Beaver Island Michigan

Bill -- What I said in the previous post was "There has been a lot of (valid) complaint that the pro-consolidation group has not adequately supported their position with facts. I need to also point out that the anti-consolidation crowd has also not given any real facts as to how multiple townsh...

Bill -- I think you missed that what I said is that BOTH sides need to make their best case, because this IS going to a vote. Whether or not this got onto the ballot in the best way or at the best time is water under the bridge now. Learn from it, and do the best with what we have. In no way do I th...

John -- The anti-consolidation group should bring facts forward, because, like it or not, this thing is going to a vote. A lot of people voted for Hillary because they hated Trump. A lot of people voted for Trump because they hated Hillary. Wouldn't it be a novel idea to vote for something because w...

The entire concept of a township, by definition, is the area that receives its services from a town. Like a baileywick, which is the area served by a court or magistrate. It was a way of providing local governance in a time when travel was limited to about 7 miles a day each way. Beaver Island, at o...

Hi, Tania -- I do not live on the island, but do own a home there, and visit whenever possible. It is beautiful, quiet and serene. But, the thing that most stands out are the people. Truly. There is a great sense of community. Even as a relative stranger on the island, each morning I would be invite...

As a 20-year employee of local government, I have seen township mergers before. In our county here, about 10 years ago, we consolidated 13 township governance boards all at once. The townships still exist, but have no independent governance - all of it is handled at the county assessor's office. At ...

I personally love the idea of a ferry that runs from Charlevoix/Ironton, stops at Beaver Island, and then continues on to Manistique. That puts us on a highway, not on a cul-de-sac. It also opens up Wisconsin, Minnesota and western Ontario to us. My sister lives in western Ontario, and has wanted to...

"Beaver Island - the other Hawaii"

I'm not sure why this was deleted, but I proposed a few similar ideas a couple of years ago, and was met with only negative responses. I was basically told I don't have a clue. Maybe not, but I am no more clueless than the average visitor to the island, and even in my cluelessness, I have some idea ...

I write this to the Burtons, and to Carol, who has expressed that she is just tired of the fight. My wife and I own a small place on the island, but are not there a great deal. Therefore, I have not been to the Music Festival, but it is on my bucket list. The Festival has, in my opinion, been a grea...

The first time we visited the island, we stayed for a week. During that time, we were invited to an ice cream social at Daddy Franks, we were invited into two homes for dinner, a third home for dessert, and onto a porch for lemonade on a hot afternoon. All this, as strangers on the island for a week...

Hi, Frank --

I was just on the island for 9 days, and was hoping during that time to pick up a couple of your prints, but never found the BI Gallery open. Bad timing, I guess. Do you have an online option, or should I just wait until I am up in the spring?

Paul

Sadly, this year I visited the island before Daddy Franks opened for the season, and I will be returning after you close. So, a whole year without my Daddy Franks fix! My loss. Thank you for being, and remaining, such a fixture on the island! Have a restful off-season!

The latest edition of Country Lines magazine, published by Great Lakes Energy, has a really nice article about the Baroque on Beaver music festival, and about the personality of the island in general. It is just inside the back cover - the second-best spot in the magazine! If you don't get the magaz...

This was a whole ton of fun! Thanks for putting it together!