Traverse Northern Michigan, October 2023 by MyNorth

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features

10.23

F O R T H E LO V E O F THE NORDIC A true story of chasing your dreams, redefining failure and success and embracing the enduring magic of movies.

photo by Jordan Anderson

BY JOSEPH BEYER

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DISCOVER MORE ABOUT UP NORTH PEOPLE, PLACES, FOOD AND EVENTS.

C O A S TA L C O LO R TO U R

From hiking for views to harvest-season market hopping, take this unexpectedly delicious autumn road trip along the southern stretch of M-22. BY ALLISON JARRELL AND CARLY SIMPSON PHOTOS BY ALLISON JARRELL

T H E FA C E S O F FA R M -TO -TA B L E

Meet the people taking the movement from lifestyle trend to landscapechanging, economy-boosting community builder. BY DIANE CONNERS / PHOTOS BY BETH PRICE

9/6/23 3:18 PM

DOWNTOWN PETOSKEY

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54 DEPART M E N TS 7 | EDITOR'S NOTE

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At Peace Ranch, a wild mustang helps veterans and families find healing; an Indigenous artist celebrates traditional beadwork; October events for all ages.

54 | LAST CALL

Using apple brandy instead of Cognac breathes new life and an autumn edge into a classic Sidecar.

56 | LOVE OF THE LAND

Take an enchanting stroll around Cadillac’s Stone Ledge Lake.

17 | TRAVEL

A magical treehouse village lets you sleep among the trees during peak fall color.

20 | OUTDOORS

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ON THE COVER A fall color drive north of Arcadia photo by Allison Jarrell

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Traverse

NORTHERN

MICHIGAN A MyNorth Media Publication

Vol. 43 | No. 5

PRESIDENT

Michael Wnek Cara McDonald

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

SENIOR EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR DIGITAL CONTENT & SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST CULINARY COLUMNIST

Elizabeth Edwards Carly Simpson Allison Jarrell Rachel Soulliere Stacey Brugeman

PROOFREADERS

Elizabeth Aseritis Caroline Dahlquist

REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

Kandace Chapple Kim Schneider Lynda Wheatley

ART DIRECTOR

Tim Hussey Theresa Burau-Baehr

WHEN OUR CLIENTS SPEAK, WE LISTEN. It’s a simple but effective way of helping people reach their financial goals - and it’s a way of doing business that Raymond James has pioneered for more than 50 years. Make your voice count. Partner with one of our financial advisors and get guidance that’s in tune with your life. LIFE WELL PLANNED. Jeff K. Pasche, CFA® Senior Vice President, Investments Traverse City Branch Manager Susan G. Carlyon, WMS Senior Vice President, Investments ® Wealth Management Specialist James Spencer, ChFC®, AAMS® Financial Advisor

Stoops, AWMA Jeff K.JimPasche, CFA , CRPC First Vice President, Investments Rachel WatsonSenior Vice President, Investments ® Jennifer Youker, CFP , CRPC® Traverse City Complex Manager Financial Advisor Julie Parker Dennis J. Brodeur Mike Alfaro Ann Gatrell Vice President, Investments Julie James Meg Lau Wealth Management Specialist Erin Lutke Trevis E. Gillow Ashlyn Korienek Vice President, Investments Nichole Earle Wealth Management Specialist Beth Putz Susan Carlyon First Vice President, Investments Wealth Management Specialist Keith Carlyon Senior Vice President, Investments 415 Cass St., Traverse City, MI 49684

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13818 S West13818 Bay Shore Traverse MI 49684 (231) 946-3650 S WestDr Bay• Shore Dr. •City, Traverse City, MI •49684 (231) 946-3650 • www.raymondjames.com/Traverse-City Traverse Northern Michigan, (ISSN10713719) is published monthly by Heritage Broadcasting Company of Michigan, 1 Broadcast Way, Cadillac, MI 49601. Periodicals class postage paid at Traverse City, MI 49684 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Traverse Northern Michigan, 415 Cass St., Traverse City, MI 49684. Advertising rates available upon request. Subscription rate: $39.95 for 12 issues. Single issue price: $6.50. Manuscripts must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. All rights reserved. Copyright 2023, Heritage Broadcasting Company of Michigan. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

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editor's note

recently saw a kitchen towel at a shop in food economy. Translation, here: We move way beyond the Northport that struck a chord. It read: “I wish I farmers market space and think about local food in everycould be the person I thought I could be when I thing, everywhere. How our grocery stores shelve and stock bought all this produce.” I relate. I always come local produce (hint: the freezer section is a thing). How our home with pounds of blueberries from a picking chefs and restaurants knit themselves to regional growers and spree, a half-bushel of apples when all I needed create destination dining by blowing up their menus with was a pie’s worth. Who did I think I was, a hipster whatever’s in season. How our food pantries and nonprofits homesteader? A meal prepper? are getting fresh offerings into A clean-eating whole foodie? the hands of hungry neighbors. With those heaps of fresh fruits How healthy food contributes and veggies, maybe. to individual wellbeing. How In the same way that we inour schools are now serving by CARA MCDONALD stinctually swerve and pull over lunches that come with a crisp to buy boxes of Thin Mints in local apple—a two-way love fest the gray days of early spring, I that fills me with hope just to love the “going, going, gone” of think about it. anything fresh, limited and in Leading the charge on iniseason. When I lived away, I tiatives like these you’ll find our was known to carry peaches friends at Groundwork Center home in my suitcase, each for Resilient Communities— wrapped in a clean sock. Gaina systems-building, nonprofit ing access to seasonal, regional powerhouse that lifts the food is like going from a regular efforts of those shaping our movie to an IMAX theater. It’s local food economy. more real, to the point of overThis month we share an exstimulating. God, the smell of cerpt from their smart new book those strawberries. The juice of Shared Abundance, a beautiful that peach. collection of stories, profiles and It’s easy to immerse in local recipes that’s really a playbook food when it’s in season, in the for creating a strong community moment and in your face. But network supporting local food. soon the markets will end for We’ve also been linking the season, and so too the ritual arms with them in real life on of weekly shopping trips, chats our sister station, 9&10 News, with growers and planning with a biweekly segment called meals based around what’s in “Eat Local.” Here we get toseason. And if we let it, that gether with foodies, farmers, ends our farm-to-table-forchefs and healthcare providers ward way of life until spring to share the hacks, tricks, uses, rolls around again. health benefits and recipes that The movement can have tinges of elitism—an undertone make eating local make sense. (TBH, it’s where I learned of culinary connoisseurship, the ability to pay $6 for a single to nudge closer to my dish towel aspirations. And how to organic heirloom tomato. But that’s not the whole story. store strawberries in a Mason jar. Gamechanger.) View it Eating more locally is also a pretty cool part of community on 9and10news.com on demand or every other Wednesday life. Farm-to-table life can be as radical and transforming as live on 9&10 News’ afternoon show “the four.” it is delicious—keeping family farms intact, inspiring next And may this year’s harvest find you every bit the person gen farmers, creating humane practices for the land, animals, you thought you could be. I’ll be over here making stuff workers, a means of preaching the gospel, as my friend Jeff with the extra apples. Smith says, of the health and benefits of local food. So how do we make farm-to-table more than just a seaCara McDonald sonal thing, a glib catch phrase? Executive Editor I think the answer in part is to look at it holistically, cara@mynorth.com understanding all the elements that comprise a healthy local

photo by Beth Price

EAT LOCAL

OCTOBER 2023

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9/7/23 12:31 AM

Formerly wild Wiingash shows relaxation and trust as she learns her new role at Peace Ranch.

UNBROKEN by ANNA FALLER

Meet Wiingash, a Colorado mustang helping veterans and families heal in Northern Michigan.

photo by Dave Weidner

estled at the quiet base of Hoosier Valley in Blair Township is the sundrenched paradise of Peace Ranch. Founded in 2010, the Traverse City nonprofit offers hands-on therapy services to clients, who work with horses to build emotional skills and process trauma. Its newest resident, a mustang mare named Wiingash, is opening the doors to a new approach to healing: gentling wild horses. Wiingash means “sweetgrass” in Anishinaabemowin and represents the culture’s sacred medicine. She was named by Ojibwe cultural expert and Little River Band member Kenny Pheasant “[because] he felt her healing power was strong,” says Clinical Director Jan Stump. “She’s really something special.” Two-year-old Wiingash arrived in May from Colorado’s Sand Wash Basin. The western U.S. is home to more than 100 Herd Management Areas, which are maintained by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with the object of preserving the health of the range, as well as that of wild horses and burros. These herds, though, have strict population caps. When numbers exceed those limits, animals are rounded up and put into

OCTOBER 2023

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holding pens indefinitely. There are currently 61,000 wild horses in holding facilities, with adoption and private ownership as their only way out. “We’ve taken horses for sanctuary for many years and had talked about the national effort to provide these horses with good homes,” says Executive Director Jackie Kaschel. “This year, we decided to do that in combination with our Rustic Retreat program.” Peace Ranch’s new Rustic Retreat— set along a tree-lined pasture dotted with slow-moving livestock and lush vegetation—prioritizes veterans and families in need and offers equineassisted therapy with a focus on trauma and addiction recovery. The Peace Ranch team plans to build four cabins where clients can stay overnight (free of charge thanks to community-based funding) on the ranch for a fully immersive healing experience. As part of the program, which launches next spring, veterans will help “gentle” wild mustangs—a process of teaching equines to trust humans and respond to commands—through therapy sessions on the farm. Mustangs are naturally hyper-vigilant, making them particularly wellsuited to working with humans who have experienced trauma. “These horses look a lot like these people,” Stump says. “That relationship building is such a win-win; you can still get those pathway shifts in the brain without having to tell your whole life story.” In other words: it’s just as beneficial to share your thoughts with a horse as it is with a human. The healing magic works both ways. In fact, Wiingash just hit her own milestone when she had her hooves trimmed, an exercise requiring trust, after just 60 days on the property. “There’s something a veteran said about the experience that really stuck out to me,” Kaschel adds. “At the beginning, the horse didn’t trust anybody, but neither did he. They learned to trust together.” peaceranchtc.com Anna Faller is a Traverse City-based freelance writer and interviewer with a passion for good books, great food and Michigan travel. annacfaller@gmail.com

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Up North Art Watch

BEADS OF LIFE by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS

An Indigenous artist in the modern world.

photos by Dave Weidner

s a member of Peshawbestown’s Grand Traverse Band of Odawa and Ojibwe Indians, Samantha TwoCrow grew up surrounded by artists. Her mother, an Indian boarding school survivor, taught beadwork. Her father was a painter, as was her grandfather, who lived on Beaver Island and taught her how to traditionally harvest black ash, birch bark, deer hides, copper and porcupine quills for basket making and beading. “My creativity is deep rooted as an Indigenous woman,” TwoCrow says. “We lived so intelligently in our cultural traditions, using sustainable, Indigenous materials and leaving Mother Earth intact.” TwoCrow was always passionate about her art, but never believed she could make a living

with it, so she began a career in accounting with the tribe. The job put food on the table, but it didn’t feed her soul, so she later quit and enrolled at Northwestern Michigan College to study fine arts. The 37-year-old wife and mom of four (who is also the director of Indigenous education at Suttons Bay Schools) is currently working on on two pieces to be unveiled at the prestigious 2023 Santa Fe Indian Market—her second year as an invited solo artist. Her work has previously won awards at the Santa Fe show and her beadwork is also held by the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. Follow her work on Instagram @sam2crow.

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9/7/23 9:44 AM

Up North Buzz

EXTRA HOT, TO GO by ANNA FALLER

Take this portable sauna to the lake. To your cabin. To your friend’s backyard.

here’s not much we don’t love about a sauna: it staves off frigid winter temps, promotes relaxation, increases circulation and invites fellowship. But with the exception of some funky ’80s vacation homes here and there, most of us don’t have an in-house sauna setup ready to rock on a cold January day. Problem solved: Inspired by our northern Midwest’s sauna tradition, the Wisconsin-based cold-weather camping company Snowtrekker teamed up with Upper Peninsula outerwear icon Stormy Kromer to create a sauna experience in a portable package.

