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Peninsula Pulse Nov 4-11, 2022

In this issue

  • Door County Then and Now: A Trove of Photos Portray the Evolution of the Peninsula

    Historical photos by Bill Tishler; contemporary photos by Rachel Lukas In October of 1974, Prof. William Tishler received a grant from the fledgling Wisconsin Sea Grant program to fund a photography project meant to document the changes that were occurring on the Lake Michigan shoreline. Tishler was serving on the faculty of the Landscape Architecture […]

  • Does at the Door

    Hunter’s widows are invited to the second Does at The Dörr weekend getaway Nov. 18-19. Shop, drink, and dine with their customized Does Package that includes hotel room, private shopping, and a trolley tour. “During hunting season, the spouse of the hunter is often left alone while their partner disappears for long stretches of time, […]

  • Music at Christkindlmarkt

    The Sister Bay Historical Society will host its second Christkindlmarkt Door County Nov. 25-27, Dec. 2-4 and Dec. 9-11 at the Corner of the Past Museum. The festive weekend events will showcase artisans selling handcrafted, locally made goods, as well as food vendors selling German and Nordic fare and drinks, including hot mulled red wine, […]

  • Merry-Time Festival of Trees Opens Nov. 12

    Celebrate the holidays by enjoying dozens of beautiful trees and festive displays Nov. 12 – Jan. 2 at the Door County Maritime Museum (DCMM). Decorated by residents and those affiliated with local businesses and organizations, each tree is adorned with ornaments and special surprises, and every display will go home with a lucky winner from […]

  • Capture the Spirit in Sister Bay Nov. 25

    Santa is coming to Sister Bay for the annual Capture the Spirit holiday lighting festivities Nov. 25, 3:30-5:30 pm. Enjoy hot chocolate and treats from Pink Door Events before Santa arrives at Waterfront Park at 5 pm to light the village Christmas tree and illuminate the holiday lights throughout the village. Then join in singing […]

  • Door County Holiday Events

    It’s (almost) the most wonderful time of the year! Here’s a rundown of the big community celebrations coming your way so that you can create new holiday traditions or celebrate old ones. Find more holiday events in our events calendar. Thanksgiving Day Parade Nov. 24, 10:30 amLakeside Park, off Hwy 57, Jacksonport Before loading up […]

  • Art Fair Supports Sevastopol Students

    The Sevastopol Music, Art and Theater Guild is hosting the Sevastopol Arts and Craft Fair on Nov. 20, 9 am – 3 pm, at Sevastopol School, and it invites the community to this fun shopping experience. In addition to the handcrafted gifts available from a variety of vendors, shoppers can enjoy hearty soup, lunch entrées, […]

  • Ladybug Glass Celebrates Second Anniversary

    To celebrate its second anniversary in Algoma, Ladybug Glass Studio & Gallery is featuring new glass and photography pieces by Kimberly Lyon. An opening reception will be held during First Friday Art in Algoma on Nov. 4, 5-8 pm, and it will continue Nov. 5, 10 am – 4 pm. The gallery will also have […]

  • Holiday Season with Edgewood Orchard Galleries

    Edgewood Orchard Galleries will soon be open for three celebratory weekends when shoppers can do their holiday shopping locally. The first weekend will start Nov. 25 – Black Friday – when the gallery will open bright and early at 5 am and remain open until 5 pm. The first 50 shoppers will receive free felt holiday ornaments, but […]

  • Call for Street Artists

    Destination Sturgeon Bay is seeking artists to participate in its 23rd street-art project: a collaboration of art created to beautify the streets of Sturgeon Bay. This year, the organization has a new project template – a bass – as the foundation of its Bass around the Bay Street Art Project, which will go on display in […]

  • Return of the Gingerbread Bash

    Peninsula School of Art will celebrate the holiday season with the return of its Gingerbread Bash on Nov. 16, 6-9 pm, when patrons 21 and older may enjoy chili, chips and beverages while building a gingerbread house. They may take it home at the end of the evening or leave it on display for a […]

  • Man Charged with Arson in Mr. G’s Fire

    The Door County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Sturgeon Bay man for arson in the fire that caused extensive damage at Mr. G’s Supper Club on Oct. 23. The Door County District Attorney’s Office has charged Jonathon J. Polich with two counts of arson to a dwelling. He is being held in the Door County […]

