What it means to be an American

July 5, 2012
What it means to be an American

By Rob Alway Editor-in-Chief For the past three weeks my cousins have been visiting from The Netherlands. Rita, the daughter of my aunt, visited the United States 16 years ago, but only for a few days – she wanted to see our grandmother before she passed away. Rita’s husband, Henk, had never been to the U.S. and quite frankly didn’t…

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Ludington’s Olympics connection

July 3, 2012
Ludington’s Olympics connection

When the 2012 Summer Olympics start at the end of July, a touch of Ludington will be seen on the NBC television coverage of the events.

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The forgotten film

July 1, 2012
The forgotten film

My digital camera broke. And of course it happened to break at the moment my husband and children were getting ready to glide across the zip line while on our Upper Peninsula getaway. Really? This was probably the highlight of our vacation for the kids! I tried my best to take pictures of them with the camera on my phone…

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Looking in the mirror

May 10, 2012
Looking in the mirror

Have you ever driven by someone stranded along the side of the road and said, “Someone should stop to help them?” Or maybe you see someone you know at the restaurant who has had too much to drink and you think, “I wonder if they are OK to drive?” My favorite is, “You should do things like this…” and the…

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Forum to be held on hydraulic fracturing

April 7, 2012

 AFFEW, Mason County’s environmental education non-profit, is hosting an informational forum on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on Thursday, April 12. Broad areas of Michigan, including Mason County, have been described as suitable for fracking and leasing agents are already active in the area. The Forum will feature speakers from Western Land Services, Michigan’s DEQ, Sierra Club and Michigan Food and Water…

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Donate Your Spring Cleaning Items to the Ludington Area Center for the Arts Donate Your Spring Cleaning Items to the Ludington Area Center for the Arts

April 6, 2012

LUDINGTON – Are you doing spring cleaning? Cleaning out your closet, your basement, your garage? The Ludington Area Center for the Arts is having its annual indoor yard sale and organizers are seeking donations of items to sell.   Donated items may include, but are not limited to, furniture, household items, small appliances, objects d’art, collectibles, games, toys, books.  …

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Some day: The old route 10-31

March 27, 2012
Some day: The old route 10-31

B-FLAT     By BRUCE MILLER mcp blogger Before the freeway came this far north,  people would drive north on what is now Pere Marquette Highway, then called US 31.  The highway went through most of the main towns and cities along the lakeshore. When it got to Ludington, it joined U.S. 10 east and west to Scottville where U.S. 10 continued on…

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Our new site is coming

March 26, 2012

Sometime in the next few days you should see our new site. MasonCountyPress.com has been in existence for the past three months and this new site will be the most major change we have made. It will allow us to expand as needed. However, there will be some bugs to work out. I have to move each archived article from…

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Tap dance, sewing and other classes offered at the center for the arts

March 26, 2012
Tap dance, sewing and other classes offered at the center for the arts

The Ludington Area Center for the Arts will offer a six-week tap dance class for adults beginning on Tuesday, April 10 at 7 p.m. Taught by Carol Chesebrough, who owned The Studio in Big Rapids, the class is open to men and women who have taken beginning tap. Chesebrough is known for her easy-going and fun teaching style. The six-week class is…

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Stare down

March 26, 2012
Stare down

John Mickevich photographed these two deer Saturday north of Scottville on Darr Road, near Mavis Road.  Mickevich used the Nikon D7000 camera with a 300mm Sigma lens for this shot.

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A heart of gratitude – the unwelcome flu bug

March 25, 2012
A heart of gratitude – the unwelcome flu bug

CONNECTING THE DOTS     By ERIN OUTCALT mcp blogger Recently my home was invaded by the nastiest of all nasty bugs, the flu bug. It always amazes me how we can be simply going about our daily routines and enjoying life when something so microscopic as one mean little flu bug can turn our world topsy turvy in a…

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Moonlighting: Good Enough

March 23, 2012
Moonlighting: Good Enough

  By JUDY COOLS mcp blogger     This world where we live isn’t simply black-and-white, right and wrong, good and bad. Yet some will try to stamp every decision we make as either Divine Perfection or Mortal Failure. Open up, people, and embrace the in-betweens! Life is a process. It’s full of shifting priorities, vanishing opportunities, and time –…

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The arts are important, no fooling!

