Friends of Leelanau Township Library in Northport announce their final evening in the Writers’ Series Tuesday, July 28, at 7 pm. Just in time for the cherry harvest, Lansing author Robert ‘Carlos’ Fuentes will discuss his recent book, The Vacation: A Teenage Migrant Farmworker’s Experience Picking Cherries in Michigan.
Every year for the past decade, Jose Abel has traveled more than 2,000 miles from the region of Durango in Mexico to tend to the grapes of Northern Michigan’s famed vineyards. The money the 30-year old earns during the nine months that he spends in Michigan allows him—and thousands of other Mexican workers in our state—to have dreams back home. Now, however, the U.S. federal government has lowered the minimum wage—by as much as $4.50 an hour, or 25 percent, in Michigan—for the exploding number of workers who are here on H-2A visas, like Abel. The decision comes after a couple of years of outcry from some farmers that the cost of labor, transportation, and housing for H-2A workers had become untenable, and that, without locals willing to do the job, small farms would not be able to afford the cost of the harvest season.
Here’s an excerpt from Robert “Carlos” Fuentes’ self-published book, “The Vacation: a Teenage Migrant Farmworker’s Experience Picking Cherries in Michigan”—a coming-of-age story that intertwines the bonds of family and friends, emphasizes the importance of heritage, captures the sweetness of first love, and showcases the quiet dignity of hard work. According to Rubén O. Martinez, professor emeritis at Michigan State University’s Julia Samora Research Institute, Fuentes’ story, which is set in 1969 not long before the introduction of the mechanized cherry shaker, “provides a window to family, religion, race relations, and short-term community life among migrant farm working families through the experiences of an adolescent boy who is coming of age in a migrant camp and the orchards of cherry growers.” Fuentes’ book “The Vacation” is available at Leelanau County bookstores.
High school graduations typically celebrate the students. But a special ceremony held by Northwest Education Services (NES) at Creekside School in the Grand Traverse Commons on June 21 honored not just local migrant farmworker graduates but also their hardworking families. A page on the foldout printed program declared ¡Sí se pudo! “Yes they could” with a silhouette of graduates in caps and gowns tossing their tassels overlaying a scene of an apple orchard. Ellos creyeron que podían, así que lo hicieron. “They believed they could, and they did it.” “The motivation for holding a separate celebration was to celebrate the parents as well,” said NES bilingual parent liaison Beatriz Moreno. “Parents go through great struggles and sacrifices to help lead their children to graduation. Many of our parents did not get an education or had limited schooling. This is a thank you to our parents for helping get to graduation.” This was the first year the migrant graduation ceremony was held since 1997, when Moreno, herself, graduated from Leland.
The Old Art Building in Leland will present a retrospective exhibit showcasing the artwork of former students and instructors who took part in a 50-year summer program established in 1939 Leland by Michigan State University (MSU). “A Summer Romance: MSU Finds Leland,” will open May 12-18.
Are you hearing a gurgling sound from the toilet? Is the tub or sink surprisingly slow to drain? Or, even worse, is there a patch of constantly wet and stinky grass in your yard? Those are all signs that something might be wrong with your home or cottage septic system.
Perhaps you were listening to Michigan Public Radio’s “Stateside” last winter, when an expert from Michigan State University (MSU) weighed in on the day’s topic — music education. That voice may have sounded familiar, especially to Empire residents. It belonged to Cynthia Taggart, Ph.D., who is world-renowned on the subject. Taggart also owns the Secret Garden gift shop, a place to find one-of-a-kind artisan items in Empire.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host its annual pruning workshop on Friday, May 3, in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District. The workshop will be held at the Dechow farmstead in the Port Oneida Rural Historic District, four miles north of Glen Arbor on M-22 across from Port Oneida Road. Directional signs will be placed to help participants to the location.
According to a study released at last week’s Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism, Michigan hosted a record 3.2 million out-of-state visitors who spent $1 billion here last year. The state expects a 6 percent increase in tourism this year and is reaching out to farther-flung visitors.
Scientific discoveries in nuclear science, practical tips in astronomy, and the importance of Dark Sky Parks and outdoor lighting will be discussed during the Traverse Astronomy, Philosophy and Energy (TAPE) forum at 7 p.m., June 7, at Northwestern Michigan College’s Milliken Auditorium.