For almost 50 years, one of the few locations where patrons could visit a history museum of Suttons Bay was Eddie’s Village Inn restaurant. Owned and managed by two generations of the Rothgarber Family from 1956 until 2004, this beloved eatery served as the central hub for local news, gossip, family and friend gatherings, and tourists looking for a delicious, home-cooked meal while enjoying Suttons Bay history laid out on the walls throughout the restaurant and behind the bar.
The Leelanau Outdoor Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Founded in 1994 and situated on picturesque Pyramid Point in Maple City, LOC educates groups of school students with its unique program that combines “experiential and ecological learning in the natural environment that promotes the discovery and development of leadership and character.” Adventure elements of the program include navigating the high ropes course, climbing wall, and zip line while the ecological components encompass Pond Study and Dune School. “At LOC we work hard to earn the students’ trust and provide them a safe space to try something new and maybe make mistakes. We want them to know that it’s ok to not get it right the first time, and it is important to work hard and be persistent. In team building, we specifically address communication skills that may be difficult to foster in a school setting, as well as the idea that it’s ok to ask for help and trust others,” said LOC director Katie Duntley. To commemorate their 30th anniversary, LOC is hosting a Fall Festival on Oct. 5 from 1–5 p.m. For $15 a person, attendees can climb the rock wall, take off on the zip line, hitch a seat on the hayride, shoot a bow and arrow, carve pumpkins, and other fun activities. More details on the festival can be found at LOCprograms.org/events.
Hayward Draper, the author of The Colony: The history, families, society, architecture, and economics of a 1908 traditional American Cottage Row will give a presentation at Fountain Point Resort on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 4 pm. This presentation is hosted by the Leelanau Historical Society in collaboration with Fountain Point Resort. Copies of Draper’s book will be available at the event.
Leland native Paige Cook will be a junior at the University of Michigan when classes resume in early September. She currently works on the podcast team of What the F, a feminist magazine on campus, and has participated in Central Student Government. Cook and other student leaders at U of M have protested and stood up for the rights and dignity of Palestinians since Israel’s war in Gaza began nearly 11 months ago. The brutal conflict has resulted in the deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians and caused the spread of disease and famine in the occupied enclave—following Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the killing of 1,200 Israelis and seizure of hundreds of hostages. The Glen Arbor Sun spoke with Cook about her Leland upbringing, her experiences in Ann Arbor, and how it has felt to attend college in a town that’s once again a hotbed of student activism.
The Old Art Building (OAB) just scored a major win for the Leelanau community with purchase of a 1.14-acre property parcel on the Leland River, kitty-corner from the cultural center’s established location in Leland. The purchase, finalized on July 31, secured 280 feet of additional Leland riverfront property for the community and almost tripled the nonprofit’s footprint. Campaign chair, Cindy Meeker, said, “The purchase of the property at 204 Cedar Street allows the Old Art Building to enhance its programming to meet the demands of this community for today and for many future generations to come. Additionally, it allows us to preserve this treasured property in the heart of Leland as we honor our past and build our future.” With just 2 ½ months to raise the money, a grant from Edmund F. and Virginia B. Ball Foundation and generous donations from community members secured the $3.2 million needed to finalize the purchase, while also quietly kicking off a three-year capital campaign aimed at raising enough funds to achieve community-voiced goals on both the new and existing properties.
The Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay will show Saving the Barn, a locally produced short film on the history, preservation, and future of the Leelanau County Poor Farm/County Infirmary. The screening is free and open to the public on Sunday, August 4 at 1 pm. The documentary is a multi-year project of the Leelanau County Historic Preservation Society (LCHPS) and was broadcast by WCMU Public Television in March. Following the 26-minute film, Norm Wheeler musician/storyteller and (narrator of the documentary) will moderate a panel discussion.
Longtime Leelanau Enterprise reporter Eric Carlson delivered the following address at Old Settlers Park on July 4 as part of the Glen Lake Woman’s Club annual Flag Raising ceremony. Carlson spoke about his career in journalism, both locally and in conflict zones, about the importance (and sometimes inconvenience) of a free press, about civil liberties, and this fraught political moment in American history.
As we peer out the original windows of the restored Sleeping Bear Inn and into Lake Michigan’s rolling blue waves, we imagine a Michigan Transit Co. steamship arriving at the 650-foot dock in Glen Haven, just as it would have in the 1920s, carrying lumbermen, tourists, and fortune seekers who had departed Chicago the previous evening. The visitors disembark, plant their feet on land and gaze with wonder at the shoreline and the Manitou Islands floating in the distance. The Sleeping Bear Inn, the crowned jewel of Glen Haven, reopens to guests later this summer, more than 50 years after it closed when this National Lakeshore was created in 1972. The Inn, which was built in 1866 and served guests through the Michigan lumber boom, the roaring ’20s, and the era of dune buggies, is the oldest hotel in the National Park Service
Summer is that amazing time of year when farm stands come alive and are filled with a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables. Here in Leelanau, farm stands dot the peninsula and generally operate from June until November. The farm stands vary from a table underneath a pop-up tent, a pull-cart loaded with product, to a permanent structure displaying a farm’s produce offerings. The VerSnyder Orchards farm stand, which began operating in the early 2000s, is located just south of Lake Leelanau at 1530 South Lake Shore Drive at the front of the larger twenty-acre farm. This sesquicentennial farm was first homesteaded in the 1870s by Kevin’s great-great grandfather, Mathias VerSnyder, who arrived to the area from New York.
Change is difficult for many people, but it is also challenging to lead change. This is what the Telgards have been doing for five generations in Leland and how they became a local legacy family influential in protecting the town’s heritage and character, writes Abby Chatfield. The Telgards own the iconic Bluebird Restaurant and Tavern, which was recently demolished and is being rebuilt. Common threads throughout the family’s history are forward thought towards its future generations’ ability to thrive and the important role they play in providing a social hub for the community. Their reputation is based on a foundation of consideration for their community’s needs—not an easy role to maintain for well over a century.