4/4/2022

Hello Blog Readers,

Welcome to my new hometown of Marquette! This is the town I was feeling called to after my past six months on the road, and in a few short months it will become my new home.

When I last updated the blog back in February, I noted how things were quickly falling into place up here. I was already lined up to start work on a Master’s degree in Mathematics at Northern Michigan University, and I just needed to find work that made use of my legal mind. I quickly found a local law firm that was searching for a new associate, but unfortunately after talking to them they weren’t really interested in taking on a lawyer who also wanted to teach and study at the University. So, I got more clever and, realizing that I’m still a California attorney, started applying for all remote attorney jobs back in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. The idea was going to be to make California lawyer money while living wherever I wanted in the country. Clever strategy.

It was actually pretty amazing how many law firms responded to my resume. It showed me (a) that my time living and working in the North State really gave me a wealth of experience as an attorney, which made me stand out as one of the better attorneys in the State; and (b) there is a reason that people generally flock to cities over small towns – there are so many more job opportunities in cities! Yet following scores of interviews, as February came to an end and we got into March, I was still no closer to landing a job. The interview either ended with (a) the firm being like the Michigan firm and having no interest in me teaching alongside practicing law, or otherwise having no interest in me working all remote from several states away (apparently “all remote” does not mean “all remote from anywhere”); or (b) me feeling like something wasn’t right with the situation – like I was taking a step back to the life I was living in California rather than a step forward towards what God had planned for me. So, I went to Mass at Dowd Chapel in Boys Town and prayed for guidance. And right there, during Mass, my prayer was answered!

The priest, Father Boes, was discussing in his homily Luke 6: 39-45 (How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye?). He was saying that the ‘plank in his own eye’ as a priest was that he always tried too hard to do everything himself at Boys Town rather than rely on the laity and community for help, and that it was something he planned to work on during Lent. For some reason the homily spoke to my heart, like there was something deep that I was to figure out from the words, and as I reflected on it for the week, I came to an epiphany – priests shouldn’t have to be asking the professional community for help. We as professionals should be volunteering help. After everything I’ve been through as an attorney and Catholic school educator in Northern California, there are all sorts of skills and talents that I have to offer to the Church! From there, another idea came into my head – maybe they need help up in Marquette?

So I penned a letter to the Bishop of Marquette – Bishop John Doerfler – and in it I introduced myself, explained my background, told him of my travels and how I was feeling called to Marquette, and how I felt motivated to write him following Father Boes’ homily down in Boys Town. And lo and behold, he responded warmly, as though a prayer of his was being answered! It turns out that the Diocese of Marquette’s Executive Director of Stewardship, who manages nonprofit foundation and development projects throughout the Diocese, is retiring. The Diocese had been searching and praying for a replacement, and the Bishop invited that I apply. So I did, and following an application and interview process, I got the job!

The opportunity is amazing, and I am so excited to begin work. They are even willing to let me balance my time working with teaching and studying at the University, but, I don’t know. I’m now at the point where I really want to devote myself entirely to this job, to where I might just let go of the Master’s. We will see. But, before I can begin work, I need to find housing first, which is why I’m up here in Marquette.

So, let me give you a proper introduction to this town and its surrounding area. Marquette is a small city located on the northern shores of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (the “UP” for short, or if you are really local, “Yooper” country). Its vistas look out upon the sparkling, clear water of Lake Superior, which is the largest freshwater lake on earth in terms of surface area, and the third largest freshwater lake on earth in terms of volume. It doesn’t even look like a lake – it looks like an ocean! In the summer, the local sandy beaches look like scenes out of California or the Pacific Northwest, and in the winter the lake freezes over and showcases icebergs that look like something out of Alaska or Greenland. With an average depth of 600 feet, Lake Superior alone holds 10% of the earth’s freshwater supply, and Marquette’s position out on the UP ensures a steady and constant supply of lake effect snowfall in the winter. This place is unlikely to ever know the meaning of words like ‘drought’ and ‘wildfire’ in the way that California knows those terms.

