Paul Skinner helps drive Empire along

Photo of Paul Skinner by Ross Boissoneau

By Ross Boissoneau

Sun contributor

“Come on in,” says Paul Skinner as he opens the door at the Miser’s Hoard. “Don’t mind them. Hush,” he says to Brandi and Gizmo, the Shih Tzu security team.

The tall, ungainly building on Front Street in Empire is home to the two tiny guard dogs, Paul and Shelly Skinner, and the Miser’s Hoard, their catch-all store which sells an eclectic mix of gifts, jewelry, furnishings, accessories and antiques—which celebrates 25 years of operation in Empire this year. And more than that, if you want to know the truth. It’s also the headquarters for the Empire Asparagus Festival and the Empire Hill Climb, both of which Paul oversees.

That’s quite a bit for one place in the diminutive village in the southwestern corner of Leelanau County. But the Skinners make it work.

Take the Asparagus Festival as a start. When he was approached to help kick off the then-new event in 2003, Paul volunteered to find sponsorships. When the original organizer got married and moved to Traverse City, he found himself in charge. Since then, it’s become a tradition. “It’s grown. The first year we had 25 T-shirts, ten gallons of asparagus soup. We had a car show—with three cars, and one didn’t run. And it rained.”

From that auspicious beginning, the event has become a staple for the community. This year’s festival is expected to bring between 2,000 and 2,500 people to downtown Empire.

Not bad for someone who has been in the U.S. for less than three decades. “I’m originally British,” he says, though Shelly’s voice in the background leads him to immediately correct himself. “I guess I still am,” Skinner adds with a chuckle.

How did this voluble Brit find himself in Empire? Turns out it’s all about love.

“I moved to America in 1997. I came here to marry Heidi,” Skinner says, referring to his late wife. She’s the one who started the Miser’s Hoard in Interlochen in the late ’80s.

The couple moved the operation to Empire in 2001, eventually building on the previously empty site next door. Skinner says moving the business made sense, noting there is more of a community feel in Empire. The store’s former location was on busy US 31, which bisects Interlochen. That precluded any walk-in traffic and in general worked against developing close community relations with neighbors or neighboring businesses.

While the move to Empire was successful, as the years went on, Heidi developed dementia. Paul was thrust into the role of caretaker, until Heidi passed away in 2022. Neighbor and friend Shelly soon became more than that, and she and Paul were married in the following year.

Skinner says being able to contribute to the community feel is enjoyable, in endeavors such as the Asparagus Festival and the Hill Climb. A veteran of similar races in his native Britain, he said time had passed him by in terms of participating. When he was approached about restarting the village’s venerable Hill Climb, which had run from 1964 until 1980, he was interested.

“In 1976 in the UK I competed in my first car rally. I did that until 1997 when I came over here,” he says.

Given the interest of others and his own experience, he decided to try it out—even though he’d never been an organizer. “The Hill Climb was always in the back of my mind. I knew my days of competing were over,” Skinner says, so he decided to take it on.

While there was some initial skepticism, he says time has proven it has staying power. He’s quick to credit the efforts of others, from racers to organizers to artists, with helping make the yearly fall event a success. It features around 40 to 50 race cars competing across different classes, including vintage racers, rally cars, and drift cars, and brings a crowd of 1,200 to 1,500 to town, and interest far beyond that. “When I posted the schedule, it had over 25,000 views, and over 2,000 interactions.”

It started off small, with just a few cars racing up the hill in time trials. You’d see a homemade race car competing against a $1 million vehicle, which no doubt helped build the event’s popularity. It’s now run under the aegis of Sports Car Club of America. “There’s a branch in Detroit,” says Skinner.

Between the community events and running the store, Paul and Shelly’s lives are no doubt full. Still, one wonders if there’s room for more, either in the crowded interior of the store or the seemingly limitless interior of their lives. “We did dabble in the Hops Festival for a while, but in October there’s weather,” says Paul. Then the pandemic struck, which effectively scuttled that event.

So, probably not, but as the saying goes, he didn’t say no. Maybe there’s a chance. You just have to get past Brandi and Gizmo first.