Posts

Peter and Cassidy (Edwards) Fisher are exceptions to the Michigan brain drain. Natives of Glen Arbor and bearing last names that are part of the town’s fabric, they forsook the East Coast and returned five years ago to make Leelanau their home.

Gov. Rick Snyder today directed the Michigan State Police to amend a recent disaster declaration for Grand Traverse County to include Leelanau County after severe thunderstorms caused widespread damage in both counties on Aug. 2.

It was a hundred-years storm. Thin trees snapped like matchsticks; thick ones toppled, one atop another, like felled soldiers. The storm’s straight-wind blast left houses with gaping holes, thousands of residents with no power for days, a Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore that is, said one official, unrecognizable, and a cleanup that could take years. Mission Point Press, a Traverse City publisher, will soon release a book chronicling the historic event of Sunday afternoon, August 2.

Add “sticky mat” to your haul-to-Lake Michigan list. Yoga on the Beach is coming to Glen Haven, Aug. 13, at 8 p.m. near the cannery. “I really like bringing yoga to places where people wouldn’t normally do it,” said Amy Hubbell, Leelanau County yoga teacher and one of this event’s organizers. “Yoga on the beach is a unique way to get out and enjoy nature as you tap into health and well being.”

Albert Einstein once wrote, “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.” He said it was fodder for everything from great scientific discovery to art. In the greater Grand Traverse region, such mysteries are unearthed in old articles, uprooted by the farmer’s plow, and some hidden away for protection. Each reveals something about the people who once lived here, whether the prehistoric native peoples or early settlers, they tantalize us with the mystique of the unknown.

Blackthorn welcomes you to the rich tapestry of Celtic music, on Thursday, Aug. 6, atop Bay Mountain at The Homestead resort, one mile north of Glen Arbor on M-22.

Many of Glen Arbor’s employers can’t find employees, and if things don’t change, some foresee the area’s economy drying up. Last year, three major Glen Arbor businesses — Cherry Republic (CR), Anderson’s IGA, and Leelanau Vacation Rentals (LVR) — were short an estimated total of 100 summer employees.

The Leelanau Conservancy will hold its annual friends picnic and auction on Thursday, Aug. 6, at the Chippewa Run Natural Area in Empire. The picnic begins at 5 p.m. and features a silent auction, as well as pre-picnic field trips, a kids tent and a special program. A local foods-focused meal will be served, along with local wines. Tickets are $35 for adults until Aug. 3, when the price goes up to $40. Tickets for kids tent children under 12 are just $5.

With Lake Michigan as high as it is right now, 579.6 feet, that means less than one foot of elevation from the water’s edge would require a DEQ permit if a beach owner wanted to “move around” the sand or remove vegetation.

Ever wonder why so few young families live year-round near Glen Arbor? Here’s the story of one couple who tried to live here just last year and couldn’t.