March 23, 2012
The arts are important, no fooling!

    By ANN GENSON mcp arts blogger   Speaking of the arts…   Summer’s here! April Fool’s! Oh wait…it isn’t even April 1 yet! So, although it feels like we have already entered west Michigan’s favorite season, we are just a day or two into spring. And spring always brings back memories of the spring musicals we would produce…

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Mason County sheriff’s race: Cole responds to sheriff’s decision to change parties

March 23, 2012
Mason County sheriff’s race: Cole responds to sheriff’s decision to change parties

  Editor’s Note: Last night Mason County Press reported that Sheriff Jeff Fiers had announced he will seek re-election, switching parties from Democrat to Republican. This morning, we have received a response from Fiers’ opponent, Sheriff Sgt. Kim Cole. Because Cole’s response is in the form of an editorial letter, we thought it would be fair to run Fiers’ letter…

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Fiers will seek re-election as Mason County Sheriff, switching parties

March 22, 2012
Fiers will seek re-election as Mason County Sheriff, switching parties

  By ROB ALWAY Editor-in-Chief Mason County Sheriff Jeff Fiers has announced he is going to seek re-election this year, switching parties from Democrat to Republican. The switch in affiliation means Fiers will run against Kim Cole during the Aug. 9 primary rather than the November general election. At this time Fiers and Cole are the only two candidates for…

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Magoon Creek Natural Area, a great view and a nice walk near Manistee

March 22, 2012
Magoon Creek Natural Area, a great view and a nice walk near Manistee

  GET OFF THE COUCH — EXPLORE MICHIGAN By JOAN H. YOUNG mcp outdoors blogger Just south of Manistee is a small natural area managed by Filer Township that offers a great variety of options in a compact space. At Magoon Creek, you can picnic, hike, view Lake Michigan from a high bluff, or access the beach with a short walk.…

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Ghosts of the past, remembering the Uncle Jack’s Saloon

March 21, 2012
Ghosts of the past, remembering the Uncle Jack’s Saloon

FULL CIRCLE     By THAD RAY mcp blogger “I got a pocket full of quarters and I’m headed to the arcade…” is how the song Pac-Man Fever starts out. Other than the chorus, the first line is about the only one I can remember from the song. If you had asked me in 1982 when the song came out…

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House Scars

March 21, 2012
House Scars

THE KITCHEN SINK       By STEPHANIE WAGNER mcp blogger I have been doing some spring cleaning around my house. With the windows open and the sunlight streaming in, I am motivated to dump the drudgery of winter that has accumulated in closets, drawers, and cabinets. The brilliance of sunlight does a marvelous job of highlighting the dust-bunnies and…

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Comment Policy

March 20, 2012

MasonCountyPress.com encourages comments on posts. However, you must include your first and last name and the content must not be libel. Thank you, Rob Alway, Editor

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Brush fire in Custer

March 20, 2012
Brush fire in Custer

Firefighters Brett Mcvicker and Chelsea Orcutt prepare an ATV during a brush fire in Custer Township earlier this afternoon. Crews are still on the multi-acre scene, located between Stephens, Reek, Johnson and Hansen roads. The fire appeared to have started by a homeowner who was burning garbage, though winds were gusting up to 30 mph. It swept from an area near…

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Remembering Zack’s Restaurant

March 20, 2012
Remembering Zack’s Restaurant

B-Flat     By BRUCE MILLER mcp blogger About a half mile west of Amber Road on the north side of U.S. 10 was Zack’s Restaurant. Back in the early ’70s, the local people all called it Farrel’s.  Apparently, that was the name of the former business there.  Being a newby, I called it Zack’s.  A lot of people called it…

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Eats & Drinks

Eats & Drinks

Eats & Drinks

Eats & Drinks