We asked ketchup or gravy on your pasty. And, you responded. From the responses we received,
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The Koffee Kup in Hancock was the best place for a pasty in the 1950s. It was 50 cents with a glass of milk. Ketchup? Yuk! Gravy? That’s the way to go. By the way, I hope the reunion gets a better pasty cook this year. Last year’s pasties were pretty bad.
-Merle Potter ’58 and ‘61
Thanks for your vote, Merle. And, we’ll have to see about those pasties for alumni reunion. -SW
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My grandmother came from Cornwall, England and made pasties all of her Saturdays while I grew up in Houghton. After she passed away, my mother took up the charge to feed us this UP delicacy until I left MTU in 1977. Many times we heard the story of how the pasty was developed so miners in Cornwall could have a hot meal by putting the pasty over their gas lanterns in the mines. My daughter and I still attempt to make pasties 3-4 times a year in Virginia, but they never quite make grandma’s or mom’s quality. But, they are still a pasty, which the southerners haven’t discovered yet. And there is only ketchup in my house.
-Bob Smith ’77
Great pasty memories, Bob. Glad to hear you keep up the pasty making from Virginia. -SW
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I was introduced to pasties in the DHH Cafeteria in the Fall of 1966. My roommate that year (Dwayne Karjala – RIP) was of Finnish descent and he informed me that the only acceptable topping was ketchup. I’ve held true to that advice to this day.
-Jim Carpenter ME ’70
Thank you for the memory and how you learned about pasties. -SW
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The best pasties in the Upper Peninsula are from Tony’s Country Kitchen in Laurium. We lived one block away on Tamarack Street in the house that is now the Victorian Hall bed-and-breakfast. On summer mornings when our windows were open and a westerly breeze was blowing, the smell of fresh pasties coming out of the oven wafting through our windows was like a Pied Piper’s flute that brought us over to the counter to purchase a couple for lunch. And by the way, it has to be ketchup.
-Mel Laurila ’79
Great story, Mel. We were first introduced to pasties many years ago when we stopped at Tony’s. So many wonderful treats at Tony’s! -SW
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My current favorite is a mixture of ketchup, Lebanese garlic sauce, and a dab of Trader Joe’s aioli mustard. No doubt heresy to some Yooper food critics.
-Walter Pearson BSME ’62
Sounds like you are mixing it up with sauces and lots of flavor. -SW
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Well, Ketchup or Gravy?
MUSTARD!
Ketchup or Gravy is the way you start, and I have enjoyed them each way…but a few years into the scene revealed something. The Phi Kappa Tau – “Mother of all her Boys” – Laura Archambeau…suggested to us…”try mustard.”
To this day, it is my preferred way, Pasties with Mustard!
The best tasting, with tremendously light crust, is one made/served to me in Dallas, Texas… (by a Michigan girl)…however, she would not reveal her recipe!
Regards,
-Joel Scott ‘83
A new way to enjoy pasties and one I had not considered. Thanks for sharing! -SW
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The only way a true Yooper would eat a pasty is with catsup. The trolls from below the bridge started the idea of gravy.
-Joe Rosenbery ’54
Thanks for sharing, Joe. -SW
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Our son Chris (MTU ’96) found a great pasty place in, of all places, Southern California. The Pasty Kitchen on Katella Avenue in Los Alamitos makes a great pasty. Since we’ve spent the past 35 years in Arizona, California and now New Mexico, we only get pasties if my wife makes them from her grandmother’s recipe. As for ketchup or gravy, for me it’s neither. I like mine with a nice dollop of butter on top.
Larry Felhauer ’69
You can’t go wrong with extra butter on a pasty. -SW
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During my senior year, I lived in Hancock on White Street – in the Smiling House, a landmark some from that era may remember. I was quite poor, but I could always scare up enough for a pasty at the Red Owl store. “Day olds” were $.99, “2 day olds” $.89. Pasties kept me fed for the better part of a year. And of course, with ketchup.