NEW UP NORTH SWEET EXPANSION … JOJO’S COOKIE CO.

photo courtesy of Snowtrekker

113 PARK ST., TRAVERSE CITY

Fair warning, if you so much as sneak a peek at these chonky stuffed cookies—like M&M Nutella, lemon crinkle and cosmic brownie—you won’t be able to resist them. The Petoskey-based bakery opened up a second location this August, bringing its thick, chewy, fromscratch beauts to TC. jojoscookiecompany.com

How it works: Each 73-by-91-inch “hot tent” is constructed from two layers of Snowtrekker’s signature canvas and comfortably sits up to six people. The base of the tent, sod cloth and full-coverage rain fly are all protected by 9.5-ounce pyrocell, which is flame retardant and totally waterproof. The nitty gritty: The package ($4,200) includes the sauna tent, fly and hardware for setup, and comes with detailed instructions for building a frame (which the company encourages as a DIY; more winter fellowship). Pre-constructed frames are also available for $300, and sauna stoves are sold separately. snowtrekkertents.com -A.F.

Cool finds, community updates and sweet new businesses. IN THE WORKS … THE RENWICK CONDOMINIUMS & GENERAL STORE 4036 M-75, WALLOON LAKE

The Renwick project, which broke ground in January 2023, will include 16 luxury condominiums and a market on the main level. Located at the site of the former Walloon Village General Store, the retail space will include a delicatessen, a well-stocked meat, fish and poultry counter and a large selection of beer, wine and liquor. therenwickmi.com

NEW IN TOWN … TCH GEAR 1899 ROGERS RD., INTERLOCHEN

A 6,000-square-foot outdoor retail store with camping, hunting, backpacking and archery gear from national brands along with local honey, jam, maple syrup and more. Find everything from kayaks to firewood. tchgear.com

Know of a business that just opened or have a fun community update? Let us know at editorial@traversemagazine.com.

OCTOBER 2023

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9/6/23 3:24 PM

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9/7/23 12:36 AM

Up North Events

If you head to Gaylord for peak leafpeeping season, don’t forget to stop for a fall color tour at Otsego Resort.

A FESTIVE FALL by ALLISON JARRELL

Pumpkin patches, zombie dashes and leaf peeping galore. SUN / 1 Hunt for the Reds of October along the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail and discover elegant and bold red wines in a picturesque setting. While the leaves change to hues of orange and amber, cozy up with the incredible red varietals this region has to offer, including well-balanced cabernet francs, rich and full cabernet sauvignons, complex pinot noirs and velvety merlots. Weekdays through Oct. 31. MyNorthTickets.com MON / 2 Frankfort Beer Week celebrates Michigan craft beer and the delicious food scene in this charming coastal city through Oct. 7. frankfortbeerweek.com SAT / 7 Head to Beulah Park for the annual Benzie County Fall Festival, featuring pumpkin decorating, horse-drawn wagon rides, a soup contest, classic car show, haunted library, games, face painting and an appearance from the “Lord of the Gourd.” clcba.org

SAT / 7 Enjoy a fall color tour around Otsego Resort in Gaylord via golf cart, stopping at four tasting stations with snacks and beverages along the way. Soak in autumn vistas throughout the Sturgeon River Valley, including tunnels of trees, views from the summits, wildlife and pristine water. Tours run Oct. 7, 14 and 21. MyNorthTickets.com

FRI / 27 The Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Home Tour returns! Explore eight of Northern Michigan’s most stunning homes through video documentaries. This donation-only event benefits Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. Video segments will be available to view through Dec. 31. MyNorthTickets.com

photo by Dave Weidner

SAT / 28 Snag shopping deals in downtown Leland and Fishtown—there’ll be plenty of bargains at the annual Fall Frenzy event. lelandmi.org SAT / 28 The Traverse City Zombie Run is a Halloween tradition. Over the years we’ve seen zombies from all walks of life, or should we say, death. Who or what will show up this year? Right Brain Brewery hosts this frightening event. tczombierun.com

OCTOBER 2023

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travel

OUT ON A LIMB by ANNA FALLER

A magical treehouse village lets you sleep among the trees during peak fall color.

photo courtesy of Treehouse Ridge

here’s nothing quite like the above-itall, you-can’t-find-me joy of being in a treehouse, no matter how humble—and the feels that made it such a joy in childhood are now on tap for any and all at Treehouse Ridge in Thompsonville, a mini village set deep in the trees. The idea, says co-owner Ashlee Knoll, took root when her husband and father-in-law, Jess and Fred Knoll (both are construction veterans), decided to take on a building project for fun. “Fred had watched Treehouse Masters [a Discovery Channel remodeling series] and was inspired by the idea of pursuing a rental property in Northern Michigan,” she says. But they wanted to create something much more experiential and special than the usual flip to lure visitors. The answer? To create Northern Michigan’s first and only treehouse resort.

In 2021, the duo opened the cluster of tree houses on 40 acres of pristine forest that overlooks a lush, tree-lined ridge (which marks the highest point of elevation in Benzie County). So far, the property is home to two cozy treehouses, with construction of a third already underway and plans for another two on the books—and possibly more in the future. Built atop a sturdy steel frame, each 500-square-foot treehouse has a studio-style layout and sleeps up to six, making them ideal for families or larger groups. The space is ADA compliant, allowing all visitors to feel “at home in the trees.” When they climb the wood-planked entry ramps, guests arrive to an open floor plan, with natural light spilling in through floor-to-ceiling windows. Each treehouse has a modern kitchen as well as a full bathroom, complete with a washer and dryer. Two queen-sized beds are tucked into wall cut-outs. Cushy touches include heated floors, as well as an electric fireplace. OCTOBER 2023

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autumn). And for homestyle brunch—and a slice of killer pie—check out the popular Rosie’s Country Café. Cruise the surrounding countryside, making stops at Cotton Creek Farms, which offers interactive tours and a chance to meet fluffy alpacas, and Crystal Mountain, where you’ll get your adrenaline fix on the 1,700-foot-long Alpine Slide and the Edge Adventure elevated rope and zipline course. More musts: Check out two miles of sculpturestudded hiking at Michigan Legacy Art Park; paddle the Platte River with canoe or kayak rentals from Honor Trading Post; bike the Betsie Valley Trail (start in Frankfort where you can find rentals at Coastline Cycles). 7344 Dinger Rd., Thompsonville treehouseridgemi.com Anna Faller is a Traverse City-based freelance writer and interviewer with a passion for good books, great food and Michigan travel. annacfaller@gmail.com

The best “room” in the house, though, is the spacious back patio, where guests can grill out or kick back with a glass of wine while taking in the unmatched views—especially during peak fall color. “It’s different being up in the air,” Knoll says. “There’s a serenity there I haven’t felt anywhere else.”

photos courtesy of Treehouse Ridge

THINGS TO DO NEARBY

Treehouse Ridge is just 10 minutes away from Thompsonville, and 30 minutes from the lakeside outposts of Frankfort and Arcadia. For local bevvies and nearby eats, try Stormcloud Brewing Co. in Frankfort— grilled cheese and a pint, please. St. Ambrose Cellars in Beulah offers live music and a rollicking menu of mead and cyser (mead fermented with apples). In Thompsonville, craft cocktails and wood-fired pizzas head up the offerings at Iron Fish Distillery (the 120-acre farm distillery is especially gorgeous in OCTOBER 2023

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outdoors

OCTOBER COUNTRY text and photos by ALLISON JARRELL

Head to Benzie County for a hike that delivers serene autumnal bliss.

t’s maybe my third or fourth time pulling over along Burnt Mill Road that I finally spot another car parked along the meandering dirt path. My fellow rambler and I exit our vehicles, almost in unison, and exchange awestruck smiles. Diffused afternoon light flickers across the ground, while a canopy of gold, peach and blush foliage dances overhead. Every now and then, a cool post-storm breeze catches a leaf or two, and the dance goes on. It’s pure magic when you stumble upon one of these perfect autumn moments.

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Stearns Park Beach

Just like that, I’m already in love with Lower Woodcock Lake Nature Preserve—and I haven’t even reached it yet. Catch Benzie County at its peak this fall, and you’ll be treated to endless variegated views while hiking the 230-acre Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy property in the Platte River watershed. The relatively new preserve— opened to the public in 2020—includes the undeveloped 22-acre Lower Woodcock Lake, and about a half-mile of frontage along the wild and venerable Platte River. On this damp fall day, the woodland’s sounds and smells rival the sights. Raindrops patter against wet cedars and hardwood before landing on fallen leaves and pine needles. Petrichor’s earthy perfume hangs in the air. Autumnal mushrooms glisten on the forest floor.

And speaking of fall fungi, this is the place to see it: The biodiverse preserve is home to more than 200 species of flora, and nearly 85 percent of that plant life is native. During my hike, I spotted a large clump of honey mushrooms cascading down a moss-covered stump (pictured above), clusters of crown-tipped coral sprouting up from soggy logs and peculiar pink puffballs dotting dead timber—a mold, not a mushroom, it turns out, known as wolf ’s milk slime or toothpaste slime, for the pinkish-orange substance that oozes out when you pop them. (And yes … I did it for science.) It’s easy to get completely immersed in this lush hike; I nearly forgot where I was headed. About a mile trek from the trailhead, a boardwalk emerges, leading you to a kayak/canoe launch pier that offers panoramic views—a rainbow of trees hugs the shoreline, and the silence is only broken by an occasional echoing bird call. While Lower Woodcock is non-motorized, it’s also known for its fishing, and folks with self-powered watercraft can park in a lot at the corner of Burnt Mill Road and Hooker Road for easier access (the trailhead parking lot is farther south on Burnt Mill). My final recommendation: Head to this hidden gem on a weekday afternoon or early evening to avoid weekend fall color crowds, and enjoy a slice of true autumn bliss. For more information, visit gtrlc.org. OCTOBER 2023

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FOR THE LOVE OF THE NORDIC A TRUE STORY OF CHASING YOUR DREAMS, REDEFINING FAILURE AND SUCCESS, AND EMBRACING THE ENDURING MAGIC OF MOVIES. 22 T R A V E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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photo cour tesy Marquet te Regional Histor y Center

BY JOSEPH BEYER OCTOBER 2023

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WHEN I FIRST VISITED THE NORTHERN OUTPOST OF MARQUETTE, IT WAS OCTOBER AND THE INLAND FORESTS OF THE HIAWATHA WERE SHOWING OFF PEAK COLORS ACROSS MILES AND MILES OF DRAMATIC LANDSCAPES. I WAS FASCINATED: AUTHENTIC AND LAID-BACK HOSPITALITY, HARDY AND WELCOMING INHABITANTS, A HISTORY YOU COULD SEE AND FEEL EVERYWHERE. I HAD COME WITH NO EXPECTATIONS AT THE INVITATION OF FRIENDS TO EXPERIENCE THE FRESH COAST FILM FESTIVAL, A WEEKEND GATHERING IN THE HEART OF A DOWNTOWN MADE UP OF COMMUNITY VIBES THAT CELEBRATE ALL THINGS OUTDOORSY AND ADVENTUROUS. THE FEST SHOWCASES DOCUMENTARIES THAT CONNECT TO THE UNIQUE CULTURE OF THE REGION AND FEATURES SCREENINGS WITH LOCAL CRAFT BEER ALLOWED AND ENCOURAGED. I BECAME AN INSTANT FAN. THAT WAS ALMOST FIVE YEARS AGO. NOW I’M COMPLETELY IMMERSED AND OVERWHELMED BY MY OWN DOCUMENTARY PROJECT THAT BEGAN THERE UNEXPECTEDLY — AND SET MY LIFE ON A CREATIVE ADVENTURE I NEVER SAW COMING.

