The City Split Between Two Countries

(music)
– Good morning, guys.
Here in the very Far North
of the United States,
the Upper Peninsula of
Michigan, Sault Ste. Marie.
For 140 years, one flag
flew over this city.
Then the War of 1812
happened and the city split.
The United States here, Canada over there.
We have the locks, a huge
place of commerce and trade.
Back in the day, it was fur.
Now it’s freighters going through.
But what’s it like here
in these two cities since they separated?
So today, we’re gonna go
get on the streets here
on the American side, then
cross the bridge there,
enter Canadian territory.
Super excited for this one, let’s do this.
– The tower was put up because of the fact
that this is the spot of the third mass
ever performed in the United States.
– The third mass?
– Yes sir.
In 1641, St. Isaac’s did
it where you are standing
and this wasn’t a border, it was one town.
– One town.
– And Father Marquette
came and named it Le Sault de Ste. Marie,
which means “falls of
the Blessed Mother Mary.”
– [Peter] Okay.
– The river out here is
M-A-R-Y, it was Anglo-Saxonized.
The town is M-A-R-I-E.
– [Peter] Big difference right
now between the two cities?
– Yes, horribly.
There’s quite the confrontation
and rivalry between us.
– Oh, really?
– Yeah.
Most locals never go over there
and they all come over here.
You gotta remember,
gas over there’s like nine bucks a gallon.
Milk is heavy cream in a bag,
so they come and buy ours.
Alcohol has to come from a
government-controlled store
and nothing on Sunday, so
they all come over here
and get their stuff and take it back.
– You guys don’t go over there?
But that’s like five, six
times the size of here.
There probably more going on.
– They’re 70,000
and here altogether, just shy of 20.
– There’s more going on over there.
– There’s a steel mill over there.
They don’t have the same EPA regulations
that we do over here.
– Oh.
– So they can get away with more stuff.
– Does it blow over?
– It does, horribly.
– Okay.
– You can see it glow at nighttime.
– Okay.
– So there is quite the rivalry.
They can drink over there at 19.
– You sound like
you got a rivalry going.
– I haven’t been there
since 1992 and I live here.
– Wow.
– Now the tribal people
that are dual citizenship.
– Yeah?
– They go back and forth.
This border meant nothing to them.
– The tribal, you have
Native American tribes here?
– Yes we do, we have a reservation.
– They have ’em over there?
– On this side, it’s a tribe.
On that side, it’s a band.
– [Peter] What’s the
difference, different rights?
– Yes, and the way that they’re looked at.
Like that’s the Garden River
band of Native Americans,
First Nation Band of Native Americans.
Over here, it’s all Chippewa.
This is the Sault Tribe of Chippewa
or the Bay Mills Tribe of Chippewa.
– Okay.
– Yeah, a little different.
– I’m going over there today.
– Cool.
– I’m comparing and contrasting,
sort of checking out both places.
– You’ll see when you go, it’ll be easier
for you to get into Canada than to return.
– Oh, really?
– The border is locked down.
When I was a kid, you could go
over there and it was
no issue, nobody cared.
– So coming into the US right now,
it’s hard even as an American?
– It doesn’t matter.
They’re gonna stop you,
want to know where you were,
why, when and who, they’re
gonna run your card.
You gotta have that star on your license
or they’re not even getting over there.
– Good to know.
– Yeah.
And when you go over there, some tips.
One, don’t pay cash for anything.
Use your card ’cause they’ll
burn you on the exchange rate.
Two, don’t buy gas over there.
Anything you do buy, there’s
a GST that you get back
’cause you’re not a Canadian citizen.
The Bushplane Museum over there
is very cool, go see that.
Yeah, great food.
– How about the people?
– Good people.
I’m not saying anything
bad about the people.
It’s just a rivalry
between us and them.
– It sounds like it.
Okay, that makes it interesting.
– Man, I love my town and I love my job
and I love people that
are interested like you.
Come see me again.
– Tom is a character.
Look at that structure there.
That’s like something
out of the Soviet Union
but in a good way.
I love that stuff and right next to it,
we have the Catholic Church here.
And so this is my first
time in the Upper Peninsula.
I came in last night and I’m staying
at an Airbnb just a few
streets over from here.
We’ll cruise by it later.
But let’s check out this downtown first.
We’re way far up North, guys.
This feels a little bit of Alaska,
that’s what I get, first impressions.
With the Amish, I don’t think
you see Amish up in Alaska.
But right outside of town
here, you’ll see Amish
and you’ll see like the guy
at the tower was saying, Natives.
The Amish always find an opportunity
wherever the farming’s good,
the land is cheap enough.
Here you can see they really
honor their veterans here.
The more rural you go in America,
I find this to be the case and I think
it’s because a lot of these
guys from these small towns
went out and fought around the world
and put their time into the military
and they really make a
focus on honoring them.
All right, we got some
cool old architecture.
So firstly, in the 16 and 1700s,
this place was all about the fur trade.
John Johnston married a Native here.
They had eight kids and they
were sort of like a power
couple where they just dominated
financially around here.
A lot of European immigrants came here.
The Italians, Poles, the Finnish.
the Upper Peninsula has a lot of Finnish.
Irish and people from the U.P., short for
the Upper Peninsula, are
called Yoopers I’ve been told
and they worked in shipping,
railroads and lumber
and now I think I’m getting slivers
of tourism up here with the locks.
It’s a border town, that
always adds to some activity.
How you doing, man?
– Not bad, how are you?
– Good, you live here?
– I do, yes.
– [Peter] How is it?
– Eh, people, I mean, it’s small.
– [Peter] Everyone knows everyone?
– Everybody knows everyone usually, yeah.
– You’re a Yooper?
– Yes.
Born in Colorado, went out
West for a little while,
went out to Arizona
and lived around there.
Did my traveling but it seems
to always bring you back here.
– [Peter] How is it
compared to those places?
– Friendlier.
– Friendlier here?
– Friendlier, much friendlier.
– [Peter] I agree.
I’m making a video on
the town, is that cool?
– No, absolutely.
– So it was fur trading,
then it was timber,
railroads and what is it?
– All the rapids and everything.
That’s why they got the locks in there.
There used to be rapids.
They used actually Portage Avenue
where they used to actually
have to get their boats,
lift ’em up and carry ’em up
past the rapids back in the day.
– Before the locks?
– Before the locks, yeah.
– [Peter] Now you got a big
lock going in right now, right?
– Yes, that’ll be the third one
that we’re having right now.
There’s two of ’em already in there
and they’re getting a third one.
I think it’s meant to be
for like 1500-foot boats.
– [Peter] So it’s good for the economy?
– Oh, absolutely.
– Okay.
– I’d have to say probably 40%
of our goods go through the locks
to supply like the entire country.
– [Peter] Really? So it’s important here.
– You can get right to
the ocean through it.
– Atlantic.
– All the way to the Atlantic.
– [Peter] You get all
the way from Superior.
Superior is the farthest west.
– You go down through the Lakes
and you end up going back through Chicago
and you end up right along
this little river line
that’ll take you right up
by like New York and stuff.
– [Peter] Your town
looks nice, I gotta say.
– Beautiful, beautiful day too.
– It’s clean.
– It is, for the most part.
You’ve got certain areas
of town but the downtown,
they do a good job of
keeping it nice and clean.
– [Peter] Right.
– Pretty soon here within
the next week or two,
we’re gonna be having our
downtown sidewalk sales
where they’ll come through
and they’ll block off
this entire road and they’ll have a bunch
of little vendors and stuff will set up.
– Sweet, cool community?
– Oh, absolutely.
(motorcycle engines rumbling)
– You’re going to Canada?
– Yeah.
– It’s a little different.
Yeah.
– It’s more of a city.
– Yeah, it’s more of a city.
Yeah, where this is more of a town.
We are like twin Soos.
We like support each
other and blah blah blah
but I don’t want to say anything too bad.
– [Peter] Okay, tell me about the Soo.
You’re from here?
– I’m from the Soo.
Born and raised.
– Do you love the Soo?
– Oh my god, I love Sault St. Marie.
I wouldn’t live anywhere else.
Love the U.P., love the
people here, it’s great.
I work at Zorbas and the Alpha Bar.
– [Peter] Okay.
– I’m also on the City Commission, yes.
– Okay, so what are you guys
doing here to keep it so nice?
‘Cause I’ve noticed your streets
and this is not a puff piece,
I’m just calling a spade a spade.
It looks nice.
– Yeah, no homeless.
– Why?
– No tolerance.
– No tolerance?
– Well, there is.
I mean, we help them.
We get them where they need to be.
– Oh, okay.
– We have programs
that they go through.
– But they have to go through ’em?
They can’t just park
here and call it good?
– Oh no, no, no.
– That’s not flying?
– We get ’em into a shelter,
we get ’em somewhere
where they need to go.
– Okay, that’s cool ’cause
I’m all over the country.
Different policies,
different places, right?
– Yep.
– A lot of places, they’re
gonna allow someone
to do drugs or just be smashed out there.
Not here?
– No.
– [Peter] There’s a freighter
in the lock right now.
– Like a 100-freighter, yeah.
– How long does it stay?
– They’re just passing through.
– [Peter] Oh, okay.
Is that a cool thing when you see that?
– It’s like a building.
