Solo in Remote Michigan: The Keweenaw Peninsula

(gentle music)
Good morning guys.
Today we have an epic
road trip ahead of us
starting by crossing this bridge
which separates the very northern part
of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
from the rest of the country.
We’re gonna get as far
north as we can get,
but have been told not
just a physical separation,
it’s a separation of culture.
The accents are thicker,
the town’s more mysterious,
the nature, very wild.
Get on the road here.
Talk to as many locals as we can,
get a better understanding
of what this fascinating
part of the country is like.
Let’s do this.
(engine whooshing)
Alright guys,
so this is the Portage Lake Lift Bridge.
Now Superior is on both sides of this.
So the whole thing lifts up,
I guess when a big ship comes through.
And if this goes down,
well nobody’s getting
off this northern part
of the Keweenaw Peninsula.
But look at this already.
I mean it’s not a synagogue over there.
And out here it’s known as Copper Country.
And that’s because copper
was the main industry
that brought in all the immigrants,
made all the riches.
And while you can see
right over the bridge,
we have some of these old mansions,
the managers, the higher ups,
those making money from
the copper industry.
It kicked off in 1840.
It brought a lot of Europeans here,
Cornish, Italian, Irish, Scots,
Eastern Europeans, and then Finns.
And so we have quite a long
road ahead of us today,
we’re gonna stop to see the lake first.
I’m gonna put a map
somewhere here on the screen.
Then we’re going to a town called Calumet
that I’ve been told is really interesting
and end up all the way in the
far north in Copper Harbor.
And here’s an old copper mine
that employed the people that
came and built this place.
Took all the risk to go across
the sea with zero guarantee.
And this was brutal work out
in these parts, in the mines.
Look at this beauty, Lake Superior,
temperature just dropped
about seven degrees
from a few miles inland.
And there it is like an ocean,
a bit of chill in the air.
And Lake Superior holds more water
you can see how much
activity in this part.
(water sloshing)
There’s beautiful red rocks in here,
cold water year round.
And I had no idea how cool
the Great Lakes region is.
Spent very little time in
this part of the country
and it is a beautiful discovery.
It’s a little haze out there,
actually it’s smoke coming
from Canadian fires.
And I was told in town
where I was staying that
that happens a lot in the summer
or depending on the summer.
But the fires are far north in Canada.
There’s just no population up there.
And they don’t have the resources
or really no people around to put ’em out.
That’s what I was told
because they’re so massive.
And when you look at a map
and press Google Street View,
see the blue lines,
once you go a hundred miles
north of US Canadian border,
there’s nothing up
there for the most part.
A few cities,
but for the most part, it is rural.
(gentle music)
(gentle music continues)
Wow, look at this place.
This is awesome.
This is old world.
Yeah, just a few minutes ago
it felt like a combo of Alaska
and Northern Californian
coast with the lake effect,
the ocean and California
cooling things down.
And now this feels like it’s different,
but something out of the
Mon Valley in Pennsylvania
with all these old buildings,
it looks in pretty good shape actually.
What a find.
This is a place in
transition that’s for sure.
Empty storefronts.
We have sauna stoves,
fitting for the area.
(bell chiming)
Church Bell.
You can see the Upper
Peninsula on the flag.
Definitely feels like a world of itself.
See if we get in here,
(door clinking)
that’s not happening.
I don’t think the camera’s gonna get it,
but that is beautiful guys.
Trust me on that one.
My dad said never trust anyone
that says trust me son.
Breaking his rules, but that is beautiful.
St. Paul the Apostle Church,
Roman Catholic Church established 1889,
“Slovenian immigrants
who came to this area
to work in the mines of Copper Country,
completed at a cost of a
hundred thousand in 1908.
Built of locally quarried
Jacobsville sandstone,
the structure displays Cathedral-types
stained glass windows from
the Ford Brothers Glass Studio
of Minneapolis.”
(bell chiming)
Still.
(bell chiming)
Oak Street Inn over there,
doesn’t look like it’s operating.
An old depot.
And it’s like,
time just froze.
And these back streets here,
some of this stuff is vacant.
You know when an industry
like mining runs out,
so do the people,
they run outta town too.
You do see some of this happening though.
Some love being put back
into town. Some energy.
But look at these streets,
actually hear these streets.
It’s like a place you have to whisper.
And we’re gonna find out more
details on the history here.
You know, a lot of my
work is walking around,
talking to people and I’ve
talked to a few people,
but nobody wants to be on camera.
Really, they’re a bit
more reserved up this far.
I’m going to keep walking
and trying to learn more.
Oh, there are so many
churches in this town.
Everywhere you look
and what not better a place
to find an old buzzard than the Elks Club.
Okay, are you selling this book?
– Yeah.
And my husband
– Ken Bracco?
– Yeah.
– Italian guy?
– Yeah.
– So Italian heritage here.
– Oh yes.
Started a bakery.
– I can call your husband.
– Call my husband and he’ll-
– [Peter] He’ll talk about the town.
– Yep.
– I’ll buy the book.
– 13.
– 13. Alright.
Selling books.