For me, it was a black-and-white photograph taken at night that started it all. The facade had been imagined with an obvious flare for design and a certain bravado that seemed modern even now, some 88 years after it had been built. The light from within glowed through the metal and glass Streamline Moderne–style doors leading to the ticket booth and concession counter inside. Then there’s the marquee itself, sculpted and gorgeous and inspired … and that name: The Nordic. To the Anishinaabe first peoples, the Marquette region was known as Gichinamebini-ziibiing for the name of the mouth of the Big Sucker River. But after the discovery of the rich iron mining potential in the region in the 1840s, it later became known as “Queen City”—a marketing campaign designed as a magnet for industry, commerce and culture. Modern founding father Peter White and others were determined to tame Marquette with ships, railroads, architecture and all the amenities of civilization at the turn of the century, and they succeeded quickly: building up vaudeville, symphonies, operas, traveling shows and then

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photo cour tesy Marquet te Regional Histor y Center; opposite photo by Jordan Anderson

suddenly three small nickelodeon theaters within blocks of each other, each showing single-reel movies three times a day with Kinetoscope projectors to a regional population of about 11,500 people within city limits. It’s at this precise moment in 1914 that the true story of The Nordic actually begins. That’s when, in this new spirit of enterprising times, a small group of wealthy and powerful young men eager to make their mark on the world came together to form a motion picture exhibition company that would change the face of downtown Marquette for the next 100 years. Delft Theatres Inc. was founded by a marquee mafia of characters with names like Morgan W. Jopling, Hugh “Doc” Gallup and Lawrence J. Jacobs. Delft would eventually grow to a mini empire of arthouse theaters, drive-ins and affiliates across the U.P. Using a combination of resources and connections, Delft had easy financing for their ambitions and support from the most powerful people and banks in town. The chain expanded as the movie business grew, and by 1926 they had recently renovated their flagship location in Marquette into a 1,200-seat vaudeville and motion picture house that rivaled any in the world—proven by a frenzied mob that broke in through the windows on opening night and had to be restrained. The Delft Marquette was the center of entertainment in the “norther” country and stood as the largest screen in Michigan for its time. The film business was so successful (even during and maybe because of the Great Depression) that in 1935 Delft announced construction of a new and distinctly modern theater to meet demand. It would be located directly across the street from the existing one, with a complementary marquee designed to cater to new tastes. There would now be two distinguished arthouses in the heart of Marquette. From this moment of conception, The Nordic was created to stand out as a fresh technological wonder ushering in the modern era of cinema. Destined to be, actually. And the unknown architect tapped from New York City to design it was the perfect rebellious spirit for the job.

Previous pages: The Nordic Theater on opening night in 1936. This page, top: Sister theater The Delft sat on the same street as The Nordic; the two operated simultaneously for decades to meet demand. Above: The swanky smoking room and cool Art Deco curves of the ticket booth are called out in an issue of The Architectural Forum magazine.

Michael meredith hare was a young man of privilege when he departed Yale School of Architecture for the avantgarde ideas of Paris. Upon returning, he immediately challenged his professors and was eventually given an ultimatum: conform to their ideas or be expelled. In a moment of panic, Hare sent a plea to Frank Lloyd Wright, who replied by encouraging him to quit and join him: “My dear Hare, I suppose the Taliesen fellowship exists for independent eager spirits like yours. I need not enlarge upon the contempt in which I hold what Yale, in the name of the Beaux Arts, does to the young man in architecture.” –Frank Lloyd Wright, November 8th 1933 The young man with bold ideas (who would later work with the Corbett & MacMurray agency, designers of Radio City Music Hall and other theatrical icons), ultimately turned Mr. Wright down—and instead finished his degree at Columbia OCTOBER 2023

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Bernie rosendahl grew up outside Marquette in Skandia, a kid with a playground in the woods who always looked forward to coming into town. “It was the center of the universe to me,” he says of rounding the corner on Washington Street and seeing the two marquees shining, one across from the other. As a child, Rosendahl was restricted to family movies at The Delft due to no liability but age. Like other teenagers, he dreamed of the day when he could finally set foot in The Nordic and become educated in the R-rated fare and edgy storytelling from film directors he’d only heard of, like Daman Wayans and Quentin Tarantino. So when he opened The Mining Journal newspaper and saw an ad for the last showing at The Nordic, his dreams were instantly shattered. “I had my whole life planned out in that theater,” he remembers. “That’s what it’s all about—coming back for the holidays and going with your family to the movies together.” On August 11, 1994, his mom dropped

(top to bot tom): photo cour tesy Superior View Photography; photo by Dan S tewar t Photography

University, where he sensed modernism was being embraced. So in 1935, when Delft Theatres Inc. President Morgan W. Jopling tapped his son-in-law to design The Nordic, it was Hare’s first commission and he threw everything he had at the project: embracing new theatrical lighting techniques that change the mood in emotional sync with the films, installing a parabolic ceiling and glass wall to perfectly bounce sound for natural stereosonic effects, and adding luxurious interior design with lush fabrics, indulgent smoking areas and restrooms, and even a mural by his friend and artist Clement Hurd (illustrator of Goodnight Moon and other legendary children’s books). Hare worked furiously to use only the most inspiring flourishes, ending with the custom neon marquee manufactured and installed by Electrolite Signs of Milwaukee. As noted in the files, it was personally installed by Mr. B.B. Poblocki, the president of the company. He, along with dozens of special guests and contractors from around the Midwest, attended the standing-room-only opening night on Easter Sunday, 1936. It was a triumphant debut splashed across multiple pages of The Mining Journal with breathless praise.

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him off for the 7 p.m. screening of Black Beauty. As he remembers it, he hardly watched the film at all, but simply wondered at the architecture of a theater he knew would now be closing. Instinctually, he kept his ticket and popcorn bag as relics, and waited outside under the canopy for his ride home. When his mom arrived, he told her, “I wanted to be the last one out of the theater … and I was.” After Rosendahl left that night, the struggling single-screen theater that was once the pride and joy of downtown was unceremoniously closed and quickly sold to become a Book World store, an emerging

independent chain that would grow to more than 45 locations mainly across the MidOpposite, top: Photographer west before closing abruptly themselves in Jack Deo captured the college crowds in 1978 outside The the face of the Amazon era. Nordic from his office window. Almost nothing was saved. The basement Below: Bernie Rosendahl and powder rooms once showcased in Architechis wife, Katie, in 2015 share tural Forum were collapsed and filled, the a moment of nostalgia. marquee dismantled and carted to the MarThis page: Joseph Beyer quette County landfill outside town. Book interviews Paul Rogers, who World sealed the second floor off and filled briefly owned both The Delft and it with insulation to help keep winter heatThe Nordic, for his documentary Marqueetown. ing bills down. Rosendahl couldn’t understand why no one else seemed to care about a place that seemed so obviously special. As he tells friends in home video footage after The Nordic closed, “If I had a million dollars, I’d bring “That’s what it’s all about–coming back that movie theater back.” Years later when he answered for the holidays and going with your family a call from his mom in 2017, he finally got his chance—Book to the movies together.” World was closing. The build– Bernie Rosendahl ing was for sale again.

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Right: Stripped of its grand marquee, the brick building that used to house The Nordic Theater became a bookstore for a time. Below: On display at The Honorable Distillery, the Black Beauty poster is a nod to the last film shown before the theater closed. Opposite page: The Nordic’s lobby is now The Honorable Distillery’s bustling tasting room, with the theater auditorium housing the distilling equipment.

When i met rosendahl over the phone, it was 2018 and it became clear his dream to restore The Nordic was singular and focused. He seemed to understand that in order to rebuild the dream factory that a movie theater is, he would need to start by rebuilding the dream. Armed only with his research archive of photos, he registered nordictheater.com just weeks after learning the news. Then, using his talents as a graphic designer, he shared what he had learned, what he wanted to do and what it would take to make it happen. While Rosendahl was the perfect person to lead the charge to restore The Nordic, he had also never worked in the exhibition business, never restored a building, and never run a fundraising campaign or nonprofit organization. He was researching and learning in real time, all the while unaware of the negotiations with Book World that were possibly already taking place. The historic 6,900-square-foot building was listed originally at $549,000—a fair price for the location and market, but a giant price tag for a relatively young man with nothing but an idea. As his quest developed, Rosendahl enlisted any help he could find that

We all want to hold on to the best of the past. This is how nostalgia and sentiment are marked forever.

would eventually align with his mission to bring back The Nordic, including architects, professors, Realtors and finally key allies in a local arts organization and the downtown development office. The business realities of running a single-screen operation, along with skyrocketing costs to restore a facade and marquee long forgotten, and then to finally outfit it with the modern technologies needed, began to overwhelm Rosendahl’s vision with challenges. By the time negotiations with Book World fell apart, almost two years later, it’s easy to imagine he was frustrated and tired of carrying on with the fight. But Book World was in a rush to close 45 separate locations and sell off the assets as soon as possible in the face of an economic wildfire that was happening to independent bookstores everywhere. There was no budging on the price; without any flexibility, the deal was dead and everyone had to move on. Each time I returned to Marquette, I saw the red brick building with the For Sale sign still sitting there, and I felt genuine agony for the absence of Rosendahl’s vision and still rooted for him to succeed. So no one was more surprised and delighted than I was to return in 2022 to see the marquee I had only

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ever experienced in photos lit up again in three-dimensional wonder. And I came to learn it had all happened very precisely, and because of the only possible person who could have been behind it.

photo by Ryan S tephens

When you walk down Washington Street today you won’t find the opening night handprints from the cast and crew of the classic Anatomy of a Murder in the cement, or the plaque in the sidewalk that commemorated “The Nordic, 1936” as a place of importance in town. There are no more popcorn machines, no more movies to jump into on a whim or sneak into if

you were too young. But what you will see is an almost perfect replica of Hare’s design for The Nordic Theater along with his signature rounded marquee … and if that weren’t enough, directly across the street, the restoration of the very first Delft Theatre. The Delft was rescued by becoming a bistro and bar in 2012. The Nordic was resurrected as a distillery in 2022. Neither is a theater per se, yet each marquee is still there and holding on to imaginary feelings and shining lights that no one would let fully dim. Now when you are ushered through the entry way of the former theater, you step into a lobby that’s home to The Honorable Distillery’s chic bar and tasting room, where mules and gimlets are shaken and poured. Step beyond that into the old auditorium and you’ll no longer find rows of seats but instead sparkling stainless steel stills, fermenters and a series of pipes and tubes set on gleaming polished-concrete floors. Rosendahl still has the text saved on his phone from the day when new owners Anne White and Scott Anderson shared

the news they’d be moving forward to use his designs to resurrect The Nordic in look and feel, even though it would never be the cinema he imagined. At that point, it finally seemed possible something would come from so much hard work, and he poured himself into helping by personally sourcing the designers and fabricators and overseeing the details side by side with them. He has become close friends with White and Anderson during the process, even designing their limited-edition Cinema Series labels that now adorn their bottles in a tribute to famous films of the past that played there: Red Salute (1936), Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and, of course, Black Beauty (1994). The journey from Rosendahl’s idea to his partnership with The Honorable Distillery became the central narrative of Marqueetown—the documentary feature I created with my producing partner Jordan Anderson. We hope the film is a love letter not just to the theater itself, but also to the role of cinema as the heartbeat of community and small-town life—and the passion of one hero determined to keep it alive. Marqueetown will make an appearance at the upcoming Fresh Coast Film Festival in Marquette. Yet when I reached out to invite Rosendahl to the premiere, I already sensed he wouldn’t come. After our last conversation on the phone months ago, he admitted to me he may never be able to watch the film. He said it would make him too uncomfortable to see it all play out again on screen (and he was always a reluctant participant I coaxed into sharing, only wanting the focus to be on others or better yet, the history itself ). We all want to hold on to the best of the past. And where time and space connect in a physical way, like a location or a building or a view, this is how nostalgia and sentiment are marked forever: feelings so strong and mysterious that even remembering them can trigger powerful emotions decades later. What becomes of them, and how to hold onto them, is up to us … the audiences of the here and now.

