1.
Michigan
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Michigan /ˈmɪʃᵻɡən/ is a state in the Great Lakes and Midwestern regions of the United States. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, Michigan is the tenth most populous of the 50 United States, with the 11th most extensive total area. Its capital is Lansing, and its largest city is Detroit, Michigan is the only state to consist of two peninsulas. The Lower Peninsula, to which the name Michigan was originally applied, is noted to be shaped like a mitten. The Upper Peninsula is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac, the two peninsulas are connected by the Mackinac Bridge. The state has the longest freshwater coastline of any political subdivision in the world, being bounded by four of the five Great Lakes, as a result, it is one of the leading U. S. states for recreational boating. Michigan also has 64,980 inland lakes and ponds, a person in the state is never more than six miles from a natural water source or more than 85 miles from a Great Lakes shoreline. What is now the state of Michigan was first settled by Native American tribes before being colonized by French explorers in the 17th century, the area was organized as part of the larger Northwest Territory until 1800, when western Michigan became part of the Indiana Territory. Eventually, in 1805, the Michigan Territory was formed, which lasted until it was admitted into the Union on January 26,1837, the state of Michigan soon became an important center of industry and trade in the Great Lakes region and a popular immigrant destination. Though Michigan has come to develop an economy, it is widely known as the center of the U. S. automotive industry. When the first European explorers arrived, the most populous tribes were Algonquian peoples, which include the Anishinaabe groups of Ojibwe, Odaawaa/Odawa, the three nations co-existed peacefully as part of a loose confederation called the Council of Three Fires. The Ojibwe, whose numbers are estimated to have been between 25,000 and 35,000, were the largest, French voyageurs and coureurs des bois explored and settled in Michigan in the 17th century. The first Europeans to reach what became Michigan were those of Étienne Brûlés expedition in 1622, the first permanent European settlement was founded in 1668 on the site where Père Jacques Marquette established Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan as a base for Catholic missions, missionaries in 1671–75 founded outlying stations at Saint Ignace and Marquette. Jesuit missionaries were received by the areas Indian populations, with relatively few difficulties or hostilities. In 1679, Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle built Fort Miami at present-day St. Joseph, in 1691, the French established a trading post and Fort St. Joseph along the St. Joseph River at the present day city of Niles. The hundred soldiers and workers who accompanied Cadillac built a fort enclosing one arpent, cadillacs wife, Marie Thérèse Guyon, soon moved to Detroit, becoming one of the first European women to settle in the Michigan wilderness. The town quickly became a major fur-trading and shipping post, the Église de Saint-Anne was founded the same year
2.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
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The Upper Peninsula is the northern of the two major peninsulas that make up the U. S. state of Michigan. It may also be referred to as the UP or Upper Michigan, the peninsula is bounded on the north by Lake Superior, on the east by the St. Marys River, on the southeast by Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and on the southwest by Wisconsin. The Upper Peninsula contains 29% of the area of Michigan. Residents are frequently called Yoopers and have a regional identity. Large numbers of French Canadian, Finnish, Swedish, Cornish, the peninsula includes the only counties in the United States where a plurality of residents claim Finnish ancestry. Ordered by size, the peninsulas largest cities are Marquette, Sault Ste, Marie, Escanaba, Menominee, Houghton, and Iron Mountain. The land and climate are not very suitable for agriculture because of the harsh winters. The economy has been based on logging, mining, and tourism, most mines have closed since the golden age from 1890 to 1920. The land is forested and logging remains a major industry. The first known inhabitants of the Upper Peninsula were tribes speaking Algonquian languages and they arrived roughly around A. D.800 and subsisted chiefly from fishing. Early tribes included the Menominee, Nocquet, and the Mishinimaki, Étienne Brûlé of France was probably the first European to visit the peninsula, crossing the St. Marys River around 1620 in search of a route to the Far East. French colonists laid claim to the land in the 17th century, establishing missions, following the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, the territory was ceded to Great Britain. Sault Ste Marie, Michigan is the oldest European settlement in Michigan, American Indian tribes formerly allied with the French were dissatisfied with the British occupation, which brought new territorial policies. Whereas the French cultivated alliances among the Indians, the British postwar approach was to treat the tribes as conquered peoples, in 1763, tribes united in Pontiacs Rebellion to try to drive the British from the area. In 1764, they began negotiations with the British which resulted in temporary peace, although the Upper Peninsula nominally became United States territory with the 1783 Treaty of Paris, the British did not give up control until 1797 under terms of the Jay Treaty. As an American territory, the Upper Peninsula was still dominated by the fur trade, john Jacob Astor founded the American Fur Company on Mackinac Island in 1808, however, the industry began to decline in the 1830s as beaver and other game were overhunted. When the Michigan Territory was first established in 1805, it included only the Lower Peninsula, in 1819, the territory was expanded to include the remainder of the Upper Peninsula, all of Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. When Michigan was preparing for statehood in the 1830s, the boundaries proposed corresponded to the territorial boundaries
4.
