Traverse Northern Michigan October 2024

10 . 20 2 4

INSIDE

Northern Home & Cottage

PICTURE PERFECT A photographer’s fall bucket list

PLUS

Cougars Up North: Close Encounters of a Cat Kind Glen Arbor’s Forgotten Cemetery

OCTOBER 2O24

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features 10.24

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT UP NORTH PEOPLE, PLACES, FOOD AND EVENTS.

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Fall Through Her Lens

A photographer’s autumn journey across Northern Michigan.

STORY AND IMAGES BY M A RY B E T H K I C Z E N S K I

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Remember Me, Remember Me

More than three decades ago, Linda Alice Dewey was drawn to a small, overgrown cemetery in the woods of Glen Arbor. She couldn’t have guessed that she’d be leading the charge to resurrect this piece of buried history.

photo by Marybeth Kiczenski

STORY AND IMAGES BY A L L I S O N JA R R E L L AC O STA

/ 37 / SPECIAL SECTION:

Northern Home & Cottage

A behind-the-scenes look into nine of our region’s most incredible homes, from a serene lakeside lodge to a modern Mediterranean-inspired villa.

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The Panther’s Den

America’s largest wild cat has long captured our imaginations— and haunted our dreams.

EXCERPT BY A A R O N J . V E S E L E N A K

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departments 7 | Editor’s Note 9 | Up North

Sweaters, socks, hats, mittens, wraps, blankets, stuffed animals, and so much more!

Fall weekends at Pond Hill Farm; cruise Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive; it’s elk season in Michigan’s “Big Wild.”

14 | Travel

photos by Allison Jarrell Acosta (top) and courtesy of Audacia (bottom)

Head north, way north, for a long weekend on the ruggedly beautiful Keweenaw Peninsula.

77 | Culinary North

83

82 | Sip

Follow Us On Social Media

Field-to-food-truck dining at Bear Creek Organic Farm; plus, Wagyu steak flights at Inn at Bay Harbor.

The buzz around town.

83 | In the Kitchen

Create sophisticated alcoholfree mocktails with Audacia Elixirs.

84 | Love of the Land

Wander lush riparian wetlands and warm-hued hardwood forests at Timbers Recreation Area.

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ON THE COVER Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, North Bar Lake Overlook Photo by Marybeth Kiczenski

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Traverse

NORTHERN

MICHIGAN A MyNorth Media Publication

Vol. 44 | No. 5

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Carly Simpson Allison Jarrell Acosta

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REGULAR CONTRIBUTORS

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Editor’s Note

ON EDGE

L

ast week i checked off something on my “Almost Fall” bucket list—a social ride with a mountain bike group that takes a weekly spin at the VASA singletrack.

I’m fine on my own when I can navigate and pace myself, but years of riding with the hardcore people in my life left physical and emotional baggage, including a separated rib and a jagged lightning bolt scar on my left arm. What was fun to them was sometimes fun and often terrifying to me.

The evening of the ride, the welcome was friendly and brief as we split into groups: fast, and “warm fast.” The warm fast, a.k.a. slow-but-not-really group, initially consisted of me, the only non-racer to show that night, plus a ride leader and a sweeper. One more rider joined in, I suspect out of compassion, and the four of us took off out of the parking lot and into the woods.

The route was a labyrinth of interior, unmarked singletrack with encouraging names like Tapeworm. At first it was exhilarating. We rattled through clearcut meadows rife with stumps and sticks, down hairpin turns lined with thistles, wove through trees just inches more than handlebar width apart, ducked under branches and scattered deer off the path before us.

I hadn’t biked since June, so the physical part was brisk …

The mental? Positively a blur. The directional and terrain changes were so constant, so quick, that my usually solid

instinctive GPS shut down entirely. As the ride leader pulled ahead, I realized there were nearly 100 miles of trail out here and had I been alone, a mechanical mishap or an injury could have left me lost and stranded overnight.

I was, thankfully, kindly attended to but out of my depth. At a few points mid-ride the sweeper, Dan, whom I credit with my morale and overall not dying, would occasionally call up to me, “Getting there. Can you smell the beer?” and I would shout back, “Yes!” After about 30 minutes of this and no hint of the parking lot, I finally whispered my truth: “No.” The Edge is not a comfortable place to be.

Comfort doesn’t breed resilience, accomplishment or pride, and I will tell you that I drank my post-ride can of Short’s Nicie with all of the above. But I’m thinking about next Wednesday and the balance between the edge of comfort and the loss of joy, or the creeping chill of fear and where all those intersect. Part of me wants to honor my limits. Part of me wants to stick my neck out again, thrilled by the challenge. I’m not sure which instinct will win.

The stories this month offer some fall reckoning. Moody, thoughtful, honest and real, they ride the edge, too—between wild and dangerous, light and dark, life and death.

Carly takes us on a weekend adventure to the Keweenaw, where you can perch on the edge of Lake Superior or disappear into the woods where Benedictine monks stir pots of thimbleberry jam. Photographer MaryBeth Kicenzski traverses the backroads of the North, capturing moody vistas that hint at nightfall and the descending season of dark and cold that awaits. Aaron J. Veselenak unearths the tale of a historical mountain lion attack near Traverse City, a thriller that rests on the idea of how flimsy and soft a human is alone, in the dead of night, listening to the crack of branches under padded footsteps. And Allison’s feature about the restoration of the Glen Arbor Cemetery reveals how one woman led a charge to remember those who came before us, haunted by the idea that we will all one day be forgotten.

These stories invite us to curl up and let our minds wander to a place where the sun doesn’t light every corner, where bravery and wonder would serve us well. It’s the kind of storytelling that gives us a shiver, reminding us to relish the sun-warmed and comfortable days right now, to cherish the shock and joy of being alive.

Cara McDonald, Executive Editor cara@mynorth.com

OCTOBER 2024

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Up North.

PEOPLE | NATURE | ARTS | NOSTALGIA | BUZZ | WISDOM | CURIOSITIES

WISH YOU WERE HERE

PIERCE STOCKING SCENIC DRIVE

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS

O

n the hilly 7.4-mile pierce Stocking Scenic Drive, you can imagine the might of the glaciers that sculpted Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore more than 10,000 years ago, leaving behind crystalline waters and an ephemeral landscape of shifting sands. Here’s a peek at what you’ll see: Covered Bridge

Fun fact: Porcupines ate the original walls—apparently the trees in the forest weren’t tasty enough. The current bridge has a higher roof with 13 feet 6 inches of clearance.

Glen Lake Overlook

This stop offers a bird’s-eye view of both Glen Lakes. From here, you can see across Little Glen to where it joins Big Glen under the M-22 bridge known as The Narrows.

Dune Overlook

There is so much to take in at this one stop you’ll have to remember to exhale. From this point, you can pick out North and South Manitou Islands across Lake Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Bay, Pyramid Point, the dunes and the Glen Lakes.

photo by Allison Jarrell Acosta

Cottonwood Trail

This 1.5-mile hike moves you up and down hills, across blowouts, past patches of bearberry and buffaloberry and cottonwood trees halfburied in sand. Note: The trail is strenuous in several spots.

Lake Michigan Overlook

This is the pièce de resistance. Walk out onto the viewing platform 450 feet above Lake Michigan and catch your breath at the sight of glittering water stretching below you.

OCTOBER 2024

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Up North

NOSTALGIA

THE LAND OF GNOMES AND GIANT PUMPKINS At a bend in the road, you’ll find a farm that’s truly magic.

by CARLY SIMPSON

W

hen it comes to family fun, the crew at Pond Hill Farm in Harbor Springs knows how to have a good time. The 200-plus acre property is a playground for kids and adults alike, with goats, a friendly cat named Pumpkin (who has become so famous there are Pumpkin Fan Club sweatshirts and stuffies), a life-sized human foosball game, hike/bike/snowshoe/ski trails, lush flower gardens, live music, estate wines plus beer and cider, an actual playground with swings and a sandbox … and the list goes on. And on.

And on.

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photos by Allison Jarrell Acosta

The farm, tucked off Michigan’s famous Tunnel of Trees on M-119, has humble beginnings.

Jimmy Spencer started with a 10-acre garden at age 17, setting out an honest box and his produce at the end of the driveway each summer when he was home from college. The roadside stand had a small red cooler and a few buckets filled with cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, beans.

To see the sprawling farm today, nearly 30 years later—with its café, winery, brewery and market—you can’t help but feel awe for what Jimmy, along with his wife, Marci, and their four children have created.

On a recent visit, my fiancé and I pulled into the parking lot as ABBA sang, “You can dance, you can jive,” and towering sunflowers swayed to their own beat. We shared a Parmesan-crusted grilled cheese sandwich and kale slaw while perched on a hill with views of Lake Michigan and the farm’s vineyard; played barnyard basketball and strolled sandy trails lined with yarrow and fields of summer squash as we looked for hidden gnome houses—we were indeed having the time of our life.

Don’t Miss: Fall Harvest Weekends begin in late September and run through October with giant pumpkins (and pumpkin smashing and pumpkin bowling), apple cannons, hayrides, hot cider and doughnuts.

OCTOBER 2024

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Up North

CURIOSITIES

Family Fun: Jacob’s Farm

T

his 40-acre centennial farm might be fall’s best family outing (even your pup can join!). Grab some hot cider and doughnuts to snack on while you pick pumpkins and apples (we love the Zestar variety). Then order up lunch—freshbaked pizza with a seasonal cocktail—and let your littles climb the playsets and “tire mountain” while you wait. Best of all, the 10-acre corn maze, which includes a kiddie version, transforms into a haunted “Thriller Night” maze on Oct. 26. – A.J.A.

GET TICKETS Comedy with Ben Bailey

COMEDIAN BEN BAILEY

drove the smash hit series “Cash Cab” (still in syndication around the world) for more than 550 episodes, earning multiple Daytime Emmys.

Prior to becoming “the Cash Cab guy,” he performed at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles, in clubs across New York City and at major comedy festivals around the world. Bailey has appeared on “The Tonight Show,” “The Today Show,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “Rachel Ray” and virtually every major morning show in the country, in addition to numerous TV Shows including “30 Rock,” “Blue Bloods” and “Parenthood.” He currently tours the country. Catch a show Oct. 18–19 at the Traverse City Comedy Club. MyNorthTickets.com

Allison’s Swooning Over: Elk Season in “The Big Wild” WITHIN THE 109,000-ACRE PIGEON RIVER COUNTRY STATE FOREST,

top photo by Dave Weidner

you can hear the bugle-like calls of one of the largest free-roaming elk herds east of the Mississippi (the herd is maintained up to a maximum of 900 animals). As with any wildlife, elk are more visible at certain times of the day and year, and September and October are prime months. The breeding season (rut) begins in early September and peaks mid-month. Elk are most active early in the day, toward evening and during the night. Plan to spend some time looking—these wild animals are on their own schedule, not yours. Odds are you won’t be alone at the designated viewing areas; your chances of seeing elk will be best if everyone sits quietly and avoids venturing out into the fields. (Don’t forget binoculars!)

