The return of the Northport Winter Carnival was a huge success this past Saturday. A large crowd was in attendance the whole time. Many thanks to the volunteers who worked so hard to make this happen. Thanks also to those who participated and to those who came to watch them and to have some fun. And a tip of the hat to Mother Nature, who came through with a perfect day – cold enough for good ice and good snow, but not too cold, not too windy, and some sunshine now and then.
The Chili Cook-off was decided by the votes of the many tasters who enjoyed. The winners were: Traditional - Northport LIFT Middle School team White - Kristi Fischer Wild Game - Kelly Fischer Veggie - Elizabeth Rutila Do you think there might be some culinary talent in the Fischer family?
Congratulations to Greg and Denise Stratton won the Milk Jug Curling contest.
After a long afternoon of exciting and competitive play, the Dobis PR Team took the trophy in the Broomball contest. Team members were Leo Baushke, Joseph Brodeur, Alex Coy, James Drummond, Steve Koch, Mike Kruk, Jeff Leone, Owen Peterson, and Scott Thurman.
I was impressed by everyone who made it to the top of Braman Hill in the Blizzard Bolt, but Grant Piering finished in first place with a strong lead.
The Cardboard Sled Races were fun to watch. The winners were:
• Preschool Most creative - Raven Connolly Furthest distance - Keilani and Ezra Baker
• Elementary Most creative - Iver and Elkka Smith Furthest - Esther Kent, Leon Kent and Rosa Green
• Middle School Most creative - Olive Craker Furthest distance - Mackenzie Scott, Madison Scott and Lilly Gmoser-Duhamel
• High School Most creative - Katie Frank Furthest - Ingrid Paciorka Congratulations to everyone, but especially to the organizers who brought back this fun tradition.
I was very sorry to learn of the death of Jim Alpers two weeks ago. Jim was not an Omena resident, but he touched the lives of so many of us in Leelanau Township – and across Leelanau County and beyond – who are involved in agriculture. Jim was the brilliant and dedicated mechanic who owned Suttons Bay Ag Support, until his son Joe took over the business a few years ago.
Many readers of this column see the long hours that our local farmers put in. Unless you are in the business, you might not be aware of the even longer hours that businesses like Jim’s put in throughout the season. It is a longer “season” for them because they support so many crops, and unbelievably long days as they try to make sure that any downtime for the farmers due to equipment problems is avoided, or at least minimized. It was not unusual for Jim to be out in someone’s orchard or field past midnight, or back in the wee hours of the morning, so that they could be up and running when their crew arrived to harvest.
He spent some early time in the agriculture field working at the former cherry factory that is now Leelanau Cellars’ plant in Omena. While working there, he became friends with Omena residents Scott Mulligan and Thad Tomlinson, and they remained friends over the years. Jim was also a wonderful, caring, and generous friend and neighbor to many. Many people also know him from the Alpers’ U-Pick raspberries that he and his wife, Shirley, ran. My sympathies go to all of his family, and to his many friends. He will be greatly missed.
Hope springs eternal as we pull out of the cold, snowy and windy weather of mid-February. The vernal equinox, aka the first day of spring, is exactly three weeks from today, and Earth Day is less two months away. Just two weeks from this Sunday, it will be time to reset our clocks to Daylight Saving Time. It won’t be long before we are asking ourselves, “Where did this summer go?!” But, in the meantime, I’m glad we have some real winter, grateful all of our Leelanau County winter festivals had winter weather, and hopeful that those businesses that count on winter weather have a good year.
Two weeks of birthdays again. Happy Birthday last week to Janet Dickerson, Sally Shapiro, Don Valmassoi, Jeffrey Dailey, Paul Harris, and Violet Rose Smart, who turned 13. Happy Birthday this week to Chris Blessing, William Krusel, Ron Tonneberger, Alison Biskupski, Molly Smith, Kay Nolen, and Larry Busby.
