Northern People
An ongoing, weekly series of stories focusing on the people of northern Michigan.
FRANKFORT — Dr. Anibal Pepper met his wife Ann on the tennis court in Peru.
EAST JORDAN — To say Earth Day became an out of this world experience for the East Jordan Middle School Shoe Club is an understatement.
TRAVERSE CITY — As an “avid outdoor guy,” Shawn Butzin’s move to Traverse City from the Detroit area made perfect sense.
RAPID CITY — Derek Bissell didn’t think much of the day for months.
It’s an evening in January; the sun has just slipped below the horizon. I’m out for a run alongside two friends. I jog up ahead. As I do, I he…
TRAVERSE CITY — Fleda Brown once, quite literally, flew through a hole in a storm.
FIFE LAKE — Patrons can check out more than books from the Fife Lake Public Library. Like snow pants, with no return date.
TRAVERSE CITY — The COVID-19 pandemic turned many lives upside down in March 2020, and for one woman who grew up in Grand Traverse County, the…
TRAVERSE CITY — After four decades of hearing stories from survivors of sexual assault, Barbara Cross summarized what she’s learned about the …
TRAVERSE CITY — It was a freak situation from the start.
Editor’s Note: It’s approaching a year from when the pandemic initially lurched Michigan to a halt in March. At that time, we talked to two ol…
LEELANAU COUNTY — Chris Roxburgh has been fascinated by the rich shipping history of the county he grew up in.
TRAVERSE CITY — Two Vietnam Veterans are hoping to create a more peaceful world by showcasing Traverse City as a peaceful place.
TRAVERSE CITY — You probably recognize the names Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and Buzz Aldrin.
SUTTONS BAY — Grant and Kris Hoxie wanted families and students in the Suttons Bay community to have one less worry this year.
TRAVERSE CITY — Tom Bousamra had known about it since February.
TRAVERSE CITY — Ned Hartwick was once just a middle school journalist.
KALKASKA — Adam Whited will wear a ribbon on his uniform with pride.
BELLAIRE — Taylor Sutherland doesn’t normally cook turkeys at The Corner Bistro in Bellaire.
TRAVERSE CITY — Brian O’Hara was simply looking to do something special for his uncle.
TRAVERSE CITY — About a year and a half ago Ann Tisdale was scouring around the internet for children’s books to read to her daughter Maya tha…
TRAVERSE CITY — The lines between home and office, classroom and living room blurred for many people in April and again in November.
EMPIRE — Rebecca Lessard released her last rehabilitated eagle on South Fox Island about a month ago, piling into a small chartered plane with…
TRAVERSE CITY — Even though it wasn’t the “aim,” Habitat for Humanity Grand Traverse Region came home a double winner from an annual conferenc…
TRAVERSE CITY — A community food drive was enough to get Michelle Chouinard and a team of Norte volunteers cranking.
ALDEN — Levi Holmes received his wish one day this fall.
TRAVERSE CITY — Cliff and Lottie Wagner spent decades of service at what is now the Greilick Outdoor Recreation & Education Center.
ALMA — It’s a small world at Abbey Killian’s Alma College.
MAPLE CITY — Ten years later and Rae Dumke’s retirement gift is still making contributions to the world of architecture.
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part look at the League of Women Voters as the group readies for the 2020 election, and the nationa…
TRAVERSE CITY — Girl Scouts have gone digital up north because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
KALKASKA — His coaches call Jacob Birgy “a quiet kid” but 250,000 people have read his story.
TRAVERSE CITY — Workers freed by the pandemic to do their job remotely can experience autumn’s glories from places near and far.
MAPLE CITY — Aging in place is more than theory to Pam Bradshaw.
TRAVERSE CITY — Bob Core doesn’t build ships to sail them.
TRAVERSE CITY — Even though she’s already made two visits to Plymouth, Massachusetts, a third trip will have a deeper meaning for a Traverse C…
TRAVERSE CITY — Meghan Brown saw a man in a Rochester Kroger parking lot walking oddly.
TRAVERSE CITY — Brooke Adamczak recently decided to donate a small fortune from her piggy bank.
TRAVERSE CITY — There’s a good chance you’ll find at least one barn while driving around Garfield Township.