Designated viewing areas include: 3.5 miles east of Vanderbilt on Sturgeon Valley Road, then 3 miles north on Fontinalis Road; 8 miles east of Vanderbilt on Sturgeon Valley Road at a pipeline corridor; 4 miles north of the Pigeon River Country State Forest Headquarters on Osmun Road; and 18 miles east of Gaylord on CR-622. Parking is provided. Elk may be seen in and around these meadows, or just by chance almost anywhere in the elk range. – A.J.A. Swoon! See what our editors are loving each month: link.mynorth.com/swoon

OCTOBER 2024

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Travel

48 HOURS ON THE KEWEENAW

by CARLY SIMPSON

Our managing editor heads north, way north, for an unforgettable autumn adventure.

Eagle Harbor Lighthouse

I

’ve lived in michigan my entire life, but it took me 30 years to finally get up to the Keweenaw Peninsula. And holy smokes, I’ve been missing out.

Last October, I slept in the same room as Teddy Roosevelt once did, took a fall color tour by seaplane, paddled Lake Superior and topped it all off with apple bread pudding. You’re going to want at least two full days to explore—and you’ll be excitedly plotting your return on the drive home. This itinerary is just a starter pack.

In the Keweenaw, the adventures are truly endless.

Day 1

Wake Up At: Larium Manor Inn This opulent mansion was once the home of wealthy copper baron Thomas Hoatson. The 13,000-square-foot building was rescued by Julie and Dave Sprenger, who purchased it in

1989 after it had been stripped by antique dealers and left vacant for a decade. Their careful renovation was a true labor of love, and today guests marvel at the hand-carved oak staircase, Italian-marble fireplace and hand-painted canvas walls. Tip: Book the Laurium Suite, which has a private second-story balcony complete with a porch swing and was the room Theodore Roosevelt stayed in during his 1912 presidential campaign.

Take to the Sky: Isle Royale Seaplanes Come autumn, you can catch a seaplane for aerial fall color tours (Thursday–Sunday; Sept. 26–Oct. 13, 2024). The views during the 30-minute flight are epic—a leafy patchwork of crimson, gold and evergreen; lollygagging shadows from puffy white clouds; the endless expanse of mighty Superior. Taking off and landing on the Portage Canal is pretty cool, too.

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bottom photo courtesy of Visit Keweenaw // previous page and top photo by Dave Weidner

Lunch Break: The Ambassador Go for the views of Houghton’s Portage Canal and soaring murals of gnomes that adorn the cavernous restaurant’s ceiling and walls. Painted in the early 1900s, when “streets were of dirt, sidewalks of wood,” (so says an accompanying poem on the menu), the gnomes are having a jolly good time—and so will you.

All Aboard: Keweenaw Boat Tours The scenery is gorgeous, and Captain Jason Swain has a wealth of local knowledge, sharing the history of the region along with tips for aurora chasers, rock hunters and sunset seekers.

Jason offers several tour options, including trips to the Jacobsville Lighthouse and Superior sunset cruises.

Day 2

Road Trip: M-26 When it comes to scenic views, this state highway rivals its more well-known cousins M-22 and M-119. Take your time, stopping at Eagle River Falls, Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, Jacob’s Falls and the iconic Jampot Bakery, where a group of monks greet thousands of visitors each summer and fall with their homemade jams and confections. The wild thimbleberry jam is a specialty (and worth the $25 splurge) but you can also grab small treats like cashew

Jampot Bakery

caramel or the most massive muffins you’ve ever laid eyes upon. Turn down the nine-mile Brockway Mountain Drive for panoramic views of the peninsula and Lake Superior.

Eagle River Lower Falls

Paddle a Quiet Cove: Keweenaw Adventure Company M-26 will drop you in Copper Harbor, the homebase of Keweenaw Adventure Company. The team here offers guided mountain biking and sea kayaking tours. I did the 2.5hour Porter’s Island excursion, and it was one of my favorite parts of the weekend. The island is a beautiful spot for a paddle, with shallow inlets and rocky coves. Because we were making good time, our guide let us stop and explore on the island for a bit, and friends, the rock hunting was fantastic.

Dinner with a View: Harbor Haus This fine dining restaurant sits right on the shore of Superior, offering water views to every table. You’ll often see freighters, and if you make reservations near 6 p.m. you can witness a festive dance performed on the patio welcoming home the Isle Royale Queen IV ferry as it pulls into the harbor. Say yes to warm apple bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce.

OCTOBER 2024

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AS TH E F I RST W H I S P ERS of autumn brushed the

air with a tantalizing chill, I found myself drawn to the promise of nature’s colorful spectacle in Northern Michigan. Armed with a camera (or three) and an insatiable sense of wanderlust, I set out on a fall color chase, eager to see the vibrant tapestry of hues that transform this region into a living painting. Follow along as I take you on a photographer’s autumn journey across Northern Michigan …

FALL T H ROUG H HER LENS ST O RY A N D I M AG E S BY

M A RY B E T H K I C Z E N S K I

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( P R E V I O U S PA G E S )

O KUN DE KUN FALLS BRUCE CROSSING As an astrophotographer at heart, I wanted to incorporate night sky images in this tour. However, there was one glaring problem: The trip coincided with the full moon. I took this as an opportunity to leave my comfort zone and incorporate the moon and moonlight into my images. After all, growth only happens when you are presented a challenge, right?

On the first night of my trip, I planned to hike out to O Kun de Kun Falls in the Western U.P. to capture the constellation Orion as soon as the moon set. On the drive up, I noticed the aurora data looked spicy. I pulled the car over and hopped out.

To my delight, there were auroral pillars dancing across the northern horizon. I knew it was a decent show because the moon was up and bright. And, of course, I heeded the “but first, let me take a selfie” advice. Noting the intensity of the solar storm, I knew that it was likely visible from behind the waterfall, so I immediately high-tailed it over to the trailhead and blasted down the 1.5-mile path.

Meanwhile, the moon was setting, so the aurora became brighter to the naked eye. What a way to kick off this fall color trip!

BOND FALLS ONTONAGON COUNTY > After an exciting night of capturing aurora and Orion, I stopped at one of my favorite waterfalls in Michigan, Bond Falls. This cascading waterfall never disappoints. However, this time, I decided to concentrate on the various smaller cascades that feed into the main waterfall. As day faded into night, the full moon rose and created this dreamy purple sky, with clouds kissed in a cotton candy pink.

< ROADSIDE GEMS Fall color chasing can be overwhelming for a first-timer—you’ll come across stunning views at every turn. My head was on a swivel marveling at the never-ending kaleidoscope of color unfolding before me.

From quaint cabins to roadside parks, autumn’s beauty is never more than a few steps away from your car.

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PORCUPINE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS STATE PARK Also known as “The Porkies,” this expansive park encompasses 60,000 acres of forest land. It’s a photographer’s and hiker’s playground, offering everything from simple overlook hikes to multi-day backcountry adventures. Dotted with waterfalls and beaches along the Lake Superior shoreline, this area is a must-see for any fall color tour. Lake of the Clouds offers one the most breathtaking spots to catch a sunrise—watch the light bring the trees alive.

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SLATE RIVER Keweenaw and Baraga counties offer miles of trails—both on and off road—to get your forest fix.

This quaint scene was a short hike along the Slate River. The stillness of the forest is punctuated by the breeze rustling the leaves, as you are immersed in the colorful 360 degree tapestry.

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TAHQUAMENON FALLS STATE PARK No fall color trip is complete without a stop at the crown jewel of Michigan: Tahquamenon Falls. At 48 feet tall and flowing 7,000 gallons of water per minute, it is the state’s largest waterfall. The sheer power is something that must be experienced in person to feel the full effect—and may just leave you speechless. Arrive about an hour before sunset, and you’ll catch the golden hues peeking through the leaves.

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THE NARNIA TRAIL CEDARVILLE > The Eastern Upper Peninsula is sandier than the western half, so there are plenty of beaches to take in views of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. However, if it’s fall colors you want, then you’ll have to stick to the trails or backroads.

One of my favorite Eastern U.P. hikes is Bush Bay Trail (aka The Narnia Trail) near Cedarville. This nature trail will take you through the woods, where you can get your close-up leaf photography fix. It truly does feel like being transported to Narnia.

MACKINAW CITY

>

Another can’t-miss photo op: the Mackinac Bridge. Beyond the iconic views, Mackinaw City offers plenty of shopping and dining when you need a break from all that driving and hiking. Framing the bridge with this turning tree was perfect. Alexander Henry Park, along North Huron Avenue, offers access to views like this.

TUNNEL OF TREE S > If you’ve never driven this windy road that hugs the coastline from Harbor Springs to Cross Village, you must add it to your list. The entire drive under a canopy of gold is jaw-dropping, even in the pouring rain (which was the weather I encountered).

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Fall Color Forecasts The road to my autumnal adventure began, as most do, with research. When is the best time to go? Where to go? For how long? What about the weather? Where to stay? These are all valid questions. The answers to some are simpler than others.

For one, I ended up splitting this trip into two legs, as leaves change at different times based on geography. On top of that, the

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weather leading up to fall affects both when the leaves turn and their vibrancy.

I like to reference webcams to help gauge how the colors are panning out in a particular location, and another fun tool is the Smoky Mountains Fall Foliage Prediction Map (view it online). This map “forecasts” the color change rate for all of the U.S. based on data inputs from the summer.

While neat, keep in mind that this is just a model, and like all educated guesses, it’s subject to change!

For in-the-moment fall color updates across Northern Michigan, head to mynorth.com, where you’ll find weekly forecasts, as well as specific areas, roads and points of interest you should check out for the best leaf peeping.

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< LUDINGTON STATE PARK This scenic spot has something for everyone: Sand dunes. Check. Beaches. Check. Camping. Check. Hiking trails. Check. Inland lake.

Check. Stunning lighthouse. Check! This is one of my favorite state parks in western Michigan—perfectly peaceful. (Note: The majority of Ludington State Park is closed this fall due to planned park enhancements. Plan your visit for fall 2025.)

SILVER LAKE STATE PARK MEARS A summer staple, Silver Lake is well known for its exhilarating off-roading. In the fall, when all the ATV-ers pack up for the season, a quieter and tamer landscape prevails. You’ll find the trees and shoreline flora don their autumn hues, which are fun to use when framing Little Sable Point Lighthouse.

>

< SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE Towering dunes, majestic forests and historic barns await you in and around Sleeping Bear Dunes. The 7.4-mile Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive meanders through colorful foliage with pullouts to take in the panoramic views of Lake Michigan; the golden and fiery tones contrast beautifully with the deep blue and teal colors of the water. This park’s northerly location and darker skies also offer aurora chasers and stargazers a place to enjoy the stars in the Lower Peninsula.

Marybeth Kiczenski is an adventurer and photographer based out of Chicago. As a Michigan native, she enjoys traveling to and documenting the beauty of her home state. Follow along at shelbydiamondstar.com or @shelbydiamondstar on Instagram and Facebook.

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More than three decades ago, Linda Alice Dewey was drawn to a small, overgrown cemetery in the woods of Glen Arbor— a gravesite lost to time. She couldn’t have guessed that she’d be leading the charge to resurrect this piece of buried history.

Remember Me, Remember Me

Story and images by ALLISON JARRELL ACOSTA

S

unlight dances through towering deciduous trees, highlighting Linda Alice Dewey’s ivory hair as she moves through the Glen Arbor Cemetery. Her eyes, a striking Lake Michigan blue, shimmer with emotion. As we walk, Linda’s strides are confident yet aware; she makes not a single misstep as she weaves between the markers that dot this forested plot.

