Originally Posted by Southwest Hiawatha:
Curiously, people of Finnish heritage in Upper Michigan are known as "Finlanders" rather than Finns. The version of Finnish spoken there is archaic, reflecting the lack of contact with the mother country since the wave of immigration in the 19th century.
There is still a distinctive accent in the Central UP several generations later. I lived in a town with a large Finnish population and picked it up. Still have a bit of it yet.
One of the narrow gauge locos still operates in the summer, at Lake Linden. Three others still exist at Hancock. One original mining railroad still operates, the Lake Superior & Ishpeming.
