Jon Lamb 12935 S West Bay Shore Dr, Ste 355 231-947-1123
John Tredway
806 S Garfield Ave, Ste B 231-932-1290
Andrew Weaver
125 Park St, Ste 250 231-947-3032
SLEEPING BEAR Waking the Beauty of
A half century after it closed, the oldest inn in the national park system is open once again to laughter, the best night’s sleep ever, home cooking, lifetime memories and even romance.
by ELIZABETH EDWARDS / photos by ALLISON JARRELL ACOSTA
On a cool autumn day last year, the 39 panes of antique glass that line the porch of the Sleeping Bear Inn framed a scene that has changed little since time immemorial: The Manitou Islands floated on the deep blue water of Sleeping Bear Bay, golden sun bounced off creamy sand, and the three white pines across the road braced against the stiff lake wind that keeps them as stunted and shorn as though deliberately shaped by a bonsai master. Inside the inn’s enclosed porch, innkeepers Maggie and Jeff Kato had lit a fire in the old brick hearth in preparation for a small wedding ceremony. “The porch was filled with warmth, sunshine and love,” Maggie recalls.
While this intimate ceremony marked the beginning of the bride and groom’s life together, it held special significance to the Katos: it was the first public event to be held in the old inn, set in the Lake Michigan hamlet of Glen Haven, since the National Park Service shuttered it in 1972 as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was being established. And that fact had everything to do with the Katos and their calculated—albeit gutsy—decision to toss out conventionality, sell the home in Flushing where they’d raised their five children, and move to this Northern Michigan outpost.
True, the inn wasn’t actually open on that autumn day—wedding guests could go no farther than the porch. It would be another 10 months before the Katos began taking reservations. But while the list of what still needed to be done was long, the Katos and their contractor, the MacGyver-esque character George MacEachern, had already moved proverbial mountains to rescue the circa-1860 building, working through issues as diverse as financing and bureaucratic red tape, to reglazing those antique windows. “We felt our hard work fully restoring the porch down to every pane of glass was worthwhile as people celebrated together in this special place,” Maggie says.
Because of the trios’ ingenuity, hands-on labor and so much more, life was returning to this building that had once been the center of the storybook-like kingdom of Glen Haven, a town that had lasted through the better part of two centuries. It was a place chock full of life in all its glory— old-school hospitality, laughter, gossip, home-cooked meals that stuffed you so full you hurt, euchre games in front of a spitting fire, scandalous trysts and even a couple of frontier fairytale romances. “That building had so much character it could talk to you,” recalls Robin Lambkin, who waitressed there in the late 1960s through the inn’s last summer.
the steamers that docked across from the inn, bringing summer resorters up from Chicago, was a major social event, one that often ended in the inn’s dining room. Winters were quieter but no less charmed, given that DH built an indoor skating/curling rink across the road from the inn for the village children—including his own large brood.
In 1934, after DH died, his son-in-law Louis Warnes (once DH’s chauffeur who had somewhat scandalously married DH’s daughter Marion) started the Sleeping Bear Dunesmobile rides, their shiny cars stored in the garages next to the inn. The drivers dressed in starched white shirts, pressed blue trousers, ties and, in the early years, pith helmets. All-in-all, recalls Lambkin, “They were a flotilla of God’s gift to women.” Breakfast, lunch and breaks, the drivers headed to the inn to be served by (and flirt with) waitresses in white dresses and aprons who’d learned proper serving etiquette from Nellie Day. By then, the ambitious Nellie had risen in the family ranks to become innkeeper. Her hair always pulled back in a well-sprayed twist, Nellie commanded the goings-on from her big desk in the corner of the parlor, along with her fat black cat named Tom who lived on liver, cream and cookies.
“That building had so much character it could talk to you.”
The inn’s 10 rooms and its dining room (open to the public) were packed all summer. Once every season, GM executives booked the inn while p hotographing the company’s latest cars on the dunes. Lambkin recalls one morning when one of the housekeepers pulled her aside to whisper that she’d found two beds pushed together and she didn’t think the couple leaving the room were married. “She assured me she pushed them back apart,” Lambkin says, laughing.
The Katos were determined to re-create as much of that vibrant and historic ambiance as possible, right down to the homemade pancakes—the giant, fluffy pillows turned out of the kitchen that the last innkeeper, Nellie Day, had presided over from the 1930s until the inn’s final day in 1972.
before there was nellie day, there was DH Day, Nellie’s father-in-law and once one of the most colorful figures along the eastern Lake Michigan coast. Day stepped off a steamer in 1878 to take a job in the village—and ended up acquiring the inn and everything around it in three years, earning the nickname King of Glen Haven. During his first 10 years there, Day lodged at the inn, where he pledged to someday marry Eva Farrant, the innkeeper’s pretty daughter—a promise he later kept.
