Bishop James Kelsey remembered
Bishop James Arthur Kelsey
August 27, 1952- June 3, 2007

“Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”

It was with shock that I took the telephone call on Sunday afternoon, June 3. The caller was to tell me Jim Kelsey had been killed in a car accident.
A section of the Seney Stretch had claimed his life and that of another during a foggy downpour. That was the mechanics of it, the how. The why is a question that goes unanswered.
Jim Kelsey had served the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan as bishop since 1999. On that early June Sunday, he was returning from a visit to one of his twenty-seven congregations.
He was shepherd to nearly 3,000 Episcopalians across the Upper Peninsula region.
The Episcopal Church’s presiding bishop, the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, chief pastor to 2.4 million church members worldwide said, “We will be less without the easy grace of Bishop James Kelsey—Jim to most of us—and we shall miss his humor, insight and passion for the ministry of all. He gave us much. We pray for the repose of his soul, and for his family. We pray also for the Diocese of Northern Michigan. All of us have lost a friend. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”
Bishop Kelsey was a gifted and artful convener and builder of consensus. Whenever he brought people together, there was community. His hand of ministry was far reaching and he touched the lives of thousands.
Bishop Kelsey’s consulting work expanded over the years to include New Zealand, the United Kingdom and more than thirty-five dioceses in the United States. He participated in numerous national and international networks. He was instrumental in the development of educational and community ministry programs such as LifeCycles and Living Stones.
Bishop Kelsey championed the concept of Mutual Ministry, characterized by the commissioning of local Ministry Support Teams, assisted by regional seminary-trained regional missioners. Interest in Mutual Ministry by other dioceses in the United States and abroad had brought visitors from around the world who were seeking a first-hand look at this model ministry. Whenever Jim Kelsey was present, there was faith, hope and love.
The grace and ministry of Bishop Kelsey was extended to the youth of his diocese and beyond. It was a special time for him to be at camp with them each summer. He joined members of his diocese and wife Mary in the “Episcopal Partnership for Global Mission” at the Our Little Roses Foreign Mission in Honduras. Our Little Roses mission seeks to help homeless girls, provide a bilingual school, medical and dental clinics. Our Little Roses reminded Jim and other’s…“I say to you whatever you did for one of these least of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40
Bishop Kelsey was deeply committed to peace and justice issues in his ministry, but also to protecting the environment. For the past three years, he had been a strong supporter of the Earth Keeper Initiative that involves nine faith traditions with 140 churches and temples across northern Michigan. The basis of the initiative created the “Earth Keeper Covenant,” a commitment to environmental stewardship, to address pollution prevention and reduction of toxins.
Bishop Kelsey said the support of nine faith traditions shows “a kind of spiritual leadership that connects our faith with the material world…to be faithful stewards of the creation into which we have been born, and which sustains our lives.”
It was his dream to transform the sixty-year-old Diocese camp—the Page Conference Center in Little Lake—into a retreat that would be open to all communities as a gathering place. He further worked to assure that space would be preserved on the Page Center property for the Episcopal Congregation of Holy Innocents to continue to gather at its chapel as they have for more than fifty years.
The dream of transformation took a step forward with the recent transfer of the property to a new nonprofit Page Center corporation governed by a board of trustees for which Jim served as president.
“The Page Center is about offering a place for individuals and groups who would normally be apart to be gathered and to encounter one another, themselves and their God in an environment that nurtures understanding and mutual respect, cooperation, collaboration and love,” Jim said. “I hope people feel that the space is ‘theirs’ while they are there. That they are not so much guests or clients but that they are at home.”
Jim Kelsey was a man who loved and was deeply committed to his wife and family. He was husband and dad in many private and cherished ways. One thing any Kelsey family member will tell you is that Jim was a New York Yankees fan to his very core.
On June 3, the Yankees took on rival Boston Red Sox, score tied at 5-5; Alex Rodriquez hit a tie-breaking and game-winning home run against the Sox’s star closer in the ninth inning for a 6-5 finish.
I believe Jim heard the crack of that bat and the call of the home run. I believe he joined Rodriquez as he rounded those bases and headed home, smiling.
One characteristic that defined Jim Kelsey was his radiant smile. Whether he was dressed in traditional purple shirt and collar of a Bishop, a casual open collared shirt or a New York Yankees T-shirt, the smile was the same. It was enlightening, inspiring, passionate and comforting.
It is that gracious smile, full of hope and belief, that seemed like a window into the man who first touched you. It would soon be followed by a handshake and hug.
As Jim Kelsey brought you into his world, you were blessed to have him come into yours. And then you were changed. You found you had gifts and talents and confidence that were not there before.
I have learned also there is utility in a smile. I have learned that when you are smiling it is very hard to feel sad. We smile at his memory and we feel strength. We will continue his work with the vision and passion he gave us. We will sustain his dreams and for all time, we will honor Jim Kelsey with faith, hope and the greatest of all—love.
A Jim Kelsey Memorial Fund will support the Page Center. For details, call 869-5298, visit www.pagecenter.org or write to Page Center 131 East Ridge Street, Marquette, MI.
—Leslie Bek

