Any TTers near Marinette, Wisconsin?

“My company is asking for a Project Engineer to move up to Marinete, Wisconsin for two years, to help administer a small ship building contract for a little shipyard there.
This place is right across the river from Michigan on Green Bay.
Of course I looked at them like they were crazy. ;-)
I hear it gets below freezing there.
last edited: 12/10/04 3:36:51 PM”

“Are you asking because you're possibly interested?”

“Possibly. ;-)”

“Think of all the Big11 football you'd get to watch!!!

Seriously, it's not too, too far from Isle Royalle. Too bad it's about 9 hours from Ely, MN.
last edited: 12/10/04 3:46:33 PM”

“I also hear there are 'yankees' up there. ;-)”

“In a way, it'd be an interesting adventure to see the big, bad, dark Northwoods. Too bad no one will be able to understand what you're saying!

I'm guessing the biggest issue will be your mom that lives in S. MS too, correct.”

“SS, if you have no one depending on you go for it. You may get up there and really like it. Ask then to send you up for a weekend or week to look around.”

“Yep, both my parents are getting very old and sick, and this isn't the best time to move away.”

“I'll go!

Good old Menominee Silver Cream country.

Experience:

• Panama Canal Co. 3-yrs., 2-transits.
  
• Swan Island Shipyards, Portland, Oregon, 4-dockings
  
• P-3 Orion, Asst. Project Software Mgr., experiences at Johnsville, PA, St. Paul, MN (4-yrs), Lockheed at Burbank and Valencia, CA. plus S-3A experience.
  
• Knowledgeable about the Menominee River at Marinette, WI.
  
• Can spell Menominee and Marinette.
  

last edited: 12/10/04 4:01:33 PM”

“I had a chance 7-8 yrs ago to move to Lake City, MN. If I had known I would have been getting a divorce in the near future I would have jumped on it. Nice little town river on the Mississippi River.”

“I'm on the other side of the state and have never been to Green Bay. Pekka is about 175 miles closer than me. I think the Lorax and Tagalong live in Green Bay. You'll find better hiking in Michigan and Minnesota than in Wisconsin. People I knew in the south would always tell me I wasn't a Yankee but a midwesterner. I always claimed to be a Yankee, lol. Why not start a "Hey Lorax" thread...he's a great guy and will do anything to help. I'll be Lizs has his email.”

“Well, there is another S MS guy from right down the road from me in Green Bay right now.
He's been doing rather well. ;-)”

“Everyone that lives above I-10 is a 'yankee'. ;-)”

“yeah but he gets paid a lot more than you do”

“Everyone above I-20 is a Yankee, not I-10.”

“SS - No grits ever crossed these lips ;)”

“Nimblefoot, I like the idea of midwesterner better. ;-)
I would be way closer to lizsbaby, not sure if that's a good thing or not. ;-)”

“Hey Paul, sounds like you could do the job, but they want existing people from the company to go.
Good point about the spelling! LOL
last edited: 12/10/04 4:15:25 PM”

“SS - Not really important, just something to joke about. When I moved back to this area after living 17 years in Virginia I was surprised how much everyone is the same. More NASCAR up here than you can shake a stick at...it's just a northern redneck thing rather than southern. Jeff Foxworthy rules up here too. BTW, this is Snake Eyes with a new name.”

“Rednecks are rednecks no matter where they live. ;-)
The town is only about 12K people, about what I live in now.
I liked Snake Eyes better.

Sunshine isn't near here, is she? That's reason enough to move up itself? ;-)
last edited: 12/10/04 4:20:27 PM”

“SS, if you move up there then you will be complaining about the miles you have to drive for the next hike”

“so you've upset someone high up then SS?”

“You may have hit the nail on the head, Y2. Wisconsin does have certain Siberia-like qualities and one can feel banished after awhile. I just want to see Stovey wearing a cheese head hat.”

“SS - Sunshine is about 3 hrs north of GB I think.....you'd be pretty close to Sylvania Wild. area, the Porkies and Isle Royale tho :)
Not to mention all us great midwesterners!!!”

“Actually this would be a promotion, Y2.
LOL, I'm always in trouble at work. I keep telling my bosses what they want to do isn't the best thing, in my technical opinion, but that's what I'm paid to do.”

“SS, you will get use to the cold. I live in Madison, Wi when I was a kid. Never had a cold till I moved to the south. See there is that weather difference again.”

“Madison is in the south. I got family in Madison and the bedroom communities of Stoughton, Oregon & McFarland.”