– Yeah. (laughs)
– [Local] I guess if you like boats.
– All right, I’ll check it out.
– Yeah.
– Take care.
– Enjoy the city.
– Thank you.
Yeah, super friendly people here.
Soo Theater.
Still some shows happening.
A lot of community support.
Right next to it here,
you have this old gem.
Look at this beauty.
Probably an old storefront.
Is it coming back?
Well, 11 apartments they say.
Future home of Sault Area Arts Center.
Yeah, towns like this,
it’s very interesting.
They go through the cycles,
different economic cycles of what’s next.
But they’re doing a good job here.
Whoever’s doing that in the city,
keeping these garden beds going
and keeping it clean, it’s quite nice.
You can see one of those
big barges going through.
Looks like it’s going down the street
but no, through the locks.
Look at these architectural gems.
That looks French, right?
For those architectural buffs
and so we don’t have a holiday.
We’re in the end of July
and you do see the flags
everywhere in this town.
Chippewa County Courthouse
and like so much of the United
States, they’re Native names.
And then around here,
old buildings that need
some paint, some love.
This is the story of the streets
in Michigan I’ve come to find out,
partially because of the weather I’m sure,
partially because the
state’s not up on it.
I don’t know the story there.
But look at these guys back here.
It looks like some Italian scene, right?
The old Italians walking
out with the classic car.
You got the block glass.
So even on these buildings
that are worn down,
there’s a lot of beauty in them.
(car engine rumbles)
That thing is a classic.
That’s such a classic.
– Oh, we got another one in there too.
– You do?
– Yeah.
A GTO sitting in there.
– Can I take a look?
– Yeah, go right in.
– All right, thank you sir.
– [Driver] You’re welcome.
– He just said go in
his shop, check it out.
That’s how it is up here,
you guys, it’s very open.
I think crime is extremely low I’d imagine
and there’s the GTO he’s talking about.
Oh, it’s for sale.
There you go, there’s some advertising.
’67.
How you doing, sir?
– Better than I deserve.
– You’re above ground.
– How about you?
– I’m great ’cause I’m
in Sault Ste. Marie.
– Sault Ste. Siberia.
– [Peter] Is that what you guys call it?
This place is awesome.
Peter.
– Steve.
That is a customer’s car.
– Oh, okay.
– Come on, just open up that wallet
of yours and take it outta here.
– You want me to buy it?
– Yes.
– How much?
– Black shirt,
black hat, black car.
– What kind of number do
you think he was asking?
– [Peter] I have no idea
about the car market.
What is that, 50 grand?
– It’s a ’67.
He had a price of 69 on it.
– $69,000.
Too much?
What will he walk away with, 55?
– Somebody offered, I think
that’s what they offered him.
– [Peter] How is it different here
than Sault Ste. Marie, Canada?
Totally different?
– Totally different.
– [Peter] How so?
– This is older, 1668.
– [Peter] So this is the first settlement?
– This is the oldest
east of the Mississippi.
They have a steel plant over there
and here, we have no industry.
– Yeah, what’s the industry?
– There isn’t any.
We have government and we have
these guys, Border Patrol.
– Oh, this is Border Patrol?
– Yeah.
We got lots of government.
We have the university and the locks.
So the locks are government.
– Okay.
– But the main thrust is the locks.
– [Peter] So it’s a small town,
so that floats it pretty much.
– Yeah, we’re sitting 13, 15,000.
– [Peter] Okay, so where do
you think it’s better off?
– Economically?
– Yeah.
– A gallon of their milk
over there costs eight bucks.
This is probably not politically correct
but you can always tell
a Canadian on this side
because they’ve got a gallon
of milk under one arm,
a turkey under the other
and they smell like gasoline
(Peter laughs)
because that’s what
they come over here for.
– [Peter] And they’re
probably criticizing us
for not having public healthcare, right?
– Oh, well yeah, because theirs is great.
Only their taxes are
like 55% of their income.
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Now back to the story.
St. Mary’s Falls Canal War
Department Corps of Engineers.
Hey, how you doing, sir?
– Good.
Any guns, knives, pocket knives?
– [Peter] No knives, just an ID.
Is that what you need?
And a camera.
– That’s fine.
And I can just walk over here?
– Yes sir.
– All right, thank you.
– [Guard] Sure.
– Okay, so this is some
fascinating engineering.
People travel to see
these locks in action,
enabling ships to gain or lose elevation
to cruise between the Great Lakes.
Totally fenced in, they
got cameras up everywhere
and so it’s a sensitive zone.
So much trade, commerce.
The internal waterways in
America are quite fascinating.
I should actually do more
videos on that topic.
So many things are connected.
You can see how the lock is filled here.
The water’s up there and then it drops.
Here’s how this works.
The boat comes in, water’s equal,
gate goes up, water drops,
gate opens out into the next lake.
– Right now, 95% of our entire domestic
iron ore supply is dependent
on this lock functioning.
– 95% of our iron ore?
– 95% of our domestic
iron ore supply.
– Wow.
– The only places in the entire US
we mine iron ore are on the
shores of Lake Superior.
– I didn’t know that.
– Yep.
West of Marquette, Michigan
and the Mesabi Range
in Northern Minnesota.
– So very important.
– Very important.
That’s why there’s all
the guards and the fences.
– [Peter] And you’re
Army Corps of Engineers?
– Yep, so I’m Army Civilian.
– [Peter] You guys are awesome.
You did a great job in California
with the Palisades fire.
– Okay.
– [Peter] Oh, they trucked
that stuff out quickly.
– We’re pretty awesome.
– You are, I’m a big fan.
– My son just did a
deployment in North Carolina
where they’re still cleaning
up from Hurricane Helene.
– [Peter] Yeah, I was out
there a few weeks ago too.
– Yep, my son was out there
about a month and a half ago.
– I was thinking it’s gonna be like
the National Park Service,
nobody’s gonna get on camera.
But it’s different for you guys.
– Yes.
– Okay.
I never learned about
the US Army Corps of Engineers growing up.
– I never did either and
we’re a part of the big Army.
– Yeah.
– We’re 95% civilians.
We’re all Department of the Army civilians
and we are 5% active duty military.
– [Peter] Didn’t know that
and that’s your emblem?
– That is our emblem,
it’s a pillar castle.
One of the first functions
of the Army Corps
of Engineers was building
fortresses for military use.
– And so the history of the locks,
I’m actually surprised that it
happened as early as it did.
I just didn’t think the
capability was then in the 1800s.
But this happened in 1865?
– 1855.
– ’55.
– For the first lock on the US side.
The very first navigation
lock on the river
here in Sault Ste. Marie was
on the Canadian side in 1798.
– [Peter] Wow.
– But there have been navigation locks
for thousands of years.
It’s really a very simple process
of controlling the flow of water.
– Okay.
– To lift or lower a boat
around an obstruction.
– [Peter] And this is U.P.
Territories, Upper Peninsula.
– This is all Upper Peninsula.
– Territories, oh, cool.
I’m heading up there too.
– It’s really cool.
– Yeah.
And here it is in action,
the freighter is coming in.
It’s around 22 people on board who live
and work on this ship for
several weeks at a time.
So fascinating.
All right guys,
I just want to show you a
few of the streets here.
This is right out of the downtown.
Looks like the mansion row.
Beautiful old architecture,
that one is stone.
Bit of a Victorian style, brick
and I want to show you the
neighborhood I’m staying in.
It goes quiet really
quick in Sault Ste. Marie.
But it is one of those
towns you let your kids
just wander out, go see
their friends wherever
because the feel is very safe.
But a lot of these homes
are this generation,
I don’t know what
generation, what is that?
Maybe the 40s, 50s, something like that.
Sort of a standard build here.
I think mowing lawns here is
a badge of honor and pride.
We have a Yooper ahead on
a pretty sweet mower set up
taking a right off to another lawn.
Part of me just wants to
rip free for a summer,
live in Yooper territory up here,
mow my lawn and look at boats
going through the locks.
That sounds therapeutic for some reason.
Here we have Baldwin’s,
“Your neighbor for over 100 years.”
Hoops game right in the
middle of the street.
Ah, this is awesome.
How you doing, buddy?
Do you guys get games going out here?
– Yeah, no, that’s my nextdoor neighbor’s
and we’re not allowed to
use that one, so that sucks.
And we just got that one.
– Nice.
Cops don’t give your problems
for having hoops in the streets?
I’m making a video about
the Soo, you love it?
– Yeah.
– It’s a pretty cool place?
– Yeah, I like it.
It kinda gets boring
’cause I’ve been living
here my entire life.
I’m only 14, so.
– [Peter] You’re gonna get
out of the Soo eventually?
– Probably, probably whenever I’m older
’cause I want to go play college football.
– [Peter] What position, quarterback?
– No, I play running back,
slot receiver and middle linebacker.
– [Peter] You’re pretty fast?
– Really fast, yeah.
– Nice.
– One of the best out there.
– [Peter] All right guys,
so here’s the Airbnb I’m
staying at right here
and Zillow says it’s $170,000.
That’s the value right now.
Who knows?
Zillow’s not always straight on.
It just looks very
simple and I don’t know,
there’s something special about,
in a world that seems to
be spinning so quickly,
a place like this where
you just sit on your porch
and your kids take off with
their neighborhood friends
’cause I’m sure everyone
knows everyone here.