FRESHCOASTING IN MARQUETTE FRESH COAST FILM FESTIVAL October 19-22, 2023 The first-of-its-kind documentary film festival celebrating the outdoor lifestyle, water-rich environment and resilient spirit of the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest. With screenings alongside outdoor adventures, “freshcoasting” is about embracing the unexpected and connecting as a community of like-minded art and recreation enthusiasts. MARQUEETOWN The story of the quest to save The Nordic comes to life via sneak-peek screenings October 21 at the Masonic Lodge and October 22 at Ore Dock Brewing. This documentary brings the fascinating history of Delft Theatres to life, featuring dozens of real-life Marquette locations and characters. Marqueetown will be touring art house theaters across Michigan and available on video-on-demand this spring. THE HONORABLE DISTILLERY With a wild history dating back to Marquette founder Peter White, reinvention is in the bones of the former Nordic Theater. You can see the distillation at play in the background as you sip on craft cocktails inside or outside, in the heart of downtown’s new social district. THE DELFT BISTRO Adapted from the site of the first Delft Theatre, owners Tom Vear and Jennifer Ray took over in 2012 and have expanded their multi-building complex, which includes the Delft Bistro and Bar, the famous Donckers Restaurant and Soda Fountain, along with their latest venture, Evergreen Market—a supply store of gifts and highly curated home decor.

Joseph Beyer is a writer and producer who has held leadership positions at the Sundance Institute, The Redford Center, the Traverse City Film Festival and Michigan Legacy Art Park. OCTOBER 2023

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COASTAL COLOR ROAD TRIP

by ALLISON JARRELL and CARLY SIMPSON photos by

ALLISON JARRELL

FROM HIKING FOR VIEWS TO HARVEST SEASON MARKET HOPPING, TAKE THIS UNEXPECTEDLY DELICIOUS COLOR TOUR ALONG THE SOUTHERN STRETCH OF M-22.

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ARCADIA

magine this: You’re sipping a cozy cuppa while driving through prismatic tunnels of trees, the pavement below— wet from a recent autumn shower—reflecting the bluesky-fluffy-white-cloud morning above. You pull over for a quick snapshot of the bucolic views before kicking off your coastal color tour with a hike at Arcadia Dunes. The universally accessible Old Baldy Trail, named for the dune that offers majestic views of Lake Michigan, takes hikers through trees of gold and along a leaf-strewn boardwalk for about a half a mile before opening up to a panoramic overlook. Burnt-orange leaves flutter in the foreground while turquoise waters, capped in white, lap up against the bluffs. Take a moment to soak in the scene and enjoy the freshwater breeze. For those with some extra time to burn before

venturing on, challenge yourself by hiking the entire trail to the Old Baldy dune (a twohour roundtrip). You’ll feel like you’re at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (with a fraction of the people). From here, head just a half a mile south to your next vista: Inspiration Point (aka Arcadia Overlook), situated directly off M-22 and home to one of the state’s most iconic views. The parking lot buzzes with activity during peak fall color as leaf peepers make their way up the 120 steps to the top of the overlook. On a clear day, you’ll see the picturesque towns of Arcadia, Onekama and Manistee. Tip: Don’t forget quarters for the telescope on the viewing platform— you’ll be able to spot landmarks like the Arcadia Channel and Frankfort Lighthouse, and a portion of the revenue goes to the Arcadia Lions Club for community improvement programs.

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INSPIRATION POINT, SITUATED OFF M-22, OFFERS ONE OF THE STATE’S MOST ICONIC VIEWS. THE PARKING LOT BUZZES WITH ACTIVITY DURING PEAK FALL COLOR.

Above: Inspiration Point is a quick stop, and the view is absolutely worth the 120-step ascent. Left: Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve offers an easily accessible autumn stroll, surrounded by fall colors and wildlife, like a family of trumpeter swans (more about that on page 35).

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Below: One of the many scenic autumn vistas Arcadia Marsh has to offer. Right: Apples at AVO Farm Market, hot cider from Miller’s Northwood Market and our favorite: the cheese curds at Ketch 22 Kafe.

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Arcadia Marsh Nature Preserve Feeling inspired (and hungry), you’ll make your next stop at Ketch 22 Kafe, a gourmet food truck parked just 300 feet north of the Arcadia Marsh trailhead. This is elevated street food at its finest—think mahi sandwiches, smoked salmon dip and vegan mushroom pot stickers. We recommend pairing a Northwoods soda with one (or two) orders of the golden-fried Wisconsin cheese curds. Follow @ketch22MI on Facebook for up-to-date hours and menu. After refueling, you’re ready to explore Arcadia Marsh—a 313-acre Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy preserve that features a universally accessible boardwalk stretching 0.75 miles over marshy waters. Classified as a Great Lakes Coastal Marsh, this is a rare and declining habitat; it’s one of only 15 or so remaining coastal marshes along Lake Michigan’s Lower Peninsula shoreline. (It’s estimated that more than 80 percent of all original Great Lakes marshes have been destroyed.) Even when viewed from a manmade boardwalk, Arcadia Marsh feels wild. The area is home to more than 200 plant species (including threatened wild rice), and more than 250 bird species have been seen there. In the fall, this means you could see a colorful wood duck nesting in an old tree, hear the song of a swamp sparrow, spot a sandhill crane fishing for dinner, or find a rare family of trumpeter swans floating by, unbothered by your presence. Take your time (there are benches along the way) and relish an autumn panorama that’s unique to the Great Lakes coast.

Pierport & Bear Lake Drive five minutes south and you’ll stumble upon a cornucopia of farm markets and fruit stands dotting M-22, including Miller’s Northwood Market in Bear Lake, just east of Pierport. Pick heirloom pumpkins and gourds, peruse local fruit preserves and head inside for a steamy cup of homemade hot cider. A stone’s throw down the street, AVO Farm Market awaits with an array of apples, gourds, winter squash, heirloom pumpkins and seedless Marquis and Jupiter grapes. And a few miles inland, BrixStone Farms invites visitors to their apple orchard and maple syrup farm (open thru mid-November).

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Onekama With your car now full of farmstand goodies, keep heading south on M-22. Maple lattes and boutique treasures await in Onekama, a sleepy, postage-stamp town perched on the shore of Portage Lake. First stop: Onekama Village Park for a short lakeside walk with bright blue waters set against surrounding hills ablaze in fall color. On M-22, swing into Anchored Designs Boutique for Michigan merch—buttery soft “Lake Life” crewnecks, road map throw pillows, clever stickers. (Did you know Michigan’s state flower is the traffic cone? Wink wink.) Across the street, the art gallery Patina Designs has reimagined and repurposed home decor. Then grab that latte and a treat (think chocolate crumb bars and fresh scones) from Yellow Dog Café. Hop back in the car and putter a mile down the road to MacBeth & Co., a 100-year-old feed store turned gift emporium. Good to know: Fall hours vary at many shops, as Onekama settles into its slower, cozy off-season. Call ahead. 36 T R A V E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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photo by Dave Weidner

Left: A vintage truck with pumpkins on display makes for a perfect fall photo op at Miller’s Northwood Market; Anchored Designs Boutique is a one-stop shop for cozy home décor. Right: Yellow Dog Café has you covered for lunch, and cap off your color tour at North Channel Brewing Co. with a craft brew or a Bloody Mary.

Manistee You’ve driven the coast, now it’s time for a bird’s-eye view. Orchard Beach Aviation offers scenic flights over downtown Manistee and the Lake Michigan shoreline—on truly bluebird days, sightseers can spot shipwrecks from the air. Standard flights last about 15 minutes ($40 per person) or a longer route runs for $60. Those downtown storefronts you just flew over? Let’s go inside. Maryann’s Antiques—two floors of art, furniture, lamps, linens, records; Wellnested—home décor delights and a “zen den” filled with books and journals to inspire; Port City Emporium—a whimsical gift shop with 50-plus Michigan artists. Cap off the day at North Channel Brewing Co. Highlights: a Metallica pinball machine, beer-battered onion rings towered high and drizzled with Michigan honey, an expansive sidewalk patio with heaters. Travel Tip: Manistee County Tourism Authority has mapped out several self-guided tours—natural wonders, U-Pick farms, historic sites, more—along with inland and coastal fall color drives. Each map (available online) has points of interest noted along the way and is a fantastic resource for planning your trip. visitmanisteecounty.com

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The Faces of Farm-to-Table

Meet the people taking the movement from lifestyle trend to landscape-changing, economy-boosting community builder. by Diane Conners photos by Beth Price

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or many of us, our connection with local, freshly grown food sputters with the grand finale of fall’s harvest and the end of market season. How, exactly, do we make farm-to-table less of a lifestyle and more of a way of life?

In the new book Shared Abundance by Diane Conners, Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities has created a gorgeous, story-filled coffee-table book that acts as a local food economy strategy manual —a playbook both practical and delicious that shows exactly how community agriculture can boost the local economy, honor culture and diversity, inspire the local dining scene and transform community health and well-being. This excerpt shares the stories of five visionary leaders showing the way. Experiencing the Community in CSA

nearly 30 years ago, Jenny Tutlis and Jon Watts started a community within a community, one centered around their farm and made up of individuals who pay them up front for a season’s worth of weekly boxes brimming with produce—75 different varieties. The business model gives their Meadowlark Farm advance money for seeds and other costs, and customers a better price than weekly visits to the grocery. Community supported agriculture (CSA) farming was new in our region then, practiced by only two other farm couples who’ve now retired. Jon and Jenny were in their mid-20s. Earlier, they had worked for a few seasons at a large CSA elsewhere to learn the ropes, something they recommend to farmers considering this approach. Jenny works hard to create what Jon calls a curated box of veggies with recipes that use everything in the box that week. More unusual vegetables like fennel? Just enough to give customers a taste. “It’s asking people to trust me that I am not going to overwhelm them with something,” Jenny says. “People tell me it is like opening a present.” Part of building trust means growing enough variety to fill boxes even if the farm faces a crop failure, such as spring hail battering their coveted salad greens. Before starting a CSA, they recommend working a farm for a couple of years to better understand its soils, land and climates. They no longer sell at farmers markets but did the first four years to meet customers and explain the CSA model.

