ESCANABA — “Do you guys have earthworms?”

That was the question of the day for me this past Thursday while on a tour bus, riding around Escanaba with about 40 people from all across our country. Every day that I get a chance to share our little slice of heaven with visitors to our area, I get asked a variety of questions with a lot of them focusing on weather, wildlife and work.

“Does that whole lake freeze?”

“Do you have venomous snakes?

Sometimes they’re very specific and technical.

“How many gallons per day does your wastewater facility treat and what method do they use?”

For some reason, I didn’t know that one off the top of my head so I retrieved answers for both of those questions from Escanaba.org. The website does a great job explaining the water treatment system here in town. I was able to tell them that the plant processes about 2.5 million gallons a day to meet local demands and since the description of the process is long, comprehensive, and detailed, I simply say, “It’s complicated” and referred them to the website to learn more if they cared to.

Sometimes the questions are rhetorical like “What the !&@# is with all these bugs!?”

I tell them that the bugs make great food sources for bats, birds, and fish, but somehow that doesn’t seem to make them feel better about the half dozen midges they just ate walking around Sand Point lighthouse. I tell them that they can’t become honorary Yoopers without eating some bugs and that at least the midges don’t bite on the way down like when you accidentally eat a deer fly.

Now it’s easy to wonder why a bunch of people from across the country would want to spend time in Escanaba. We don’t have that one big, iconic tourist destination for them to check out. There’s no Soo Locks nor Pictured Rocks in the immediate area. Some local residents have even wondered what the cruisers will see when the ship stops here on a Sunday. That’s a legitimate question. Sunday is a quiet day in our neck of the woods. But here’s the answer to those concerns; the vastly overwhelming majority of the cruisers don’t care about those things. I say it that way because I must account for one woman from 2 years ago who literally said “Escawhere? What am I doing here?” When she said that, she was loudly booed down by her fellow passengers and said nothing the rest of the day. I ended up speaking with her later and if I’m honest, I don’t think there was a spot on the whole planet that was going to make her happy, but that’s a story for a different article.

My point is that the guests love Delta County, and I can only wish that some folks who live here could see our area through the eyes of our visitors.

What we offer is something that can’t be bought and it doesn’t have hours. It’s available on Sunday afternoon as easily as it is on Tuesday morning or Thursday evening.

It’s us they like. They love that we’re proud of where we live. They like the fact that we’re a place where neighbors still help each other. They’re flabbergasted when I tell them that if you break down on the side of the road, someone will stop and help. They think it’s great that we identify as Yoopers and take pride in that label.

I tell you, it’s hard to have an appreciation for just how hardy and rugged we are as a culture up here until you hear the groans of despair from a bus load of people when I describe the winters we endure. And yes, I do say “endure” with tongue firmly in cheek since we all know that we live in the Banana Belt, but when you’re from San Diego, a Delta County winter is nothing to take lightly. By the time I get to telling them about winters in the Keweenaw, they’re ready to get back on the ship and make steam for the Mason Dixon Line.

And I think the things that make us special stand out even more during this very divided time for our country. The fact that I could look them in the eye and say that I genuinely believe that Yoopers will help each other out regardless of politics, religion or race, seemed like something that was alien to them. And while that statement makes me frightened for the rest of the country, it makes me even more proud of us here in the UP. We’re just built differently.

When you live in an area that people want to visit, that’s one thing, but when people basically tell you that they wish the people where they live were more like the people where you live, that’s something special.

As for the earthworm question, well, the answer is more interesting than you might think. Check it out for yourself. I’d get into it here, but that’s literally a whole other can of worms.

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Mark Cowman is with the Delta County Chamber of Commerce