(Beverly laughing)
Keep the change.
– Okay. Thank you.
– [Peter] Yeah. Lemme give him a call.
– [Ken] Leave a message
for Ken. Thank you.
– Hello Ken, your wife, Beverly,
just gave me your number.
I’m here to learn about the
history of your beautiful town.
I just bought a book and
she said, give you a call.
You’re home, you might want to talk.
I’ll be here for a short time.
My name’s Peter.
Gimme a call. Thank you.
Alright, so “Bread and Belonging.
The Vision of Bernardo Bracco.”
First came the land,
then came the buildings.
Oh, I gotta meet this guy.
Look at this.
Bracco Store and Bakery.
So in this part of the country,
like a lot of parts of the country,
families have been here
for many generations.
There are people like me in the country
and many of you that move around
for work and opportunities
and don’t live where they grew up.
But there’s also the other, right?
I’d say with my high school, I don’t know,
half the people left, half stayed.
And I do think it’s very cool
when people have those
multi-generational ties to a town,
to the land.
That’s where the stories are.
(phone chiming)
Oh, here’s Ken.
I’m just walking around
downtown with your book.
Could I just stop by and
ask you a few questions?
Would that be all right?
– [Ken] Yeah, you can do that.
I’ve never met you, have I?
– No, you haven’t. No.
– [Ken] That sounds pretty good to me.
– Alright Ken. I’m on my way.
I’ll be over there soon.
– Okay, bye.
– All right.
– Bye-bye.
– Bye-Bye.
– [Ken] Bye.
– Alright, that is cool.
Like so many of my videos you guys,
I could come into a town like this
and it totally falls on its face,
like I can’t talk to anyone.
No one really opens up,
which has sort of been
what’s happened here so far.
And then something opens up,
you take the lead
and you find yourself at Ken’s place
talking about the old world.
In the streets of Calumet,
more quiet than cars.
And look at this beauty, nice
gardens, good color combo.
And in the fall time,
these trees I’m sure get
orange and red and purple
right before it goes brown,
for what, eight months.
These all street posts poking
through the tree there.
These grand features,
big porches,
columns.
That’s interesting,
these carvings, totems.
It’s been quite a walk to
get to Kenneth’s place.
I’m sure it’s worth it.
Should be. Oh, there we go.
I see the flag.
(knuckles thudding)
– Come on in, the door is open.
– All right, Kenneth,
– Come on in. Come on in.
– [Peter] Okay. Team Italy.
My last name is Santenello.
– Santenello.
– Yeah.
– From the, what area are you from?
– [Peter] I came from Napoli and Avellino.
– Napoli, Avellino
– And Bagheria Sicily.
– Okie dokie.
Well come on in.
– Thank you. Kenneth.
– [Ken] I can’t wait you
to meet my partner here.
– Hi.
– All right.
– I’m Karen.
– Nice to meet you, Karen.
– Nice meeting you.
– Yeah.
– Have a nice seat.
– Great.
– [Peter] So Karen helped
you write this book.
– A hundred percent.
– A hundred percent.
– 110%.
– [Peter] Are you okay with
being on camera, Karen?
– Not really, but-
– Not really?
I don’t have to put the
camera on you. That’s fine.
– [Ken] She put together
regarding Buffalo Bill,
because he wasn’t in 1902.
– [Karen] 1902. He came twice.
– [Peter] Oh, he came twice? Yeah.
– He came twice.
– Twice.
– [Peter] What for?
– To put on a show.
– Put on a show.
– [Peter] So you two are just prolific
with making books these days, huh?
– Yeah.
These are all taken by my uncle.
Growing up here was great.
You had the German
church, the French church,
the Austrian church, the Italian church.
Five churches.
We called ’em by the ethnic name.
– [Peter] Okay, was there a
big divide with the ethnicities
or you all went to your own churches,
but you all hung together
outside of church?
– More or less, but there was,
when you get the words,
the blood runs deep and through
and all the way through the body.
There was prejudice and
there was animosity.
– [Peter] Who was it the worst between?
– [Karen] Probably the mine owners
and the managers and the workers.
– Yes.
– So it was a class divide,
not a-
– It’s a class divide
more than a-
– Class distinction. Yeah.
– [Karen] Yeah, if you haven’t heard
the Italian Hall disaster,
just before World War I, 1913,
during the strikes up here,
there was a union
organized Christmas party
at the Italian Hall.
Somebody who they’ve never been able
to identify yelled fire.
And these children and their
parents went running down
the steps on the second
floor down to the exit.
– Okay.
– And they got crushed.
And what was it? 70?
– 73.
– 73 people were killed.
– Oh wow.
– [Karen] Mostly children.
And so that has an infamous reputation,
on top of the fact,
it was the third Italian Hall.
The first two burned down.
– The third Italian Hall
– Burned down.
And it was the third one.
– This was the third building.
– Okay.
– But part of the problem was,
is most of these people,
when they came here to work,
they didn’t speak English.
So they tended to group together
because they could
communicate among themselves.
And that’s why the Bracco
Bakery was important
because the Italians went there
’cause all of Ken’s aunts
and uncles spoke Italian.
