This time of year, it's nice to go for a drive in the evening to check out the Christmas lights and decorations. Olivia Bartlett saved us the trip to Houghton today! If you look down to the end of the street, you can see the lights bordering the old "Power House", now the SmartZone building.

What a unique perspective, heightwise. Do you think she climbed up one of those street lights to take this shot?

Beautiful photo! My 8 year old says that car in the lower left better have gotten a ticket for driving so fast! Ü

Hancock, Here I Come!!! It's been a long year since I've been back in the UP, and I'm looking forward to every minute.

I am not sure this site is such a good idea. The "others" will see our beautiful U.P. and want to emigrate. When the Yuppies invade the U.P., they will be dubbed "Yuppers" instead of "Yoopers". Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Don't worry, flyin' Steve, I don't think yuppers could handle the beauty, the snow, the cold, the mosquitoes, the flies, the bears, the mice, the quiet, the dark, the ... beauty, as in natural beauty. Merry Christmas to all of you. And thanks, Mary Drew, for doing a great job.

Any time now, I'm would expect to see George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) running down the street yelling "Merry Chistmas, you old savings and Loan"
:-)

Now taking donations to get me to the U.P. for a week. Send to:

Alex misses Mohawk
P.O. Box Snowless Georgia
Stuck in the South, Georgia

Or call 1-800-NO-SNOW

Thank you! (Smirk)

My immediate thought seeing the picture was also of George Bailey's town.

Beautiful. THANK YOU!

The beauty of the U.P will never be
invaded by Yuppies. It's too cold and
there is no Starbucks.....

That is what I like about the northland,
it's likely to stay unspoiled.

Scott,

I agree with the too cold for the Yuppies part, but I don't know about the Starbucks...It could happen... Frozen Mochas would take on an entirely new meaning however!

Isn't the brains behind Starbucks from Negaunee? I read that somewhere a few years ago. Way too powerful coffee for me. Reminded me of the coffee from the pot on the back of the old cook stove that stayed warm all day and became stronger as the day wore on.

The fellow who started Starbucks is a Northern Michigan University graduate.....so he is a real "SUPER-DOOPER-YOOPER-YUPPER"!!.....:>)

Absolutely love that "small town" look captured in this photo. This street beats the Mall all to heck. So beautiful!

I think concern over a hypothetical yuppie invasion is misplaced. Since I've been visiting Pasty Cam, I've noticed that most of those outlanders yearning for the UP are expatriates (like me) who just want to go home again. To put it another way: "If I didn't have to work, I wouldn't be here. I'd be back home, on the last frontier."

Cool site! Will be coming to Houghton Jan 18-27!! Hope there is tonssssssssss of snow!!!

It is my understanding there is a STARBUCKS out at Northern Michigan Univ.Could someone provide the location?

Editor's note: Your wish is our command.. Starbucks NMU

ANY cup of coffee enjoyed while looking out over Lake Superior is a part of heaven for sure!

Scott and Patti-The Yuppies are already here, right now they seem to be concentrated around Marquette at the moment. Before you know it there will be a Starbucks in Houghton! (j/k on the Starbucks in Houghton)

There used to be a "starbuck" near Houghton. He had a 15 point rack. He now resides above my fireplace.>)

Yes, there is a Starbucks at NMU, in the bottom floor of the library - my favorite place to study!

You guys laugh, but I remember when we used to drive 99 miles to Marquette for a Big Boy hamburger and McDonalds was a non-entity. Now McDonalds is where the old Rex Bar once stood, and has been, and while it fits, the Starbucks isn't far behind. One of my acquaintainces, (read no friend) is building a McMansion in Copper Harbor that the locals call "mosquito pond" or "fake lake". Beware.....they are coming............flies and all.........

I don't consider myself a Yuppie, but I Just came here from elsewhere, I can see where more and more will be coming as well. The only thing that really seems to hold people back is the lack of work, I see alot of people retiring and coming here or they have second homes here !

I'm from somewhere else but will be moving to our house in Manistique in a year or so. Luckily the people that I meet there, and in other places in the UP don't seem to have a negative opinion of "transplants". In fact they couldn't be more welcoming to us. I'd say about 50% of the people I meet are not born up there either. I can't wait to move and enjoy all the area and people have to offer, and be one of those that welcome others up.
By the way, we're not Yuppies.

I've wandered around the Northland
for about 22 years and the changes are pretty
large. I really dislike the new gasoline
stations that light up the night sky.
If you look on the bridge cam the one
in Houghton is pretty bright. But some
such as BP's in Northern Wisconsin should
be banned.

Alot of changes are for the better however.
The Riverwalk in Houghton is nice.
The downtown is improved as well. First
visit I recall was in 1980 for me.

Love the Pasty net!

Hei, Marcus, Minn. too bad you can't be here on Jan. 16 - 18 for Heikken päivä. A Finnish celebration of winter in Hancock. Does anyone know of a website for it? Maybe thru the Finnish American Reporter. Kilpela and Friends will be playing for a dance on Fri. the 16th in South Range at the community hall.

Heikinpäivä website:

http://pasty.com/winter2004/

We visit your city in the winter of 1971/72 (i was 20 years old) with a small puppit theater, doing some puppitshows (marionettes) on schools. I remember going to a supermarket and much snow. I have slides(?) we made over there from the bridge en horizon and some streets from Hancock and Hougthon.
We had an nice time over there.
(sorry for my bad English)

I grew up just 3 blocks up the hill from this photo. I can't even count the number of times I walked those sidewalks on my way to Newberry's and Central Foods. The Sound Center was a real attraction back then too. Speaking of the REX bar, I recall when it burned. It was a borded up lot for a few years after that. Nice to see my old digs again!

Connie- lived 4 blocks from that street on huron, and went to the bar on one of my trips back home. There are some quant towns in the mountains of co, but to know you grew up in this one is special!

So pretty and peaceful looking, especially compared the the D.C metro area UGH.

We don't have a Starbucks in the area, but we do have some excellent coffee shops. There's the Cyberia Cafe, right there in downtown next to Wells Fargo, and there's the Coffee Stain, in the Sharon Ave Center (by Blockbuster). Both places brew an excellenct cup of coffee, and the prices are more reasonable than Starbucks. The espresso at Coffee Stain will really get you humming along. (I have no connection to either business, btw, except as a customer.)

I believe that Coffee Stain offers wireless Internet by Pasty.net.

You can keep Starbucks, give me the old fashion coffee shops in da U.P. Thats for me!!!!

Hey Joe Dase!! Have you been to the Campus Cafe on the MTU campus? Starbucks coffee is sold there.

The next time you come to Houghton, you'll find that McDonald's is no longer downtown, as of October 2003. They built a nice, new store on the west (right) side of Hwy M-26 as you go up the hill, in between other businesses already there, such as Sayen's, etc. It appears to be a busy place most of the time with more parking. The old building is for rent. You'll also see that the Houghton Burger King is closed altogether as of this Fall. The closest ones now are in Calumet or L'Anse.

MY UNCLE WENT THRU ARNHEM IN WW11 PART OF AN AA BATTERY THE DUTCH WERE VERY NICE TO HIM AND OTHERS OF COURSE

PG-
I dont ever go to the campus cafe anymore, not living in wads anymore. I dont even go to the MUB! It doesnt suprise me that its sold there though, I was waiting for Curt to put a Star Bucks in the Roza Center, wouldnt suprise me if he would have.

Ok guys...how about just a ban on newbies who don't have relatives who grew up in the Keweenaw? That way you gotta let me in. :-)

Daughter of a Lake Lindener, hope to be a Hancockite (Hancockian?) in a few years.

Lisa