Grandpa Bif was a hoot and his brother-in-law, my Great-Uncle Charlie was a character, too. If I remember correctly, Uncle Charlie and my Grandma Julia were 2 of 14 siblings whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Finland. What I've never understood is why these people would come all the way from the bitter, harsh, and cold of Finland only to settle in the bitter, harsh, and cold of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. For Heaven's sake, this is America, pick a new climate!
Grandpa Bif was a hoot and his brother-in-law, my Great-Uncle Charlie was a character, too. If I remember correctly, Uncle Charlie and my Grandma Julia were 2 of 14 siblings whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Finland. What I've never understood is why these people would come all the way from the bitter, harsh, and cold of Finland only to settle in the bitter, harsh, and cold of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. For Heaven's sake, this is America, pick a new climate!
Anyway, since my Great Grandparents spoke Finnish at home, the kids spoke Finnish as well. If you’ve ever traveled to the UP, you’ll hear a very strong accent reminiscent of the Old World. In fact, you’ll still find rotary dial phones reminiscent of the Old World.
Uncle Charlie sure had one, thick accent. He pronounced his “th”s as “t”s and his “g”s as “k”s, making words like “with” sound like “wit” and “bugs” sound like “bucks.”
“Tose Bucks (mosquitoes) out tere will carry you away!”
One day Uncle Charlie and Auntie Bertha were going to take the train to Duluth, MN (back when you could ride a train from Ishpeming, MI to Duluth, MN). Uncle Charlie strode up to the ticket counter and announced, “Two to Duluth.”
The man behind the ticket counter was not amused and replied, “Tee-ta-da-leet, now what can I do for you?”