In this issue
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PODCAST: 2021 Year-in-Review, and 2022 Predictions
Before the Year in Review issue of the Peninsula Pulse is available this week, Andrew Kleidon and Myles Dannhausen Jr. sit down to go over the biggest stories from the year. Topics of discussion include: How restaurants navigated the labor shortage, steps forward on internet access and affordable housing, an ambitious year in theater, and […]
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A Year in Sound: Podcast Adds Context, Voices to Community Conversations
Our 2021 conversations were some of the most important we’ve had on the Door County Pulse Podcast: about healing from an ongoing pandemic, reinvesting in our future, and attempting to chip away at Door County’s largest challenges. This year the podcast welcomed 43 guests: voices of the hospital helping our community through the pandemic, of […]
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PODCAST: Transition at Destination Door County with new CEO Julie Gilbert
Myles Dannhausen Jr. is joined by Destination Door County’s new CEO, Julie Gilbert, to discuss what brought her to the peninsula, what she’s learned during her first month on the job and how she’s attacking the challenges facing the organization and the industry.
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Why Does the Curvy Road Curve? Unwinding the Northport Road Story
This story first appeared in the column Ferry Cabin News in the Washington Island Observer. It is reprinted here with permission. Have you wondered – as I have while hurrying to meet the ferry – why the northernmost portion of Highway 42 that leads to Northport pier has so many curves? I had formerly believed that […]
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Report Cards: Door County Public Schools ‘Exceed Expectations’
Educators use report-card data to modify teaching and learning strategies During the bad old days of the No Child Left Behind Act, state and federal governments judged public schools almost entirely on standardized test scores. That’s no longer the case. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) issues school report cards as part of its […]
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Server of the Week: Mariah Davis @ Spot
10647 N. Bay Shore Dr. in Sister Bay One thing you gotta know about Mariah is that she’s cool – Stop by Spot, and she’ll help you find something that rules. When she’s not in Sister Bay, she’s hiking the bluffs, Playing the Red Putter or checking Rusty Dusty for stuff.
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Get Creative During Write On’s Workshops
Save on fees and secure your place in Write On, Door County’s 2022 workshops and master classes by signing up now. First up will be Telling True Stories: Memoir to Fiction, Jan. 24-28, with award-winning Dakota writer Diane Wilson. Participants will explore the elements that create the true, compelling stories that are foundational to both […]
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Search for a Better Life: Literacy DC Featured Student
by Anonymous I was born in Jalisco, Mexico. We lived on a farm in the countryside. We were a family of 12; my mom and dad and I had five sisters and four brothers. I went to school until the 6th grade. I really liked studying. I wish I could have continued studying. When I […]
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Doris Bezio has been writing for most of her life and remembers passing poems to her friends in high school. Beginning as an avid reader, she discovered the wondrous joy of books at the same time she was discovering the world of art. Her first poetry teacher was Laurel Mills at UW-Oshkosh. Bezio has since […]
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The Wonderful World of Paper Art
Nancy Akerly of Liberty Grove Paper Arts is gearing up for a full season of classes in 2022. She’ll begin by working with San Diego Book Arts to offer numerous classes through its Year of Box program. Akerly will teach Chinese Thread Book on Jan. 27-28, Basic Treasure Box on Feb. 10, Lotus Box on […]
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Gilchrist Featured at Idea Gallery
Idea Gallery is unveiling 12 of Lynn Gilchrist’s expressive, colorful paintings during its Small Works Exhibit – a selection available through Dec. 19 especially good for gift giving. Gilchrist is a lifelong landscape painter who lives and creates in Sturgeon Bay, where she reflects on the wordless conversations in nature. She paints what she sees, while […]
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‘Gift and Ornaments Show’ at Plum Bottom Dec. 18
Plum Bottom Gallery is hosting its annual Gift and Ornaments Show on Dec. 18, 10 am – 5 pm, in person at both Egg Harbor locations and virtually at PlumBottomGallery.com. Browse handcrafted ornaments from numerous artists during this event. Gail Gilson Pierce makes Door County-inspired mini oil paintings on ornaments, and Sharon Miller Thompson makes […]
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St. Peter’s Holds English-Spanish Christmas Eve Service
Spanish and English hymn stanzas, readings and prayers will be part of the 7:30 pm Christmas Eve service at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Forestville, and the sermon will be interpreted in Spanish. One stanza of “Silent Night” will also be sung in German; other parts of the service will be sung in Latin; and […]
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Champion Shrine Offers Novena for the Nativity
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help will celebrate the birth of Jesus with the Novena for the Nativity of Our Lord Dec. 17-25. “The days leading up to Christmas Day are usually very hectic for people,” said Fr. John Broussard, rector of Champion Shrine, “so we invite Christians to take a few […]
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Madison Avenue Wine and Market earned the first-place award for the Best Christmas Window in Sturgeon Bay.
