Al Parker | Author
Home of the Brave
Oct. 30, 2021
A canine-cuddling couple with decades of dog training experience is working hard to provide service dogs to northern Michigan veterans dealing with disabilities.
Ron and Diane Monroe established Mission Six Service Dogs for Veterans in 2018 and have provided six dogs for deserving...
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A Night at the Local VFW
Oct. 30, 2021
We’ve all got an opinion about America’s wars, politics, and place in the world. On the heels of the United States’ recent withdrawal from Afghanistan and ahead of Veterans Day 2021, Northern Express thought it a worthwhile time for all of us to pause the bickering a...
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Oct. 23, 2021 Linda Gottwald's inspiration to start an animal shelter: a little brown dog with a jaunty red scarf. “I first saw Frannie many years ago when I was volunteering at an animal shelter in Oakland, California,” says Gottwald. “She was being dragged into th...
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Oct. 16, 2021 It started life as a common northern Michigan resort cabin, but over the years it's been transformed into one of Benzie County's most popular places for a quality dining experience. The Manitou, out on M-22 between Empire and Frankfort, is a family-owned operation opened in 1979 b...
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Oct. 9, 2021 Early in the 20th century, automakers like Henry Ford, the Dodge Brothers and Billy Durant dominated the industry in Detroit and Flint. But there were a handful of optimistic, energetic entrepreneurs in northern Michigan who dreamed of launching their own motor car enterprises. Here's a l...
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Oct. 9, 2021 Jann Norton adjusts her COVID face mask and cheerfully greets some of the first customers of the day at Traverse City's venerable used bookstore, The Bookie Joint. “We have several genres here,” the shop owner explains to a visiting couple. “And everything is at ...
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Oct. 2, 2021 The Bay View Wine Trail is growing, enhancing its reputation for quality vintages. The seven-year-old trail is home to 14 wineries and runs from Ellsworth to Harbor Springs, but most are clustered around Petoskey. On a crisp autumn day, the drive alone is a beguiling way t...
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Sept. 25, 2021 With many restaurants closing their doors for good because of the twin disasters of a global pandemic combined with the difficulty of finding staffers, it takes a pretty confident owner to launch a new eatery. Meet Bill Sweet, an outgoing guy who — along with his wife and pa...
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Sept. 11, 2021 After living in the Detroit area for two decades, Rebecca and Jason Gill longed for a change. They said good-bye to their long daily commutes, high-stress jobs, and hectic schedules, then planned a relocation to northern Michigan. They sold their house, their lake house and their ...
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Sept. 4, 2021 A traveling musician for much of his adult life, Brian McAllister never expected to settle in Northern Michigan. “Back in 1997, my wife Laurie and I were planning to go to St. Martin but took a trip up here,” explains the guitar picker with a smile. “We just neve...
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June 26, 2021 It could be the setup for a corny joke: A former monk, English professor, and advocate for senior citizens walks into a radio station. It’s a joke that only word geeks — local word geeks, in particular — might understand. “Words to the Wise,” ...
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June 26, 2021 It's been a long time coming, but the National Cherry Festival 2021 promises to be one of the most interesting in years – combining much-loved classic attractions — like Arnold's Amusements Midway, the Gold Pin Program, and the Cherry Farm Market — and some new activitie...
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June 19, 2021 It takes a lot of confidence to launch a new service-oriented business during a pandemic when the national mantra urges folks to mask up, socially distance, and, basically, don't touch each other. But that didn't deter Brit Averill from founding the Birth Center of Northern Michig...
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June 12, 2021 Kelly Sandman chuckles at a customer’s joke, runs a cloth across a section of the 33-foot-bar, then greets a famished family seeking BBQ at one of northern Michigan's most venerable eateries, Dinghy's Restaurant & Bar. Sitting on Frankfort's main drag, right across...
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May 29, 2021 Northern Michigan baseball fans will finally get a chance to see live games when the Traverse City Pit Spitters throw out the first pitch on May 31. It's been well over a year since the Pit Spitters took the field before a live audience, and the squad returns as reigning champions...
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Sept. 12, 2020 There's a cop shop in Gaylord where the phrase “D.W.I.” has nothing to do with adult beverages or erratic driving. At the Cops & Doughnuts Bakery, “D.W.I.” means “Donuts Were Involved,” a bit of sly humor that adorns coffee mugs, T-shirts, h...
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Aug. 29, 2020 A family of Michigan artists is gaining quite a reputation for their use of Upper Peninsula copper in their eye-catching creations. Alex and Becky Teselsky, along with their son Alex R. Teselsky, operate A State of Copper, an energetic family business that produces ori...
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May 16, 2020 You can't hardly swing an easel in northern Michigan without hitting an artist painting a landscape, crafting jewelry, or creating a piece of pottery. April 18, 2020 Aleta Daniels is prepping for what she calls a “soul-shaking” adventure. March 14, 2020 After poking the puck past the opposing goalie, the energetic young hockey player got high-fives from teammates, then briskly skated to the bench for a 90-second shift change.
Don't Call it Puppy Love
All In The Family
Auto Manufacturing Used To Thrive In Gaylord, Traverse City, And Around The North
Closing The Books: The Bookie Joint Closing After Five Decades
14 Great Reasons to Hit the Bay View Wine Trail
Sweet's Bar & Grill
All the Warm Fuzzies
Hofbrau Steak House & Grille
Words to the Wise
Dig In: Cherry Fest 2021
Labor of Love
Dinghy’s Restaurant & Bar
Home Run Summer!
Gaylord’s Cops & Doughnuts
A State of Copper
Aero Artist Willie Jones Jr.
But you have to look far and wide to find one who creates vivid images of military aircraft any better than retired U.S. Air F...
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A Woman, her Horse, and a Dream
The former Petoskey resident is training for the Ride the Wild Coast endurance horse race in South Africa, a 370-kilometer (230 miles) trek across some of the most rugged territory in the world...
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Hockey Kids
“That was SOOOO cool,” she squealed, with all the enthusiasm that an 8-year-old girl...
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