Day of Doing August, 2014 by therhstalon

ADVISER A publication created by MIPA advisers for the JEA Day of Doing: August, 2014

Harsens Island festival delivers full day of

Old School

MUSIC

CONTENTS

The woman behind the gig

Old school, new fans

More than music

For Kristin Bane, running the Schoolhouse Grille and organizing the Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival is a labor of love.

Even without exposure in mainstream media world, traditional tunes continue to find fans young and old.

Festival vendors charm with unique products and friendly, folksy, outgoing personalities

Online exclusive

Hats of Harsens

Hart of gold

A long Saturday in the sun provided festival-goers with an opportunity to show off their fashionable lids.

Grammy nominated artist and island resident Kate Hart enjoys performing in a place she calls home.

2 DAY OF DOING 2014

See a video overview of the entire festival

Festival runs on ‘Island Time’

hey say Harsens Island is a place

to families complete with young children

where time stands still. If that’s

who danced appreciatively to the artists’

the case, it makes perfect sense

offerings while their older companions

that the island would be the setting for a

sat in lawn chairs, eating and drinking and

day of old time music in bucolic setting

enjoying each others’ company on a day

behind the Schoolhouse Grille: a quaint

where time passed slowly -- in the best

restaurant housed an 80-year-old school

way possible.

building on the island.

For festival organizer Kristin Bane, the

The festival which featured local

event and the grille are a way of acknowl-

and regional performers Rod and Annie

edging a very special community in a very

Capps, George Heritier, Kate Hart and

of music lovers ranging from bluegrass

special place. FOR BANE’S STORY,

Mustard’s Last Stand drew a diverse group

enthusiasts to schoolhouse grille regulars

CONTINUE TO PAGE 4 DAY OF DOING 2014 3

Kristin Bane:

the woman behind the gig Schoolhouse Grille owner Kristin Bane continues her journey with food and art by hosting Harsens bluegrass festival Julia Satterthwaite/Rochester High School When Kristin Bane first walked into the quaint red brick two-room schoolhouse on Harsens Island, she knew this was it. While it had been abandoned for three years after serving as an actual K-8 school since 1934 and would take a lot of work to clean and bring up to code, she knew this was the place where she’d open her new restaurant. She even had a name for it: the Schoolhouse Grille. “It was coming for sale, and I thought, ‘No way,’” Bane said. “I couldn’t see it because I had never been inside. Then I went for a walk inside, and all the possibilities just started jumping out. I’m a pretty visual person and I could just start seeing it, and I thought, ‘We could do something with this.’” After five years in business, there’s a fully-functioning kitchen and restaurant on the lower level, an outside patio and tiki bar, an upper level wine bar and an additional room for hosting large parties. Despite all the upgrades, Bane’s not satisfied. “We wish it was farther along, but in time,” Bane said. “It’s true what they say, it takes five years to build a business. We’re getting busier. We’re growing.” One of the unique aspects of owning a business on Harsens Island is planning for the ebb and flow of 1,200 year-round permanent residents and the 5,000 or so cottagers in the summer. To accommodate them, the Schoolhouse Grille is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. from May until the end of December, then opens only Thursday through Saturday only 4 DAY OF DOING 2014