Thus began the Camelot era in Glen Haven, when the little village in the enchanted setting hummed with life. Meeting
The dune car rides and the inn were at their apex of popularity when the government closed them to establish the park. An eerie quietness settled over Glen Haven, and over the next half-century, the pounding weather off Sleeping Bear Bay took its toll on the old building. Still, the massive beams, hewn from the virgin timber that surrounded the village, stood strong. “We felt that it had so much life to give,” says Maggie.
the inn had passed its sesquicentennial when the stars began to align for its renaissance. Soon after taking the helm at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in 2016, Superintendent Scott Tucker decided to revive an old goal that had languished for decades in a 1990s National Park Service planning document: to find a partner to lease the inn and adaptively re-use it. Tucker well knew the search would be akin to finding a needle in the haystack. “Let’s see if we can find someone who has the dedication and passion to bring it back to life, [even when] you don’t own the building, the government owns it. You have to meet all of the Secretary of Interior’s standards
for historic preservation. And you have to work with a bureaucratic beast that is the federal government,” Tucker says.
Tucker put Sleeping Bear Chief Ranger Phil Akers (now the superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument in Utah) in charge of sending out an RFP to the public seeking interested parties. Two proposals had already been turned down when Maggie happened to read a news story about it in 2017. She was intrigued—she and Jeff had been mulling their next chapter of life, and she suspected their unique résumés might suit this project. Together they had grown the Genesee County Habitat for Humanity from a three-person staff with $500,000 to a 20-person staff and $6 million budget in just over a decade. In the process, they’d overseen the building of 150 new homes and 500 rehabbed homes, coordinating everything from contractors to bankers and community organizations along the way.
“We felt that it had so much life to give.”
nonprofit Balancing Environment and Rehabilitation (BEAR) and inviting MacEachern, with whom they’d worked with at Habitat for Humanity, onboard as head of construction.
Funding was obviously a huge consideration. The projected cost for the renovation was $1.8 million. The Katos contributed the first $350,000 from the sale of their home, then went on to raise almost another $400,000 from private donations. That left approximately $1 million dollars, a tough sell to any financial lender given that the government would own the building regardless of what happened—so there was no collateral. But Oxford Bank, the bank the Katos had turned to so many times in their crucial work for Genesee Habitat for Humanity, came to the rescue. “They came up to see the project and they said, ‘We see the money we put in coming back,’” Jeff says. “We love our bank. Without them this would probably not have happened,” he adds.
But it was the qualities in the humans behind that résumé that equally impressed Akers and Tucker on the August day in 2018 when they first met the couple. “I don’t think there’s any ego involved with the Katos,” says Tucker. “They’re here for the right reasons, which is to provide a visitor opportunity in a historic inn that will create lifetime memories for the public.”
The Katos signed an initial contract with the government to run the inn in 2020, but the process screeched to a stop during the Covid-19 shutdown and its aftermath. It took two more years before the actual lease was ready for signing. In true Maggie and Jeff style, however, they let no grass grow—forming the
In 2022, with all ducks finally in a row, the Katos signed a 40-year lease for the Sleeping Bear Inn and with the federal government. In the wake of that occasion, Tucker uncovered a grand fact about the long-neglected inn: it is the oldest overnight lodging building in the entire National Park system— beating out National Park all-stars like The Ahwahnee (1927) in Yosemite and the Grand Canyon’s El Tovar (1905).
the bear team’s real work, however, had just begun. In the winter of 2022, the Katos and MacEachern dove into the DIY renovation with gusto. Working in the unheated building, the
Jeff and Maggie Kato
Senior Living On The Water
team demolished walls, ripped out ancient plumbing, tore out the floor of a sagging addition tacked on in the1920s and went on to repair the old foundation. They sanded and painted until their arms were numb. MacEachern’s ingenuity never ceased to amaze the Katos, as when he simmered the antique brass window hardware in a crockpot with Dawn dish soap to remove old paint. They ended each day covered in dust, dirt, cobwebs and anything else that had floated or crawled into the structure over the course of a half century.
All of that, and this warm, vibrant couple still made time to get to know their new community. Jeff joined a men’s walking group and is on the old-timer’s poker call list. Maggie is in a book club and the local women’s club, and they both take their places at euchre tables whenever they have a chance. Along the way they’ve met descendants of the Farrants, Days, Warneses and others, folks who have come forward with stories and even donations including silver serving pieces and a Bible once used in the inn by keepers William and Ezilda Farrant, and a wicker rocker that had belonged to DH and Eva Farrant Day.
