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Jan 16, 2025 | 
enjoyer.com | Devinn Dakohta
Byron Center — Just south of Grand Rapids, brothers Ken and Bob Fein, along with their friend Buzz Bailey, were all outside playing in the snow in 1945. It was late in the afternoon when a massive blob floated over their heads. They tried to make out what it was. A gull? Not quite. A kite? Too big. Mostly deflated and rapidly descending, the boys watched in excitement as it landed in a neighbor’s field. They wouldn’t learn the relevance of this blob until much later. The fact is, on Feb.
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Dec 11, 2024 | 
enjoyer.com | Devinn Dakohta
A wood-burning sauna is one of life’s simplest pleasures. The crackling wood, the relief from sweating out one’s own toxicity, the primordial power of fire. A quick and easy way to feel new. But last year, one squeaky-wheel neighbor got them banned in East Grand Rapids. David Stoffer, Michigan’s own master builder of saunas, comes from a family of designers and contractors.
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Nov 29, 2024 | 
enjoyer.com | Devinn Dakohta
Over a century ago, men erected a single Christmas tree and strung it with lights on the docks of northern Michigan. Not in a humble home or town square, but on a festive sailing ship, a three-masted schooner whose central mast was adorned with a single Christmas tree as the main flag. She was known as the “Christmas Tree Ship,” led by a jolly captain, named Herman Schuenemann, who loved delivering trees to folks every winter.
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Nov 11, 2024 | 
enjoyer.com | Devinn Dakohta
This fall, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources ordered the decimation of one of Michigan’s most unique off-roading trails, without much warning. Using heavy machinery, most of the beautiful limestone steps at Marblehead were flattened. No longer the crown jewel of the island, the steps are now a tiny fraction of what they used to be.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
enjoyer.com | Devinn Dakohta
Many people have heard of the Pacific Crest Trail or the Appalachian Trail, but very few know of the grand adventure that is the Great Loop. But one semi-retired couple from the Upper Peninsula is about to know it intimately. This fall marks the start of the nautical expedition for a pair of loopers, Capt. Brian Helminen and his wife Margaret are embarking on their first full loop together.
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Oct 28, 2024 | 
enjoyer.com | Devinn Dakohta
Muskegon — The S.S. Milwaukee Clipper rests permanently in Muskegon Lake. The ship’s sedate present hides an extraordinary past—and perhaps even a few ghosts. That was the premise, anyway, for a special run of nighttime “haunted tours” on the venerable old ship this October.
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Oct 18, 2024 | 
enjoyer.com | Buddy Moorehouse |Devinn Dakohta |Tom Gantert |Thomas McKenna
A football game played at the University of Michigan 90 years ago continues to make waves. Michigan defeated Georgia Tech on Oct. 20, 1934, in front of a small crowd in cold, wet, miserable conditions. The final score was 9-2, and the game was noteworthy not because of the dozens of men who played, but because of the one man who didn’t. Willis Ward was Michigan’s best player, a senior end from Detroit, who was tall and fast. He was also black, and in Georgia Tech’s mind, that was a problem.
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Oct 11, 2024 | 
enjoyer.com | Faye Root |Devinn Dakohta |O.W. Root
In the hazy heat of August, when you’re sweating teeth to toenails, it’s hard to believe a crisp breeze is just around the corner. Then suddenly, apples. Starting in earnest in September, and fixed neatly between sunflowers and pumpkins, apples descend upon Meijer entrances, country fruit stands, and countertop fruit bowls like manna from heaven. But in our pantheon of edible fruit, its boring white flesh pales against that of a bright juicy nectarine or a luscious strawberry.
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Oct 3, 2024 | 
enjoyer.com | Bobby Mars |Faye Root |Devinn Dakohta
Michigan is a huge pinball state, didn’t you know? The Mitten is graced with tons of pinball gems, for casual pinballers and major enthusiasts alike. Here’s the official, non-exhaustive, unranked, Michigan Enjoyer Pinball list:The Pyramid Scheme, Grand RapidsA mainstay of the GR scene, this is a music venue and alternative-styled pinball bar. Usually a good selection on tap, and while they don’t have a ton of games, the slate they have out is pretty stellar.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
enjoyer.com | Devinn Dakohta |Tom Gantert |Thomas McKenna |Buddy Moorehouse
Marquette, Summer 1988. A picturesque scene by all accounts, and one that was about to get pretty sweet. Moose Tracks first hit the market for local Yoopers and soon would be sold and enjoyed in all 50 states. So how did the obscure small-town treat turn into a nationwide craze? It all started Up North at Jilbert’s Dairy, with John Jilbert himself. Jilbert’s, started by John and his family in 1937, is to this day both a local dairy and an ice cream shop.