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CCR Column: Communication Help for Separated Parents
by Jennifer Moeller, Door County Family Court Commissioner Domestic violence, abuse and harassment are present in some families with minor children. A victim and an abuser may have children together. If charged with a crime, the abuser/defendant would be subject to bond conditions while the case is pending, and those may include no contact or […]
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Sweetie is a handsome, six-year-old cat who’s available for adoption at the Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) Door County Campus. He enjoys spending time with people and having his personal space, so he would do best in a home with no dogs. Like all cats at WHS, Sweetie is neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, plus you get to […]
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AMVETS Post 51 Thanks St. John Bosco Students
St. John Bosco School received a generous donation from AMVETS Post 51 in appreciation for students at the school writing more than 200 letters to local veterans for Veterans Day this year. Post Commander Bill Forry presented the check to Principal Vickie Dassler.
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The Steamship Grandpa Built: Family holiday gathering includes stop to see ‘SS Badger’ in dry dock
A recent family gathering for the holidays included a tour of the Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding dry dock in Sturgeon Bay for the extended family of the late Ray Christianson, who once ran the yard. Susan Shannon, great-niece of Christianson, who served as the Christy Corporation’s president when the SS Badger was constructed, said she wanted […]
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Free Aging Resource Fair at NWTC on Jan. 13
The NWTC Learning and Innovation Center is hosting a free Lunch & Learn: Aging Resource Fair on Jan. 13, 11 am – 2 pm, when attendees can visit information booths and attend workshops to learn ways to care for themselves and others. Organizations to be represented include the Aging and Disability Resource Center, Door County […]
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Kindness Rocks Spread Joy in County, Beyond
While adventuring around Door County, keep an eye out for painted kindness rocks from the Door County Rocks group. Participants paint rocks and “hide” them around Door County to spread joy. Finders may keep the rocks, hide them elsewhere in Door County or take them back to their own community to hide there. Rock painters […]
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Habitat, Housing Partnership Dedicate New Home
A partnership between Door County Habitat for Humanity (DCHH) and the Door County Housing Partnership (DCHP) resulted in the Dec. 15 dedication of Habitat’s 45th home in Door County and the first built in collaboration with DCHP. Sixty DCHH volunteers have been working since early this summer to build this home and a second in […]
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St. Peter’s organiza servicio de Nochebuena en inglés-español
Se utilizarán himnos, lecturas y oraciones en español e inglés en la misa de Nochebuena a las 7:30 pm en La Iglesia Luterana Saint Peter’s en Forestville. Se observará la tradición annual de una misa de lecciones y canticos (Villancicos) en la Nochebuena. La Misa de este año en San Pedro incluirá algunas oraciones, lecturas […]
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Wild Ones: With Holiday Decorations, Buy Local, Be Responsible
When it comes to holiday evergreens, buy local! Yes, it’s good to support our neighbors, but perhaps even more importantly, it’s crucial to protect our local forests. We must do everything we can to prevent the introduction of nonnative invasives. Understand that I have the utmost respect for human immigrants, and I reverently hope that […]
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Easement Donated to Land Trust
Door County Land Trust (DCLT) is protecting another Northern Door parcel after landowner Lisa Barker donated a conservation easement on her property. Barker purchased the property in 2017. It had been farmed, but in recent years, the natural reforestation succession had begun with sumac and saplings. Drew Reinke, manager of DCLT’s Conservation Easement Program, began […]
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Land Trust Adds Two Washington Island Parcels
The Door County Land Trust (DCLT) is now permanently protecting two additional gifts of land on Washington Island. The larger of the two land donations – a 62-acre property situated in the northeast portion of the island – lies near the Indian Point Natural Area and will be named to honor Sigwald Jacobsen. It consists of […]
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A Game Changer: United Way Gets $3.5 Million Grant for Child Care Expansion
In June of 2020 parents of young children in Sturgeon Bay learned they were on the verge of seeing the city’s primary child care center close. A community effort kept it open, and on Thursday, parents learned that a larger community effort is set to revolutionize child care in the city, and throughout Door County. […]
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Make the Grinch’s Heart Grow by Donating to United Way