“You should go for it. The upper midwest is a place unlike anywhere else in the US, and it should defintely be fully explored. I really liked what I saw while passing thru Wisconsin and UP Michigan on the way to Isle Royale.

Yeah, there's things like frost and snow to deal with, but hey, they hold their own charm. Ever experience the magic of going to bed at night and waking up to a completely transformed world of white? It's nothing short of amazing.

Besides, you said it was for two years, so if you really hate it that much, you can pack up shop and head back afterwards...

Isle Royale Pics, Sep 2004. Much of the upper Midwestern landscape is like this.
last edited: 12/10/04 7:08:58 PM”

“whoaaaaaaa Stovey!

Yeah, Lorax is just up (or is it down?) the road. And that Sunny, well, she's gotta be close. I need my atlas......... and Pekka and Reino are in Rhinelander, I think??

Oh man, but ya gotta watch those dipwad cops in Wisconsin. For example, I got pulled over in Iowa Wed. night (yes, you might detect a trend. LOL). I was going "a little over 60, no big deal" said Mr. Patrolman. He said, "As I went by you I saw your light above your license plate was out and that's why I pulled you over."

Remember, this is ME with a freakin' MN plate!

And he only gave me a equipment fix-it ticket.

So WI can be very unfriendly. I hear the people there all have vicious criminal records and have to change their names every so often on websites!

>8-O
last edited: 12/10/04 8:22:04 PM”

“The police up north pull people over constantly because A: they're all drunk (people, not police), come on vacation leave on probabtion; or B: they need the money for the local economy. You just don't speed in the UP unless you're a local.
Stikmon, Northern Midwest is lovely but you must realize you'll have a good six months of winter and the Ozarks are just as lovely. That said, It sure would be nice to hike with you in the Porkies or on Isle Royale, (my all-time favorite hiking place).
Also, lemme warn you, if you talk to women the way Ewker does, (condesending southern gentleman tone) you're not likely to get too far up here. ;)”

“Just can't let go can you, Lizs? Those poor old cops probably saved your life by slowing you down for awhile, lol. Isn't it refreshing to find some law enforcement professionals that just don't succumb to you flashing them a little thigh, wing, drumstick or (do I dare?) "breast"?

Sass - are you infering that your cops don't drive drunk? Wow, whatta concept.”

“They're all State cops, the local town cops are all in the bar. ;)”

“Lizs was stopped by the police. Great, glad to hear that someone can stop her!

LOL.”

“LMAO - thats just what I was thinking NF!!
And liz it must just be you :p~~
I speed thru WI every time I go up north and I've never had any problems!!!
UP ducks and looks around frantically for some wood to knock on!!!”

“My fiance is from Appleton/Kewaunee. Until she moved to SC Michigan this past year, I would make trips every month to the area. Sometimes, I'd take the northern route through Menominee/Marinette.

In terms of weather, it is not as bad as you think. Marinette is on the west side of Lake Michigan and pretty far from Lake Superior. So, lake effect snow is minimal. It is also on Lake Michigan, so the coldest temperatures are minimized by the "warming" effect of Lake Michigan. So, for example, Aurora, Illinois or Dubuque, Iowa are likely to have a better chance of hitting 30 below than Marinette. But, of course, it's not warm.

The downtowns in Menominee and Marinette are seen-better-days 1800s downtowns. These are hard-working towns. You'll love the people, but there isn't much flash. But, you are within an hour or so of both Green Bay and Appleton, WI. Appleton is a buzz of activity for shopping, entertainment and the arts. It is a great, great town.

In terms of outdoors activities, you are in a good, but not perfect spot. Great hiking is north into the Keeweenaw of Michigan, east into the Hiawatha NF and west into Wisconsin. Lots of public land.

You can also do the tourist thing quickly into Door County, take a trip across Lake Michigan on the Badger carferry to the coolest state park in Michigan at Ludington or take one of the nation's great drives - US 2 right on Lake Michigan across the bottom of the UP.

So, the answer is, yes, take the job. Then, you can get together when some of the Michigan Mountaineers come to my June wedding in Appleton.”

“StoveStomper, I'm a couple hours west of Marinette. I'd be closer time wise if it wasn't all two-lane blacktop through the forest (as in no straight shot). If you like water sports, there's excellent boating around Menominee/Marinette, whether for sailing, power (especially salmon fishing), and I imagine sea kayaking, on Green Bay with whitewater fun just inland on the Menominee and Peshtigo rivers.

The Door Peninsula is just across the bay (closer by boat than by car down through G.B. and back up) and that is a combination of quaint, artsy, touristy, rustic and money, (sorta Wisconsin's summer playground -- but also a "no vehicles" state park on an island way out at the tip) but beautiful nonetheless.