TRAVERSE CITY — Charlotte Little found the Great Lakes Humane Society near her home on a bike ride two years ago.
TRAVERSE CITY – It’s easy to look past a tombstone at Oakwood Cemetery as if it was no different from the rest.
NORTHPORT — Ernie Barry will be 12 years old in July. Or, if you’re a person who appreciates truth in journalism, he’ll be 77.
TRAVERSE CITY — Janis Haine was sewing masks before they were cool.
TRAVERSE CITY — It might take Piper Shumar three months to redeem $25 worth of cans per day.
TRAVERSE CITY — It’s a Friday morning in May.
FRANKFORT — Two things make Cheryl Kobernik uniquely qualified for her position on a state steering committee.
FRANKFORT — Dogs, like people, can get restless under stay-at-home orders. When Hugo, a 50-pound mixed breed broke free, the getaway became a …
TRAVERSE CITY — From the beginning, it seems Helen Christopher, 79, and her adoptive mother Helen Baird, 103, were destined to be together.
NORTHPORT — A smallpox epidemic in 1848 was the impetus for creation of the tiny village of Northport, population 500 or so, that clings to th…
TRAVERSE CITY — Visitors can hear faint ticking sounds outside Joe Battaglia’s Traverse City residence. Clocks of all shapes and sizes line th…
TRAVERSE CITY — The day Bear Lake Christian Church closed, the Rev. Scott Hoffer and others went through with bleach and water, disinfecting a…
TRAVERSE CITY — The running joke at the Canfield house is that, when husband Art comes home, he never knows how many kids will be there.
TRAVERSE CITY — The second half of Jessi Wallington’s February was spent helping care for some of the best athletes in the country — Olympians…
TRAVERSE CITY — If it’s a choice between sleep and robotics, high schoolers Bo Eyre and Seth Carpenter choose the latter.
Nobody says time-honored quite like the people of the Guinness Book of World Records, who last summer recognized the Manistee Fire Department …
MANISTEE — Lorien Adamski had the cracklin’ tempo of an ember-snapping campfire, the neighing and whinnying of his resting horse — all that wa…
KALKASKA — Until a week ago, Kaylyn Moyer’s high school geometry class had 90 students.
FRANKFORT — Ellie Harold considers herself a latecomer to the world of art, but that did not stop four of her oil paintings from being selecte…
TRAVERSE CITY — A local youth training program in its third year received a major national award.
MAPLE CITY — When more than 30 inches of snow fell over the course of two days, Andria Metrakos knew she had to act fast.
TRAVERSE CITY — Matt Drost teaches science at Grand Traverse Academy in Traverse City, where he long ago found a way to connect his personal l…
TRAVERSE CITY — Maria Heiman knew being part of an exchange program would give her a chance to explore the history and geography of another country.
EMPIRE — Two years ago about 20 people became American citizens in a naturalization ceremony held at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
TRAVERSE CITY — Losing can be winning — and just in time for spring break.
TRAVERSE CITY — Christmas is a religious holiday for some, a secular one for others.
TRAVERSE CITY — Larry Lelito is one of 30 men who make up the Traverse City Honor Guard, a nonprofit run by volunteers.
NORTHPORT — What’s been called the rarest American muscle car recently saw the light of day after being hidden in Leelanau County for decades.
The streets of London were so filthy in the early and mid 19th century that those who could afford it paid others — mostly children — to walk …
TRAVERSE CITY — It took only a quick study of a North American map to inspire Bob Downes’ 4,500-mile cross-continent cycling adventure.
TRAVERSE CITY — Shaped from dance, inspired by architecture and forged in motherhood, interdisciplinary artist Jen Sperry Steinorth published …
TRAVERSE CITY — Four different notes, 24 in total.
TRAVERSE CITY — Many people can trace their ancestry back at least a few generations. David Smith can trace his even farther — to the 1860s.
Editor’s note: This is the second installment Kathy Bussell’s story. The first focused on her re-occurring battle with breast cancer; the seco…
TRAVERSE CITY — Tell 51 teenagers to work together and it’s easy to assume someone’s not going to get along.