  • Miller Exhibit Memorializes Topelmanns

    Ephraim painter Ellen Sprogø-Topelmann died in 2016, and her husband, Karsten Topelmann, died five years later. But their legacy lives on in Door County and beyond – a legacy that the Miller Art Museum will celebrate through its upcoming exhibit, Hanseatic: The Life and Works of Karsten and Ellen Topelmann. Named after the couple’s now-closed […]

  • Much More Than Murals: The Art of Ram Rojas

    Ram Rojas is known to many in Door County as a muralist – most notably as the creator of the murals at The Clearing and the recently removed panels at Nelson’s Shopping Center in Baileys Harbor – but he’s much more than an artist who paints on the largest scale.  That’s one reason why Rojas […]

  • Seed Collection, Telescopes at Crossroads

    Crossroads at Big Creek and Wild Ones of Door County, in collaboration with the Door County Seed Library and Door County Master Gardeners Association, will host a seed-collection workshop Nov. 5, 11 am, when participants can learn how to gather, store and stratify seeds. Then they will collect seeds from the Pollinator Garden and the […]

  • A Trot of a Different Bird

    Can you keep pace with a penguin? Take on the One Barrel penguin with your friends and family over Thanksgiving weekend – on Saturday, Nov. 26 – when the One Barrel 2.62-mile run returns as part of the Holly Days celebration in Egg Harbor. Join the fun at the Egg Harbor marina as you run, […]

  • The Amazing Porcupine

    A few weeks ago, as my students and I were hiking some trails at The Ridges Sanctuary, we were fortunate to come upon two porcupines that might have been a mother and her youngster, born earlier this year. We watched as they slowly left the ground and climbed a tree, and we marveled at their […]

  • Cellist Plays at Belgian Heritage Center

    The Belgian Heritage Center will present cellist, singer and composer Helen Gillet in concert Nov. 20, 4 pm. Gillet grew up in Singapore, Chicago and Wisconsin before moving to New Orleans in 2002. She’s known for her eclectic palette of avant-garde jazz, French chansons, funk and alt-rock, as well as her Bohemian flair similar to […]

  • Bearded Heart for Sale

    Add Bearded Heart Coffee to the list of restaurants up for sale. The Baileys Harbor coffee shop closed for the season Sept. 25, and the property on the corner of Highway 57 and Howard Avenue is now listed by Professional Realty for $1.25 million. The parcel includes the building behind the shop that’s home to […]

  • Ahnapee Salutes Veterans

    Ahnapee Brewing Company will be raising funds for veterans at its taprooms in Algoma and Suamico on Nov. 12, when the brewery will donate 100% of the proceeds of a specially made Little Soldier pin (5.4-gallon barrel) to the Fox Valley Veterans Council’s Emergency Fund.  The cask-conditioned pin will be tapped at noon at each […]

  • Letter to the Editor: Send Them Back to Toy Land

    There seems to be a lot of excitement over the impending arrival of a Fleet Farm store – the store that once had what you were looking for. During the 1970s and ’80s, family farms literally were located within every few country miles of Door County – farms that were in families for generations. At that […]

  • A Night of Music That Empowers

    The Sturgeon Bay School District is hosting Elec Simon and Friends for a community event Nov. 9, 7-7:45 pm, in the Sturgeon Bay High School Auditorium. Simon is a former cast member of the Broadway show STOMP and a member of the renowned jazz group Pieces of a Dream and the Cleveland Cavaliers 216 Stix […]

  • Gov. Evers Campaigns in Egg Harbor

    Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers held a rally in Egg Harbor Wednesday, Nov. 2, with several other Democratic candidates for public office. A crowd of about 40 people heard Evers, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, former state Sen. Dave Hansen and other party candidates and leaders speak at the Kress Pavilion. With the election less than a week […]

  • Turning Access Into Inclusion

    As Tiffany Leist manipulates the joystick on the Action Trackchair, the tank-like rubber treads roll her over the roots, rocks and undulations of the Sentinel Trail in Peninsula State Park. These seemingly minor obstacles have made hiking in the woods a dangerous endeavor for most of her 35 years, but today she makes her way […]

  • Band Fruit Sale

    The Sturgeon Bay school band is raising money through its annual fruit sale. Orders will be taken until Nov. 15, and fruit pickup will take place Dec. 7, 12-6 pm, at TJ Walker Middle School. To purchase fruit, contact any Sturgeon Bay band student or call 920.746.5766.

