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All work done well deserves our utmost respect

In 1974, an important book about an obvious yet quite overlooked subject was published: Studs Terkel’s “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.” An NPR piece on September 6, 2004, called it “the quintessential book about Labor Day.” Terkel, the renowned Chicago radio broadcaster, interviewed more than 130 “ordinary men and women about their jobs,” NPR reporter Susan Stamberg said. Thanks to Terkel’s deft interviewing and storytelling, the ordinary turned out to be extraordinary. Indeed, people often don’t realize how interesting their work is to others, no matter how mundane it might appear to be at first glance. At the time Tim Mulherin read Working, back in the mid-eighties while working full time on an English degree in nonfiction writing, he was a bar manager in Indianapolis. He had also remarried and had two small children. Indeed, he had a visceral understanding of what working was all about.

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Hit me with your best shot: the underrated value of one good pic

When I pulled into the Alligator Hill Trail parking lot, it was just me, writes Tim Mulherin. Then the heart-rousing ascent did the trick. When I arrived at the Islands Lookout’s panoramic northern view of the Manitou Passage about 30 minutes later, I ignored the impulse to immediately pull out my iPhone and begin snapping photos. Instead, I just looked. And looked. Then I sat down on the bench and looked some more, imprinting the breathtaking scene for future reference. There would most always be an iPhone in my pocket whenever I felt the need to point and shoot. This moment of my being there, however, would not repeat itself. So, for a change, I wanted to be fully present, not somewhat removed by staring through my smartphone screen’s viewfinder. More participant, less observer.

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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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Cottage Book Shop celebrates 40 years with author signing

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The Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor, which Jenny Puvogel acquired last year, will celebrate its 40th birthday with an author signing on Saturday, June 28, from 5-7 pm. “We will have several local authors signing books under the tent outside—some new books, some older books­—and some light refreshments,” said Puvogel. The author lineup includes: Sue Boucher (Sleeping Bear Dunes Day), M Christine Byron (Perfect Omena Day), Bryan Gruley (Bitter Frost), Mark Lindsay (The Soul of Sleeping Bear), Tim Mulherin (This Magnetic North), Steve Reddicliffe (The New York Times Essential Book of Cocktails), Kit Robey (The Sleeping Bear Wakes Up), Barbara Siepker (Historic Cottages of Glen Lake) and more.

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The captain and me: a West Bay fishery perspective

“I met Sam Worden, owner of Showtime Xtreme Charter, in 2019 when I booked his charter out of Grand Traverse West Bay. For years, I wanted to try charter fishing. However, my go-to Up North fishing buddy always talked me out of it, saying there’s no guaranteed catch (understood, after a lifetime of fishing), the weather could be questionable since you must schedule ahead of time (again, understood, that’s fishing), and that it’s expensive (what isn’t; and if it’s worthwhile, who cares). But, despite the well-intended warnings, I decided now that I was in my 60s, I wouldn’t deny myself the experience any longer,” writes Tim Mulherin in this excerpt from his book “This Magnetic North: Candid Conversations on a Changing Northern Michigan,” published by Michigan State University Press and available now at local bookstores.

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Bear crazy: DNR study seeks answers to human-bear conflict

With so many reports of bear sightings in northern Michigan—the Michigan Department of Natural Resources estimates there are 2,000 black bears living here, with more than 10,000 in the Upper Peninsula—author Tim Mulherin selected the black bear as a subject of interest as part of his research for a book on Michigan’s wildlife. The Empire “sugar bear” made headlines when it broke into Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate this past April; in our May edition of we examined how humans struggle to coexist with black bears as our encroachment upon their habitat continues. Last spring, the DNR connected Mulherin with researchers from Utah State University, who are conducting a study called the Baldwin Bear Project. The project “aims to understand the ecology and human dimensions of black bears in Michigan,” with an emphasis on examining the growing population here.

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“Packed” beaches? A curmudgeon comes around

One Friday afternoon last July, Tim Mulherin’s wife, Janet, suggested they go down to Good Harbor Bay Beach CR 651 (Good Harbor Trail) for a few blissful hours of relaxation. That favorite Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore location is conveniently located about two miles from our home in Cedar. Janet had the right idea: It was a glorious northern Michigan summer day, the kind that makes you want to drop what you’re doing and report to the nearest Lake Michigan beach. “Sounds good,” Tim said, “with one exception: It’s July and the beach will be packed.” Mulherin, a self-described curmudgeon, writes here about accepting “packed beaches” at the height of summer.

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Opening day: the cabin kind

As family tradition dictates, my youngest brother, Chris, and I drove from Indianapolis to the cabin my wife and I have owned in Cedar for the past 15 years for the trout opener on the last Saturday in April, writes author Tim Mulherin. And as usual, we spent some long-anticipated quality time on a picturesque stream in northern Michigan. I knew it would be a great outing; we even managed to catch some nice trout. Of course, a few days before we spooled new line on our spinning reels, pulled on our hip waders, and tried our luck, we had to see to another annual ritual: opening our chalet for the season.

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When the one that got away isn’t a fish

Writer Tim Mulherin, who splits his time between Indianapolis and Leelanau County, shares his “big fish” story, when conservation officers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources weighed in his brown trout at 7.8 pounds and rainbow trout at 4.5 pounds.

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Leelanau Fall reads: a rundown of local new books in 2021-22

Now is the time to cozy up by the fire and read a good book. Here’s our roundup of local books, or books written by local authors, that were published in late 2021 and 2022. Please find them at Leelanau County’s locally-owned, independent bookstores

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