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Door County 2011 Year in Review
By Steve Allen - Sponsored by Lakeshore Motorsports LLC
Dec 21, 2011 - 9:00:00 AM
As the year draws to a close and this magazine celebrates its first anniversary of publication, we thought it fitting to recap the year by revisiting our top lead stories. We've selected one article from each month of 2011. By doing so, you'll discover a cross-section of Door County life ... all aspects of it! To read the complete article, click on the title. Enjoy!
With
little hoopla but with a handful of enthusiastic fans, Steely became a
working vehicular and pedestrian bridge again for the first time in many many long months. Christie Weber, of
the local advocacy group Citizens for our Bridge, moved the first
"Bridge Out" barricade aside as a city plow and salt truck cleared light
snow from the anxiously awaiting structure. "This just shows what great
things can happen when a community works together", said Christy, known
as Sturgeon Bay's "Bridge Lady".
According to the 2010 Wisconsin REALTORS® Association’s year end report, the Door County real
estate market appears to be making a slow and steady turn around. The median price of a
Door County home in 2010 was $189,000 up from $163,000 in 2009.Kewaunee also showed some improvement
in this area with the average home value experiencing a 15.8% increase to
$117,500.Another measurable,
the number of homes sold during 2010, showed Door County with a 5.1% increase
to 432 homes sold and Kewaunee experiencing a slight drop from 150 homes sold
in 2009 to 147 homes sold in 2010.
Door
County has a new camel. Junior has arrived. With little fanfare, the
bright-eyed and bushy-humped dromedary shared the long road trip with
his half-sister (in the coziness of a U-Haul trailer) from his
birthplace at a private zoo in New York. Bidding farewell to his sister
in Wisconsin Rapids, the weary three-week old set his four large feet in
his new home at the farm of Ken and Lisa Jeansonne near Carlsville.
Yes, Junior is the successor to dear Harley (b. 2006 - d. 2010), the
camel that became a Door County icon in the four short years he was with
us. Junior has big footsteps to fill.
A new Rotary Club is in the process of being organized in Door
County. It will be called Northern Door Rotary Club and will draw its
membership primarily from individuals working or residing in
that area, although members can hail from anywhere, as long as they find
it convenient to attend meetings on a regular basis. The meeting place
is the Cornerstone Pub in Baileys Harbor, and the weekly breakfast
meeting takes place every Wednesday from 7:30 - 8:45 am. The agenda will
almost always include a breakfast buffet priced at $10, a short Rotary
business meeting, and a guest speaker.
For
over twenty years I have been a tourist to Door County. This June my
family and I will become permanent year around residents in Sister Bay.
Currently, I consider myself a resident/tourist. I hope that my
knowledge as a resident, paired with my vacationer’s appreciation and
perspective, will give readers a real feel for local events and places,
as well as practical information to make their experience in Door County
the best it can be. This is the first in a series of articles that I
plan to submit for travelers to Sister Bay, or those who would like to
visit vicariously.
During
the second week of June, Sturgeon Bay may well have been the top place
on the planet for the creation of new songs that will likely find their
way into the archives of myriad genres of music. After all, where else
in the world would hundreds of songwriting musicians have come together
as an extended family to collaborate on what they do best? Whether it's
rock, blues, folk, hip-hop, country, southern, punk, pop or hybrids of
these styles, the week-long musician-residents of the city that our
beloved Steel Bridge calls home love their work.
Artist
Tim Kornowski of Sturgeon Bay got an early start with his craft. He
began at age 5 or 6 with crayons and pencil. By age 7, he was a
producing painter. A Green Bay native, Kornowski wasted no time in
jump-starting his art career. During his pre-teen years he charged other
kids $2.50 to do a pencil drawing of a sports figure based on a trading
card. Business was brisk. By
the age of 12, Tim was enrolled at the Gordon School of Art and studied
with John Gordon. He worked mostly in oils, learning by imitation.
Projects included copying works of the Old Masters, such as Velazquez,
Rembrandt, and Michelangelo.
"This
place is amazing! I wish we had a place like this back home!" was a
recent comment by a shopper, overhead by the smiling proprietor of
Sturgeon Bay's new used and rare bookstore. Only open a few months now,
"Untitled" Used & Rare Books, Maps and Ephemera is in the heart of
downtown Sturgeon Bay at 30 N. 3rd Avenue. Don't look for a sign, just
look for an old-time phone booth in the window loaded with books of all
colors, sizes, and shapes. Enter
into the fascinating world of literature and share the passion for
books that made owner Steven Link a collector since he was a kid.
"Searching
for Surprise", Siles' latest book, is a whimsical, delightful, happy,
emotional, and fanciful fantasy that takes place on the Peninsula. One
of the two main characters is an artist and is probably the author
herself. As an accomplished plein air painter, Siles has spent scads of
time out in the field all over Door County, soaking in the beauty it
offers and translating the sights and sounds and feelings she encounters
onto the blank canvas. These themes are integral to the story she
weaves, which center around a painter and her most unusual experiences
one spring and summer. Departing from the traditional whiteboard approach, Siles the artist
starts with a black canvas, and it comes alive with color and whimsy in a
sort of soft impressionistic style with more than a hint of Van Gogh. A
careful observer may detect a bit of black showing though from the
background in tiny places, perhaps creating a bit of mystery or
surprise. Soft colors that blend together well further create a sense of
warmth, energy, and inner peace. No wonder the subtitle of the book is
"The Secret Energy of Door County".
Sturgeon
Bay, Wisconsin's 4th grade classes from all of that city's schools
returned to the Peninsular Agricultural Research Station on October 4th
to harvest the crops they planted last spring. This field trip project
for the kids is sponsored each year by Door County Master Gardeners, a
volunteer organization of folks who know a lot about plants! It was a gorgeous autumn day when 107 young growers went to work just
like any farmer or home hobbyist would. There were parsnips and onions
to pull out, carrots and potatoes to dig out, corn to be ground, beans
to be shucked, and myriad other tasks.
Door
County enters its quiet period by November, but that means there's some
very happy and satisfying times just waiting for you during your
upcoming get-a-way weekend on the Peninsula. Just think, no traffic, no
waiting anywhere, relaxed local folks to chat with, and most of all,
quiet and relaxing ambiance. But you need to make a plan so that you don't waste your valuable time
driving to places that are already closed for the winter. What I'll
describe below is a little adventure to establishments that are indeed
open for business in the month of December.
Quiet.
That's what you'll find here on the Door Peninsula during the winter
months ... the "off-season". Unlike the busy summer and fall months, you
won't find crowds or waiting lines at the eateries. In fact, after the
sun sets, you will probably notice that the sidewalks are rolled up and vehicles disappear from village streets and even highways. It's charming. You're up for a getaway, with no kids or mother-in-laws. It's just you
and quite possibly your significant other. Where to stay? Where to eat?
What to do that is fun and might result in a special purchase by which
to remember the time you had here?
Happy Holidays!
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article
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If you are looking for interesting places to visit and things to do, you're in the right place. This online magazine features articles that help you get the most out of your vacation in Wisconsin's magical Door Peninsula. Get useful visitor information and be sure to check out our Kids Edition to find places that children like to go. The opinions and recommendations herein are solely those of our contributing writers. Event information subject to change without notice.
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