Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice, and longtime Glen Arbor resident Elizabeth “Betty” Weaver has passed on. She was 74. Weaver served on the Supreme Court for nearly 16 years, from 1994 until 2010, and was Chief Justice from 1999 until 2001. Weaver was an adored and respected member of the Glen Arbor community. She lived on the banks of the Crystal River, just east of town.
Stand close by the banks of the Crystal River and try to convince me that it was not put down millennia ago by an alchemist, some ancient madman who melted down tons of goblets, and made them into something liquid and cold, and somehow managed to transform them into this lovely river. I prefer myth to science most of the time, and know full well the glacial forces which shaped Michigan and laid down the bed of the Crystal.
What I did on my summer vacation: the age old cliché, the assignment for school children that both children and teachers dread, in part because it’s so often boring—both for reader and writer. Why is that? Or why is it that when we look at the hundreds of iPhone photos we took of the Sleeping Bear Dune Climb, we never get the rush of flying down the sand. What happened to that feeling of bubbling laughter when Uncle Jack fell through the inner tube into the Crystal River? We think, for example, we can keep the Leelanau County wine tasting alive with pictures alone, but even though pictures recall the image and some association, they don’t recall the narrative, the story of the moment. That’s the limitation of pictures, glorious as they are. So we need words too. We tell the story of the picture, sometimes ad nauseum, to our neighbors back home, but even that, over time, loses its power. That is, until the senses get involved.
The scenic putt-putt golf course and play area on Oak Street in Glen Arbor is open once again. Gone is The River at Crystal Bend, and taking its place after a quiet 2013 is Dale’s Glen Arbor. The venue is named after the late Dale Sutherland, a principle at Glen Lake School, pillar of the community, husband of Mary, and father of Bob (Cherry Republic), Matt (Foreword Reviews magazine, The Box in Traverse City), Tim (local tennis guru), Mike (now The River Traverse City) and Paul (Financial & Investment Management Group). Dale’s, which is now owned by Paul, will specialize in putt-putt golf, Crystal River tube rentals and Moomers ice cream.
The biological control of the widespread zebra and quagga mussel infestation in inland lakes will be the focus of a four-part seminar, “Water Issues For All of Us” to be held on Thursday, June 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Leelanau County Government Center, 8527 E. Government Center Drive, in Suttons Bay.
The pristine water quality of Big and Little Glen Lakes along with the protected shorelines, natural hillsides, turquoise water, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore being the largest riparian on the lake, it is hard to find a more unique and beautiful lake in the country. Furthermore, this national treasure should be protected so as to keep it in a natural and pristine condition, now and for future generations.
When the US Army Corps of Engineers measured Lake Michigan and Lake Huron water levels at the end of December, they discovered that the depth had receded to 576.15 feet above sea level — breaking the record for the previous all-time-low of 576.2 feet set in 1964. That’s not a record to celebrate. Numbers are complex and difficult to comprehend. But beaches along Sleeping Bear Bay offered more clarity, and sobering clarity at that. The shoreline has receded substantially from previous years, leaving behind a hard, rocky surface in places, and prompting widespread alarm.
Katy and Matt Wiesen, owners of Crystal River Outfitters, the Cyclery and the M-22 Store in Glen Arbor were named among the region’s 40 most influential people under age 40. The honorees were treated to an exclusive fete hosted by Northwestern Michigan College inside its Dennos Museum Center, as reported this morning by the Ticker.
“What’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen with this telescope?” asks a visitor to the Leelanau School’s Lanphier Observatory. My stock answer is another question: “You mean in the sky, or on the beach?”
The Leelanau School, a non-profit, college preparatory boarding and day school in Glen Arbor is holding its first-ever Rock the River! fundraiser, rain or shine, Friday, June 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. The show features Grand Rapids based GRUPO AYE`, a first rate, 11-piece Cuban salsa band led by Robert Mulligan, a 1983 graduate of The Leelanau School.