Indiana
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Indiana /ɪndiˈænə/ is a U. S. state located in the midwestern and Great Lakes regions of North America. Indiana is the 38th largest by area and the 16th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th U. S. state on December 11,1816, before becoming a territory, varying cultures of indigenous peoples and historic Native Americans inhabited Indiana for thousands of years. Indiana has an economy with a gross state product of $298 billion in 2012. Indiana has several areas with populations greater than 100,000. The states name means Land of the Indians, or simply Indian Land and it also stems from Indianas territorial history. On May 7,1800, the United States Congress passed legislation to divide the Northwest Territory into two areas and named the section the Indiana Territory. In 1816, when Congress passed an Enabling Act to begin the process of establishing statehood for Indiana, a resident of Indiana is officially known as a Hoosier. The first inhabitants in what is now Indiana were the Paleo-Indians, divided into small groups, the Paleo-Indians were nomads who hunted large game such as mastodons. They created stone tools made out of chert by chipping, knapping and flaking, the Archaic period, which began between 5000 and 4000 BC, covered the next phase of indigenous culture. The people developed new tools as well as techniques to cook food, such new tools included different types of spear points and knives, with various forms of notches. They made ground-stone tools such as axes, woodworking tools. During the latter part of the period, they built mounds and middens. The Archaic period ended at about 1500 BC, although some Archaic people lived until 700 BC, afterward, the Woodland period took place in Indiana, where various new cultural attributes appeared. During this period, the people created ceramics and pottery, an early Woodland period group named the Adena people had elegant burial rituals, featuring log tombs beneath earth mounds. In the middle portion of the Woodland period, the Hopewell people began developing long-range trade of goods, nearing the end of the stage, the people developed highly productive cultivation and adaptation of agriculture, growing such crops as corn and squash. The Woodland period ended around 1000 AD, the Mississippian culture emerged, lasting from 1000 until the 15th century, shortly before the arrival of Europeans. During this stage, the people created large urban settlements designed according to their cosmology, with mounds and plazas defining ceremonial
5.
Ohio
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Ohio /oʊˈhaɪ. oʊ/ is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. Ohio is the 34th largest by area, the 7th most populous, the states capital and largest city is Columbus. The state takes its name from the Ohio River, the name originated from the Iroquois word ohi-yo’, meaning great river or large creek. Partitioned from the Northwest Territory, the state was admitted to the Union as the 17th state on March 1,1803, Ohio is historically known as the Buckeye State after its Ohio buckeye trees, and Ohioans are also known as Buckeyes. Ohio occupies 16 seats in the United States House of Representatives, Ohio is known for its status as both a swing state and a bellwether in national elections. Six Presidents of the United States have been elected who had Ohio as their home state, Ohios geographic location has proven to be an asset for economic growth and expansion. Because Ohio links the Northeast to the Midwest, much cargo, Ohio has the nations 10th largest highway network, and is within a one-day drive of 50% of North Americas population and 70% of North Americas manufacturing capacity. To the north, Lake Erie gives Ohio 312 miles of coastline, Ohios southern border is defined by the Ohio River, and much of the northern border is defined by Lake Erie. Ohios neighbors are Pennsylvania to the east, Michigan to the northwest, Ontario Canada, to the north, Indiana to the west, Kentucky on the south, Ohio is bounded by the Ohio River, but nearly all of the river itself belongs to Kentucky and West Virginia. Ohio has only that portion of the river between the rivers 1792 low-water mark and the present high-water mark, the border with Michigan has also changed, as a result of the Toledo War, to angle slightly northeast to the north shore of the mouth of the Maumee River. Much of Ohio features glaciated plains, with a flat area in the northwest being known as the Great Black Swamp. Most of Ohio is of low relief, but the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau features rugged hills, in 1965 the United States Congress passed the Appalachian Regional Development Act, at attempt to address the persistent poverty and growing economic despair of the Appalachian Region. This act defines 29 Ohio counties as part of Appalachia, the worst weather disaster in Ohio history occurred along the Great Miami River in 1913. Known as the Great Dayton Flood, the entire Miami River watershed flooded, as a result, the Miami Conservancy District was created as the first major flood plain engineering project in Ohio and the United States. Grand Lake St. Marys in the west central part of the state was constructed as a supply of water for canals in the era of 1820–1850. For many years this body of water, over 20 square miles, was the largest artificial lake in the world and it should be noted that Ohios canal-building projects were not the economic fiasco that similar efforts were in other states. Some cities, such as Dayton, owe their emergence to location on canals. Summers are typically hot and humid throughout the state, while winters generally range from cool to cold, precipitation in Ohio is moderate year-round
6.
