Bür•tuck•ē
"Burtucky" is what residents affectionately call a
small city that is formally known as Burton, in Michigan.
Burtucky is geographically on Northern soil but inhabited by descendants of Southern blood.
This anomaly grew out of the great migration of workers seeking jobs with General Motors in Flint Michigan during the 1960'
s. People came from
Kentucky, Arkansas,
Alabama, Tennessee and other Southern states.
They didn't come individually. Through word of mouth, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles and in-laws in a seemingly interconnecting web that reached across the entire South found out about the plentiful and prosperous jobs and moved here en masse.
Burton was chosen for its proximity to Flint and those jobs.
All these southern folk then laid down roots and started families there. Although their
children were born in the North, they were raised with each other and retained their Southern values, pride and sense of identity.
Still today, "Burtucky" is a special, beloved place. Now on the third and fourth generation of the original Southern migrants, you
will still find hunting,
fishing, sweet tea drinking, fish fry eating good
ole boys and girls that
will give you the shirt off their back or kick your ass depending on your needs.
"Burtucky" is also a state of mind, a verb, and adjective.
