Being in Wisconsin

Coming to my hometown of Marinette, in Northeastern Wisconsin, always brings up mixed emotions. On one side there is sadness, almost a depressive feeling, at the state of my hometown. Many of the homes are in need of repair and maintenance, downtown is crumbling, and many of the local stores are long gone. On the other side, there are plenty of local restaurants that provide a unique local flavor. Here is a sampling of the foods and local places that make Marinette and Menominee MI, across the river in the UP, unique:

• Friday fish fries
• Cheese curds
• Mickey Lu’s flame grilled hamburgers
• Dodge Inn and Trade Winds II broasted chicken
• Brothers Three pizza
• Jozwiak’s pizza and Wabash hamburgers
• Upper Peninsula pasties
• The Serving Spoon
• Zinger Coffee

Another thing that I like is the slower speed of life. There are very few streets or roads that have a speed limit of more than 30 miles per hour. Getting around town takes no more than 5 minutes, even though Marinette (population of 11-12,000) and Menominee, MI (population of 12-13,000) is not a “small town” per se. It's a great place to travel by bicycle or scooter (when the weather is nicer), and I see many people doing just that in the summer.  People are generally friendly, smile and return smiles, and really want to help you, especially the local businesses. Finally, it is always great to be back in Packer Land and to be around other Packer fans!

So even though I have mixed feelings, there is an overall feeling of I’m home when I cross the border from Iowa into Wisconsin, and a feeling of loss when I leave the state again. To paraphrase a well known saying, you can take the boy out of Wisconsin, but you cannot take Wisconsin out of the boy.