Meadowlark has 200 summer CSA accounts, up from 40 when they started, and another 100 each for the early spring and fall/winter seasons. A customer survey showed they are feeding about 600 people. Meadowlark has 30% of its business with small grocers and restaurants—a nice complement to CSA. The farm employs about a dozen people at the height of summer and a few in winter. A dozen customers also volunteer and make a “huge difference.” But, tip: Have volunteers take on tasks like packing veggies into boxes in a protected area. People may think they want to harvest garlic but probably don’t realize how much work it is in the heat. Customers have become community. They helped fund greenhouses so that Jon and Jenny could offer winter shares (enabling them to stop working jobs off the farm) and solar panels. Customers also fund extra shares so Meadowlark can serve families in need. Jon and Jenny are also grateful for other farmers. Each winter, early on, a group of them would gather for a meal, spend the night, and talk over breakfast about the highs and lows of their respective seasons. “We supported each other and listened to each other and helped each other process change and growth,” Jenny says. “I’ve never experienced anything before or since quite like these gatherings. So my advice would be to find other farmers who are open to connecting, learning and sharing.” Community within community. OCTOBER 2023

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40 T R A V E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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Indigenous Foods for Sovereignty, Health and Culture

evin gasco’s life has come full circle from when he was a teenager talking with his father and, later, two other key people in his life. Kevin is board chair of Ziibimijwang Farm, owned by the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB). His father said their people had been “healthy and functional” in previous generations, but then “contact happened,” meaning contact with Europeans who removed the Anishinaabek from their land and culture. Kevin’s father said contact set a pendulum in motion toward “depression and dysfunction” for many generations, but pendulums can swing back. The more that Indigenous people could put into place ways of life from their past, the more quickly the pendulum would swing back. Now, Ziibimijwang Farm and the tribe’s Minogin Market are restoring infrastructure for economic, physical, cultural and spiritual healing through food sovereignty. The tribe’s first step toward food sovereignty was recognizing need. When Kevin and John Keshick were new members of the LTBB tribal council they asked how much tribal land was farmland. None. “Why aren’t we growing food?” Kevin wondered. “Historically, that is what gave our people the wealth that we had at the time of contact. We grew enough food to sustain ourselves and to trade with Indians in the north for furs.” The tribe subsequently purchased a 312-acre farm with the assistance of the Indian Land Capital Company. Grants, research, archival information and technical support have also come from universities and federal agriculture and conservation agencies. Another lesson: Understand the impact a farm can have on health. Ziibimijwang grows a wide variety of vegetables but it has a special focus on foods that have been a part of traditional Anishinaabek diets, like the Three Sisters of corn, squash and beans. Kevin switched to a traditional diet a couple of decades ago when he lived on the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota with acclaimed activist Winona LaDuke, who crystalized for him the importance of Indigenous foods for sovereignty, health and culture. At White Earth he ate squash, rice, fish and wild game. When he returned to Michigan in 2003, his cholesterol and other health markers were exceptionally good. And he remembered his father’s words about the pendulum. A third important person provided another lesson. The late Eddie Benton-Benai was a spiritual teacher to Kevin and to the American Indian Movement. “He said we need to put our hands on our food again,” Kevin explains. “We need ceremony. It honors the plants, and it honors what they were put on earth to do.” Community members sing to seeds as they are planted at Ziibimijwang. “You get into food sovereignty for love of community and wanting to see your people in a better place.” OCTOBER 2023

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Opening Doors for New Farmers

n 2019, when koffi kpachavi took the job of executive director of the Grand Traverse Conservation District, he didn’t know that he would create an incubator farm where a new generation of farmers can learn ecological growing practices, have access to land, get business skills and establish markets. He quickly saw the need. Development pressure here still pushes land prices too high for many beginning farmers. We need them, he says, to assure healthy food in the face of national supply disruptions, soon-to-retire farmers and environmental challenges of climate change. Here are his tips for how an incubator farm can help. A conservation district is a natural fit for an incubator farm. Districts were established during the 1930s Dust Bowl era to help farmers halt erosion that blew topsoil in a choking smog across the land. “We have agriculture in our genes. We were designed to support farms,” Koffi said. He secured a USDA Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program grant to launch the farm. Inventory available land. Koffi made the case to county officials to situate the farm on a 15-acre county parcel that was near youth soccer fields and a natural area, places where public education can happen. He’s also talking with area land conservancies, parks and private landowners to find other lands. Established farmers looking to retire have already contacted him about transition possibilities. Find program mentors and partners. Koffi is partnering with our region’s high school career tech center for ag-science students to plant pollinator flowers for bees. The students may later want to enter the three-year incubator farm program. For accessing business skills, he is looking to organizations like the Small Business Development Center, which helps people write business plans. For marketing and regenerative agriculture practices, he is looking to university specialists and young, innovative farmers who are already here. Koffi will be a mentor himself. He grew up in the African country of Togo, inspired by his father who, when they hiked, knew every plant by its common and Latin names. His father traveled the world for a French company (which taught Koffi how food connects cultures everywhere) and loved to graft unusual mango trees on his own farm. “He loved to experiment. He was really curious.” Koffi also loves experimenting. He and his wife own a hobby farm where he grows plots with and without ecological strategies that nourish the soil to show the difference it makes. And he loves sharing the intricacies of nature, like teaching which flowers are best for honeybees. After graduating from college in Togo, Koffi came to the United States, and for nearly 30 years was an environmental educator for youth at YMCAs across the country. He is most at peace in nature. Now he can educate all of us here.

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OCTOBER 2023

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To support Groundwork’s mission and celebrate and grow the local food movement in the North, order a copy of Shared Abundance online: Groundworkcenter.org/store

44 T R A V E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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Knocking Down Barriers for Chefs

ony vu’s culinary journey started prior to his birth, when his family fled Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. Born in Michigan, Tony grew up in and around Flint, where his father was a rural town doctor in Millington, 30 miles north. This upbringing seeded the values of community, while the food his mother cooked kept alive the culture he never knew. His sense of identity grew stronger with each meal, and his first trip to Vietnam inspired Tony to open Vietnamese restaurants in Flint and Traverse City and create Flint Social Club, an incubator space for young chefs. Now he’s brought that incubator concept to Traverse City, working with the nonprofit Grand Traverse Foodshed Alliance to create a similar space here with NoBo Mrkt, a hospitality hub planned in a new, cooperatively owned building called Common Grounds. Flint Social Club and NoBo Mrkt share a mission to reduce barriers to entry for aspiring chef entrepreneurs in the local food economy. The first step, Tony explains, is to identify who in your community faces barriers. In Flint, he saw people of color facing barriers that kept them from growing their entrepreneurial ventures. Sixty percent of the population is Black, yet there are zero Black-owned restaurants downtown. “Flint is such a beautifully diverse place,” he says. “If we don’t celebrate that diversity, we aren’t doing our community justice.” In Traverse City, access barriers are similar, he adds. Marginalized people here are low income working poor with few to no opportunities for growth. Furthermore, Traverse City stands on Anishinaabek land and has residents who are Indigenous, Black, Asian and of Latin American descent, with even sparser opportunities in the food sector. The next step is to lower the barrier for incubator opportunities. To help aspiring chefs launch businesses, Traverse City’s Foodshed Alliance is raising capital to equip two incubator kitchens and a small retail space in Common Grounds for graband-go local food and beverages and pop-up events. In addition, the Foodshed Alliance is lining up accounting and business support services to allow the chefs to focus on menu offerings and build proof of concept. Mentors will be available at each stage of growth to guide chefs in each skill needed to succeed. Tony’s work with NoBo Mrkt lets him tap into the many synergies in the Common Grounds building for local food infrastructure. Groundwork and its Community Teaching Kitchen are located there, along with Taste the Local Difference, Higher Grounds fair trade coffee company and the Foodshed Alliance, of which Groundwork is a board member along with Tony, farmer Adam Weinrich, Les Eckert of the Great Lakes Culinary Institute, former Black Star Farms managing partner Don Coe and local food infrastructure consultant Evan Smith. The local food economy is all about strong relationships. “The key to great impact is collaboration,” Tony says. “We are putting the pieces together for the community to win.” OCTOBER 2023

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Taste the Difference: Farm-to-Table Regional Recipes

46 T R A V E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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New Mexico–Style Potato Green Chile Nic Theisen, Loma Farm & Farm Club

1½ pounds mildly spicy green chiles, such as Anaheim or poblano ¼ cup neutral cooking oil 1½ pounds yellow onions, chopped 1 ounce garlic, minced 1 pound carrots, diced 2 pounds waxy gold potatoes, such as Nicola, cubed 2½ teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground 2 quarts water 2 tablespoons +1 teaspoon salt for the roux 2 tablespoons cooking oil 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

D Roasted Carrots with Lemongrass Chef Nathan Bates Food Service Director at Boyne Falls Public School carrots salt lemongrass olive oil pineapple juice tip: If you don’t have lemongrass, fresh puréed ginger, cilantro with lime zest, mint and orange zest, or minced fresh dill all work. If you have no pineapple juice, use apple juice or orange juice. Any of my roasted veggie recipes are quite simple but they all usually involve blanching and shocking the veggies first. My recipe for roasted carrots is a good example. I use local, tri-color carrots sourced from Blue Stem Farm or Providence Organic Farm (generally they arrive via Cherry Capital Foods). Three pounds of carrots will give a family some hearty servings.

1. To prep the carrots, I like to leave a little stem on (half inch or so), and then peel, rinse and cut them in half lengthwise. Blanch in boiling, salted water for about 8 to 10 minutes depending on the size. I suggest carrots 5 to 7 inches long. Shock in an ice bath until ready to roast. Drain, pat dry and transfer to sheet pans. 2. Lightly season with salt, lemongrass (minced in the food processor), olive oil to coat, and a few splashes of reduced pineapple juice. Roast at 400 degrees until they begin to caramelize, about 15 minutes.

1. Begin by roasting your chiles. You may use the flame of a gas stove burner, the broiler in your oven or a hot grill. Place your peppers as close to your heat source as possible and allow them to char all over, turning often. Once your peppers are well-blistered, place in a bowl, cover with an airtight lid, and allow to steam for 10 minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, brush off the skins of the chiles, open them up and remove the stem and seeds. Roughly chop the flesh and set aside. 2. Meanwhile, heat your cooking oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, season with 1 teaspoon of the salt, and allow to sweat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until greatly reduced in volume and just beginning to brown around the edges. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. 3. Add your carrots and sweat for 10 minutes more, until they begin to soften. Stir in your potatoes, ground cumin and roasted chiles, cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, then add the 2 quarts of water along with the remaining salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Allow stew to cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until potatoes and carrots are very tender. 4. While your stew is simmering, build your roux. Heat the oil in a small sauce pot over medium heat until shimmering. Whisk in the flour and cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside. 5. When your potatoes are cooked to your liking, whisk the roux into the stew and allow to cook 3 minutes more until the mixture thickens slightly. Check for seasoning and adjust if necessary. 6. Ladle into bowls and serve with your favorite cornbread on the side. OCTOBER 2023

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inside OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2023

northern home & cottage

28 features

16 /

INTRODUCING:

2023 NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE VIRTUAL TOUR FIND OUT HOW TO ACCESS THE EIGHT FABULOUS HOME VIDEOS ON THIS TOUR!

18 / TIMELESS COTTAGE ON LAKE SKEGEMOG PRESENTED BY: MAPLERIDGE CONSTRUCTION

22 / MAGNIFICENT MODERN FARMHOUSE PRESENTED BY: ROYAL STAG CONSTRUCTION

26 / VIEWS FOR MILES

PRESENTED BY: SCOTT NORRIS CONSTRUCTION

28 / CAMP INSPIRATION

PRESENTED BY: BANDI BUILDERS

30 / CHARMING ON GREEN LAKE

PRESENTED BY: BAY AREA CONTRACTING

34 / GREEN, SERENE, SUPREME!

PRESENTED BY: ENDURA PERFORMANCE HOMES

38 / THE CLIFF HOUSE

PRESENTED BY: COTTAGE COMPANY

42 / BELLA CASA!

PRESENTED BY: MAPLERIDGE CONSTRUCTION

departments

07 / EDITOR’S NOTE Passing the Torch

08 / MAKERS

Colorful Hardwood Tables

11 / IN LOVE WITH

Handmade Checkers for the Cozy Season

12 / MY FAVORITE SPACE

Designer Kristyn Lent of Quiet Moose COVER PHOTO BY MIKE DRILLING

Click on Live Here > Northern Home

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northern home & cottage A MyNorth Media Publication Michael Wnek Cara McDonald

PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Elizabeth Edwards

SENIOR EDITOR

Carly Simpson Allison Jarrell

MANAGING EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR DIGITAL CONTENT & SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGIST

Rachel Soulliere

PROOFREADERS

Elizabeth Aseritis Caroline Dahlquist

ART DIRECTOR

Tim Hussey Theresa Burau-Baehr

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR, SPECIAL SECTIONS

Rachel Watson

DIRECTOR OF SALES

Julie Parker

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Mike Alfaro Ann Gatrell Julie James Meg Lau

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From the Publisher of

Traverse

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MICHIGAN EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICES

415 Cass St., Traverse City, MI 49684 Phone: 231.941.8174 | Fax: 231.941.8391 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES

Visit MyNorth.com/Account to renew your subscription, change your address or review your account. Please email other subscription inquiries to info@mynorth.com or call 800.678.3416 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST. REPRINTS

Reprints available. Please call 231.941.8174. Northern Home & Cottage is published as a supplement to Traverse Northern Michigan magazine. 415 Cass St., Traverse City, MI 49684. All rights reserved. Copyright 2023, Heritage Broadcasting Company of Michigan.