So in the U.P., I’ve been
told you have to get a pasty.
So let’s get a Yooper
pasty before we cross.
So I believe these are
traditional Yooper clothes.
You got the SOREL boots,
the flannel shirt,
the head covering.
– How you doing, buddy?
– Hey, how you doing, sir?
– Good, man, good.
What’s the good word?
– Good word is pasty.
– Oh yeah.
– So I’ve been told.
– Yeah, buddy.
If you’re looking for a pasty,
you’ve found the place, buddy.
– [Peter] I’m gonna put this
on a video, is that all right?
– Sure, I’ll probably grab my wife
because she is the Yooper pasty lady.
– She’s better than you?
– Oh dude, way better.
– My wife’s better too.
– She’s the captain
of this ship.
– Nice.
– Yeah, she’s a Finlander
from the West End.
– [Peter] No way.
– We have traveled all over the country.
23 years with the Coast Guard
and I met her 25 years ago.
I was stationed here in Marquette.
Finally got her back close to home anyway.
– [Peter] So she grew up up here?
– She’s from Ishpeming, Michigan
right outside of Marquette.
– Okay.
– But all of her family’s
from the copper country
and pasty is part of her DNA.
It’s a tradition, a way of life for her.
– Is she back there?
– She is.
Ready to grab her?
– Let’s get her out.
– Your name was?
– Peter.
– Peter, my man.
– This guy’s great.
He acts like he knows
me but I just met him.
Super friendly.
– So this is Grandma’s Cabin.
People are welcome to come
in and eat next to the Zenith
and it just so happens to be
playing “The Waltons” today.
But I love playing “Bugs Bunny,”
“Betty Boop” and that sort of thing.
People just come in here grinning,
some people end up crying.
They just really enjoy
the nostalgia of it.
– This is great.
– Thanks.
– [Peter] So you can come in,
play a game here at the table.
– Absolutely.
– Eat a pasty,
sit down in the rocker,
watch some whatever,
“Walton’s” on the Zenith.
– Yeah.
Sure, mm hmm.
– [Peter] And just sort
of go back in time.
– Yeah, absolutely.
It’s kind of like the closest
you can get to time travel
just by being around
all the old nostalgic stuff, you know?
– [Peter] Oh, this is cool.
I just thought I was stopping
to a roadside pasty place.
– Uh-huh, no, it’s a little bit museum.
– Okay, Finnish American.
– Yes, that’s me.
– [Peter] So you’re really
holding onto the heritage.
– I’m trying to, absolutely.
Like the loom, that loom
belonged to my great-aunt
who also strangely made
pasties and noggin for a living
and she also would get rag
rugs made all the time.
It was one of her passions
and it’s throughout my family
and it’s been passed down
for five generations now.
– [Peter] Oh, I remember
this when I was a kid.
– Oh, sure.
– This is awesome.
– Yeah, rod hockey.
– So all the names up here
in the U.P are basically Native American?
– Yeah, stemming from
the Michigan state name
and this particular town is
one of the oldest in America.
– [Peter] Yeah.
– It was this and St. Augustine.
– Yeah, you know your history.
– Oh yeah.
– [Peter] That was
Spanish, this is French.
– It goes back so far.
Yeah, French fur traders
and this was the Rapids.
Everybody came here, sold furs and seeds
and spices and stuff like that.
– Grandma’s Blanket.
– The awful ash can
belongs in everybody’s deer camp.
– Every deer camp.
– Yeah.
Nintendo?
– Oh yeah.
– We got all the good stuff.
– Yeah, there’s some
awesome games on the Wii.
– You guys set all this up?
– Yes.
– Wow.
You had to dig deep to find all this.
– Well, I love thrifting
and garage sale-ing
and estate sale-ing and any
sort of picking, you know?
That’s kind of my love.
– Okay.
I remember these cartridges.
– Oh yeah.
– You blow ’em out.
– Yep.
– And flick ’em, right?
Remember we’d flick ’em-
– Oh, absolutely.
– When they stopped working?
– Yeah.
We were born in the 80s, early 80s.
So we grew up in the 80s and 90s
and we love all this stuff.
I feel just so comforted
being surrounded by all of our nostalgic-
– [Peter] I want to spend
a day just chilling here.
– Right?
– It’s so much fun.
It’s so much fun.
– We just spend so much
time here that we want to be able
to be in a place that’s super warm
and cozy and cute and
you can’t help but smile
when you’re around all these oddities.
– [Peter] And this old wood paneling,
that old cheap wood paneling that was
in like every other house.
– Yep, embrace it.
– Embrace it. (laughs)
– Yeah.
– [Peter] You put some heart
and soul into this place.
– Yeah, and we’re not even
two years old at this point.
– How’s it going?
– It’s going well.
We’ve been open year
round since we started
and it’s just been a real whirlwind.
– Are you guys the pasty pros?
– Yes.
– [Peter] Okay, so it’s
basically like an empanada
Italian-Finnish style?
– Absolutely.
It actually originated
in Cornwall, England.
It’s a meat pie that’s
totally covered in crust
and you can eat it upright
without it falling apart.
There’s a whole history behind the pasty
that I could totally get into as well.
But it is, a lot of people
compare it to an empanada.
Every culture has something
that has a starchy crust on
the outside and savory inside
and this is what we eat in the U.P.
– [Peter] And that’s a
proper U.P.-approved apron?
– [Shop Owner 2] Absolutely,
anything plaid passes the test.
– All right guys, no pressure.
(chef laughs)
– We’re throwing in one
of our dessert pasties.
It’s a triple berry pasty
and we’ve got homemade cream
cheese frosting to go on top.
– [Peter] Oh wow.
– House-made, so I hope
you enjoy it, buddy.
– [Peter] So the price is
quite good for a pasty.
– [Shop Owner 2] We hear that a lot.
It’s a homemade meal that
you can’t get from fast food.
But it is fast.
– All right.
I’m glad I found you guys.
– Ah, dude.
– Two of them are our neighbors. (laughs)
– [Shop Owner 1] Yeah.
– And the other one is just
one of the boys from the
hockey team that we took on
and he’s been with us
since the very start.
– Yeah.
– And this guy?
– This is our son Cannon.
– My name’s Cannon.
Nice to meet you.
– Cannon, all right.
You keeping this place locked down?
– Oh yeah.
– Under control?
– Yeah.
– Yeah?
– All right, make sure they don’t slack?
– Yep.
– Nice.
– 12U AA hockey player here.
– You’re pretty good?
– Junior Lakers.
– I’m very humble but
I’d like to say that-
– You’re the best?
– I’ve a little bit of skill.
– [Peter] What’d you think
about the Panthers winning?
– They deserved it.
They’re a really, really situated team.
They’re a really good team.
– [Peter] Did you know Paul Maurice,
the Coach of the Panthers
has come over there?
– Yeah.
– I’m gonna ask them if they
have a statue for Paul Maurice
for bringing the Cup to America twice.
– Yeah.
– Absolutely.
I’m sure they will.
– That’s some trolling
content if I ask that over there.
They’re gonna be pissed.
– Oh, absolutely.
They’re all big fans though.
– They love Paul but
they’re hurting inside because
Canada hasn’t won since ’93.
– The Leafs, yeah.
– That’s it, yeah.
– They haven’t won since ’93.
– That’s right, yeah.
– Since like before
the internet basically.
– Absolutely.
– Yes sir.
– This is also Hockey Town USA.
– Original.
– Yeah.
– Original Hockey Town USA.
– The Wings used to play here.
– Yeah, Wings used to play, practice here.
– Original six.
– Who’s your favorite player?
– I’m a big Carolina Hurricanes fan.
– [Peter] It’s all right, it’s all right.
– Yeah, I love Sebastian
Aho, he’s a good Finn player.
– Yeah, there you go.
– [Peter] We got a lot
of Finns on the Panthers.
– Yeah, you do.
– Yeah.
– [Peter] Thank you.
Barkov being the biggest name, right?
– That dude’s a beast.
– He’s a beast.
– Yeah.
– Florida deserved it.
– [Peter] I can tell you’re a true local
when you got a TV live feed of the locks.
– That’s it.
– Yeah.
– That’s what you need.
– Yes sir.
– [Peter] Guys.
– Very nice to meet you.
– Thank you, yeah, you too.
– Safe travels.
– Nice to meet you.
– See you, buddy.
– Yeah.
– Keep up the puck, see you guys.
– Thank you.
– God bless.
I’ll bite into the pasty, give it a go.
I mean, they gave me
enough food for the week.
So cool, so much craft
and love in that place.
So much pride in what they’re doing
and they’re a new business, you know?
Out of the military a couple years ago.
Restaurants are tough.
Look at that, that is so
cool, the attention to detail.
They got the specialty times here.
It is so tough to start food and beverage.
Some places out of the gates,
they do extremely well.
Border Patrol.
So many restaurants try and fail.
I think it’s like nine out of 10,
I forget what it is, like
in the first five years
or something because it’s extremely hard.
All the ingredients, the employees,
the lease, the electricity.
You can’t charge a
fortune for these things.
But it’s very cool that
they’re going for their dreams.
Go here guys, I love
supporting small businesses,
especially ones like this
where they have their
heart and soul in it.
It’s such a cool environment there.
I wish I could have stayed longer.