TRAVERSE CITY — Quilting became popular in America during the 19th century. Today, northern Michigan boasts many quilting groups like Fellowsh…
TRAVERSE CITY — For author Randall Sullivan, the story of Oak Island started in 2003 as a piece for Rolling Stone magazine.
CEDAR — Herb Sudemann has been taking care of his community for 16 years. Now that community is taking care of him.
TRAVERSE CITY — Madie Begley has been in recovery for more than two years.
GRAYLING — Sandra Westover had just finished taking part in an American Cancer Society Relay For Life and felt fine.
TRAVERSE CITY — An historical timeline only adds events on the right side.
LELAND — Jim Wysor might be as familiar with the nooks and crannies of north Lake Leelanau as anyone living.
TRAVERSE CITY — One hour.
WILLIAMSBURG — Acer K wanted the win as much as his rider, Ava Stearns, did — Stearns was sure of it.
TRAVERSE CITY — Putting together the Traverse City Film Festival takes about 2,000 volunteers, but only two dozen or so are chosen to provide …
TRAVERSE CITY — Whitney Miller isn’t sure how she made the dive from a U.S. Army police officer to teaching people how to swim like a mermaid.
TRAVERSE CITY — Mary Vollink grew up going to three different church services every Sunday. But then her parents sat down with the kids, askin…
TRAVERSE CITY — A local man will honor his late mother this week when he hops on his stand-up paddleboard for a three-day voyage around Lake M…
SUTTONS BAY — There’s never been a better time to be in the up-and-coming wine industry in northwest Lower Michigan.
TRAVERSE CITY — Family. Friends. Language. Experience.
EMPIRE — The legend always left Katharine Crawford Robey a bit downhearted.
TRAVERSE CITY — Rich Powell buys a new set of shoes every 400 miles.
BENZONIA — Ned Edwards has called Beulah home for almost 30 years now. But even before moving to the area in the 1990s, Edwards, 85, summered …
TRAVERSE CITY — When Hannah Beard, 23, was a senior in high school she had to pick a career to go alongside her name in the yearbook.
TRAVERSE CITY — Elizabeth Robbins beamed with pride as her son accepted his diploma — a moment only beat moments after, when the 55-year-old, …
TRAVERSE CITY — Getting up and moving, in the end, helped Mark Wilson slow down.
BEAVER ISLAND — Spring is the perfect time for a birding festival.
TRAVERSE CITY — About 56 percent of third-graders test below proficiency in reading, according to the 2019 Kids Count in Michigan Data Book.
KALKASKA — A trio of Kalkaska boys collected nearly $3,000 in returnable bottles and cans — that’s 30,000 — and used the money to buy a dozen …
TRAVERSE CITY — Alycia Pollotta learned to shoot as a U.S. Marine.
TRAVERSE CITY — Owen Averill can’t give them beds or a roof to keep dry.
TRAVERSE CITY — The story of Maxine and Walt Pieschke started more than 75 years ago on the east side of Detroit, where they both grew up and …
TRAVERSE CITY — The Matriarch towered as George and Judy Rokos unpacked moving boxes at 8768 Cedar Run Road in 1975, and she towers today.
TRAVERSE CITY — There are a few dozen spots around Traverse City with especially beautiful indoor living plants, the work of northern Michigan…
TRAVERSE CITY — Why do so many Irish surnames begin with the letter O, why are there so many redheads in Ireland, and why are the Irish so dar…
ELK RAPIDS — Lines of parked cars faded into the blustery night and few chairs sat unclaimed inside the Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall.
TRAVERSE CITY — What if there was a complex group of soldiers who altered the history of the world? What if these men came from nothing, and w…
TRAVERSE CITY — When it comes to food and families, the best recipe includes love.
TRAVERSE CITY — If the diving board is big enough, the size of everything else is irrelevant.
LAKE ANN — Scripture and science — prayer and a microscope — became common threads in a newly-woven family quilt for a Lake Ann man.
INTERLOCHEN — The Village of Interlochen takes its name from the Scottish inter (between) and loch (lake), instead of from a guy named Benedic…
TRAVERSE CITY — Gene Oesterling’s name has been on the waitlist at the University of Michigan Transplant Center for almost a year. But the Tra…
TRAVERSE CITY — As the executive director for Grow Benzie, Josh Stoltz has been a change maker.
