Area: Door County
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Centered on the Sun: Solar energy in a timber frame home
On a stretch of land just north of Baileys Harbor three ancient meadows converge. A satellite image of the land, with its dark patches of tamarack and spreading juniper, suggests a lunar landscape unblemished save for a winding stripe left long ago by some wayward adventurer. But the house that has settled into this primitive […]
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Can’t Bluff the Bluff: Door County’s triathlon
With hundreds of miles of coastline, and thousands of open and protected acres, the Door County peninsula has long been an attraction to those who love and appreciate outdoor activities and adventures. Boaters, bathers, bikers and hikers have been drawn to the area for many years to take advantage of the ample land and water […]
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Festival Founders Set the Stage for an Eminent Musical Tradition
The concert hall was ready, the audience was taking their seats and history was about to be made. In a few minutes the downbeat from Maestro Thor Johnson would commence the first concert of the new Peninsula Music Festival, initiating a tradition that would endure for the next 50 years and beyond. Outside the hall, […]
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The Printmaker as Storyteller: R. Charlie Lyons
His name is R. Charlie Lyons. His gallery, The Paint Box Gallery, is nestled next to the Red Barn Shops just south of Town Line Road on Highway 42 in Ephraim. There, amidst a broad selection of miniatures and prints by a host of other fine artists, you will find the mother lode of Charlie’s […]
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Ongoing and Ever Changing: The art of David Nielsen
David Nielsen will tell you that he believes creating art is a process of evolution, something that is ongoing and ever changing. Even after a work of art is created, it continues to evolve as its interpretations change. The creation and viewing of the work is a communication first between the art and the artist, […]
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Coming to a Shoreline Near You: Phragmites Australis a.k.a. “Phrankengrass”
This is a tale of invasion, the story of an alien grass that is steadily taking over the shorelines and wetlands of Northeast Wisconsin. The bad seed in this story is an exotic, or non-native, strain of phragmites australis, otherwise known as common reed grass. Unfortunately for most residents of the Door Peninsula – human, […]
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How Does Your Garden Grow?: Door County’s Organic Farms
For more and more locals, raising their crops and herds in harmony with Mother Nature is becoming the method of choice. By following organic practices (particularly, eliminating the use of pesticides and genetically modified organisms – or GMOs) these farmers are kind to the environment while producing exceptionally flavorful and nutritious foods, and they’re doing […]
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The Ephraim Preserve at Anderson Pond
The Village of Ephraim is renowned for its beauty – its white buildings gracefully nestled amidst a stunning natural backdrop, facing another Door County treasure, Peninsula State Park. Until recently, however, other than the wetland preserve on the south end of the village, little environmentally significant land in Ephraim was in permanent conservation status and […]
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Marketing Consultant Presents Plan Outline to Coalition
A marketing consultant contracted by the Door County Peninsula Strategic Marketing Coalition pulled no punches in assessing all parts of the county’s tourism engine during an informal question and answer session Wednesday, May 31 with 19 attendees at the Baileys Harbor Town Hall.
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Healthy Casual: Bluefront Café in Sturgeon Bay
With the revitalization of Sturgeon Bay’s downtown area, Third Avenue is bustling with foot traffic through its shops and Jefferson Street has a full three blocks of antique, craft and specialty stores. And let’s face it, all of that shopping can make a person hungry! Off on the quiet end of Third Avenue there is […]
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Bay Ridge: The 40th anniversary of a golf course
On the Fourth of July of this year, Bay Ridge Golf Course will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Meanwhile, current owners Peter and Dianne Trenchard will be celebrating their 30th anniversary of ownership. From humble beginnings as a potato field and known in its early days as “Stony Acres,” Bay Ridge was built into the course […]
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The Abstract Soul: The art of Geoffrey Lardiere
Geoffrey Lardiere graduated in 1973 from The School of Design at North Carolina State University and launched his career as an abstract artist with an exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art Raleigh. In 1975 he moved to Los Angeles to become an award-winning National Advertising Art Director. Several years later he joined the […]
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Faces of the Past: Chester Thordarson
One of the most fascinating characters in Door County’s history has to be Chester Thordarson, particularly where Rock Island is concerned. Born in Iceland in 1867, Thordarson immigrated with his family to Milwaukee when he was nearly six years old. Chester and his family moved throughout the Midwest and by the time he was 20, […]
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Finding “Door County Beautiful”: One historian’s discovery of the roots of tourism
For any tourist destination such as Door County, marketing the place and what it has to offer is absolutely essential. The medium for delivering the message has commonly fallen to some form of ephemera. Ephemera is printed matter intended to be of use and value for only a very short period of time. Current examples […]
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Living the Life Less Ordinary: The Red Cup Coffee Shop
From an outsider’s perspective, living on Washington Island is a difficult thing to fully appreciate – especially if you’re one of those city-born people, accustomed to all the luxuries of an urban setting, who thinks that to move there would constitute drastic, even crazy, behavior. I traveled there this past February, however, to meet with […]
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Dedicated to a Life of Service: Denise Bhirdo
Denise Bhirdo has dedicated her life to service. Whether serving the customers of her long-established Sister Bay business, or in her time-consuming role as a local government official, Denise Bhirdo spends more time than most attending to the needs of other people in the county. Denise is the co-owner of Bhirdo’s By The Bay, a […]
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Furniture-Maker, Sculptor, and Jewelry-Maker: Angela Lensch
The word “passionate” is perhaps an over-used word for describing artists, particularly in the diverse arts community of Door County. But it is difficult to listen to artist, mother, and environmentalist Angela Lensch talk about her work and the philosophy behind it without the word “passionate” coming to mind. A young furniture-maker, sculptor, and jewelry-maker […]
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The Patricia Shoppe: Bringing Legacies Together Through Renovation
Originally built in the 1880s, the former Egg Harbor Town Hall was the site of town elections and public gatherings (including the popular Saturday Afternoon Movie showing) for over 100 years until finally closing its doors as a public meeting place and government building in 1990. A simple clapboard building with a slightly raised stage […]
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What Role Do Double-Crested Cormorants Play in the Great Lakes Fisheries?
Those who’ve visited the Door County shoreline in recent years may have noticed an increased number of a distinctive bird – the cormorant. Current studies are slowly revealing the impact these birds have on the Great Lakes ecosystem. A relative of the pelican, Double-crested Cormorants have a four-foot wingspan and an orange throat pouch that […]
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As boat-launching season nears, Yacht Works in Sister Bay is preparing for their 4th Annual Boat Show. This exceptional two-day event takes place over Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, May 27th and 28th. Representatives from boat manufacturers Chris Craft, Everglades by Dougherty, and Cranchi will all be present to perform sea trials and […]