Hey Michigan! How Did You Memorize The Great Lakes Names?

In Michigan we are a proud people.

We enter through the garage.

We take 20 minutes to ask for favors because, first we have to apologize for asking for a favor before asking for the favor.

And, we love our lakes.

Michigan Elementary Bulletin Board + Yard Stick = ?

Love of and for The Great Lakes was engrained and chiseled into our young, impressionable minds by teachers who's lives seemed dependent on our ability to commit 5 bodies of waters names to our memory. Bulletin boards were erected, using roughly half a forest worth of colored cardboard paper and 519,842 rounds of staples. Yard sticks were used to point at the lakes and we as a class were expected, in unison, to collectively recite them to the metronome like beat of thin wood hitting corkboard.

But we know them. We know them and we are surprised that we have made it this far in life without someone being saved by our knowledge. Never has anyone been in harms way and someone yelled out "Quick! Tell me the names of The Great Lakes now or this man dies!".

Most Michiganders wouldn't be able to forget them if we tried. YOU SIMPLY HAD TO KNOW THEM!

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Some of us remembered them via song, others via constant drilling and, then there were the mnemonics or memory aids. If you have ever studied anything you've used a mnemonic. Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge for musicians is equal to A Delicious PIE for nursing.

Here are a few of Michigan's finest memory aids:

SHO(w) ME

The SHO(w)-ME memory aid was helpful to commit the lakes names to memory, but did not pay off on spelling tests.

HOMES

HOMES was really the most logical of these memory aids, as we lived in Michigan and our home was in Michigan. Kids that grew up without a cottage or lake house usually would forget Lake Superior though...

MOSHE

MOSHE may be new to some, but for some Moshe is known as the Hebrew name of Moses. Now you can picture him parting Lake Superior.

SMHEO

The SMHEO method worked very well BUT, once again proves that it will not help EVERYONE on spelling tests.

Try this one:

SMHEO 2

This SMHEO will not only help you memorize the names of The Great Lakes in order from east to west, but you'll chuckle picturing a sergeant eating onions they hate.

And the best for last, the sure fire way to ensure that you never forget the names of the glorious waters surrounding Michigan and the easiest mnemonic ever:

LLLLL

LLLLL did not get an LOL from any educators at the time, don't try to get away with this one if you can help it.