Her love for this place—for the people buried here—is palpable.

Above, warblers trill around a wild perimeter that once grew free. Below, young ferns and periwinkle fill in between grave markers—a mix of old, ornate headstones and shiny new slabs.

On this Memorial Day morning, Glen Arbor locals walk a lush path into this place that holds so much of their history—a history that lay dormant until only recently. They’ve come to honor, and pay their respects.

Looking at the dozens of headstones scattered across the grounds, it’s hard to imagine the overgrown jungle that once claimed this space, tucked discreetly within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This gravesite, formerly known as Forest Haven Cemetery (due to its location off Forest Haven Road), dates back to the late 19th century.

Burials ceased after 1927, and over the years it was … forgotten. A relic that fell into disrepair.

Today, this community has come to celebrate a cemetery that’s been given a new life.

Linda, too, has lived many lives—artist, teacher, metaphysicist, journalist, author—and in recent years, she’s added cemetery advocate to that list. This

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celebration is the culmination of the more than three decades she’s spent thinking about the Glen Arbor Cemetery and working tirelessly toward its revival.

For Linda, it all started in the summer of 1991, when her brother first brought her and her friend, Lisbeth, to the small, woodland cemetery. The air seemed heavy, and Lisbeth felt a presence that made the hairs stand on the back of her neck.

Her brother rolled his eyes.

He didn’t feel anything.

But Linda did.

On her second visit the following year, she chose a midday excursion with family. Linda brought her camera in the hopes of catching a ghost in a photo. When she got home, she realized she had forgotten to put in the film.

And her third visit to the cemetery?

It changed her life.

“My heart is with you” It was a sunny July evening in 1995 when Linda returned for a third time to the Glen Arbor Cemetery.

On this night, there was no breeze—the trees were still. And the birds, if they were there, didn’t sing. Ambient light diffused through leafy trees, painting the cemetery in an ethereal green light. “It was glowing,” Linda recalls. But it was also a bit eerie.

Accompanied by her friends and their sons, Linda was visiting to see if she felt something—or someone—there.

For much of her life, Linda has felt called to the metaphysical world. Her grandmother and great-grandmother read tea leaves, and she grew up listening to psychic Jean Dixon on the radio. As a child in Sunday school, Linda quickly earned a reputation for asking “doozies”—questions that often derailed a more mundane topic in order to ponder life’s complexities.

Later on in life, after agreeing to move her family from Glen Arbor to Arizona in 1982—the request of her then-husband—Linda found herself once again drawn to the metaphysical; this time, in the form of channeling.

She studied, went to classes, and four years later, she read The Nature of Personal Reality. It resonated deeply with her.

“It took me all summer to read that book,” she says with a smile. “It was dense. But by the end of it, I had learned how to meditate, how to listen, how to write. By the end of it, I thought, ‘I’m going to be able to do this.’”

So, on that summer evening nearly a decade later, Linda listened. She felt a heaviness. A sadness.

And she felt someone there. She was sure of it.

What she wasn’t sure of: what to do next. Linda decided in that moment to call out into the still of this 100-year-old cemetery: “Whoever is here, my heart is with you!”

And then … she got spooked.

Something felt off.

Her friends and sons had decided to leave and were well on their way back down the path by the time Linda realized they were gone. She hurried down the trail to find them.

As she caught up with the others, thoughts circled: “Did I just disturb something? Is it my imagination?

“Is somebody behind us? … Did I make a mistake?”

Feeling caught up in the moment, she admitted to her friend Carolyn that she felt corny for saying “my heart is with you.”

What did that even mean?

“It means you care,” Carolyn answered. Later that evening, tucked into her small yellow cottage along Sleeping Bear Bay, t hings were different. Linda felt a presence with her.

She woke to bumps in the night, a nd the next day, saw something move in front of her that, well … shouldn’t have moved.

She came to believe that this was the spiritual energy of someone who had been forgotten, just like the cemetery. And this entity wanted her help, to find peace in the afterlife.

It was this experience—and the events that followed—that inspired Linda to write Aaron’s Crossing, a tale about her

“It doesn’t matter what people think—I know what I know. And everybody else … we’ll all find out anyway,” Linda says. “Eventually we all find out one way or the other.”

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Previous spread: Linda Alice Dewey at her Glen Arbor home. “She’s the driving force behind this whole thing,” says Township Board Treasurer Don Lewis. “She’s probably forgotten more than most everybody else remembers.” Left: The grave of Nels Oleson, a 44-year-old clerk for a company store, whose descendants still live in the area. Below: Linda speaks to the Memorial Day crowd; in front of her, the grave of Glenn Burgess, a 7-year-old boy who was shot by his brother.

encounter with a ghost.

Some will find this story implausible; others just plain uncomfortable. But when faced with the option of fictionalizing the book, Linda knew she had to be true to herself.

“I have to be honest. It doesn’t matter what people think—I know what I know.

And everybody else … we’ll all find out anyway,” she says. “Eventually we all find out one way or the other.”

Resurrecting the cemetery Whether or not you believe in life after death, one thing is certain: It was Linda’s experience that bonded her to the long-

abandoned Glen Arbor Cemetery.

“There was an affinity for that place. It just felt sacred to me,” she says.

“So when the windstorm came … it was my first thought.”

It was August 2, 2015, when straight-line winds ripped through Glen Arbor—the cemetery straight in its path. Gusts up to 100 mph downed thousands of trees in the area, and the already-overgrown acre of land became a tangled puzzle of crisscrossed trunks and limbs. The cemetery was no longer accessible.

Crushed by the desecration of the site, Linda sought solutions, but faced roadblocks for the next couple years. The cemetery was under the jurisdiction of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and, as such, the National Park Service. Rehabilitation of the site was on the park’s to-do list, but not something that could be prioritized.

When Linda interviewed the park’s deputy superintendent, Tom Ulrich, in 2017 for a story for the Glen Arbor Sun, he told her the cemetery repairs “might need a squeaky wheel.”

“I remember driving by Forest Haven Road afterward and thinking, ‘I’m the one who has to do this.’ And knowing it was going to involve a lot from me. I could feel it. You just know when something is for you.”

She was right. It was a lot. But Linda continued to champion the cemetery’s revival and, in April 2019, the park finally completed its first clearing of the site so she and other volunteers could have access and begin repair work. In November, she organized a group to help clear a new entrance to the cemetery; Parshall Tree Care Experts in Traverse City offered to assist, free of charge.

“I think without that windstorm, things would have just gone along as they were,” Linda says. “It was cathartic.”

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Thirteen headstones The tangle of trees wasn’t the only puzzle to solve at the cemetery.

Shortly after the clearing began, Andrew White, a historian based in Traverse City, took an interest in the project. He started researching the history of the cemetery, including the names on the 13 headstones scattered throughout the grounds. The forgotten cemetery’s records, perhaps unsurprisingly, were lost, too. So, Andrew started from scratch.

Among his findings: A deed from March 5, 1880, that showed local landowner Dr. William H. Walker and his wife, Eliza Ann, sold the one-acre parcel to the township for one dollar, specifically for use as a public cemetery.

According to newspaper clippings, the cemetery was active from 1879 to 1927. Four Civil War veterans were buried there: James Lawrence Green, Daniel Parker, Edmund Trumbull and Ruell Russell Welch. And the first to be buried: Two sailors—Robert Dowey and Frank Golden—from the schooner W.B. Phelps of Oswego, New York, which tragically met its ruin in Sleeping Bear Bay on November 19, 1879.

As he delved deeper into his research, Andrew came upon a game-changing discovery.

“He called me and said, ‘Linda, I don’t think the park owns the cemetery,’” she recalls. “And I thought, ‘This is crazy.’”

Andrew was, in fact, the first person to question the National Park Service about ownership of the site.

“Have you ever heard of a township selling their public cemetery?” he says. “I started looking into how the sale came about, and the answer was, it never did. Glen Arbor never sold the cemetery to anybody.”

It turns out the cemetery was erroneously transferred in 1977 to the Department of Interior as part of the creation of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Presented with that information, Andrew says the National Park Service was quick to rectify the situation, even in the midst of a pandemic. Within a couple years, ownership of the Glen Arbor Cemetery was transferred back to the township.

“There was storm damage everywhere, and all sorts of deferred maintenance,” Andrew says. “It wasn’t something [the Lakeshore] was going to be able to realistically do. It was a win-win for everybody.”

Andrew continued his research—work others describe as “instrumental,” especially in light of the cemetery’s lost records. He spent hours and hours sifting through microfiche, searching for death certificates and obituaries to help identify those buried in the wooded plot.

Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long for help.

In thinking of ways to connect the community to the history buried in the cemetery, Linda turned to Glen Lake Middle School—specifically, eighth grade social studies and English language arts teacher Melissa Okerlund, and now-retired eighth grade English teacher Lisa Nadlicki.

Melissa says developing a research program for their students was a natural fit—the eighth-grade curriculum aligns with the years the cemetery was in use, not to mention the Civil War connection.

“When the students learned that what they were working on was going to help the community complete records that have been missing for decades … I remember one student that first year saying, ‘You mean we’re going to get to do real history?’”

The program thrived. Over the last five years, students have contributed to the cemetery’s documented history, while forging meaningful connections to their community’s past. That includes, Melissa noted, the area’s rich Indigenous history.

One student researched a child who was buried in the cemetery; coincidentally, the student’s family owns the building that was once a general store owned by the family of the child. On another occasion, the class discovered that one of Glen Arbor’s early settlers had been friends with Susan B.

Anthony. And the anchor from the W.B. Phelps shipwreck can still be seen today, sitting in a resident’s yard.

“I heard a student say, ‘I didn’t realize all this history was right here,’” Melissa recalls.

“This program connected her to her community in a whole different way.”

“It’s a buy-in to history, learning that history isn’t just about books. It’s about people who lived and people whose lives affect us today—in the same spots where we are today,” Linda says. “I foresee these students someday bringing their own kids back to the cemetery and telling them about the person they studied—showing them this cool cemetery in the middle of the woods, just like my brother did that very first time for me. That’s a legacy. For them, and for me.”

The grave of Fannie L. Smith, wife of Glen Haven mover and shaker and Civil War veteran Philander P. Smith.

Lost, but not forgotten Just last year, the township unearthed additional cemetery secrets.

Ground penetrating radar detected the presence of more graves. Many more graves.

Beyond the 13 headstones that still

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stand at the site, 75 unmarked graves were found which, Linda notes, were likely once marked with wooden crosses or shingles that deteriorated over time.

A “potter’s field” was also discovered—a mass grave for those who are unknown, unclaimed or who could not afford a burial. Linda estimates there are anywhere from 50 to 150 people buried there, bringing the cemetery to a total of between 138 and 238 people.

“For the most part, it’s people who came here back in the lumbering days, and mostly, they were people who were very poor,” Andrew says of the potter’s field discovery. “That’s why there are so many unmarked graves there.”

Thanks to their research efforts, 52 of the individuals buried have now been

“I laughed to myself. I’m looking up into the sky and thinking, ‘I don’t know if this is my day to die or not, but what an irony this is going to be!’”