So here we go, here’s a pasty.
I’m gonna just, I think you
eat it like this, right?
You just grab it.
You can see it a little better.
Very hearty food.
Fresh meat, potatoes, carrots.
Mm.
Hand-tossed.
All right, look it, they’ve
even got a heart on this one.
That’s so good.
– Dude, do you like ’em?
– [Peter] I love it,
can you hold the camera?
I’m trying to eat and-
– Oh yeah, I got you.
– You’re gonna hold the camera?
– [Shop Owner 1] I got you, buddy.
– So you just go full
hands in on it, right?
– Absolutely.
– All hands on deck?
– [Shop Owner 1] Yes,
and there’s a homemade
cream cheese frosting
in there for you too.
– Okay, so you just-
– Take it right apart.
– Do you mind coming closer?
– Yeah, buddy.
– This is fresh berries.
– [Shop Owner 1] Yeah.
– Yeah.
– That’s legit, ain’t it?
Holy smokes.
– So legit.
– Yeah.
– I can imagine like on
a cold winter day next to the Zenith.
– Yes sir.
– Right?
Maybe play some Game Boy.
– That’s it, yeah.
Get the “Andy Griffith” going.
– Oh yeah.
And you were in the
military for how many years?
– 23 years.
– How’s it feel to be out?
– It’s a blessing to be with my family,
which is the reason that I
retired but at the same time,
I miss the United States Coast Guard,
my shipmates, our mission sets,
11 mission sets that were amazing,
the opportunity to save a life,
aids to navigation, law
enforcement, search and rescue.
Just an amazing branch
and I miss it every day.
– [Peter] I bet, you
even got it on the apron.
– Yes.
– The anchor.
– Very patriotic, we
love the United States.
– You love the US?
– Coast Guard.
– Oh, 100%.
It’s such a blessing to be able
to live here in this country
and to be able to find a place
like the Upper Peninsula,
remote, an amazing way of life.
– The thing keeping it
from getting crowded is just the winters.
Most people are gonna get knocked off.
– Absolutely.
– They’re not gonna handle it.
– I’m from the Outer
Banks of North Carolina.
So it was a tough transition up here.
– Yeah.
– But once you learn
and get your battle rhythm for the winter
with clearing snow and hey,
there’s always an open sheet of ice.
There’s always a hockey game
going on inside of a rink.
This place is amazing.
It is phenomenal in the winter time.
Snowmobiling, outdoor winter
sports is top notch, unmatched.
It’s a good time.
– [Peter] Oh, John Johnston’s home.
So these are the early pioneers here.
How you doing?
– Hello.
– Can you go in these homes?
– Yep.
– It’s interesting.
– You just have to go up
to the green house and
it’s $5 for all four.
– [Peter] Okay.
– And they’re open ’til five o’clock.
– Are they cool?
– It’s interesting.
You should see it.
– Hey, we’re subscribed
to your YouTube channel.
– Thank you.
What do you gotta say
about Sault Ste. Marie?
– We’re having fun here so far.
This is a good little tour that
they just gave us right here
at the Historical Society.
So anybody who sees this,
I recommend coming up here.
– Come on in, look around.
– I gotta get to the Canadian side.
– [Tourist 1] We just came from there.
– How does it compare over there to here?
– I think I kind of like it
on this side better, honestly.
But there’s a lot of stuff to
do over there too, you know?
– It’s worth it if you’re
in the area to see both.
– I’m going.
– Yeah.
– Thank you guys.
– Thanks, see ya.
– [Tourist 2] I’m gonna
call one more time.
– All right, so we just don’t have time.
If I start going down that road,
then we’re not gonna get to Canada
or give it the time it needs.
So check that out if you’re here too.
(relaxed rhythmic guitar music)
So it looks like they’re
scanning passports
and I’ll put the camera down because
you want to do that in these places.
All right, just a short bridge over.
So before we get there, I
have a Canada story for you.
Growing up in Vermont roughly
two hours below the border
and in high school, we would
go up there for field trips
and my parents would take
us up for hockey games.
We had three channels
on TV in rural Vermont
in the 80s and early 90s.
But we’d get the occasional channel
coming in late night from Canada.
We had the rabbit ears
and it’d be fuzzy on TV
and they were always showing
the strip clubs up there.
There’d be ads for the
strip clubs, Club Super Sex.
So at the age of 14, my buddies and I
would gather around the
TV, maybe 13, maybe even 12
and just like, oh my god,
that is our paradise.
We gotta get up there.
So at the age of 16, I forgot
who got their license first,
I think it was my buddy Steve,
I’d say to my mom, “Mom,
I’m going to Steve’s
for the night and I’ll be back tomorrow.”
And she’s like “Okay, have a good time.”
And we’d be going up to Montreal
and hanging out at Pervert
Row at Club Super Sex
and so I did that from about 16
to 17 and 1/2
with all my lawn mowing
money I’d spend up there
and realized by 17 and 1/2, this is dumb.
I lose all my money, it
sort of sucks actually
and I burnt out of the
clubs at 17 and 1/2.
I remember that, having that moment,
like I’m working hard
and all the money’s gone
and I’m not hanging out with chicks.
This sucks.
I’m hanging out with old creepy dudes.
So there we go, that’s the steel plant.
We’ll see if we can get near it.
All while I was telling
my mom the next day,
she’d be like “How was
your time at Steve’s?”
And I’d say “You know, it was fun
riding BMX bikes around town, Mom.”
Meanwhile I was in another
country at a strip club.
So those were the times.
There was border control
but you did not need a passport at all.
You needed a driver’s license.
So that’s how my day started in Canada.
Then a Rush concert, my
first concert up there
at the Montreal Forum
and now Sault Ste. Marie.
It’s been awhile since I’ve
been to Canada and I’m excited.
It’s always cool crossing a border
and it’s not like it’s crazy different.
It’s not like I’m going
into Pakistan or Iran
but there is something cool about it.
There are always
differences and excitement
and it’s just cool being out
of your home turf for a bit.
So here we go.
Oh, Canada.
Camera down.
All right, easy-peasy.
It was a quick passport check
for literally five seconds.
No questions.
No, “Are you declaring anything?”
I think that’s what he said.
That’s it, that was easy.
Nice.
So first impressions, the obvious.
Definitely a bigger place.
What’s it, four or five
times the population?
Some cool old buildings.
But you see the city buses.
Didn’t see that on the US side.
Rotaryfest, big event
you guys got going on.
– Yes.
– So this is the downtown?
– This is the downtown.
– I’m making a video.
I’m showing the Sault on the American side
and the Sault on the Canadian side.
– Oh okay, cool.
– Sorta compare-contrast.
– Twin Soos, yeah.
– Twin Soos.
Do you go over there ever?
– I do, yes.
– Okay.
What’s the difference, would you say?
Other than it being way smaller?
– The food’s good over
there, definitely cleaner.
– It’s cleaner there?
– Yeah.
Just the vibes downtown
are much more better.
– They’re better there?
– Yeah.
– Oh wow.
– In my opinion.
– [Peter] You just call a spade a spade.
– Yes.
– [Peter] You’re not
doing the patriotic thing?
– No.
– Okay, okay, cool.
Right on, so I’m gonna go.
Okay, Rotaryfest, that’s
where you say to go.
– Definitely check it out.
– [Peter] Sir, what’s your shirt say?
– “Warning, contains facts and opinions
some may find offensive.”
– That’s nice.
– Yeah.
– I’m doing a video
talking about the US side,
talking about the Canadian side.
– Okay.
– [Peter] What are your thoughts on town?
– I don’t really know, I
stay out of everything.
– You do?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] Good place to live here though?
– It’s okay.
– [Peter] All right, Rotaryfest.
Yeah, definitely more
happening here right now.
Ah, there we go, that is so cool.
That’s where we started today.
You own a theater company?
– Yeah, yeah.
I own Unfathomable Horrors Productions.
We’re the newest Sault
Ste. Marie theater company.
We operate out of the
Sault Theater Workshop.
– [Peter] So how are things
in the Sault right now would you say?
– In terms of what?
– I don’t know.
It’s a wide question.
– It is.
That’s why I’ve gotta
know what angle you’re on.
– [Peter] I have no angle
other than understanding.
So I just talk to locals
and whatever they say is what they say.
– Well actually I work on Queen Street
as well during the day.
– Okay.
– So I think we got a, both of us do,
I think we have a pretty good
I would say exposure to everything here.
– [Peter] Queen Street’s the main street?
– Queen Street is the main street.
– [Peter] Okay.
– It’s like where all the
downtown businesses are.
– [Peter] Okay.
– Pretty much everything’s local.
We pretty much do daily events
in the downtown square as well.
There’s a bit of a stage,
bands can show up and do their thing.
– [Peter] Sweet, so it’s thriving?
– Absolutely.
– There’s things happening.
– It’s getting better year after year.
– [Peter] Okay, so from
my limited understanding,
the steel mill had its
heyday, it came down.
– Yeah, yeah.
– People left town a bit.
But you’re saying now it’s
like having a resurgence,
it’s getting better?
– Yeah, absolutely.
– [Peter] That’s cool.
– The Sault’s thriving right now
and I think even with all the other things
happening with the steel
mill and with the tariffs
from the States and everything,
it’s not gonna break us.
– Right, right.
