Entries by editor

Leelanau School hosts Small Farm conference

Farmers today face a number of challenges. Climate change, increasing costs for land, seeds, insurance and staffing, and development pressure all weigh on an endeavor that has always operated on thin margins. Any advantage they can accrue will help. Enter the annual Small Farm Conference, taking place Aug. 18-19 at the Leelanau School. Christina Marbury, community engagement specialist for Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology, says the conference will be beneficial for most anyone connected with the land, from small-scale growers to those interested in sustainable practices or ways in which they can diversity their offerings to make a profit. “It’s great for farmers, of course,” says Marbury. “Also people interested in farming, (those) growing at home—there’s a nice variety of business focus.”

/by

Raw sewage discharge into Lake Leelanau prompts public health advisory

The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department issued a public health advisory on Wednesday, Aug. 13, following an equipment failure during routine maintenance that resulted in the release of raw sewage into Lake Leelanau at the Lake Leelanau DNR Boat Ramp East on East Bingham Road.

/by
, ,

Manitou Island Transit family legacy in jeopardy: Grosvenor-Munozes sue National Park over dock closures

Manitou Island Transit, a 108-year-old family-owned company that ferries customers from Leland’s historic Fishtown to South and North Manitou Islands, is struggling to survive due to forces beyond its control. The Grosvenor-Munoz family, owners of Manitou Island Transit, filed a federal lawsuit against the National Park Service in early February accusing the agency of breach of contract and mismanagement during dock reconstruction projects on North and South Manitou Islands. The National Park Service has closed North Manitou Island to visitors in order to replace and relocate the docks due to sediment shoaling which has created access issues. North Manitou hasn’t had regular ferry service since 2022. South Manitou will be inaccessible in 2026 while a new dock is being built. Captain Jimmy Munoz, who helms the ferry, warns that the closure could be the end of an era. “If they shut us down—which they’re doing right now—there will never be a ferry boat back there again out of Leland.”

/by

Leelanau Christian Neighbors host open house

Leelanau Christian Neighbors (LCN) will host an open house for the public at their location at 7322 E. Duck Lake Rd. in Lake Leelanau on Thursday, Aug. 14, from 4:30-6:30 pm. No RSVP required. Join staff for a special self-guided tour of their facilities, meet the team behind LCN, and see the impact their programs are making in Leelanau County. Refreshments will be provided. The event will feature a major reveal. LCN will unveil something new that marks an exciting chapter for the organization. Come see what’s next for LCN.

/by

Vintage Views and Early Michigan Travel

On July 12–17, 1915, the third annual auto Pike Tour commenced. The route followed the Michigan lakeshore route of what everyone knows as U.S. 31, once called the West Michigan Pike in the early days of auto travel, writes Rebecca G Carlson in this fifth story in our series on the history of Leelanau County resorts and getaways. Averaging “14” miles per hour, this auto group of an estimated “100” automobiles would cover “635 ½” miles in total beginning in the St. Joseph-Benton Harbor area, and ending the five-day tour in Manistee, according to Byron and Wilson’s book “Vintage Views Along the West Michigan Pike.”

/by

Teenagers picking cherries: a migrant farmworker’s memoir

Here’s an excerpt from Robert “Carlos” Fuentes’ self-published book, “The Vacation: a Teenage Migrant Farmworker’s Experience Picking Cherries in Michigan”—a coming-of-age story that intertwines the bonds of family and friends, emphasizes the importance of heritage, captures the sweetness of first love, and showcases the quiet dignity of hard work. According to Rubén O. Martinez, professor emeritis at Michigan State University’s Julia Samora Research Institute, Fuentes’ story, which is set in 1969 not long before the introduction of the mechanized cherry shaker, “provides a window to family, religion, race relations, and short-term community life among migrant farm working families through the experiences of an adolescent boy who is coming of age in a migrant camp and the orchards of cherry growers.” Fuentes’ book “The Vacation” is available at Leelanau County bookstores.

/by

Michigan By The Bottle expands local wine downstate

Taylor and Sam Simpson know wine. They were brought up in the business, and today Simpson Family Estates includes Aurora Cellars, Good Harbor Vineyards and Harbor Hill Fruit Farms. So, too, do Geoff Hamelin and his parents Paul and Marty Hamelin, who have owned and run Verterra Winery since 2007. Now the two families have teamed up to showcase not only their wines but those of more than a dozen other wineries from across the state. They have purchased Michigan By The Bottle. The tasting rooms in the metro Detroit area offer patrons the chance to try wines from all around Michigan. “The mission is to bring Michigan wines to more consumers,” says Taylor. “It’s not limited to the Leelanau Peninsula. It’s all AVAs.”

/by
,

The Anishinaabek: Michigan’s original people

Tim Mulherin, author of “This Magnetic North: Candid Conversations on a Changing Northern Michigan” includes an excerpt of his book that features JoAnne Cook, chief appellate court judge for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and an outreach educator. Cook sometimes teaches an adult education course at Northwestern Michigan College, “The History of the Anishinaabek.” Her historical overview incorporates cultural and spiritual aspects of the band, and she covers the legal issues involving treaties (which are still ongoing) leading up to tribal life in modern time and the efforts to restore and advance Native traditions.

/by

Where “change” feeds the soul: 5Loaves2Fish hosts annual fundraiser

In an effort to restore dignity and fight the growing crisis of food insecurity, a local nonprofit is employing a radical yet compassionate approach: No Questions Asked. At the heart of their mission is the simple, irrefutable idea that everyone deserves to eat, without judgment or bureaucracy. By easing those barriers and societal stigma, 5Loaves2Fish hopes to not only nourish bodies but also challenge long-held perceptions of the homeless and food insecure populations, reminding the community that humanity begins with empathy. Founders Michelle and Bill White meet people in need where they are, both literally and figuratively, through 5Loaves2Fish’s uniquely mobile food outreach organization. On Aug. 12, the nonprofit is hosting its fourth annual Big Change Equals Big Change Fundraiser, an evening promising inspiration and impact. Set at the bucolic Dune Bird Winery in Northport, this event draws community members together in support of an objective that goes beyond food: a reminder that no one is invisible.

/by

Restoring the iconic Bicentennial Barn art

Scott Stone wants to update the old tradition of a community barn raising. He’s hoping to enlist friends, neighbors and any other interested parties in a community barn painting. This isn’t just about slapping some red and white on an old barn. It’s about restoring an iconic piece of the county’s landscape: the bicentennial barn just off West Harbor Highway outside Maple City. And it’s about honoring the way in which the barn was first repainted to celebrate the nation’s bicentennial. When Scott and Tamara Stone heard the property was for sale, they were intrigued. They read about it in a copy of the Glen Arbor Sun while they were vacationing at The Homestead.

/by