More than 25 years of experience in building distinctive homes while exceeding the expectations of discriminating clients. jim@cooleycontracting.com NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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EDITOR’S NOTE

PASSING THE TORCH: WELCOME, RACHEL

ast year, for this home tour issue, I began my edit note with an ode to our beloved Erin Lutke: “Move over HGTV stars Joanna Gaines, Nicole Curtis, Jonathon and Drew Scott … We have Erin Lutke, marketing director for MyNorth Media and star of our Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Home Tours … Erin was made for the camera: She can chat away naturally and intelligently—without a script—and draws you in with her big, beautiful smile.” The good news is, our talented Erin is back again this year to host three of our eight home tour videos. The other good news is that she is pregnant with her second child and due in early fall. So (more good news) for the last five home videos she is passing the torch to another sparkling on-camera personality: Rachel Rademacher, a lifestyle reporter for 9&10 News’ popular show “the four.” These videos will showcase Rachel’s skill, honed at both Central Michigan University Rachel Rademacher, and WILX in Lansing. your new tour guide Heritage Broadcasting—the family-owned media group that has operated/managed 9&10 News since 1986— purchased MyNorth Media, the umbrella company of Traverse Northern Michigan magazine, Northern Home & Cottage, MyNorth.com and many other products—in January 2022. Since then, both entities have been discovering novel ways to cross-pollinate their talents to tell the rich stories of Northern Michigan. Rachel stepping into the Northern Home & Cottage spotlight is just one of many examples of the collaboration going on here at Heritage Broadcasting. And talk about storytelling. In this issue, as in the video tour (learn more about it on page 16), we have behind-the-scenes stories about the most gorgeous new residential construction in Northern Michigan. Whether you’re looking to build and want ideas or you just love our regional version of the pastime HGTV has made famous, sit back and read, watch and enjoy!

Elizabeth Edwards is senior editor of Northern Home & Cottage. Lissa@traversemagazine.com

NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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artists & makers

BROKEN TO BEAUTIFUL Brian Girling of Stalefish Design Company weaves scrapped skateboards into fine furniture. by LYN DA W H EAT L EY

BRIAN GIRLING began woodworking

photos by Dave Weidner

when he was in his early 30s and in recovery from alcohol abuse. “I was looking for a hobby or something to put my time and energy into that would be productive and fulfilling,” he says.

The upshot of that search is the resulting handcrafted furniture he makes from the colored veneers of recycled skateboard decks—a formidable medium for any furniture maker, let alone one whose most significant woodworking experience prior to 2019 had been his ninth-grade shop class. But the pandemic gave Girling the gift of time, and YouTube gave him endless rabbit holes of instruction and inspiration. One video of a conference table made from skateboard decks in California really hit him. “That’s absolutely gorgeous,” he recalls thinking. “That’s what I want to do—to have the ability to take something that is broken and going to be thrown out and turn it into a piece with a stunning visual presence.” Girling uses the scrap noses and tail portions of skateboards to make smaller items such as jewelry and plant stands. The main, linear, portion of the decks goes into larger pieces, usually tables, that are painstakingly fabricated with six-inch sections of deck veneer. One table with drawers, for example, took 500 pieces— all butted and sanded to make the stripes look like one continuous color. Tearing apart something broken, rebuilding it into a harmonious, functional design that flows with color … Girling’s blueprint for beautiful one-of-a-kind furniture pieces is also a pretty sweet metaphor for repairing a life. Find out more about Girling’s work on Facebook: Stalefish Design Company.

8 NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2023

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in love with

BEAUTIFULLY CHECKERED HISTORY

photo courtesy of August

By EM I LY T YR A

SPYING this patinaed, cheeky checker set at the antiques and décor shop August in Petoskey, we instantly imagined it at home on a cozy porch, beckoning a pair of players to unplug and kick back for a moment. That’s the spirit in which August’s owner, Jenna Zerbo, curates her store at auction, online, or on the side of the road: filtered through her buoyant personality—and that of her grandfather August Zerbo, who emigrated from Italy to Detroit in 1927. She shares his name—August is her middle one— and a passion for family and togeth-

erness. “My grandfather deeply influenced my affinity for collecting pieces that enhance our lives together at home,” she says. “I like to imagine it sitting on a table surrounded by halfsipped glasses of wine and the bellowing laughter of its players.” We’re smitten, too, with what Zerbo calls the “wabi-sabi” nature of the terracotta board and pieces, handcrafted by the design studio Flaÿou. The aesthetic embraces imperfection and the beauty that comes with age. “Each piece is perfectly imperfect,” says Zerbo. $200. NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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my favorite space

GREAT MINDS Interior designer Kristyn Lent and an art-loving client team up to take a dated great room from traditional to terrific. by ELIZABETH EDWAR D S

photos by Tara Hallman

THE CLIENT for this remodel is a lover of art and has quite an extensive art collection, so along with incorporating his collections into the design, he wanted an Up North, rustic feel with a modern, eclectic twist that would also feel textured and cozy. The client selected the Kramer Chairs from Century Furniture. The hides were sourced from Saddlemans, a company that sells ethically sourced Brazilian cowhides. Set just off the foyer, they are real focal pieces. Between the chairs is a set of Bernhardt nesting tables. The tops are petrified wood— an element that is juxtaposed with the modern feel of the very angular steel bases. The homeowner sourced the pair of custom coffee tables in front of the chairs from a craftsman in Gladwin in a rustic style—hand-hewn from red oak. The pair of sofas are also from Century, and Lent went with gray salt-pepper tweed to add a bit of texture but not to fight with the movement in the cowhide. The pillows add more layers of textures and patterns; the solid blue pillows are bouclé fabric woven in Belgium

and the striped fabric is woven in India. The lamps were selected to add a little substance given the scale of the room. From Currey and Company, they are wrapped in an abaca rope that pulls in a coastal feel. The chandelier is the Rainforest Branch–style also from Currey and Company. The flooring throughout the main floor of the

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home is 24-x-48-inch large format tile by Happy Floors X-Rock in Natural. The area rug was handknotted in India and is from the Loloi Elixir collection. It speaks a bit to the essence of the room— blending everything together. The wall color throughout the main spaces of the home is Benjamin Moore Calm and the trim color is Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace.

Drawing on her background living and working in such diverse places as Mexico, Curacao, Dallas, Chicago and Minneapolis, interior designer Kristyn Lent of The Quiet Moose in Petoskey infuses all of her projects with her affinity for color, textures and comfortable, custom furnishings.

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View This Home ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 27TH

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Elk Rapids Northville 231.498.2500 248.515.4477 josephmoseyarchitecture.com

Your inspiration, your legacy.

Design | Build | Remodel

2911 N Garﬁeld Rd, Traverse City, MI 49686 www.FerraroGroup.net (231) 714-4080 • build@ferrarogroup.net NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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The 2023 Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Tour gives you insider access to eight of the North’s most amazing new builds and remodels, including this stunner by Scott Norris Construction.

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INTRODUCING THE

northern home & cottage 2023

V I R T U A L OFFICIAL SPONSOR

F E AT U R E D S P O N S O R S

SUPPORTING SPONSOR

H O M E

TO U R

WHETHER

you’re looking for design inspo, home improvement ideas or getting ready to build your own dream house, there’s nothing more delicious than a behind-the-scenes look into our region’s most beautiful homes. And we’ve got eight beauties to share with you on our 2023 Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Home Tour. Mark Oct. 27 on your calendar, and block off time to relax and enjoy video tours of these gorgeous houses. (Read on for a sneak peek at all eight showstoppers.) The virtual tours allow an intimate look inside, as well as in-depth interviews with the homeowners and builders about their successes, challenges and favorite design elements. This year, our virtual tour-goers will again find out how our homeowners turned their dreams into reality and meet the local builders, vendors, contractors and architects who helped. We couldn’t host these tours without our official sponsor, Northern Garage Doors, providing the finest in garage doors, garage door openers and home storage systems for both residential and commercial properties in the Northern Michigan region. We also want to thank our featured sponsors, Advanced Inc. Awnings & Upholstery, Honor & Onekama Building Supply, PMI Grand Traverse and our supporting sponsor Thomas & Milliken Millwork. We’re thankful for their support and those of our tour-goers for a very special reason: This year’s tour revenue, as it has for the last decade, will go to Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. Since 2013, this tour has raised more than $135,000 to help their team provide a critical safety net for Northern Michigan’s most vulnerable children and families. The generosity of our readers, viewers and homeowners has helped so many children, and we’re profoundly grateful.

Accessing the tour is easy! Follow the steps below. 1. HEAD TO LINK.MYNORTH.COM/TOUR23. 2. MAKE A SUGGESTED DONATION OF $10 TO SUPPORT CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES OF

NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN AND GET YOUR TICKET.

SCAN ME WITH YOUR SMART PHONE TO GET TICKETS IN A SNAP!

3. WATCH FOR AN EMAIL WITH A UNIQUE PASSWORD. 4. ON OCT. 27, YOU WILL RECEIVE A SECOND EMAIL WITH A LINK TO THE VIRTUAL TOUR PAGE. 5. ENTER YOUR PASSWORD AND YOU WILL FIND ALL OF THE HOMES READY TO VIEW. 6. WANT TO SEE THE HOUSES AGAIN AND AGAIN? NO PROBLEM. THE VIRTUAL TOURS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING UNTIL THE END OF 2023.

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2023 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS photos by EAGLE EYE MEDIA

TIMELESS COTTAGE ON LAKE SKEGEMOG TUCKED IN A WOODED SITE ON THE SHORE OF A QUIET LAKE, THIS HOME HAS ALL THE ELEMENTS OF A QUINTESSENTIAL COTTAGE PULLED TOGETHER WITH A FRESH, CONTEMPORARY FEEL.



ith its cedar shake exterior, this three-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot cottage has a storybook feel— cozy charm that rolls into the interior as well. The warmth of wood carries through with white oak flooring, black walnut ceiling beams and a handsome black walnut–wrapped wall in the foyer. That unusual wall both screens the stairway and acts as a backrest for a bench created by the stairway’s final cascading steps. More character: An antique door adjacent to the stairway that leads discretely to an office. Built by Mapleridge Construction in Williamsburg, the home’s open-plan main floor with CONTRACTOR soaring windows reveals exquisite MAPLERIDGE CONSTRUCTION views of Skegemog Lake, and a three-season, screened-in porch LOCATION with radiant heat extends the WILLIAMSBURG lake-living feel. The living room’s handsome stone fireplace warms on one end and at the other is a well-equipped kitchen, with oversize-island seating, highend appliances and custom cabinetry. The dining area with built-in cabinets is in the center of the room, making a great layout for family cook-offs and holiday entertaining. More custom cabinetry—a signature of Mapleridge Construction— is scattered throughout the house. Upstairs, the primary bedroom ensuite bath includes a large, luxurious shower featuring a tile inlay in the wall that looks like a shimmering lake. Through a hidden passageway upstairs, an unfinished bonus room and bath over the garage offers options for future expansion of the living space.

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2023 JUNE/ JULY

NORTHE

For the Way

You Live Up

North

CA BIN R EBOR N

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1-888-90-BANDI Photo by Jacqueline Southby

bandibuilders.com

Read our story on page 28!

View This Home ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 27TH Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour23

231-941-0014 • bayareacontracting.net Photo by Erin Atwood

Read our story on page 30!

View This Home 23

ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 27TH

Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour23

Northern Michigan Custom Homes TrilliumShore.com 231-218-7567

TRILLIUM SHORE LLC

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2023 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

MAGNIFICENT MODERN FARMHOUSE by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS

photo by TWO TWISTED TREES PHOTOGRAPHY

WITH VIEWS OF VINEYARDS, HORSE PASTURES AND MILES OF WATER, THIS LUXURY COUNTRYSIDE HOME HAS EVERYTHING YOU’D EVER DREAM OF— RIGHT DOWN TO MAN’S BEST FRIEND.