Glove
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A glove is a garment covering the whole hand. Gloves have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb, if there is an opening, fingerless gloves having one large opening rather than individual openings for each finger are sometimes called gauntlets, though gauntlets are not necessarily fingerless. Gloves which cover the entire hand or fist but do not have separate finger openings or sheaths are called mittens, Mittens are warmer than other styles of gloves made of the same material because fingers maintain their warmth better when they are in contact with each other. Reduced surface area reduces heat loss, a hybrid of glove and mitten contains open-ended sheaths for the four fingers and an additional compartment encapsulating the four fingers. This compartment can be lifted off the fingers and folded back to allow the individual fingers ease of movement and access while the hand remains covered. The usual design is for the cavity to be stitched onto the back of the fingerless glove only. These hybrids are called convertible mittens or glittens, a combination of glove, Gloves protect and comfort hands against cold or heat, damage by friction, abrasion or chemicals, and disease, or in turn to provide a guard for what a bare hand should not touch. Latex, nitrile rubber or vinyl gloves are often worn by health care professionals as hygiene. Police officers often wear them to work in crime scenes to prevent destroying evidence in the scene, many criminals wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints, which makes the crime investigation more difficult. However, the gloves themselves can leave prints that are just as unique as human fingerprints, after collecting glove prints, law enforcement can then match them to gloves that they have collected as evidence. In many jurisdictions the act of wearing gloves itself while committing a crime can be prosecuted as an inchoate offense, fingerless gloves are useful where dexterity is required that gloves would restrict. Cigarette smokers and church organists often use fingerless gloves, some gloves include a gauntlet that extends partway up the arm. Cycling gloves for road racing or touring are usually fingerless, guitar players often use fingerless gloves in circumstances when weather is much too cold to play with an un-covered hand. Gloves are made of materials including cloth, knitted or felted wool, leather, rubber, latex, neoprene, Gloves of kevlar protect the wearer from cuts. Gloves and gauntlets are integral components of pressure suits and spacesuits such as the Apollo/Skylab A7L which went to the moon, spacesuit gloves combine toughness and environmental protection with a degree of sensitivity and flexibility. Gloves appear to be of great antiquity, according to some translations of Homers The Odyssey, Laërtes is described as wearing gloves while walking in his garden so as to avoid the brambles. Herodotus, in The History of Herodotus, tells how Leotychides was incriminated by a full of silver that he received as a bribe. There are occasional references to the use of gloves among the Romans as well, pliny the Younger, his uncles shorthand writer wore gloves in winter so as not to impede the elder Plinys work
7.