Tom Abramson ’80 Biology
Thanks for the great memories, Tom. -SW
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Gravy!!!!!
John Bedford ’83
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Favorite Keweenaw Pasty = Suomi Bakery (paired with a chocolate malt, of course)
Ketchup…..definitely ketchup.
I grew up in White Pine, and had never heard of gravy on a pasty until I went to Tech.
Jane (Pakonen) Labby ’90 Environmental Engineering
Thanks for sharing your favorite place to enjoy a pasty. -SW
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I learned this recipe from Genevieve Haukla the House Cook at Delt Sigs back in the 1970s.
Based on her heritage and the satisfaction of the brothers I would say it’s about as authentic as they come. (not to mention so easy you don’t have to write it down)
Equal parts by volume of Meat (your choice, venison or beef, ground or cubed), Potatoes (cut into ¼ to ½ inch cubes), Rutabaga (cut into ¼ to ½ inch cubes).
Mix ingredients.
Prepare pie crust – roll out into a size that would fit in 9” pie pan +/-.
1 cup of mixture per crust. Wrap crust around mixture (your choice on how to do this, you’ll figure it out)
Cook at 375° for about 45 min to 1 hour till golden brown and juice seeps out from some the pasties.
Serve with your choice of condiment (Butter, Ketchup, Gravy). I prefer plenty of Butter. I’ve never heard of a Miner that could take a cup of gravy or bottle of ketchup into the mines.
John P. Taylor ’81
Thank you for the recipe. One of these days I’m going to make some pasties. -SW
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My years at Michigan Tech were years of change. When I came (January 1, 1964) there were just 150 women in a university of 4800. We all lived in Wadsworth Hall on the second floor of the East Wing. Yes, there were more women, “townies” who approximately doubled our numbers. It was an exciting time. Hockey was spectacular – winning season after winning season. National championships. Best Goalies (yes #1 and #2 – Ricky Best and tony Esposito). We walked the mile to town to stand in the original, unheated metal building – Dee Stadium – to cheer on our team. Winter carnival saw busloads of young ladies arrive for SnowBall and the other festivities.
The 1964-65 school year saw our female numbers double. Now we occupied two floors of Wadsworth Hall. Decisions were made and Co-Ed hall was planned. The next year it would be built and we would move east to our brand new dorm. 1966-67 I remember the treks, sliding down the sidewalk (the entrance to Co-Ed was up the hill, crossing over in front of Douglas Houghton Hall and trekking the length of the campus to the old forestry building – a house on the far west end of campus. To accommodate the overall increased enrollment the highway was being rerouted between Co-ed, Wadsworth, and the married housing further up the hill. The change in the routing cut down on the tragedies on the curve in front of Douglas Houghton Hall.
Ice statues, Winter Carnival, Hockey Games, Concerts of all kinds, kept teaching us the finer points of life. Meanwhile we studied. Careful to act like ladies we went from having doors “slammed in our face” to doors opened for us and holding doors open for those behinds us. The MUB had a “patio” area on the first floor which attracted anyone with a moment to spare and a desire for conversation. Students manned the residence hall switchboards, took messages, and sorted the mail into our mail boxes.
We also saw the planning of the chemical engineering building – as they started construction someone realized the architects had forgotten restrooms. Needless to say, changes were made before completion.
I graduated in 1967 in the old Dee Stadium, proud to cross the stage with classmates from all disciplines. One of the memories I took with me was a recipe for pasties. Yes, when I married I made pasties for my husband.
I will never forget the two lane road with deep ditches that every winter became a four lane highway and arriving January 1 with 9′ of snow on the ground in an original Volkswagon beetle.
Dr. Spain was Dean of Biological Sciences. Dr. Brown was notorious among Freshmen and had an environmental course that was a real brain teaser. It was a good time to be alive and a great place to get an education.
Sanna Messinger Roling ’67
Thank you for the great memories, Sanna. -SW
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What about Douglas Houghton Falls, Lac Labelle fire tower
Kurt Filips ’80
Definite ones to add to the bucket list! -SW
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