Nature Memories
Growing up, our family always kept a flower garden. It was filled with roses, dahlias, and peonies. The Peace rose was my dad’s favorite....
From the Classroom to the Coffee Table
Back in 2019, Tyler Leipprandt was balancing life as a teacher with a side hustle in drone photography—primarily in real estate. Fast forward to...
No Barriers 2025
ADVENTURES FOR PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DISABILITIES—APPLY BY MAY 15
FOR IN-PERSON EXPEDITIONS & EXPERIENCES TAKING PLACE JUNE-SEPTEMBER
No Barriers Programs Serve:
People with disabilities
Veterans with disabilities
Youth with...
Stars, Stripes And Sawdust
Ever since the Sam Beauford Woodworking Institute opened its doors in 2017, people have been coming out of the woodwork to enroll in their...
Back in the Day
By Yvette Pecha
Electric cooperative director recalls life in rural Michigan—and how it changed with electricity
Louis Wenzlaff is somewhat of a luminary in the Thumb...
Grandma Grace
By Rik Cryderman, Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op member. Rik is a retired hospital chaplain who worked for Beaumont Health for more than 30...
Power of Co-op Communities: From the REA to Today—the Enduring Power of Connection
When the Rural Electrification Act (REA) passed in 1936, it did more than bring electric lines to farms—it powered a movement. Built by neighbors...
Rural Michigan Pickleball
By Christopher Mulder, Great Lakes Energy Cooperative Member
My mom was a trendsetter when she picked up and started to share her newfound pickleball game...
The Poet
By David Clapp, a Great Lakes Energy Cooperative member
My grandfather, Francis Merton Clapp, was born in 1897 in Genesee County, Michigan. He served in...
Redhead Ducks Flock to the Straits of Mackinac
When a large mass of black suddenly appeared in the Straits of Mackinac, motorists on the bridge called the Mackinac Bridge Authority to report...
