Don’s wife, Annette, decided she would help from then on. They enjoyed the solitude together. And the chance to reflect on their loved ones who have come and gone.

“It’s quiet, it’s peaceful. There’s nobody but you, unless a bird flies through and sings,” Don says. “It is just kind of neat, because it lets you reflect on what a cemetery is really all about, and all of those past souls who are buried there. The project almost took on a spiritual aspect that I never would have anticipated.”

Finally, a resting place This year marks the fifth Memorial Day ceremony at the Glen Arbor Cemetery. Community members gather, including some descendants of those buried here. A eulogy for Civil War veteran Edmund Trumbull is read—he and members of his family are buried in a small center plot marked with a wire fence. (His son, John Trumbull, was the last person to be buried here.)

Local author Anne-Marie Oomen reads a poem she wrote for the first

Thanks to their research efforts, 52 of the individuals buried have now been identified by name, with another 15 that are not yet confirmed. identified by name, with another 15 that are not yet confirmed.

And with each milestone, the community continued to rally around the cemetery. Glen Arbor Township Clerk Pam Laureto worked diligently to keep the project on the town’s radar, and in the summer of 2023, Township Board Treasurer Don Lewis took on the task of placing an additional 67 stones to mark the newly discovered graves, following in the footsteps of his friend and former civil servant, the late John Peppler.

Linda and local surveyor Zach Baker (who also donated his time) placed pin flags throughout the cemetery, marking where each headstone would go. Having been in construction as a general contractor for more than 50 years, Don had a “bone yard” of every kind of stone, rock and boulder imaginable. He chose Wisconsin Fond du Lac stones, previously purchased for a cemetery in Omena. Installing the stones, however, was trickier than he imagined.

“It seems simple before you put a shovel in the ground,” he says with a chuckle.

“But there are so many roots and rocks buried in the soil.”

On one particularly steamy 95-degree day, Don became overheated and had to literally lie down in the middle of the plot.

observance in 2020, “Honoring the Graves”: There is a sluice of time that wanders the grasses and cries out like a small grey goat remember me, remember me.

It’s all we’ve ever wanted.

After Norm Wheeler’s last reverent note of taps has dissolved, Melissa’s students tour the grounds—seeing, for the first time, where the people they studied are buried.

Attendees chat and linger before filtering out. Twig-snapping footsteps fade down the trail. Muffled voices disappear behind the thud of car doors.

And then, quiet. The Memorial Day crowd has left; but I’m not alone.

Bird calls slowly trickle in. Crickets sing their familiar chord. I stand in this peaceful place—this once-forgotten cemetery—thinking about the lives this community has shined a light on. The new relationships formed between the living and the dead. The history buried here that weaves a tapestry of place and time and people.

I’m reminded of the last line in Linda’s book: “Death is never the end of the story.”

A warm summer breeze picks up and one by one, small bits of pollen, backlit by the sun, take flight from the lofty trees. The glowing orbs bounce and twirl, inviting me to follow them back the way I came.

As I walk to my car, I’m treated to a grasshopper ballet among the puffedout dandelions. The faint drum of a woodpecker echoes in the distance.

This cemetery in the woods that was once so still, now vibrates with life; with histories no longer forgotten—and some that may never be known.

Even so, the people of Glen Arbor have shown those buried here that they care. Their hearts are with them. All of them.

Maybe their souls will find comfort in that.

Allison Jarrell Acosta is associate editor of Traverse Northern Michigan magazine. You can reach her at allison@mynorth.com.

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THE PANTHER’S DEN —

by Aaron J. Veselenak

America’s largest wild cat has long captured our imaginations— and haunted our dreams.

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n july 2023, kandace chapple, a longtime freelance writer for this magazine and avid outdoorsperson, posted on Facebook. She had seen a cougar.

Chapple came over a hill while mountain biking Traverse City’s Vasa Pathway, and there it was, 15 yards away lying in the middle of the sandy trail. Powerful body. Round ears. Long, thick tail. The form of Puma concolor is unmistakable.

Stories like these, while unconfirmed by state officials, are not uncommon. A 2018 Facebook post tells of a cougar stalking a woman on Miller Hill in Glen Arbor. Two friends driving up to Christmas Cove in Northport reported one crossing the road with a rabbit in its mouth. Suttons Bay. Williamsburg. Lake Leelanau.

And with them, perhaps a sense of dread but also wonder that these big cats walk among us—a situation that has been hotly debated in Michigan in recent years.

Cougars, a.k.a. mountain lions, panthers or the old-timey “catamount,” are apex predators with no known predators except humankind, reigning at the top of the food chain alongside grizzly bears and wolves. They were believed to be extirpated in Michigan with the death of the state’s last cougar in 1906. Although the Michigan Department of Natural Resources refers to this as the “last known wild cougar,” it also catalogues numerous sightings and photos since 2008, including the illegal harvest of two cougars in the Upper Peninsula, all believed to be traveling males in search of territory. Proof of an established breeding population remains to be found.

But clearly, they are with us still.

Solitary and secretive, cougars stalk their prey in the dark of night and pounce, often dropping from above. After years of research, author Aaron J. Veselenak has gathered some of Michigan’s most haunting historical cougar attacks in his new book, Silent Springs the Panther, but with this caveat: “I love the big cat (all felines, in fact, big or small, wild or tame) …

“Then why produce a work bringing to light accounts of panther aggression against people? The answer, simply, is because their fierce actions against man, though rare, are a part of the animal’s overall existence. To deny the potential danger or harm from this particular member of our native fauna would be dishonest and disingenuous. All truths, in my opinion, need to come out, ugly or beautiful, or anywhere in between.

“So it is with this cat. However, I cannot stress enough that the panther’s depredation on humans are, and have been, exceedingly rare.”

In fact, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation, there have been only 129 reported attacks on humans in North America since 1860, resulting in 28 known deaths in the last 164 years. For perspective, each year 28 people in the U.S. are struck by lightning and at least 20 people die from firearm-related hunting accidents.

Certainly far greater dangers exist in daily life. But their screams don’t split the night; they don’t creep behind you on silent paws. The following excerpt from Veselenak’s Silent Springs the Panther reminds us that we have always shared this place with creatures whose wild nature is pure and unchanged. —Cara McDonald

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It

was the summer of 1860, July 4th or Independence Day to be exact, when a fellow left his precious wife and babe behind and began a very long sojourn on foot, heading from the early Grand Traverse settlement in Michigan’s northwest Lower Peninsula to Kalamazoo, Michigan, far to the south.

Delbert Ivins was young and hardy, so he planned on making the great distance in good time. He traveled light and walked with a steady gait upon the old “Traverse Trail.” At about five miles south of Pine River and 30 miles south from his place of departure, the strong but tiring man was thrilled to discover a bubbling brook trickling over the well-worn pathway. It flowed from a nearby spring. The fresh water would quench the traveler’s thirst and cool his sweaty brow.

called his name, then admonished him to leave, for the cabin was haunted. In disbelief, Ivins’s frightened eyes darted all around the little structure, attempting to discover the source of the soft, chilling voice. His vision caught nothing.

The spooked man then stepped outside the hut to look around but spotted no person about—only the setting sun, which resembled a massive fireball. Birds of the forest happily chirped away, but the growing breeze sounded lonesome and dreary blowing through the tall pines and hemlock trees surrounding the cabin. The evening was warm, but the man felt frigid. He pondered his situation for a few moments, then concluded it was time to leave the place. Ivins quickly packed his few belongings, grabbed his “carpet-sack,” and started off for the settlement he had initially wished to reach.

However, no sooner than he had reached the trail, the man stopped to rethink what he was doing. Considering it was growing extremely dark and 15 miles a long way to

MORE DREADFUL NOISES RANG OUT—

“SNARLINGS, GROWLINGS AND GNASHING OF TEETH, COMMINGLED WITH YELLS, GROANS, BELLOWS OF PAIN, TERROR AND DESPAIR.” While taking a much needed and well-deserved break, the man discovered a little log hut, covered in bark, a few yards up the stream. The structure was likely the winter quarters of some hunter or trapper, figured Ivins. It was relatively clean and tidy inside.

The location of the refreshing spring and tiny cabin was about 15 miles short of a settlement where the sojourner had hoped to stop and rest for the night. However, it was already late in the day, nearing sundown in fact, so Mr. Ivins decided he’d stay put and camp at the convenient location overnight. The fellow gathered up some dried leaves, sticks and small, dead tree limbs to set ablaze within the fireplace in the center of the dwelling. The fire’s purpose was not so much for warmth during the night as it was to “smoke away” the multitude of mosquitoes swarming through the door-less, open hut. Hemlock boughs were placed in a back corner of the little domicile to serve as bedding for the man.

Upon settling down within the cabin, Ivins lit his pipe and opened a folded newspaper cutout he had brought with him. He tried to read but could not concentrate as a growing uneasiness took hold of his mind. The traveler soon heard what he thought was human whispering. It

travel in those particular hours of night, Ivins determined there was a real possibility of wandering off the trail and getting hopelessly lost. So the fellow changed his mind, deciding to “risk the phantoms and stay.”

Feeling calmer now, the traveler returned to his place of shelter, as frightening as it had been. He collected more fuel for the flames on his way. Once inside, Ivins sat down to relax, relit his pipe, and again pulled out the piece of newspaper to read. But he still could not focus enough to comprehend the printed words. After sitting for an hour and occasionally feeding the fire, Ivins retreated to his makeshift bed of soft hemlock. He prayed to be overtaken by a sound and peaceful slumber. Sleep did not come instantly, but in about a half-hour the fellow dozed off and finally felt the comfort he so desperately desired.

However, the weary man’s comfortable rest was not to continue. A “fearful scream” jolted the fellow awake. Ivins, startled, quickly threw more sticks and branches onto the fire, which had nearly burned out. The flames rose and brightened the inside of the little structure once more.

Now standing, Ivins in “breathless silence” strove “to catch the slightest sound,” but only detected the wind

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continuing to blow through the branches of the tall pines and hemlock at varying speeds.

In a minute, however, another terrible sound pierced the darkness. It was not the same as the one which had awakened him, but was so “frightful and unearthly,” Ivins later wrote, “that I fairly sank down paralyzed with fear!”

More dreadful noises rang out—“snarlings, growlings and gnashing of teeth, commingled with yells, groans, bellows of pain, terror and despair.”

Delbert Ivins was no stranger to the deep forest, having hunted and trapped game on numerous occasions while also camping out many a night—far, far from the comfortable confines of civilization.

But the man had never, ever heard the shockingly disturbing noises he was now confronted with.

Compounding the man’s terror was the knowledge he possessed no firearm. His only protection came in the form of a “stout” cane and pretty good pocketknife. Ivins resolved that if he was to be killed by the (still unknown) beast of the woods, it would not be without a grand fight on his part.

The sojourner bravely walked to the open doorway, readying himself with open knife in one hand, cane in the other. He peered outward. As he scanned his surroundings, a thought entered his brain: Maybe some hunters had come up to the cabin, saw it to be presently occupied, and therefore decided to play a trick or joke on the unsuspecting lone dweller—himself.

Ivins therefore called out to the possible jokesters, imploring them to make themselves known to him. The fearstricken fellow even invited them to join him, giving assurance that they’d be forgiven for the prank and treated with courtesy. But before he even finished yelling out the statement, the would-be host eyed something in the distance “creeping” his way. When within 50 feet, whatever it was let loose another “round” of the same hellish-sounding barrage it had emitted moments earlier.