– We’ll be fine.
There’s so much other industry
and so much other everything
happening in Sault Ste. Marie
that Algoma Steel is
just one thing of many.
– [Peter] Are other Canadians moving here?
– Absolutely.
I’ve been here almost my whole
life and the population sign,
they say 67,000 or just shy of 70 now.
They’re lying, they have to be.
The roads are busier
than they’ve ever been.
Our events, there’s more people
here than there’s ever been.
– [Peter] Okay, so
people maybe from Toronto
want to get out of city life.
– Yeah.
The real estate market here
in the Sault, I’ve noticed
at least the houses get
snatched up pretty quick.
– [Peter] Oh yeah, so I got
on, you use Zillow, right?
– A little bit here and there.
– [Peter] Okay, so I got
on Zillow last night.
There were like two listings in town.
– Yeah, a big conglomerate down South,
one of the big corporations
bought up 129 properties locally.
However, they’re all getting foreclosed,
handed back to the
government and they’re gonna
give ’em back to people who
actually want to live here.
– Cool.
– Have a good day.
– See you guys, take care.
That’s cool, they’re
fired up on their town.
It’s great to see.
Buildings only go so
far, beautiful buildings
but it’s really the ingredients
in the community that
make it the community.
So someone obviously thought of this,
well, the Rotary Club and
put together this cool event.
How you guys doing?
We got some music tonight obviously.
– Yeah, we’re the first
band, Bourbon Blue.
– [Peter] How you doing?
Are you from here?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] I’m making a video on the town.
– Nice.
– Oh god.
– Poor guy.
(locals laughing)
– Don’t forget the crackheads.
– [Peter] He said “Nice,”
she said “Poor guy”
and you said “Don’t
forget the crackheads.”
Okay, what’s going on in the Soo?
– Same thing that’s going on
all around Ontario I guess.
– [Peter] What is?
– Most of us are doing
good and having a good time
and then there’s a small
element that people
don’t want to be around and
you know, the drug crisis.
– [Peter] You’re speaking in riddles.
Okay, the drug crisis.
– Yeah.
It’s terrible, man.
– It’s terrible.
– What’s up, little buddy?
– What brought you to Sault Ste. Marie?
– [Peter] ‘Cause I’m doing-
– I smoked 50 joints before I came here.
– You smoked 50 joints? Nice.
(locals laughing)
Okay, so here’s the deal.
I wanted to do a Sault America video.
– Yeah.
– And a Sault Canada video.
– Okay.
– So I started the day there,
I’m finishing here.
– Oh.
– [Peter] And just sorta
compare and contrast.
– Cool.
– Get the vibe.
– Yeah.
– It’s cool part of the world.
– They didn’t send you down to Honduras?
– No, no.
– You’re lucky.
– [Peter] Well maybe, I haven’t
tried to get back in yet.
(locals laughing)
How is it getting into the US these days?
– I have no idea.
– It’s easy if you got a passport.
– Okay, do you guys go
to the US ever or no?
– I don’t.
– Yeah.
I have many times over years.
– Okay.
– And I let my passport
expire this last time here.
So I don’t really have any desire.
Not that I don’t like
the US ’cause I love it
and I don’t care about the
politics and all that stuff.
I love the US but right now,
I’m just not bothering with
the passport at the moment.
– [Peter] Okay, so if
you’ve spent time there,
what are the big differences
between Sault here
and Sault on the US side, would you say?
– Price of food, yeah.
The American dollar goes farther
for them over there
than it would over here.
It’s a total different culture, man.
– Totally different culture.
– Totally.
Guys are walking around with guns
in their glove compartments.
– [Peter] In America.
– In their harnesses in their in shoe
and they walking around like that, eh?
It’s a normal thing.
– Yeah, but I gotta say,
I’d never see it.
– Well, ’cause they’re concealed, right?
– [Peter] Yeah, well it
depends on the state.
– My mother’s boyfriend lived over there
and he thought that I was crazy
to not have a weapon in my car
in the thing to protect my myself.
He couldn’t fathom it.
– [Peter] Do you want to borrow my gun?
– I wish we had 2nd Amendment.
– He couldn’t understand that
because they grow up over there
and like guns are for
protection and, you know, right?
We’re from a border town.
We soak up American culture a lot, eh?
Like I was just talking earlier
how we don’t get all
the great Canadian music
on our radio station here
because our radio stations
that most of us listen to are
coming from the States, right?
So this town is very engulfed
in culture of the Sault, Michigan.
A lot of us go over there and
shop, you know what I mean?
I gotta go up and do sound check here.
– [Peter] Oh yeah, you’re the sound guy?
– Okay.
– No, they’re all the band.
– No, I’m in the band.
– No way.
– Yeah.
I play guitar for a bit
and then I’ll be like the lead singer.
Facebook, Bourbon Blue.
– Bourbon Blue.
I’m ready to hear it.
– My name’s Derek.
– Derek.
– Yeah.
– Wail that thing.
– This is like our summer festival.
– That’s cool.
– And other than that,
there’s not a lot that goes on.
– [Peter] Are people still
working at the steel plant?
– Yes,
but we have
an electric arc furnace
that’s I guess about to start up.
– Okay.
– And so there’s gonna be
jobs lost from that.
I’d move to Alberta if they separated.
They’ve got massive resources.
They could be like a super
booming economy out there
if they separate.
If they remain Canadian,
then it’s no different
here than there, right?
– So Canada’s not as Federalist
obviously as the United States.
We have Federal law but State law
holds up in many different categories.
State law can make a big lifestyle
difference between states.
– Our laws are a joke here.
– Okay.
– They’re a joke.
We have catch and release.
Nobody really gets in trouble, you know?
Like violent offenders are getting let out
or very minimal time.
– You’re saying crime here?
– Yeah.
– Okay, are you an outlier or
do many people feel like you?
– I don’t really know.
I think people are afraid to
voice their opinion, right?
Like we have no get up
and go, we have no fight.
– [Peter] What do you
guys think of the US?
You can say good, you can say bad.
– I love the US.
I love that you guys actually
have freedom of speech.
You guys have the 2nd Amendment.
Our government is taking away our guns
and that’s never a good thing, right?
When your government
wants to take your guns
and they’re the only ones with guns.
– So what’s great about here?
– Lake Superior.
– It’s nice, huh?
– Yeah.
That’s the best I got. (laughs)
♪ Love suits just me ♪
♪ Oh, I can see clearly that
you’re the one, one, one ♪
♪ Love me, babe ♪
– Sorry.
♪ I saw you last night ♪
♪ Oh, working, sleeping,
can I feel your loving ♪
♪ And I said ooh ♪
♪ I’m drowning in the night ♪
♪ Oh, when I’m lacking ♪
♪ You’re the one I’ll turn to ♪
♪ Hey ♪
– Can I record the camera with us?
– Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.
– So you’re a police officer here?
– I’m an ancillary, we don’t say police.
I’m an ancillary officer here.
– Surely, okay.
I don’t think these guys can talk
on camera But you can, right?
You said you like the border content.
– Yeah. (laughs)
♪ You say you don’t know ♪
– Right?
– Yeah, I like that.
♪ I scream into the night ♪
– Thank you, buddy.
I love your videos.
– Thank you, brother.
Thank you.
– The good thing is like
that’s informative.
Just like, you know, exact knowledge.
Not like the fake one.
– You are giving-
– I try, brother.
– You are giving the exact one.
– I try.
– I love that.
Keep going, buddy.
– I love that hat.
Thank you, brother.
♪ Why I’m reeling ♪
– You gotta love it,
the Indian Canadian guy
saying “I watch all of your videos
and I especially love your border videos.”
You never know until you
go and things are way more
mixed up and nuanced than
you could ever think.
(birds chirping)
Did you grow up here, sir?
– Yeah.
– How was it?
– It was good.
– Big hockey town, right?
– Yeah.
Well, the Greyhounds, yes, yes.
– Paul Maurice is from here.
– Yeah.
He just had his big do there
about a month and a half ago.
– Maurice was here?
– Yeah, he was here.
He puts on a big party, eh?
– Do you guys love him?
– Oh yeah, he’s a good guy.
– [Peter] But he keeps
the Americans winning.
How do you feel about that?
– Well,
it just might be his last
year now, so you never know.
Storm’s coming in there. (laughs)
Things change all the
time, you know what I mean?
– [Peter] That’s true.
What’s your wisdom to the young
people, what would you say?
– Education, education.
Get a trade, get a trade.
Nowadays, you can go pick up
any kind of job at washing
dishes, everything.
But trade people, we’re very,
very low on trade people.
– [Peter] You’re low in Canada
right now in trade people?
– Oh god, yeah.
– Same in the US I think.
– Yeah, I think so, yeah
’cause we got a lot of people
that left the Sault now
and they went up towards
Wawa, White River, Hornpayne
because of all the big gold
mines up in there, right?
– Okay.
– Yeah.
The Ring of Fire like they call it, right?
– But you guys have a
big steel facility there.
– Yeah.
– Steel plant.
That still hires a lot of people?
– Well, now they might start laying off
because that new furnace
is gonna go in, right?
It’ll take away a lot of
the emissions in the air.
– [Peter] They’re gonna go without coal?
– Yeah, yeah, yeah.
– [Peter] So they’re
gonna try to go electric?
