My parents are from Escanaba. Mom was born in Chassel, a tiny town near Houghton, and her family moved to Wells which is just outside of Escanaba when she was about 7. This was the Depression and her dad found work as a sawyer in one of the local sawmills. Dad’s family had a home in Escanaba while his father spent the winter at their logging camp. Dad spent time at the camp too, but his folks felt strongly about all their kids getting an education so Dad was in school during the winter logging season.
Two of my Mom’s siblings stayed in Escanaba after marriage, raised their families there and remained all their lives. Escanaba is a population center in the lower part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, so even though it is not a large city they always had good stores. Years ago my Mom took my younger brother and sister and me there for a week to visit her mom and I remember shopping at the Fair department store. Mom got an olive colored suit and I got a dress.
My favorite aunt is one of the two that stayed in Escanaba. Auntie B was six years older than my Mom and they were on friendly terms although we didn’t see them very often. Auntie B brought her family to stay for a few days one summer and we usually saw her for an hour or two every year. She and my uncle Al were my godparents and I remember she made me a red winter hat that had pompoms on the ties one year for Christmas.
We didn’t see my Grandma or Auntie B often when I was growing up but as we grew older and there were fewer of us, Mom and Dad made more trips to Escanaba just to visit. When Dave and I got married we honeymooned in the UP, and made sure to visit Grandma. We visited Auntie B a couple of times too. She always was glad to see us, was always sharper than sharp, always ready to go somewhere and do something. We went out to dinner one time and to a band concert in the park another visit.
Mom and Auntie B drew closer over the years, especially after both had finished raising their families. Auntie B was horribly saddened when my Mom died in an accident and we exchanged several notes over the following years. Auntie B died last November at 96. She was quite the lady. The family delayed the memorial Mass until this week which turned out very well as everyone was ready to have the good memories with little sadness.
Dave and I drove up on Tuesday. The Upper Peninsula is full of mom-and-pop motels, long, one-story buildings dating to the 1950s or so. The best of these are inexpensive, clean and comfortable and the worst are icky. We drove down US 2 which borders Lake Michigan much of the way and is dotted with these motels, gas stations, pasty shops and small towns.
I noticed quite a few of the motels were closed, some with For Sale signs and some simply left. There aren’t many (any) of the big chain hotels outside of the major towns St. Ignace, Sault Ste. Marie, Marquette, but people no longer need to stop every 200 miles or so. We can drive from one end of the UP to the other, with a stop only if we want to stop, not because we have to. The other problem is that these motels only have 12-30 rooms. If they charge $50 a night, are mostly vacant six months of the year, it’s hard to make enough to cover costs and make a living.
We stayed in one of these motels, The Sunset Lodge, in Escanaba. It was clean and comfortable although not at all fancy, right on US 2 so they get a lot of drive-by traffic. The owner said they are mostly vacant in the winter and must make their money in the summer plus the last two weeks of November, a.k.a Deer Season. The rooms had real windows that opened, a tiny air conditioner, refrigerator, microwave, coffee pot and numbered parking spots, one per room.
On the way home we got pasties, of course, and had two of them tonight for dinner. Yum! A real taste of the Upper Peninsula and a memory of old times.
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