Glen Young

Art Glen Young Bird’s eye view: Aerial photography exhibit soars in Petoskey
By Glen Young
Robert Cameron always took the bird’s eye view. Cameron, whose works are
currently on display at Petoskey’s Crooked Tree Arts Center gallery,
popularized the aerial vantage point in his many “Above” books. His
first, “Above San Francisco,” was published in 1969. He went on to
publish 16 more in the series. There are more than three million “Above”
books in print.

Books Glen Young Fictional sleuth Alex McKnight is back and his fans are pleased, but no
more so than his creator, Michigan-born author Steve Hamilton.
Returning in his eighth novel, McKnight ventures west from his home base
in Paradise to ominously named Misery Bay, where he is asked to
investigate the suicide of a college student, a young man who appeared to
have it all, but who instead hangs himself from a large, lonely tree near
the shores of Lake Superior.

Dining Glen Young Not content to relax in retirement, Jamie McClurg, a retired Proctor and
Gamble executive who called Northern Michigan home in the 1970s, turned to
a buddy while sunning on a Florida beach in 2009, asking, “Do you want to
open a brewery in Cheboygan?”
McClurg laughs about the memory, but the result is the new Cheboygan
Brewing Company, set to open this weekend at the corner of North Main and
Pine Streets, a few blocks from where brewing first began on the banks of
the Cheboygan River in the late 19th century. Construction began in
October, with brewing commencing in mid-April. Now McClurg, his partners,
their investors and their employees are prepared to deliver their first
draught.

Features Glen Young Music to Their Ears: Filmmakers shoot a musical in hometown Petoskey
By Glen Young
If his project works out as he hopes, Erich Rettstadt of Petoskey will
return to the Traverse City Film Festival at some future date. The return
trip will not be to reprise his role as an intern, but rather to attend
the screening of his just completed film “Basis of Decision.”
Rettstadt describes the film as a “1950s style musical.” Set in fictional
Harbor Village, somewhere in an undisclosed idyllic Midwestern burg, the
film recently wrapped filming in and around Petoskey.

Books Glen Young Sterling’s Stories: Delving into the heart of Northern Michigan… briefly
In Which Brief Stories Are Told
By Phillip Sterling
Wayne State University Press
$18.95
By Glen Young
Phillip Sterling believes that although Northern Michigan is part of “the Midwest,” there is a sensibility in the Great Lakes state that separates us from our neighbors.

“It’s somewhere between Hell and Paradise. Not only is it geographically true, but I think it says something about the tendency toward exploring the extreme in celebrating American culture,” Sterling says about the competing tendencies of Northern Michigan.
“We’re called Midwestern but we’re not Midwestern in the sense of say Indiana or Illinois. We’re thought of as North, but we’re not North in the way of say Minnesota.”
Sterling is the author of the newly released “In Which Brief Stories Are Told.” He says our region’s connected separateness is a recurrent theme in the 15 stories that make up his new book, recently published as part of the “Made in Michigan Writers Series” from the Wayne State University Press.

Dining Glen Young A Mediterranean Twist on Cuisine in Petoskey
By Glen Young
Though the idea was already on its way to fruition, a chance meeting
at a local grocery store laid the groundwork for the success of one of
Petoskey’s newest eateries.

Dining Glen Young Take a Tasty Trip Around the World at Palette Bistro
By Glen Young
Ten weeks might not seem long between design and debut, but that is
exactly how long it took the proprietors of Petoskey’s newest dinner
destination to get their restaurant off the ground.
Palette Bistro, the latest venture by Wine Guys restaurant group,
opened in December with a Mediterranean themed menu, an emphasis on
small plates and a view that rivals any in Northern Michigan.

Dining Glen Young Sweet! Kilwin’s heads south of the border for chocolate sensations
By Glen Young
With a little help from some improved technology and an adventurous spirit, Kilwin’s Quality Confections of Petoskey has embarked on a new venture in chocolate making that has taken its owners far ‘south of the border.’
The company, started in Petoskey in 1947, has evolved into one of the most popular chocolate outlets in the country. Recently, Kilwin’s developed a line of “single origin” chocolate bars derived from faraway lands.
Whereas most of the confections the Northern Michigan business produces contain a blended chocolate to start, the new bars all originate from single sources from Ecuador, Mexico, Tanzania, Peru, and elsewhere.

