Historical Feature

Reading Port Oneida

From staff reports Tom Van Zoeren has published a new booklet about the Port Oneida Rural Historic District in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore north of Glen Arbor, titled The Thoreson Farm and Its Neighbors, which, Tom says “is based mainly on oral history recordings with Leonard Thoreson, and on his photo collection.” The […]

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America’s Lakeshore: Watchable Wildlife

By Bill Herd This story originally appeared on Leelanau.com Seeing wildlife on your vacation to a national park makes the trip extra special. It makes no difference if your primary objective was to see mountains, canyons, swamps or beaches; seeing the park’s wildlife is always a welcome addition to your visit. Viewing wildlife in its […]

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Remembering the Thompsons and their popcorn business

From staff reports Whether we tuck in for a winter’s night of DVD-watching or make the snowy trek to one of the area’s theaters or cinemas, we can’t consider our experience “complete” without some hot, buttered popcorn and a frosty beverage. It’s a time-honored tradition. — Submitted by Pat Stinson, movie-and-popcorn lover and Glen Arbor […]

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Bridging the gap

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From staff reports The long-awaited news that motorists, bikers and pedestrians could cross the new Narrows Bridge between the Glen Lakes arrived on Saturday morning, October 24. For some it appeared in the form of an email, for others an excited telephone call, and for the luckiest ones, an unobstructed view along M-22 from Melba […]

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Bob Byerly’s beautiful mind

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By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor “This would be a great place for a party,” Bob Byerly once wrote to University of Michigan fraternity brother Harold Jackson about Newfoundland while on a trans-Atlantic journey. “It’s strictly off-campus … and there’s plenty of ice!” Later on that trip he followed up with a postcard from Paris. “You […]

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Why we care about the “Olden Days” at Port Oneida

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By F. Josephine Arrowood Sun contributor As you drive or hike the verdant landscapes of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (the local branch of the National Park Service), you spy a rustic log cabin tucked away in a deep glade, and wonder who lived there in the “olden days.” Later, you pass a one-room […]

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Empire’s Gnarly Old Man

By Pat Stinson Sun contributor All the farmers drove Mercedes, the occasional BMW, and all that they were farmin’ was a mere hectare or two. What in heaven’s name could be the source of all this wealth? It’s just a funny, gnarled root that some folks nibble for their health. And they call it You […]

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South Manitou Memories

By Grace Dickinson Johnson Sun contributor There’s something about an island that lures the traveler from the mainland and beckons the voyager on a passing vessel. Times on South Manitou Island were spent within a mist of great natural beauty. My sister, Terry Dickinson, and Sandy Holds were best friends during their school years at […]

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You can’t walk home

By Larry Kaplan The following chapter is excerpted from Kaplan’s manuscript, “Life and death on a Great Lake,” which chronicles the stories of local fishermen through the twentieth century: from the Carlson family in Leland’s “Fish Town,” to Native American struggles for fishing rights, to the more recent battles against the invasive sea lamprey. You […]

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Big wheels roll into Empire: New film documents restoration

By Pat Stinson Sun contributor On June 2, the Empire Area Museum’s newest permanent exhibit came to rest on the front lawn after two years of planning and hours of restoration work by Empire museum members and other supporters. “Most of the work was completed in the last month,” says Dave Taghon, the museum’s president. […]

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