July 7, 2014
The Art Of Design
Local designer blends artistic vision and functionality in commercial spaces...
April 3, 2012
Detroit company buys Benzie shops, retains workers
BENZIE CO. - A Detroit-area company has purchased HW Jencks, a privately-held, family-run machine shop with two Benzie County locations, Frankfort and Benzonia, keeping all of the approximately 25 employees.Troy-based Ross Controls, an international manufacturer of pneumatic valves, control systems and safety products for the...
April 3, 2012
Tents for rent (and more): GJ’s Rentals grows with the times
TRAVERSE CITY - In 1972, Gary John decided on a hunch to launch a rental business for events since there were none in the Traverse City area at the time. He started with 200 tables and chairs and, by the end of that first summer,...
January 3, 2012
Keepin’ it in the Family
The TCBN gets up close and personal with some local families whose businesses - and blood - have withstood the test of time.Roy's General Store - Traverse CityREGION - What started as Roy's bait shop in 1958 slowly grew as the population around it grew...
October 3, 2011
The Innovative Cancer Treatment the FDA Doesn’t Want You to Know about – and the Frankfort woman whose life it might have saved
FRANKFORT - What happens when a trained MD with a PhD in biochemistry discovers the genetic mechanism that can cure many human cancers? For Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski it has meant a battle of time, wits and money.Burzynski stands to be the first person in history...
February 3, 2011
Designing Woman – for Men
Lake Ann - "I was and always have been obsessed with houses and the people who live in them,"says Dorina Rudd of Lake Ann Twenty years ago, Dorina turned her fascination into Design Strategies, a successful business specializing in interior and exterior design. Recently...
June 3, 2010
Backyard Inventions Get Ready for the Big Time
Handicaptain"All I wanted to do was figure out a way to get Dad on his boat again," says Handicaptain inventor Adam Begley. When his father, a longtime boater, became wheelchair bound, Begley says he felt helpless when the rest of the family would have to...
August 3, 2009
What Recession? Gillison’s is booming – in its Benzie County backyard and around the world.
BENZONIA - From machines for cutting coffee in Hawaii to lifts for harvesting pinecones for reforestation in British Columbia, to huge trimmers for walnut trees in South Africa, Gillison's Variety and Fabrication's specialized agricultural equipment is shipped to 70 different countries worldwide. The business, whose...
June 3, 2009
Going once, going twice…sold! Auctions up in down times
REGION - Everyone is looking for a bargain these days. And judging by the size of the crowds, area auctions are one of the more popular spots to find one. People who are looking to make some fast cash by liquidating assets, or those hoping...
July 3, 2008
Word of foot puts Benzie company on the map
BENZONIA - In this technology-crazed world we live in, Fernand Footwear makes shoes that are designed and handmade to fit the feet that wear them. In his small, but airy Benzonia shop just off the main drag, owner Tim McKay traces his customers' feet and...