Even with three choices it seems no one
can agree.
I promised today to tell the story
about how tonight's Jim Koski ™ walking tour of South Marquette has
raised a little controversy. And since I'm a person of my word, I
will. But first, you have to read yesterday's entry, the Mining
Journal article I wrote about the Champion Street bridge. If you
haven't yet, scroll down and do so. Don't worry; the rest of us will
be here waiting for you. And we'll only saying a few snide things
behind your back.
Go ahead...
(semi-awkward pause while the rest of
us are waiting)
Okay, welcome back. Now you're all
caught up. Here's the controversy the article caused. You may
recall in it that I mentioned the Champion Street bridge was the
gateway to South Marquette. That's the definition of South Marquette
we're using for the tour; everything south of the bypass or, in the
old days, the Whetstone Creek. I'm doing that for two reasons—one,
because the neighborhood is the only one separated from the rest of
the city by a physical barrier (the bypass/creek), making it an
island unto itself, and two, because my dad grew up on Jackson Street
and told me that's where the border was.
And if he grew up there, that's good
enough for me.
However, several people contacted me to
tell me I was wrong. Apparently, everyone in Marquette has a
different definition of what constitutes South Marquette. Some
people believe like my dad, some think it starts south of the old
railroad tracks that used to bisect Marquette (basically, anything
south of Baraga), while others insist anything south of Washington is
South Marquette, which means that, technically, places like Donckers
and Babycakes would be in South Marquette.
I was curious to see what a large group
of people thought, so I posed the question to the “You Know You're
From Marquette” group on Facebook. About 150 responses later, I
came to a couple of conclusions, the first being that people are
REALLY passionate as to where South Marquette begins.
The other? That some people are really
WAY too passionate about where South Marquette begins.
My post actually started a couple of
online arguments between groups of people, something that I certainly
did not intend. Words may have been exchanged between some, and
names were called (“Butthole” being about the only one I can
share here) by a few. All I did was ask a question, because I was
genuinely curious. I had no idea this would turn into an all-out
battle of philosophical differences, and I really hope no one's
feelings were hurt by the rather strong feelings of other people.
In other words, I'm sorry the post
devolved into something you'd normally see in the comments section of
a TV-6 news story.
Of course, the funny thing is that no
one could agree on where South Marquette “starts”. About a third
agreed with my dad; another third said Baraga, because that's where
they always heard their parents talk about “the other side of the
tracks”; and the final third went with Washington, just because
that's where the “south” part of north-south streets in Marquette
begin. People are really divided on the subject and, it seems, no
one can change their mind.
So on the tour tonight I'm just gonna
stick with my usual definition of South Marquette—anything south of
the bypass/Whetstone Creek. I may hear about it from a few people,
but you know what? I have history—and my dad—on my side. And
that's all I need.
(ps—if you're curious about the whole
thing, you're more than welcome to join us tonight. It starts at 630
at Mare-Z-Doats. I have lots of great stories and a surprise or two
in the offing, so if you're in Marquette you may want to join us!)
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