Heidi Neubauer, United Way of Door County board president, has enlisted the help of the Grinch for United Way’s annual campaign this year. Neubauer, the Grinch and United Way volunteers will be outside the ERA Starr building at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Michigan Street in Sturgeon Bay on Dec. 16, 11 am – 4 […]
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Corky Siegel’s Virtual Variety Show
Join blues and harmonica legend Corky Siegel and Friends for a virtual New Year’s Eve musical event starting at 9:45 pm and a live Q&A following the show. This all-ages extravaganza will have something for everyone, with performances by outstanding artists from Chicagoland and beyond: Alvy Ray Smith, Billy Branch, Blair Thomas with Michael Smith, […]
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Actors Recall Magic of It’s a Wonderful Life
The fictional town of Bedford Falls is the setting for one of the most beloved films in cinema history, It’s a Wonderful Life. But the real town of Seneca Falls, New York, claims to be the inspiration for Frank Capra’s 1946 classic. It is said that Capra had visited Seneca Falls while writing the screenplay […]
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Northern Sky Theater will present its annual holiday revue, Home for the Holidays, Dec. 27-31, 4 pm, in its Gould Theater, 9058 Cty A in Fish Creek. The in-person concert will feature three longtime favorites – Doc Heide, Karen Mal and Matt Zembrowski – providing traditional and original holiday songs, as well as holiday humor. Heide […]
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Choral Reading Of Dickens Classic
Isadoora Theatre Company will present a choral reading of A Christmas Carol, in Prose: Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens on Dec. 19, 3 pm, at the Margaret Lockwood Gallery, 7 S. 2nd Ave. in Sturgeon Bay. “This is not an adaptation,” local actor Ross Dippel said of Dickens’ classic Christmas story, […]
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Rogue Presents Nobody Knows My Name
Rogue Theater will celebrate its ninth Christmas with Valerie Lynch’s humorous holiday production, Nobody Knows My Name. In it, the man who’s been labeled simply as “the innkeeper” – worldwide, through the centuries – finds that his name does not appear in the many books, songs and plays that tell the story of Jesus’ birth. The play […]
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Door County Getting Slice of Opioid Settlement
Door County is among the state’s counties and cities that stand to receive a piece of the opioid settlement from drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and three companies that distributed opioid painkillers while addiction and overdose deaths skyrocketed in the United States. The settling defendants are the country’s largest pharmaceutical distributors, known as the Big Three […]
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‘They didn’t need to be here’: At hospital, surge in COVID patients weighs on staff
It’s not a milestone Dr. James Heise was proud to reach. On Dec. 9, Door County Medical Center had 10 inpatients sick with COVID-19, a number that represented half of all patients in the hospital and the highest number of COVID-19 patients at one time since the pandemic began 18 months earlier. “The surge is […]
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Pam Seiler, Sturgeon Bay’s Lead Memory Maker, Retires
Pam Seiler walked into retirement when she left her Destination Sturgeon Bay (DSB) office on 3rd Avenue on Wednesday, officially passing the torch to her successor, Cameryn Ehlers-Kwaterski. The executive director of the nonprofit organization has spent the past seven years tending to the economic vitality of local businesses and the good times of both […]
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WILD THINGS: Door, Kewaunee County Report 6,300-Plus Whitetails
If you haven’t had to hit the brakes lately while driving at night in deer country, you might want to thank a hunter. As of Dec. 13, Door and Kewaunee County bow, crossbow and gun deer hunters had combined to trim more than 6,300 whitetails from the landscape. That means fewer run-ins with vehicles and […]
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PODCAST: James Webb Space Telescope with Astronomer Heidi Hammel
Door County Pulse Podcasts · James Webb Space Telescope with Astronomer Heidi Hammel Heidi Hammel, the Vice President for Science at the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), joins Myles Dannhausen Jr. to discuss the James Webb Space Telescope, scheduled to launch no earlier than Dec. 24 (it was previously scheduled for Dec. […]
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The Wide World of Artist Deb Stroh-Larson
Artist Deb Stroh-Larson resists being pinned down to one subject. “I like to paint landscapes and water scenes and cats,” she said, but also flowers, dogs, snow-covered trees, autumn scenes, highly impressionistic landscapes, or paintings of large trees, often with light streaming through them to create a feel of mystery or, perhaps, romance. She has […]
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Door to Nature: The Holly and Mistletoe Season
Now is the time for Christmas decorations and traditions. Holiday songs express the joys of seeing holly berries and their dark-green leaves, and kissing under the mistletoe. The popularity of these two plants goes way back to olden days in northern Europe. The green leaves and red berries of holly offered a reminder of living […]