from Jan. 1 through May. living up here for a year or two, we would always take rides Bane is in the kitchen or behind the bar counter four over to the island. I came across the Landing, and you know, days out of five. The rest of the time, she’s mostly rummagjust started working for Barb and George Crown and then ing through local fruit stands, farmer’s markets and grocery when they wanted out, we took over the lease and that’s stores in search of the finest fish and corn beef available. kinda how we started with a restaurant on Harsens Island.” It is Bane’s approach to food that makes the Schoolhouse Though the San Souci Landing went under, Bane wasn’t Grille different from the other two restaurants on the island, ready to give up on the business. San Souci Bar and Browns. “I’ve always been into the food,” Bane said. “My dad and “It’s a little healthier. We try to offer fresher ingredients,” mom are both really great cooks. I come from a foodie famBane said. “We cook food made to order. Nothing’s preily, so it was always there. I’ve always wanted to own a restaudone. We just want people to come in and rant. I’ve just always had the passion for it.” relax and enjoy that and slow down and take The venture at the Schoolhouse Grille Scan for more their time with it.” provides her an opportunity to combine her photos and While Bane’s personal favorites on the passion for food with her art. coverage of menu are the warm kale or brussel sprout sal“Art was always there too,” Bane said. “This the festival ad paired with a crisp glass of Shine Riesling gives me this great opportunity to combine or a Frog Island raspberry wheat, she says the both: do the cooking, plan the parties and pour most popular meal among patrons is perch. my own artwork onto the walls and into the These guests come from all walks of life. menu and all of that. It’s very fulfilling for me.” “It’s just so mixed, I don’t even know Assistant art director Ashleigh Palescuk, a how to explain it,” Bane said. “We get tons perky, 22-year-old with a few beaded dreadof local people and all kinds of people from locks, silver hoop nose pierce and glass-blown off island to check us out, all the surrounding plugs in her ears, says it’s a pleasure to work communities. We were featured on Under the with Bane. Radar and since then we’ve had people drive “She cares. She’s there with you elbows deep out from all over Michigan; they saw it and wanted to check in that dishwater gettin’ them done. She’s cleaning tables, it out, so we’ve got a great mix of clientele.” getting everybody sat down,” Palescuk said. “She’s right in there with you rather than standing back and telling you how BANE’S BACKGROUND to do it. She’s showing you. It makes a huge difference and Bane lived in Michigan until she was 4, then spent the elicits a whole different level of respect.” next 14 years living on Maui. With her long red hair, deep While Bane’s got the food, the art and the employee buygreen eyes and freckles galore, she exudes a calm, free-spirin, challenges are inevitable. ited demeanor. Upon high school graduation, she returned “The biggest challenge was bringing it to code because it to Michigan briefly, then flitted to Florida to attend the art was a school,” Bane said. “We’re putting in a handicap lift; institute of Ft. Lauderdale and find herself. now the whole building will be accessible upstairs, down“I went to graphic art school, and art’s always been a stairs. Also, it’s a small kitchen, but we’re expanding with passion of mine,” Bane said. “I did the logo for the Bluesome more storage with a garage on the side.” grass Festival t-shirts, the poster. I kinda came up with the idea, and I got a printer who will put it together for me.” A FESTIVAL IS BORN After art school, she reconnected with and married After Bane opened the new location, Grammy-nomilifelong friend Tony Bane and launched her first restaurant nated blues singer and Harsens Island resident Kate Hart venture, working for and later taking over the lease of the approached her about starting some sort of music festival San Souci Landing. as a fundraiser. “Tony grew up in the same neighborhood in Harrison “She wanted to do something to raise money for the hisTownship as my grandmother’s restaurant, “ Bane said. torical society or the Lion’s Hall one year and she thought, “When I moved back from Florida, we started to date. After ‘Let’s do a concert of some sort,’” Bane said. “Bluegrass

Julia Satterthwaite

always draws a great, versatile eclectic group of people so she thought let’s go with bluegrass and she knew some people in the business and that’s how the first bluegrass festival got started.” The fifth annual bluegrass festival was held on Saturday, Aug. 23., and Palescuk has worked four of them. “It’s a lot of fun out in the sunshine all day, hangin’ out,” Palescuk said. “It also brings more awareness to bluegrass because it’s kind of lost its touch with, you know, people over the years. They’ll say, ‘What’s this banjo noise I’m hearing?’” Palescuk expected between 350 and 500 guests, who meander about, enjoying live music, food and beer tents and more than a dozen vendors selling jewelry, crafts and other unique items. Bane and her staff at the Schoolhouse Grille prepared for months. “It’s a lot of work just making sure that we have everything here — tents and vendors and you know, obviously, food and getting the word out and getting the bands together,” Bane said. “It always has a great way of just working out and becoming this great day where people are walking out of here going, ‘I can’t wait ’til next year!’” Singer and songwriter George Heritier said he loves playing this festival so much, he came for the first half and

plans to sleep in the back of his Honda Element before he plays at Holler Fest in the Irish Hills later in the evening. Palescuk says Heritier’s her personal favorite. “I respond very graciously and find it very gratifying that people still like this old dude’s music,” Heritier said of inspiring the next generation of bluegrass fans. As Bane looks ahead, she is already thinking about ways to improve. “I’d like to get some other food vendors in here too,” Bane said. “You know, we could maybe concentrate on the fish and the beef and then have a pizza guy here or get some more people in the community that do that to show off what they do ‘cuz that was the basis of it too. In the beginning it was anybody local coming out and showing their wares or their art. Anybody can come out and be a

CREEM OF THE CROP (left): With his repertoire of traditional songs, George Heritier was a crowd favorite at the Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival. Heritier, who played two sets early in the day began performing in the late 1960s. REST STOP (above): Festival organizer Kristin Bane takes a rare moment off her feet. Bane and her Schoolhouse Grille staff spent months preparing for the event which drew between 350 and 500 guests.

part of it.” FACES BEHIND THE FESTIVAL Bane relies on current and former Schoolhouse Grille staff, her husband Tony and 7-year-old son Aiden and a slew of friends to pull off the bluegrass festival each year. Tony works a full time job as a CAD automotive designer for Iroquois, putting in 50-hour work weeks and completing his “honey do” list at the Schoolhouse Grille after work or on the weekends. “It’s difficult — it’s hard sometimes, you know. She grew up in a restaurant, not me,” Tony said. “This is Krissi’s gig, right, and I turn into Mr. Fix It. I prefer to be outside doing stuff, so I try to work on the grounds, but I’ll get dragged

“It truly is the best part of my job that these kids come through, some of them so shy that they can’t even talk to you when they start, and when they leave here they have a voice.”

