Door County Living Winter 2021-22 – Volume 19, Issue 4

Published December 31st, 2021

editor
Myles Dannhausen Jr.

special issues editor
Grace Johnson

copy editor
Paula Apfelbach

creative director
Ryan Miller

design associate
Renee Puccini

sales managers
Jess Farley, Stephen Grutzmacher

courier
The Paper Boy, LLC

distribution experts
Jeff Andersen, Chris Eckland, Guy Fortin, Todd Jahnke, Susie Vania, Jacob Wickman

office manager
Ben Pothast

assistant office manager
Kait Shanks

chief technology officer
Nate Bell

contributors
Sally Collins, Debra Fitzgerald, Jessica Gatzow, Carolyn Kane, Brett Kosmider, Charlotte Lukes, Justin Skiba

publisher
David Eliot

owners
David Eliot and Myles Dannhausen Jr.

Door County Living, Inc.
8142 Hwy 57, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202
920.839.2120
[email protected]
doorcountypulse.com

Volume 19 Issue 4

25,500 copies (16,750 mailed)

Door County Living, celebrating the culture and lifestyle of the Door peninsula, is published five times annually by Peninsula Publishing & Distribution, Inc., 8142 Hwy 57, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202.

To order a subscription, please mail a check for $25 to Door County Living, 8142 Hwy 57, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202. If you would like to advertise, please visit doorcountymarketing.com.

Locally owned. Locally minded.

Ice Biking in Door County

Brad Lindenberg, a Sister Bay ice fisherman, once shared an inspiring take on what can seem like a desolate winter life here. He called the snow-covered bay the “white sand beach.” “All these people spend millions on their waterfront homes and pay thousands in property taxes, and in the winter we get it all for […]
Blind Kitchen Sink Challenge

Experimenting in the kitchen with friends This is an idea, a concept, a creative way to bring friends together to share in a meal. It was born in the world of mothers: busy, working mothers finding companionship after grabbing whatever ingredients were in their refrigerator and pantry, contributing them to a pool and meeting up […]
The Pursuit of Curiosity: The art and adventures of Seth Taylor

Seth Taylor’s studio in Sturgeon Bay appears to belong to many artists. Lifelike portraits are strewn about a table alongside caricatures of politicians; several loose-lined ink drawings of animals — deer, horses, sturgeon — take up an entire wall; a watercolor is beginning to take shape on an easel near the window; and brightly colored […]
America’s Greatest Unknown Poet: Lorine Niedecker

Lorine Niedecker (1903-70), who has been called “America’s greatest unknown poet,” lived almost her entire life in Wisconsin. Many of her poems were inspired by the wildlife, the water and the people in and around her home on Blackhawk Island (which is not actually an island, but a flood-prone peninsula near Lake Koshkonong, southeast of […]
Door to Nature: Winter Birds of Prey

The winter avian landscape is usually much quieter than the summer breeding season. Bird activity during the winter is mainly to find enough food and seek shelter from predators. With few insects available to eat, it’s important to provide seeds and suet for both the bird visitors from the north and the year-round residents such […]
Stavkirke Honors Washington Islanders’ Heritage

Embellished with a dark wood stain, scalloped shingles and intricate carvings, one destination on Washington Island looks like a structure from another era. The Stavkirke honors Washington Island heritage — not as an original structure built by Scandinavian settlers, but as a modern creation inspired by history. A sense of community drove the idea for […]
What Is Pond Hockey?

Most hockey players don’t learn the game inside an arena. Their love affair with a pair of skates, a stick and a puck often starts outside on a patch of ice in the backyard, at an outdoor community rink or on the unpredictable ice of a frozen pond. That’s where Brian Fitzgerald fell in love […]
The Bird Whisperer: Rob Hults

You may know the “birdman” of Baileys Harbor, but do you know the one in Jacksonport? Jacksonport has become known for birds, but not the kind that Albert Zahn carved out of wood at Birds Park in the nearby Bird City of Baileys Harbor. Past the winding gravel entrance off County Road I, the calls […]
The Pioneer: Architect Virge Temme

High-performance home designer and architect Virge Temme has officially retired — but not from convincing people that the world can be changed one house at a time When I pulled into the gravel drive leading to the home of architect Virge Temme, she was outside rummaging in the back of her Dodge Ram City Van. […]
Photo Essay: A Story of Ice

With a few rare exceptions, Lake Michigan’s Green Bay freezes over every winter, usually for eight to 12 weeks or more. It’s one of only a handful of places on the Great Lakes where this happens on a regular basis. Depending on the speed and severity of the freeze, ice can form to a thickness […]
Alumni Profile: Dan Austad

After 60 years in leadership positions, sometimes Dan Austad just likes to be a kid again. The 1959 Sturgeon Bay High School graduate has had a lifelong passion for wooden-model and toy building. “When some men get into their 50s and 60s, they may revert to doing some of the things that they wish they […]
Curiosity: The Man above the Bar at the Bowl

You might sit at the Sister Bay Bowl’s bar dozens of times before you notice it. Tucked up high behind the upper cabinet on the north side of the bar, a single picture hangs. Just a man in a bomber jacket, hands on his hips, with a beautiful sunset of purples, oranges and pinks behind […]
Editor’s Note: Friends Season

The first time I heard the term “Friends Season” was during the early days of winter in 2017. Kendall Johnson was prepping my wife for her first winter in Door County, and I thought at first that Kendall was simply putting my wife through the peninsula spin cycle to make sure she stuck around. Certainly, […]