UNCOMMONLY FINE WRITING

The Fascinating History of Steel Bridge Songfest

What started in 2005 as a concert fundraiser for a local historical monument, quickly turned Sturgeon Bay into the singer/songwriter capital of the state! Steel Bridge Songfest brings in roughly 30-40 musicians from across the U.S. every year. These musicians turn […]

Family Fun for Father’s Day

By Door County Coffee & Tea Co. June is here and that means Summer vacations, trips to the beach and Father’s Day! Dad’s are the best – they teach us so many things! From how to ride a bike, to […]

Recipes For Your Weekend Grilling

By Door County Coffee & Tea Co. Grilling season is the best season, and we are ready to fire up the grill! We have so many fun ways to incorporate coffee into your grilling rubs and sauces, along with some […]

Everything You Need to Know About Door County Cherries

By Door County Coffee & Tea Co. When you think of Door County, cherries often are one of the first things to pop into people’s heads. First come the cherry blossoms, one of the most beautiful times of the year. […]

Experimental Archaeology at Crossroads at Big Creek

By Coggin Heeringa, Program Director/Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek Crossroads at Big Creek, in collaboration with the Door County Historical Society, will add Experimental Archaeology to the Spring Archaeology Experience this year. On the afternoons of Friday, May 21, Monday, […]

Wink Larson: Orchard in His Blood by Gary Jones

Door County Almanak, No. 2, 1985 “Here’s the story of how Wink bought the orchard,” said Audrey Larson, as she, Wink Larson, and I sat in the spacious living room of their Sister Bay home perched on a bluff, the […]

Crossroads Activities Report for May…It’s BIG

By Coggin Heeringa, Program Director/Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek Saturday, May 8 promises to be a big day at Crossroads. In the morning, Crossroads Habitat Healers will participate in the Climate Change Coalition of Door County’s BIG PLANT. In the […]

Peninsula Players Presents: Stalwarts of the Sixties

Doug Alleman, Ralph Foody and William Munchow were talented character actors whose credits included work on film, television and stages across the nation. Bill Munchow returned for his 101st show in the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to […]

Peninsula Players Presents: 1965 – 1969

This week, Peninsula Players Presents takes a closer look at some of the highlights of the seasons between 1965 and 1969. During these years, Door County’s appreciation for the arts was symbolized on the County of Door’s newly created flag that was […]

Spring Coffee & Spring Cleaning: Tips to Make Spring Cleaning Fun

By Door County Coffee & Tea Co. Spring is in the air, and in the coffee, so it seems the time has come for Spring-Cleaning! We have compiled some of our favorite cleaning hacks, including the best way to clean […]

Northern Sky Theater Only Four Steps Removed from the Birthplace of American Playwriting

Did you know that Northern Sky Theater is only four steps removed from the birthplace of American playwriting?! Follow along as Northern Sky cofounder Doc Heide takes us through the degrees of separation: 1. In the first decade of the […]

Astronomy Happenings at Crossroads

By Coggin Heeringa, Program Director/Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek Crossroads at Big Creek invites the community, and especially families, to participate in a candlelight hike we are calling “Walk When the Moon is Full.” This luminary-lit hike will take place […]

Sister Bay, Progressive Town – June 21, 1941 Green Bay Press-Gazette

Fastest Growing Village in County is What They Call Town of Sister Bay. Residents of Community are Wide Awake and Alert to Push Any Plan Which Will Please Guests. “The fasted growing community on the peninsula,” that’s what they are […]

Wisconsin Water Week 2021

By Coggin Heeringa, Program Director/Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek This is Wisconsin Water Week 2021. Crossroads at Big Creek is one of the Wisconsin Water Week Conference sponsors because we have an institutional obsession with water. Besides, sponsorship enables Crossroads […]

2021’s Aldo Leopold Day is March 6

By Coggin Heeringa, Program Director/Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek In 2004, Gov. Jim Doyle signed legislation designating the first Saturday in March as Aldo Leopold Day in Wisconsin. At Crossroads at Big Creek, we started celebrating Aldo Leopold Day in […]

Crossroads Presents Fish Tales Lecture on the Science of Great Lakes Fisheries

By Coggin Heeringa, Program Director/Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek Crossroads at Big Creek will have another fish on the line. Or, more accurately, the second on-line lecture of the “Fish Tales Lecture Series: Presenting the Science of Great Lakes Fisheries.” […]

The Search for Perfection

By Ruth Cook, Door County Almanak, No. 2, 1985 Door County folks are a varied lot, but one common trait is an appreciation for the outdoors – an affinity for green, growing things. My enthusiasm often leads me to a […]

Valentine’s Day Fun at Home

Courtesy of Door County Coffee & Tea Co. Valentine’s Day is upon us, and after the year we have all had, this seems like the perfect time to make this loving holiday all the more special! From easy crafts to […]

