North Unity, a Bohemian ghost town
North Unity, on the Good Harbor Bay side of Pyramid Point, was settled in 1855 by a group of Bohemians who had emigrated from their homeland in central Europe to seek a better life in America.
Entries by editor
Glen Lake Schools Board of Education releases summary of Joan Groening investigation
A day before the Glen Lake Community Schools Board of Education publishes its independent investigation into the administration of former district superintendent Joan Groening, the Glen Arbor Sun acquired a copy of the summary of that investigation. You can view it here.
Cottage Names in a favorite place
While the English often name their houses, here in the United States we typically do so only for our seasonal cottages. And the roads of northern Michigan are dotted with endearing cottage names painted and carved into roadside signs. Some signs seem homemade, others look professionally produced. Some are simple; others have elaborate scenic images and distinct fonts. They may refer to family name, the setting, the structure itself, values or preferences. A few declare that this is paradise.
On the road to Leelanau
The road to our own personal ‘Tour de Leelanau’ started, in a grand sense, around the summer solstice, when we and our bikes pedaled out of the Chicago area with the intention, like so many others, of getting ‘out to the country’ to celebrate the warm months. Earlier, in the spring, while living and working in Los Angeles, we used a program called World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) to get in contact with a number of farmers situated up and down the western coast of your great state.
Affordable housing in Glen Arbor? Some say it’s possible
Skyrocketing land prices and high taxes have priced Glen Arbor out of the market for most service workers and working professionals like teachers and emergency medical workers. Over the past five years, we’ve lost countless professionals who have moved to other areas. But it’s not hopeless, say some.
New reads in Leelanau
2015 has been a good year for local literature. New books about Leelanau, books by Leelanau County authors and at least one old favorite await eager readers in area bookshops. Here’s a sampling:
Center Gallery features Fox and Wilson
Sculpture — architectural and totemic — comes to Center Gallery for an extended stay. The work of artists Larry Fox and Van Wilson is on display Sept. 18-Oct. 11. A 6 p.m. reception for the artists opens the show.
A color wheel book in three dimensions
Have you seen the beautiful rainbows spinning outside the Sleeping Bear Gallery in Empire this summer? Last year, owner Heather Caverly acquired a patent on the 3D Colorwheel Book, which she hopes will turn the traditional wheel into a fun and accessible tool to enhance learning for kids of all ages. She will take her invention to Art Prize in Grand Rapids this month, and hopes to one day sell the colorwheel book at her gallery.
National Lakeshore presents artist-in-residence O’Brien
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore welcomes the September artist-in-residence for 2015; Cara O’Brien, a Michigan artist currently working and living in Whitehall, Michigan.
Busy summer in Sleeping Bear, but storm prevented run for the record
Largely forgotten amidst our Aug. 2 storm coverage, July 2015 set a record for monthly visits to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, with 438,291. That’s 7,000 more than July 2014. June was also a big month for visitors, as the Park welcomed only 800 fewer people than in June 2012, which was the “summer on steroids” following the “Most Beautiful Place in America” coronation.