Life, liberty, beaches and pie—for our foreign-born workers, for us all

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July 4 has always been my favorite holiday since I was a young child running around Glen Arbor in the 1970s. I felt such pride being an American. Recently, our chef at the Cherry Public House told me that he saw a border patrol agent driving down M-22. He was miffed that they were patrolling Leelanau—200 miles from a border that happens to be the safest in the world. It is nerve-wracking for our foreign and local workers at Cherry Republic because we are a team and family and we don’t want to be broken up any more than the hard-working families we’ve seen on television torn apart in pools of tears these last six months. Cherry Republic is hosting a refugee family from Central America. The father has taken on the difficult job of stirring our four giant scalding jam and salsa kettles in our Empire plant. Unfortunately, because of the legal wrangling going on between the courts and The White House, our Central American refugees can no longer work. The pot stirrer in Washington shutting down the pot stirrer in Empire.

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Glen Lake Woman’s Club holds July 4 flag raising at Old Settlers Park

Join community members of all ages in celebrating the founding of our nation in a joyous and patriotic ceremony at 10 am, July 4, at Old Settlers Picnic Grounds on the western shore of Big Glen Lake. The traditional raising of the flag by the Glen Lake Fire Department will be led by Chief Bryan Ferguson and will be followed by a singalong of well-loved and familiar patriotic songs.

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Keeping tradition: Ricker’s black Cadillac leads Glen Arbor Fourth of July Parade

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Ed Ricker has driven the grand marshal in Glen Arbor’s Fourth of July parade in his iconic 1976 black Cadillac for decades. This year, Glen Arbor Township has bestowed the honor of grand marshal on Ricker, himself. The owner of Glen Lodge, pride of Miami University (Ohio) and longtime fixture at Art’s Tavern, passed away under tragic circumstances last November. Ricker was 95. Former Art’s owner Tim Barr will drive the Cadillac; Ricker’s daughter, Glen Lake Chamber president Darci will ride next to him.

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Celebrating songs of Leelanau: Ingemar Johansson’s Pearl of America

Our story series celebrating songs inspired by Leelanau County and the Sleeping Bear Dunes continues with “Pearl of America,” written by Ingemar Johansson of the band Song of the Lakes. For many, the song “Pearl of America” encapsulates the serene beauty and profound connection to northern Michigan’s stunning landscape. But for its creator, Johansson, the journey to this musical ode was a personal odyssey that began across the Atlantic. Song of the Lakes perform every Wednesday during July and August at the Manitou Tallship in Traverse City West Bay for the sunset cruise.

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Yoga cultivates connection and strengthens community

Yoga is a popular pursuit these days. Once perceived as an obscure or esoteric practice, the millennia-old science of yoga has become mainstream in our Western world. Here in northern Michigan, we enjoy a vast array of yoga and meditation offerings to serve various interests and lifestyles. There are daily fitness-style yoga classes at luxury studios, and weekly free community yoga sessions in local churches and halls. Traditional practices focused on breath and energy provide a quiet contrast to modern flows with music and dance mixed in. Summer brings yoga outdoors with seasonal classes at wineries, meditation along a river, and yoga in the park or on the beach. The traditionally Indian practice of yoga is now valued by people from all walks of life for its physical, mental, and communal experience.

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Police raid Twin Flames Universe home: Michigan AG announces investigation

Shortly after 11 am this morning, federal, state and local law enforcement officers raided the Leelanau County home of Jeff and Shaleia Divine, leaders of the Twin Flames Universe organization, which critics and multiple documentaries have described as a cult that manipulates its online followers. A neighbor observed a police officer carrying out a box of papers from their residence near Suttons Bay. Early in the afternoon, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a press release that announced an ongoing investigation into the Twin Flames Universe as well as a second raid against people associated with the coercive group. According to Nessel’s office, the search warrants were carried out by special agents from the Department of Attorney General, along with the U.S. Department of Labor—Office of Inspector General, and law enforcement officers from Michigan State Police, the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office and the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office.

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Glen Arbor Arts Center presents Youth Plein Air month in July

Throughout July, the Glen Arbor Arts Center’s new Youth Plein Air Month will invite children ages 6–12 to step outside, paint in the open air, and capture the signature landscapes and buildings of Leelanau County. “Youth Plein Air Month is intended to nurture confidence and creativity by taking art making outside the classroom,” said Scott Bouma, executive director of GAAC.

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Jolli-Lodge: “The Inspirational Retreat”

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Not all resorts can claim a connection to a world-renowned, award-winning poet and novelist, but the Leelanau Peninsula resort Jolli-Lodge can. Rebecca G. Carlson features the Jolli-Lodge in her third story in our series on the history of Leelanau County resorts and getaways. Jolli-Lodge is that unexpected surprise at the end of the path. As guests and visitors drive through the gently, rolling hills of the 16-acre property, the most amazing view appears when driving to the main lodge.  Built in 1924, the classic white and green shuttered lodge sits against the sweeping jewel-tones of Lake Michigan. Standing along the 700-frontage feet of shore, the visitor is offered miles of sandy beach along with deceptively close views of both North and South Manitou Islands. It’s breathtaking.

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Oak tree

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As I take in news reports about ICE raids and fearful immigrants in my community and around the country, I wonder how many of us know our own family immigration histories, writes Linda Engelhard. My father was firmly committed to family and shared with us what he knew of their journeys. He was the son of new immigrants, born in the now famous Springfield, Ohio, 98 years ago. At that time, his mother was miserable. She spoke only Dutch and had no one to talk with except my grandfather, the man who had convinced her to cross the Atlantic in the belly of a ship. She gave him a choice: buy her passage back to the Netherlands or move to Michigan near other Dutch immigrants.

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Protecting paradise since 2013: Leelanau County’s Sheriff Mike Borkovich

The very mention of the name “Borkovich” in the region always seems to get a strong reaction, one way or the other, writes author Tim Mulherin in this excerpt from his book “This Magnetic North: Candid Conversations on a Changing Northern Michigan,” which is currently available at local bookstores. “When I told several of my more liberal acquaintances that I would be meeting with the Leelanau County sheriff as part of my research, they greeted the news dismissively, eyes rolling, heads shaking from side to side. Yet my more conservative friends commended me for reaching out to the county’s chief law enforcement officer, collectively giving him plaudits. With such extreme polarities being openly shared, I was eager to meet the man responsible for ‘protecting paradise’. Indeed, Sheriff Mike Borkovich did not disappoint.”

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