As the creature slowly but steadily slunk forward, Ivins, to his horror, glimpsed that the source of the wretched noises was not a man or men playing a game, but indeed a wild panther. Feeling desperate, the man seized the unburned end of one of the torched branches within his fire and flung it at the approaching cat as hard as he could. He missed his target. The big feline merely growled as it retreated into a thicket. But the beast only disappeared for a brief period.

Soon the panther re-emerged and began a vigil, one that would last several hours. The menacing animal circled the small cabin at least a half-dozen times throughout the night, while often stopping a few feet in front of the open doorway to peer inside at its fear-stricken occupant.

Whenever the fire inside burned lower, the large cat became more emboldened, slinking closer to the door opening, issuing threatening growls. The captive man, in return,

would speak out loudly to the panther, as if lecturing the beast, in an effort to prove he was not the least bit afraid.

By doing so Ivins hoped to lessen the cat’s aggressive actions. But inside his skin, if not on the outside, the fellow was trembling.

The besieged traveler could have kicked himself for not bringing his long gun or pistol as means of protection during the lengthy journey. About two hours before daylight, Ivins’s fuel supply within the tiny cabin had diminished considerably, practically inviting the big cat to dash in. It would not be very long before the leaves, sticks and branches would be used up. The cornered man envisioned himself being torn to pieces and eaten by the panther. He wondered what would become of his wife and baby without himself in their lives.

In an instant, despair gave way to panic; Ivins wildly scraped up and threw into the waning fire the sole remaining leaves, wood chips, sticks and small, broken tree branches. The flare-up of the flames was brief, as the fire quickly died down once again. The desperate fellow glanced at the doorway and saw that the panther was now at the very entrance itself, rather than hovering some feet back, “his eyes glaring like two balls of fire, while he growled ferociously!”

With death literally at the doorstep, Ivins hit upon an idea not thought of before and began rapidly tearing at— and pulling down—the loose bark above him which served as both the hut’s ceiling and roof. Tossing the dried chunks of Mother Nature into the embers, the fellow soon had the fire roaring. The panther backed away from the door a few feet and stayed put until morning began its approach.

Light soon appeared in the eastern sky. Dawn was soon to break. As it got lighter with each passing moment, the big cat let out a series of “heart-rendering, hair-raising” screeches, turned eastward, and walked off.

In a couple of minutes, the terrifying creature was no longer seen nor heard.

Not long after the panther’s exit, Ivins gathered his few possessions and departed the hut. For the first few miles of his resumed journey, he kept a rapid pace. Near the end of his second day of travel, right before the sun once again set, Ivins reached his destination—the “Dry Prairie Settlement,” 55 miles from the tiny cabin the fortunate man would forever after refer to as the “Panther’s Den.” The night with the big cat had been the absolute worst one of his entire existence, wrote Delbert Ivins 30 years later. However, surviving the frightful, life-threatening encounter had instilled in the young man a powerful sense of gratitude and appreciation for life—a feeling which forever remained, never to drift away.

Silent Springs the Panther: Historic Accounts of Michigan Big Cat Attacks by Aaron J. Veselenak © 2024. Published

by Mission Point Press, available at local booksellers.

OCTOBER 2024

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Experience Peaceful Senior Living We have all the comforts of home without the work or worry so you can relax.

Your

Ho

f me

or

To d a y … a n

dT om

o rr ow

Bay Ridge Independent Living 231-995-9385 Assisted Living-Memory Care 231-932-9757 3850 Scenic Ridge, off Silver Lake Road Traverse City MI 49684 TRS Dial 711 36 T R A V E R S E N O R T H E R N M I C H I G A N

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northern home & cottage FOR THE WAY YOU L I VE UP NORTH

IN LOVE WITH

SLOWHOUSE FURNITURE . 41 P

SNEAK PEEK! NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE 2024 HOME TOUR . 47 P

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Create Where You Belong

©2024 California Closet Company, Inc. All rights reserved. Each California Closets® franchised location is independently owned and operated. Local contractor licenses available at californiaclosets.com. Photo: Adrian Gaut

Entryway.

CALL , V IS IT A S H OWRO OM, OR FIND US ONLINE TO SC H E DULE YOUR COMPLIMENTARY D ES IGN CONS ULTATION 24 8 . 6 24 .1 2 3 4

Serving Northern Michigan | 2024 Detroit Design Award Winner Wixom Birmingham Troy

30975 Century Dr 33238 Woodward Ave 1700 Stutz Dr — at the Michigan Design Center @calclosetsmi

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inside OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2024

northern home & cottage

54 features

47 /

WELCOME TO THE 2024 NORTHERN HOME & COTTAGE VIRTUAL HOME TOUR FIND OUT HOW TO ACCESS THE NINE FABULOUS HOME VIDEOS ON THIS YEAR’S TOUR!

48 / SOPHISTICATED CONTEMPORARY PRESENTED BY: THE COTTAGE COMPANY

50 / DREAM EXPERIENCE

PRESENTED BY: KRÄM CONSTRUCTION

54 / MODERN MEDITERRANEAN

PRESENTED BY: MAPLERIDGE CONSTRUCTION

photos: (top) Jacqueline Southby; (bottom) courtesy of Slowhouse

56 / WOODSY COASTAL

PRESENTED BY: NORTHWEST CARPENTRY

60 / DOWNSIZED DARLINGS

41

64 / LAKESIDE LODGE

departments

PRESENTED BY: BETTER LIVING HOMES

PRESENTED BY: SCOTT NORRIS CONSTRUCTION

68 / RUSTIC MODERN

41 / IN LOVE WITH

Slowhouse Bespoke Furniture

PRESENTED BY: WHITEFORD ASSOCIATES

70 / LUXURIOUS RESORT REDO

COVER PHOTO COURTESY OF SILVER OAKS RESORT

PRESENTED BY: SILVER OAKS RESORT

74 / TRIBUTE LODGE

PRESENTED BY: MAC CUSTOM HOMES

Click on Live Here > Northern Home

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231-526-bldr (2537) • cottage-company.com

231-499-1646

krambuild.com

Read our story on page 50!

Read our story on page 48!

View This Home ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 30TH Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour24

View This Home ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 30TH Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour24

JD HOME

Custom Furnishing, Lighting, Textiles, Home Decor, and Design Services

1238 South Garfield Suite F · Traverse City, MI · jdhometc.com · 231-441-1107 · clientservices@jdhomeanddesign.com

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in love with

BESPOKE FURNITURE The secret to the timeless look of Slowhouse.

By CAR LY SI M PS ON

CLEAN lines and a buttery soft finish are trademarks of

Slowhouse, a custom furniture studio (formerly Wall Woodworking) by husband-wife duo Brad and Anna Wall. The couple recently made the move from Detroit to a 10-acre homestead in Thompsonville with their two boys, ages 4 and 2, and a third on the way. It’s a chance for the family to “live slowly,” Brad says, something they wanted their new brand name to reflect.

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Outside of the wood shop, they’re raising chickens, and their summer garden was filled with vegetables, berries and row upon row of flowers. Inside, Brad has been studying Danish woodworkers and incorporating some of their design elements (woven cord, rounded edges) into his own pieces, like the Mooney Bed with a beautiful woven headboard, and the Lasso Coffee Table.

“What we do is pretty primitive in some ways—creating by hand and working with tools that are older than we are is a reminder to go slowly,” Brad says.

“We tend to let the materials do most of the talking when it comes to the design.”

A tinkerer at heart, Brad has always been curious about how things are put together. “So much so that when my parents bought me my first guitar, I played it for a little while and then just completely disassembled it because I wanted to know what made it work,” he says.

That curiosity means Brad is always learning new concepts and approaches to building—and he really can make just about anything. “Sometimes in client meetings we hear, ‘You can do that?’ or ‘We can get that type of wood?’ Yes!” Keep tabs on Slowhouse projects, upcoming workshops and a woodworking retreat on Instagram, @slowhouseco, or online. slowhouse.co NHC • MYNORTH.COM

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231-642-5775

231-218-3061 • northwestcarpentry.com

mapleridge.us

Read our story on page 56!

Photo by Jacqueline Southby

Read our story on page 54!

View This Home

View This Home

BEGINNING OCTOBER 30TH

BEGINNING OCTOBER 30TH

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ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR

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let us help you

make your home an

e x per ience

www.KitchenChoreography .net

orch est r at i ng your v ision

Interior Design Remodeling Services Custom Cabinetry New Construction Restoration Contract Management 420 south division st. downtown t r av e r s e c i t y 231.932.9700

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PRECISION MILLWORK TIMELESS BEAUTY

CRAFTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH:

VISIT US Northport Traverse City Petoskey

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TMMILL.COM

CONTACT US

@TMMILLWORK

(231) 386-7236 tmm@tmmillwork.com

9/4/24 3:42 PM

HOME SWEET HOME

GINNY FEY

REAL ESTATE AGENT

511 E. Front St. Traverse City, MI (231) 360-7822

It starts with a place.

www.ginnyfey.com

“You talk...I’ll listen.”

It becomes real with a custom building relationship built on clear communication, punctuality, collaboration, and exceptional craftsmanship.

GALLERY AT PAULMAURER.COM \\ 231.941.1448 45 YEARS IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN

Photo by Maconochie Photography

“I believe a house is more a home by being a work of art.”

Frank Lloyd Wright

Elk Rapids Northville 231.498.2500 248.515.4477 josephmoseyarchitecture.com

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INTRODUCING THE

northern home & cottage 2024

V I R T U A L

H O M E

TO U R

WHETHER OFFICIAL SPONSOR

F E AT U R E D S P O N S O R

O F F I C I A L B OAT DEALERSHIP SPONSOR

you’re looking for design inspo, home improvement ideas or getting ready to build your own dream house, there’s nothing more delicious than a behind-the-scenes look into some of our region’s most beautiful spaces. And we’ve got nine stunners to share with you—from a serene lakeside lodge to a modern Mediterranean-inspired villa—on our 2024 Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Home Tour.

Mark October 30 on your calendar and get ready to enjoy immersive video tours of each of these gorgeous houses. The virtual tours allow an intimate look inside, as well as in-depth interviews with the homeowners and builders about their successes, challenges and favorite design elements.

We couldn’t host these tours without our official sponsor Bay View Flooring, Northern Michigan’s largest flooring retailer, with a 12,000-square-foot showroom in Traverse City. We also want to recognize our featured sponsor, Honor & Onekama Building Supply, and our official boat dealership sponsor, Action Water Sports.

Our team is immensely thankful for their support, along with that of our tour-goers, for a very special reason: This year’s tour revenue, as it has for the last decade, will go to Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan. Since 2013, this tour has raised more than $150,000 to help their team provide a critical safety net for Northern Michigan’s most vulnerable children. The generosity of our readers, viewers and homeowners has helped so many families, and we’re profoundly grateful.

Accessing the tour is easy! Here’s how: 1. GO TO LINK.MYNORTH.COM/TOUR24.

2. MAKE A SUGGESTED DONATION OF $10 TO SUPPORT CHILD & FAMILY SERVICES OF NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN AND GET YOUR TICKET.