--Kristin Bane

DAY OF DOING 2014 5

Julia Satterthwaite

HART OF GOLD: Grammy nominated singer Kate Hart leads her band through a mid-afternoon set at the festival. For more on Hart, see page 12.

in there to work on refrigeration, or the AC or who knows — everything.” Tony credits the communal island philosophy of helping others as part of the reason it works. “If I can’t do it, then I got all these guys who are in the trades who are willing to help,” Tony said. Fifth generation Harsens Islander Mike Weaver, a 37-yearold sea wall repairman whose family owns Weaver’s, one of two small grocery stores on the island, says he’s happy to volunteer his time cooking upwards of 70 pounds of perch at the festival for his friends of over 20 years, the Banes. “Tony and Kristin are both phenomenal people,” Weaver said. “They’re big plusses for this island. If you need it and they’ve got it, they’re gonna give it to you. That’s just how

Julia Satterthwaite

DYNAMIC DUO: Rod and Annie Capps hit their groove during their festival-opening set at the Schoolhouse Grille on Harsens Island. Throughout the day, four different acts played to an appreciative crowd of islanders, some of whom are summer residents and others who iive on the island all year. “Next week, the cottagers all go home and I like it quiet,” said permanent resident John Horvath who has lived on the island since 1956. “City people have a different slant on things than we do. We like the peace and quiet.”

they are; they’ve always been that way.” For this reason, the Bane’s have also enlisted the volunteer support of John Horvath, the owner of Silent Acres Farm. An island resident since 1956, Horvath oversees the roasting of — in his words — “the large hunk of dead cow that will knock your socks off.” While Horvath’s aged body creaks and pops each time he struggles in an out of his worn leather chair, his overalls, fishing button-up, and “Grandpa John’s Butcher Shop” apron adorn a sturdy build, and his crystal blue eyes glow with wisdom. “He’s been doing the bar round for us,” Bane said. “He’s been here every year in that same chair; that’s kind of become

“Tony and Kristin are both phenomenal people. They’re big plusses for this island. If you need it and they’ve got it, they’re gonna give it to you. That’s just how they are. They’ve always been like that.”

6 DAY OF DOING 2014

--Mike Weaver

a tradition to slow roast that beef and to have him here.” Horvath enjoys the festival, but he prefers the quiet of the winter. He was officially the 78th permanent resident according to the clerk’s register and believes those who reside on the island year-round are his kind of people. “Next week the cottagers all go home, and I like it quiet,” Horvath said. “Well, when I say quiet, I don’t want you to think that I’m not a sociable person, but if you excuse my term ‘city people’ have a different slant on things than we do. We just like the peace and quiet.” In addition to her family and friends, Bane has 12 Schoolhouse Grille employees working the festival each year. I get a great group of kids and all of the help that help me - generations of kids,” Bane said. “They know every year that they’re going to be working the bluegrass festival. They look forward to it. It’s something different for us. We get to get out of the same routine.” It’s these kids who provide Bane with the most joy. “It truly is the best part of my job that these kids come through, some of them so shy that they can’t even talk to you when they start, and when they leave here they have a voice,” Bane said. “And they go out into the world and they’re more confident and they’ve learned. Working in a restaurant you really get to know how to talk to people and be confident —

Julia Satterthwaite

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK: An appreciative crowd gathers on the lawn of the Schoolhouse Grille to take in the music at the Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival on Aug. 23. The Schoolhouse Grille, owned and operated by Kristin Bane has become an important part of the island’s fabric. Even though it can be tough to get a business established on an island with a small population, Bane and her husband, Tony, along with son Aiden look forward to the Grille’s future. “We always say we gave ourselves a 10-year plan and in 10 years we were gonna decide whether we were gonna stay here and keep going,” Bane said. “Obviously, we’ll talk to Aiden about it when he can understand it a little more and see where he wants to go with it, if anywhere.”

and you learn eye-to-eye contact. So just seeing them go off better equipped makes me so happy.” FUTURE OF THE SCHOOLHOUSE GRILLE Kristin and Tony Bane’s son, Aiden, now serves as a helper, schlepping ice and water to and from the bar throughout the festival. Someday this business may be his. “We always say we gave ourselves a 10-year plan and in 10 years we were gonna decide whether we were gonna stay here and keep going,” Bane said. “Obviously, we’ll talk to Aiden about it when he can understand it a little more and see where he wants to go with it, if anywhere. If we want to stay we keep going and if we want to move along, hopefully we pass it along to Ashleigh, or someone who’s spent so much time here and loves it.” Aiden often works alongside Palescuk, who is heading to Eastern Michigan University this fall to study business after being inspired by Bane. “This is where my heart is. I want to come back with my degree and apply it here and help Kristin out so it’s not always on her shoulders,” Palescuk said. One aspect that may impact the future of the Schoolhouse Grille is the possibility of a bridge to Harsens Island. “I haven’t heard anything about a bridge in so long, I don’t

