Following the blizzard earlier this weekend, the Friends of Sleeping Bear, who manage the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, report fresh snow last night and today. Nice, cool temperatures make for fluffy snow and the groomer is leaving a perfect corduroy and classic tracks. Read more for details.
The International Affairs Forum at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City has announced that longtime Leelanau County resident Dick Grout, who is 103 years old, will be presented with the French Legion of Honor by Yannick Tagand, the Consul General of France in Chicago, in a private ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 30, at Kirkbride Hall in the Grand Traverse Commons. Grout took part in the Allies’ D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944—the seminal battle on the Western Front during the Second World War. He was earlier awarded both a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his service.
Glen Lake Community Schools will host the first of two scheduled “listening sessions” on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 6 pm related to a loss in this past November’s bond election. This session will be held in the secondary media center. According to a letter from superintendent Jason Misner, the public is invited to attend and participate in this forum and share opinions and feedback on the recent bond vote and what Glen Lake can do to meet the needs of area students and the community.
This week CNN Travel named our region, including Leelanau County and Traverse City, among the 24 best places to visit in the new year. The story encourages readers and travelers to “look at places that are still largely undiscovered, or alluring in the offseason, or frequently overlooked for their larger first cities or neighbors. Maybe it’s time to head to places that are making it easier for tourists to visit and those that pay close attention to encouraging tourism that’s sustainable.” Sleeping Bear Dunes is no stranger to national and international media exposure. In 2011 the ABC show “Good Morning America” named our region “the most beautiful place in America,” which immediately boosted tourism numbers to the National Lakeshore. The honor was largely the result of northern Michigan’s social media campaign, which we examined in this article.
This year was a banner year for news in Leelanau County. The Glen Arbor Sun’s top viewed stories on our website in 2023 included the strange—a relationship coaching cult in Suttons Bay (“Twin Flames, a Suttons Bay cult, an inferno of controversy” was our fourth most-viewed story of all time); the heroic—a neighborhood effort to rescue boaters from a burning craft; the celebratory—The Mill made its long awaited opening on the Crystal River, and collaboration between the National Lakeshore and Leelanau Conservancy to preserve Glen Lake ridge property; the breaking news—an 18-hole putting course and restaurant planned to open next year in Glen Arbor; the historical—our 12-part series covering Leelanau’s farming families; and the reflective—remembering Horndog Newt Cole. Thanks for your readership, and Happy New Year! Here’s the list of our top 10 stories by online views in 2023.
As part of her 12-part Leelanau Farming Family Series, Rebecca Carlson interviewed Jeff and Jaunita ‘Nita’ Send, whose ancestors bought the current family farmstead in 1918, 105 years ago. Longevity is one more point of communal connectivity among the farming families of Leelanau County.
“Growing food in summer and fall is easy,” says Loma Farm owner Nic Theisen. “Growing during winter is a more interesting story.” Spoiler alert: he’s right. Winter is cold and snowy. There’s significantly less light. It costs lots of money to provide electricity if you want heat spaces to promote growing. It’s a huge challenge to try to grow under those conditions. Why even bother? There are a few reasons. One is because Theisen wants to promote better, longer-lasting use of the land. Another is to keep his workers employed year-round. And there are those that depend on the products from the farm, especially Farm Club, the nearby restaurant that Theisen and his wife Sara own along with Gary and Allison Jonas.
“Happy.” How exactly is happiness defined? Is it a simple proposition or a complex notion? Is happiness something objective or something entirely subjective? Is it completely nebulous? Happiness can be the view from atop Pyramid Point; the June harvest of Bardenhagen strawberries; chasing the Northern Lights out at the end of Bohemian Road; volunteering at Leelanau Christian Neighbor’s weekly “Blessings in a Backpack;” driving Leelanau County’s back roads, like Schomberg—just because. The Glen Arbor Arts Center is interested in how artists relate to, and creatively express, the notion of happiness. The GAAC’s very first exhibit of 2024 will explore happiness, and is, fittingly, titled “Happy.”
Hiking, snowshoeing, even watching how maple syrup is made, from tree to syrup. They’re all on tap (pun intended) at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore this winter. And even better than that, all the activities are free. “The Most Beautiful Place in America” according to ABC’s Good Morning America offers opportunities for fun and exploration not just in the summer but year-round. “The Dunes don’t close,” says Emily Sunblade, lead interpretation park ranger. Winter certainly provides a different experience than summer. For example, if there’s snow, the hikes become snowshoe hikes. More than that, snow cover provides the opportunity to explore beyond the trails, as rangers can safely lead hikers off the trails. “That won’t damage sensitive plants,” says Sunblade.
Linda Alice Dewey’s painting “Christmas in Cedar, not long ago” is a collaboration with Anne-Marie Oomen’s poem, “Solstice”