In the last episode of On Hand, we dug into why people in Michigan say “ope.” And we found that “ope” likely traces back to European immigrants who settled in the Midwest—long before Midwesternisms were ever a thing.

Since then, we’ve heard from a few of you who say our Michigan way of speaking is about much more than just “ope". Today, we’re diving into the Michigan accent, in all its glory.

GUESTS:

• Sue Merritt, a Michigander-turned-Californian-turned-Michigander again

• Laurie Van Ark lives in Holland, and her family’s roots in Michigan go back to 1866

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

Online Submission Form

Call us: 734-764-7840

Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you live in Michigan, you’ve probably heard someone say the word “ope” more than once. Linguists suggest that the term dates back to the very first European immigrants in the Midwest region but how. On this episode of On Hand, we go back to where we first learned about words and speak with a language expert about the origins of “ope” and why we use it.

GUESTS:

• Katie Howell, Kindergarten Teacher at Buchanan Elementary School, Grand Rapids Public Schools
• Kindergarteners at Buchanan Elementary
• Betsy Sneller, Linguist at Michigan State University

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

Online Submission Form

Call us: 734-764-7840

Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the last episode of On Hand we theorized that ranch first collided with pizza in Michigan, and maybe even at a high school in Ann Arbor in 1992. Why not?

Well one listener, Junebug Harris, says we got it all wrong. He and his wife, Rio, were both dipping pizza - and everything else - in ranch in their high school cafeterias (Northville and Royal Oak, respectively) in the 1980s.

Here's further evidence that Michigan teenagers started the pizza/ranch trend - in the mid 1980s - probably because high school cafeteria food wasn't great, but the ranch was on point.

Junebug and Rio are musicians with a rockabilly band in southeast Michigan. Check them out!

GUESTS:

• Sean "Junebug" Harris, Gen X pizza/ranch pioneer

• Rio Scafone, Gen X pizza/ranch pioneer

• Arrow, Gen Z pizza/ranch legacy inheritor

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

Online Submission Form

Call us: 734-764-7840

Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

If you like what you hear on the pod, consider supporting our work: michiganpublic.org/podfund

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.