Category: Door County News
Door County news from the pages of the Peninsula Pulse and Door County Living, the peninsula’s trusted, local sources for information about Door County, Wisconsin.
-
Under the Newborn Stars: American Folklore Theatre
“In our little corner of the woods, those ominous rumblings about the Death of American Musical Theatre are drowned out by the footfalls of 50,000 loyal fans strolling down the path in Fish Creek’s Peninsula State Park each year to laugh and cry with our merry players under the newborn stars.” – Fred Alley, AFT […]
-
Treading Lightly: Can Door County maintain its character while attracting more visitors?
It’s a dilemma every tourism destination must confront at some point and one Door County is grappling with now. You need to attract visitors to drive your economy, to provide the economic lifeblood that allows you to live in a place you love. But those visitors and the growth that accompanies them are eroding much […]
-
Sturgeon Bay’s 3rd Avenue: Past and Present
In 1850, Oliver Perry Graham built a log cabin on the east shore of Sturgeon Bay, the wilderness of northeastern Wisconsin. The rugged landscape – dense forests, treacherous waters, rocky fields – was challenging, as well as intimidating. But the early settlers were hearty immigrants who recognized opportunity. Shortly after his arrival, Graham was joined […]
-
Springtime Kayaking: The “Door” to early season paddling
There’s a mellow May breeze rustling the reeds and wild rice along Reibolts Creek. Yellow water lilies bob gently in the wake of the boat, and the high whistle of a Blue-winged Teal breaks the stillness of the foggy dawn as the sun rises over Moonlight Bay. A morning like this one is not uncommon […]
-
Village Buys Helm’s for $4.9 Million
Last October the redevelopment of Helm’s Four Seasons hotel in downtown Sister Bay was the subject of controversy centered on a marina proposal tied to the hotel/condominium project.
-
Revealing Hidden Treasures: Locating antique furniture and restoring it to its original splendor
Anyone who has ever watched the public television series Antiques Roadshow knows the thrill and excitement of finding the treasure of a valuable, previously unknown antiquity. As the appraiser evaluates the item, the owner nervously replies to questions about the provenance and history of the piece. By the time the expert finally gives their professional […]
-
“Boot” Hockey: Broomball is Northern Door County’s Unlikely Winter Pastime
It started with the hope of getting enough people together to form two teams for pickup games, maybe 30 guys, to play a little “boot” hockey, a game they weren’t even sure how to play. They just wanted to play something, anything, for exercise and activity to get through the Wisconsin winter. They had this […]
-
Prohibition Era in Door County
As the harsh Door County winter settled in shortly before Thanksgiving in 1933, John R. Seaquist addressed the Door County Council of Religious Education at the Ephraim Moravian Church. On that 19th day of November, just two weeks before the repeal of the 18th Amendment would be ratified, Seaquist pledged his organization “to do all […]
-
Fresh Picked: Family-style Fall Festivities
The sky seems a bit bluer, and the air surely feels a bit brisker. At this time of year, there’s something to be said for just sitting quietly and watching the leaves turn color, but with all of the activity surrounding the peninsula’s autumn harvest, it would be a shame not to reap some of […]
-
“Ellison Bay Blew Up.” Those were the stunning words that welcomed so many Northern Door County residents and vacationers to their day Monday, July 10.
-
How Does Your Garden Grow?: Door County’s Organic Farms
For more and more locals, raising their crops and herds in harmony with Mother Nature is becoming the method of choice. By following organic practices (particularly, eliminating the use of pesticides and genetically modified organisms – or GMOs) these farmers are kind to the environment while producing exceptionally flavorful and nutritious foods, and they’re doing […]
-
The Ephraim Preserve at Anderson Pond
The Village of Ephraim is renowned for its beauty – its white buildings gracefully nestled amidst a stunning natural backdrop, facing another Door County treasure, Peninsula State Park. Until recently, however, other than the wetland preserve on the south end of the village, little environmentally significant land in Ephraim was in permanent conservation status and […]
-
Marketing Consultant Presents Plan Outline to Coalition
A marketing consultant contracted by the Door County Peninsula Strategic Marketing Coalition pulled no punches in assessing all parts of the county’s tourism engine during an informal question and answer session Wednesday, May 31 with 19 attendees at the Baileys Harbor Town Hall.
-
It hits us when we’re home alone and we shut off the TV, revealing the eerie silence of an empty house. Sometimes you feel it when you drag the garbage to the curb at night, or for the rurally inclined, to the burning barrel in the back yard. The feeling, the sense, that someone else […]
-
Living the Life Less Ordinary: The Red Cup Coffee Shop
From an outsider’s perspective, living on Washington Island is a difficult thing to fully appreciate – especially if you’re one of those city-born people, accustomed to all the luxuries of an urban setting, who thinks that to move there would constitute drastic, even crazy, behavior. I traveled there this past February, however, to meet with […]
-
Marketing Coalition Steps Up Fundraising Efforts
The Door County Peninsula Strategic Marketing Coalition, an independent group of Door County business owners, has begun raising funds for the purpose of developing a comprehensive tourism marketing plan for the county.
-
Liberty Grove Explores Zoning Alternatives
Northern Door officials and citizens are once again embroiled in a dispute over how to manage growth and development in Liberty Grove. Liberty Grove Plan Commission member Mike Kahr and others would like the town to opt out of county zoning and implement their own based on the town’s Smart Growth plan. Kahr said the […]
-
Sister Bay Ice Rink Improvements Stuck in Neutral
Plans to raise funds to expand and improve the Theresa K. Hilander Ice Rink in Sister Bay have been put on hold because of a property conflict between the village of Sister Bay and the town of Liberty Grove. Supporters of the rink said they are prepared to begin fundraising to lay down a permanent […]
-
Door County’s Looming Labor Problem
Welcome to a new beginning. After something like 13 years of writing this column for The Door Reminder I will now be found in the pages of The Peninsula Pulse. This change may be overdue, given my ardent advocacy for support of locally owned/locally operated businesses, but honoring commitments and loyalty kept me from moving […]
-
Connecting Two Worlds: The Washington Island Ferry Line
The distance from Northport pier, on the northern tip of the Door peninsula, to Washington Island’s Detroit Harbor is just a few miles, but in so many ways the two may as well be worlds apart. Between the shores run the foreboding waters of Death’s Door, which earned its moniker in the days when sailing […]