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For love of barns and quality-made old things
NewsA massive hay catcher left in a Leelanau County centennial barn. The barn’s owner passed away, and his daughter, a client of Refuge Salon in Suttons Bay, sold it to woodworking craftsman Mitch Meoak. Mitch and his wife Charynn own Refuge Salvage Works and Refuge Salon, which coexist in the former Business Helper building on Broadway St. Mitch Meoak is a craftsman, a salvage master, and preservationist. Every item on display at Refuge Salvage Works has a unique story.
A grieving Glen Lake family shines a light on teen depression
NewsIt wasn’t until an Aug. 29 memorial service for their son, Tommy, that Holly and Tom Reay learned how much the 17-year-old had helped other northern Michigan teenagers who also suffered from anxiety and depression. The loss of Tommy on July 10 sent shockwaves through the Glen Lake community and pried open the door for some families to talk about mental health issues. “There were children who knew Tommy and immediately went to their parents and asked for help,” said Tom Reay. Out of a desire to educate the community about mental illness and depression, and shine a light on a painful subject too often swept into the shadows, the Reays—who own the Burdickville restaurant Trattoria Funistrada—used social media to destigmatize and foster conversations about suicide soon after Tommy took his own life.
Morning at the Monument
NewsEmpire writer Anne-Marie Oomen read the following poem this morning—September 11, 2021—at the annual September 11 ceremony of remembrance at the Glen Lake Fire Department. Her poem, “Morning at the Monument” (a roughshod sonnet) was inspired by this 20th anniversary and a study of the monument, a shard of one of the Twin Towers that is memorialized in Glen Arbor.
“The Birds Are Burning”: September 11, 2001
NewsBronwyn Jones’ reflection on September 11, 2001, and her New York City childhood was republished from our September 2001 edition of the Glen Arbor Sun, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
Far from home: a soldier remembers America’s “Forever War”
NewsAfghanistan war veteran Nick Beadleston, 33, who lives in Traverse City today, recalls a suicide bombing and the carnage he witnessed during his tour in Kabul, and reflects on why we in the United States must help Afghan war refugees today.
Glen Arbor Arts Center features artist-in-residence presentations
NewsSince the 1990s, the Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC) has welcomed visiting artists who want to immerse themselves in their work. The GAAC’s Suzanne Wilson Artist-in-Residence program offers up to seven, creative practitioners a two-week respite from their daily lives in order to focus on a new idea that needs space and time to develop, to an on-going project that might be nearing conclusion.
Beating cancer: “Taking the old you into the new you”
NewsOn Aug. 22, 2018, Livonia, Mich., resident Sara Ianitelli visited Sleeping Bear Dunes for a girls’ hiking excursion. She and a cousin walked the Empire Bluff trail and paused for a yoga pose with a mesmerizing view of Lake Michigan below.
Honoring our essential workers on Labor Day weekend
NewsMaggie Maclellan (above) has been working at Art’s Tavern in Glen Arbor for 14 years (except for the winters when she left). An Empire local, Maggie has worked as a bartender, waitress, and hostess at Art’s, and this year she worked 70 hours during the Fourth of July week. “Generally I work 50 hours a week, and that’s not bad. That’s typical.” This summer Art’s has been short “maybe 20 people,” Maggie says. Usually we employ 60-70 through the summer; this year it’s around 40 or 50,” says Maggie as summer winds down: “I would like some time off. I’m gonna go camping one night, just by myself.”
Leelanau Historical Society hosts virtual program on Grayling fish
NewsThe Leelanau Historical Society will host a virtual program on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. featuring a presentation by Nicole M. Watson on the history of the Grayling fish in Michigan, current Grayling research, and potential management implications of the preliminary findings.
Back to school special: Enerdyne’s nature and science oasis
NewsMore than 40 years ago, Enerdyne, an extraordinary science-nature oriented shop, opened in the village of Suttons Bay. Its proprietors are Professor Dick Cookman and his wife, Pat Cookman. “Science and nature delights for the creative and curious humans of all ages,” is their motto. The Cookmans have lived by that credence in both providing products that make learning fun for all who enter this unique and enterprising place. It is a treasure trove cornucopia for all.