Signs of Summer in Norway, MI
It’s probably pretty obvious that I have deep and fond memories of my idyllic childhood growing up in the tiny Upper Peninsula town of Norway, Michigan. The other day I got to thinking about some of the sights and sounds of Norway that were deeply intertwined with the fabric of summertime. I shared a few with some old friends and family, and in turn got a few more ideas. As with most of my stories from Norway, you probably had to be there to appreciate most of these, but it’s fun to write them out nonetheless.
In no particular order…
Hearing the sounds of the races from the Norway Speedway on Friday night
Swimming at Mrs. Falk’s pool
Picking strawberries at Pellegrini’s farm
Watching the Cubs and listening to Harry Caray on WGN out of Chicago
Going to the early service at the church park
Hanging out in the freezing cold air conditioning of Hoffa’s Underground
Hitting some golf balls at Oak Crest Golf Course
Burning around Hamilton Lakes on boats, jet skis, and tubes with friends
Hanging out at Uncle Dudley’s Hot Rod Garage
Going over to Escanaba for the Fun Run in early June
Going over to St. Ignace for the car show weekend in late July
Seeing Skip E. cruise by in his T-bucket hot rod
Seeing shirtless Bruno D. cruise by in his truck with the windows down and a cigar burning
Driving around backwoods camp roads trying to find the night’s party and sleeping in the back of my trusty 2000 Chevy Blazer
Celebrating the 4th of July in quintessential small town fashion
Riding bikes down to Main Street Pizza to get some lunch
Playing volleyball and Koosh paddleball over the backyard clothesline
Going over to Grandma and Grandpa’s to cut the grass and take care of other random yard work
Hearing whistles and the crack of pads coming from the high school practice football field come the first week of August
Working a summer job (paper route, Ebeling’s IGA, high school custodian, Pine Grove grounds crew)
Fishing with my dad and Big Tom Gursky and being regaled by stories from NMU circa 1970
Going up to Lake Antoine (L.A. Beach) to throw the frisbee around and look for girls
Having dinner with my grandparents in their screened-in porch
Putting a box fan in my window at night since our house didn’t have air conditioning
Playing beach volleyball at the Whale on Wednesday nights
Riding mountain bikes at Fumee Lake
Taking in a Skeeters show
Lighting off fireworks and hiding behind the bushes with JimBah
Heading over to the weight room to get prepared for football season
Hitting up the Rialto, Knight Owl, Oak Crest, or any other favorite spot for Friday night fish
Stopping at Dairy Queen for some hot eats and cool treats
Playing pick-up basketball at “The Pit” over in Third Ward
Seeing many great Norway folks walking the streets and enjoying the nice weather
Stopping for a drink and a water bottle refill at the bubbling Norway spring
Seeing the City of Norway trucks out working on summer projects
Ice cream at the Cow Shop in Iron Mountain
Lunch at the A&W
Mini golf and go-karts at Bear’s Den
Bacco trucks on US-2 making road repairs
Backyard baseball and trying to hit a ball over the neighbor’s hedge, our very own Green Monster
Endless games of baseball, tennis, soccer, tag, and anything else we could think of at Marion Park
Barq’s root beer and Twix bars from Grandma and Grandpa’s house
Kickball games in the enormous (actually tiny) backyard at the old house on Saginaw Street
Hours and hours spent at Hamilton Lake beach with old comforter blankets, low rider beach chairs, and boxes of Old Dutch potato chips
Playing kick the can in the dark and never wanting the night to end
Sleeping in the old green canvas tent in the backyard