“When you come here, just relax and we’ll take care of you. When you come here, be prepared to relax and enjoy the atmosphere and your surroundings.”

even know where they stand with it anymore,” Bane said. “I think definitely it would bring business, but do I want it? No, it’s not something I would push for. If it happens, it happens, but I just like the romance of the ferry.” Another is the possibility of having boat access right up to the back of restaurant’s property. For now, Bane says she’s happy with it as is. “I love this setting,” Bane said. “Sometimes it’s very European back here; it’s such wide-open space. It’s not a water view, but it’s still a really beautiful view.” ISLAND TIME IS SLOWER, RELAXED Bane agrees with Horvath and Weaver that visitors and

residents alike should embrace what is, without question, the island’s prevailing philosophy: slow down. “You get that island time thing — it really does exist, you know,” Bane said. “I grew up on Maui so I know it really is a thing. My husband says it all the time. He says I get over the ferry and ‘ahhh, like I can breathe again.’” Bane warns visitors from the mainland to try and shake their habit of rushing through life, if only for the day or two they’re here. “There are people who come from the city too and, you know, sometimes everybody’s just a little rushed,” Bane said. “We try to put across, when you come here, just relax and we’ll take care of you. When you come here, be prepared to relax and enjoy the atmosphere and your surroundings.”

DAY OF DOING 2014 7

--Kristin Bane

r s e n s a t t i t u d e H Changes in

Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival goers wore hats to keep the hot summer sun off their faces and some foot stompinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; boots for dancing.

And cute, to boot!

Old school new fans

Traditional music continues to build audience through festivals, internet

C.E. Sikkenga/Grand Haven

ith his steam punk inspired top hat, scraggly grey beard and a repertoire of tunes that harken back to folk songs of centuries past, it would be easy to view George Heritier as a relic of a bygone era. However, like many performers of traditional music, he’s enjoying something of a renaissance. Heretier, armed with an array of harmonicas, a Guild 12-string guitar and assorted handclaps during his Aug. 23

set at the Harsens Island Bluegrass festival began playing his blend of what he labels “folk Americana” in the late 1960s. After some time off, he returned to gigging about a decade ago and has found audiences still receptive to the music even though it is far removed from today’s pop and country charts. In part, Heritier believes this is because the music is honest and direct. “It’s real,” Heritier said. “It’s natural. There is no artifice. No pretension. It’s just right out there real.” Because of this, he says he notices younger fans flocking to his music even though they won’t easily encounter it through mainstream channels. “They might run into it at a festival like this,” Heretier said. “There’s a couple of kids working over at the food booth who heard me last year and they just love me. They say they listen to my CD all the time.” Ashleigh Palescuk is one of those “kids.” At first glance, her age. combined with her long auburn hair, pierced nose and intricate tattoos on each foot might peg her as being squarely in the electronic dance music camp that is so popular with many of her generational peers. However,

she says that many of her friends are drawn to traditional music because it is so different from the computer-crafted sounds that dominate EDM. “With this type of movement you hear the talent you hear the strings playing and you hear the passion coming out rather than from the computer and getting 17 people writing a song versus one man that knows this is his heart,” Palescuk said. Palescuk, 22 and a student at Eastern Michigan University, found her portal to this music through classic artists like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and the Grateful Dead and first became turned on to a local scene in 2009. That year, she worked the inaugural festival as a member of the staff of the Schoolhouse Grille which hosts the event. She’s been back every year since, finding the music’s rhythms a welcome change from the mind-numbing repetitiveness she associates with EDM. “You can’t sit still when you’re listening to it and that’s probably my favorite part,” Palescuk said. “You can’t go wrong with a banjo either.” Gaining access to these musicians and their work can be difficult in world where their music is often hard to find

photo by C.E. Sikkenga

C.E. Sikkenga

through traditional channels. Fans are finding it requires a blend of old and new school approaches to stay current. Palescuk and her college friends have found many ways to expose themselves to somewhat obscure sources, including word of mouth, buying CDs directly from performers at shows, trading with friends from school and the internet. It’s not just college kids who are using technology. Eva Cooper and Mark Malone are longtime fans of country, bluegrass folk and traditional music who attended the festival on Harsens Island and recently founded the Southeast Michigan Bluegrass Music Association. The pair and their circle of fans follow their music tastes on SiriuxXM radio. Among the satellite provider’s universe of channels is Channel 61, Bluegrass Junction. “They all have Sirius and they buy a lot of CDs,” said Cooper of the fans she knows. Despite this, Cooper worries that the music may struggle to keep an audience once her generation of fans fades from the scene and it becomes harder to introduce new fans to this music. “If they’re not exposed to it, they’re not going to like it,” Cooper said.

