Category: People
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The Small School Experience in Northern Door: Bigger Isn’t Always Better
The rural school experience is an important part of Americana, the belief that the one-room school in many respects was best. But advocates of a large-school education will point to broader academic curricula, expanded extracurricular choices, better educational facilities, and options for exceptional students to achieve at higher levels. People living in northern Door County, […]
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So That’s Where It Stands On That Front, Anyway
There’s always a good reason to go to Washington Island: an afternoon at Schoolhouse Beach, a bike ride on the back roads, the ferry ride itself – travelling through Porte des Morts and crossing that magical buffer between real life and island life. But the best reason I’ve had lately is to enjoy breakfast with […]
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Fall in Door County is a welcome sight. For locals, it’s a chance to get their bearings back from a crazy summer of balancing work schedules and businesses; for visitors, it’s a season that is often underestimated – until a drive through the peninsula reveals its relaxed pace, its unbelievable colors, and a peace that […]
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Blue Horse Bistro: A Partnership that Works
Owning and operating a business is seldom an easy feat, especially when there’s more than one person involved. Blue Horse Bistro & Espresso owners Carina Helm and Eric Rasmusson readily admit that when they first started the ball rolling on their café, there was more than one person telling them that it would never work. […]
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The week before Eli Mattson decided to audition for America’s Got Talent, he applied for a cashiering job at Family Video. He has always been interested in film, and besides, the advertisement said that they were hiring “friendly and talented people.” He didn’t get the job. “Maybe I should have been discouraged,” he says, but […]
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“How are you?” It’s the most common of questions, and usually doesn’t elicit much thought before a response. “I’m fine, thanks,” is the standard, no-thought response, whether true or not. But for the 400 or so international students who come to Door County to work in its kitchens, dining rooms, and shopping aisles each summer, […]
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A Story of Roots: Anderson House Museum and Corner of the Past
For four decades the property sat quietly on the corner of Highway 57 and Fieldcrest Road, visited only by ghosts and those drawn to taking photos of homes in decay. It was the sort of decrepit building that spurs the mind to wander, and wonder. What made its owners abandon the property? Something sad? Something […]
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From “God” to “Doc”: Greg Vinkler
Greg Vinkler has had a constant stage presence at Peninsula Players Theatre for over 20 years. His body of work is broad and his roles in the off season have taken him around the globe. Although the Players enjoy large audiences all summer long, few people are aware of the quality actors our local theater […]
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“Chief” Left Lasting Mark: Missed by “dinks” across the county
By Myles Dannhausen Jr.
Northern Door has lost a legend.
Rod “Chief” Billerbeck died March 19. The legendary coach, known primarily for his 41 years as Gibraltar’s baseball coach, had battled Parkinson’s -
United Way Gives Kids a Leg Up
For most people, finding a true life “calling” can take years, even decades. But for Amy Kohnle there was never a question; she inherently knew what she was meant to do in life: serve others. Kohnle is the Executive Director of Door County’s United Way, and she has come to understand the desire and the […]
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The Door County community generously supports a wealth of arts organizations, as well as many vital health and human services organizations, but it isn’t often that the paths of these two groups cross. There have been a few notable exceptions, and the annual SOUP! project of Peninsula School of Art is one. This unique event […]
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Charity as a tourism driver? It’s not how we usually think of it, but Brett Bicoy, Director of the Door County Community Foundation (DCCF) makes a strong case. “Charitable giving is the lifeblood for every organization that is essential to our community’s health – the hospital, clinic, schools, HELP of Door County,” Bicoy explains, “as […]
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Charitable Giving Through Your Estate
The United States of America has a tradition of philanthropy that is the envy of the rest of the world. In 2007, a record $307 billion was donated to charity by American citizens according to the annual Giving USA survey. No other nation comes close in terms of the total amount of charitable giving that […]
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Celebration of Giving Honors Philanthropists
When Tim and Sue Stone stood to accept the Door County Community Foundation’s honor as the Philanthropists of the Year in July 2008, they shared sentiments echoed often by members of the Door County community. “When we talk to our friends around the country,” Sue Stone said with a wide smile, “they can’t believe the […]
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Cover Painting Auctioned for Charity
This issue of Door County Living is devoted entirely to the spirit of giving, a thread that runs strong through the fabric of the Door County community. It is in this spirit that Craig Blietz, the artist behind our cover image, has generously offered this work for auction to benefit a local cause. Door County […]
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The Warmth of the Wellness Center
Dedicated to providing compassionate, confidential, and affordable health care for the men and women of Door and Kewaunee counties, one would expect the Wellness Center of Door County to be located in an austere building with a formidable edifice so typical of medical facilities. But the welcome mat is always out at the Wellness Center, […]
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There is a lot about Door County that makes it an idyllic place to visit and live; the first things that come to mind are the natural beauty, the small town feel, and the welcoming people. However, not even Door County is immune to some of life’s challenges. Katie Graf is very familiar with these […]
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Farewell to a Good Neighbor: George Erickson dies at 85
George Erickson was laid to rest yesterday. He was not a man I knew well. George was a guidance counselor at Gibraltar, where I and five siblings all went to school, though he was retired by the time I entered 3rd grade. I don’t recall meeting him growing up, just seeing him in the halls […]
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Door County’s emergence as a national arts destination is no secret and, thanks in part to the attention generated by Sturgeon Bay’s annual Steel Bridge Songfest, music shares the arts spotlight during the busy summer months. But what about when winter arrives and most of Door County seems to shut down? I sat down with […]
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On Call, On the Edge: Fighting Fire in the Door
“When you’re entering atmospheres that are in excess of 1,000 degrees, you’re living life on the edge,” Caleb Whitney says wryly about his job as a firefighter and company officer for the Baileys Harbor Fire Department. Indeed, the firefighters of northern Door County live on many “edges” simultaneously, straddling the lines between fire and water, […]