TRAVERSE CITY — When Tanya Anne Crosby was in the process of publishing her first romance novel, "Angel of Fire," it was sent back to her five times.
AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Amateur astrophysicist David G. Penney won't be rethinking his beliefs regarding aliens after a mysterious object in 2017 wa…
TRAVERSE CITY — Officials at the Grass River Natural Area named Phil Jarvi their 2018 volunteer of the year.
LAKE LEELANAU — Theron Coleman is one of 2 million people nationwide who are affected by aphasia, an inability to use or difficulty understand…
TRAVERSE CITY — Robert Schewe sees the world in color and shapes, immaculate details and stunning architecture.
TRAVERSE CITY — Towering trees, teams of reindeer and glittering snowflakes turn Mike Siler’s lawn into a winter wonderland.
TRAVERSE CITY — Robert Downes' passion for all things Native American began with his father's plowed-up collection of arrowheads, spear points…
TRAVERSE CITY — Rehabilitating motherless fawns could be a thing of the past for one Bingham Township couple.
MANCELONA — Milo, a shy puppy who spent the first seven months of his life in a kennel, recently spent a week in the woods surrounding Starvat…
CENTRAL LAKE — Susan Linton traveled to the National D-Day Memorial in Virginia in order to read the wartime journal her father kept during hi…
TRAVERSE CITY — There's a group of native plant lovers in the Grand Traverse area determined to plant their seeds in the community.
TRAVERSE CITY — Corissa Geer wasn’t happy.
TRAVERSE CITY — Hushed in a labyrinth of liberty-chiseled monuments, hallowed grounds to many, Ted Roehrich stood humbly among American “royal…
TRAVERSE CITY — What started as an experiment in experiential learning has grown into an annual event that has since its inception raised more…
TRAVERSE CITY — Is there intelligent life somewhere in the universe besides on Earth?
TRAVERSE CITY — Pedaling through the bumps, hills and crests comes easy to pro-cyclist Larry Warbasse.
KALKASKA — Mariah Russell wears a buzz cut and a wide grin.
CENTRAL LAKE — Incoming Central Lake sophomore Desiree Herrst had quite a summer.
NORTHPORT — Bianca Temple wipes yellow-smeared hands on her oversized painting tee. The teen’s beat-up sneakers squeak against blacktop as she…
TRAVERSE CITY — Some might say Richard Nicolen is a collector of fine art. Others might say the 66-year-old Traverse City man is a collector o…
TRAVERSE CITY — The National Cherry Festival recently released sales figures for its 2018 pins — and the winner is no surprise.
TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City’s past is a tale of adventure, romance, generosity and greed. Those who thrill to such stories recently lost a c…
LAKE ANN — Kelsey Silver was born with a wooden spoon in her mouth.
OLD MISSION — When you need a helping hand from friendly neighbors, sometimes all you have to do is open a phone app.
TRAVERSE CITY — A grand mal seizure ended David Stendel’s restaurant career, but he’s still prompt for the opening shift at Big Boy.
OMENA — There’s a place in the world for tattoo parlors and summer sports rental businesses. Kathy Bosco just doesn’t think Omena is it.
TRAVERSE CITY — It’s one thing to read transcripts of police interviews with a murder suspect. It’s another to hear the interviews in the susp…
TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse City native Jessica Pociask wiled away youthful summer days poking around the Boardman River, fishing, collecting ins…
TRAVERSE CITY — Jim Novak said he learned about men’s sheds — nonprofits that provide a community space for men — from the television program …
TRAVERSE CITY — Even at 87, Virginia Johnson still encounters a new word every once in a while.
TRAVERSE CITY — Cardiac catheter nurse Benjamin Lannin works with some of Munson Medical Center's most sophisticated equipment to keep human h…
KALKASKA — Riley Miracle, of Kalkaska, said she debated whether to call her eighth-grade community service project “fidget blankets” or “lap q…
MARILLA — Jan Thomas remembers the annual summer arrival of migrant workers to her family’s Bear Lake farm.
