has faced its issues, I know how statistics can distort reality).  However, there is no doubting that violent crime is minimal in the Copper Country, and that makes it a very safe and pleasant place to be a kid … or a grownup.

What’s your reaction to the Free Press column?  Can Houghton learn anything from Detroit, and vice versa?

The Mine Shaft under renovation

If the traffic on this blog is any indication there’s a huge amount of interest around the Keweenaw in the report in June of the planned reopening of the Mine Shaft entertainment complex in Houghton by the end of the summer.  Now it looks like it may only be a matter of days before the arcade comes back to life in all its noisy glory.

Here’s the evidence:

1) For weeks there’s been a “Coming Soon” sign on the outside of the building, but today that sign is gone and the parking lot is filled with pickups and other cars that presumably belong to construction workers inside.

2) A look at the Web site of the Trifecta Management Group, which is taking over the operation, lists the logos of the Mine Shaft and its companion Rock House Grill and Tavern as being “Now Open,” (scroll down on the page), although the corresponding links to the Mine Shaft and Rock House Grill & Tavern Web sites are not yet live (Update: As of August 25th both sites are live, though the link from the Trifecta Web site to the Rock House page is not working.).

3) There was some news in the Houghton Mining Gazette last week that the Mine Shaft’s permit was transferred from the previous owners to a new company, KMPD, Inc., and some small updates have trickled out over the summer with respect to signage and a liquor license for the business.

4) In probably the biggest development, a sign on the Mine Shaft’s door today notes that interviews are being conducted all week for new staff (great news for the Houghton Hancock area).

Despite all of this apparently good news we haven’t heard an official update since the initial announcement in early June.  How about it, Trifecta, can we have an update on the timeline?  I know a lot of kids who are ready to get out there and play minigolf before the snow flies.

What do you think?  Is the return of the Mine Shaft to Houghton a good thing?  What will it take for it to succeed this time around.   Leave a comment here and give us your thoughts.

UPDATE: WLUC, the NBC affiliate for the Upper Peninsula, reports  that the Mine Shaft will reopen August 24.  Changes being made to the facility include updated furniture for a trendier look and removing a dance area from the restaurant so it’s exclusively for dining.

Great news!!