[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5075]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE INCLUSION OF THE WORD ``YOOPER'' IN THE MERRIAM-WEBSTER 
                               DICTIONARY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAN BENISHEK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 27, 2014

  Mr. BENISHEK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Steve Parks and 
proud ``yoopers'' everywhere. Mr. Parks' tireless efforts in Michigan's 
First Congressional District recently culminated in the addition of the 
word ``yooper'' to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. A ``yooper'' is a 
nickname for a native or resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. 
Mr. Parks started the campaign to have the word added to the dictionary 
back in 2002, and his 12 years of writing to the editors finally paid 
off this week.
  Being from the U.P., or Upper Peninsula, I am proud to share in the 
history that is ``yooper.'' The U.P. has a rich history of mining and 
logging. It accounts for 29% of the landmass in the state of Michigan 
and is the only part of Michigan's First Congressional District that 
has coastline on three of the five Great Lakes. The beauty that is the 
U.P. can be found in the large number of state and national parks that 
make up the area, which is why many Michiganders have made it a 
vacation destination.
  I want to thank Mr. Parks for his persistent efforts and local Upper 
Peninsula pride and congratulate him on having the word ``yooper'' 
officially added to the dictionary.

                          ____________________