“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!