SCAN ME WITH YOUR SMART PHONE TO GET TICKETS IN A SNAP!

3. WATCH FOR AN EMAIL WITH A UNIQUE PASSWORD. 4. ON OCT. 30, YOU WILL RECEIVE A SECOND EMAIL WITH AN ONLINE LINK TO THE VIRTUAL

TOUR. (IF YOU PURCHASE TICKETS AFTER OCT. 30, YOU’LL RECEIVE THE LINK IMMEDIATELY UPON PURCHASE.)

5. ENTER YOUR PASSWORD AND YOU WILL FIND ALL OF THE HOMES READY TO VIEW. 6. WANT TO SEE THE HOUSES AGAIN AND AGAIN? NO PROBLEM. THE VIRTUAL TOURS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING UNTIL DEC. 31.

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2024 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photo courtesy of THE COTTAGE COMPANY

SOPHISTICATED CONTEMPORARY A THOUGHTFUL HOMEOWNER AND TALENTED INTERIOR DESIGN-AND-BUILD TEAM GIVE A SPEC-HOME COTTAGE AN ELEVATED MAKEOVER.

I 

t was a first, even for the team at The Cottage Company, the Harbor Springs–based interior design/build company behind some of the most stunning homes in Northern Michigan. While the company has a number of renovations to their credit, they’d never taken a brand-new, spec home (that had yet to be lived in) and completely redone it— which was what this client asked them to do. The reason? He loved the Little Traverse Bay site and the home’s basic floorplan, but wanted the interior customized to his taste and affinity for natural materials.

After the home had been stripped of virtually all interior elements—cabinetry, tile, fixtures, countertops, lighting (most of which was reused in one way or another), the design fun began. “We took it from a traditional cottage style to masculine contemporary, with cleaner lines and cooler colors—muted blues and grays mixed with black and metallic accents,” says Kelly Konoske, president of The Cottage Company Interiors. “Nothing is frivolous,” she adds. “There are very few accessories—everything has a place and is in its place.” All of that elegant simplicity makes a perfect backdrop for three pieces that she had custom painted for the homeowner CONTRACTOR by the Detroit-based artist Sarah Lutz.

THE COTTAGE COMPANY Other call-outs begin with a whole-home emphasis on LOCATION natural materials, from hardwood floors to marble countertops LITTLE TRAVERSE BAY in the kitchen and upstairs wet bar, as well as the tile mosaics in the bathrooms. “All the tile is marble—there is no porcelain or ceramic tile in the home,” says Konoske.

Much of the lighting throughout the home is from Urban Electric—a company known for fixtures so exquisite they become the focal point of a room. “There aren’t a lot of knickknacks in the home, so the lighting is like the jewelry,” adds Konoske. In a number of cases, Konoske used the lighting to echo other metallic touches including the range hood that is trimmed in brass, and a wet bar, designed by Designs by Dawn and built by The Cottage Company, that sparkles with metal inlays.

The home’s luxurious details are carried throughout the guest suites. Every bathroom in the ensuite rooms has an electric towel heater, steam showers outfitted with body sprays, and shaving mirrors. The walls (as well as the shower) are each faced with marble tile set in varied mosaic patterns.

The game room (which sports one of those two custom wet bars), an exercise room and a perfectly appointed outdoor kitchen and patio area round out this stunner of a home.

Fans of Architectural Digest magazine’s sophisticated style won’t want to miss tuning into this home on the Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Tour.

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2024 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photos courtesy of KRÄM CONSTRUCTION

DREAM EXPERIENCE A PROJECT SETBACK BECAME THE GAME-CHANGER THAT HELPED BUILD SHAWN AND TERRI GRADY’S BEAUTIFUL NEW HOME IN NINE MONTHS.

s 

hawn and Terri Grady had already selected a builder for the forever home they wanted to build on Lake Ann, but after some delays, they found out he couldn’t complete it in the time frame they were looking for. “We didn’t want to miss another summer,” Terri says. So Shawn searched builders online and contacted Mark Wanner of Kräm Construction. Wanner, who takes jobs within 100 miles of Reed City, where his business is headquartered, made the trip north, along with his project estimator, to meet the Gradys at their property. Days later Wanner came back with an estimate that was similar to the one given to them by their previous builder. The difference? Wanner and his team could build the home in nine months.

The Gradys were delighted, and with contracts signed, the clock started ticking. Before the ground was even broken Wanner helped the Gradys through issues from siting the home on its steep slope (a slope that would make getting equipment onto that site in the winter difficult) to working through lot line and septic issues. By the time the actual work started, in July of 2021, the Gradys had moved north to the home next door, which they had owned with another family CONSTRUCTION for 22 years—a great vantage point for watching over the KRÄM CONSTRUCTION construction. What could have been stressful turned into a LOCATION dream experience. As Terri says: “They were amazing to work LAKE ANN with, they would come up with a huge team and they just worked and worked and worked. They would get here by 7 a.m. and sometimes work as late as 8 p.m., into the dark. Most of the men had beards so I called them the ‘Bearded Wonders.’”

Terri finds it hard to overstate how “on it” team Bearded Wonders was, citing the time a huge storm blew in and started letting water in the door. “We called them and they were up that night to fix things,” Terri says. Not only was the Gradys’ home finished on time, but it also came in within budget.

The finished product is a home with features the family loves. The house is virtually maintenance free thanks to features like luxury vinyl floors and composite decking.

And it’s built to welcome a crowd—four of the home’s five bedrooms are outfitted so that one family can stay in each room. The primary bedroom, like the main living space, has spacious windows that take in views of Lake Ann. There’s a kitchen big enough for everyone to gather in, and a screened-in porch where Terri hangs out every day when it’s warm enough. “I love our house. All of it,” Terri says.

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231-421-9500 Photo by Jacqueline Southby

altavistalivingtc.com

Read our story on page 60!

231-218-6849 • snorrisconstruction.com Photo by Sam Crick

View This Home

View This Home

BEGINNING OCTOBER 30TH

BEGINNING OCTOBER 30TH

Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour24

Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour24

ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR

Read our story on page 64!

ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR

2012 - 2023

Outdoor Living at its Finest 52 N O R T H E R N H O M E & C O T T A G E O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 4

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amdgarchitects.com/cottages 616.454.1600

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2024 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photos by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

MODERN MEDITERRANEAN LAKE MICHIGAN SPREADING ITS AZURE HUES ACROSS THE HORIZON IS A FITTING BACKDROP FOR THIS PERFECTLY EXECUTED VILLA.

 CONTRACTOR MAPLERIDGE CONSTRUCTION LOCATION OLD MISSION PENINSULA

T

his stunner of a home on Old Mission Peninsula is a joint effort between homeowner/designer Liz Ascione, architect Doug Leahy of Geta Design and the talented crew at Mapleridge Construction. The collaboration has its genesis a number of years back when Ascione, who has made a second career of flipping and building homes, toured a house built by Mapleridge Construction on the Traverse City Parade of Homes. “I was just blown away at the quality of construction and detail in the home,” Ascione says.

Several years later, Ascione found a piece of property on an Old Mission Peninsula bluff above West Grand Traverse Bay and decided it was well suited to the modern Mediterranean design that she had been dreaming of building. It was during the Covid-19 pandemic and Mapleridge, like the rest of the building industry, was booked years out. Yet, when Ascione contacted them, co-owners Scott Naumes and Chris Miller told her they’d been saving a slot on their schedule for a project of hers ever since she’d gotten in touch with them after the Parade of Homes. With the contractors lined up, Ascione took her notebook full of designs to Leahy. “What he did with my concepts was just magic,” Ascione says.

This home, with its airy, clean spaces and easy interplay between indoors and outdoors, exudes an elevated sense of the Mediterranean style that fits beautifully into Northern Michigan. Specific Mediterranean accents include a stucco-like exterior, grand limestone entrances, terraces and balustrades, high ceilings and Italian outdoor light fixtures. Interior Euro-Mediterranean touches include a bench seat and matching table designed by Ascione and built by a Portuguese furniture company. The great room is a standout, with a large custom built-in and backlit art display, a pyramid ceiling detailed with poplar shiplap and a two-sided Isokern fireplace that functions in both the great room and the outdoor patio space.

Perhaps nothing overshadows the primary closet. The closet has more than 56 feet of hanging rod space, backlit purse and shoe cubbies and beautifully lit quartzite countertops throughout.

If you love clean, luxurious design with a Mediterranean accent, don’t miss the Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Tour of this home.

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aura and Kevin Lutz were struggling to find just the right waterfront property on which to build their dream forever home. Finally, several years ago, they drove north for the weekend and decided to give it a last shot. “By the end of the weekend I was exhausted, and I didn’t want to look anymore,” Laura recalls. Kevin, however, coaxed her into looking at one last property.

That property was in Benzie County’s Pearl Lake Estates—a small development on Pearl Lake, a 600acre, spring-fed glacial lake that is primarily owned by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “It was just so quiet and peaceful,” Laura says. “We stood on the edge of the property facing the lake and it felt like home.”

The Lutzes engaged Traverse City–based architect Jessica Van Houzen Stroud to design a custom home that took optimal advantage of the Pearl Lake views.

Simultaneously, they began the search for builders.

“We probably interviewed five or six builders,” Laura says. Among them was Steven Eveleigh of Northwest Carpentry. “We hit it off immediately,” Laura recalls.

“We liked how genuine he was, and his references couldn’t say enough about him.”

The payoff for all of the couple’s research is their lovely new home. With its dove-gray shingle and boardbatten siding, the home that Stroud designed and Eveleigh built fits beautifully into the wooded lake site, while maintenance-free decking and siding mean the Lutzes have more time to enjoy their Up North life.

Inside, generous use of white shiplap on the walls, tongue-and-groove ceilings, white oak floors and natural wood accents further play out the woodsy coastal theme. Indeed, every room in the home fits into the couple’s Northwoods lifestyle, right down to its walk-out beach room that is outfitted with an epoxy floor and an adjacent bathroom. “Whether we’re grimy from a hike, cleaning fish, prepping for a bonfire or letting in our wet dogs, Tony and Willow, it’s just a great utility area,” says Laura.

Though the kitchen is the heart of the home, Laura says her absolutely favorite part is the three ways her home offers to see, and feel close to, the water: a screened-in porch, a sun room and an upper deck. “If it’s winter and cold, we can sit in the sun room,” Laura says.

“When it’s lovely outside, we use the upper deck and if it’s warm but a little buggy, we do the screened-in porch.”

In the end, the Lutzes not only got their dream home, they also got their dream builder. Just like his other references, the couple can’t say enough about Eveleigh.

“If there was a ruffle here or there, he’d give us a call and say, ‘What do you think about this?’ And if I had an idea, I’d just give him a quick text and run it by him,” Laura says. “It’s been a true pleasure working with Steve.”

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photo courtesy of NORTHWEST CARPENTRY

WOODSY COASTAL A BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM HOME ON AN IDYLLIC LAKE IS PROOF THAT PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF.

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 CONTRACTOR NORTHWEST CARPENTRY LOCATION BENZIE COUNTY

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231-941-8800 • whitefordassociates.com

In the palm of your hand.

Photo by Jacqueline Southby

Read our story on page 68!

