Local Personality

World Citizen Alights in Empire: An Interview with Marian Gyr

By F. Josephine Arrowood Sun contributor Fans of the 1971 cult classic Harold and Maude may be thrilled to discover that a vigorous, free-thinking, octogenarian social activist has recently made her home in Empire. Yet Marian Gyr is much more interesting and engaged than a hippie-era movie character. The lively educator, environmentalist and matriarch says, […]

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Teaching the healing of Reiki

By Codi Yeager Sun contributor It was still in the room—warm and dark and safe. There was soft music playing in the background and the faint, mixed aroma of essential oils bottled in their glass vials. Plants cozied up to the walls. Trees stood silent outside the windows. On the massage table, I lay looking […]

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Making a difference, one bear at a time

By Pat Stinson Sun contributor “What you think on, grows.” That’s the firm belief of Empire resident Jan Sikorski, who meditated and slept on the question, “What is mine to do?” after watching the movie, “The Secret,” loaned to her by a friend. In the movie, Mother Teresa’s statement, “Do NOT invite me to an […]

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A Marathon autumn for Ranae Ihme

From staff reports Chicago — the city of skyscrapers, wind chill, good hotdogs, bad baseball … and heat stroke. That’s right, the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 7 was stopped in the middle of the race this year as temperatures reached the mid-90s and volunteers on the sidelines ran out of water. A police officer from […]

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Mike Vanderberg: Free Thinker, Anarchist, Village Anchor

By F. Josephine Arrowood Sun contributor Since the sudden death of Mike Vanderberg on August 11, at the site of the recent Dunegrass Music Festival, residents of the Village of Empire and beyond have responded to the news with shock, sadness and a sense of disbelief. This generous, eccentric spirit created and presided over village […]

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Seldom seen, always present: Outlaw art & adventure theology in Leelanau

By F. Josephine Arrowood Sun contributor Recent visitors to the Glen Arbor Art Association (GAAA) on Pine Street, behind Lake Street Studios, may have been surprised by a large pyramid, traced in steel and enclosing a suspended boulder, that now graces the approach to the building. Yet some have encountered this Art Brut sculpture before, […]

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Saving the world, one bucket at a time

By Nadine Gilmer Sun contributor “When you get started with one network of aid organizations, you never run out of missions,” says Chris Skellenger, a local musician and gardener whose humanitarian work started with the non-profit Safe Passage, which helps kids growing up in the Guatemala City garbage dump, and has led to other charitable […]

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Female brewers reclaim their art

By Debra Townsend Sun contributor Stacey Block isn’t about to let big beer companies tell her what kind of frothy ale she should fancy. Stacey is a brewster, as female brewers are referred to, and along with only two other brewsters in Michigan, she is reclaiming the craft that originally began in women’s hands thousands […]

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Tom Fordyce rocks

By Pat Stinson Sun contributor Call it cabin fever or, as Tom Fordyce recalls, “I wanted something to do to keep myself busy and thought it was really cool.” After building his last contracted home through Thomas Fordyce Construction a couple of years ago, he discovered he had some idle hours beyond the 40 to […]

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A Day in the Life of a family at Le Bear Resort

By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor For Marty and Judy Ulrich, Le Bear Resort seemed too good to be true. How else could the couple from downstate Grand Blanc, with three busy daughters between the ages of eight and 13, buy a luxurious second home in the Glen Arbor area and enjoy vacations “up north” without […]

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