Egg Harbor Receives Clean Marina Certification

• Egg Harbor Marina is Wisconsin’s newest Clean Marina recognized by the Wisconsin Marina Association.

The newly renovated $6 million municipal harbor of refuge was honored on Dec. 6 for their commitment to protecting water quality by adopting best management practices. The marina includes a state-of-the-art green infrastructure that manages storm water and an 800-foot breakwater that offers scenic views of the lake.

“We believe in doing the right thing for the environment and this recognition designates us as a premier marina,” said Harbor Committee Chair Bob Dickson.

Wisconsin has recognized 17 other marinas with the Clean Marina certification. All Wisconsin certified marinas have voluntarily adopted up to 100 best management practices to become certified. These marinas implemented new practices to protect water quality, prevent pollution, and protect fish, wildlife, and public health.

The two other Door County Clean Marinas include Skipperbud’s Quarter Deck and Harbor Club Marinas. A full list of certified Wisconsin Clean Marinas can be found at http://www.wisconsincleanmarina.com.

For more information about the Egg Harbor Marina, visit http://www.eggharbormarina.com or call 920.868.3334.

• Local applications for the Sesquicentennial and Century Farm and Home programs are currently available from the Sister Bay Historical Society. The application deadline is March 1, 2012.

To qualify for the “Century” designation, a farm or home must have been under the ownership of the same family for a minimum of 100 years, and that family must still occupy the property.

Those qualifying will be honored at a program at the Wisconsin State Fair in August. They will also be awarded a distinctive “Century Farm” sign, which they may post on the property.

For more information or application forms contact Roberta Kutlik, curator of the Sister Bay Historical Society’s Corner of the Past Museum, at 920.854.9242 or via email at [email protected].

• The Door County Historical Society’s Hanson House Project will begin its second phase this winter. In 2011, the additions that had been added to the house during the ‘40s and ‘60s were removed, the basement of the additions was filled in and the original basement walls were reconstructed. The walls will be waterproofed and several beams will be replaced in order to strengthen the interior. The original landscape contours have been restored. In all actions, the restorations retained the historical integrity of the building and the premises.

The next phase to complete the interior of the first floor will start in January. A great deal of research has been done and every effort will be concentrated on restoration exactly as it was when the Hanson family lived in the house in the 1870s. Some windows will be closed, walls and partitions replaced, doors added and the outside back entrance will be reinstalled.

When the initial research located the family in upper Michigan, they were contacted and were surprised to learn the house was still standing. After visiting their ancestral home several times, a great-great-grandson, Marvin Casperson, owner of a sawmill near Stephenson, Mich., volunteered to furnish the dimension lumber to restore the building. With scheduled completion of the house by 2013, the Hanson descendants are planning a family reunion.

Fundraising efforts are continuing for the project.

For more information visit http://www.doorcountyhistoricalsociety.org.

• Wisconsin’s “thumb” is lending a helping hand this winter by participating in the Great Lakes Mitten Campaign. The Door County Visitor Bureau (DCVB) would like to invite the public to donate new or gently used mittens now through Jan. 15. Donated mittens may be dropped off at the Door County Welcome Center, 1015 Green Bay Road (Hwy 42/57) in Sturgeon Bay. The mittens will then be donated to local charities.

The lighthearted debate that took social media circles by storm over the past week between Wisconsin and Michigan about which state looks more like a mitten has sparked a statewide mitten collection campaign. Spearheaded by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, the Great Lakes Mitten Campaign has drop-off points at a number of Wisconsin Welcome Centers and other convention and visitor bureaus throughout Wisconsin. A list of all participating drop off locations can be found online at http://www.travelwisconsin.com.

“Without Door County, often referred to as Wisconsin’s thumb, there would have been no mitten debate in the first place,” said Jon Jarosh, director of communications and public relations for the DCVB. “Hand-slapping humor aside, we’re glad to be a part of this initiative and turn ‘Mittengate’ into something positive by collecting mittens for those in need.”

The Door County Welcome Center is open 24/7, so mittens may be dropped off any time day or night.

• This winter the Northern Door Cowboy Church is sending out a “Packet of Hope” to shut-ins, hospital patients, lonely seniors, or anyone else in need of a little encouragement. The packet consists of a CD of six three-minute sermonettes with music written by Patrick Smits, a New Testament Bible, and a letter of encouragement, which includes a short uplifting story.

The packet is sent out free of charge to anyone whose name and address is sent to The Northern Door Cowboy Church, c/o Lloyd Michalsen, 10810 N Spring Road Sister Bay, WI 54234, or emailed to [email protected].

It is anticipated that The Northern Door Cowboy Church will send out over 100 packets this winter to folks all over the country.

Executive Director of Neighbor-to-Neighbor Ann Bennett (left) accepts a donation from Betty Rozek, a representative of Catholic Financial Life Branch 180 – Maplewood.

• Neighbor-to-Neighbor Volunteer Caregivers of Door County, Inc. has received a donation from Catholic Financial Life Chapter 180 – Maplewood to supplement the income raised from the Rib Fest event held in November. Neighbor-to-Neighbor provides services to the Door County Community through four programs: peer companions, respite care for primary caregivers, medical equipment loans for people of all ages who experience a temporary or long-term disability, and The Lemonade Club, a cancer survivor support group. All services are provided free of charge. In 2010, 927 individuals utilized these programs.

For more information call Neighbor-to-Neighbor at 920.743.7800.

• The Sister Bay Centennial Committee has announced a T-shirt design contest and beard-growing contest.

Interested participates are asked to design a logo for the Centennial Celebration to be printed on T-shirts available during the celebration. Sister Bay’s centennial will be celebrated with events on June 8 – 9, 2012. The logo contest is open to anyone. The design should represent the 100th anniversary of the village. The deadline for entering is February 1, 2012. Entries can emailed to [email protected] or mailed to Centennial T-Shirt Design Contest, 10372 Hwy 57, Sister Bay, WI 54234.

The Sister Bay Centennial Committee also announced a beard-growing contest for the celebration. The contest is open to all who can grow a beard. Awards will be presented for most historical style beard, longest beard, best goatee, and best mustache. The beard will be judged on June 9 at the Sister Bay Village Hall at 7 pm, before Polka Man Dale and the Bellows & Strings Band plays.

• For the last 77 years, the men of the Sturgeon Bay United Methodist Church have been hosting the Lumberjack Supper. This year’s 77th Annual Lumberjack Supper will be held Jan. 25, 2012 from 4:30 – 7 pm at the Sturgeon Bay United Methodist Church, located at 836 Michigan Street (corner 9th and Michigan).

Originally known as the Cheeseman Lunch, the cooking was done on a wood stove and only about 65 meals were served. In the 1940s a kitchen was added to the church and they were able to increase service to approximately 150 guests. Over the next 50 years the popularity of this event, now known as the Lumberjack Supper, grew until now the men are serving about 800 meals. They prepare, cook and serve all the food (except the pies) themselves.

This extremely popular not-for-profit event will once again serve family style corned beef, roast pork, cabbage, rutabagas, baked beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, applesauce, bread and butter, assorted pies, coffee and milk. The cost is $13 per person in advance or $14 at the door; the cost for children is $6 at the door. Carryout dinners are also available.

Only a limited number of tickets are available for purchase from any United Methodist Men’s Club member or at the church office.

Call 920.743.3241 from 9 am – 3 pm, Monday through Friday to arrange for ticket pickup.