Marquette and the surrounding areas benefit from deep Catholic, French, and English influences. The area was originally settled by the Jesuits in the 1600s. The first Catholic Mass celebrated on the UP occurred in 1641, and the first resident pastor in the area was a missionary priest named Jacques Marquette (hence the name, Marquette), who arrived in 1668. But it wasn’t until the 1850s that the territory was recognized as a formal Diocese by the Pope, and it wasn’t until 1865 that Marquette was declared the See of the Diocese and Bishop Baraga appointed as its first Bishop.

Marquette’s cathedral is known as St. Peter Cathedral, and it’s one of the prettiest churches that I have ever been inside. It feels like a holy place, and the entire Diocese feels far better supported, with Masses more attended than by the local communities out in Sacramento. I attended Mass at St. Peter over the weekend, and Bishop John’s homily seemed to be speaking directly to me – it was all about perseverance, faith, the pursuit of happiness, and the meaning of life. It brought me to tears, actually, and made me excited to start working and serving the people here. The fresco above the altar states (in Latin): “You are Peter, and on this rock I build my church. The gates of hell will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”

While the Jesuits and French were moving into the area from French Canada, the English were also moving into the area, but for a different purpose. That purpose was mining. It turns out that the mountains in the area (yes, we have small, very scenic, pine and deciduous-filled mountains here, called the Huron Mountains – great for skiing, mountain biking and hiking) are incredibly rich in nickel and iron. Tin miners from England came to the UP to settle the areas and start mines. They brought with them meat pies called “pasties,” which are sort of a local cult food now, and built ore docks in the area to load ships. The ships would then carry the iron through the Great Lakes and out east for processing (now we know why Henry Ford located his factories in Detroit). The ore docks are still in use to this day, and create quite the site around Marquette. But navigating “Lake Gitche Gumee” can be intense for sailors. Many a ships have wrecked in Lake Superior over the years, their carcasses visible in the depths of the clear waters, their stories inspiring tall tales and sea shanties. (Google “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” for one of the more modern shanties.)

But there’s more history! The local courthouse is fairly famous. You may have even seen it before, if you have seen the 1959 movie, Anatomy of a Murder. The movie, starring Jimmy Stewart, is based on a true story about a UP country attorney who takes a case defending a man charged with murder. It is highly regarded as the best trial movie of all time, and it was filmed here in Marquette. But earlier in history, the courthouse was the site of a different drama – one involving President Theodore Roosevelt suing a local paper for libel. The case was more of a ‘principle of the matter’ case than about money, but President Roosevelt won. Here’s the courthouse from outside:

But enough of the history! Then there’s the other stuff I love about this place. The small college town feel; some of the cleanest air on planet Earth; the lack of transients; the athletic and outdoorsy nature of people here; their over-the-top kindness; and the shocking number of restaurants. My mother snidely chided that I’d be eating nothing but hot dogs and potatoes up here ‘in the middle of nowhere,’ but that has not been the case at all. It was Mexican food a few nights ago; burgers and local beer last night (oh my gosh do Michiganders know beer!); steak or lamb chops tonight at a Fifth Street Steakhouse sort of place; and schnitzel tomorrow at a local German restaurant. And those are just a few of the restaurants in town! The offerings are much more abundant and eclectic than Red Bluff fare.

So are there any downsides to Marquette? Well, if you can’t tell, don’t move here if you don’t like winter. Winters are long and snowy. Indeed, this is one of the snowiest places in the lower 48. Also, as I’m finding out, housing is a pain in the butt (as it is elsewhere in the country). I have an offer in on a house right now, but have no idea if I will get the place. So please say a prayer for me!

My trip up here to meet my new colleagues and find housing is almost over, but assuming that I find a home, I’ll be back in a month or so, this time for good. And then the real adventure begins! Stay tuned this summer and fall for more blog content, all focused on hikes and local haunts here in the beautiful UP.

Cheers,

-Rob

PS – Thank you, God, for the many gifts You bestow on my life. But by faith and answers to prayers, I would not be sitting here, in this place, writing this blog. And you know what? After this six month journey, I am happy. I have found a place and a career that speak to my heart. Amen.

PPS – WordPress is informing me that this post right here is my 100th travel post. Thanks for reading, everyone! 🙂