– Yeah, that’s what it is.
That’s the main thing, right.
– Okay.
– Electric and try to generate
their own power, right?
– Well, that’s good for the air
because you can smell
it a little bit, right?
– That’s right, oh yeah,
a big difference, yeah.
– I do smell it over here.
– Yeah, you do.
(vehicle engine roars)
You’re in the busiest
part of town right here.
– [Peter] This is where it’s happening?
– This is where it all
happens all the time.
– [Peter] I heard Queen Street,
that’s the main street.
– That’s the next one up.
– [Peter] That’s where it’s
happening the most, right?
– Yeah, we don’t walk
down there very often.
– Why?
– A lot of street people, eh?
Some of them are good,
some of them are bad.
So you just gotta watch over
your shoulder all the time, you know?
There’s 450 in the Sault and
our population’s only 67,000.
– [Peter] When did that start popping off,
all the street people?
– Oh, I would say about three years ago.
– That’s it?
– Four years ago.
– [Peter] Okay.
– Four years, about four years now.
It’s been getting worse
and worse every year now.
It’s easy to get them off the street
if you got the counselors and help.
– Look, I was just in LA.
– Yeah?
– There are many options
to get off the streets.
– Oh, there is, yes.
– But unless someone says
“I want off the streets,”
you can’t just yank ’em off the bench.
– That’s right, yes.
– If you go into a home,
you gotta get off the drugs.
You gotta play by the curfew.
– We got a big place up here that we,
it’s a school, they transformed it into
a drop-in center like for
all the street people.
– [Peter] Okay.
– It’s wicked, the police
are there every day,
every day and there’s one
or two dead every day.
– [Peter] I’m gonna get
to the Bush Pilot Museum.
Is it Bushplane Museum?
– The Bushplane Museum, yep.
I just live over the other side of that.
That’s why I love it down here.
– Take care, sir.
– Yeah, have a good walk.
– People are great on this side too.
Both sides very, very friendly,
very easy to talk to, very warm.
All right guys, I’m going to,
maybe I’ll start jogging here because
I don’t want the museum to close
and I’m trying to give you
as much time over here
as the American side.
We’re gonna do what we gotta do.
(birds cawing)
Guys, it’s the end of the day.
I can’t find the tour guide
but I can show you at least.
They do do a few tours during the day
and if you’re a bush plane person,
this is your place and
that’s what Canada is.
So much of Canada is
fly North
into these Provincial places
with no roads going in,
a lot like Alaska.
If you look at Google Maps
and click on Street View, look at Canada.
Like it’s because of the climate, right?
Most stuff is in the South,
most people live down here
and they fly into the small towns.
– I’m right here.
– Look at that.
That’s beautiful and just
like Alaska, same thing.
Canadian Women in Aviation.
This is great, this is
definitely worth a stop.
So Canada deals with
a lot of forest fires.
They have so many forests
and just the other day
I was told the smoke
had blown in here and the
air quality was terrible.
So it’s a problem all over the continent,
forest fires.
Here’s the old radio station, 1955.
This thing is a work of art.
Look at that thing.
Wow.
That is so beautiful.
Okay, the gearheads are drooling
right now when they see this.
I can’t tell you what’s
going on but it looks serious
and I like how they let
you just walk around here.
Nothing’s roped off, you sorta
go wander and check it out.
Okay, I was told by a few people,
this is the big tourist site
here as far as museums go
and I’m sure someone will correct me
and say there’s another museum
that’s more interesting.
But I gotta say, this is cool.
Wow.
So here’s the fire retardant
to go over the big fires
and try to put it out.
Imagine memorizing all of
that, what’s going on there.
It becomes like second nature I’m sure.
But for a novice, it
looks highly complicated.
All right.
The fire lookout.
Kids are fired up, they’re running.
This is a great place.
Actually these two cities
seem to be great for kids,
getting out at the locks
and I think you can do the
same thing here in Canada.
I don’t think we’ll have time for it
but you can get out to the
locks and in a museum like this,
is this pretty cool, you guys?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] Where’s the fire,
do you see it out there?
Where’s the fire?
– I don’t know.
– [Peter] I don’t know, maybe over there?
Let us know.
– I see the fire.
– [Peter] You see it? No way.
Oh, there it is, you got it.
– Mom, I see the fire!
– Good job, good job.
– [Kid] Mom!
Mom, I see the fire!
– [Parent] Where is it?
– Yeah, a great place.
Got a tap room over here,
get a beer afterwards.
Gonna go to Queen Street.
I’ve been told by quite a few people
if I want the downtown, the
main street, it’s Queen Street.
Everything seems shut down here,
maybe it’s a daytime thing.
It’s roughly what, 6:00, 6:30?
Very empty.
The Soo number two or
number one if you’re from here
and that side is the number two.
Beautiful building,
Sault Ste. Marie Museum.
Maybe they have a LGBTQ+ exhibit going on
because I see the flags
all over this building.
Hey, it’s the nicest
building I’ve seen so far.
You gotta love these rounded windows.
It looks like they’re making a stab here
to bring some energy
back into the downtown.
This is what the streets look like.
Here we go, here’s some action.
Smokey’s Barbecue & Patio.
Looks like Smokey puts
on a dance party too.
That looks cool in there.
That might be closed though,
it’s so dusty but that looks cool.
How you doing?
– Good, you?
– Good.
– What you doing?
– [Peter] Just checking out the Sault.
– Oh.
– Are you from here?
– No, Alberta.
– Okay.
– [Albertan] Passing through.
– All right.
That’s cool.
(distant siren blares)
So the Sault has got
a very quiet main street,
partially from the construction I’m sure.
Some of the buildings are closed.
Some look good, I hear noise.
How you doing?
– How you doing, buddy?
– [Peter] Good.
You look like Paul Maurice.
– Paul Maurice?
– You know Paul Maurice?
– Yeah, he’s from the Sault, yeah.
– [Peter] Okay, so Paul Maurice
is a personal hero of mine
because he got us to the Cup
twice and we got the victory.
– Yeah.
– [Peter] It’s gotta be
bittersweet, Paul Maurice in town
or what’s the temperature on Paul Maurice?
– No, people like him.
– People like him.
– [Peter] They love him
’cause he’s excellent
but he keeps getting Florida the victory.
– That’s okay though.
– That’s okay.
– That’s okay?
– You’re from Florida?
– Yeah.
– Oh, where do you live?
– My wife and I go to
like 10 games a year.
– Paul Maurice’s parents
still live on Shannon Road
about four blocks down on
the East End of the Sault.
– [Peter] You’re sure
you’re not Paul Maurice?
(locals laughing)
– Sorry, but he’s not.
– [Peter] What do you have
to say about the Sault,
if you were to sum it up in a few words?
Do you love it?
– We love it, yeah.
– Do I love it? Yeah.
– We love it, we love this place.
– [Peter] What’s the name of this place?
– Main Street Cafe.
– Main Street Cafe.
– [Peter] Okay, I saw “Salon
and Spa” but it’s not that.
– Oh, they have that too, everything here.
– Okay, good food?
– It’s my favorite place in
Sault Ste. Marie to come to.
– Great food, yeah.
– [Peter] All right guys,
well it’s been a pleasure.
(locals laughing)
You’re a character.
– Thank you.
– Hey, nice meeting you, Paul.
– Nice meet you too.
– No, what’s your name?
– Randy.
– Randy, Peter.
– Okay, great, Peter.
– Guys, ciao, thank you.
– Good to meet ya.
– Oh, that’s great.
Good sports.
Memorial Gardens, the big hockey stadium.
Okay, where is Paul Maurice?
Paul Maurice, where are you?
Where is Paul Maurice?
This is unacceptable.
Please tell me There’s a
Paul Maurice mural, statue,
emblem of sorts.
Where’s the respect on his home turf?
Well, I just don’t think
we’re gonna get it.
We’re gonna see Chip,
hopefully someone finds Chip.
March 19th, wow.
That’s a long time ago.
And there it is.
I don’t know if you can see in there
but this is really important
in this part of the world
on both sides of the border.
This part of Queen Street’s starting to
go downhill a little bit, I would say.
Canadian and Chinese food, closed
and what do we got here?
A bike shop, some tagging action going on.
It is a bit rougher over here,
I will say from my short time.
It’s a bigger place, so four
or five times the population.
But on the other side, you
weren’t seeing any tagging
which I found to be quite refreshing.
We got a donut, fritter and
pizza business coming soon.
So the downtown Sault’s a mixed bag
and then you are seeing a lot of this.
I don’t know if this is a new thing
or it’s been around for awhile.
As a tourist you come into a place,
you try to feel it out,
you talk to people.
I am no expert by any
means and people will say
“You missed this” or “You got that wrong.”
Fair enough, but what I
am trying to do is just
show you and explain to you
exactly what I come into.
Ask a lot of people similar questions.
You can sort of flesh out
a place by doing that.
There will be some sort of consensus
usually and then you can
understand a place better.
But just pounding pavement,
walking the streets,
talking to people, absorbing,
taking in new sights
and sounds to me is one of
the coolest things to do
and I’m trying my best, guys,
to bring it back to you.
Okay, let’s go up this street.
See what’s going on up here.
That’s a nice mural.
What’s up, guys?
How’s security going?
– It’s going good.