But most helpful of all were the hundred or so volunteers who came out to do everything from teach Maggie how to glaze glass to planting sod, efforts that filled in the last gap in funding. Because they were able to complete the project with hundreds of donated volunteer labor hours and with generous help from their former Genesee County subcontractors, the project is wrapping up at just over $1.7 million, Maggie says.
this summer, the Katos welcomed guests to the inn’s eight newly refurbished rooms, each with an ensuite bath. From top to bottom, Maggie’s selections of furnishings, wall color (a soft sage), light fixtures and wallpaper echo the Craftsman period when the inn was an elegant frontier outpost. It isn’t hard to imagine DH Day sweeping in from a day conquering the Northwoods to head up to his room with its expansive view
that included both the village and Sleeping Bear Bay.
Just as with past innkeepers, the Katos have put their own imprint on the inn. They’ve named the rooms playfully, from Day Dreaming (the room that is believed to be where Day stayed) to Sleeping Bare, and Maggie decorates the two carved bears they’ve installed on either side of the porch steps with tinsel crowns— shamrocks for St. Patty’s Day, stars for the Fourth, and so on.
And once again, just as in Nellie Day’s time, the aroma of pancakes floats out from the kitchen—only now griddled on a sparkling new Wolf range. Maggie loves to cook, so everything, including the pancakes, are her own recipes (spoiler alert for fall guests: expect her killer pumpkin pancakes in-season). Personal tweaks, certainly, but the inn’s timeless vibe continues under the Katos’ tenure, and it all begins with the view that sweeps past the scraggly, bent white pines, over the bay to the Manitou Islands. That stunner of a panorama has kept folks wanting to cook, clean, sleep, vacation, eat—whatever it takes to be in this magic building—for more than 165 years and counting.
Elizabeth (Lissa) Edwards has been writing about Northern Michigan lifestyle and history for more than 40 years.
Stay in the Game
Expert tips for spending less, recovering faster and getting the best care for an orthopedic injury.
by MEAGAN FRANCIS
From pickleball to paddling, keeping an active lifestyle in motion often means managing injuries, stiffness and soreness. And while injuries can be a pain, getting the treatment you need shouldn’t be an obstacle to getting back in the game. We talked to Jim Stilley, chief executive officer of Great Lakes Orthopaedic Center in Traverse City, for his take on how to stay moving for the long haul:
Remember your options. “Just because you slipped and fell, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to go sit for seven or eight hours in the emergency room,” says Stilley. “Give us a call—we’ll get you right in, and we’ll do the X-ray right here onsite.”
If you do wind up in the ER or urgent care and need surgery or follow-up care, don’t feel pressured into going with an unknown provider, Stilley says. “Let’s say you break your arm and go to the ER. Often you’ll see an emergency room physician or physician’s assistant and then be referred back to a hospital orthopedic surgeon if you need surgery,” says Stilley. “We want people to understand that they always have a choice about who performs their follow-up care. You can get stabilized in the ER and then come back to us. We’re always on call, and we’ll get you into surgery quickly.”
Consider the total cost. By getting treatment through a specialty provider like Great Lakes Orthopaedic Center, you aren’t just ensuring quality care—you’ll also save money in the end. “We refer to a surgery center for most issues that don’t threaten life or limb, and it’s much cheaper—about half the cost of going to the hospital,” says Stilley, who points out that while the doctor’s fees are the same, the facility cost will be much less at GLOC’s Surgery Center or office.
ing hip or sore wrist can often be helped by conservative, nonsurgical treatment, which is usually where you’ll start your care. “We really want people to realize that orthopedic-based physical therapy is critical and many times required by insurance prior to getting surgery,” says Stilley. “With the way the muscles and ligaments and tendons work, physical therapy can
help you get back to your active life so that you don’t feel that clicking or pain in your hip or knee or shoulder.” And once you’ve established care with GLOC, it’ll be that much more seamless to coordinate care for injuries if they come up.
The same is true for imaging tests, like an MRI: only about $250 at non-hospital facilities, versus two to three times that at a hospital. And don’t expect that your insurance will make up the difference: “More and more often these days, insurance companies aren’t covering a lot of the cost for tests and copayment, so a patient might have to pay that out of pocket,” he points out.
Establish care early. Instead of waiting for a serious injury to take you out of your groove, it’s wise to see an orthopedic doctor early on, even for more minor aches and pains. A click-
Opt for comprehensive care. Traverse City–based Great Lakes Orthopaedic Center offers value-conscious, world-class all-in-one care in a single location. Imaging services, orthotics and physical therapy are all offered onsite, reducing waiting time, driving, expense and hassle.
“Other orthopedic groups in the area might have two or three doctors, but we have thirteen, plus ten physical therapists and eight PAs” says Stilley. “We have a lot of specialties. We offer a lot of choice. We’re Northern Michigan’s largest orthopedic practice by far.”
Turn your savings into earnings.
