Peter and Cassidy (Edwards) Fisher are exceptions to the Michigan brain drain. Natives of Glen Arbor and bearing last names that are part of the town’s fabric, they forsook the East Coast and returned five years ago to make Leelanau their home.
When Donna Burgan decided to invite friends and community members to commemorate the opening of her store Wildflowers in 1980, she had no idea that people would be celebrating the return of electricity more than the store’s birthday. What was planned as a 35th anniversary became instead a “resilience party,” honoring the spirit of Glen Arbor and all those who came through the storm.
During one extraordinary week in August 2015, the sounds that dominated our town were the whirr of winds and the ugly crack of trees, followed by the buzz of chainsaws, the hum of generators, and the cheering and car honking as Consumers Power trucks and linemen rolled into town like a liberating army.
By Sarah Bearup-Neal Sun contributor The phrase “May Peace Prevail On Earth” is a straightforward wish. It carries no political baggage. It’s a sentiment that can be shared by all humans — who doesn’t want peace? — regardless of other opposing worldviews. And it’s a thought that launched a Northern Michigan business. In the 1980s, […]
Many of Glen Arbor’s employers can’t find employees, and if things don’t change, some foresee the area’s economy drying up. Last year, three major Glen Arbor businesses — Cherry Republic (CR), Anderson’s IGA, and Leelanau Vacation Rentals (LVR) — were short an estimated total of 100 summer employees.
This summer Czamanske, Uhlmann, David Westerfield and Angela Schuler all exhibit their work at, and take turns manning, the Arbor Gallery. The space is located between Ruth Conklin Gallery and the Sylvan Inn, in the building on M-109 formerly occupied by Ashmun Portrait Art. They’ve taken to calling this the “west end art district.”
Glen Arbor Artisans gallery opened on July 5 to feature Kristin Hurlin’s and Paul May’s art. The building, across M-22 from the Lakeshore Inn and kitty-corner from the tennis courts, is sleek, industrial and striking. Like the new M-22 store on the east end of town, the Artisans gallery features a board and batten exterior that leads the eye on a vertical path, not a horizontal one. “It makes you feel taller,” said Hurlin.
Late this past winter, David Gersenson acquired the Sylvan Inn. The founder and former owner of Door to Door Organics, which provides home delivery of organic and natural foods, moved three years ago with wife Theresa and their two children from Nederland, Colo., to nearby Cedar. Gersenson just completed his second Glen Arbor hotel acquisition within five months. We talked with him in mid-July about taking over the Glen Arbor Lakeshore Inn.
The Arbor Gallery, formerly called Old School Gallery and relocated next to the Sylvan Inn on M-109, will hold an artist reception on Friday, July 10, from 4-6 p.m. The Arbor Gallery features the work of Paul Czamanske (Underbark Furniture), Lynn Uhlmann, David Westerfield and Angela Schuler. For more information call 231-633-2057.
Jeff Hessler began lobbying way back in 1976 for a skatepark in Frankfort. The co-owner of Betsie Bay Furniture, next to Stormcloud Brewery, has skated these streets since he was 14 years old. “I’ve been skating since the polyurethane wheel came out,” he says. Nearly 40 years later, he and his 14-year-old daughter Annie may soon get their wish.