Upper Michigan Faces Severe Job Cuts

WLUC TV6 -- Marquette, MI ^ | November 28, 2002

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

Delta County == Upper Michigan is catching up with the slumping national economy. We are seeing it now in job losses. Delta County is losing a number of jobs, as companies shut down and others cut production.

Gladstone lost a big employer in Lakeside Machine. Close to 100 people were working at the parts manufacturer when the shutdown order came last week. Lakeside closed when they lost two major contracts with Caterpillar and General Motors. Also cutting workers is Partek Forest. Nineteen jobs are being shifted to Shawno, Wisconsin. That will leave sixteen people to handle parts at the Gladstone facility. The move was the result of a Swedish company acquiring Partek. In Escanaba, some employees took voluntary layoffs at Engineered Machined Products. An official at EMP says this is an annual layoff for workers. They say business looks good now and into the future.

There are some bright spots for the Delta County area. Gladstone's VanAire Company makes valve adaptors and brackets and one of their customers has now made VanAire their sole supplier of adaptors.

[Willie Green]

bink

[Vidalia]

But what about "Lower Michigan" ...?

[Thebaddog]

The UP is a lost soul and it deserves better as a region. It's more a part of Wisconsin geographically and it is the poor cousin to lower Michigan. Youpers are a great bunch and there is a slow moving movement to declaring either a 51st state or a new country.

When they talk about bad times in the UP it's the real deal. Good luck to them and put a Pasty in your pocket for them.

[joesnuffy]

It aint "Upper Mi."... it's... "The UP".... inhabited by Yoopers...
& trolls live under the bridge that connects the UP with Lower (southern) Mi.

[Jon Geb]

A Big Michigan chuckle from a troll in Howell, MI.

[Jon Geb]

Not relating to the layoff....I am laughing about the UP secesstion.

[Righty1]

The UP is for the most part very poor and rundown. Ironwood is typical in that the curbs, sidewalks, and roads are worse off than some of the old Roman Ways in Europe. The UP and Detroit are subsidized by the rest of the state. The UP is not viable on its' own. Come to think of it neither are the Dakotas. Wisconsin is a fragment of The Michigan Territory.

[Bill Davis FR]

don't they have good hunting in up...if so, turn it into a hunting preserve...

[Grut]

Back when I was stationed at Kincheloe, it was known to us AF types as "The Uppa Youess." Nice folks in the Soo, though.

[Dan from Michigan]

Howell, MI
Go Bulldogs......

Couldn't pass that up.

[Vidalia]

"Thebaddog" gave us this,

The UP is a lost soul and it deserves better as a region. It's more a part of Wisconsin geographically and it is the poor cousin to lower Michigan. Youpers are a great bunch and there is a slow moving movement to declaring either a 51st state or a new country.

When they talk about bad times in the UP it's the real deal. Good luck to them and put a Pasty in your pocket for them.

And "joesnuffy" sez:

It ain't "Upper Mi."... it's... "The UP".... inhabited by Yoopers...
& trolls live under the bridge that connects the UP with Lower (southern) Mi.

Possibly, a few of the things that these gentlemen are referring to don't make lots of sense to a few of us Southern Gents, even though we sense a bit of inimitable frustration.

The ass-kikken' portion of any thoughts put forth here at FR (good, bad, sickening, looney or whatever), is that it will now be acknowledged by a multi-million multitude of global net users.

Many who are sick and tired of the lies and innuendo from this bunch of asses, who look amazingly similiar to those in this 'toon.


Thanks, Mr. Limbaugh and the Toonist who made this available.

Anybody remember who actually was the "Deep in the Hurtgen Forest" dog?

[Willie Green]

Possibly, a few of the things that these gentlemen are referring to don't make lots of sense to a few of us Southern Gents,

It's fairly straightforward and easily understood if one views a map of Michigan. Here's one I picked at random from somewhere out on the Web:

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is referred to as the U.P., and residents are known as "Yoopers" (U.P. residents are proud of the nickname, downstaters often use it derogatorily.) The U.P. is attached geographicly to Wisconsin on the west, and given that proximity, gives valid reason to Yoopers claims that they have more in common with Wisconsin then they do with people in the Lower Peninsula. There is also resentment within Michigan state government that Yoopers are far outnumbered by the large industrial cities in the South (Detroit, Flint, Saginaw/Bay City, etc.) Yooper's are far more rural and have a lifestyle centered around the outdoors: hunting, fishing and such. Their economic liveliehood has also been in decline for decades as it was largely dependent on forestry, minining and fishing, and they believe their plight has been largely ignored by the Auto-Industry dominated Lower Peninsula.

That's pretty much it except to a reference to the "trolls" which are those who live below the Mackinaw bridge. That's a huge suspension bridge that connects the Upper to the Lower Peninsula at the point where the two are closest.

I remember the DITHF escapade on FR a few years back, but didn't get caught up in the frenzy. Can't remember the detail you ask about.

[yooper]

Thank you for your kind words about my Upper Peninsula.

Actually these layoffs came just when everyone wanted to go to camp:)

[delapaz]

Big UP bump from an Escanaba-born native. The UP has had it bad for decades.

[Peter Libra]

Some of the detractors should come up and try driving from Sault, Michigan along Six mile. Quaff a cold one at Willougbys and continue to Bay Mills. There was a long forgotten song - a big hit- Just another day in Paradise. Though not meaning the UP though, it could have. Yeah, cannot wait to take the spouse up to Grand Marais again. Compared with the depression it aint so bad.

[Admin Moderator]

Please no personal attacks. Thank you.

[WorkingClassFilth]

Good luck to you. My wife is a Finn and we routinely visit older kin in the UP. Would like to move there someday, but I need to develop income independant of the economy first.

[okie01]

I well remember my first exposure to the U.P.

Drove into Marquette on July 4, 1961. In a sleet storm...