Leelanau.com Blog
leelanau county news • traverse city news • michigan news

The Leland Educational Foundation presents Alisha Glass, tonight, Thursday, March 3, as she presents "Setting in Pursuit of a Dream" the journey of fulfilling her aspirations beginning as a Leelanau youth to her current position on the US Women's National Volleyball team. Enjoy as she shares how her leadership skills, commitment and innate attributes have led to the vigorous evolution of a youth athlete with nontraditional experience to obtaining a highly awarded collegiate career.

Tickets are $10 at the door or in advance from LPS Office, Pedaling Beans Coffeeshop or The Front Porch.
Student Admission- $5 or $4 in advance, Family Admission- $25

Post your comments about the week's news, observations of the weather or the natural world or events below! You'll also want to check out the Leelanau Calendar and the latest news and features from Leelanau, Traverse City and the surrounding area in our blog! Here's the February 2009 and March 2009 archive, and Leelanau Almanac Week of February 18 - 24.

Photo: Esch Rd Beach View by ETCphoto

Looking for some luck of the Irish? Head to the The Lucky Leprechaun Ball, and help support the Father Fred Foundation. This week, we were proud to report that Two Michigan Beers were voted by the NY Times as top Belgian style brews. We also featured a story about Dick Kerr, and his memoirs of the newspaper business. Lastly, we featured an amazing time lapse video by Ken Scott: A small Tribute to Ananda Bricker.

Week's Weather

March 9: Mostly sunny & 41 (55/26)
March 8: Sunny & 40 (54/25)
March 7: Mostly sunny & 48 (48/25)
March 6: Sunny & 45 (45/14)
March 5: Sunny & 37 (37/8)
March 4: Partly cloudy & 35 (35/11

Post your comments about the week's news, observations of the weather or the natural world or events below! You'll also want to check out the Leelanau Calendar and the latest news and features from Leelanau, Traverse City and the surrounding area in our blog! Here's the March 2009 archive, and Leelanau Almanac Week of February 25 – March 3.

Photo credit: Fall Scene Northport MI by Cheryl Parker Photography
I know this photo takes us back a few months, but have been trying to convince my friend, Cheryl, to post her picture to the leelanau (dot com) flickr pool. Since she finally did, thought that I would use one of her photos. Thank you, Cheryl!

Ken's words about Ananda from his flickr page:

... a very special person in the Glen Arbor art community and beyond . . .

and an inspiring person to me

obit is here.

... I've been asked a few times now about this piece and Ananda, so thought I'd
expand on that and how it pertains to this piece . . .

Ananda started the local art group and I joined when I first moved up to this region and knew nothing about 'art' let alone selling it!
... her family was one of the original investors in my first book that helped launch my regional career.
I've always thought highly of her, her husband and kids ... all creative types.
Ananda lived right across from the dune.
I was out Thursday night shooting this piece, not knowing why ...
hours of waiting while the images gathered and my thoughts were going in
their direction since they were across the way ...
I didn't know that she had passed ...
The next day I was driven to edit the piece, but didn't know why, I've learned
to go with my instincts and just kept at it ... got to a point I needed a
break and I went in to sit with the cats, have a cup of coffee and read the
local paper that had been sitting there since Wednesday ...
I opened the first page and it was the obit page, there she was and then it hit me ...
the energy behind the piece . . .
I did a quick re-edit to make it hers just in time to make the gather at their
house that aft and gave a copy to her husband who is a whole other story ...
amazing guy .. .. ..

Currently it is 45 degrees and mostly cloudy at 9:27 AM at Leelanau Coffee Roasting in Glen Arbor. The barometer is at 29.75 inches and falling with a relative humidity of 62%.   Cloudy today with a chance of showers and highs in the upper 40s.  Chance of rain both Thursday and Friday with highs in the 40s.

