UNCOMMONLY FINE WRITING

10 Things To Do–To Undo–While in Door County

By Marise Redman We’ve all heard this…how technology is evolving to solve human problems, make life easier and create more time. But is your life easier and do you have more time? What about the culture of technology and its […]

2019 Winter Solstice Arriving December 21

By Coggin Herringa Winter Solstice occurs at the exact same instant everywhere on planet earth. At Crossroads at Big Creek (and the rest of our Central time zone), that instant in 2019 will be 10:19 pm, on Saturday, December 21. […]

A Door County Commercial Fisherman’s Perspective

by Trygvie Jensen According to Gills Rock commercial fisherman Jeff Weborg, “One of the biggest misconceptions of a commercial fisherman is that he’s rich simply because when you get a good lift everyone seems to know about it, and therefore […]

A Door County Portfolio

The Peninsula we know today began with a March 1969 National Geographic article. By Larry Majewski When Ted Rozumalski photographed something in the 1960s, it was usually a significant occasion. Rozumalski and his Leica camera were in the motorcade during […]

A Fifty-Year Reminiscense

A Fifty-Year Reminiscense By Hjalmar R. Holand (Abridged version of an essay written by author H. R. Holand in 1948…remembering Door County as it was in 1898.) It is fifty years this summer since I first saw the Door Peninsula. […]

A Weekend Trip to Washington Island

By Laurel Ciohon Having grown up on Door County’s ‘mainland,’ Washington Island was always a mysterious place to me. I traveled there once or twice throughout my life, but never for more than a few hours. As some city dwellers […]

Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant & Butik Embodying The Spirit of Door County

By Larry Majewski In 1973 Al Johnson sodded the roof of his restaurant and added goats to graze upon it. At some point between then and today Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant & Butik became synonymous with Door County. This Norwegian-style […]

Artist Highlight: Richard Morgan, Early American Bird Decoys

Richard A. Morgan was born in Connecticut and spent a good part of his growing up years in the southwest. He returned to New England to attend The University of Hartford Art School, majoring in wood sculpture. His decoys have been […]

As American As Belgian Pie

By Larry Majewski What do they call a Belgian pie in Belgium? They just call it ‘pie.’ That’s an old joke to accompany an old pie recipe from the old country. The old country is of course Belgium, which generated […]

Attracting Birds to Your Door County Property

By Coggin Heeringa, Director, Crossroads at Big Creek Attracting birds is near and dear to Crossroads at Big Creek. One reason is that we have been working on a Bird and Butterfly Garden around our Collins Learning Center for the […]

Creating a National Park in Door County

By Bob Bultman Famously, the Door Peninsula is part of the Niagara Escarpment, the ‘Great Arc’ of ancient dolostone cliffs that sweeps hundreds of miles from eastern Wisconsin north into the Upper Peninsula, and then arches east into the province […]

Crossroads Provides Calming “Refuge of Sanity” During Coronavirus Crisis

By Coggin Heeringa, Director, Crossroads at Big Creek For quite a long time, the Door County community has used Crossroads at Big Creek as a “refuge of sanity.” For now, though our buildings and restrooms are closed, we welcome people […]

DIY…Door County-Style

By Laurel Ciohon Even on vacation, some people have to stay practically busy with a project, and that’s where DIY (do-it-yourself) art studios come in. Two new studios have recently opened in Ephraim – but they’re as different as night […]

Door County Dreamin’ – Life at the Cottage

Our family reunites annually at the family cottage on Lily Bay, close to Sturgeon Bay. We enjoy seeing the ‘cottage’ almost as much as seeing our family. Built in the 1920s, it has been in my father’s family for over […]

Door County Is Introduced to The Griffon String Quartet

New Music Group Launched Through Efforts of Midsummer’s Music, Fine Arts Institute and St. Norbert College By Laurel Ciohon In a lively press conference followed by a reception at Door County Maritime Museum on January 16, 2019, the Door County […]

Door County’s Moveable Feast

By Larry Majewski Imagine it’s 1949. You’re staying at one of Door County’s premier properties, the Alpine Resort in Egg Harbor. Your day oscillates between the golf course, the beach and a wicker chair flipping through Life Magazine. It would take an […]

Enjoy Every Moment This Holiday Season

By Door County Coffee & Tea Co. It is so special to see your children (and maybe your grandchildren) with their wide eyes and smiles as they wake on Christmas morning to eagerly find that Santa Claus has arrived. In […]

Featured Artist Clarey Wamhoff: Paintings Evoking Home

Sense of place has always been an integral part of Clarey Wamhoff’s life. From childhood drawings of cozy houses to her recreation of traditional quilt patterns, she has explored the combination of patterns and colors that evoke home. She would describe her […]

Featured Artist Heather Allard: Ancient Technique, Modern Art

Heather Allard is a self taught artist in the meditative art form of paper quilling. Most of her training coming while recovering from an unexpected illness. Encouraged by friends and family, she continues to grow and learn about quilling and pushes herself to new […]

Featured Artist Sarka Evans: Contemporary Mosaics

The first half of her life, Sarka Evan’s lived in Prague, Czech Republic, a city full of art and history. Visiting galleries and theaters was part of normal life. When she found herself on the other side of the world due to […]

February Notebook

By Norbert Blei THE SAMENESS OF THE MONTH AND THE SEASON…bitter cold, ice and the unyielding snow. December, January, February are one. The calendar holds no promise. The days of the month are blank. Nameless, numberless, neither black nor red. […]

Fishstock Music Series Hosts an Incredible 2019 Line-Up

By Laurel Ciohon If you’re not familiar with Fishstock Concert Music Series, you’re missing out! Concerts at Fishstock are held in a 100-year-old Door County barn which seats 300 in the ground-level area and 150 in the hayloft acoustic area. […]

Get Out in the Cold – And Get Warm!

By Coggin Heeringa It’s January and it’s cold outside. We have our regular dog walkers each day at Crossroads, but there is a significant drop in hikers this time of year. When the trails are icy or the wind chill is severe, […]

Glowacki’s Art Represents U.S at Embassy in Czech Republic

Connie Glowacki’s art represents the unique spirit of Door County, she says. Featuring people of varied ages and backgrounds, the figures are united, even briefly, in specific landscapes and also in their enjoyment of the beautiful surrounding natural scenes and […]

Goose and Guns

(From the just-published book “Stories From Yesteryear” by Elaine Johnson. Available at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant & Butik in Sister Bay.) Author Elaine Johnson, 90 years old, founded Northern Lights Fish & Caviar with cousin Gretna Johns (d: 2014) in […]

Handverks Music: Celebrating the Beauty of Celtic Harps

Playing the harp is an amazing gift that you can give to yourself and to others. And as the adage goes, it’s a gift that keeps on giving. The harp appeals to people of all ages and all walks of life. Uniquely among musical […]

Heritage and History: Enriching the Door Peninsula Experience

Cemetery and village walks. Chapel tours. Family history presentations. School reunions. Historic barn events. The creation of a traveling ‘Historymobile’ – it’s just a sampling of recent initiatives by local historic entities. While each historic group stands alone, they benefit […]