November 2006

Traverse City and the Automobile
From the horse and buggy to the rise of the automobile in Traverse City, Daniel Truckey, of the Grand Traverse Historical Center, takes us on a historical ride through time as he discusses our love-hate relationship with cars.

Rehabilitating Historic Buildings: The Village at Grand Traverse Commons

Once known as the Northern Michigan Asylum and the Traverse City State Hospital, the Minervini Group is reinventing the space now called the Village at the Grand Traverse Commons. Raymond Minervini II shares the story of his families desire to responsibly redevelop and preserve this 120-year-old historical site.

And the Latest Buzz in Planning: Form Based Coding
Form Based Coding or zoning is easier to interpret and use, especially for non-planners. The Village of Suttons Bay planning commissioner, Kathy Finch, highlights this "form first" approach to planning and zoning.

The Rhythms of Central Grade School
Lori Hall Steele, a northern Michigan writer, reflects on the persistence and importance of Traverse City's Central Neighborhood School. The Central Grade School, which her son attends, has survived the "depression and wars, baby booms and bursts, budget crises, suburban sprawl and schools of choice" for four generations and she wonders if it will be able to survive another four.

Indian Pipes
On a late summer day, essayist Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli connects the receding souls of her life to the gifts of the Indian Pipe, a small, translucent, ethereal flower that is loved by her friend Gloria, poet Emily Dickinson, her Aunt Mary, a sad drunken lady from her childhood, and herself. 

Building 50: A Granddaughter’s View
Born the year her Grandpa Cole died at the Traverse City State Hospital, essayist Marla Kay Houghteling, struggles to come to grips with her grandfathers illness, her own path to becoming a psychologist, and her return to Building 50 as an adult. 

What Our Great Grandparents Understood…

Clinch Park 1940: the pride of Traverse City, with its miniature version of downtown, The Con Foster museum, aquarium, zoo, and logging exhibit.  Richard Fidler, reflecting on the mark our great grandparents left on Traverse City's waterfront, wonders how the next generation plans to capture its community pride. 

Meeting the Need for Environmental Education
To those growing up in the country the smell of the cedar swamp, the sound of a calling loon, the taste of a staghorn sumac and the sight of trillium in bloom, are not foreign. Although, to many of today's children such experience are few and far between. Local environmental education coordinator, Cindy Retherford, explores the need and joys of her journey as the Discovery Hikes Program Director at the Grand Traverse Conservation District.

Localizing the Global: A business at home between the birch and the cedar
Local coffee roaster Chris Treter discusses how his business, Higher Grounds Trading Co., is truly at home between the birch and the cedar in Northern Michigan.

The Fall Harvest: A Look at the Cultural Connections to Local Vineyards
Two future winemakers, Brian Hosmer and Cristin Popelier, explore the cultural connections that they and many others feel towards the vineyards of Michigan's two northern Appellations. 

Scenic Viewsheds in Peninsula Township: An Interview and Photo Tour

Peninsula Township residents agree that the preservation of scenic views is valuable. Photographer Barbara Overdier offers visual representations of these areas, with an introduction and interview of Peninsula Township Planner, Gordon Hayward, by Cristin Popelier.

Northern Michigan Songwriters in the Round
Northern Michigan singer and songwriter, Jim Crockett, takes us down the Manistee River in this special lyrical and musical feature.