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Fall — a time for new beginnings
Those who have read my columns over the years know September is a special month for me. It is, for practical purposes, the start of the new year, i.e., the end of summer and the beginning of the school year. It is also special to me in that we were married (49 years ago!) in September. I also started my first “career” in September at the Cross Company in Fraser. It is where I met my first (and only!) wife, Terry.
This September also marks a big change for Terry and me. We recently sold our house in the Woods and are planning to become snowbirds, living in The Villages, Fla., in the cold months and back here in Michigan in the summer.
We’ve dreamed of this move since we were in our 50s when we visited The Villages after seeing Nancy Lopez advertise her golf course there during a golf match on television. We immediately fell in love with The Villages. The time has finally arrived.
True, we have yet to actually own a home in The Villages. (We’ve been renters these past many years.) We hope to rectify that in November when we go down to Disney for a destination wedding. In the meantime, we will be staying at my brother Paul’s place in Lakeport (Burtchville Township), where he and his wife, Joyce, have a lovely walkout apartment with an office, two bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths and deer and turkeys for company.
We will miss the Pointes, of course. There is no better a place to live and work. While Terry and I will be doing our bit for the magazine remotely, our editor, Lauren, will still be here on the ground in the Woods with her husband, Corey, and perfect Monteith kids, Graham and Maggie. The magazine is in good hands!
We encourage all our loyal readers to enjoy the warm, beautiful days of September and the coming crisp fall air and colors of October — and Halloween. That’s scary!
As you make your rounds this fall, remember to patronize the great advertisers who make Pointe Magazine possible and our lives better here in the Pointes. Remember, Grosse Pointe Magazine is the oldest and longest running premium magazine in the Pointes and the only magazine that goes to every home in the Pointes regardless of address. All neighborhoods in the Pointes are the “best” neighborhoods!
John Minnis
Publsiher
By the time we are wrapping up the September-October issue in mid-August, I am counting down the days to chilly mornings, fall foliage walks through the neighborhood or at Ford House and cozy seasonal dishes hitting local menus.
While I am anticipating the return of all my local favorites — Haunted Garage, Harvest Day and Little Goblins at Ford House, Trunk or Treat at The War Memorial — I’m also looking forward to some very exciting additions that we will detail in November-December.
Though these businesses were not quite ready for a behind-the-scenes peek as early as August, we will be featuring them soon and wanted to bring their grand openings to your attention.
First is the opening of The Storybook Boutique, a brick-and-mortar incarnation of Sofia Kirkman’s Part of Your World Princess Co. at Fleetwood and Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe Woods. The new location will feature princess events, shopping and private events. Sofia is, fingers crossed, planning an early fall grand opening event. For updates, check Instagram @thestorybookbtq.
Then there is the long-awaited A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Center for the Performing Arts in Grosse Pointe Park, also slated for a grand opening in October. The new theater and art gallery space will serve as the new home of Grosse Pointe Theatre, who kick off the inaugural season there in December.
Further afield, the groundbreaking new Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park, a 22-acre green space on the Detroit Riverfront, opens with a new version of Detroit Riverfront Conservancy’s Harvest Fest on October 25. Centennial Park will feature a Delta Dental Play Garden, Huron-Clinton Metroparks Water Garden, William Davidson Sport House and DTE Foundation Summit with an expansive lawn and hills.
And speaking of ‘groundbreaking,’ Michael B’s Café is planning to begin construction this fall. The Grosse Pointe Park nonprofit café will be run by adults with ‘all abilities’, a term founder Alicia Carlisle has begun using and which I like.
We look forward to covering all of these openings. I hope you enjoy a cozy, familiar autumn as well as explore the exciting new developments taking place here and beyond. Here’s to new beginnings!
Lauren McGregor
Editor
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