Click here to download the 'Back to school in Leelanau' PDF.

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The county's high school fall sports teams are profiled and complete schedules are provided.
Click here to download 2008 Fall Sports Guide PDF.

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Looking at a bounty of crops
How does your garden grow?

Very well, at least from what we can tell, if your garden - or farm, for that matter - is in Leelanau County.
In this week’s Diversions, we'll be looking at the Bounty of Leelanau, just as the harvest season kicks into full gear. We'll talk to […]

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Leelanau, a word meaning Land of Delight in the Ojibwa language.
Leelinau, the name of an Ojibwa daughter who left her family to live in a haunted grove of pines along Lake Superior.
Leelanau, Land of Boats, Beer and a few Weirdos.
Actually, the last phrase was on a T-shirt I once owned. But versions of the first […]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Finding the roots of 'Leelanau'”, url: “http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2008/07/01/finding-the-roots-of-leelanau/” });

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For Leelanau's Native American population, family surnames represent not only what clan they belong to but were also reflective of the elements needed for a community to survive.

"When a Native would introduce themself, they would provide their 'dodaim,' or their clan," said Native American artist and author Lois Beardslee of Maple City. "Each dodaim played […]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Native Names - Or how someone becomes a 'Findian'”, url: “http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2008/07/01/native-names-or-how-someone-becomes-a-findian/” });

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They gave up preservors to save lives.
The ship was settling quickly into the icy water.

THE FOUR CHAPLAINS were the subject of
this 1948 commemorative U.S. postage stamp.
Their wartime sacrifice was “an heroic act with-
out parallel” according to President Harry Truman.
It was Feb. 3, 1943, in the North Atlantic and the S.S. Dorchester had just been hit […]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Leelanau link to chaplain heros”, url: “http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2008/05/28/leelanau-link-to-chaplain-heros/” });

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Following the life of Melvin Wanageshik.
The quiet demeanor of Melvin Udelson Wanageshik would hardly be associated with that of a fallen war hero, nor would his average build and height.

But there can be no doubt that Wanageshik survived a challenging childhood following his mother’s death, and served his nation heroically.
Wanageshik’s name, however, cannot be found […]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Misspelled, not forgotten”, url: “http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2008/05/25/misspelled-not-forgotten/” });

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When Linda A. Dewey of Glen Arbor was a young girl, her father liked to tell her bedtime stories.

Captain William R. Dewey piloted one
of only 10 B-24 bombers that returned to
England from the Kassel Mission.
The stories often involved people doing heroic things, like knights saving princesses.
One tale stuck with the girl. One night when […]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Trying to shed light on worst bomber loss in history”, url: “http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2008/05/25/trying-to-shed-light-on-worst-bomber-loss-in-history/” });

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Ed. note: Following is an excerpt from the Kassel Mission report by Bill Dewey as it appears on the website www.445th-bomb-group.com created by Mike Simpson.

B-24 Liberator
"…On September 27, 1944, I was a 2nd Lieutenant, Airplane Commander of a B-24-J four engine Liberator Bomber, flying my 8th mission from the 445th BG base at Tibenham, England. […]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “First-hand account of deadly mission”, url: “http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2008/05/25/first-hand-account-of-deadly-mission/” });

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Military records show that 226 American Indians died during the Vietnam War - but those numbers are not completely accurate.

For instance, they don’t include the death of Northport native Melvin U. Wanageshik, who is still listed as "Caucasian" by the Army.
Melvin’s brother, Frank Wanegeshik, a member of the Grand Traverse Band, said he was not […]SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Vietnam War had toll on Native Americans”, url: “http://www.leelanaunews.com/blog/2008/05/25/vietnam-war-had-toll-on-native-americans/” });

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