– [Peter] Are you guys keeping
things calm around here?
– We try our best.
– Yeah?
– Yeah.
– Norpro.
– Yep, Norpro.
– Are you a pro?
– Yeah, we are too. (laughs)
– You’re just patrolling
the area, making sure?
– The downtown, yeah.
– The downtown?
How is the downtown
these days would you say?
– It used to be bad but
since the police presence
and the security presence
has been increased recently,
it’s been good.
– Since they got you guys on the team.
– Yeah.
– I think that’s when it changed, right?
– Oh yeah, for sure.
It made an effect because
visibility, right?
People see us walking by all the time.
– [Peter] Yeah.
Where are you guys from, India?
– Yep, we are from India.
– Where?
– I’m from Haryana near New Delhi.
– [Peter] Oh, I’ve been
to Delhi, Chandni Chowk.
– Chandni Garg?
– Chandni Chowk.
You know Chandni Chowk in Delhi?
– Oh yeah, Chandni Chowk.
– That’s wild.
– Yeah, that is wild.
– What about you, sir?
– I live in North India,
it’s Himachal Pradesh.
– Okay, cool.
– On the top of the Haryana.
– [Peter] Okay, what do
you guys think of Canada?
– Oh, it’s a beautiful place.
– Yeah.
– It’s beautiful?
– Yep.
– Nice.
– I have been in Ukraine
for two years as well.
– Ukraine?
– Yeah.
– My wife’s Ukrainian.
– Literally?
– [Peter] Yeah, I used to
live in Kyiv, four years.
– Oh.
– Where’d you live in Ukraine?
– I was in Ivan Franko for two years.
– That’s nice.
– But during the war,
I had to go back to India.
– You were at the university out there?
– Yep, I was studying my MBS program.
– Did you like it?
– Yeah, it was good.
– What do you like
better, Ukraine or Canada?
– For me, Ukraine is better,
I’m so sorry. (laughs)
– Why is that, why do
you like Ukraine better?
– I don’t know but the infrastructure
and the culture of the Ukraine,
in my opinion, it’s better.
I don’t know why.
– Okay.
– No, I am not saying Canada is not good.
Canada is good in Canada’s perspective
but Ukraine is more better.
– Do you speak Ukrainian?
– Oh yeah.
– [Peter] Speak for my
wife, she’ll love it.
(security guard speaking
in foreign language)
– That’s Russian.
– Yeah, that’s Russian.
(security guard speaking
in foreign language)
That’s Ukrainian.
– There you go.
(security guard speaking
in foreign language)
– [Peter] Have you been to the US side?
– No.
– Not yet.
– [Peter] You guys can’t go there?
– Not yet.
– No.
– [Peter] Do you want to go?
– We want to go.
– One day for sure.
– You want to go to US?
– Yeah. (laughs)
Because they rejected my
visa when I was in India.
– Oh, they rejected you?
– Yeah, I don’t know why.
– Where do you want to go in the US?
– I don’t know the name
of that place properly
but one of my friend
lives there from India.
Yeah, I want to go to that place.
– You can go warmer if you want.
Keep going South, it gets warmer.
– What is the name?
Something like Fresno in California?
Yeah, Fresno in California.
– Fresno?
– Fresno, yeah, in California.
– You’re gonna have to get your
security skills really good.
(security guards laughing)
It’s a little dangerous there.
– No worries.
– Notorious.
– There are too many Indians.
– In Fresno?
– Yeah.
It’s like a mini India.
– Guys, take care.
– Okay, bye.
– Enjoy.
– Keep up the good work.
– Nice meeting you.
– Everyone was saying
it was full of druggies
and unsafe downtown.
– What do you think of it?
– I saw a couple guys but that’s it.
– Right now, it’s not like that.
– It seemed fine to me.
– Yeah.
– But I’ve only been here a couple hours.
– Because we are here.
– Because of you guys.
– Yes.
– Take care.
– Bye-bye.
Nice to meet you.
– Bye-bye.
For those that haven’t been,
India is the ultimate experience.
It’s the highest of highs
and the lowest of lows
and will have you rethinking
a lot of things about
the world and your world
and it’s not for
everyone, that’s for sure.
I guess you can stay in
nice hotels and try to avoid
the country but if you really
want to get into India,
you have to get in there with your hands
and get dirty and really feel the place
and for me, it was a formative
experience I would say,
my trips to India.
That country will teach you a lot.
– I’m new here.
– You’re new?
– Yeah.
– From where?
– From Philippines.
– Okay, Palawan, Manila?
– So do you know that places?
– I’ve been to Palawan.
– Wow.
– Yeah, it’s beautiful.
– Yeah, it’s a paradise.
– [Peter] I love the Philippines, yeah.
Take care.
– Yeah, you too.
– [Peter] You guys playing tonight?
– Saturday.
– Saturday.
– We’re just doing a quick rehearsal.
– [Peter] Oh nice, this is the jam room?
– Yeah.
– Nice.
I’m making a video on the
Sault, where should I go?
– Ooh.
– I walked the main strip.
– Okay.
– Queen, I walked Queen.
– That was a bad idea. (laughs)
– [Peter] It wasn’t that
bad, people said that.
People said there were
druggies everywhere.
I didn’t see many.
– The boardwalk’s pretty
good down by the water.
– Yep.
– When the sun’s still out.
– While the sun’s still
out, that golden hour.
Rotary’s going on downtown.
– I was there.
– Okay.
– That’s dope.
– Yeah.
– That’s cool.
There are plenty of jam
zones here in the city?
– There have been a couple
of buskers out already,
so you might bump into a few people.
– Buskers?
– Buskers, yeah.
– What are those?
– Just guys out playing music.
– Oh, nice.
– Yeah.
– Buskers?
– Yeah.
Busking, it’s like a-
– Oh, okay, it’s a verb?
– It is an actual thing.
– Are you guys buskers?
– No, I wouldn’t say that.
(local laughs)
I can’t carry all this around.
– Yeah, like if you’re a
busker, you’re just like hey,
you’re a musician,
you’re just playing out.
You don’t even have to have
like a hat out or whatever.
– What’s up, guys?
– Hi.
– Nick and Dean.
– Yeah.
– How’s a going?
– It’s interesting.
– You know this busker?
(locals laughing)
– He’s one of my old students.
– Oh, really?
– No way.
– How about that?
– You’re a music teacher?
– English, yeah. (laughs)
– Okay.
– How’d he do?
– Good, good.
He’s a recent immigrant from Somalia.
– [Peter] No way.
– And yeah, he and his family
are adapting pretty quickly.
– [Peter] You guys got,
I just met a woman from the
Philippines, India, Somalia.
– We’ve got people from
all over the place.
– Sault Ste. Marie has exploded-
– Yeah.
– With like fresh faces
from around the world.
– It’s not just Italians anymore.
– [Peter] Right, so what are
the jobs bringing them in here?
– A lot of them right
now are with Tenaris.
Like most of my students,
either their spouses
or themselves are hired at
Tenaris in some sort of capacity
either working like for the steel plants
or in secretarial jobs or administration.
– [Peter] Tenaris is the steel plant?
– It’s one of the subsets
of the steel plant, yeah.
– [Peter] Okay.
– There’s two different factions
that run the same building, but yeah.
– [Peter] Okay, so that’s
the main employer in town?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] Do you know the
best Canadian band ever?
– Ooh, this is gonna get-
– Let’s drop this.
Let’s drop it.
– Okay.
I know that, hold on, I’m pretty sure-
– Come on, do it.
– I’m gonna say one as a joke.
– Go ahead.
– Don’t say Tragically Hip.
– No.
– I would never say that.
I would never say that.
– Alexisonfire.
– Okay.
– Yeah.
– Rush isn’t fair.
– Why isn’t that fair?
– Because everybody
thinks it’s Rush.
– Because it’s obvious.
– ‘Cause it’s true.
– It is true.
– Let’s go for two.
– You know what?
We’ll leave it there, it’s too easy.
– [Peter] See you guys.
Oh, there he is.
– Uh-oh, we got a busker.
– Do you have the keys?
– [Peter] Have a good
busking session, later.
– You too, take care.
– Thanks, bro.
– Canada has sweet postal trucks.
Look at that thing.
(birds chirping)
It’s ready, look at the tires on it.
Ready to get out there.
That’s a cool truck.
I’ve never seen one like this.
(bus engine roars)
All right guys, I just want to show you
one thing behind the scenes.
As someone who’s filming a
place and my wife who’s editing,
we can tell the story we want to tell
and I do my best to show
you the most balanced view.
Do I get it always right? No.
Is it perfect? No way, obviously.
But I just want to show you,
I could put the camera there
or I could have never put the camera there
and just put it there
and so the one in charge of
the Play button and the motion
of where to put the
camera controls the story.
Again, I could have just kept it there.
So I try my hardest to show you both that
and that because it’s the reality.
Everything online, everything
on television has an angle.
I’m showing you downtown areas.
Out outside of the city,
there are some beautiful
lakefront homes I’m sure.
But that’s not this story.
This story is showing
both Sault Saint Maries
and we can get a feel of the similarities
and the differences and I
find this stuff fascinating.
But know that every story coming at you
has to some degree an angle
and it’s not always what’s
said, it’s what’s not said.
You can see a guy back here,
that’s what you see
when you pound pavement.