View This Home ON THE VIRTUAL TOUR BEGINNING OCTOBER 30TH Buy Tickets: link.mynorth.com/tour24

MYNORTH.COM/SUBSCRIBE

Northern Michigan Custom Homes TrilliumShore.com 231-218-7567

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Giving You That Custom Look Without The Custom Price Dura Supreme craftsmen take great pride in every cabinet they build. Our kitchen design center would be happy to show you various wood choices, door styles, and finishes to choose from. Call 231.325.4551

ura Supreme e D m d o d t h h r roughout you A

Honor Building Supply 10635 Main Street, Honor, MI 49640 800-444-6396 • FAX: 231-325-2115

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Family Owned Since 1963

Onekama Building Supply 4847 Main Street, Onekama, MI 49675 231-889-3456 • FAX: 231-889-3633

9/4/24 4:19 PM

2024 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photos courtesy of BETTER LIVING HOMES

DOWNSIZED DARLINGS THIS PLANNED COMMUNITY CHECKS OFF ALL THE AMENITIES ANY FAMILY OR EMPTY NESTER COULD WANT—WITHOUT THE HEFTY PRICE TAG.

A



lta Vista, an in-progress 165-home development on Hammond Road just south of Traverse City, is the brainchild of RC Hermann, owner of Better Living Homes, Inc., who spent his career building residential and commercial complexes all over the Southwest before retiring and moving to Traverse City. Bored by retirement, Hermann began researching the housing market in Traverse City and realized there was a market for empty nesters looking to downsize to low-maintenance homes in a community filled with amenities.

Hermann’s first development, Woodcreek, located off South Airport Road, was born.

After Woodcreek was off and running, Hermann purchased the 80-acre parcel that is now Alta Vista. Like WoodCONTRACTOR creek, the homes in Alta Vista are manufactured—a construcBETTER LIVING HOMES tion method that Hermann finds more efficient than stick-built LOCATION homes. “They can [build] a house in the factory in about a TRAVERSE CITY week because all their lumber supplies, cabinetry and plumbing fixtures are all right there in the factory,” he says. Beyond that, the homes are delivered straight to the homesites and assembled securely on the spot, Hermann says.

That said, the homes in Alta Vista don’t look like what most people picture when they hear the term manufactured home given that they have decks, patios and one- and two-car garages. “I take a manufactured home and make it look like a stick-built home,” Hermann says. Alta Vista homes come with underground sprinklers and full landscaping.

“We hand you the key when you move in and you’re done,” Hermann says.

Residents enjoy a slew of other amenities right out their front doors, including a large swimming pool, gorgeous Arts & Crafts–style clubhouse, pickleball court, fitness center, community garden, walking paths and easy biking access to the TART trail system. An average three-bedroom, two-bath house ranges from $275,000 to $350,000 depending on the home’s size and features. Alta Vista homes are a perfect way for longtime homeowners to downsize (and maybe pocket enough money to spend the winter in Florida!), and young families to enter the Traverse City housing market—in style.

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231-944-3331 • silveroaksresort.com

231-935-4609 • maccustomhomes.com Photo by Jacqueline Southby

Read our story on page 74!

Read our story on page 70!

View This Home

View This Home

BEGINNING OCTOBER 30TH

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2024 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS

LAKESIDE LODGE photos by SAM CRICK

EARTH TONES AND WHITE-PINE TIMBERS DEFINE THIS HOME ON THE WOODED SHORE OF TINY HERENDEENE LAKE NEAR THE VILLAGE OF LAKE ANN.

 CONTRACTOR SCOTT NORRIS CONSTRUCTION LOCATION

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LAKE ANN

hen you create a home in the woods, it’s only natural to let that sense of place shine through in the home’s design and build.

“The homeowner wanted this home to feel connected to nature so that it is appropriate to its rustic, wooded setting on this little lake,” says Scott Norris of Scott Norris Construction. This lakeside lodge pulls that off and more, thanks to the cohesive talents—from skilled carpenters to designers—that work under one roof at Scott Norris Construction.

Designed by Scott’s son, Caleb Norris, the home uses earth-tone colors, woodwork and natural products to harmonize with its environment. That begins with the site, where the stone foundation, cedar shake siding and sage-colored board-andbatten exterior blend with the forest setting. The home’s structural white pine timbers, harvested from the site and its surrounding forest, were shaped in Norris’s own timber-frame shop. Those sturdy beams are complemented by rustic interior elements, like the stone fireplace that soars to the pine-clad cathedral ceiling.

Norris’s staff interior designer, Joelle Price, worked closely with the homeowners to weave a forest theme throughout the interior with touches including lush green paint colors and owl- and fern-embossed wallpapers and textiles. Other special touches include hand-built timber bunks— there’s even a single bunk tucked under the staircase in an otherwise unused space.

True to Norris’s eye for detail, the timber mantel and stair railings are embellished with metal collars forged in his metal shop, each embossed with a small rose. The signature Scott Norris Construction touch continues to the outside, where the company’s landscaping staff created the lovely hardscape.

Discover more about this rustic masterpiece on our Northern Home & Cottage Virtual Tour.

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2024 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

RUSTIC MODERN A HOME PERFECTLY TAILORED FOR A PAIR OF OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS FEELS COMPLETELY NATURAL IN ITS RURAL BENZIE COUNTY SETTING.

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photos by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY

 CONTRACTOR WHITEFORD ASSOCIATES LOCATION BENZIE COUNTY

T

wenty five acres of forest, fields and dramatic ravines surround this handsome home. Thanks to black LP siding, a custom-made alder front door and a portico framed by cedar posts and beam, this house feels as much a part of its setting as the loamy soil that surrounds it.

The interior shares the same love of nature: Huge black-framed recessed windows take in 360-degree views of the dramatic landscape. The interplay of outside and inside in this home is no surprise, given that the homeowners are avid outdoor enthusiasts—and, bonus, the wife has a sharp eye for design. “She knew exactly what she wanted,” says Mark McDonald, president of the design-and-build firm that made the homeowners’ vision a reality.

The connection to the outdoors begins with an easily accessed garage tailored for storing outdoor gear, a mudroom for shedding boots and outdoor wear and an all-important dog-washing station that efficiently handles the homeowners’ pooch when he comes in from romping through his 25-acre yard. Guests staying in the lower-level walkout with its two spacious bedrooms have their own patio.

Upstairs, off the main level, a stamped concrete patio with a fire ring (with space for a future hot tub) looks out over a retaining wall to a steep ravine. This sublime staging was anything but effortless to build, given the challenges of grading such a steep area, says project manager Matt Nemode.

Inside, function meets rustic-luxe touches in an open floor plan that moves from the kitchen to the dining area to the living area—spaces that are pulled together visually by a distressed beam that runs the length of the vaulted ceiling.

On the back wall of the living area, a handsome, steel-encased fireplace echoes the coziness of the built-out range that faces it from across the room. Tucked under a custom hood trimmed in a slab of maple and enclosed on two sides by maple shelves, the range achieves a hearthlike feel.

Find more custom ingenuity in the butler-style coffee/wet bar located midway between the kitchen and a four-season porch. The tiny room is elegantly tricked out in black lacquer shelves and hexagon-shaped pewter-colored tiles.

And that four-seasons porch? Experience it on our video home tour. With its three-sided views of the wooded ravine and its polished concrete floor that meets walls and ceiling clad in tongue-and-groove cedar, this heated space is the perfect perch for feeling at one with the outside.

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by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photo courtesy of SILVER OAKS RESORT

LUXURIOUS RESORT REDO NORTHWOODS-STYLE RELAXATION BLENDS WITH FIRST-CLASS MODERN AMENITIES AT THESE PICTURE-PERFECT COTTAGES ON SILVER LAKE.

s 

ilver Oaks Resort, which dates back to the 1930s, has just had a top-to-bottom redo by a pair of Michigan natives in love with the North. When they found the property was for sale, the new owners jumped at the opportunity to “revitalize and share this historical resort with others.” That mission was executed perfectly in these five free-standing beachfront cottages set on Silver Lake, known for its clear waters, great boating and fishing, and proximity to Traverse City’s dining, wineries and more.

The charming cottages, with their black metal roofs and white board-and-batten exteriors, range in size from CONTRACTOR two to four bedrooms, and are ideal for couples, families or CHERRY CAPITAL CONTRACTING large groups. Each cottage is outfitted with custom details LOCATION including European lighting, custom vanities, vaulted SILVER OAKS RESORT ceilings clad in shiplap, perfectly appointed kitchens (one with a waterfall countertop), patios, fire pits, grills and myriad other unexpectedly luxurious touches. A perfect playground, the resort also offers onsite rental for pontoons, kayaks and paddle boards.

“We see Silver Oaks Resort as a perfect place for family gatherings, for reunions, quiet celebrations and wedding parties,” says the owner. “Our hope is that the resort is cherished by others as much as we cherish it.”

Visit this special property once and you’ll come away with a lifetime of memories.

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2024 NH&C | VIRTUAL HOME TOUR

TRIBUTE LODGE

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AN OLD CABIN INSPIRES A NEW VISION FOR FAMILY LAKE LIFE.

by ELIZABETH EDWARDS photos by JACQUELINE SOUTHBY



hen longtime homeowners of a cottage south of Traverse City on Arbutus Lake saw a For Sale sign go up in front of a cottage down the road, they moved quickly to purchase it. The couple was ready to build a new, larger home for their family and guests, and the lot for sale had a dilapidated cabin that needed to come down. Yet, as they were very aware from their history in the area, the cabin was one of the oldest on the lake. “They wanted to honor that history,” says Marcy Hurst, executive assistant of Mac Custom Homes, the firm that worked with the couple to build their dream home.

The old brown cabin blended in with the wooded shoreline, so inspired by that, the new home is sided in cedar with a brown-gray transparent stain that blends in just as well, but with a subtle modern attitude. True, the new home has a distinctive lodge feel in comparison to the old cabin, but a varied geometry of roof lines and dormers— topped in steel to contrast with the shingled roof—give it the appearance of an old cottage that has been gradually added on to over the years.

All of that harmonious design belies the challenges involved in siting the home on the property’s steep grade. To make matters more complicated, the homeowners wanted the main living area and their primary CONTRACTOR bedroom on the ground floor so that they MAC CUSTOM HOMES had easy, unobstructed access to the lake.

LOCATION The beautiful solution is a grand entry TRAVERSE CITY on the driveway side that opens on to a switchback staircase that offers a view of the lake beyond. The upstairs level houses the guest quarters and includes a fabulous built-in bunk system with knotty pine paneling accents salvaged from the old cabin.

The main living area and primary bedroom are on the lower walkout level. But don’t confuse this space with the rec-room walkouts of the past. Here, cathedral ceilings rise to a lofty 12 feet and full banks of windows flood in light and lake views. The main living area stretches across the lake side from the kitchen, outfitted with rustic-modern alder cabinetry and black soapstone countertops, through the dining area to the living area that revolves around a fireplace, faced floor-to-ceiling in charcoal-colored ceramic tile. The hardwood hickory floor can stand abuse from water, sand and dogs, while anchoring the home’s modern organic feel. Just beyond the fireplace is a spacious screened-in porch that is the true heart of the home three seasons of the year.

Other standouts in this home that honors the best of the past and present are an outdoor shower, an outdoor kitchen and a perfectly appointed mudroom, complete with a dog gate pocketed into a wall to contain the family’s beloved labs while they shake off the waters of Arbutus Lake.

