February 14th, 2021

Host: Ben Fogt

with Callers to our Voicemail Line

Podcast Episode 17a (this episode)

Links

A Very Special Valentine

2021, Ben Fogt

What's the Deal, Grosse Ile?

https://whatsthedealgi.com

Music: https://www.soundclick.com/bands/?bandID=1277008

Transcript

[0:00] [Ben Fogt] Hello, Grosse Ile. Welcome to a bonus Valentine's Day Episode of What's the Deal, Grosse Ile? Of course you know it's the podcast that explores the people, places, history, and events that make Grosse Ile unique. I'm your host, Ben Fogt.

I asked you to share what you love about Grosse Ile on social media and I got a few responses that I'll share. Starting with Danielle West.

[Danielle West] This is Danielle West and I love a lot of things about Grosse Ile but probably the thing I think I love most is the amount of nature that we have around us and all the programs that our different organizations provide us as residents so that we can enjoy that nature.

[0:46] [B} Now she leaves out some specifics and doesn’t direct enough attention to something a lot of us love. Danielle is leading some incredible projects at Community Grown Gardens. 2020 could have been a really bad year for them. But they took control of their situation and if you look at photos of what they were doing in 2019 and now, you wouldn’t believe it’s the same thing. We’re going to talk about that very soon.

And while I’m talking about the Gardens, Westcroft Farm and Gardens has been on a huge improvement journey. We heard from Erica and Clay back in Episode 2 in October. Besides the new event space and all of the planting they’re doing, they replaced a wood shingle roof on the old white barn barn. Rusty Davis even talked about how privileged Grosse Ile is to have a Bicentennial Farm in our community in our conversation about the Battles at the River Raisin.

[1:40] Let's move on to another phone message.

[Tracey Pearce] Hi. This is the Pierce family. We're calling to say what we love about Grosse Ile.

[1:49] [Reece] I love the very friendly people because like almost every person I meet is friendly because when I'm riding my bike I always say hi and they say hi back or they wave back to me to me I really like that.

[Ryan] Hello my name is Ryan and I love all the dogs from Grosse Ile and I love the scenery.

[Tracey] This is Tracy and I love the sceneryaround Grosse Ile. I especially love coming over the bridge and seeing how beautiful and peaceful and serene it looks and this is our home, and you can probably hear Max-i-doodle, our dog, whining in the background and he loves to chase all the animals, the deer and the squirrels and the bunnies.

[2:43] [B] Thanks, Pearces. All the friendly people and nature are definitely things to love about Grosse Ile. For nature, I’m so glad I got to talk with John Hartig about the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and with the Grosse Ile Nature and Land Conservancy about their programs. Don’t forget that they have a nature walk at Gibraltar Bay on February 28th 2021. That was moved from Febrauary 13th. And people. Goodness. We have so many people doing great things. I’ve gotten to share conversations with some of our service organizations, our social clubs, some of our special projects like the Christmas Jammie Drive and Grosse Ile Boar’s Head Festival. Islanders really are so kind and generous. Even our businesses spend more time collaborating than you’d ever expect. But some of those people are the Pearces. Adam and the kids share Tracey with the whole community every Sunday night when she shares Good New Grosse Ile with us all. Her cheerleading for our community is infectious.

[3:42] What I love about Grosse Ile is all of the above, but I also love things like the Halloween Parade and IslandFest. I love how we have stores, clubs and restaurants where you are more family than a customer. I love how we joke about round-abouts and sometimes I love how many unite behind lit up palm trees. I love how the cargo ships pass silently by us, skyscrapers passing slowly by. Sometimes, in the fog, it seems like they’re trying to sneak by unseen. I love how this place is a crossroads unlike any other. It’s been a site of war and peace. It’s a place where wildlife converges multiple times a year on their way to other places far flung from here.

[4:24] So there we go that's Valentine's Day 2021. I love you, Grosse Ile.

What's the Deal, Grosse Ile? is recorded and produced by me, Ben Fogt. You can keep in touch with me through the What's the Deal, Grosse Ile? Facebook page or email me at whatsthedealGI@gmail.com. You can share episodes from Facebook or hear them from the website whatsthedealGI.com. And of course it never hurts to subscribe so you can get the latest episodes through your favorite podcast delivery tool, like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and so many others.

Our intro and credit music is Mocktails in the Rain by Antii Luodo which is used through a Creative Commons license. Find more of his music on SoundClick.com as Antii's Instrumentals.

Thanks for listening to What's the Deal, Grosse Ile?