Maple City

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Habitat for Humanity Leelanau County celebrates 30 years

This is the 30th anniversary of the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. Help revitalize Habitat in Leelanau County by coming to St. Rita’s Rectory in Maple City, 6:30 PM, Wednesday, April 27. Habitat is an ecumenical Christian Housing Ministry that works with all people of goodwill to build and repairs decent homes in a partnership between people in need and those with the time, treasure and talents to help. We will plan renovations for 2016 and home construction in 2017. Refreshments will be served. Contact John at 231-228-6603 or john.oneill31@yahoo.com for more info or if you’d like to volunteer but can’t attend.

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Andria Metrakos of Red Gate Farm lives the life she imagines

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For farmer Andria Metrakos, the more holistic, satisfying life she began to imagine while working in Detroit’s auto industry has come to fruition at her Red Gate Farm, which occupies a verdant swath of land on Burdickville Rd about a mile west of Myles Kimmerly Park.

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Making a day of it in Cedar and Maple City

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Thousands of visitors flock to Leelanau County each year, many of them attracted by big draws such as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. But while nothing compares to the delight of bounding down the Dune Climb after a sweaty trek uphill, or taking in the pristine view of the Manitou Islands from a sugar sand beach, there are plenty of lesser-known places in the county to have fun, too. Two of these places are sister communities Maple City and Cedar.

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A place called home: Paths to affordable ownership in Leelanau

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Leelanau County has long been known as “the land of delight,” but for many of its people, the terrain leading to a place called home appears more difficult. For at least the past 25 years, homes and land have been bought and sold dearly, but a confluence of circumstances has brought the issue of affordable housing to a crisis state today. These include the start of the Great Recession in 2008, a severe tightening of lending practices, a lack of permanent, full-time jobs in a growing tourism and service region, and the refusal of government and some community leaders to recognize and act on long-term solutions to the county’s housing challenges.

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Pegtown Station, a community gathering spot

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By Linda Beaty Sun contributor At least 15 minutes before Pegtown Station restaurant in Maple City opens for breakfast, cars are already pulling into the small parking lot in front. In large part, that’s because Pegtown, owned by Maple City residents Dave and Mary MacDonald for almost 10 years now, serves up some of the […]

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A place called home: Leelanau’s need for affordable housing

Affordable housing in Leelanau County is in short supply. That isn’t actually burning news. It wasn’t even news in 1995, when I became an Americorps worker whose mission was to help start a five-county housing nonprofit organization called HomeStretch. What makes it relevant, even urgent, today is that housing in the county—for workers with college degrees, skills and good jobs, families, people with low incomes, seniors, young adults—is evaporating more quickly than the water levels on Lake Michigan. When the basic needs of a community aren’t met—whether through a confluence of circumstances, lack of initiative, an adverse business climate, or refusal by its members to take action—then the whole community suffers.

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Maple City holds fundraiser for Kayla Tondreau

From staff reports There will be a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser on Saturday, Dec. 14, for Kayla Tondreau. The event will run from 3-8 p.m. at St. Rita/St. Joseph Hall in Maple City. The event will feature an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner complete with salad and dessert, a silent auction (a great way to finish your Christmas […]

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Center Gallery hosts Joe Stewart, Carol Spaulding

Ohio artist Joe Stewart’s love of Leelanau goes public in an exhibition of new work, “Painting the Leelanau Peninsula.” This show opens with a reception on July 26 at 6 p.m. at Center Gallery, 6023 S. Lake St. in Glen Arbor. Maple City artist Carol Spaulding’s “Garden Palette” will color Center Gallery at Lake Street Studios next. The exhibition of floral still lifes opens Aug. 2 with a 6 p.m. reception.

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Maple City artist wins Cherry Festival poster honor

Naturally shy about promoting her own work, acrylic artist Michelle Hart Jahraus eventually came to the realization that if you want to make waves other than in a painting, you must put your art “out there.” The Maple City resident, and owner of Duck to Swan Gallery in Cedar, entered her 22” x 22” original canvas, “Cherry Orchard Reflections,” in the Adult Fine Art division of the 2013 National Cherry Festival poster competition and won, from a field of more than 100 entries.

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Equine-imity reigns at Blue Oxer Farm and Riding Academy

In its bucolic setting about two miles west of Maple City, the Blue Oxer Farm and Riding Academy offers a variety of horse training, rider instruction for both children and adults, boarding and sales. Set on the 120-acre Cold Spring Farm, owned by Alton and Kathy Smith of Raleigh, NC, Blue Oxer was established in 2008 — the dream come true for horse lover, competitor, trainer, instructor and owner Emily King Brinkman.

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