  • “Puffs” Parody Takes the Stage at Sevastopol

    Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic by Matthew Cox will be performed in Sevastopol’s elementary school gym Nov. 4-5, 7 pm, and Nov. 6, 2 pm, with students in fourth through 12th grades appearing in the cast. For seven years, a certain boy wizard went to a […]

  • Stop WPS Scams

    On the scam front, Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) and law-enforcement agencies across northeastern Wisconsin are trying to protect customers from con artists by sharing the warning signs of utility scams. Scammers are pretending to be WPS by manipulating caller ID to make it look as though WPS is calling, or by leaving messages that sound […]

  • Committee Recommends Creating Egg Harbor Historic Review Board

    An ad hoc committee has recommended that the Village of Egg Harbor create an Architectural and Historic Review Board to guide the look of the village, and it has created draft guidelines for future changes to building exteriors in the village core and other commercial buildings.   The ad hoc committee is hosting a hybrid in-person/virtual […]

  • 2023 Keep Wildlife Wild Poster Contest Opens

    The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ 2023 Keep Wildlife Wild poster contest is now open. This program helps to spread the word – through posters – about the importance of keeping all wildlife healthy by enjoying and observing animals in the wild and not keeping them in homes or as pets. Students in fourth, fifth and sixth […]

  • Around the Door: Fun at the Fire Station

    Firefighters showed young superheroes the ropes at the Gibraltar Fire Department’s Oct. 29 Halloween open house. Kids got a chance to use fire hoses, meet Smokey the Bear, climb into fire trucks and jump in the bounce house. Photos courtesy of Gibraltar Fire & Rescue.

  • Farmers: Check Runoff Risk

    The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection reminds farmers and manure applicators to check the runoff-risk advisory forecast tool before spreading manure on fields. It includes maps showing short-term runoff risk based on soil saturation, temperature and precipitation on a scale of four-kilometer grids, and the National Weather Service updates it four times […]

  • DCHS Featured Pet: Prince

    Prince is an awesome, 4-year-old pup who’s available for adoption from the Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) Door County Campus. This 45-pound love bug is looking for a home where he can play with tennis balls to his heart’s content! Like all dogs at WHS, Prince (wihumane.org/adopt/animal?id=51230036) has been neutered, vaccinated and microchipped, and he goes […]

  • Door County Republicans Host Candidate Meet-and-Greet

    Republican candidates running for statewide and district offices this fall were in Sturgeon Bay Oct. 29 for a Door County Republican Party candidate meet-and-greet. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, seeking his third six-year term in office, arrived at the gathering of GOP supporters in his campaign RV. Johnson’s Democratic opponent this year is Lt. Gov. Mandela […]

  • Dairy Processor Grant Application Open

    The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection invites Wisconsin dairy processors to apply for grants through Jan. 30, 2023. Eligible applicants must operate a licensed dairy processing plant in Wisconsin that is engaged in pasteurizing, processing or manufacturing milk or dairy products. Grant funds may be used to address business needs such as […]

  • ARPA Funds Could Pay for Apartment Sewer and Water Extension

    Developers of a three-story, 22-unit apartment building proposed on the site of a former cherry-processing facility are seeking financial assistance from the City of Sturgeon Bay to extend sanitary sewer and water service to the property. The apartments would be located at 1361 N. 14th Ave., near Tadych’s Marketplace and Walmart. The city’s Financing/Purchasing and […]

  • Fishing Tournament Rule Changes May Wait

    Proposed rule changes for fishing tournaments that use City of Sturgeon Bay facilities might not be considered for implementation next year. At the end of the Oct. 26 Joint Parks and Recreation Committee/Board meeting, municipal services director Mike Barker suggested holding off on making any changes effective until 2024 because the city’s facilities have already […]

  • Boat-launch Fee Increase Considered

    Proposed change could raise prices for more types of businesses Fees for launching boats at City of Sturgeon Bay facilities would increase next year under a recommendation backed Oct. 26 by the city’s Joint Parks and Recreation Committee/Board. The committee also favored reviewing those fees in two years. Municipal services director Mike Barker said the […]

  • 2022 Door County Midterm Election and Voting Information

    Midterm elections are so-called because they fall in the middle of the president’s four-year term, and although they don’t decide who will be our next commander-in-chief, they do decide control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. All 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms during […]

  • Amy Frank is New Historical Society Executive Director

    The Door County Historical Society (DCHS) has welcomed Amy Frank as its new executive director. For nearly four years, Frank served as the managing director at Third Avenue PlayWorks and managed the Sun Prairie [Wisconsin] Performing Arts Center for seven years prior to that. She has 15-plus years of leadership experience in nonprofit organizations.  “We […]