– And it’s a survival
mechanism, obviously.
– Yes.
– And then the next generation
they all Americanized to some degree.
– Of course (faintly speaks).
– Depending on the family.
But most of ’em, like in my Italian roots,
it’s like, get rid of the language.
You’re American now. Don’t look back.
We left something terrible.
– That’s right.
– We’re in America now. Look forward.
– [Karen] And that’s
what your aunts told you
as a child, right?
– When I was a little kid, you know,
I lived in the stone building,
next to the Bracco Bakery.
– This one right here?
– Yes. The store.
All these Italian guys and
women coming in the store,
they’re all talking Italian.
So I go to Auntie
Josephine, Auntie Christina,
Auntie Mary, Auntie Lena,
why don’t you teach me how
to speak that funny language?
And the answer was,
you can barely speak
English in a proper way.
Nevermind about speaking Italian.
You go to school and you’ll learn
to speak the right way to speak English.
That’s what I was told.
But I repelled ’cause right up here,
my family home was just up the street
sitting in those maple trees there.
Right over here,
the house is long gone.
There was a Finnish family,
the (indistinct) family,
they had six kids.
When I’d go over there,
they didn’t want to hear me,
what they’re saying to another.
They speak Finnish.
So I started learning
how to speak Finnish.
– Oh really?
– I couldn’t speak Italian.
They taught me like, well, coffee, kahvia.
You know, bread is leipa,
milk is maitoa.
– [Peter] Because you wanted
to be friends with them.
– Little Finnish, little two, three words.
– [Peter] So it was very much alive
back when the mines were operating.
It’s thriving.
– Yeah.
Ice cream in 23 places,
you could buy gas in 22 or 23 gas stations
and you had an equal number of bars.
About 22 or 23 bars.
And this is not in the surrounding area.
This is in a incorporated
village limits the Calumet.
And Calumet is only,
it’s not even a mile long
and barely a half a mile wide.
– [Peter] Does it make you sad,
it’s not like that anymore?
– Well,
– Or life goes on.
That’s how it is.
– Life goes on.
And this area is evolving and developing.
I think it’s gonna be, well
maybe I shouldn’t say this,
but a millionaire’s playground.
– [Peter] You think so?
– A friend of mine flew
for the DNR, Neil Harry.
He is the Bush pilot.
And he flew for the DNR.
And Neil took me up two years ago.
He bused my home here, right here,
went out to the lake
zigzagged a shoreline and came back.
But what I’ve seen is more than
the average person can see,
I’ve seen stuff development,
the tops of homes that
Neil pointed out to me.
These people are building trophy homes.
– Really?
– It’s private.
You can’t get in there.
It’s signed, private
property, do not enter.
You drive in there and wow.
It’s nothing like it was when I grew up.
All this land was all owned
by the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company.
And since that time it’s
been chopped up and cut up.
And between the Michigan
Nature Association,
the Nature Conservancy,
and a lot of other smaller entities
that are buying up little
clusters of property.
– Okay.
– You see?
– [Peter] So, how did the
locals like you feel about that?
– Not good.
– Okay.
– I got one comment to make about that.
And then I thank God,
I feel fortunate that I grew up
in a block of time and space
that was like quote, “The
Last of the Mohicans,”
the last of open country.
– Ah, that was so cool.
And did you guys see when
I showed up at the door
and he said, come on in.
That’s the way it is up here.
A lot of trust. Small town.
Everyone knows everyone.
But that’s a beautiful special thing.
It’s gone away in some areas
where that level of trust isn’t there,
but in some areas still stands.
And so when people say
America’s like this,
America’s like that.
Well totally depends where you are.
And until you get on the ground,
at a granular level, the scale,
one mind can’t fully comprehend.
Even though I make my living
out of doing this work
and being on the road,
roughly one third of the year,
I’m on the road traveling,
still discovering many years later,
this part of the country I
knew absolutely nothing about.
And these stories are special.
Here we are, the old Italian Hall site,
“By December, 1913
thousands of area copper
miners had been on strike
for five months.
They were fighting for union recognition,
safer working conditions,
shorter work days,
and better pay.
On Christmas Eve,
hundreds gathered on the second
floor of the Italian Hall
as the children filed to the
stage to receive presents.
Someone yelled, fire.
People panicked and
rushed toward the exit.
There was no fire.
Many were trampled on the stairs.
Officially, 73 people died.
More than half were children under 10.
Despite a congressional hearing
and a coroner’s inquest,
person who yelled fire
was never identified.”
So like Ken and Karen were saying,
there were the ethnic divides,
but a lot of it was socioeconomic.
And so someone was trying to shut down
the miners here in their
unions, in their voice
and start some chaos.
And that’s what they did in the town.
And then you get the
groups going at each other,
which while the authorities
could use to their advantage,
I’m sure.
We have an old theater.
We’ll call box office.
– [Speaker] It’s gorgeous.
– I can’t go on the stage.
– Correct.
– Don’t worry about that.
– There’s no railings
and we don’t want anybody to fall off, so.
– [Peter] You got these
little box seats over here.