Art Glen Young Robert Frost ‘Stops by the Woods’ at Crooked Tree
By Glen Young
Gail DeMeyere could not be more excited about her upcoming exhibition.
DeMeyere, curator at Petoskey’s Crooked Tree Arts Center, has
put together “Stopping by Woods on a
Snowy Evening,” a mixed media presen-tation that takes the Robert Frost
poem of the same name as its unifying theme, combining the literature with
the art work of 16 Northern Michigan artists.

Features Glen Young Hockey through the ages
NHL Star Craig Coxe passes on his skills in Petoskey
By Glen Young 10/5/09




School has been in session long enough again now that some students are starting to feel restless. That first holiday break cannot come early enough.

For another group back in their icy classroom, however, class is anything but a bore.

For the fifth year running, former National Hockey League standout Craig Coxe is conducting a skills clinic for adult players at Petoskey’s Griffin Arena.

Music Glen Young Writers Recharge at
Springfed Retreat

By Glen Young 9/28/09

John Lamb believes his writers’ conference is unlike other such events. Lamb, director of the Springfed Writers’ Retreat has worked for 11 years to create a comfortable atmosphere for those who attend the mid-October gathering.
“The retreat started out as a semi-irreverent affair,” he says, but the wealth of writing talent he’s been able to use to staff the event has turned it into one of the premiere seminars in the state, if not the country. Indeed, his staff is made up of some of the most notable writers of poetry and fiction found anywhere.
A singer-songwriter from Royal Oak who also organizes songwriting workshops in Northern Michigan, Lamb’s objective is to offer a worthwhile experience to those attending, while making each year different. “I’m careful about not repeating subjects,” he says.

Features Glen Young Lumberjack Gladiators
Jack Pine Shows are on a roll at the Straits
By Glen Young 8/17/09

What does a world-class lumberjack do when he is ready to hang up his traveling shoes? For nine-time logrolling champ Dan McDonough, if he cannot go out on the road, he brings the road to him.
McDonough and partner Cynthia Musickant have brought the longtime tradition of the traveling lumberjack show to a permanent site along the Straits of Mackinac between Mackinaw City and Cheboygan. The Jack Pine Lumberjack Shows opened last July and has gained speed this summer, playing to bigger and noisier crowds each night.

Music Glen Young Fair Herald Spreads the News
A Chicago-Petoskey connection at Festival on the Bay

By Glen Young 8/10/09

At the beginning of their song “Mythology,” Fair Herald vocalist Mike Kuntz sings, “I’ll meet you on the other side if I make it through.” The band, made up of five Chicago area friends, is hoping their music continues to make it through to an ever-widening audience.
Fair Herald will reach out to Northern Michigan audiences with shows at Petoskey’s Festival on the Bay this Friday, August 14, and City Park Grill August 15.
Featured on the band’s 2008 recording Familiar Streets, “Mythology,” showcases the group’s layered, eclectic style, a sound newest member Mark Goldich says is influenced by the Chicago-area group Wilco. “Their set of influences matches ours,” he says, adding inspiration from The Replacements, Gram Parsons, and even Woody Guthrie.
In addition to Goldich, who plays guitar, Fair Herald features Kuntz on lead vocals, Jimmy Bloniarz on keyboards and percussion, Dave Brankin on drums, and Sean Bacastow on bass. Kuntz is the band’s primary lyricist, but the others agree their songs come primarily in collaboration.

Features Glen Young The Tale of the Bernida
Restoring a Mackinac Island treasure

By Glen Young 8/3/09

When the boats sailed into Mackinac Island’s Haldimand Bay from Port Huron for the annual race last week, the one most folks wanted to see was a 32-foot mahogany-hulled treasure that hasn’t raced to Mackinac since 1925.
The tale of the Bernida has seen many twists, the most recent being the restoration of the long abandoned boat. The story began in 1921 in a Boston area shipyard where she was built, christened “Ruweida III.” The 32-foot sloop is getting all kinds of attention now because of the effort to return her to racing shape. Boatwright Emory Barnwell has been working on the project since late last fall, when the boat was ferried to Mackinac Island from St Ignace, where it sat in dry dock for several years.

Features Glen Young On the run on Mackinaw Island
Glen Young 6/1/09

Tom Largo, a long time running enthusiast says that running “is the most economical way of seeing Mackinac Island.” Largo’s family has summered on Mackinac Island since the 1970s, so he and wife Peg visit regularly from their home in Dewitt. Largo says the best features of running on Mackinac Island “are not having to worry about cars, the solitude, and the scenery.”
The Largos are not alone. More and more runners are recognizing the allure of Northern Michigan’s famous island. John Gault, whose Gault Race Management provides timing services for the three main Mackinac Island running events, can attest to the rise in numbers.