Cooper also believes that even in historical hotbeds of traditional music, younger listeners are turning to other genres. “A lot of the older folks are bringing their grand kids and stuff and they’re actually starting in, but even in the south the kids are listening to rap instead of country,” Cooper. Palescuk is more optimistic, noting that in past several years, many acts with mainstream popularity such as Mumford and Sons or the Lumineers have incorporated traditional styles into their music, exposing younger listeners in the process. “The folk movement is coming back,” Palescuk said. “

MUSIC BY GEORGE (left): George Heritier growls the lyrics to one of his many folk and blues-influenced tunes at the Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival. He believes his old time blend of music still resonates with listeners because of its authenticity. “It’s real,” Heretier said. “It’s natural. There is no artifice. No pretension. It’s just right out there real.” ANNIE GET YOUR GUITAR (above): Songwriter Annie Capps belts out a tune during her festival opening set with husband Rod Capps. The festival brought together a diverse group of music lovers at the Schoolhouse Grille.

Mumford and Sons is a really good way to bring that in. Especially because they’re on the radio now too and more people are getting in to that style and they’ll hear Mumford and Sons on the radio and they’ll get inspired to create their own.” For Heritier, a simple truth remains. As long there are people making strong music, young audiences will find it, just like he and so many others did a half-century ago. It’s really not any different,” Heritier said. “If you play well and you have something to offer to people who receptive to what you’re going to do, it happens. There’s still that interchange. It’s timeless.”

“If you play well and you have something to offer to people who are receptive to what you’re going to do, it happens. There’s still that interchange. It’s timeless.”

--George Heritier

Local Grammy nominee shares other gift KATHRYN BURKHOLDER/PINCKNEY HIGH

ate Hart had the idea seven years ago: Harsens Island needed a music festival. On Saturday, Aug. 23, hundreds of music lovers gathered in the backyard of Schoolouse Grille. Organized by Tony and Kristen Bane, the owners of the restaurant, the event showcased artists such as Annie and Rod Capps, George Heritier and Mustard’s s Retreat. But perhaps the most notable artist was the brainchild of the event, four time grammy nominee Kate Hart. Hart’s journey across the country and discovery of her gift for recognizing that people need help dealing with illness, anxiety, depression and other stressors brought her back to Detroit to explore a new passion: sound healing. “It’s working with the frequency of the body and masking the frequency of the disease and eradicating it with sound,” Hart said. Hart returned to Michigan after 40 years of singing with successful groups such as Seattle Women and Detroit Women. Her experiences and trials as an accomplished musician led her back to Michigan, where she returned to do something she had always wanted to do: have an organic garden. “I was tired. I really wanted to be a gardner,” Hart said. “A 12 piece band - there’s a lot of fricking drama, so you try to stay above it. You try to tell everybody it’s just about the music, but it can be hard.” So Hart decided to sow her roots and allow herself to find peace in Michigan. The influence of her mother and her own natural instincts as a sound healer led her back to find a place where she could find solace. “My mother was an astrologer when I was about 12 or 13 years old. She was already showing a different way of thinking, and I just always kind of knew things,” Hart said. That knowledge came from work with Tibetan bowls (a bowl/bell designed to create sound for meditation, music, and relaxation), her training as a singer, and her innate abilities. “A lot of the work has been done, but I had a knack for it because I have a really musical ear and there were things I brought to it that hadn’t been done yet, and one of them was really adding the harmonics which is based on Pythagorus’ work, who is the first sound healer,” Hart said. Hart has opened her door to anyone who might find they need healing through sound. “I’m doing it here on the island, and I have the only downloadable music site for healing in the world,” Hart

12 DAY OF DOING 2014

Kathryn Burkholder

said. She is willing to work with “whoever shows up in front of me.” While Hart acknowledges that her life experiences were the catalyst for her pursuit of sound healing, she also credits her husband as instrumental to her exploration and discovery of her healing work. Two decades ago, Hart had an awakening, and her husband’s words forced her to see beyond herself. “You think I’m wise, you ought to see him. He just

HART ATTACK: Kate Hart belts out a tune at the Harsen’s Island Bluegrass festival. Hart turned out to be one of the most versatile performers of the day, playing with her band as well as a stripped down acoustic set. A veteran of the professional music scene, in recent years, Hart has become increasingly involved with music and sound therapy which uses sound to mask the frequency of the disease and helps her to assist patients suffering from depression, anxiety and other aliments.

looked right at me and said, ‘just because you think it doesn’t make it right.” And I cared enough about him to see what pain I was causing. And it was a keen awareness that came over me,” Hart said. That keen awareness is what brought her to where she is today: living in Michigan, on an organic farm with her husband, and healing the people who come to her. Information about sound healing can be found at michigancenterforsoundhealing.com.