Thank you.
– You’re welcome.
You have any questions, holler at me.
– [Peter] All right, are
you still having plays
and performances here?
– We do.
We take care of the schools.
We have (indistinct)
players across the street,
which do a play in the spring
and a musical in the fall.
– Okay.
– They’re doing “Oliver!”
this year in October.
And then summer concert series
is local talents on Wednesdays.
– That’s great. Three tiers.
– Yes.
– Nice chandelier up there.
Okay. Brief history.
The village of Red jacket was settled,
I guess this was called Red Jacket before,
so at the time, roughly 30,000 people
lived within walking distance.
So this town was pretty packed.
Tickets on opening nights sold for $4,
which is $140 in today’s currency.
And $2.50 cents,
$90, for seats in the second balcony.
Okay, so let’s just say
140 here, $90 up there.
So not a cheap event.
Okay, there was a big fire here in 1918,
contained by a fire curtain.
But smoke and heat destroyed
the paintings we see above.
They were not replaced until 1999.
The heat also melted the chandelier above.
It was said to be made of copper,
coated in gunmetal with over 50 lights
that look like an upside
down dandelion gone to seed.
Interesting description.
This remains one of the few
hemp houses left in the country.
This means that except
for our first two rows
of electric lights, all
other lights, curtains,
and scenery are raised
and lowered with ropes
and counterbalanced with sandbags.
This place is just living
and breathing old world.
(engine roaring)
How you doing? Hi guys.
– Hey. How you doing?
– [Peter] Doing well.
Is it cool if I record this?
– Yeah, we could record you on it,
show it working.
– Oh, there we go.
(siren blaring)
Get on there. (indistinct) wind it up.
(siren blaring)
(siren blaring continues)
(Peter chuckling)
That’s cool. Thank you.
– Thank you.
(Peter chuckling)
Barber shop, open.
This is an old school barber shop in town.
– Yeah. Yep.
– Oh, that’s so cool.
– Yeah, we don’t have many
and it’s hard to find a good one.
– Do you live here?
– I do.
I live in (indistinct)
right across the highway.
– [Peter] Okay. This is an amazing place.
– It is.
Yeah, I’m not from here originally,
but I’m from Longford, Virginia Beach.
– No way.
– My mom and dad
or my dad’s retired military from here.
– [Peter] Okay.
– He retired, came back
and I’ve got two daughters
and I was like, you know what,
I was working in the shipyard there
and I said I quit and I came up.
It’s just, it’s safe, you know?
And houses are cheap.
It’s a good place to be.
People are friendly.
– [Peter] So the winters
don’t knock you off.
– I, you know, I try,
I got a snowmobile when I
first got here and I did that.
And I don’t know man, I just,
I’m not a winter sport person.
I like summer.
– Yeah.
– Being, I grew up down south, it’s just,
– Yeah.
– I like stuff on concrete.
But yeah, it does, the end
gets really depressing.
I mean, it’s just,
as long as you’re aware
you’ll be all right, but-
– [Peter] The end as in the end of winter?
– The end of winter gets rough. Yeah.
– Like March?
– Yeah. Yep.
Everyone would you say March and what?
– Or May.
– May, June. (chuckles)
– [Peter] May or June. Geez.
– It is rough man.
– All right.
– Summertime makes it all worth it though.
I mean, summer’s up here,
you’re just not gonna find a place
where you get the full
effect of every season.
They might be short,
but they’re really good.
– [Peter] Right.
– So this right here, Calumet,
this is where the locals are.
This is where the people
that are ingrained
and their families from here.
– Okay.
– This is the real deal.
When you get up to the harbor,
you get people that are out of staters
that bought expensive houses and,
– [Peter] Oh, okay.
– even during COVID,
they actually were like
trying to keep, you know,
people out there, even if you’re a local,
they didn’t want you in their stores.
They didn’t want you.
They had it locked down up there.
– [Peter] Whose stores?
– There’s a grocery
store up there in Harbor.
They were kind of funny about
if you didn’t look familiar,
they knew you didn’t live around there
and they kind of, they weren’t
happy to see it, you know?
Yeah. It did get goofy up here
’cause we weren’t
affected by COVID at all.
I mean, we were no masks.
We weren’t in the red.
Then people, you know,
other places saw us on
the map, not in the red.
So they were like, hey, let’s go up there.
– Oh, okay.
– That put us in the red.
Then we had to start wearing masks.
But then the (indistinct) saw
how cheap things were up here,
just started buying all
the waterfront property.
And it just kind of, things have gotten
really expensive since COVID.
– Really?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] Okay. Up here even.
– That, yeah.
That sent a huge ripple
effect through the area.
– [Peter] Okay. So even in town
here, real estate’s gone up.
– Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
– Massively.
– [Peter] Massively?
– Double.
– Double.
– Yep.
– So,
people are buying these old places,
fixing them up.
– Yep, I mean, I moved up,
I bought my house for
$17,000 right across-
– 17, 1-7?
– Yep.
– $17,000 right across the
street from my parents.
– [Peter] Do you empty your piggy bank
and just buy it, buy the house?
