Entries by editor

Toward Inter-dependence: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness in a Difficult World

By Holly Wren Spaulding Sun contributor On the fourth of July we were 20 friends gathered around a long wooden table for a meal of moussaka, rice and greens from the garden. It was a time for collective reflection, not for blowing things up. We didn’t miss the fireworks even slightly. Harriet Barlow, the great […]

The path of Laughing Waters

By Ian Vertel Sun contributor Carol Laughing Waters: “[that’s] a name I received in a waterfall in Yellow Stone National Park.” During a trip of camping and traveling, Carol of Maple City says, “it was very clear that that was my name. It was my first real experience of connecting with the Earth.” At first, […]

Immersion under the crescent: an exchange experience in Istanbul

By Codi Yeager Sun contributor “The city is CRAZY!” wrote Zambak Bayrakcan, aka Lily Springsteen. Her e-mail, dated June 10, was flowing and excited, a rush of words that, piece by piece, created a wonderful, jumbled picture of her Turkish home. For the past year Lily, a resident of nearby Long Lake Township, has lived […]

LOST in Leelanau — Part II

By Pat Stinson Sun contributor What follows is the continuation of a story we ran on June 14, with a not so cheery ending. We hope you’ll like this conclusion much more. Leelanau County Animal Control Officer Paul Peschel took my little, lost Boston Terrier buddy, Grumpy, in the pet carrier to Cherryland Humane Society. […]

Remodeled Empire beach draws varying reactions

By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor “This will not be your grandmother’s beach, not the beach you’ve had here the last 50 years,” Empire Village Council member Karen Baja admitted to concerned local residents in mid-June during a meeting of the Park Committee, which makes recommendations to the Council on matters concerning the public beach. As […]

Independence Day Events

Sunday, July 1: Pancake Breakfast, Glen Arbor Towship Hall, 8 a.m.-noon. Northport Community Band Independence Day Concert, at Glen Arbor Athletic Club, 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 4: Flag Raising at Old Settler’s Park, 10 a.m. Glen Arbor Fourth of July parade, noon downtown (11 am: Parade lineup in Glen Haven Noon: Annual Fourth of July […]

Empire’s Neighborly New Community

By Pat Stinson Sun contributor Norm and Cile Plumstead could easily picture themselves sitting on a front porch in Empire’s New Neighborhood and enjoying the pristine view of the forested ridge from lot number three. Prior to 2004, the couple had lived in cities near Lake Michigan with a similar small-town feel, such as Libertyville, […]

Puppets airborne, and hands in the soil, at Little Artshram summer camp

By Corin Blust Sun contributor The first thing that strikes me about the Community Garden in Traverse City is the creative ways that people have outfitted their respective garden plots. There are trellises made out of hula hoop-like wire structures, a lovely bean support made out of poles scavenged from the forest and an impressive […]

Life Springs Eternal

A few days after a wildland fire scorched several acres of Port Onedia prairie, a quenching rain fell. And from that springs new grass, and the field is once again alive! Photo by Mike Buhler Stay tuned in future issues of the Glen Arbor Sun for stories on Dr. Chuck Olson’s quest to save historic […]

Locals living ‘off the grid’

By Ian Vertel Sun contributor As our consciousness shifts toward developing more sustainable practices of living with the Earth, rather than simply on the Earth, local northern Michigan residents are answering the call. Jackie Ankerson and her husband Allan Fici on South Lime Lake Road live “off the grid.” They are “half a mile from […]