 CONTRACTOR ROYAL STAG CONSTRUCTION LOCATION WILLIAMSBURG

ith 360-degree views of East Grand Traverse Bay and Old Mission Peninsula, this sumptuous home, built by Royal Stag Construction of Williamsburg, is surrounded by Yuba Vineyard and an equestrian practice area, right in the heart of horse-show country. The 5,000-square-foot home was conceived as a highend rental for groups, and features seven bedrooms, five baths and double patios—all with an eye for entertaining. The gourmet kitchen can service a crowd; it has an underlit, black-granite-topped island; black-finish cupboards and appliances that serve as a backdrop for a striking backsplash; and a rustic punched-copper range hood that sits above a copper-handled six-burner Bertazzoni stove. A walk-in butler’s pantry hides small appliances and the chaos of meal prep. The living room invites gathering, with massive beams and a floor-to-ceiling Del Mare LedgeStone fireplace, while the lower level offers another entertaining area with a game room and custom wine cellar to keep the parties rolling. But beyond spaces for coming together there are wonderful luxury touches throughout, including a dustand climate-controlled garage for upscale rides. And to invite guests to enjoy the 160-acre property, visitors have the option to ask for a canine concierge—a Labrador retriever named Molly is available and specially trained for pheasant hunting right on the grounds.

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UpNorth design inspiration, building ideas, & decorating tips straight to your inbox monthly. Sign up here: MyNorth.com/newsletter

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endurahomes.com • 231-218-5810

Read our story on page 34!

View This Home ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 27TH

Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour23

JD HOME

Custom Furnishing, Lighting, Textiles, Home Decor, and Design Services

1238 South Garfield Suite F · Traverse City, MI · jdhometc.com · 231-441-1107 · clientservices@jdhomeanddesign.com

NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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2023 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

VIEWS FOR MILES

ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN (ALMOST) SEE FOREVER FROM THIS INSPIRATIONAL HOME.

 CONTRACTOR SCOTT NORRIS CONSTRUCTION LOCATION

w CEDAR

by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS photos by SAMUEL CRICK

ith stunning vistas of Good Harbor Bay, North and South Manitou Islands and Pyramid Point from every room in the house—even the garage—this 3,200-square-foot Craftsmanstyle home north of Cedar makes watching the sunset a magical experience. Built on a steep, sloping bluff by award-winning Traverse City homebuilder Scott Norris, the two-level, three-bedroom home is narrow and long, stretching out like a mountaintop getaway. “It was a difficult site,” says Norris of the precarious bluff, “but it also affords these terrific views.” The handsome exterior has a light-filled front entryway with stone-clad columns and a massive, welcoming wooden door. Inside, there are countless creature comforts, among them a floor-to-ceiling fireplace wrapped in 24-by-48-inch tiles, surrounded by both built-in and floating cabinetry. The oak-floored kitchen-dining area features high-end GE appliances, an hexagonal tile backsplash, and a quartztopped dine-in island. A graceful arch divides the large space, and a wall of doors on the water side leads to an upper deck to let the outside in. A lower-level kitchenette is handy for grabbing goodies on the way out to the patio. Throughout the house, find Norris’ signature built-ins, detailed millwork, lavishly tiled and appointed bathrooms and, of course, an abundance of windows to take in the extraordinary views.

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2023 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

CAMP INSPIRATION A MODERN LODGE-STYLE HOME BLENDS PERFECTLY INTO A STORIED SITE ON MULLETT LAKE. by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photos by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

 CONTRACTOR BANDI BUILDERS LOCATION

MULLETT LAKE

hen asked to build a low-maintenance home that would feel as historic as the site it is built on, Brett Bandi of Bandi Builders was up to the task. Bandi knew and appreciated that his clients had a long history with the site that was once a boys’ summer camp, Camp Kee-Mo-Sah-Bee, from 1911 to 1941. (Triva alert: One of the campers was James Jewell, who grew up to be the first drama director for the Lone Ranger radio show. No doubt, Jewell imported the term Kee-Mo-Sah-Bee and many of the camp’s concepts and lore to the new show.) In 1949, the Walter family purchased a stretch of the Mullett Lake shoreline that had been a part of the camp, building a rambling summer cottage big enough to hold their large family. Eventually, they purchased all of the former camp property. Flash forward to a new century when some of the next generation of the Walters knew it was time to replace the 70-year-old cottage, but with a home that honored the rich history of the camp. This new home, designed by Stephanie Baldwin of Edgewater Design and constructed by Bandi Builders, is clad in stone and cedarcolored shake, and adorned with a number of other traditional cottage details, including rafter tails, embellished gables, white moldings and even a cupola. All that vintage style, however, belies modern, lowmaintenance materials including limestone, granite and polymer shake and trim. The heart of the six-bedroom, six-bathroom home is the first-floor great room with its vaulted ceiling, cedar beams, upper-level bridge and stone fireplace that reaches to the ceiling. A floor-to-ceiling bank of windows makes the most of the Mullett Lake view.

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2023 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

CHARMING ON GREEN LAKE Q

uestion: How do you take a homely ranch and make it into a quintessential Up North cottage? Answer? Ask BAC Design Group’s Marty Rhein and Bay Area Contracting’s Dean Adams. The pair began by raising the ceiling in the great room to create a cathedral height and letting in light through a bank of clerestory windows. A pair of dormers set on both sides of the new roofline flood the rest of the home in light. The interior seamlessly blends rustic and modern sensibilities including contrasting crisp white built-ins and planked ceiling with saw-cut, hand-scraped wooden ceiling beams, white oak floors and a glacier stone fireplace. A stunning chandelier in the great room pulls the look together. The rustic-modern theme continues in by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS the kitchen with its photos by ERIN ATWOOD high-end appliances, farmhouse sink and earthy Quartzite island (outfitted with a pop-up range vent) that contains unexpected teal accents. The powder room with its petrified-stone sink atop an Asian burl commode is a one-of-a-kind design statement. The cottage feel is accentuated on the exterior with its vinyl “cedar” shake, fresh white trim and front door embossed with a branch motif. Off the main kitchen, a state-of-the-art pergola system with retractable screens houses an outdoor kitchen that leads to a bluestone patio complete with a firepit. And after coming back from a day on the water, there’s an outdoor lanai with a shower to rinse all the sand and sunscreen away.

A COMPLETE REMODEL TRANSFORMS A PLAIN-JANE RANCH HOME INTO A COZY BEACH COTTAGE WITH RUSTIC-MODERN VIBES.

 DESIGNER BAC DESIGN GROUP CONTRACTOR BAY AREA CONTRACTING LOCATION INTERLOCHEN

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NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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Contentment, it’s our Favorite color... Creating a space or curating an existing space, we promise a solution that fits your home and lifestyle.

No matter how complex or simple, don’t overthink. “Think W.I.N.K”

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100% of tour proceeds go to Child & Family Services of Northwest Michigan

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24 231-526-bldr (2537) • cottage-company.com Photo by Jacqueline Southby

Read our story on page 38!

CA LL FO R H O MES!

View This Home ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 27TH Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour23

Feature your creation in the 2024 tour Sales@MyNorth.com

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2023 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

GREEN, SERENE, SUPREME! EVERY INCH OF THIS HOME COMBINES ENERGY EFFICIENCY WITH EUROPEAN-STYLE LUXURY. by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS photos by MIKE DRILLING

 CONTRACTOR ENDURA PERFORMANCE HOMES LOCATION TRAVERSE CITY

rom the arched entry to the walkout lowerlevel patio facing the water’s mesmerizing blues, the wow factors in this French Country–style manse that overlooks Traverse City’s West Bay never end. Builder Ryan McCoon of Endura Performance Homes in Traverse City says the three-level, 6,120-square-foot home features five bedrooms, four and a half baths, 10-foot ceilings on the main floor and basement and nine feet on the top floor. Step into the 23-foot entryway and great room and take in the huge windows, soaring fireplace, coffered ceiling and beautiful built-ins and millwork that grace every room. The exterior is a combination of LP SmartSide cedar shingles, board and batten and lap siding, with two decks for enjoying the view. White oak floors warm the interior. McCoon says the most challenging part of finishing the home was building and trimming the two-story floating staircase, which drops 31 feet

from the second level to the basement. Unusual touches in this magnificent home include a lighted display room for the owner’s collection of china, and the primary bedroom’s ensuite bath with an inlaid Carrara marble floor and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The lower level has a full kitchen, movie theater and cozy bedroom. Perhaps the most enchanting room of all is the granddaughter’s, where a hidden door behind a bookshelf leads to her secret space outfitted with a vanity and Hollywood mirror inside. Almost as magical is the home’s energy efficiency. “With the house being as large as it is, the architect had drawn the home with two forced air furnaces,” says McCoon, who is a certified Green Builder. “Because of the way we build our thermal envelope [the insulation boundary of the home], only one furnace was necessary, saving the homeowner thousands of dollars in equipment costs, and tens of thousands of dollars in utility costs over the next thirty years.”

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OFFICIAL SPONSOR

LAUNCHES OCTOBER 27TH, 2023 TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW! LINK.MYNORTH.COM/TOUR23

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View This Home ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 27TH

Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour23

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2023 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

THE CLIFF HOUSE

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photo by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

THIS HOME PERCHED ON A BLUFF HIGH ABOVE LAKE MICHIGAN OFFERS WIDE, BLUE VISTAS THAT STRETCH TO BEAVER ISLAND.

 CONTRACTOR COTTAGE COMPANY INTERIOR DESIGN COTTAGE COMPANY INTERIORS LOCATION

HARBOR SPRINGS

hen developer Rob Mossburg and his wife, Vee, relocated from the West to Harbor Springs in the 1990s, it didn’t take him long to spot a beautifully wooded bluff on the famous Tunnel of Trees (M-119) where he could envision a one-ofa-kind home. Mossburg asked around about the site and was told by local Realtors and builders that it was unbuildable. Maybe for some folks, but not for Mossburg, who began his career building hotels in the mountains of Colorado and California. A hefty amount of steel beams later, the Mossburgs had their house on the cliff. As if they needed one more reminder of the sacredness of the location, on their first evening on the porch, they watched in awe as an eagle nabbed a fish from the water far below and brought it back to its nest—just feet away from their home. Eventually, the Mossburgs sold the home and several years later, tragically, it burned beyond salvage. The new owners, using the Mossburgs’ Cottage Company, have rebuilt in the same footprint. The new rendition of The Cliff House has a distinctly nautical vibe from its deep blue siding and white trim to its Blue Star appliances in Midnight Blue trimmed in brass. This 1,648-square-foot, not-so-big home is packed with other delights including exquisite cabinetry by Stillwater Custom Cabinetry, a quartz fireplace surround, outdoor kitchen by Kalamazoo Gourmet and tropical-feeling St. Martin porch furniture by Palecek. And since humans don’t fly (eagles still nest nearby), there’s a sophisticated tram system for those who are not up for taking the 65 steps up and down to the home from the road.

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BELLA CASA! A LUXURIOUS NEW HOME GIVES A MEDITERRANEAN ACCENT TO OUR AZURE NORTHERN COAST. by PATTY LANOUE STEARNS photo by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

 CONTRACTOR MAPLERIDGE CONSTRUCTION LOCATION

TRAVERSE CITY

et high on a hill above West Bay, this stately home brims with custom details—all of which blend together into what builder Scott Naumes of Mapleridge Construction calls a Modern Coastal Mediterranean design. The look begins on the limestone-andstucco exterior accented with black grillwork balustrades—a striking custom design that was created by the Mapleridge team. Below the massive two-story arched grand entrance is a balcony with Juliette doors, and below that, a covered bluestone patio with a two-sided fireplace that opens into the 12-foot-ceilinged room beyond. Elegant dark-walnut stained oak floors, eightfoot doors, oversized windows, lavish millwork, lighted built-ins and recesses for art are found throughout the home. The kitchen shimmers with mica-flecked Quartzite waterfall counters and a pyramid ceiling tops the living room. Other luxe touches in the home include a wine room, floating staircase with mica inlays (designed and executed by Mapleridge), and a 450-square-foot “boutique room” closet with floor-to-ceiling lighted cubbies and rods for shoes, purses and other accessories. The fenced back yard is set up for the owner’s rescue dogs, and the home features a huge laundry room with washing stations to care for the pups. Pocket doors with the exterior grate design keep these (lucky) dogs safe and sound on the property.