The Thumb
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The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U. S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is considered to be in the Central Michigan region, located east of the Tri-Cities. The region is also branded as the Blue Water Area of Michigan, the counties which constitute the Thumb are those forming the extended peninsula that stretches northward into Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay. There is no declaration for which of these counties are part of the Thumb. However, virtually all common definitions include Huron, Tuscola, and this definition is almost always extended to include Lapeer and St. Clair counties as well. The Thumb region is flat with fertile soil, the reason for its historical role as a chiefly agricultural area. Major agricultural products include sugar beets, navy beans, corn, fruits, Manufacturing - particularly concerning the Automotive Industry - is also prevalent in Michigans Thumb. Many different types of industries can be found in the thumb, mostly located in the portion of the region near the larger metropolitan areas of Detroit. The Thumb has many businesses, many linked to agriculture. Intertape Polymer Group, Inc. has a factory in Marysville. Cargill Salt operates a large mine and factory in St. Clair. This is the plant in the U. S. A. that produces Alberger salt. This is part of Michigans large salt-mining industry, Cooperative Elevator Company has been named the top Michigan Agriculture Exporter by the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Its headquarters are in Pigeon, and it has branch elevators in Deckerville, Akron, Gagetown, Sebewaing, Elkton, dow AgroSciences Harbor Beach manufactures agricultural chemicals, weed killer, fungicides, fertilizers and plant nutrients and herbicides. Mueller Industries owns and operates Mueller Brass in Port Huron, Grand Trunk Western Railway has a major rail yard in Port Huron Township. Marysville Hydrocarbons is a plant in Marysville. Michigan Ethanol, a partner of Broin Companies, operates a corn ethanol production facility in southwest Caro, Michigan Sugar Company, an agricultural cooperative owned by 1200 farmers, operates four plants in the area. It is the successor to the 100-year-old Big Chief and Pioneer Sugar companies, local plants are located in Caro, Sebewaing, Croswell, and headquarters in Bay City
8.
Folklore
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Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. These include oral traditions such as tales, proverbs and jokes and they include material culture, ranging from traditional building styles to handmade toys common to the group. Folklore also includes customary lore, the forms and rituals of celebrations like Christmas and weddings, folk dances, each one of these, either singly or in combination, is considered a folklore artifact. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next, for folklore is not taught in a formal school curriculum or studied in the fine arts. Instead these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another either through verbal instruction or demonstration, the academic study of folklore is called folkloristics. To fully understand folklore, it is helpful to clarify its component parts and it is well-documented that the term was coined in 1846 by the Englishman William Thoms. He fabricated it to replace the contemporary terminology of popular antiquities or popular literature, the second half of the compound word, lore, proves easier to define as its meaning has stayed relatively stable over the last two centuries. Coming from Old English lār instruction, and with German and Dutch cognates, it is the knowledge and traditions of a particular group, the concept of folk proves somewhat more elusive. When Thoms first created this term, folk applied only to rural, frequently poor, a more modern definition of folk is a social group which includes two or more persons with common traits, who express their shared identity through distinctive traditions. Folk is a concept which can refer to a nation as in American folklore or to a single family. This expanded social definition of folk supports a view of the material, i. e. the lore. These now include all things people make with words, things they make with their hands, Folklore is no longer circumscribed as being chronologically old or obsolete. The folklorist studies the traditional artifacts of a group and how they are transmitted. Transmission is a part of the folklore process. Without communicating these beliefs and customs within the group over space and time, for folklore is also a verb. These folk artifacts continue to be passed along informally, as a rule anonymously, the folk group is not individualistic, it is community-based and nurtures its lore in community. As new groups emerge, new folklore is created… surfers, motorcyclists, in direct contrast to high culture, where any single work of a named artist is protected by copyright law, folklore is a function of shared identity within the social group. Having identified folk artifacts, the professional folklorist strives to understand the significance of these beliefs, customs, for these cultural units would not be passed along unless they had some continued relevance within the group
9.
