As a Yooper, pasties have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I’ve baked pasty pie with my grandma, I’ve made pasties by the hundreds (if not a thousand) with my high school classmates for fundraisers, I’ve compared the ingredients of pasties from different stores across the UP, I’ve forced my non-Yooper roommates to try authentic Yooper pasties that I bring from home, I’ve discussed the history of the pasty with Yoopers I’ve just met, and I’ve even spent class time as a teacher telling my students all about the amazing experience that is eating a pasty. Every time I go home, I make it a priority to get local pasties, and my mom has started to bring pasties down to me in Mt. Pleasant, too. I’m not always the most enthusiastic Yooper, but pasties mean the world to me, and I would do anything at any moment for a real Yooper pasty or the ability to add to my list of pasty memories.
-Jade Driscoll