– Oh yeah. Yeah, I
bought it outright, yeah.
(Peter chuckling)
I bought it outright and
it was a killer deal.
But then, I mean, those deals don’t exist.
– No more.
– I couldn’t touch the house,
the conditions in.
You couldn’t touch it
for less than 120 now.
No, it’s crazy.
– In just a couple years.
– Yeah.
– Will you throw in my eyebrows too?
I got thick eyebrows.
– I’m a barber, man.
We do eyebrows.
– You do it all. All right.
– Even nose hair.
– You do nose hair?
– He gets it, man.
– [Peter] That’s a good service
you’re providing to society.
(barber chuckling)
And before leaving town,
just have to pay respect
to the hockey gods,
the Upper Peninsula,
such an important thing here.
And just wanna show their rink.
– [Staff] Alright. Sounds good.
– [Peter] What’s up you guys?
– [Staff] Hey.
– [Peter] Rink all closed.
No ice in the summer, huh?
– Nope.
– Nice rink.
– Yeah. Best around.
– Best around.
Those are fighting words.
(staff chuckling)
How you guys doing?
– Right up there
if you want to up on the top.
– Oh, this is a nice one.
– Oldest indoor rink
in America.
– [Peter] Oldest indoor rink in America.
Oh, that’s cool.
– Right here.
– Wait, now you walk right by it.
– [Peter] All right.
Oldest in indoor ice
arena in North America.
– [Staff] Yeah, right there.
(audience cheering)
– [Peter] See you guys.
– Have a good one.
– You too.
– Enjoy the area.
– Thank you.
Locals are so awesome here.
Just think in the winter
when it’s just brutally cold out here,
gray skies, freezing.
Everyone comes in here,
gets the game gone.
Gets the music playing
and the beer flowing.
I’m sure it’s a good time.
Keep wanting to leave this town.
Almost impossible.
Check out this plow over here,
“Clearing the Way.
A Calumet and Hecla Mining
Company couldn’t allow winter
to derail its operation in a remote region
that can receive upwards of
300 inches of snow each year.”
Snow removal was serious business.
So they brought out a plow like this.
Look at that thing.
(engine roaring)
What’s up guys?
– What’s up?
– [Peter] What’s going on?
You do wheelies on those bikes.
– No.
– I can only do a little one.
– [Peter] Who can do a wheelie?
Let me see a wheelie.
Let see it buddy.
– Watch. I’m kind of-
– [Peter] Yeah.
– Oh.
– Great.
Is this for YouTube?
– Yeah. Is that cool?
– Hey, what’s your YouTube channel?
– Peter Santenello.
– Peter Santenello?
– [Peter] I have 40 subscribers.
You want to subscribe?
– Sub it.
– [Peter] Sub it.
Let’s see it, wheelie.
– Y’all stop right now
– To the dark.
– Alright. Stop.
Oh my God, he did it.
– I’ve been actually watching you before
– You’ve watched me?
– Yeah.
– Thanks buddy.
– I’ve watched you too.
It’s like a week.
– When I get home.
– Thanks.
– I’m gonna subscribe.
– [Peter] I got subscribers
that are like 90, 95 years old
and you guys are the youngest,
so thank you.
– You’re welcome.
– I can go one more.
– I’ll subscribe
– One more wheelie.
– this weekend when I’m at my dad’s.
– All right, cool.
– Yeah,
I’ll subscribe when I get home.
– Cool. Appreciate it guys.
– Bye.
– One more wheelie. There we go.
Yeah.
– Oh my God.
– [Peter] Giving it. Yeah.
There you go. They’re your best one.
– You all ready?
– Hey, hold on,
oh no, wait for me.
(Peter chuckling)
– What a cool town.
It’s great seeing kids out
and about on the bikes.
Good parenting.
Good parenting going on,
letting your kids get out there,
hanging out with each other,
exploring, being creative
is the best thing to say.
Oh wow. Well this place is unbelievable.
Okay, last stop. Last stop.
Wow, look at this place.
Look at these places.
There are two of ’em.
I don’t know what metal that roof is,
but the edges look to be copper.
Look at these mansions
tucked in the trees.
This one is massive.
How you doing sir?
– Good, good.
– [Peter] You have so many
cool homes in this town.
– If you’d like to get a
better view of the manor,
just feel free to get yourself up there.
– Oh, on your railing.
– Yeah.
– Thank you.
– Enjoy.
– I’m making a video.
– I see.
– Yeah. I can appreciate it.
– Yeah, be careful, buddy.
– [Peter] So this is a famous mansion.
– [Neighbor] This is the Laurium Manor
You have to go there and
hear it for yourself.
It’s amazing.
It’s truly historic and captivating.
– [Peter] Oh, and you have a Finnish flag.
– Yes, of course.
– Of course.
– A double ish,
I’m Finnish. And then Amish, so.
– [Peter] Finnish-Amish?
– Well my dad had Amish
family in the history
and we still have family
that are in Arcola
Wish to reconnect with them someday,
but I’ve never met them in person, but.
– [Peter] Well, can I shake your hand?
– I like to say that I’m double ish.