Certificates of Deposit (CDs) are a flexible option that allow you to pick the deposit amount and term timeline to help you achieve your financial goals.
In this higher interest rate environment, a strategy to efficiently use CDs called laddering divides your deposits into several smaller CDs, so you can lock in great rates while keeping your money more accessible. Ladders offer more flexibility than a single CD, giving you guaranteed cash – at the cost of potentially higher returns.
Start earning today! Scan to learn more.
Understanding the CD Ladder Strategy
by KIRSETIN K. MORELLO
Throughout our lives, we think about saving and investing, whether it’s to establish an emergency fund, prepare for major life events like purchasing a home, or so we can one day enjoy retirement. Depending on the stage we’re in, at times we may want a lower-risk investment plan that provides a steady, guaranteed rate of return.
In those instances, a CD (certificate of deposit) ladder can be a great vehicle to provide growth along with financial stability. With a CD ladder strategy, instead of investing in one CD, with one interest rate and maturity date, you spread your investment across multiple CDs, each with a different maturity date. You could choose from 3-, 6-, 9- or 12-month options, for example. By doing so, you’ll be able to access your funds consistently as each CD matures.
“A ladder strategy allows you to have more control over the liquidity of your money while still being fully invested and having those guaranteed rates,” explains Kevin Kohlhoff,
Member Center Manager with the Norton Shores-Ellis Member Center of Community Choice Credit Union.
“It’s a growth strategy that a lot of our members use,” he adds. When each CD matures, you have the option of taking the money out or rolling it into a new CD, continuing the “rungs” on your CD ladder.
ADVANTAGES OF A CD LADDER
Guaranteed Returns
Like savings accounts, CDs are a low-risk investment, but they typically provide higher interest rates, which means more money in your pocket over time.
Regular Access to Funds
By staggering CD maturity dates, your cash becomes available at predetermined intervals. This provides periodic liquidity, along with the higher yields, giving you regular access to cash.
Protection Against Interest Rate Fluctuations
“Using a CD ladder helps you hedge against inflation and market volatility,” says Kohlhoff. It mitigates the risk of locking in a large sum of money at a potentially less favorable rate. “And if interest rates rise over time, you can take advantage of the rising rates by reinvesting your CDs as they mature.”
Risk Management
CDs offered by Community Choice and other federally insured credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an independent federal agency (similar to the FDIC for banks), for up to $250,000, which protects your principal investment against loss. “At Community Choice, our personal advisors work with members whose balances are in excess of that amount to ensure their funds are fully covered,” Kohlhoff says.
Customizable
One of the strengths of using a CD ladder as an investment vehicle is that you can tailor the ladder to meet your specific needs and goals. “Every person’s situation is so different,” Kohlhoff adds. “Our personal advisors learn about members’ wants, needs and goals.” They’ll suggest different ladder lengths based on each member’s liquidity needs and interest rate expectations.
If you’re nearing or already enjoying retirement, having a secure investment plan means you can relax and focus on what really matters to you, without worrying about market ups and downs. A low-risk CD ladder can be an important part of that equation, assuring your hard-earned savings will be there when you need them. “Sometimes,” says Kohlhoff, “peace of mind can be what matters most of all.”
Your Northern Michigan Lifestyle Is Good for Your Heart
How the place that has your heart can also make your heart healthier.
by KIRSETIN K. MORELLO
For those fortunate enough to call Northern Michigan home, it’s no secret that our hearts are happiest here. Given that heart disease remains the number one killer of both men and women in the United States, it’s great news that living here can make our hearts healthier, too.
Our Up North lifestyle—unplugging from devices, spending time in nature, connecting with family, engaging in enjoyable activities—reduces stress, benefiting cardiovascular health.
That’s especially good news for women, who are more likely to die of heart disease than from all cancers combined, but have historically been underrepresented in heart disease research.
Sarah “Sally” Soter, a Northern Michigan resident, discovered this disparity in 2003 while reading a TIME magazine article in her doctor’s office. Diagnosed with atrial fibrillation—a heart condition increasing the risk of heart disease— Sally was shocked to learn about the unique risks women face and the gender gap in heart disease research. She decided to get involved. “I wanted to help in any way I could, especially in research,” she says.
Sarah
“Sally” Soter
lakes, forests, fitness centers, tennis and pickleball courts and golf courses make it easier than ever to stay fit.
In addition to fitness opportunities, our region also boasts dozens of farmers markets, farm stands and U-Pick orchards, making it simple to source fresh fruits and vegetables. Even Northern Michigan cherries are notable for being a nutrient-dense superfood that can aid in recovery after physical activity. And many local restaurants showcase healthy farm-to-table cuisine.
Recognizing the importance of these healthy lifestyle choices, the American Heart Association launched its signature women’s initiative, Go Red for Women, 20 years ago to emphasize the critical factors influencing women’s heart health. When Sally read the TIME magazine article, she became an ardent supporter. Today, her dedication continues.