February Notebook

By Norbert Blei Working in a converted chicken coop north of Ellison Bay, for 40+ years writer Norbert Blei (8/23/1935 – 4/23/2013) chronicled Door County through the lives of its inhabitants. A newly-revised edition of DOOR WAY: The People in […]

The Dreaded Glossy Buckthorn

By Coggin Heeringa, Program Director/Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek At this time most winters, Crossroads at Big Creek is cloaked with mounds of snow. This year, we still have numerous mounds, but they are not snow. They are the trunks […]

Fishing 101: What Every Ice Fisher Visiting Sturgeon Bay Must Know

By Kenneth Reaves, Courtesy of SturgeonBay.net Wisconsin is my home, and I learned to fish in the waters around here! Sturgeon Bay is well-known and has a special place in my heart. You can fish year-round, but I grew to […]

5 Fun Things to do in Door County This Winter

Article by Door County Coffee Co. With Winter upon us, we are in for a few months of colder temperatures, beautiful snowfalls, and lots of good coffee! People often think Door County does not have much to offer in winter […]

January Notebook

Ruminations on the Coming Winter Solstice

By Coggin Heeringa, Program Director/Naturalist, Crossroads at Big Creek In other years … more normal years … Crossroads at Big Creek has celebrated the Winter Solstice (December 21) with a bonfire at our Council Ring. And we will do so […]

The Long Dock

by Janet Hough McCray Door County Almanak, No. 5, 1990 As I reach the Labor Day of my life, I think back on all the summers I have spent in Door County and of the tremendous effect these golden seasons […]

Birchwood Hall – Summer, 1914

by Barbara Larsen Door County Almanak, No. 5, 1990 Evening shadows were lengthening. Although the sky was still bright blue over the bay, the dense woods surrounding the dirt road leading from Birchwood Hall into Sister Bay kept the sun’s […]

The Cove Estuary: Otters, Great Blue Herons & Opossums, Oh My!

By Coggin Heeringa, Director, Crossroads at Big Creek Last weekend at Crossroads, between Leadership Landing (our kayak launch) and the Utah Street Bridge, an otter was fishing in The Cove Estuary. This was hardly surprising. We’ve been seeing these sleek […]

Gift Guide for the Door County Lover

By Door County Coffee & Tea Co. Is there someone on your list this year that LOVES Door County? Ok, we know everyone loves Door County, but if you are shopping for a Door County fanatic, you are in luck. […]

BINKHAVEN: Despite Amazing Architecture and Design, Still Solidly Under the Radar

By Jude Genereaux Even for the many people who have lived and traveled within Door County for decades, the name “Binkhaven” may not quite register. That will likely end soon, since this once very private Ephraim estate is about to […]

Lee Radtke, Best In Show

In memoriam by Kevin O’Donnell On a gloriously warm day in May 2018, my wife Colleen, and I leisurely strolled through a one man art exhibition at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay that featured the work of […]

Sunday Drives by Martha Lambiotte

Door County Almanak, No. 5, 1990 During the years that our children were growing up, every disagreement between parents and their offspring was blamed on the “generation gap.” In our family, the most evident sign of that so-called gap was […]

Silent Sports in Door County: Propel Yourself Into Nature

By Marise Redmann It’s so quiet I can hear my heart beat. I haven’t been this alone in ages. I paddle gently so as not to disturb the peace. I slip through the bulrushes, feeling them standing rigidly, protesting my […]

White Gull Inn Celebrates its 125th Anniversary

By Jude Genereaux Loyal guests and visitors returning to Door County expect to find two things each year: the assurance that it never changes, and the joy of new discovery. Blending those expectations has been a goal well met at […]

The Names in the Orchard by Tom Davis

Door County Almanak, No. 2, 1985 The shape of the conversation remains the same. Its timing varies only slightly from year to year, beginning as an offhand remark in mid-summer, by September swelling in proportions like an apple tree loaded […]

Northern Haus Expands Wedding Options into New High-Level Territory

By Laurel Ciohon Imagine driving down a tree-covered country road, dotted with wildflowers and farmhouses, the sun peaking out from the trees. You pull up to an expansive 30-acre property in the midst of it all. The beauty of this […]

The Conversion from Manpower to Steam Power in the Fishing Industry

By Walter M. and Mary K. Hirthe, Door County Almanak, No. 3, 1986 Although the age of steam was well launched on the Great Lakes by 1818, the revolution made possible by steam power did not reach the northern islands […]

Interview with Midsummer’s Music Violinist Ann Palen

Respectfully submitted by Allyson Fleck Ann Palen has played violin with Midsummer’s Music since 2014. Growing up in Edwardsville, Illinois, Ann studied Suzuki violin. Her start to instruction was somewhat of a challenge for her mom, but not what you […]