Navigation

A Place of Unique Spirit

As the year turns, we in Door County might take a moment to celebrate who we are and what we have done together. And it seems to me that in the past couple of decades we have done very well indeed.

I think first of physical development. These have been decades of furious assault on the aesthetic character of communities: of monstrous plastic signs and asphalt pavement expanding from city edge to city edge until there are hardly any edges or in-betweens, of franchise stores and restaurants endlessly reproducing themselves until every place looks like every place, of big boxes making the individuality and personality of downtowns obsolete, of subdivisions with houses and apartment complexes that look like they were punched out by a machine taking over fields and meadows. Just as every expressway looks alike, increasingly so do our communities. Anonymity seems to be the byword, so that if we were put down blindfolded almost anywhere, we wouldn’t know where we were.

Yet Door County had avoided most all of this. We have preserved and even enhanced the individual character of our city, villages and towns. Sturgeon Bay’s downtown remains vital and charming as do the commercial centers of Northern Door’s necklace of communities. Not only have we withstood “uglification” but we have taken risks to enhance their waterfronts, which are their centerpieces. Our governments have reached out to buy expensive but strategic shore properties, expanded marinas, beautified downtown parks. We have supported their public investments in the present and the future.

The private sector also has participated in a lively way. This county is a cradle of small entrepreneurism. I am always amazed and delighted by the vitality and creativity as new shops and restaurants and galleries and lodgings each year appear to replace the ones that have lived out their lives. By and large these are personal enterprises in which the owners’ passion and personality, care and attention are strongly present. They help immensely to make Door County a delightful place to live and visit. The service industries also have flourished to serve the second home industry as well as the new commercial establishments. As one example, I am wowed by the landscaping of downtown properties. Flowers flourish everywhere in artful gardens. Think about how much more beautiful is our public face than 20 years ago.

We have made mistakes but our good decisions have overridden them. This is no small feat, given the immensity and power of the forces behind institutional, emasculating development. Big money usually finds its way to get its way, despite the best local planning and regulation.

I can remember 15 to 20 years ago it seemed in every gathering people fell into talk about the pace of commercial development, particularly of condos and hotel condos. People were fearful they would lose the Door County they loved. Fear divides and the community was sorely divided. Yet, even as the public life of the state and nation have become more polarized and uncivil, we have healed. We do not experience the divisiveness we once did and civility is the rule rather than the exception.

Yes, the downturn of the economy has taken the pressure off of development and, yes, we are helped by being a thumb dangling out away from the grasping hand. But we can take credit for our own active role. Processes like smart growth planning in each village and township have quietly suited our dynamic with a more participative kind of public decision making.

I am not as informed as I might be about the state of the social infrastructure. Surely here as everywhere in this country there is a great inequality of wealth and income. There is poverty and to some degree even two separate cultures. The low wages typical of seasonal tourism force many to work two or three jobs, so I don’t want to be Pollyanna. Still, I sense a growth in our desire and capacity to take care of our own. The nonprofits that serve our social structure as well as those that enhance the arts have been strong and growing. The number and vitality of nonprofit organizations in this community astounds me, as well as the deep community spirit they represent. The millions of dollars that flow into them and then back out into the community represent our willingness to “give back.” Volunteer hours focused through these nonprofits are an even greater expression of our care for each other.

We are proud of our school systems and have supported them well, though they have been under financial pressure often associated with lower enrollments and have been forced to ask more from us. Our hospital and health care system has become more and more sophisticated, ensuring that we get good care here at home.

I would say that this is a place of unique spirit. It is so easy to lose sight of this as the media tell us over and over 24/7 on hundreds of channels and frequencies what to be afraid of and who to blame. This carping comes to dominate our psyches and we fall into the spirit and habit of complaint.

So let us break out of this hypnotic trance as this New Year begins and see anew who we are. For years I have traveled around North America seeking to find the idyllic place. Always I have ended up vacationing at places like Door County, and I return home to find this is the place I have been searching for. There is a remarkable spectrum of people here, locals and those from so many places and backgrounds. This brings a richness not present in any of the other small midwestern communities I have lived in. And I have not even mentioned the natural beauty that abounds everywhere you look. Have you thought deeply about the enchanting effect of living every day in the midst of beauty?

Most unique about Door County is our own strong love for the beauty and heritage of this place, our shared vision that cherishes our uniqueness, our heritage of strong government and civic leaders, our lively citizenship, our caring for each other.

Isn’t this a lot to say for ourselves in times like these?

Tom Torinus is retired and lives in Baileys Harbor.