– You’re the first
Finnish-Amish man I’ve ever met.
– Oh yeah. Hey.
(both chuckles)
But that’s Copper Baron made
it for his wife in secret.
Nobody knew who was building the house
and it was constructed and
then he presented it to her.
It was done like to the finest quality.
There were Tiffany fireplaces,
Tiffany chandeliers.
There was like almost no expense
spare as far as making it
as elegant and extraordinary as possible.
And you can see in the structure
like how beautiful it is.
It’s like the best thing I
ever wake up to every day.
– [Peter] Alright, let’s check it out.
The town that won’t let us go.
Built 1908.
Thomas H. Hoatson House.
– Hi.
– Hey, how you doing?
– Good, how are you?
– [Peter] I was walking down the street
and the gentleman across the
street said I had to come here.
If I miss this, I’m missing out in life.
– Well our tour time just ended.
– Okay.
– It’s from noon to three.
– [Peter] Do you mind, I’m
making a video of the Keweenaw.
If I just run through
here in like 30 seconds,
just to show a little bit of it.
– If you’d be really quiet.
– Okay. Okay.
But it’s gonna be a video.
Is that okay?
– That’s fine.
– Okay. Thank you.
– Hi guys. Hello.
How are we doing?
– We’re good.
– Are checking in?
– We’re coming back.
– [Peter] Keweenaw Heritage site.
– [Staff] Have a reseravtion for?
– Not too bad.
– Carriage house
across the street.
– Oh.
– Now, we would like.
– [Peter] Oh, looks like the hotel now.
That’s what it is.
It’s a hotel.
Well what a cool place.
I’d love to stay here.
This is so awesome.
What a beautiful home.
All right guys, quick
and it keeps going off.
(guests indistinctly speaking)
– [Guest] You don’t have (faintly speaks)
any people in here?
– Okay.
– Because I don’t mind it.
I’ve heard it a million times.
– [Guest] Oh, okay.
– So this is a hotel then?
– Yep.
It’s a bed and breakfast.
– Okay.
– It was built for Sky’s wife.
He came here for copper mining.
Shortly after they died,
more and more people got it.
And then as popularity grew,
people would come in here
and just gut the house,
sell everything they could.
– [Peter] Okay.
– And, then Dave and Julie
came here a lot of years ago
and were like, we wanna
come back and buy it.
And after they graduated from Tech,
they started flipping
houses down in Florida.
And then they came back here
when it was back for sale
and they bought and fixed it back up.
– [Peter] And now you rent out the rooms.
– Yep.
– Awesome.
– We have this house,
we have another house across the street.
– Okay.
– Two carriage houses
and that yellow house.
– [Peter] Awesome.
Thanks for letting me in.
– Yeah.
– Appreciate it.
– You wrap this?
– Yep.
– Alright. There you go.
Do you wanna tie in the
old world experience
of this town with a step
every time with your stay?
This is that.
(door thudding)
All right, I swear this
time we’re leaving town,
not stopping, no more stops.
We got a long way to go.
(gentle music)
(gentle music continues)
(gentle music continues)
Look at this.
They are so proud of their snow here.
Here we go.
54 year average,
240 inches,
record 390,
last year was way up there.
But it’s not like it’s piled this high
on the side of the road.
It’s cumulative over the
course of a season, 390.
It’s like what an average
winter in Lake Tahoe.
But look east of the Mississippi.
It’s gotta be the biggest snowfall, right?
(hinge squeaking)
– 1873.
– General store
since 1873.
– Right.
– Oh cool.
– [Staff] There was
actually five of these.
– [Peter] Five of them.
– They belonged to the Peterman’s
and they were scattered all over.
They were on grocery,
they were in the post office.
They were everything.
– [Peter] So it was like
one of the picks and shovels
businesses for the mining.
– And then once the mines closed,
all other ones,
I don’t know what happened
to them in other areas.
– [Peter] Do you know
where I could get a pasty?
I’m going lakeside up here.
– Not up here. I don’t think.
– Really?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] I thought they were so popular.
– If you get the Copper Harbor,
see if they got anything
in the Gaslight store.
– [Peter] In the gas stations?
– In the Gaslight store.
– Okay.
– In this store
that’s called The Jenny.
– The Jenny?
– Yeah.
– Thank you sir.
– Yeah.
– Take care.
– You too.
(hinge squeaking)
(phone chiming)
Let’s check this church out.
Just right across the street,
the Phoenix Church.
This town’s named Phoenix.
There’s the store, the church,
“Phoenix.
A once bustling mining town,
though it shares a name
with the legendary symbol of immortality.
The town of Phoenix was
unable to rise again
after the mine closed
here in the late 1930s.
The population of Phoenix had always risen
and fallen with the fortunes
of the Phoenix Mining Company.
It reached a peak of
nearly a thousand residents
in the late 1800s when
mining was full swing
but had dropped to
about a hundred by 1893.
Thanks to a slumping copper market.”
Heart of the community.
I guess this was a
public school right here.
It’s in good shape.
It says it’s open.
Oh, but you can’t go in.
It’s original state it looks like.