Beer catering key for Marquette duo College friends find success with brewing philosophy based on small batches, healthy dose of experimentation C.E. Sikkenga/Grand Haven High School As anybody who’s ever attended a music festival can tell you, the music may be the main draw, but it is far from the only one. For many, food and drink is a close second. At a festival, drink means beer and in Michigan, that means craft beer. At the Harsens Island Bluegrass festival, Wyatt Andrews and Ethan VanLente had it covered. The duo, who started their operation two-and-one-half years ago, as students at Northern Michigan University are the driving forces behind Rusty Spudz, a Marquette-based operation that takes the “micro” in micro brew quite seriously. Currently, they run three and seven barrel systems, preferring to focus on experimenting with styles and ingredients in small batches. They don’t even have apub or tap room, preferring to focus on what they claim could accurately be described as beer catering. Originally, they started brewing because they love beer and wanted to save some cash. “It made more sense for us to start making our own as opposed to paying a bunch of money to buy it out of the store so that got us started,” said Andrews, who has since graduated from NMU and, other than his scruffy, collegedude beard resembles a young Paul Rudd. “From there it’s never ending.” That never ending process has led to numerous offerings which include unique spins on traditional varieties like a ginger blonde and a coconut brown ale. The pair loves to experiment with new styles, including lilac wine, and then trying them out on familiar audiences. “You start by catering to your friends,” Van Lente said. “You get your immediate friends’ input on what you’re making and what you’re producing and whether or not they think it’s drinkable.” “We’ve done lots of parties and catered events in the Marquette area so you get a better idea on the general public and what they think of your product. From there we travel, we hit the road, we come down here and see if it’s maybe something people downstate are interested in and see if we can compete with other breweries and

photo by C.E. Sikkenga

RUST NEVER SLEEPS: Rusty Spudz cofounder Wyatt Andrews discusses his product with customer at the Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival. Along with partner Ethan Van Lente, Andrews founded Rusty Spudz two-and-one-half years ago in Marquette. Their operation focuses on small batch offerings with an experimental bent including a Lilac wine and fresh twists on old standards from the beer world like coconut brown ale and ginger blonde.

places that produce the same type of product.” After finding their friends enjoyed Rusty Spudz offerings, the duo branched out to the Marquette community which provides a supportive climate for their ambitions. “In Marquette, just in general, the city is definitely a “do it yourself ” area and people are very prone to liking homemade stuff,” Andrews said. “ A lot of our friends prefer for us to bring beer to parties than for them to go get a keg of Bud Light or something.” The pair seem like a good fit for Marquette’s earthy, DIY atmosphere. Andrews comes off as a laid-back, yet honest and direct with a businessman’s vision. With his red hair pulled into a short pony tail and matched by a wiry beard, it’s easy to picture Van Lente returning home after a long walk in the North Words. Both are refreshingly noncorporate in their approach and their passion for the craft is as obvious as their confidence is strong. They genuinely believe in their product’s quality, enough so that a conversation about their wares comes off more like neighbors discussing a backyard garden over the fence than a marketing presentation. That said, these guys do not give the impression of being naive amateurs. They understand the business end of their operation and have a clear vision for how they’d like to turn their hobby into a lifelong vocation. Although the market for micro brews in Michigan grows more competitive by the week, Andrews is confident that Rusty Spuds will be able to differentiate itself in a crowded

field. While they wouldn’t mind eventually producing a signature beer that becomes a financial flagship, they’re content to follow their instincts and trust their tastes, rather than simply trying to jump on the next big trend. To this end, they note that they have only brewed a few Belgianstyled offerings, even as that has become the latest rage with craft brew fans. For Andrews, it’s about staying true to the things they’ve always loved, not what the mass market dictates. “The type of brewery that we’ve always wanted, we feel is a little bit different than the average one,” Andrews said. “It’s smaller, community-based and driven by friends and family and the public rather than creating a business that everyone’s going to come to,” Andrews said. We’ve gotten a lot of advice from other breweries who say that if you jump too fast going bigger, you don’t know what’s going to happen at that point, so we’ve always thought of the small work-your-way-up, community-based kind of thing.” For Van Lente, that means focusing on atmosphere and trying to give the customers the experience that he and Andrews have always valued. “By keeping a small brewery and by starting out on a three-barrel or a seven-barrel system it allows us to experiment and be able to constantly be turning over different beers for our customers instead of having four beers that they get every time they come there,” Van Lente said. “You create that good atmosphere and that friendly, inviting atmosphere and then every time they come there it’s something different and it’s fun for the customer to keep coming back.” DAY OF DOING 2014 13

MORE than MUSIC

Festival fans treated to variety of vendors providing unique fare, plenty of local color PHOTO STORY BY SHARI ADWERS GROSSE POINTE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL

ALL BUSINESSDennis Malaney of Farmington Hills serves Papa’s Pilar rum from Hemingway Rum Company. Malaney is vice -president of sales for the company, which is in its second year, and he’s been in the rum business since college. “I was bartending at (Northern Michigan University), a little school up in the [Upper Peninsula], and then I went to work for Bacardi rum company…I was majoring in business administration, so this is business,” Malaney said. 14 DAY OF DOING 2014

ART FOR A LIVING: Artists Sarah Kondretenko of Romeo and Chad Shariak of Richmond met at Macomb Community College in a rendering class. While they enjoy selling their art at the bluegrass festival, Kondretenko admits it’s not ideal. “I have an education in the fine arts from (high school in) Chicago. It’s very, very difficult to support yourself and build a life off of little festivals and things like that, but, I think that that’s personally one of the reasons why I went back to school to get my associates so I could be working with a steady job and get a steady paycheck and be able to support my fine arts and to be able to do that without any stress and then share it freely without worrying about money.”

MAKING LEMONADE: Mark and Debbie Kapanowski run Luv’s Fresh Squeezed Lemonade. Their 10-year-old daughter Natalie helps them man the tent at the festival. Mark is a manager in an IT department at Chrysler in Auburn Hills. Debbie spent weekends and summers with her family on the island growing up. “We were gonna buy a cottage and we happened to fall into the house that we’re in,” Mark said. That means his commute is about an hour and a half each way depending on traffic – when he can get off the island. Two winters ago, Mark was stranded on the mainland for three weeks because the ferry couldn’t get through the ice. He stayed with his parents, which is still an option, but a bridge might help solve the problem. “I’m for it for the wintertime. You know, I’d probably use it in the wintertime. But in the summer, I’d use the ferry.”

NATURAL HEALING: “I started my company, Bonnie’s Royal Oils, last year,” Bonnie Cook of Algonac said. Cook said she enjoys helping her customers find just the right combination of oils for their needs, whether they suffer from arthritis, injuries or allergies. This has led her to take her sales on the road to local venues. “I travel. I prefer to travel. I go everywhere.” Cook said she usually does farmers’ markets, and this was her first bluegrass festival. “I love it. This is my cup of tea.”

A FAMILY AFFAIR: Rose Schafer (below) of Algonac was a firsttime vendor selling Jewel Kade custom artisan jewelry and new to the bluegrass festival experience. “This is my first time. I love it. Love the music. This guy’s (top hat dude) funny,” she said of George Heritier. Schafer shared a vendor tent with her husband Gary Schafer,(left) a former Oakland University journalism professor. Gary sells heated tailgate bags. The Schafers, who have been married 11 years, met online. “It was kinda new back then. It was effective. The key element was that we were both tennis players. So that’s the commonality that got us together, and after that, it really clicked, and now we play tennis all the time.”

LURED TO HARSENS: Ron Cracchiolo of Clinton Township runs Blue Water Bait, making and selling handmade wooden fishing lures. “I always fished as a kid, and I started making – imitating – a lure that I liked ‘cause I couldn’t find in the stores anymore, so I recreated it . They’re meant to be used.” Cracchiolo isn’t an native but makes a special trip for the festival. “It’s very relaxing. I just sit here, talk to people, have a beer or two and just relax.”

TWO FOR THE BIRDS: “We’re always makin’ out,” Amy Minor of Beau and Amy’s Custom Birdhouses said. Minor and her husband Beau settled in Kimball after he retired from a career in the military. “We’re married, been together 17 years -- since we were 19. We do everything together,” Amy said. “We do replicas of people’s houses. We make them into birdhouses that actually work. They look just like people’s houses.” The process, which can take anywhere from two days to two weeks depending on the complexity of the product, is a team effort. “I make ‘em, and she makes ‘em pretty,” Beau said.

LONG TIME LOCAL: Nancy Boulton of the Harsens Island Historical Society has lived on the island since 1959. “It’s changing. People are takin’ down their cottages and buildin’ big homes. I like it. Changes are good,” she said. Boulton thinks change needs to come even faster to bring more tourists to the island. “We don’t have a hotel. It’d be nice to see a hotel on the island. It would be great to see a hotel. I’m all for it.” But as for the proposed bridge, Boulton’s feelings are mixed. “I’d rather not see it, but if it came, I don’t think I’d feel real bad at this point. But I do like the ferry.”

PEOPLE PERSON: Suzanne Kuhn of Harsens Island owns Suzanne’s at Port Huron Outlet Mall. Kuhn’s enjoys the interactions she has at events she attends. “Thirty-eight years ago, I was going to college to be an accountant and I worked at another shop, and I thought, I can open my own. I do love what I do. It’s a lot of work for not a lot of money, but I’ve met a ton of nice people, really, and that’s kinda like what life’s about,” Kuhn said. DAY OF DOING 2014 15

RETURNING TO ROOTS: Harsens Island provides space to take a break from reality Shari Adwers advises North Pointe newspaper and Valhalla yearbook at Grosse Pointe North HS.