Go north into the U.P. an hour to Escanaba/Gladstone/Rapid River on Big and Little Bays de Noc at the head of Lake Michigan, and another hour north to Marquette on Lake Superior.

Location-wise it's not bad. Economy has been a bit depressed over there (though ship-building projects sound like it may be picking back up). 45 minutes to an hour down to G.B. for better shopping, then onto the freeway south to Milwaukee if you need a real big city fix.

My former dean just took the job as head of the Univ. of Wis. branch in Marinette. I wouldn't mind being over there on big water, especially in summer. Good fish fry at a nice bar down by the marina.

Tough decision, I know, as we are going through the aging/frail/ill parents situation, too.”

“But Stovey just became a pirate!! ARRRR(gh)!

What's a pirate to do in the Bay of Green? Put a cheesehead with his green, ruffled shirt???!?”

“My favorite thing about Marinette: First (or last) Culver's on the route into Michigan. When I'm with K, we ALWAYS stop. Can't get those butterburgers in too many places in Michigan.”

“RL, I always see those Culver's places. So how is the butterburger different from the umpteen other burgers?

And Stovey, I guess you also could put the pirate hat on top of your cheesehead!! You'd cut a figure that would make ole Vince roll over in his grave!!”

“Aaaaaaaaah, Stovie! You flatter me. :o)

As RL said, it\'s a good but not perfect spot. It is nicely located within reasonable distance to all the best things. City amentities are close in Green Bay. Not much further is Milwaukee and Chicago if you\'ve got the motivation. North of there are the already mentioned great places for outdoor recreation such as Sylvania Wilderness, Porcupine Mountains, Isle Royale and yours truly, in the Keweenaw. Oh, can\'t forget Pictured Rocks and that\'s just Michigan. There is Wisconsin and Minnesota next door, both with great hiking/kayaking. I\'d say go for it! But, my mother just having been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig\'s Disease yesterday, I know all too well family needs/ties. Think on it, pray on it and do what\'s right for you. It\'s a difficult decision. I\'ll include you in my prayers.”

“I luv you to Sass”

“See how you sound?! ;)”

“That's unfortunate, sunshine. I'll be praying.”

“Well Stovey, if you moved to someplace "cooler"...you'd have to make new gear and stuff...and you'd get used to the cold - the first of the cold days seem brutal, next thing ya know, 30 degrees is great, then you'll be saying, well it was a toasty 17 outside the tent, then hiking in minus 10-20 daytime temps will seem "normal," LOL...

sounds like a new adventure in life!
but I know how hard it is to leave family”

“Lizs!

The Butterburger has a higher fat content. That makes it better. And the burgers are made from Wisconsin cows, I think. I support Wisconsin cows. And you can get cheese curds there.

But they have a really good angle on how to make a fast food restaurant not seem like a fast food restaurant. The quality of the food is a little better. The Culver's people bring the food out to the table. The dining area is as nicely furnished and maintained as any fast food place I've seen.

But the big thing is that K grew up with them and I've eaten there with her and you look for signs of home when you've left. So, I love Culver's.”

“RL - I've seen them all over up here. I'll have to check them out. I've been getting too healthy lately anyway.”

“Thanks, RL! I'll need to check them out, too. Been too many years just driving by them, scared of that BUTTERburger, like it would matter in my diet. LOL!

Nearest one? La Crosse, an hour away. Hmmm... maybe I've seen some in MN, like in Rochester? I think I did. Lets knock the time down to 45 minutes than”

“There's a Culver's in Mason City, 2 in Rochester, Prairie de Chien has one...

SS, I live in the NW section of Wisconsin where it gets cold..the Eastern Central, tropical side of the State is unfamiliar to me....I've driven through it a few times..I find any part of Wisconsin that's in the glaciated part interesting...water sports are a big thing in this state...humidity and deer ticks make summer hiking less than pleasurable....I think the state lovely....
last edited: 12/12/04 10:11:36 AM”

“The butter part of butter burger refers to the butter they put on the bun to grill it before adding the burger.

Culver's is a privately held family-owned chain that, if my memory serves me, started down around Prairie du Sac in Sauk County (August Derleth country). My wife was at a luncheon not long ago with the wife of the husband/wife founders.

Along with generally being better quality & taste than much on the fast food scene, Culver's is a bit more expensive. But if we're going to get fast food here in Wisconsin, it's our first choice.”

“So where is Stovey to weigh on in all this? He's around; I spotted him making fun of Thimblefoot!”