Today left the house early and played at Good Times Music Store, Houghton, MI. Being a part of this community is warming. The owners (Bruce & Kristen) have been in the area forever and Bruce is a fellow musician. Well connected. He knew of a great mandolin/Banjo/Fiddle player that I could call on. After my little show.... Bruce fixed me up. I needed new strings.... not only did I get new strings, he oiled and conditioned the neck...cleaned the guitar and tightened up the tuners. Holy Wah!! (yooper for OMG!). This Keweenaw Peninsula (in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan), is like no other place. A community. Everyone up here knows what it takes to survive here, which seems to make them more keen on helping their neighbor. My Father and Mother were both from the U.P. They were both hard workers. I watched my father help many people. No questions asked, and never wanting a thing in return. He just knew how to help them. The more I live here, the more I know why they were, the way they were. Went to the Library Restaurant and Bar, Houghton. This old building, with quite a history, has had the same owner since 1988. Before that, in 1967, Big Jon opened the Library Bar and ran it for 20 years, before selling it to the present day owners. There is longevity here. This makes for a solid community. I have a picture of my Uncle Bernie, behind the bar at Shute's, talking to some patrons. One patron is Big Jon. My Uncle said "Big Jon ran one hell of a business and was a straight up guy". I found this picture on ebay (taken by the Detroit News). My Uncle remembers this newspaper reporter, and was doing a story on UP bars. I will upload a copy of the picture on instagram (check out the photo page of this website). Time for me to work on scenes! I have to leave this beautiful place in a few days :(
http://www.librarybrewpub.com/