Paul Bunyan
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Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack in American folklore. His exploits revolve around the tales of his superhuman labors. The character originated in the tradition of North American loggers. Laughead in a 1916 promotional pamphlet for the Red River Lumber Company and he has been the subject of various literary compositions, musical pieces, commercial works, and theatrical productions. His likeness is displayed in several statues across North America, there are many hypotheses about the etymology of the name Paul Bunyan. Much of the focuses on a Franco-Canadian origin for the name. Phonetically Bunyan is similar to the Québécois expression bon yenne, the English surname Bunyan is derived from the same root as bunion in the Old French bugne, referring to a large lump or swelling. Several researchers have attempted to trace Paul Bunyan to the character of Bon Jean or Tit Jean of French Canadian folklore. Michael Edmonds states in his book Out of the Northwoods, The Many Lives of Paul Bunyan that Paul Bunyan stories circulated for at least thirty years before finding their way into print. In contrast to the lengthy narratives abundant in published material, Paul Bunyan stories when told in the lumbercamp bunkhouses were presented in short fragments, Some of these stories include motifs from older folktales, such as absurdly severe weather and fearsome critters. Parallels in early printings support the view that at least a handful of Bunyan stories hold a common origin in folklore. All four anecdotes are mirrored in J. E. Rockwells Some Lumberjack Myths six years later, macGillivrays account, somewhat extended, reappeared in The American Lumberman in 1910. The American Lumberman followed up with a few sporadic editorials, such as Paul Bunyans Oxen, In Paul Bunyans Cook Shanty, in all the articles, Paul Bunyan is praised as a logger of great physical strength and unrivaled skill. Laughead, an independent adman, was the first to utilize Paul Bunyan for commercial use in a series of campaigns for the Red River Lumber Company and his first endeavor was a pamphlet entitled Introducing Mr. Paul Bunyan of Westwood, California, but it did not prove effective. It was not until Tales about Paul Bunyan, Vol. II appeared that the campaign gained momentum, embellishing older exploits and adding some of his own, Laugheads revamped Paul Bunyan did not stay faithful to the original folktales. Among other things, Laughead gave the name Babe to the ox, increased Paul Bunyans height to impossible proportions. This has led to significant confusion regarding the validity of Paul Bunyan as a folkloric character. Nevertheless, the Laughead pamphlets are regarded as one of the most popular collections, often appearing in a single, unabridged volume entitled, the Red River ad campaign ingrained Paul Bunyan as a nationally recognized figure, and it also affirmed his massive marketing appeal
10.
Northern Michigan
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Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan or Upper Michigan, is a region of the U. S. state of Michigan. A popular tourist destination, it is home to several small- to medium-sized cities, extensive state and national forests, lakes and rivers, the region has a significant seasonal population much like other regions that depend on tourism as their main industry. Northern Lower Michigan is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale, in the northern-most 21 counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the total population of the region is 506,658 people. The southern boundary of the region is not precisely defined, the 45th parallel runs across Northern Michigan. Signs in the Lower Peninsula that mark that line are at Mission Point Light, suttons Bay, Cairn Highway in Kewadin, Alba, Michigan on U. S.131 Highway, Gaylord, Atlanta and Alpena. These are six of 29 places in the U. S. A. where such signs or monuments are known to exist, one other such sign is in Menominee, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. Across the Straits of Mackinac, to the north, west and northeast, although, residents of the Upper Peninsula often say that Northern Michigan is not in the Lower Peninsula. They insist the region must only be referred to as Northern Lower Michigan, the two regions are connected by the 5 mile long Mackinac Bridge. All of the northern Lower Peninsula – north of a line from Manistee County on the west to Iosco County on the east – is considered to be part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord. The geographical theme of this region is shaped by rolling hills, Great Lakes shorelines including coastal dunes on the west coast, large lakes, numerous rivers. A tension zone is identified running from Muskegon to Saginaw Bay marked by a change in soil type, North of the line the historic presettlement forests were beech and sugar maple, mixed with hemlock, white pine, and yellow birch which only grew on moist soils further south. Southern Michigan forests were primarily deciduous with oaks, red maple, shagbark hickory, Northern Michigan soils tend to be coarser, and the growing season is shorter with a cooler climate. Lake effect weather brings significant snowfalls to snow belt areas of Northern Michigan, glaciers shaped the area, creating a unique regional ecosystem. Large lakes were created by glacial action, the region has the four seasons in their extremes, with sometimes hot and humid summer days to subzero days in winter. With the expansive hardwood forest in Northern Michigan, fall color tourist are found throughout the area in early to mid-autumn, when the spring rains come, many roads and bridges become impassable due to flooding or muddy to the point a four-wheel drive cannot pass. Both the high and low temperature records for all of Michigan are held by communities in Northern Lower Michigan, the high is 112 °F set in Mio on July 13,1936 and the low is -51 °F set in Vanderbilt on February 9,1934. In the northern-most 21 counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the area was populated by many different ethnicities, including groups from New England, Ireland, Germany, and Poland. The Odawa nation is located in Emmet County. Native American reservations exist at Mount Pleasant, sailing, kayaking, canoeing, birding, bicycling, horse back riding, motorcycling, and off roading are important avocations
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