Let’s give a little donation.
I got a 20.
Let’s do that.
(hinge squeaking)
(hinge squeaking)
So much history up here.
This is weeks of discovery, really guys,
I’m trying to show you
as much as I can today,
just covering ground.
But if you wanted to post up
here for a few weeks easily,
there’d be plenty to discover
historical gem after gem after gem.
And we’ve still got a long way to go.
So looks like our last stop
is our best hope for a pasty.
Now I’ve had one pasty
and the pasty is all
about convenience food.
It was like the hot pocket of the day,
but I’ve only had one.
The dessert one was bomb.
The dessert one was like, wow.
Okay. We’re getting
close to the lake again.
This town is Eagle River. Okay.
I’ll give you the history
without looking at it.
Settlers first came
here in the early 1800s,
maybe the 1840s when copper was found.
We have all the groups of
European immigrants that followed
a ton of copper was
taken out of this earth.
Went dry or closed down
and the people left.
But I could have it wrong.
It’s got more of a shipping,
obviously a shipping story, I bet.
Because we’re on the lake now.
– Original fabric.
– The seats are, yes.
– That’s, yeah.
– [Peter] Oh beautiful.
– Yeah. I got it at 13,000
miles (faintly speaks).
– [Peter] 13,000?
– Only, it was in (indistinct) office.
– [Peter] You don’t see many like this.
– I know.
– Fully original.
– Yep, so this was a gift
from my husband when I got,
I was mobilized to
Germany when I got home.
I got home on Christmas
day and this is my gift.
– [Peter] He gave you this.
I went over,
that’s where I started today.
– Okay.
That’s where the bridge is.
– Yep.
– And Michigan Tech
is over here.
– Yep.
– Okay, so this always was
a river, but they dredged it
and put the bridge over
it so that the oar ships
coming from Duluth could go
straight through this canal
instead of going around
because the lake is so treacherous
that these ships were sinking.
Edmund Fitzgerald is one of ’em. Yeah.
So anyway, so they go through this lake
and we’ve like, I live up in this area,
well like up in this area.
– Oh great.
– So actually,
we had the big ships come up
and park in front of my yard.
– [Peter] And so is that still the story,
ships going through there?
– Yeah. Oh they still
go through there, yeah.
– [Peter] And that bridge lifts up.
– It’s a lift bridge. Yeah.
– It’s a lift bridge.
And if that bridge goes down,
I was reading the whole
peninsula up here is cut off.
– Yeah, unless there’s snow on the ground
and we can go by snowmobile
– Does it?
Oh, right.
– Because it freezes.
– It does freeze.
– Yeah.
– Okay, so summertime it
would be a summertime thing.
– Yeah. So.
– I’m just making a video
in the whole region.
It’s really beautiful,
social part of the country,
I’d say.
– Yeah. It is beautiful, yeah.
– [Peter] It’s totally
different than Lower Michigan.
– Yeah.
– Different feel.
– Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
And the people, you know,
the people up here are so nice
and they’re just, you know,
like when I left home
it was safe, you know?
And it’s still safe.
It’s just a safe area.
It’s a, you know, people
watch out for each other
and sometimes it’s irritating.
’cause you say your neighbors
know everything that you do.
But in a way it can be
kind of comforting too.
(engine roaring)
– [Peter] The Jam Lady,
People’s Choice Award.
That’s some stones here,
some metal.
We’re open 24/7.
Accept cash, check, Venmo.
Pay in coffee can behind you.
It’s an interesting place.
Jams, syrup.
That’s a pretty cool business idea.
Just put your product out,
leave cash while there’s
a camera right there.
And don’t even worry about showing up.
That looks good.
There we go.
It’s a first.
(door thudding)
I’ve seen like maple syrup
operations in New York state,
but nothing like this.
So I’ve had the camera off
for quite a bit of this drive
just because it’s a lot
of this on repetition.
Beautiful. But nothing really new.
Some nice vistas of
the lake, time to time.
As you can see, T-Mobile
gave up a long time ago.
No reception.
Mailbox here and there.
And I’m sure there’s some epic homes
out here on the lakefront.
You know, down little driveways like that.
I’m sure there’s some (indistinct).
They’re just private.
You just can’t drive down those driveway.
Got to a beautiful high point here,
looking into the interior of the peninsula
and now to Superior,
which goes out forever
and wraps its way up
around the northern side.
And this is a bit of
tourists, you can see.
People want to come here
obviously to see it all.
So the peninsula, we’re
almost to the tip of it.
Copper Harbor.
Look at these cliff drops.
It’s the first time I’ve
seen big elevation up here
or anything like this.
And it’s just vast
emptiness for quite some time.
We are last stop Copper Harbor.
Totally different type of town
here in feel from Calumet,
obviously this is tourist summertown.
That’s the initial vibe.
The log cabins for rent over there.
Kids on mountain bikes.
It’s just a relaxed full zone out here.
Some old log cabin structures.
That’s cool. Look at that.
The snowshoes, motorcycle.
What a cool zone that is.
So the locals that
tough it out year round,
I’m sure they’re pretty hardy
out here in these parts.