  • Students Get Insights Into Local Manufacturing

    More than 300 students from six area high schools toured Door County manufacturing businesses as part of a career-awareness event coordinated by the Door County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) in collaboration with the Door County Manufacturers Association. “The event is a great way to showcase the many different careers that local manufacturers have to offer […]

  • The Making of a Manufacturing Sector

    Made in Door County If you wanted to know where Door County’s 65 manufacturers were located, you’d need to look up and down the peninsula to find them all. Yet it’s also true that a majority of them are located at the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park at 185 E. Walnut St., where all but six […]

  • Sevastopol Celebrates Opening of Machining Program

    Students can earn college credit while gaining hands-on experience A new program at Sevastopol School will help area students to learn new skills and earn college credit in the process. On Oct. 27, the school celebrated the grand opening of its Door County Machining Program (DCMP) lab, the first of its kind in the area. […]

  • Work Begins on Barn Foundation

    Members of the Sister Bay Historical Society broke ground on the foundation for the Little Sister Barn on Wednesday, Oct. 26. Though there’s a long way to go to raise the estimated $3 million necessary to refurbish the barn and turn it into a history center for the organization, work on the foundation will make […]

  • “The Addams Family” on Stage at Southern Door

    Southern Door High School will present The Addams Family: A New Musical in November. Promising campiness, spooky fun, macabre hilarity and plenty of heart, this production comprises more than 50 high school students in the cast, crew and pit orchestra. The comical feast embraces the wackiness in every family and showcases a particular Addams Family […]

  • Drive-through Lab Providing Rare Service

    Door County Medical Center (DCMC) opened its drive-through laboratory facility early last month, providing a service in Door County that’s duplicated at only one other medical center in Wisconsin. “It’s a pretty new concept,” said Jane Metko, DCMC’s director of laboratory services. “I think we weren’t thinking about that level of convenience until we were […]

  • YMCA Closes in on Fundraising Goal

    The Door County YMCA is closing in on its fundraising goal to expand its Sturgeon Bay program center. The organization has surpassed $9.9 million raised, leaving $350,000 to go.  Construction is also underway: The site has been excavated; footings are going in; and pipes and electrical are being moved. Walls will go up for the […]

  • Book Recommendation: ‘Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?’ by Caitlin Doughty, with illustrations by Dianné Ruz

    Recommended by GRACE JOHNSON, Pulse Staffer and Bibliophile The fall – the spooky season – is my favorite time of the year to sit down and read. Although my instinct is to recommend one of my spooky reads from this year or last, I’ve found that one of my favorite books so far this season has been […]

  • Books Explore Baby Boom Era

    R.M. Goga has released Our Week Remembered: How We Played in ’61, a prequel to his 2014 book, And the Band Played Nam, a coming-of-age story about four teen girls from Wisconsin who toured Vietnam with their band in 1969. Our Week Remembered is a novel comprising the recollections of four youngsters’ aspirations, dreams and […]

  • Crime and Passion in Clarizio’s Latest Book

    Door County author and USA Today bestselling author Valerie J. Clarizio has released A Fraudulent Encounter, the third book in her Crime and Passion Stalk City Hall series. After a drug investigation turned deadly and Daxon Mertz witnessed the murder of his wife and unborn child, he left his big-city job to become the police […]

  • Orlock Releases New Book of Poetry

    Four Windows Press of Sturgeon Bay has released Toes, Toads, Turtles, Tulips: A Miscellany of Verse: the latest book of poetry by Mike Orlock, Door County’s current poet laureate. Former Door County poet laureate Sharon Auberle said the new volume is “both a trip and a treat.” This collection of poems explores bizarre contradictions in […]

  • Local Authors’ Book Becomes Award-winning Special

    As of Oct. 25, local author Joseph Tachovsky was on a road trip to visit the graves of some of the men with whom his father, Frank Tachovsky, served with during WWII – a platoon known as the 40 Thieves.  But just a few weeks prior, Tachovsky was in Minnesota accepting a 2022 Upper Midwest […]

  • Guest Column: Bring Back More Hunting Oversight

    by J.B. SENSENBRENNER It’s been six years since deer tagging and in-person deer registration were eliminated in Wisconsin. Today, 37 other states require physical tagging of deer, so Wisconsin hunters were surprised when the state discontinued tagging and physical carcass registrations. Why? Wisconsin seemed to have one of the best deer-hunting management programs in the […]