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December 7, 1929 ~ December 12, 2021 Allen Hathaway Frater, 92, died peacefully December 12, 2021 at his home in Fish Creek, WI surrounded by family. He was born December 7, 1929 in Watertown, WI to G. Gordon Frater and Hazel Alice Hathaway. Upon graduation from UW Madison in 1952 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Allen […]
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Ice Rink Input Session Dec. 22
Planning continues for revamped Sister Bay facility Plans are underway for a new community centerpiece at the Teresa K. Hilander Ice Rink in Sister Bay, so the Friends of the Teresa K. Hilander Ice Rink organization is seeking ideas from the community during a public-input session at the rink on Wednesday, Dec. 22, 6 pm. […]
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Start Your New Year at Whitefish Dunes
The Friends of Whitefish Dunes State Park organization is sponsoring a New Year’s Day activity Jan. 1, 9:30 am – 12 pm, to enjoy hiking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. After you’ve tackled the trails, meet outside the picnic shelter around a roaring fire and warm up with some hot chocolate or hot cider. This is […]
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Celebrate the Season at Crossroads
December is a great time to be at Crossroads at Big Creek. On Dec. 17, 10-11 am, the Junior Nature Club – a program intended for preschool children and their companions – will take a snowy hike to the cedar forest to look for animal tracks. Meet on the porch of the Collins Learning Center. Saturday Science […]
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Obituary: Dr. William Edgar Iwen
January 27, 1939 ~ December 10, 2021 Dr. William Edgar Iwen, 82, died from ALS complications on December 10th, 2021, at the VA Medical Center in St. Cloud, MN. He was born in a blizzard in Algoma, WI, on January 27th,1939, to Frederick and Adelia (Born) Iwen, and grew up on their small farm in […]
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Gibraltar Moving to Mask-optional Policy
Superintendent Van Meer announces her retirement Older students at the Gibraltar School District will have the option to unmask starting next week, with the same option available to younger students after the holiday break. The new pandemic protocol came Monday evening, Dec. 13, with the school board’s 6-1 vote. The mask-optional policy will be implemented […]
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IMPERILED SHORES: Wisconsin State Parks Battered as Lake Shrinks Beaches
By Mario Koran, Wisconsin Watch/WPR Lake Michigan’s winds and waves have sculpted the landscape of Whitefish Dunes State Park. Water delivers fine sand to a shoreline that supports threatened plants like the dune thistle. Wind stacks that sand into the mighty dunes that inspired the park’s name. Summer visitors splash on its beach or hike […]
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September 9, 1934 ~ December 12, 2021 Carol Jean (Nelson) Bockhop, 87, of Sturgeon Bay, died Sunday, December 12, 2021, at Pine Crest Village in Sturgeon Bay. She was born Sept. 9, 1934, in Sturgeon Bay to Leonard and Caroline (Becker) Nelson. Carol graduated from Sturgeon Bay High School in 1952 and then attended Lutheran […]
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October 26, 1950 ~ December 10, 2021 James Leo Roche, 71, of Jacksonport, Wisconsin and Tucson, Arizona, died at his Door County home on Friday, December 10, 2021. He was born October 26, 1950 in Pontiac, Illinois, son of Leo Harold and Dorothy Elizabeth (Jacobs) Roche. Jim graduated from Saunemin High School in 1968 before […]
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May 14, 1933 ~ December 11, 2021 Kenneth Schultz, 88, of Ephraim, passed away on Dec. 11, 2021. He was born May 14, 1933, in Michigan to Kenneth and Dorothy Schultz. On April 16, 1978, he married Penny Christiansen in Racine, Wisconsin. Services will be announced at a later date. Forbes Funeral Home of Sturgeon Bay is […]
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December 22, 1923 ~ December 10, 2021 Donald Arthur Ohlrogge, 97, of Sturgeon Bay died at Door County Medical Center on December 10, 2021, after a hearty 97 years of life. He went peacefully and was able to spend all his last years in the home he loved and was able to keep a fierce […]
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Obituary: Elspeth Newman Tibbetts
February 8, 1938 ~ December 8, 2021 Elspeth Newman Tibbetts, “Els”, died at home, in her sleep, on December 8, 2021 with her beloved Corgi, O’Henry the Eighth, never leaving her side. Els was born February 8, 1938 in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada to mother Eliza “Lalah” Bannerman (McLeod), and father Frank Stanley Newman. Els was […]
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January 20, 1958 ~ December 8, 2021 Ann Frances Grimmer (nee Savage), 63, of Sturgeon Bay, died at her home on December 8, 2021, after a brief but fierce battle with cancer. Her grief stricken and loving family was by her side. She was born January 20, 1958, in Sturgeon Bay to George and Muriel […]
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Obituary: Janet Lydia Mickelson
March 18, 1939 ~ November 30, 2021 Janet Lydia Mickelson, 82, of Sturgeon Bay, died early Tuesday morning, November 30, 2021 at Door County Medical Center in Sturgeon Bay. She was born March 18, 1939 in Sturgeon Bay, the daughter of Edward and Marian Irene (Stephenson) Bavry. Jan grew up on the family farm just […]