Joe Gentry

When you get to the point in life when it becomes more important to get rid of “stuff” and not collect and save “stuff,” you run into some interesting saved “stuff.”

When I worked at Besser, we had an audit team of young accountants from Price Waterhouse on-site during inventory week and at other times. These young professionals were city born, city raised and city situated. Coming to work for periods of time to Alpena was kind of like a pioneer experience. One of them asked me, “What to do you do to entertain yourself while living up here?”

So, I made a list. I kept that list. And, I found that list while rummaging through some of the “stuff” I’ve saved. Reading over the list, some of the items to do are no longer possible or available and speak to our changing times and technology improvements. However, I found the list amusing, insightful and rewarding.

Here was my reply to the city boys:

1. Go haying. Work on a farm for a day putting up hay, if you can find a farmer who still does square bales.

2. Attend a county fair. Walk through the barns and observe the animals and agricultural displays. Attend a horse pull or a tractor pull. Better yet, attend the 4H auction.

3. Attend a real livestock auction – fall feeder cattle sale.

4. Go on a hayride, with a real horse-drawn wagon down a Northeast Michigan two-track.

5. Attend a Friday night high school football game. Pick a local rivalry.

6. Sit at Gull Point or Presque Isle past the lighthouse on a windy day and listen to and watch the waves and feel the breeze. Sail on Thunder Bay.

7. Drive Grand Lake Road in late September and enjoy the colors of the sumac and birch trees.

8. Take a paddle wheel riverboat trip on the Au Sable River in the fall.

9. On a hot summer day, sit in the Oqueoc Falls.

10. Walk the beach shore at Tawas Point and look for Piping Plovers.

11. Buy pumpkins from a real pumpkin patch and cut your own Christmas tree from a real tree farm.

12. Attend a wedding at a township/VFW/DAV hall where the menu is sauerkraut, kielbasa and baked chicken and meatballs. Join in on the $1 dance with the bride, polka and two step until the rock roll music starts after 10 p.m.

13. Attend Fourth of July parade and fireworks in a small town.

14. Sit in an ice shanty and fish through the ice.

15. Go sledding on Manning Hill in the winter.

16. Ice skate outdoors at Mich-e-ke-wis or McRae Park.

17. Spend opening night at a deer camp or spend opening day of trout season on one of northern Michigan’s small trout streams.

18. On Harmony Weekend in Harrisville, go to one of the restaurant/bars and listen to the barber shoppers.

19. Attend the Posen Potato Festival parade and polka dance under the big tent.

20. Attend the Atlanta Elk Festival and watch the elk-calling contest.

21. In the spring, go smelt dipping or sucker dipping.

22. Go for an afternoon drive on the backroads from Alpena to Indian River. Buy some smoked fish and return by different back roads and look for elk.

23. Visit the Metz memorial and learn about the Metz fire.

24. Have your picture taken in front of Paul Bunyan and Babe and climb the tower overlooking Thunder Bay.

25. Make wood in the fall – at least one pickup load.

26. Pick Alpena strawberries at one of the local farms.

27. Drive to Rogers City and view the MLO Quarry – largest in the USA.

28. Head south on I-75 on Friday night and return on north I-75 on Sunday and give thanks you’re driving in the right direction.

These were just some of the “local” things to experience. There were others that included Mackinac, Sault Ste. Marie, and Traverse City that were travel-like destination things to do. We do live in an awesome area with plenty of opportunities to enrich our lives.

Joe Gentry is the executive director of the United Way of Northeast Michigan. Reach him at 989-354-2221 or jgentry@unitedwaynemi.org.