Early April: Cold Showers
A planning commission meeting, a history lecture on local Indigenous roots, a Ukraine fundraiser, the BLUA minutes, and a game idea
The Village was fortunate not to get the levels of ice that left much of NoWeLoMI without power over the weekend and well into this week. It’s really not pretty, be it ever so sparkly. Credit the lake or the bluff, but Elberta got lucky; just some crunchy walking and driving.
Wednesday, April 2: Planning Commission Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Show up at the Community Building for this month’s planning commission meeting and you’ll get a special treat: a short presentation by Jim Tischler of the Michigan State Land Bank Authority. He’ll talk about the development process for the 9 acres the SLBA acquired from the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy. The Village Council, the GTRLC, and the SLBA are in the very early stages of the planning process, and we’re promised there will be as much community involvement as anyone can possibly stand. This meeting (or any planning commission or council meeting) are good ways to get involved if you’re interested, but there will be many opportunities for input and more information to come. We’ve had a couple of applicants for the vacant planning commission seat, but as far as I know there’s still time to apply. Fill out this form. A reminder that we also need a council person to fill out Brett McGregor’s term! which ends in 2028.
Thursday, April 10: Benzonia Academy Lecture, “Indians of the Midwest and the Fight for Their Homeland,” with Robert Downes
Downes will talk about his book Raw Deal at 4 p.m. at the Mills Community House. If you can’t make it in person, you can attend via Zoom with this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83616218169
The Benzie Area Historical Society has a fun request: They are looking for vintage celebrity-branded consumer items for their exhibition “Star Appeal.” Things like Shirley Temple dishware, Annette Funicello paper dolls, a Roy Rogers wristwatch, or a Donald Trump squib set.
Drop on by the museum during their open hours (Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday 11 to 4).
Saturday, April 12: Fundraiser for World Central Kitchen’s Work in Ukraine
Suz McLaughlin, culinary genius and food security maven, is one of the organizers. Suz is a veteran activist who mostly concentrates on local needs, but she does cast her vision further afield. “This is the third one we’ve done ... We just put out a call to the community makers/bakers and those who support community, and the rest follows. World Central Kitchen is my jam! Feeding humanity, feeding hope everywhere people are facing great distress! I love their model of utilizing as many resources that are in the area to cook regional dishes just like home! The founder, Chef Jose Andres, always says we’re ‘building longer tables, together.’ That’s a beautiful world vision for me.” No doubt there will be incredible edibles for sale, and some nonfood craft items that might be suitable for an Easter basket on 4/20 if you’re into that sort of thing.
Thursday, April 17: BLUA Regular Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
Do you know the way to the water treatment plant? You’ve driven by it with your windows rolled up and your vents closed, but have you ever seen the office door? I hadn’t until last week. I was looking for the minutes for the March 11 special meeting. Chad Marshall, the superintendent at the Betsie Lake Utilities Authority, who wrote the minutes, handed them to me on Monday. Here they are:
Icebreaking Game
The New York Times newsletter linked to another newsletter, The Art of Noticing, with a list of great icebreaker questions compiled by Rob Walker. “What’s the first thing you bought with your own money?” “What were you doing at age 23?” “What are the most common things people say when you tell them your hometown?” This is the kind of conversation that can really get your humors churning.
If you know someone who’s stuck in Gaylord without power right now, and maybe they have a landline or still some juice in their phone, help them out with some analog entertainment. At Winter Fridays, and many other times, I’ve played a game called Alex’s Game that involves questions like these. One person (the Questioner) asks a personal question (“What was your first car?”), and everyone writes down their answer on a slip of paper. The answers go into a hat, and the person to the left of the Questioner pulls out an answer and attempts to guess who wrote it. If the Guesser is correct, the person who wrote that answer is “out” and the Guesser guesses again until they get one wrong and the hat moves to the left. The object is to be the last answerer standing (or sitting). The prize is you get to ask the next question (and you learn amazing things about friends new and old). It’s quite telling! Anyway, I’m always looking for questions that work well with this game, and now I have a whole slew of them. So look out!
Stay warm and powered up on your favorite energy source.
Thank-you elberta Alert for keeping us Civically Alert. See you at the fundraiser on 12 April.