That’s a funky town.
It’s gotta be the world’s
smallest motel/hotel sign.
It’s a few feet long.
And look at these little cabins.
The beginning of US 41.
Look at that.
All the way at the top here.
Down, down, down, down, down to Miami,
“Early Indian footpaths became the trails
for explorers, missionaries,
and fur traders
who came to carve out homes
in Michigan’s wilderness.
The early settlers began to widen
and improve these trails,
which became the majority of
Michigan’s primary road system.
US 41 starts its southbound journey here,
crossing eight states,
which include Michigan, Wisconsin,
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia,
and ending in Miami,
a distance of 1,990 miles.”
How clear Superior is.
(water sloshing)
see the clean,
got an old log cabin here.
See if we can see a little deeper.
(water sloshing)
So my quest for pasties continues.
Jenny didn’t have any.
One last chance here at the gas station.
So you’re the boss.
He said you’re the boss.
He said you might have two pasties left.
I’ve been looking all day for one.
– These are salty.
– They’re salty?
– I can make you a pasty.
– [Peter] You’ll make me one?
– I’ll be here tomorrow.
– I’m leaving tonight.
I’m leaving in like 30 minutes.
Does he have the two?
– I feel like they’re salty.
– [Peter] I’m okay with salt.
– Just letting you know.
Yeah, there’s two.
– There’s two. Nice.
– These are from Crystal Falls though,
so don’t judge us,
you birds based on-
– [Peter] Where’s Crystal Falls?
– Three hour East?
– Okay.
– And south?
– [Peter] It’s still
you for though, right?
– You want an excellent
pasty stop at the Mohawks.
The super in the Mohawk
on the way back through.
Those people cook all day long.
– That’s heavy.
– That’s a pound.
– [Peter] That’s a pound.
Ron doesn’t wanna be on camera,
but he said he wants to sell his store.
– He’s been saying he wants
to sell since he bought it though.
– [Peter] But Ron said he wants to retire.
Go fishing. Go traveling.
He said this is his last year.
You don’t believe him?
(staff laughing)
This is it, Ron says.
Thank you. You’re fun.
See ya.
All right. Ron’s stores for sale.
Ron didn’t want be on camera.
Here we go.
End of the road. Fuel stop.
Copper Harbor. How you guys doing?
– Good. I’ve seen your videos before.
– [Peter] Oh, thanks.
How’s the dirt biking?
– Awesome. Yeah, it’s pretty fun.
We just rode out to the high point.
– [Peter] Oh man. I just saw
a mountain biker up there.
I’m like, man, I wish I had
time to mountain bike here.
– It’d be fun.
We do that too, but we
brought our dirt bikes.
– [Peter] How’s the dirt here?
– On the way out,
it’s dusty at first and gets super tacky.
You can just go…
– [Peter] Could you guys
live out here full time?
– I don’t know about that.
– Rough winters.
– Yeah, I mean I live
in Northeast Tennessee,
so I live in a kind of a small town,
but this is next level.
– [Peter] Oh, way next level,
from Northeast Tennessee?
– Yeah.
– Interesting.
– [Peter] That’s like
Bermuda down there, man,
in the winter.
– Yeah.
(Peter chuckling)
– [Peter] She’s great.
What’s that?
– Have you been here
in the winter before?
– [Peter] No, no.
I don’t think I’ll do that.
(bikers laughing)
– No, you like to ride snowmobiles?
It’s the place to be.
– I bet. I bet.
See you guys. Thank you.
Stores for sale, live the dream.
Two winters will knock you off.
But hey, for this right
person, that could be cool.
(tire roaring)
(footsteps thumping)
Oh yeah, that’s the deal.
(water sloshing)
All right. I think we’ll
get the full view up here.
Yes, there we go.
Superior.
So the history of the pasty,
it was food for miners
because you can see how I’m grabbing it
to eat in the mines.
When they were doing the dirty work,
when they couldn’t deal
with the fork and knife
or messy food.
From my understanding,
they developed the pasty,
the Cornish, the Italians,
the Irish, the Finnish
Slovoks, and a handful of
others in there in those mines.
Mining the copper to make the
money to build this region.
It’s a gas station pasty.
I bet he sells great
gas and everything else,
but not like the one I
had in Sault Ste. Marie,
that was the real deal.
But this isn’t bad, I can’t complain.
Here we go. I’ll show you what’s inside.
Meat, potatoes, carrots.
It’s get you through the day food.
That’s what this is.
Actually not that bad, tender meat.
What a cool part of the country.
I had no idea.
Old world charm.
Massive expansive landscapes.
And most importantly, very
cool people. Fun people.
Easy to talk to people.
Really enjoyable up in
this part of the country.
Guys, check out some of
my other Yooper videos,
which is below here.
I’ve learned recently.
This is Copper Country.
Don’t call the people here Yoopers.
That’s what I’ve learned.
But other Yoopers videos
of Upper Peninsula,
different perspectives.
Check those out.
They’ll be somewhere
around on the screen here.
Thanks for coming along on that journey.
Until the next one.
(gentle music)
(gentle music continues)