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25

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Please call ahead 231-269-4400 to schedule. | | Sept. 23 – Oct. 31, 2024 10:00am-6:00pm 7 days a week

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Please call ahead 231-269-4400 to schedule.

Across from the old engine show grounds.

New! SEASON PASS New! SEASON PASS $15 - Unlimited Visits $15 - Unlimited Visits WEEKENDS WEEKENDS for the 2024 season ENTRANCE for the 2024 season ENTRANCE WEEKENDS ONLY:ONLY: FEE INCLUDES: ENTRANCE FEE INCLUDES: ONLY: Pig Racing FEE INCLUDES: Cornmaze, Slide, $3 Barrel Train Rides Pig Racing Cornmaze, Slide, WEEKENDS Cornmaze, Slide, Farm Animals $3 Barrel Train Rides $3 Tractor-Pulled Wagon Rides $3 Barrel Train Rides ENTRANCE ONLY: Farm Animals & Nature New! Walk!SEASON PASS $3 Tractor-Pulled Apple Cannon (Price bucket) Wagon Rides Farm Animals FEE INCLUDES: $3 Tractor-Pulled WagonperRides Pig Racing to the covered bridge & Nature Walk!

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T he Cu l i nary North

BEAR CREEK’S FARMSIDE FOOD TRUCK P. 78 DATE NIGHT INSPO: WAGYU STEAK FLIGHTS P. 81 THE BUZZ AROUND TOWN P. 82 SIP ZERO-PROOF ELIXIRS P. 83

local restaurants . craft drinks . seasonal cuisine

photo courtesy of Inn at Bay Harbor

“

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The trio was thoughtfully curated, with each cut chosen for its distinct characteristics and paired with flavors that enrich the steak profiles.

—INN AT BAY HARBOR EXECUTIVE CHEF TONY MCCASLIN

9/4/24 4:28 PM

T he Cu l i nary North Destination Eats

FARM TO FOOD TRUCK

by CARLY SIMPSON

I

At Petoskey’s Bear Creek Organic Farm, every meal is seed to field to your picnic table.

n the rolling countryside of petoskey, Anne and Brian Bates are building community connection through food, one seed at a time.

Bear Creek is the first USDA organic farm in Petoskey, the first B-Corp certified farm in the state and Real Organic Project–verified. A native of Virginia, Bates visited 40 states before choosing to put down roots here in 2013, thanks to Northern Michigan’s latitude and abundance of fresh water. The plan was to create a small homestead, but 11 years later, the vision for the 77-acre property has, well, grown.

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top photo by Emily Tyra; bottom photos by Allison Jarrell Acosta

Today, Bear Creek Organic Farm is home to an on-site market that stocks the farms’ own bounty—leafy greens, gorgeous tomatoes, plump pumpkins—alongside a lineup of pantry staples, meats, eggs, milk and treats (think passionfruit and sesame dark chocolate bars and rich frozen custard) from Michigan producers.

“We believe bringing people together around food is invaluable to the human condition,” Brian says. “We are cultivating relationships between growers/producers and customers, as well as connecting people on a deeper level with their food. When people connect with their food, there is opportunity to embed health, trust and stability.”

The Farmside Kitchen food truck, open May through October, is the newest idea to be sown. The menu shares the farm’s seasonal story through its soups, salads and sandwiches: just-harvested onions are sliced, breaded and fried to become what may be the best onion rings you’ll ever eat; grass-fed burgers are layered with black garlic sauce and mixed greens; and caprese paninis on house-made focaccia are adorned with micro basil and balsamic glaze. “[We see] our products through the whole food cycle, from seed to field to shelf to table,” Anne says. “Whether people are spending time in our greenhouses picking plants to grow in their home garden, browsing our shelves in the market for local and Michigan-based products or enjoying a meal from our food truck on the front lawn, we are proud to say that good food is happening here.”

—

Bear Creek Organic Farm 4012 Atkins Rd., Petoskey bearcreekorganicfarm.com

OCTOBER 2024

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Tomorrow is loving more of the moments we love today.

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What we do today impacts tomorrow.

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Or how Enbridge is investing in enough renewable energy projects to power more than one million homes. It’s part of how we’re fueling quality of life, so you can turn more moments into memories for years to come.

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T he Cu l i nary North Bite

A

A RARE EXPERIENCE

by CARLY SIMPSON

photos courtesy Inn at Bay Harbor

A new flight at Vintage Chophouse pairs Wagyu cuts with your choice of whiskey or wine.

ny good flight—wine, whiskey, craft beer—lets you appreciate the individual offerings even more by showcasing their differences.

Why should a good steak be any different? The Inn at Bay Harbor’s restaurant, Vintage Chophouse & Wine Bar, is offering a Vintage Flight Trio that pairs three 4-ounce prime Wagyu cuts with a wine or whiskey flight. The menu includes a rich skirt steak with whipped sage brown butter, a tender Denver steak with roasted bone marrow and the lean flat iron steak with sundried tomato compound butter.

“The trio was thoughtfully curated, with each cut chosen for its distinct characteristics, and paired with flavors that enrich the steak profiles, including the complementing fine wines and exclusive barrel-pick bourbons,” says Executive Chef Tony McCaslin. “The Denver steak with roasted marrow tends to be a favorite, but honestly, all three are amazing.”

The Vintage Flight Trio is available through Oct. 31; $155.

Date Night Done Right: The lake views from the restaurant are spectacular in all seasons, but a fall color sunset may just take the (cheese)cake. Speaking of, cap off your evening with a decadent slice of caramel fudge cheesecake topped with pecans and fresh berries. Vintage has been awarded the 2023 and 2024 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and offers 150 bottles on the menu as well as an extensive list of signature, classic and nonalcoholic cocktails.

—

Vintage Chophouse & Wine Bar Inn at Bay Harbor 3600 Village Harbor Dr., Bay Harbor innatbayharbor.com

OCTOBER 2024

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SPONSORED

THE BUZZ AROUND TOWN A taste of the North’s craft beverage scene.

FALL WINE TOURS 5 scenic wine-country destinations where you can linger this autumn.

1) Coenraad Stassen, the director of winemaking at Brys Estate on Old Mission Peninsula, is known for his sophisticated wines, which have garnered more than 500 medals in national and international competitions. Sip artful reds and crisp whites while enjoying views of the 155-acre vineyard estate and East Grand Traverse Bay from the upper deck. Don’t miss the property’s Secret Garden, open May–October.

2) French Valley Vineyard’s barn-inspired tasting room with custom saddle bar stools, thick hand-hewn posts and intricate chandeliers is especially cozy in October. Outdoors, kids romp on the playground while adults unwind in the four-season pavilion in the heart of the Leelanau Peninsula.

3) Seasonal Willow Winery closes Oct. 1, so you’re going to want to soak up the panoramic views of West Grand Traverse Bay in late September, just as fall color starts to glow along M-22 in Suttons Bay. 4) The Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery tasting room sits on 30 acres in the Petoskey countryside—where vineyards are lined by the flaming yellows, oranges and reds of surrounding hardwoods. We suggest lunch beforehand at Bear Creek Organic Farm’s food truck. (See why on page 78.)

5) A (proudly) no frills establishment, Resort Pike Cidery & Winery in Petoskey is tucked next door to a historic barn with woodsy views and a focus on sparkling wine and cider, including a unique honeycrisp iced cider made from frozen apples.

Brys Estate

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photo by Lydia Mejia

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T he Cu l i nary North In the Kitchen

^ Tarty to the Party Serves 1 2 ounces Ambrosia (Floral Berry) Audacia Elixir 1 ½ ounces tart cherry juice 1 lime, juiced ¼ ounce maple syrup

FREE-SPIRITED

by CARLY SIMPSON

These spellbinding, zero-proof elixirs are organic, fair trade and sugar free.

4–5 dashes of lavender bitters (we recommend All the Bitters, which are 0% ABV) 2–4 fresh or frozen tart cherries 1. Add all ingredients (except tart cherries) into a cocktail shaker or a mason jar with ice and shake well.

2. Strain into a glass and garnish with tart cherries. You can enjoy this cocktail neat (as pictured) or on the rocks.

photo courtesy of Audacia

Tip: Strain into a larger glass and top with sparkling water for a refreshing spritz.

M

other-son duo naomi and loghan Call are reimagining drinking with their sophisticated line of non-alcoholic spirits, Audacia Elixirs. The ingredient list is simple: water, Icelandic salt and a heap of botanical heavy hitters like rosehips, hibiscus flowers, juniper berries and fennel seeds.

Audacia currently offers two elixirs, designed to be mixed into mocktails just like traditional spirits. Aurum

has notes of citrus (grapefruit, lemon) and a bitter finish.

“As such, it works great in recreating a classic craft cocktail sipping experience,” Loghan says. Ambrosia is a little more “easy drinking” with layered floral and berry notes and an overall tart profile. The elixir’s heady red hue comes from schisandra berries, roses and hibiscus.

Loghan uses Ambrosia in this floral-forward mocktail that packs a nice punch of fresh citrus thanks to the lime juice. We think it’s giving love potion vibes—and it is the season of the witch.

OCTOBER 2024

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Love of the Land

get there

photo by Allison Jarrell Acosta

TIMBERS RECREATION AREA Timbers is the best of all worlds: wander through warm-hued hardwood forests, stroll along fields dotted with historic barns and relics, and enjoy a dew-covered mushroom hunt in lush riparian wetlands. Just a short drive west of Traverse City, this 250-acre property (a former Girl Scout camp protected by Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy) is home to 4.4 miles of storybook fall color hikes, including a universally accessible trail that leads from the parking lot to panoramic views of both Long Lake and Fern Lake.

Tip: After your hike, head down the street (a four-minute drive) to Moomers for a scoop of their pumpkin chip ice cream and a wagon ride around the idyllic 75-acre farm. Keep an eye on their socials for more info: @moomersicecream. –A.J.A

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Downtown Traverse City location with spectacular West Bay water views

VIEW INTERIOR

Premium, high-end office ready for residential condominium conversion or continued use as an office. Located in a rare, generationally irreplaceable area, with zoning that permits development of an additional 20,000 sq. ft. A prime opportunity for investors and developers. As good as it gets. Includes 3 direct Boardman River boat slips (permitted, installed steel seawall), with immediate direct access to West Grand Traverse Bay, gated private parking. Three finished levels totaling 6,786 sq.ft. of office space, elevator, immediate walking distance to all of Traverse City downtown restaurants, shopping, and activities. This is a great real estate opportunity with the ability to convert to a unique residential in-town project, keep the existing office space or reconfigured/expand as zoning and the imagination will allow!

Michael Orden, Associate Broker • 239.250.4139 • ordenmba@gmail.com • 521 Randolph Street, Traverse City, MI 49684

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9/9/24 9:07 AM

EMERGENCY CARE THAT TRAVELS WITH YOU Wherever life takes you, McLaren’s state-wide network ensures that quality care is always within reach. Whether you need emergency services, urgent care, or a convenient walk-in clinic, our commitment to your well-being travels with you. Trust McLaren to be there for you, no matter where ‘there’ is.

Find a location at mclaren.org/northernER

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9/6/24 11:17 AM