Photo: Fall Scene Northport MI by Cheryl Parker Photography

Coming Events

Movie Series at Northport Community Arts Center ( March 14, April 11)

Check the Leelanau Calendar !  You can add your events to the calendar for FREE! Not only will they be distributed with our weekly newsletter, but they may be a featured story on leelanau.com!

Week's Weather
March 9: Mostly sunny & 41 (55/26)
March 8: Sunny & 40 (54/25)
March 7: Mostly sunny & 48 (48/25)
March 6: Sunny & 45 (45/14)
March 5: Sunny & 37 (37/8)
March 4: Partly cloudy & 35 (35/11)

Looking back, comments, etc.

Click for the Leelanau News Archive from January 2009 and post your comments about the week (news, weather, whatever) on the Leelanau Almanac Week of February 25 - March 3.

Weather Resources

Weather Underground is just about as old as the internet (the first net weather service) and is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Sometimes the above banner will show personal weather system data from Leland, sometimes from Leelanau Coffee and sometimes it comes from a vineyard on Old Mission (it tells you which in the top left of the page it links to).

Bouy 45002 in Lake Michigan is located halfway between North Manitou Island and Washington Island in Lake Michigan. It provides wind and wave data. Also check out Michigan Sea Grant Coastwatch for water temps (the "early evening" images in their archive will give you a better idea of actual temps during peaks swimming hours ... in seasons where you might actually want to swim!).

There is a good chance you might catch sight of a lucky leprechaun on Sunday, March 14 at Kilkenny’s Irish Public House located at 400 West Front Street in Traverse City. The Lucky Leprechaun Ball, sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, features music, dancing and singing to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. This year, the event will also benefit The Father Fred Foundation.

“We are so fortunate to have the Ancient Order of the Hibernians supporting us through their Lucky Leprechaun Ball,” said Martie Manty, Executive Director of The Father Fred Foundation. “Because we do not accept any federal or state funding, community events like these are crucial in helping us provide food, clothing and financial assistance to our neighbors in crisis.”

Doors open at 5:00 p.m. for an evening full of fun events and live music by Song of the Lakes. Hopefuls of all ages are encouraged to join in the Danny Boy singing contest. This may be a step on your way to American Idol! An Irish Trivia Contest will be followed by the Couch Potato Auction, and an evening of music from The Wild Sullys is on the auction block for the House Concert Auction. The winning bidder will enjoy an hour of great entertainment at their place of business or residence.

“The Lucky Leprechaun Ball is designed to be very family-friendly; it’s smoke free and we’re offing a kid’s menu with items under $5. Admission is $10 for adults; free for kids under 16,” said Mike Sullivan, event organizer.

Tickets are available at Nolan’s Tobacco Shop, The Father Fred Foundation, NorthPeak, Kilkenney’s or at the door.

For those unable to attend this event, a secure donation can be made online at fatherfred.org, or mailed to The Father Fred Foundation, P.O. Box 2260, Traverse City, MI 49685-2260.

The Father Fred Foundation is a non-denominational charity providing food, clothing, household goods and financial assistance to families and individuals in crisis who live in the five county Grand Traverse region. Visit www.fatherfred.org or call (231) 947-2055 for more information.

Dick Kerr, longtime owner and publisher of the Leelanau Enterprise, was known for this fiery editorials, which often targeted public officials. Kerr has turned his recollections and stories into a book, "Of Cabbages and Kings."

He transformed a traditional but rather sleepy weekly newspaper into a true source of local news, reports theRecord Eagle in a February 27 article.

Readers loved it. Most local officials didn't mind the scrutiny, and even appreciated the coverage.
But some hated it, particularly if they were on the wrong end of one of Kerr's sharp edits. A handful of Leelanau powerbrokers complained long and loud about Kerr and the Enterprise. They verbally attacked newspaper staffers in public settings, pulled advertising, and urged others to do the same. It wasn't unlike what the Record-Eagle went through a few years ago when a Grand Traverse County string-puller campaigned against us to our then-corporate board, an effort designed to scare the paper away from doing its job.

