Northern Pride

You Know You're From Northern Ontario when:


..... you or somebody you know has been in an accident with a moose (in this case me).

... trips "south" hardly ever happened in the winter because there was always the possibility of a blizzard stranding you in Parry Sound.

...most of the streets you learned to drive in had gigantic pot holes in them that seemed to come out of nowhere and could swallow an entire wheel (or the front of your car) if you weren't careful

... growing up your Halloween costumes were made to fit over a snowsuit.


...you went on a school trip to Science North during every year of elementary school and can totally remember Ralph, the flying squirrels, the Bed of Nails, and that (lying) computer that told you how tall you were going to be when you stopped growing.

...you traveled 15 minutes by skidoo to go ice fishing

...you earned money by picking blueberries then selling them to roadside stands along highway 69.


... you laugh your ass off when people say -10 is "freezing cold weather" for January

... you think nothing of flopping into your back in the snow and making snow angels - even at 27 years old



...the radio stations you listened to growing up were either "classic rock" or "adult contemporary"

...you can properly pronounce the name "Kapuskasing", but only ever call it "Kap"

...you know where Hearst, Cochrane, and Espanola are

...the French River Trading Post seemed like an exotic vacation spot when you were a kid (admit it - the Hungry Bear & Blueberry Hound were terribly exciting characters to meet!), even though you had to pay $10 for an ice cream cone



...you grew up hating the month of June because the blackflies were so bad you couldn't play outside without a solid layer of bug dope.

...at least 3 of your friends can perfectly imitate a loon call

... people from other places ask you if you know (insert name here) just because they happen to also be from your hometown

...the only sport anybody in your town cares about is hockey (and every town has somebody connected to the NHL because "Northern boys are the best players around")


...you can properly pronounce the word "poutine" (and believe it tastes best when eaten with a plastic fork out of a styrofoam container and ordered from a roadside chip stand)

...you've gone on a class trip to a maple sugar bush and eaten fresh maple syrup after it was hardened on some snow.

...that place you live in during summer vacation is called a CAMP, not a COTTAGE



...Stompin' Tom's songs "Sudbury Saturday Night" and "The Good ol' Hockey Game" can be found on at least one of your mixed tapes / CDs

...you've referred to Barrie, Ont as "south"

...as a teenager, you partook in the age-old tradition of Pit Parties in the bush with your friends

... during those aforementioned Pit Parties, you spent hours trying to find dead trees and branches to keep the fire going


... you learned to measure the distance between places not by kilometers or miles but by how long it takes to drive there. For example "Toronto is about 4 hours down highway 400".

... a campfire and case of beer just as much fun (if not more) than a night out in a club

... you know what happens to pinecones and birch bark when they're tossed in a fire (also pop cans, potato chips, marshmallows, and pretty much anything you could get away with throwing into the pit when your parents weren't looking)



And finally,

You know you're from Northern Ontario when you can look at pictures like this and be damn proud to tell people this was where you grew up.