Al Parker | Author
All In The Family
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...
Read More >>
Auto Manufacturing Used To Thrive In Gaylord, Traverse City, And Around The North
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...
Read More >>
Closing The Books: The Bookie Joint Closing After Five Decades
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 ...
Read More >>
14 Great Reasons to Hit the Bay View Wine Trail
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...
Read More >>
Sweet's Bar & Grill
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...
Read More >>
All the Warm Fuzzies
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 ...
Read More >>
Hofbrau Steak House & Grille
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...
Read More >>
Words to the Wise
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,” ...
Read More >>
Dig In: Cherry Fest 2021
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...
Read More >>
Labor of Love
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...
Read More >>
Dinghy’s Restaurant & Bar
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...
Read More >>
Home Run Summer!
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...
Read More >>
Gaylord’s Cops & Doughnuts
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...
Read More >>
A State of Copper
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...
Read More >>
Aero Artist Willie Jones Jr.
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.
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...
Read More >>
A Woman, her Horse, and a Dream
April 18, 2020
Aleta Daniels is prepping for what she calls a “soul-shaking” adventure.
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...
Read More >>
Hockey Kids
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.
“That was SOOOO cool,” she squealed, with all the enthusiasm that an 8-year-old girl...
Read More >>
Wonder Woman
Feb. 29, 2020
Without much fanfare or fuss, one of America's outstanding young athletes works out every day in a small no-frills fitness center in East Jordan.
Seventeen-year-old Lillii Armstrong is a weightlifter. But not any ol’ teenage weightlifter. The soft-spoken high school senior h...
Read More >>
Tater Time: Inside Kitchen Farms
Feb. 15, 2020
Just north of Alba and south of Elmira, a foot-thick blanket of crisp snow covers the dormant fields of Kitchen Farms, a 5,000-acre potato-growing operation that straddles both sides of US -131.
The fields are quiet and will remain so until spring when planting begins.
...
Read More >>
Alpine Chocolats
Feb. 8, 2020
Here's your chance to score some sinfully delectable treats for your Valentine from the number-one chocolate shop in the state, Gaylord's Alpine Chocolat Haus. The chocolatier was given that high ranking late last year by mentalfloss.com. Manager Heather McKinnon says that chocolate-... Read More >>