Old Man Winter suffered a New Year's Eve hangover, and a thaw in early January prompted us to ask that question. But by mid-January the ground was white again (certainly to the delight of little ones skiing at The Homestead resort north of Glen Arbor). Last year featured a brown and green holiday season, a frigid February, and golfing weather by late March. What the heck's going on?

The Glen Arbor Sun will hibernate until Memorial Day weekend, and then we'll give you a postmordem analysis of the winter of '08. Until then, stay warm!

For many, films are an important way to survive the long, cold winter. Northern Michigan is now considered a movie mecca, as folks from all over the world migrate here in the summer to attend the Traverse City Film Festival. In case you haven’t heard, Michael Moore and the TC Film Festival recently purchased and remodeled the historic State Theatre in downtown Traverse City, where they are showing great movies, both new and old, 12 months a year. Don’t forget about the Bay Theatre in nearby Suttons Bay, which airs a “Beyond the Bay” film series once a year, and your local video store (T-N-T Video in Glen Arbor) and the Glen Lake Library in Empire, both of which rent quality flicks. For many, watching movies at home, with popcorn as buttery or salty as you like it, is still the way to go.

Much has been written in the last two months about the astounding six-week, $850,000 renovation and grand reopening of the 540-seat State Theatre in downtown Traverse City.

Benzie County journalist Keith Schneider wrote a piece for the New York Times in December regarding the restoration of historic movie houses and performing arts theaters across the country — and included the 90-year-old State as an example.

The same month, the Detroit News reported the reactions of local business types to the reopening of the State Theatre and to new Traverse City businesses that cater to “upscale tastes,” (think the Village at Grand Traverse Commons, the renovated Opera House, Red Ginger restaurant and Café Habana).

Our Gonzo reporter Paul Berg was able to interview Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer in Lansing Tuesday, as the votes were being counted. Their dialogue follows as a web exclusive for www.glenarborsun.com:

Just because the fudgies have taken the tourism season south for the winter — or maybe because of it — doesn’t mean those of you sticking around for gritty January-April can’t enjoy good food at the area’s local dining establishments.

Tim Barr reports that you’ll wait no more than 15-20 minutes, if that, for a table on two-for-one burger night at Art’s Tavern on Mondays from 5-9 p.m. As Tim says, “It’s an intimate gathering. This is how everyone gets to know each other during the winter.”

It isn’t well known that Glen Lake Community Schools, nestled in the hills east of the Glen Lakes, made the list of the top 1,000 schools in the country. Even the secondary principal, Kevin Kelly says, “I didn’t even know about it until I was driving to work one day and I heard it on the radio.” Students, as well, were surprised to hear from their teachers that their collective efforts had been recognized. They hadn’t recalled being inspected or entering a contest. That’s because the schools were ranked by U.S. News & World Report, using freely available information about schools nationwide. Even more surprising is that nearby Frankfort and Leland both made it onto the list of top schools as well, which, Kelly calls, “amazing.”

Cape Coast Castle, a haunting old slavery fort on the Atlantic shores of Ghana, was converted into a museum in the 1990s with help from the Smithsonian Institution and is now a tourist destination for, notably, African Americans to make their ancestral journey homeward and, quite possibly, back to the musty dungeons where their forefathers were held in shackles awaiting the Atlantic Passage.

Rarely seen interior images of 50 cozy summer cottages and narratives provide a portrait of a special place and state of mind evoked by summer cottage living on beautiful Glen Lake. These cottages are viewed against the backdrop of early summer resort life in northern Michigan the first half of the twentieth century. Dietrich Floeter’s duotone photographs and author Barbara Siepker’s captivating historical narratives include personal anecdotes on each cottage. The cottage is shown in its glory and reveals its importance in the lives of its owners and the broader community. In total they document the essence of these wonderful old cottages as well as life and time of bygone years.

By Anne-Marie Oomen
Sun contributor

With more than a little guilt, I admit I love to shop. Since my mother introduced me to shopping discount at Robert Hall’s in Muskegon back in the sixties, I have enjoyed it. We are hunter-gatherers, right? That impulse is in all of us. I’m doing the gathering, right, and some hunting, albeit for adornment, but who’s quibbling. Besides this ancient impulse, contemporary research indicates we all enjoy some manner of creative expression. Non-artists find creative expression in four major ways: gardening, home decorating, food and, you guessed it, fashion and personal adornment. By extension then, isn’t shopping a part of creative expression? Well, it is a “making” of sorts. Putting together the right outfit for the right occasion is like writing a good poem. Yes, I am part of the great American epic of shopping.

Paula McIntyre of Cedar was tired of hearing bad news about Michigan’s economy. She said most of the stories dominating the news have been reports from the southern regions of the state, where automakers and industry-related manufacturers are struggling or closing their doors. The barrage of gloomy stories especially annoyed her after she read a Michigan Land Use Institute (MLUI) “blog” by Andy Guy (“Great Lakes Guy”) that cited a University of Michigan study showing that positive things were happening in the state but not being reported.

The ghouls, goblins and cross dressers were out on the town in Glen Arbor during the Sunday prior to Halloween. Sue Nichols (left) took a tumble in the leaves, and Tim Barr (right, in the flowery dress) and Bonnie Nescott directed traffic outside of Art's ... Tim's makeover slowed traffic to a crawl.

Photos by Joanne Rettke

Photo by Joanne Rettke

A couple planning to wed these days has a huge and bewildering variety of decisions to make, from the color of the bridesmaids’ gowns to the reception location to the wording of their marriage vows. Last but not least in the wedding sequence comes the honeymoon: to the modern mind’s eye a flawlessly beautiful and luxurious idyll, attended by waiters, concierges and the ubiquitous credit card.

In 1942, life offered very different choices for a young couple in love, about to embark on their great journey of discovery, as November swept to a wintry close against the darkness of World War Two. Their honeymoon — rustic, hand-to-mouth, and nearly buried in the snowdrifts of an isolated cabin — set the tone for a long and fruitful marriage that continues today between two energetic, creative individuals.

Chicago — the city of skyscrapers, wind chill, good hotdogs, bad baseball … and heat stroke. That’s right, the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 7 was stopped in the middle of the race this year as temperatures reached the mid-90s and volunteers on the sidelines ran out of water. A police officer from Midland, Mich. even collapsed and died during the debacle.

Local Ranae Ihme of Leelanau Vacation Rentals trained for and ran the Windy City marathon and was absolutely crushed when she was forced by the police to stop after running 20 miles.

“I remember looking at a billboard reading 94 degrees, wondering if the next water station was going to have water, and wanting more than anything the gratification of crossing the finish line.

In the sixties, if you dined at The Foothills Restaurant near Glen Lake, a baked chicken dinner with relishes, a loaf of bread, salad, potato, vegetable and beverage could set your pocketbook back $3.50.

Fast-forward to 2007. A lunch of chicken tenders can still be had for $3.75, but a half-century of inflation has had a predictable impact on other menu prices. However, later in November, Foothills’ owner Don Sielaff will turn the clock back to a time when coffee was cheap and conversation flowed slower than the Crystal River in August.