Sally’s commitment led her to partner with the American Heart Association to fund numerous research projects, endow a Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and support various health programs. In 2019, she received the American Heart Association Award of Meritorious Achievement for her contributions.
She also walks the walk—literally. In addition to reducing stress, we all know that moving more and eating healthier are keys to maintaining a healthy heart. Sally keeps moving by walking her dog and doing Pilates.
Up North, we can enjoy walking or biking on the Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) trails, which provide more than 100 miles of trails. And Northern Michigan’s
She recently donated $15 million to the American Heart Association to support the emerging $75 million Go Red for Women Venture Fund, aimed at closing research gaps and advancing cardiovascular disease studies specifically for women. “Research, people, programs and the AHA inspire me to continue the fight to cure cardiovascular disease,” Sally says.
“Sally’s passion for improving women’s health is the driving force behind her remarkable generosity,” adds Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association. “As she often says, ‘legacy matters,’ and this new gift is another powerful example of her commitment to the Association’s mission and to creating a healthier future for women everywhere.”
This year, the American Heart Association celebrates its 100th anniversary, which makes it a great time not only to embrace the heart-healthy lifestyle opportunities in Northern Michigan, to also join Sally in supporting the ongoing fight against cardiovascular disease.
INTO THE WOODS
A desire to be near family. The longing to settle down. A farm for sale. How two generations of one family came together to build a dream life/side hustle/semi-retirement compound in the Northwoods.
interview by CARA MCDONALD
photo by Grant Piering
We call them “living the dream” stories: tales of how people fell in love with this place and rearranged their lives to be here. For some, that involves a lifelong connection in the form of a family cottage. For others, it’s a vacation that sparks a longing to move halfway across the country on a hunch. For Tim Rehard and Curt Titus, it was a long and winding road—but one that led them to a little horse farm in the woods and a life that is pretty dreamy. Most of the time.
But without unlimited finances or a family legacy property, how do you jumpstart your life’s next great act?
We sat down with Rehard and Titus, co-owners of Camp Dubonett, whose horse farm/Hipcamp is the result of a shared dream and investment involving Tim, Curt and Curt’s mom, Kathy VanPelt. Kathy, who owns one third of the property, spends summers at the farm and lives in her apartment in the home’s lower level, helping maintain the gardens and pitching in around the grounds of their Hipcamp business, which is home to four vintage campers the couple rents on the property. Tim and Curt also run a small horse boarding business, which while not wildly profitable, creates a destination appeal for campers and helps them keep their farm roots alive. The rest of the picture? A balancing act of day jobs, side hustles and the constant work-life juggling act that allows them to live in a beautiful log lodge on the outskirts of Traverse City.
Here, the couple shares the story of how they put the pieces together, and advice for those working toward their own dream of owning a slice of the North. >
Cara: Origin story time: What brought you Up North?
Tim: Curt and I were visiting my family in Ohio for Christmas in 2011 and drove past a farm that I had always loved as a kid, and it was for sale. We both joked that it would be weird to move back to the Midwest, “wouldn’t it?” We didn’t buy that farm, but it got the wheels turning, and after a couple months of conversations we were moving to Michigan. We were “those people” who bought a 13-acre farm by only seeing a YouTube video of it.
We had a 10-year plan to be full-time farmers. But like many new farmers, we realized that the current environment is highly stressful, barely profitable and with incredible risk. So, after eight years of living downstate and many trips Up North, we got the itch to move again.
Simultaneously, Kathy saw an opportunity to downsize from her large condo and was looking to see if she could offer one of her kids and families a chance for a “better” life. The three of us pooled our resources and bought the farm that is now Camp Dubonett, a log home, barn, riding arena and campground on five acres near Long Lake.
C: What do you love most about your life right now?
at 10 p.m. in the evening when you have been up since 6:30 a.m. running circles making the place just so for the campers, boarders and guests … cleaning toilets, bleaching showers, fixing plumbing that has gone awry, elbows deep in liquid you dare not question.
T: Our largest challenge is multi-layered. First, we both work from home in a house that we co-own with someone. That someone is a parent. So as much as you want everything to be “equal” and “fair,” sometimes you just gotta give a little. During the initial discussions of “summer,” when Kathy would be living at the farm, the words “three months” were used. “Summer” became more like May to October … then November/December. We’ve worked through it all and everything is fine now. But, for those looking to combine households, it’s like they say in therapy: You gotta lay it all out on the table and don’t be afraid to share what makes you nervous. You have to be absolutely honest and forthcoming
“OUR GUESTS HAVE BECOME FRIENDS; WE’VE HAD THEM COME BACK AND CONTINUE GROWING FRIENDSHIPS.”
