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 Marsha Chartrand

Chamber spotlight: Manchester Community Schools

Currently the smallest district in Washtenaw County, Manchester Community Schools is still expanding, its newest building being Manchester Junior and Senior High School, built in 2004. The front memorial walkway is filled with memorial bricks purchased by community members. Manchester schools originated in 1867 at the old Union School on the location of the current […]

 Sara Swanson

August 2022 Gardening Advice

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill and Manchester Community & School Gardens Last month was way below average in rainfall, which made keeping things watered really difficult. Typically, the Ann Arbor area gets a little more than 3.5 inches of rain in July. This year, Ann Arbor got about 1.5 inches. That wouldn’t be too […]

 Marsha Chartrand

Chamber Spotlight: Manchester Fair

The Manchester Community Fair originally started in the halls of the Manchester High School in the 1930s. At that time it was organized by the members of the Future Farmers of America and the Future Homemakers of America. As it grew, a group of Manchester residents filed Michigan non-profit articles of incorporation with the Michigan Department […]

 Sara Swanson

Recipe: Grilled whole fish, Thai style

by Kevin Sharp Admittedly, cooking whole fish can be intimidating and grilling fish anxiety inducing. In reality this really is about as simple as it gets. You can certainly do this directly on the grill but a game-changer for me was a wire grill basket; one of those hinged deals that holds the fish (vegetables, […]

 Marsha Chartrand

Chamber Spotlight — Donnellon Insurance

The State Farm Insurance Agency in Manchester has been under the ownership of Agent Matt Donnellon since 1975. His oldest daughter, Janet Larson, is currently the office manager and has been with the office since 2002. The business is located at 102 S Clinton, Suite 1, and can be reached at 734-428-8364. Matt Donnellon started […]

 Sara Swanson

Michigan music: Jay Stielstra, Michigan’s Poet Laureate

by Steve Girbach Jay Stielstra has called Manchester home for 30 plus years, ever since building his house in the beautiful hills of Sharon Township.  But who is Jay Stielstra? Dave Siglin, Director of The Ark in Ann Arbor (1969–2008), has referred to Jay as “Michigan’s Poet Laureate” and considers Jay to be “a founding […]

 Sara Swanson

July 2022 Gardening Advice

submitted by Jennifer Fairfield, Garden Mill and Manchester Community & School Gardens The really great guy who does the mowing at my house was having a hard time keeping up with the growth during the first couple of weeks of June because of all the rain we were getting. And then, Mother Nature decided to […]

 Marsha Chartrand

Chamber Spotlight: Red Barn Realty, Jaimie Schmidt

Jaimie Schmidt, a Realtor at Red Barn Realty, says that for most of her life, she has loved history and how it impacts everything physically around us. “Also, growing up in a family full of carpenters and artists gave me an amazing foundation to not only understand a building’s bones, but to also find reverence […]

 Sara Swanson

Recipe: Garlic scape pesto

by Kevin Sharp We live in an age when pretty much anything fruit or vegetable is available at any time of the year. There are still a few exceptions and garlic scapes are just that. Available for just a brief window of time, you will see them for a couple of weeks mid-to-late June through […]

 Sara Swanson

Recipe: German rhubarb cake with cardamom and orange

by Kevin Sharp Few food plants are so ubiquitous in our region as rhubarb. Nearly everyone either has some growing in a corner of their yard or knows someone near them who does. The vegetable perhaps most often associated with English and Northern European cuisines, this is my version of an easy German rhubarb snacking […]