Some people count down the days until Christmas (44 on the day this article published), while others count down the days until their birthday (115 days for the author) and some even count down days until retirement (it's unfathomable, so don't bother looking this way).
But here in the Upper Peninsula, there's another countdown that gets revved up in high gear right around October. For those who don't know, as of publication, it's just five days before November 15 is here: the start of Michigan's two-week rifle deer season.
Hunting? Is that really a reason to circle a date on your calendar? To many people, that question alone will peg you as someone who probably doesn't belong in a Stormy Kromer and munching on a pasty.
"I can't wait," says Leonard Wikstrom, an avid hunter who already plans on taking the first four days of the season off from his position in the machine shop at Marquette's CarQuest. Wikstrom, 25, has been hunting for over a decade now, and this year is no different. He'll be hitting deer camp the weekend before (the 15th is luckily on a Monday this year) and will be sitting in the woods before the sun pokes up over the horizon, his 30.06 rifle in hand and his total concentration focused on the forest.
This year, Wikstrom will be bringing one of his sons out to sit with him. The same start to the tradition he had. He remembers his first buck like it was shot yesterday. He plans on giving his son that memory soon, too.
Stand around Wikstrom long enough and he'll tell you about the buck that's been coming in near his family's camp--and the monster rack on the whitetail that has been making an appearance near his uncle's blind.
For some folks, that talk sounds like gibberish and incomprehensible. For others, it's like the sound of angels singing.
Deer season is a tradition in the Upper Peninsula. Scratch that. It's a holiday. The peninsula's most famous musical group of all time, Da Yoopers, immortalized deer camp in their song Da Second Week of Deer Camp in 1971--though, admittedly, not a lot of hunting took place in that ballad.
To highlight how much of a holiday it truly is, take a gander around at the "deer hunters' widows" sales taking place, or the number of vacation days taken in late November--and it's not Thanksgiving to blame.
Some businesses are actually closed on opening day to accommodate the number of employees that are in the woods that day. And businesses aren't the only ones. Schools in the U.P. are known to close their doors for the first day of deer season, too, because there's really no point in trying to have them open.
"A few years back, we did attempt to have school on the first day of deer season," says Mid Peninsula School District superintendent Dr. Bethany Bergh. "In order to count the day (as a school day), you have to have 75 percent of the students in attendance. We didn't make that number and had to have a make-up day. The numbers just aren't going to be there, so it's just easier to have a traditional day off instead of having to make it up anyway at the end of the year."
Bergh says the school district supports the idea behind so many students being absent come November 15--many families in rural areas depend on deer season. Rock and Perkins, the two small towns the majority of Mid Peninsula's student body hails from, are in just such a rural location.
"Many families maintain their food supply throughout the winter through what they get during deer season," says Bergh.
While venison is the driving force for a large portion of the hunters who head into the woods, deer season is equally important for businesses in the Upper Peninsula. Hotels tend to find themselves with few rooms available to rent because of the influx of hunters from outside the area, and bars, restaurants, grocery stores and even farmers see a boom in business leading up to and throughout those coveted two weeks.
Some companies have built their entire businesses around deer hunting, like Mighty Deer Lick, Inc. Born in 1974 in Powers and led by brothers Ted and Steve Janke, Mighty Deer Lick Company became the first company in the country to commercially market deer feed--before even powerhouses like Purina got into the game. They began with their original apple, sweet corn, acorn and sugar blocks.
Now, Mighty Deer Lick can be found at just about any sporting goods store across the Midwest and beyond.
"We sell everywhere," says Steve Janke. "Deer feed is a big business, and we really enjoy what we do."
And they enjoy the Upper Peninsula. The Janke brothers could have easily pulled up stakes and moved to other areas as steeped in deer hunting tradition as this. However, they remained true to the U.P., and bought a tract of land to build their ranch on. They even do their best to bring in local ingredients for their product, too.
It's because of that product that generations of deer hunters have been able to bag their buck and feed their families.
"I've been using this for 20 years," says Greg Pepin while buying four Might Deer Lick blocks at a local feed store. "My dad used it, too. I'm sure my kids will. And when we're not using them for hunting, we've got one out in the back yard so we can watch them all year."
The tradition of deer hunting runs deep in the Upper Peninsula, from shooting that first, unforgettable buck to the stories that are swapped at deer camp. And, yet, it's more than tradition--it is an undeniable part of the Upper Peninsula, its history and its people.
Sam Eggleston is the managing editor of the U.P. Second Wave and a full-time freelance writer. He was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula. He can be reached via email.