Curt: I love hosting and getting to interact with people who we wouldn’t normally share a weekend with. Our guests have become friends; we’ve had them come back and continue growing friendships. My education background is in cohousing and hospitality design, so for me this is a playground to try things out, experiment with how things are received and learn how to really hit the nail on the head for the most amount of folks. The rentals at Camp Dubonett are ranking in the top five of rentals in this region. That takes a lot of work—telling the same story consistently and giving attention to all the details.
T: As much as we don’t want to admit it, by combining our income with Kathy’s, we were basically able to more than double our living situation. The house is nicer, the property is nicer and the neighborhood is nicer. A trifecta! Right now, I’m loving the Up North experience. We’re water and outdoor lovers, so we’re in the perfect location. We bought a pontoon boat to use on Long Lake this year. We continue to learn about new hiking trails—winter hiking up here is just magical.
C: What’s the biggest challenge?
C: Getting up early and telling the same stories, and the endless amount of laundry. Picking up bedding, sorting laundry, washing laundry, bedding, folding endless pillowcases, and my God people, folding fitted sheets. Resetting coffee for 20
with how you envision the relationship working. Since we also run a business on our property, there is a lot of juggling happening. Fortunately, camping is only seasonal, so we get a bit of respite from that in the winter. But the animals don’t care that we’re tired, sick or sleepy. They don’t care if it’s hot, cold or rainy. They need food, water and attention like clockwork.
Combining all of this makes time our biggest challenge. Time to do the things that must be done. Time to do the prep work so things will be ready, things don’t break and we meet our customers’ expectations. Time to do our “real” jobs. Time to rest. Time to clean and organize. Time to process! Notice no mention of vacations or enjoying the wonderfulness of Up North. (We do sneak those in somehow.)
C: How do you juggle your jobs with your life and work at the farm?
C: While Tim works a pretty regimented day job, I have the flexibility to push my day job aside, provided I work nights and weekends. Since my job requires me to be physically present at certain points of the process, I pull some long days driving around the state. I am usually working on at least two professional projects downstate while also getting the
day-to-day minutia of the barn done and picking up the bulk of the camp work.
C: What was the biggest adjustment to your new life here?
C: The workload. This is a business that, if done well, looks pretty breezy and fun. It also takes a remarkable amount of attention to detail. It’s the never ending-ness of this that is a challenge.
T: I think the largest adjustment for me is that we’re sharing space again. We all have different hours that we wake up, eat and sleep. We have different ideas of “clean.” We have different ideas of personal space. Fortunately, things work fairly well for us.
C: What practical modifications did you make to the property and biz model to accommodate the multi-generation/family aspect?
T: Because we both work from home, we were able to set up separate working spaces that were away from the common areas. We also discussed defined areas of the house that were for each of us. Kathy’s space is the lower level. She can do whatever she wants to do down there. She pays for any changes that she wants. If it’s an overall improvement, we keep track of the value. We do the same. We make the improvements we want. If we decide to part ways, we’ll add our investments to our separate equity.
The businesses are the same way. We pay for farm and camping expenses. We have a separate LLC that has a lease with us personally. If we dissolve our partnership and the businesses add value to the overall worth, we all agree that they will be part of our equity.
We introduce Kathy as “Grandma Kathy” to the campers. They love it; she loves it. It makes her feel included and special. She even shows up in some of our reviews!
Kathy was previously living in a condo by herself. She paid for many outdoor services. Because we’re younger and handy, we do most of those things on our own. She finds value in that and has always been very fair in paying some of what she would if she were living on her own.
C: What advice would you have for people considering similar collaborations/moves?
C: I would put everything in writing. It was a huge learning curve within our family to hear what someone says, and does, and what they mean, and the intention behind it. Get it all written out and non-emotionally worked into a plan. This was a huge leap of faith. I think in the end, we banded together and are stronger than before, but it could have been more transparent.
T: Combining households has many advantages but also disadvantages. It can add safety and security. There are several tax advantages to doing things early. It allows younger generations opportunities that they may not get in the future.
Are CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM Professionals Worth the Fee?
Six ways working with a pro adds value to your life.
by KIRSETIN K. MORELLO
Making life decisions that involve money, emotions and relationships can be daunting. However, it doesn’t have to be, says Holly Gallagher, CFPTM, founder and president of Horizon Financial in Traverse City. “Working with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional who understands your financial snapshot, as well as your wants and needs, your communication style and your values, can help you reach your ultimate goals—and avoid your biggest fears,” she says.
Horizon Financial, a women-owned boutique investment firm founded by Gallagher in 1992, offers comprehensive financial planning and wealth management. As an independent firm, they aim to simplify the process and deliver the best wealth management experience to their clients.
