Holy whah! Some Yoopers fear colorful dialect may be fading

AP ^ | 2-22-04 | John Flesher

[BraveMan]

Now you've done it; I have the theme from Suomi Kutsuu playing in my head. Wah Jeeze! The first airing of "Finland Calling" was on Sunday, March 25,1962. It still airs every Sunday. I can remember watching this as a kid. Move over, ebonics!

http://www.wluctv6.com/global/story.asp?s=276507&ClientType=Printable

The Pasty is a Yooper staple, "Yooper" Soul Food. (For those unfamiliar with this delicious treat, it is pronounced "pass-tee".) You can satisfy your pasty fix online, here don' cha know!

http://www.dobberspasties.com/v2/

Some of the best fresh water fishing in the nation is in the Bay De Noc area. The PWT (Professional Walleye Tournament) will be hosting the Outdoor Channel Pro-Am August 26-28, Bay de Noc, Escanaba, Michigan (Thur. Fri. Sat.). One of my Yooper buddies took second place dere last year, eh. Details (PDF) here!

http://www.in-fisherman.com/pwt/tournaments/IFPMichigan.pdf

As a card-carrying Yooper (remember, I have dual citizenship), I can say without reservation the movie "Escanaba In Da Moonlight" is an accurate depiction of the Yooper dialect (and a thoroughly enjoyable movie). With the exception of the hunting camp itself, I've been to every area and scene shown in the movie. And, they're right, up Nort' UFOs are no big deal.

http://www.escanabathemovie.com/

[Catspaw]

If you're from Wisconsin, you use gravy.

HEY! I resemble that remark!!

[MaryFromMichigan]

"If we lose that, we'll lose part of what makes us unique as a state,"

Soon to be as homogenized as milk and just as interesting....
Bummer, eh?

[BraveMan]

Check out the date!

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Why is the "Upper Peninsula" a part of Michigan? If you look at a map, it should be part of Wisconsin.

I think it should be a seperate state.

[Dan from Michigan]

Now if we could just convince Ontario to take Detroit. Please.

Fine by me...unless you are like some out West that consider anything East of Lansing Detroit.

[VadeRetro]

It describes Yooper as "endangered ... on the verge of vanishing forever," and argues that preserving it would "maintain a tie to our multicultural heritage."

Little regional quirks are vanishing all over the world. Global village and all that.

[MaryFromMichigan]

You know you're a Yooper if...*

[sergeantdave]

Although the odds of seeing an Upper Peninsula bigfoot are remote, one may be afforded the opportunity to make a cast of a bigfoot print. Winter is the best chance because the bigfoot will leave tracks, criss-crossing back and forth, as he looks for candy bar wrappers, marshmallows, long cigarette butts or half-eaten hot dogs left by campers.

Feeding bigfoot is against the law. The DNR has posted “Bigfoot! Keep Out!” signs at local dumps. This seems to be working as no bigfoot has been sighted at the dumps in years. It’s best they’re allowed to eat their natural diets of wild rice pilaf, barbecued moose, venison sausage, stuffed partridge, wild onion casserole and blueberry pie.

One may buy 50 pound sacks of quick drying cement at local lumber yards to make casts. If the lumber yards are closed, buy 25 packages of Jell-O. They make quick casts in cold weather. And should you get lost and hungry, you can eat the footprints. Follow directions on the package for making bigfoot casts.

The best time to look for bigfoot tracks is early morning before the sun has a chance to melt the footprint.

Another spot to look is in shaded areas or along creek or stream beds. Also look for tracks at the top of large white pine trees where they build their nests.

Although Michigan bigfoot have been known to raid remote camps in the bush and steal things, including orange hunting vests so they don’t get shot during deer hunting season, there is no report of a bigfoot ever taking boots to wear.

When you see a track in the snow with manicured toes, it is more likely than not to be a sauna bather. He is probably heading for the local lake for a refreshing dip after an hour or so in the sauna.

Please be respectful and do not take a picture of a naked sauna bather. Favor his privacy. If you want to take a cast of a naked sauna bather’s footprint, that’s okay. Casts of sauna bather foot prints should not be passed off as bigfoot prints unless you can’t resist.

To call a bigfoot, go like this - “YAAAAAOOOOWAAAA!”

Do this during the day. Never, never do the bigfoot call on a Friday or Saturday night. The local sheriff may arrest you for drunk and disorderly.

It’s against the law to shoot a bigfoot. If you see something big and hairy in the woods, it’s probably not a bigfoot. More likely it’s a sauna bather in his bear robe heading to the sauna. Try the bigfoot call above. If the big, hairy thing runs, it’s bigfoot. Take your pictures. Make your casts. If it answers, that’s the sauna bather happy that you’ve brought the whiskey.

Bigfoot is not aggressive. Reports from California and Oregon have told of bigfoot rolling boulders down on trailers.

This is not true of Upper Peninsula bigfoot. If you do get pounded by something big and hairy, rolling boulders on your trailer and yelling “YAAAAAOOOOWAAAA!” it’s a sauna bather on too much whiskey.

Call the sheriff.

[Alouette]

Say Yah to da Yoo Pee, eh!

[ASA Vet]

unless you are like some out West that consider anything East of Lansing Detroit

Dan you're way too young to be senile.
We've had this conversation before.
I consider anything east of Lowell to be Detoliet. ;-)

[Moleman]

I have a lot of respect for anyone that can take a Yooper winter year in and year out, eh?

Yah hay you know