Tracy Anderson advises The Communicator Newspaper and chscommunicator.com at Ann Arbor Community HS.

Kathi Burkholder advises phsconnected.com at Pinckney HS.

Rod Satterthwaite advises The Tower newspaper and thetowerpulse.net at Grosse Pointe South HS.

Julia Satterthwaite advises The Talon newspaper and rochestertalon.com at Rochester HS. C.E. Sikkenga advises The Bucs’ Blade newspaper at Grand Haven HS.

16 DAY OF DOING 2014

Julia Satterthwaite/Rochester H.S. There’s something magical about the Champion’s Auto Ferry ride from the mainland to Harsens Island; while the quarter mile trip is only about a three-minute ride, it serves as an important transition between two totally different worlds. It’s the warmth of the sun glinting off the deep blue waves created by passing speed boats. It’s the freshness in the air devoid of the exhaust and congestion of city life. It’s the calming sensation that sneaks in as the stress and the frenetic of my reality drifts away. Once on the island, a 7-minute drive brings me to the place that has meant so much to me over the years (so much so that we chose to get married here): my grandparents’ house. Grandma June and Grandpa Bob built their three-story home and guest house, complete with a pool, hot tub and boats in 1989, with every intention of the family gathering here as often as possible. To ensure the grandkids stayed close to home after high school, they established a Michigan Education Trust fund for all 18 of their grandchildren. We stuck around and continued to gather here multiple times each year until the death of grandma June in October of 2005. It was in this place that many of my fondest childhood memories were made: swimming in the heated pool alongside a gaggle of kids, relatives and friends; strumming guitars and singing “Alice’s Restaurant” at Thanksgiving and “Silent Night” at Christmas and David Wilcox and Bebo Norman on Labor Day; playing endless games of Michigan Rummy and Euchre overseen by the firm yet fair Aunt Karen; flying over freighter waves and getting soaked during Uncle Tom’s crazy speed boat rides; blowing out the candles with cousin Katie, who every year came up from Ohio to celebrate our birthdays together; watching the 4th of July fireworks at the Old Club, sometimes getting sprayed with still-sizzling sparks; opening gifts next to the 14-foot, elaborately-decorated Christmas tree in the great room (the one time each year the kids were allowed in this room). I remember attending the annual Pig Roast and wearing a cotton dress my Grandma June made. She made each girl a dress, and for each boy she embroidered his name on the pocket of a t-shirt. I would have traded that dress for a t-shirt with my name on the pocket in a heart beat. Today, I’d give anything to

have back one of those cotton dresses. It was a simple time. Things are not so simple for me anymore. I’m still a daughter a cousin and a sister, but I’m also a wife and a mother and a teacher. I have two boys, outrageous day care costs, and a lovely ranch in Royal Oak that has a basement recently flooded with sewage. It will cost a pretty penny to get it repaired. I have a 3-year-old who wants me to play Ninja Turtles and sleep on the floor next to his bed at night when he’s scared, a 2-year-old who craves cuddles and for me to get him more chocolate chip muffins and yogurt tubes or fruit snacks. I have a black lab who also needs a hug and a rub from time to time. I have a husband who often reminds me of my black lab. I teach three or four different classes each semester — 35 kids in a class. I advise an award-winning student newspaper, and I’m as involved in state and national journalism organizations as my schedule will allow me to be. My carefree days of swimming and diving into my grandparent’s pool here, of dipping in and out of the hot tub, of gossiping about boys and giggling with cousins, of being a mischievous tomboy with not a lot to worry about are long gone. My life is not simple, but I love my life. I truly love coming here. The house on Harsens Island has changed little since I was a little girl. It’s sort of frozen in time, with the same floral wallpaper, the same rows of circular bulbs in every bathroom, the same bedding and drapery made by my Grandma June as it did when it was built more than a quarter century ago. It’s comforting to be back in this place — now as a mother, a wife, an aunt. Despite the changes, it feels so familiar. It seems like it’d be hard to visit a place from the past when I’ve so clearly changed and grown, but it still feels the same. Or at least it did until grandma June died. But today, as I applied my make-up and looked into the same mirror in Grandma June’s master bathroom, where she undoubtedly did the same thing many times, I couldn’t help but feel a rush of gratitude sweep over me as I whispered to Grandma June and Grandpa Bob, “Thank you so much for providing this place for me, for my cousins, and now for my boys — a place where we can sink our roots and grow more memories. Thank you for making this place where I can laugh and relax and forget about flooded basements and newspaper deadlines.” I leave tomorrow, and I’m dreading the three-minute ferry ride back to reality, but I — Julia June Satterthwaite — will return soon.