WILLIAMSBURG — They sit, and talk — small talk, silly talk, serious talk.
LAKE LEELANAU — Michael Goodell’s world started turning the day his gaze met Mary Northcutt’s on the campus of a small, Southern California un…
TRAVERSE CITY — Susan Kuschell said she founded the nonprofit Grand Traverse Area Children’s Garden nearly 20 years ago with kids in mind.
TRAVERSE CITY — Ninety-five years ago this week area citizens were enthralled by a tale of starvation, an escape across 19 miles of breaking i…
GLEN ARBOR — Writers aiming for a book deal have roughly three or four minutes to catch a publisher’s attention with their storytelling.
TRAVERSE CITY — Natalie Lomske likes to write.
TRAVERSE CITY — Jon Klinkel throttled back when he stepped to the black, bleeping Galaga game at the Coin Slot arcade last month.
TRAVERSE CITY — Formula: check. Rehydrating supplies: check. Sterilite bins and climbing cages: check and check.
TRAVERSE CITY — Amanda Lodge is a wanderer who likes to connect with the ground she walks on — especially if it’s at high altitude.
SUTTONS BAY — Andrea Slater is known as the cat lady of Leelanau County.
CHARLEVOIX — Katie Carmichael thought she’d have plenty of time to plan a summer wedding after a romantic Christmas proposal from her fiance, …
ELK RAPIDS — Lindsay Hayes is used to cooking on-camera and has consequently picked up a few tricks.
TRAVERSE CITY — Eric Lemmon has 10 gold medals from the Michigan Special Olympics and is hoping to add more to his collection.
TRAVERSE CITY — Jennifer Finnegan Pool was a single mom raising two kids when she started the nonprofit organization Single MOMM in 2008.
TRAVERSE CITY — “I will understand always,” Gordon Berg croons, plucking a matching harmony from the strings of his wooden acoustic guitar.
TRAVERSE CITY — They sold the motorcycle and eventually had to retire the bicycles.
BELLAIRE — Perhaps Scott Udell will go ice fishing in the next few days. Or snowmobiling.
KALKASKA — Barbara Lawrence fondly remembers the family farmhouse she left in order to finish high school and marry her sweetheart at age 16.
TRAVERSE CITY — Jedidiah Preble served as a brigadier general in the American Revolution. A minister provided towels and other supplies to Geo…
TRAVERSE CITY — Music thumped through a boom box as guest theater instructor Johamy Morales led students through ensemble movement exercises d…
TRAVERSE CITY — Warm, dry feet: If you have them, chances are you don't notice. If not, you may notice little else.
WILLIAMSBURG — Dave Hoxsie smilingly endured one question, over and over, as families approached his enclosure, realized what was inside and a…
TRAVERSE CITY — All it took was a sleepless night in 2014 for Traverse City resident Crystal Gober to come up with Socks of Love, a project in…
TRAVERSE CITY — Dan Farrier is a sucker for punishment.
TRAVERSE CITY — Doris Norton followed her parents’ footsteps when she joined the Order of the Eastern Star in 1950 in Ada, Michigan. That same…
THOMPSONVILLE — The cowboy weathered his icy surroundings by turning a rosy cheek to the relentless punches of a tussling wind on a day when 2…
TRAVERSE CITY — Big discoveries can start with fragments, shards of bone and teeth. A pile of rocks. A partial skeleton of a fossilized mouse.
TRAVERSE CITY — Dan Farrier finished filming “Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Challenge” before he even told his brother he’d be on show.
FRANKFORT — Ed Moody puts his heart into carving giant pumpkins brought home from the Frankfort Fall Festival.
TRAVERSE CITY — Peter Deneen joined the Grand Traverse Pipes and Drums in 1984, 10 years after the group formed in Traverse City. He was in ni…
TRAVERSE CITY — Traverse Area District Library’s science fiction collection can’t compare to the intrigue of the universe’s dark matter.
TRAVERSE CITY — Amara Hagy can’t imagine a world without lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and others on the endangered species list.
TRAVERSE CITY — A few quick turns of a rotating canvas, some rapid hand painting, and about six minutes is all Martina Hahn, 48, needs to crea…