  • Pulse of Philanthropy: The Enormous Power of Weak Bonds

    by BRET BICOY, President and CEO, Door County Community Foundation Last summer, I finally broke down and bought a pair of noise-canceling earbuds. My father had hearing problems late in life, so as I’ve grown older, I thought the active noise cancellation could help to protect my hearing a bit while I’m mowing the lawn […]

  • Editor’s Note: No Political Letters and a Short Deadline

    Our Letters to the Editor page this week looks very different from those of previous weeks. That’s because we don’t allow political letters in the issue immediately prior to an election. This practice is a tradition in the newspaper industry and, we believe, a good one to keep. If a letter contained a mistake or […]

  • Wild Things: Falling in Love with Leaves

    Remnants of autumn are coating the forest floor and lawns  by KEVIN NAZE, [email protected], Peninsula Pulse contributor A glorious first day of November can’t camouflage the fact that this weekend marks the midway point of fall. The autumn equinox is already six weeks in the rear-view mirror, and early this Sunday, daylight saving time ends. […]

  • Work Begins on Barn Foundation

    Members of the Sister Bay Historical Society broke ground on the foundation for the Little Sister Barn on Wednesday, Oct. 26. Though there’s a long way to go to raise the estimated $3 million necessary to refurbish the barn and turn it into a history center for the organization, work on the foundation will make […]

  • This Old Store: Halvor Anderson Owned Stores in Three Locations

    Halvor Anderson was born in Sturgeon Bay in 1900. He worked for Miller’s Clothing House, owned by the father of renowned painter Gerhard CF Miller, as well as the Peterson and Hoslett groceries before buying his own grocery store in Baileys Harbor.  A newspaper item from June 1935 indicated that Anderson bought the store from […]

  • Historical Museum Open Holiday Weekends

    After strong public response in 2021, the Door County Historical Museum is permanently expanding its hours for the holiday season. Visitors can enjoy the museum’s displays and shop for holiday gifts on Saturdays and Sundays from November through the third weekend in December, 10 am – 4:30 pm. Santa Claus will also visit the museum […]

  • Obituary: Dolores Jean Owen

    November 6, 1928 ~ October 29, 2022 Dolores Jean Owen (née Cannon), age 93, died Saturday, October 29, 2022 at Masonic Pathways Assisted Living Facility in Alma, Michigan. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 6, 1928 to Hugh and Gladys (née Galbreath) Cannon. She married James Russell Owen on August 27, 1948, in […]

  • Obituary: Donna Jeannine Brandt

    March 26, 1930 ~ October 23, 2022 Jean Brandt, 92, of Ellison Bay died peacefully on October 23, 2022. Jean was born in Madison, WI on March 26, 1930 to Donald and Verda Myers. Jean grew up with her parents and younger sister Patrica in Madison where she graduated high school. Not long after being […]

  • Obituary: Faith “Faye” M. Shaw

    July 29, 1943 ~ October 24, 2022 Faith “Faye” M. Shaw, 79, Algoma, died peacefully on Monday, October 24, 2022, at Kewaunee Health Services after a brave battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was born to Clinton and Harriet (Van De Hey) Moreaux on July 29, 1943, in Appleton, WI. Two years after graduating from Sturgeon Bay […]

  • Obituary: John Wesley Weborg

    January 24, 1931 ~ September 22, 2022 John Wesley Weborg, 91, of Sister Bay, died Thursday, September 22, 2022 in Sturgeon Bay at Door County Medical Center. John was born January 24, 1931, the son of the late Wallace and Gladys (Strandell) Weborg. John graduated from Gibraltar High School in Fish Creek. John married Lucille Pellett. She […]

  • Obituary: William J. Patza

    January 19, 1940 ~ January 19, 1940 ~ June 8, 2022 Born on January 19, 1940, in Sturgeon Bay, Bill was the son of Joseph and Glenice (Simon) Patza. He left high school to enroll in the coast guard, where he served 2 years. He met Isobel Cleland in Door County, Sturgeon Bay, they married […]

  • Obituary: Patricia “Patty” Ann Williamson, PhD

    July 27, 1934 ~ September 27, 2022 Patricia “Patty” Ann Williamson, PhD, 88 years of Kangaroo Lake, Door County, WI and St. Louis, MO, died unexpectedly at her home Sept. 27 from heart failure. She and her husband, Howard, had returned earlier that day following, as she shared, “the best trip ever”, visiting family and […]