If you’re considering hiring a financial planner, you might wonder if the cost is justified. Here are six ways a CFPTM can add significant value:
Trustworthy guidance. Only 30 percent of financial advisers are CFPTMs. “When you hire a CFPTM, you’re hiring a fiduciary,” says Gallagher. “Fiduciaries must act in the client’s best interest at all times.” Advisors who aren’t fiduciaries are often paid by the company of the products they are recommending. Fiduciaries like Gallagher and her team are paid directly by the client, and the fees are transparent on their monthly statement.
A clear financial snapshot. A CFPTM typically begins by getting to know your wants and needs, then creates a comprehensive financial plan. “It’s like a financial physical,” Gallagher explains. “Jumping into investments without a financial plan is like a doctor writing a prescription before getting your diagnostic test results.”
Tailored, experienced advice. CFPTMs customize investment strategies you may not have considered. For instance, placing aggressive investments in a Roth IRA could create tax efficiency for you, since the money grows tax free. “We saved one client almost $8,000 in taxes annually by making this adjustment,” says Gallagher.
An understanding of behavioral finance. It can be tempting for investors to make decisions based on a temporary feeling that can lead to drastic long-term consequences. “Our combined forty years of experience helps clients stay calm and avoid potentially disastrous decisions,” Gallagher explains. In fact, Vanguard released a white paper in July 2022 that estimates the value of an advisor could be as much as three percent ... per year.
Ongoing oversight. Wealth management isn’t a one-time event. A CFPTM can help with all aspects of your financial life, including charitable giving, tax strategies, education funding and estate planning reviews. They can also help clients plan for major life events, such as the sale of a business, health changes of a loved one, divorce—or, in this interest rate environment, perhaps helping adult children buy that first home. Having a CFPTM in your corner means a professional is always monitoring your plan and helping you stay on track.
Comprehensive coordination. CFPTMs can serve as the quarterback of your entire advisory team, coordinating with estate planning attorneys, insurance agents and CFPTMs. “When clients know we’re all working toward a common goal—their goal—it gives them peace of mind,” says Gallagher. “For example, we saved a client $4,000 annually in insurance premiums by collaborating with a property and casualty insurance agent after she moved to Michigan.”
Working with a CFPTM means knowing that as your life evolves, a professional is managing your financial situation and allowing you to focus on the people and issues that are important to you. “Our team cares deeply about our clients. We’re not trying to be everything to everybody,” Gallagher emphasizes. “But we are trying to be everything for the clients we have.”
Advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network®, a Registered Investment Advisor.
WEALTH WISDOM
Three Northern Michigan financial advisors share their best money tips, strategies and mistakes to avoid.
by CARLY SIMPSON
I learned this the hard way:
Agood financial advisor is equal parts money master, strategic planner, hand holder and psychologist, helping clients work through fears, blocks, stuck places and dead ends when it comes to making money work harder for you as you look toward retirement. And boy, do they have stories—and hard-earned wisdom. We asked them to share the best advice they’ve gathered throughout their careers.
“Don’t hoard cash, or cash equivalents. These are designed for short-term investing and are often held much too long. Inflation quickly erodes buying power. Focus on the timeframe for the money as a determinant of the investing objective.”
–Dawn Hemming, hemming& Wealth Management, Founder & President
“Over the years I have learned that not all financial advisory firms are created equal. Each one may have different licensing, and therefore the investment tools they offer could differ drastically from the financial advisory firm down the street. Unfortunately, you may come across an advisory firm that feels a certain investment tool fits everyone’s needs, regardless of their circumstances. Picture a carpenter that doesn’t have their hammer and needs to drive home a nail. Well, they might have a wrench that can be turned on its side and swung a lot, but it’s definitely not as smooth a process.”
“Practice living on retirement spending levels one to two years before you retire. This reduces financial stress at retirement.”
–Dawn Hemming
“Don’t let regret or feeling behind stop you from acting now. There is always something you can do to make your future financial situation better. You have to act and avoid procrastination. It’s never too late to start investing.”
–Heidi Cartwright, Prout Financial Design, Managing Director & Financial Advisor
“Probably the best and most simplistic piece of advice I ever received is that there are two primary phases of retirement planning, and each phase should have a unique investment structure. Retirement is a fundamental change in your life—shouldn’t your investment structure also experience a fundamental change? You begin with the ‘Growth and Accumulation’ phase, where your goal is to simply save as much as possible while trying to accomplish the most growth. You will then transition into the ‘Preservation of Wealth and Income’ phase. This may begin approximately five years prior to retirement where you still want to grow your portfolio, but you become more aware of risk within your retirement savings and how you will soon need to transition some of those assets to replace the paycheck you will no longer have upon retirement.”