Obviously had better days I’m sure.
And talking to as many people
as possible to understand a place.
But to fully understand a place,
to fully, fully, you
gotta be a local here,
you would’ve had to have grown up here
and even at that, you have an angle
of looking at things
depending on your character.
You can be an optimist or a pessimist.
You could grow up really well.
Your parents have a place
down on the coast here
down the shore of Lake
Superior and you played hockey
and you grew up in a nice environment here
or you grew up in a terrible one
and so how you talk about it is going to
depend on all of those factors
and this is a cool building,
this is really nice.
I love these trees too, just
leaves blowing in the wind.
Such a nice sound.
(birds chirping)
Yeah guys, just one street up from Queen,
the main drag, it goes residential.
Some I don’t even think is being lived in.
Seems to be a uniform style, a
few different types of homes.
A little bit different than
the US side on the styles
and then we’ve got Leslie Bridge.
If you want to make your
Sault dream come true,
list with Leslie.
No, she’s selling.
If you want to get out of
Sault, Leslie’s your girl.
Home of the Knights, a technical school.
It looks closed down.
So guys, just want to cruise you
through some of the hoods out here.
I looked on Google Street View
and saw a place that
looks like your average
and then one that looked a little nicer
and we’re gonna go over
to this steel plant
and I want to tell you
about that a little bit
and then we’ll jump over back
to the US and call it good.
(wind rustling)
Homes getting a little bigger here.
Old workers at the
factory owned these homes.
I’m sure some still do.
I don’t know if it’s like the Mon Valley
south of Pittsburgh where a lot
of the jobs are still there.
It’s just the workers
have chose to live outside
of the immediate
surroundings ’cause they want
to be in the countryside
and away from blight.
So they go in, make their mo, then leave
and back in the day with towns like this,
factory towns, everyone
lived close to the factory.
There’s a lot of weird
intersections like this in the Sault
where it’s not really a four-way,
it’s sort of a (honks horn) five-way.
A lot of one-ways.
Let’s go down here.
There’s a Canadian flag.
I haven’t seen, that’s a
big difference actually
on the US versus the Canadian side.
The US has a ton of flags out and about
and we’re way past the 4th.
So the Sault on the American side
I think is just a very patriotic place
and maybe they show their
patriotism differently here
and don’t put up a flag, not sure.
Canadians, tell me down
below in the comments.
So it seems like the more
you get out of the Sault or
at least to the periphery of
the Sault, the nicer it gets.
Another For Sale sign.
So I was wrong with Zillow.
I guess they just don’t
use Zillow here much
’cause when I got on,
there was just a few properties for sale
but I’ve seen a lot of For Sale signs.
Yeah, this is totally different up here.
There’s a vocational school.
Nice new building or new-looking.
We’ve got more action
and so I’m guessing people that live here
aren’t really going downtown,
I’m guessing, Queen Street.
There’s probably an area
up here for restaurants
and shopping and the downtown
doesn’t seem to be the place.
They are trying though.
They are definitely trying
to make it the place.
So hopefully it does thrive down the road.
That’s a massive school.
Looks like a football stadium out there
and we have some practice going on.
Totally different Sault up here
and I’m just showing you part of it
but nice what I’d say to be
a middle class neighborhood,
pretty well apparent.
We got another sold home.
This is actually pretty charming up here.
All right, we have some
new homes in the Sault.
This is McMansion, Canadian style.
We’ve got the stone work.
I don’t know if those are just
like face stones or
actually thick real stones.
This guy’s going for the modern look.
Back up into the woods
and the nature out here,
we’re not gonna see it in this video
but from what I’ve been
told, on both sides is sweet.
Lake Superior looks beautiful.
Beautiful blue water.
Huge, you look out, it’s like an ocean.
Families going out
camping in their big RV.
I wonder who’s living up here?
Probably university workers I’d gather
or upper level jobs at the steel factory
or who else is living up here, guys?
Another For Sale, a lot of that.
I’d say over here,
the homes are more blown
out and decrepit or nicer.
There’s actually more of an extreme here
I would say than the American side
and that’s not what we think, right?
We think Canada, more in the middle,
America, more of the extremes
and look, it’s not apples to apples.
They actually have some good
high-paying jobs here I’m sure
and it’s a bigger city
but I didn’t think I would
see that, to be honest.
The US side, there’s some nicer homes
but it’s more sort of
all in the middle range.
What do you got going on?
– Play beads.
– Play beads?
– Play beads.
Like this, play beads.
– How much?
– $1.
– Are they pretty cool?
– Yeah.
– [Peter] What do I do with them?
– Tip it.
– Do you take USD?
– No.
– I don’t got any Canadian money, buddy.
– Okay, you’re fine.
One, that’s it?
Two?
– [Peter] That’s it.
What do I do with this?
– Keep it.
– It’s plastic.
– I ironed that.
– Thanks, buddy.
– You’re welcome, bye.
– All right, take care.
– You too.
– So guys, unfortunately
there’s no great high point.
At least one I haven’t found
but this is a massive
operation, steel factory.
(vehicle beeps)
How are things going?
– Good.
– [Peter] You keeping the place secure?
– Yeah, you are here for?
– [Peter] Oh, I’m just checking it out.
– Okay.
– Yeah.
– You are traveling?
– Yeah.
– You can’t even like come into parking.
– [Peter] I can’t park here? Okay.
– Yeah, it’s trespassing.
– [Peter] Is there a high point
I can look down on all of this?
– I don’t think so.
– You don’t think so?
Okay.
All right, sir, I’ll leave.
– Okay.
– Thank you.
Down near the steel factory,
you can see that home there,
all the soot on the white siding.
Yeah, and it gets a bit rough
again not that far away.
Oh, here we go, here’s a view.
Nice.
Boom, there we are.
That’s only part of it.
Algoma Steel.
Look at that truck, completely
black from the soot,
bringing the tailings out there.
You can almost see the top,
I think you can actually,
of the tailings mound.
Looks like the blast
furnace just went off.
That’s my guess at least, the
steam going out into the air.
Massive operation and the economy
here on the Canadian side,
historically a bit
different than the American.
Early 1800s, mills and shipyards.
Late 1800s, Canadian Pacific Railroad
which was huge for Canada and then now,
2500 jobs here at the steel plant.
You can see all this soot
on the windshield here.
It’s cleaned up a lot from decades before
but it’s still a dirty thing obviously.
Before you say “Hey, that’s
terrible, making steel.”
Well, it’s nice to have
steel on my car doors
and on the elevators that we go up on
and all the things we need steel for.
This technology, it’s just
a matter of time though.
You need coal to make steel,
you need that high, high temperature.
The coke from the coal too
and I think the technology
is almost at that place now,
I’m not an expert in this field,
where things are starting to change
and I’m sure it’s a matter of time before
it’s electricity or hydrogen
or something else that makes steel happen.
But until then, as a modern
civilization, we need steel.
That is for sure.
All right guys, I think
we’ve seen enough over here.
Let’s go back to the US side.
I’m interested to see how it
is going into the US border.
Is it a breeze or a process?
We’ll soon find out
and we’ll go full circle back to America.
What a day, what an
interesting day this has been.
All right, one more
bridge to get back home.
13 minutes from here.
It’s interesting, the perspective changes
when you are out of your country.
Even though I’ve never
been to Yooper territories
before in Michigan but it
feels like oh, I’m going home.
(relaxed guitar music)
Look at this.
I can even stop on the bridge.
Look how empty it is.
Wicked cool.
I’m sure there are all sorts of cameras,
so I don’t want to stay too long
but when’s the last time you’ve seen that
on the bridge, any bridge
and just zero cars?
So you’re saying night and
day compared to over there?
– Yeah.
– In this town,
a lot of law enforcement?
– Yeah.
There’s a lot of law
enforcement presence over here.
We’ve got a lot of different
agencies and stuff like that.
So a pretty nice little town.
– [Peter] You guys are doing a good job.
This border crossing’s pretty quiet, huh?
– Yeah, it’s pretty much
like this most of the time.
– Yeah, nobody behind me.
Thank you, sir.
– Yep.
You have a good day.
– Take care, you too.
Super easy.
The guy took a few seconds,
no questions asked actually.
We just talked for awhile
because it’s quiet, there
was no one behind me.
Oh, I’ll give you US.
– Yes, gotcha.
– [Peter] How are things
at the border these days?
– Good.
– Is it normal flow?
Quieter, busier?
– It’s a little quieter.
Not bad.
– Not too much quieter?
– Well, yes and no, it
just depends on the day.
– Okay.
– Yeah, do you want that?
– Great to be back, thanks.
– Yes, welcome back.
See you.
– There we go, into Michigan.
Full circle, you guys.
What a cool adventure today.
I strongly suggest coming
up to Sault St. Marie.
Put some time in here,
check out the locks,
check out this cool
downtown and then go over,
spend a day over there.
Just going for that aircraft
museum, totally worth it
and I cannot bring the
feeling through to the camera.
I tried my best to explain it and show it
but the two places have a
much, much different feel.
I find this stuff fascinating
and that’s what makes
travel so interesting.
Check it out for yourself.
It’s an awesome part of
the country and the world.
All right guys, I’m gonna get dinner.
Thanks for coming along on that
journey, until the next one.
(relaxed guitar music)