Quiet Treasures: The Cottages of Frank Lloyd Wright

Lakestyle Magazine September/October 2007

My near obsession with all things Frank Lloyd Wright inspired my first article in a nationally distributed publication. I was fascinated by six cottages on a nearby lake designed by the iconic architect between 1897 and 1905. A lovely couple, Laurel and Clive Cooper, opened their unique cottage to me. Their wonderful interview revealed the joys and heartache of restoring a home to its former glory.

Beach Sweeps Go International

Backhome Magazine September/October 2008

I found this publication on a website matching volunteers to organizations needing their talent and time. Years later, I don’t remember how or why my connection with them happened, but it sparked an ecology story wrapped in a childhood memory.

Mount Gretna: Summer in the Slow Lane

Pennsylvania Magazine July/August 2009

This was a historical overview of an enclave of 19th-century cottages nestled in the wooded hills of south-central Pennsylvania. The article follows its journey from a railroad magnate’s vision for a recreation area to a religious encampment to a Chautauqua settlement to what is now a cozy cottage community. A Pennsylvania native, my husband never fails to express his regret that the cottage his grandfather once owned there is no longer in the family. I agree. (Note: Due to a printing error, a section of the narrative under "Making Family Memories" was inadvertently omitted from this article.)

Little Cottages

Michigan Blue Magazine Cottage edition 2015

This is one of two articles I was contracted to write for Michigan Blue Magazine. Featured was Lansing native Sue Burger, creator of one-of-a-kind decorative birdhouses constructed entirely from salvaged and recycled materials. Her story is a warm tale of vintage procurement and family ties. I was thrilled when a friend saw my article displayed at a shop selling Sue’s birdhouses.

Harbor Town Interiors

Michigan Blue Magazine Cottage edition 2015

This was my first and only experience writing an “advertorial”, a paid advertisement written as a magazine article. It was a learning experience for me with the business owner as part of the editorial team.

Queen of the Great Lakes

Michigan Blue Magazine Spring 2017

This article is near and dear to my heart. The Milwaukee Clipper, a cruise ship based in my hometown, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. From the 1940s until 1970, The Clipper plied the waters of Lake Michigan between Muskegon, Michigan and Milwaukee, Wisconsin carrying 900 passengers in style. My article followed the ship’s many reincarnations from wooden steamer in 1904 to its current life as a floating museum on Muskegon Lake.

Sixteen miles on the Clinton and Kalamazoo Canal

Chronicle (Historical Society of Michigan publication) Winter 2018

This is the first of two articles I have written for the Chronicle, a Historical Society of Michigan publication. I love writing for HSM although it is challenging. Or maybe because of the challenge. Reviewed at several points by an editorial committee, submissions must be well researched and sourced. A comment from Captain Robert Priefer, who I interviewed for the Clipper article, inspired the Sixteen Mile piece. He asked me if I knew there was once a plan to have canals running throughout the state of Michigan. That fascinated me and the research began.

Honoring Those Forgotten: Muskegon’s Shady Rest Cemetery

Chronicle (Historical Society of Michigan publication) Spring 2024

A stop at a roadside cemetery gave rise to my second article for HSM. For decades, I passed by a non-descript cemetery on a busy road in Muskegon Township. I was somewhat curious about the graveyard with its myriad small, identical headstones, but never enough to stop. Then one day, I did. What I found was formerly the Muskegon Poor Farm cemetery where burials started in 1905. What came of it was a poignant story of hundreds of lives fallen through the cracks and one man who wouldn’t let them be forgotten.

My Publication Journey