Business
“Friendlinyss”
The day was grey, the water an ice-covered, bleak white stretching to the horizon. Yet, I sat in my studio and gazed deep into the recesses of the emptiness to find spring, to find color. I squinted until fatigue set …
The Clothes Post: The Spool Has Run Out
The year was 1962 when Karl Buettner and Burt Chickering opened a men’s haberdashery at 326 East Mitchell Street in Downtown Petoskey. They called it “The Clothes Post.” A block over next to the Hollywood Theater at “Renick’s Gifts,” a …
Continued Hope
As I gaze out my studio window in Downtown Petoskey, I revel in the hope I feel on the horizon.” I wrote these exact words last year in January of 2021 after a year of COVID, never expecting to have …
A Walk Around the Corner
The sun was high in the sky, and the temperature hovered in the high sixties, which in Up-North terms equates to a beautiful day in September. During these uncertain times of COVID, I took a walk around the corner of …
A Ruff Life in Petoskey
As your-man-on-the-street the last several years, I’ve noticed the influx of canines cavorting around our town. Much like their human counterparts, curiosity abounds, and barks erupt, but for the most part, well behaved pets seem to be commonplace. Thus, the …
Notes from a Small Lakeside Town in July
Winding my way to the doorway of my downtown studio, I weave through and dodge the throngs on the sidewalk. July has arrived and so have the guests. Everything we’ve been contemplating regarding an onslaught has materialized. There are people …
Sitting at Sam’s
With a few wisps of white above melting into the azure, I sit and watch our Downtown on a casual Friday. Not quite 11:00 a.m. and the parking spaces are full, UPS trucks compete with Fed Ex vans, and people …
Walking on a Wednesday
Your man-on-the-street again, walking on a Wednesday in Downtown Petoskey. It’s a glorious sunny day, maybe in the forties with a breeze loitering from the Northwest. I was stunned to see Lake Street packed with people. It’s a Wednesday for …
A Persistent Fog
Just as spring was blooming among us, the fog rolled in. The COVID vaccines were working, and the mitigation of a gradual increase in business openings was working, then the fog rolled in. As I sit in my downtown studio, …
A Winter Weekend
After a few months of mostly ice and little snow, the drifts are finally piling up – by the foot! For three solid days, snow arrived with an accompanying blizzard, and with it, there seemed to be a collective sigh …
Hope
As I gaze out my studio window in Downtown Petoskey, I revel in the hope I feel on the horizon. Except for the occasional broken sunshine during the past few days, the hours have been marked by haze, clouds, and …
Sold Out!
As we progress toward COVID vaccinations, there seems to be tantalizing lights near the end of the long tunnel we have been parading through. Downtown Petoskey continues its resilient path, carrying the torch. Tillie’s Tafel at 437 Mitchell Street opened, …