Another article in the Grand Traverse Insider says about Of Cabbages and Kings,"

Kerr’s memoir is filled with the excitement of meeting important personages and celebrities of the day, both in Leelanau County and in his two decades as a journalist in the Ypsilanti area. “Being in on” area happenings, and reporting on the events and people that shaped the character of the areas he served have made for an exciting career. But most of all, Kerr cites his having made friends with “many, many fine, great people” as that which has brought him the most satisfaction.

Copies of Dick Kerr’s memoir, “Of Cabbages and Kings,” are available for purchase at The Business Helper and Known Books in Suttons Bay, Leelanau Books in Leland, and the Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor.

Photo credit: Dick Kerr by Kristine Morris of the Grand Traverse Insider

When the New York Times decided to "draw a stylistic standard for a planned tasting of Belgian golden ales," they knew that they would find diversity, but didn't realize some of the beers would be so good that they wouldn't conform to their parameters.

We had beers that tasted of spices, like coriander and cloves, and those that tasted like fruit. Some were aged in oak barrels. One beer resembled the most exotic sort of lambic, a type of beer that is brewed using wild yeasts rather than those selected by brewers to produce predictable results. It had a sour funkiness that is a taste well worth acquiring. Another was so bitterly hoppy and dry that the beer seemed to have the texture of cotton, which was actually not unpleasant.

The lambic beer that they were referring to was Leelanau Brewing's Good Harbor Golden Ale, which they chose that the the # 4 beer of their top 10. Michigan's Jolly Pumpkin took top honors for the Belgian beer contest. Behind the taste of both of these beers is Ron Jefferies, who is the founder of Jolly Pumpkin, and partners with Leelanau Brewing's Charles Penska.

MyNorth.com caught up with Penska for a little scoop on his "funky" brew.

It is a beer that was designed to drink on the beach at sunset. Its distinction is its sour notes, which are all naturally occurring. We also age all of our beers in French Oak. The truth is, however, we’re just lucky to have Ron brewing our beer. His work literally changed my life, and I think he’ll go down in history as one of America’s greatest brew masters.

With Valentines Day behind us, and spring yet to sprung, events around the area are at a lull. We did feature Futsal 4 Haiti, which was an indoor soccer game that benefited Haiti. Speaking of events, our calendar is looking a look slim. Remember that you can list your events for free at www.leelanau.com/calendar! Your events will not only be listed on our site, but will go out in our weekly newsletter. This calendar is also the first place we go, to find events to feature.
We did feature some interesting stories from the area. Bruce and Deb West welcomed us to the Sugar Shack! We also looked back in time with Leelanau History: The Leelanau School and the short video, Roaming Through Michigan c. 1949. On Photo Friday, we featured Omena Point Berries by Trish Petrat.

Week's Weather

Mar 3: Mostly sunny & 24 (35/12)
Mar 2: Mostly sunny & 26 (35/12)
Mar 1: Partly cloudy & 32 (32/24)
Feb 28: Snow & 34 (34/30)
Feb 27: Snow & 34 (34/27)
Feb 26: Snow & 25 (30/25)
Feb 25: Overcast & 25 (25/17)

Post your comments about the week's news, observations of the weather or the natural world or events below! You'll also want to check out the Leelanau Calendar and the latest news and features from Leelanau, Traverse City and the surrounding area in our blog! Here's the February 2009 and March 2009 archive, and Leelanau Almanac Week of February 18 - 24.

Photo: Beach chairs waiting for summer by dancingfrogz
I had to use this photo, because today I feel like the beach chairs...waiting for summer!

Sit back and enjoy this short tourism documentary on Northern Michigan c. 1949. The film was part of James A. Fitzpatrick's "TravelTalks" series. Includes footage of Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, Mackinac Island, Traverse City, and other places.