–Jon Torbet
What I wish all my clients knew:
“Investing for retirement is a long-term plan. By diversifying assets with varying timelines, a portfolio can absorb short term needs and build wealth over the long term. A short-term outlook can trigger an emotional move to divest investments or change strategy at a less favorable time. Day trading is different from a long-term plan.”
–Heidi Cartwright
“Our team has been airing the ‘Retiring Well’ television show on all four major networks across Northern Michigan for more than a decade and our hope is to educate everyone on important financial matters. I am confident that our clients know this, but for those individuals not yet retired or recently retired, I want to make sure they understand that having money saved for retirement does not equal a retirement ‘plan.’ You need to have a multitude of areas working together to accomplish your retirement goals.”
–Jon Torbet
Dawn Hemming
Heidi Cartwright
Jon Torbet
Photo by Captured by Grace Photography
Easing Our Emotional Ties to Money
How to be investment savvy while releasing resistance.
by LISA BLAKE
Sometimes we hang on to underperforming stocks gifted to us decades ago. Or we let sentimentality hold us back from selling the lake cottage that we no longer use. Maybe we play it safe and allow fear to take the wheel, swiftly pulling out of the market when it tanks. These reactive money moves can put us in a place of stagnation—or worse, set us back a few notches when we’re seeking forward momentum. We sat down with three expert advisors—touting more than 75 years of combined experience—at hemming& Wealth Management to pinpoint some common finance flounders.
The Traverse City–based advisors provide education on tax and cash flow planning, investments and estate planning to empower clients to live their very best lives. “We are absolutely passionate about the work we do at hemming& Wealth Management,” says founder Dawn Hemming. “By listening carefully to client goals and desires, we craft clever solutions that embrace the client’s financial experience.”
Here, hemming& advisors share their top tips for more money ease and less emotional stickiness:
EVALUATE BIASES
Behavioral finance highlights common biases, such as the tendency to keep familiar investments or hoard cash out of fear. Recognizing these biases can help you make more rational investment decisions.
While reviewing spending habits, look for emotionally driven trends or behaviors that you may want to change, like retail therapy or eating out when stressed. The healthiest investors maintain a positive outlook on life, holding gratitude for the people and opportunities around them rather than allowing outside factors to steer money decisions. This is especially true during seasons of big life changes, says hemming& advisor Autumn Chalker Soltysiak.
“My experience working with clients has shown me that people who start with gratitude and a positive outlook, even when they’re starting over from the death of a spouse or divorce, have the best success,” Soltysiak says.
UNDERSTAND EMOTIONAL TIES
It’s natural to form emotional attachments to certain investments or assets. Whether it’s hanging onto a stock that’s been in the family for years or keeping a house because of the memories it holds, these ties can sometimes cloud our financial judgment.
“The goal is to have clients using money as a tool; saving,
trusting their advisors and staying focused on the long term, and to not be so tied to it emotionally,” says hemming& Chief Compliance Officer Jena Posey. Here’s how to proactively manage emotions:
Stay Objective: Regular check-ins with a financial advisor can provide an unbiased perspective, helping you make decisions based on facts, not feelings.
Diversify: Spreading your investments across different asset types can lessen the emotional impact of any single investment’s performance.
Set Clear Goals: Having well-defined financial goals can guide your decisions, ensuring they align with your long-term plans rather than short-term emotions.
Educate Yourself: Knowing how markets work can help you stay calm during ups and downs, making it easier to keep emotions in check. Understand the cost to hold, for example, property taxes and maintenance costs for a cottage, or the missed opportunity cost on what the asset could earn if invested differently.
Stick to a Plan: A solid investment plan with specific criteria for buying, holding and selling can help you stay disciplined.
TACKLE MONEY AVOIDANCE
Many people avoid dealing with their finances, Soltysiak says, but facing money matters head-on is crucial for building wealth. Oftentimes we carry stories around money that can be inflated by grief, fear or lack of confidence. A divorce may leave us disempowered when it comes to money decisions. Loss of a loved one may feel financially paralyzing in the moment.
“We had a young family say I really want a lake house … someday. But they weren’t moving forward with it because they thought it was something they had to wait on,” Soltysiak says. “We devised a plan for them to have it now and make those memories with their children while they’re young.” Here are some tips to overcome money avoidance:
Start Talking: Open up about money with family, friends or a financial advisor. These conversations can demystify finances and reduce anxiety.
Track Your Spending: Create a budget to see where your money goes. Use a simple spreadsheet or budgeting app to make this task easier and more manageable.
Take Action: Don’t put off financial decisions. Whether it’s investing, paying off debt or saving, taking action is essential.
“Ultimately, financial empowerment and releasing emotional ties and fears around money comes from understanding that money is just a tool that we use,” Soltysiak says. “By understanding and managing emotional attachments and actively engaging in financial planning, you can make smarter, more intentional decisions.”