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^ The food truck Taqueria Mosqueda serves up tacos, fajitas, tortas, quesadillas, burritos and more. Find it parked in front of Yard & Lake several days a week.

photos by Dave Weidner

Yard & Lake 215 Mill St., Northport yardandlake.com OCTOBER 2023

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photos by Dave Weidner

hen it’s a laid-back afternoon you’re craving, wind your way up Michigan’s pinkie finger to bask in the unmatched mellow of Northport. Among the drinksipping and treat-seeking to be done in this beach village, some of the most leisurely is at Yard & Lake, where coowner Shawn Santo and her team are stoking a breezy vibe at the new beer-and-cocktail garden. A colorful sea of vintage-inspired lawn chairs marks the spot, as does the strip of lovingly tended 30-year-old lavender plants and late-blooming native species. There’s fun people-watching under the pergola on weekends (as well as Mystic Mondays, Taco Tuesdays and Thursday Wine Socials). The retail side of Yard & Lake beckons through the open garage door— an homage to the original 1920s gas station on the site. Inside find all the nautical luxuries and beachy accessories your heart desires. Pop over to the bar side, and it’s like arriving on the patio of your most fun friend. Want to try blueberry-lavender compote spooned over ice cream for an appetizer? Let’s do it. Another small splash of local sparkling wine? Walk right up to the Airstream turned service bar. Newcomer food truck Taqueria Mosqueda has become a noon-to-night staple on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday (and Wednesday evenings). Yes, that’s a line for tacos, but the perfect al pastor on a hand-pressed tortilla … totally worth it. Yard & Lake’s own kitchen crafts cheese plates with Northport’s Idyll Farms cheese, sizzles up local bratwurst and offers grandma-recipe pies from Suttons Bay’s Chimoski Bakery. It’s best not to be in a hurry here, but why would you want to be when perched in a butter-soft white Naugahyde barstool awaiting a dreamy cocktail—luscious nonalcoholic versions included—from bar maven Roman Albaugh? Decades-long friends stay for a spell, family members mingle at the vintage picnic tables (be sure to peep at the undersides for stamps from their hometown German biergartens) and even the well-heeled flocks landing for just one Instagram pose end up shimmying toward the taco counter. At Yard & Lake, it’s all about having a moment to really be in the moment.

T he Cu l i nary North Grab & Go

by CARLY SIMPSON

The only thing that can make a fall color tour at Pictured Rocks better? A thick, toasty sandwich in hand.

GRAB

231 E. Superior St.

Sand Point Road

This sweet little sandwich shop on Superior Street is a welcome sight for ravenous fall color travelers exploring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Denizens of forest and shore face delicious decisions: a warm panini layered with bacon, cream cheese, jalapeños and sweet habanero jam or a massive muffaletta loaded with genoa salami, capicola and pepperoni? And the tried-and-true soup lineup—tomato basil, broccoli cheddar—is irresistible. It’s exactly the comfort food we’re craving as cool temps and crisp leaves descend on the North. Good to know: The deli shares a space with ByGeorge Brewing Co. and also has a market with gifts from local artists (think jewelry, candles, mugs). driftwood-deli.com

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is home to eight waterfalls, with even more in the surrounding area. Munising Falls, located within city limits (where Washington Street becomes Sand Point Road), cascades 50 feet over a sandstone cliff. To access it, walk a paved 800-foot trail along Munising Creek, and scale two sets of stairs to viewing platforms. nps.gov/piro

Driftwood Deli, Munising

Munising Falls

photos by Allison Jarrell

SUPERIOR SANDWICHES

The veggie panini with a beer flight at neighboring ByGeorge Brewing Co.

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T he Cu l i nary North Sip

— Celebrating 67 Years — 1956 - 2023

THE BUZZ AROUND TOWN A taste of the North's craft beverage scene.

American

Pinot Noir

Our wines fuse the flavors of vineyards with the relaxed beach vibes of silken dunes. We hope each bottle of Glen Arbor Wines leads you to an unforgettable spot Find more wines, ciders & bubbly at in this inspirational GlenArborWines.com landscape – and takes you back again and again, in body and in spirit. CONTAINS SULFITES • 750ml (25.4 oz) • ALC. 13% By VOL.

Dry Red Wine GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) ACCORDING TO THE SURGEON GENERAL, WOMEN SHOULD GLEN ARBOR WINES’ STARRY NIGHT PINOT NOIR

Hull’s of Frankfort Open Year Round Family Owned & Operated Since 1956 419 Main Street, Frankfort | 231-352-4642

hullsoffrankfort.com

NOT DRINK ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES DURING PREGNANCY BECAUSE OF THE RISK OF BIRTH DEFECTS. (2) CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IMPAIRS YOUR ABILITY TO DRIVE A CAR OR OPERATE MACHINERY, AND MAY CAUSE HEALTH PROBLEMS.

The newly released Starry Night Glen Arbor begs you to bundle up and bring a bottle outside (with some good cheese) on a starry fall evening Up North. Produced and Bottled by Glen Arbor Wines, Lake Leelanau MI 49653 The pinot noir, made with grapes grown near the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula and aged in French oak for 16 months, has bright aromas of Bing cherry and vanilla, with a light-to-medium palate and velvety tannins. It’s paired with a label by Northern Michigan artist Kaarin Herendeen who created a riff on the famous Van Gogh painting of the same name—substituting the Southern France village of Saint Rémy for Glen Arbor. Stop in and have a glass. Ten percent off if you correctly name all the buildings Herendeen pictured, and bonus: posters of Herendeen’s The Starry Night Glen Arbor are available at the tasting room. glenarborwines.com

Cafe • Bakery Farm Market

RIGHT BRAIN BREWERY’S PINBALL WARS & SPIFFY HOT DOGS Thursdays. 6:30 p.m. Pinball wizards and beginners alike amass at Traverse City’s Right Brain Brewery for the weekly double-elimination tournaments. Also noteworthy, trivia with a cheeky twist (maybe leave the kids at home) on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. And about those hot dogs: Underdawg’s Coney truck opened this summer outside the pub and has become, much to our delight, a permanent addition. Toppings to crush on: hot Cheetos, crumbled bacon, squeezy cheese. Pair your gussied up dog with seasonal brews like the spiced amber ale Chubby Squirrel or Naughty Girl Scout, a chocolate mint stout. rightbrainbrewery.com

Your one-stop shop for local food! Try our woodfired pizzas, sandwiches, & artisan baked goods Located on M204 north of Suttons Bay 231-271-6658 • www.9beanrows.com

Get Your Michigan Brewvine Passport A mobile passport chock full of discounts, deals and specials at your favorite breweries, wineries, cideries and distilleries. mibrewvine.com

OCTOBER 2023

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T he Cu l i nary North Last Call

WINDS OF CHANGE by STAC EY BRU GEMAN

Using apple brandy instead of Cognac breathes new life and an autumn edge into a classic cocktail.

ou can hear it in the trees. The leaves rustle differently when they are ready to fall, telling us that it’s time to reach for that corner of the closet where the flannel shirts have been waiting. Telling us that it’s time to once again pour apples into our glass. This year, I’ve been pouring an apple brandy Sidecar into mine. While the Sidecar cocktail was apparently introduced in Paris, inspired by a drink called the Brandy Crusta from New Orleans, it was a bartender in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District who first introduced me to the classic sour. Served with its characteristic sugared rim and made using just lemon juice, Cointreau and Cognac, this sexy little tipple is one cocktail that truly lets the brandy shine. While a Sidecar’s traditional Cognac comes from grapes, plenty of bartenders have tinkered with using brandy made from other fruits, and I can think of no better location for such a riff than our notch of the fruit belt. For a taste of Northern Michigan, I use the apple brandy from Black Star Farms, which is crafted from Leelanau County–grown Jonagold, Winesap, Rhode Island Greening, Spy and more, before being barrel aged for some five years. This October, roll up a (flannel) sleeve, coat a cocktail glass in sugar, listen to those autumn leaves and sip this forgotten classic. Stacey Brugeman is a 20-year food and beverage journalist. Her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Saveur, Travel + Leisure, Eater and on Instagram @staceybrugeman. Dave Weidner is an editorial photographer and videographer based in Northern Michigan. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook @dzwphoto. Sarah Peschel, @22speschel, is a stylist and photographer with an appreciation for all things local agriculture, food and drink. 54 T R A V E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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^ Apple Brandy Sidecar Serves 1 1 lemon, halved sugar 1 ½ ounces apple brandy, such as Black Star Farms Spirit of Apple ¾ ounce Cointreau

photo by Dave Weidner // styling by Sarah Peschel

a round from 1 tart Michigan apple, for garnish A few hours before serving this cocktail, cut a slice as thick as the width of your thumb off one lemon half. Halve that slice to create a half moon shape. Using the thickness of that half moon as your guide, wet the outside only of the rim of a coupe glass. Place a few spoonfuls of sugar onto a small plate and set the coupe onto the plate upside down, to create the sugared rim. Carefully place the coupe glass in the freezer for a few hours, until the sugared rim dries out and becomes hard like rock candy and the glass is well chilled. When ready to serve, fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Juice the remaining lemon, producing ¾ ounce of juice. Add lemon juice, apple brandy and Cointreau to the shaker, and shake until cold. Remove the cold coupe from the freezer and pour the cocktail into the glass. Garnish with an apple round, and serve. – S.B.

OCTOBER 2023

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love of the land

WALDECK ISLAND NATURE PRESERVE One of Cadillac’s most enchanting trails awaits you this autumn. For true leaf-peeping bliss, head to the 11-acre Waldeck Island Nature Preserve, a largely unknown hidden gem just south of Cadillac off M-115. Protected by the Cadillac Area Land Conservancy, this preserve sits on Stone Ledge Lake and offers an easy 1.2-mile loop trail through quiet woods and bio-diverse swampland—perfect for a quick, accessible family hike. Walking the trail, exploring the shoreline and visiting the Hansen Memorial Wildlife Viewing Platform typically takes about an hour (maybe longer if you’re soaking in the vibrant color displays). While on the viewing platform, watch for waterfowl—you might just spot a blue heron wading gracefully along the shore. -A.J.

photo by Dave Weidner

get there

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@bigfootepicadventures 7804 W Moorestown Rd, Manton, MI 49663

SE THE COE LO TAKE A SELF-G RS UID FA E LL COL OR TOU D R

PLAN YOUR NEXT EPIC ADVENTURE Book now at BigfootEpicAdventures.com 1023_TVM_cover.indd 3

Discover the ultimate destination for unforgettable family fun and corporate events at Bigfoot Epic Adventures, nestled in the heart of Northern Michigan. Our premier side-byside rental company specializes in creating engaging, action-packed experiences. From a day out with friends and family or a customized corporate retreat, Bigfoot is your key to unlocking an epic adventure.

231-878-4952 9/6/23 3:15 PM

WALK-IN MEDICAL CARE Monday – Saturday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Experience hassle-free healthcare with our convenient walk-in care services! Whether you’re a returning patient or new to our practice, we’re here to serve you. From young to young-at-heart, we welcome all ages and gladly accept most major insurances.

Lance Edgerton, FNP

Danette Martyn, FNP

Tanya Drinkall, FNP

Walk ins welcome

By appointment only

McLaren Northern Michigan Medcenter - Petoskey South 1890 US-131 #4, Petoskey (231) 487-2000

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9/7/23 11:15 AM