New businesses offer variety in Marquette County
The longetivity of many area businesses and the clientele that remain faithful to them often make it difficult for newcomers to find a niche. But from natural beads to bubble tea, five new businesses have survived their infancy stages and found a nook to call their own.
Lagniappe Cajun Creole Eatery on Washington Street in Marquette has added such Louisiana delicacies as alligator, catfish and oysters to Marquette palates since April 3, 2006. Owner Don Durley said he visits friends in Louisiana several times a year and was inspired by its food and atmosphere.
“America should be very proud of Louisiana; there are so many different personalities and cultures,” he said.
Lagniappe, a Southern Louisiana and Mississippi word meaning “a little more than expected,” is exactly what Durley wants to give to his customers, he said. In addition to an unconventional menu, the restaurant also offers live crawfish boils and tarot readings.
“We’re also trying to locate a Louisiana-flavored band,” he said.
In order to maintain the taste of authentic Louisiana dishes, Durley said most of the food is shipped directly from the state.
“The catfish is raised in well water down there and the shrimp have no preservatives,” he said. “Quality gets all; that’s my motto.”
Durley is no stranger to the Marquette restaurant scene. After cooking for the Northwoods Supper Club for twelve years and serving as corporate executive chef for the Ramada and Holiday inns, he said he felt it was time to open his own restaurant.
“I had reached the top of my ladder; there were no challenges left,” he said. “After thirty-three years in the food service industry, I had to do this.”
But even though he has decades of experience, Durley said being a new business owner has proven to be intimidating for him.
“There are a lot of games you have to learn to play before you can hope to win; I have learned so much and hope to never have to do it again,” he said, laughing.
The community response to Lagniappe’s unusual fanfare has been largely positive, Durley said and added that he hopes to maintain a fun and unique atmosphere during his next year of business.
“The customers are having fun all the time,” he said. “So we plan to just let the good times roll.”
Down the street at Farmer Q’s, owners Susan and Tom Brian also are concerned with quality food. Susan said her husband’s family owns hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland downstate and she shares their appreciation for fresh, homegrown produce.
“There isn’t a whole lot of freshly-picked produce available up here, and we wanted to make that available and affordable for families,” she said.
Farmer Q’s opened last June and carried only Michigan produce. Due to a particularly harsh storm, the growing season was cut short and the store closed for the year in October. But this year, Brian said, they have expanded with produce from other states and plan to be open through Christmas. The store also is offering kitchen utensils and Susan said she is looking into making gift baskets.
“We will probably taper back from fresh produce in the fall and focus on the cookware and gift baskets for the holidays,” she said.
Farmer Q’s currently works with about 250 Michigan growers, buying produce directly from their farms and traveling to pick it up themselves, she said.
She also serves as the director of the Noquemenon Trail Network and said the added responsibility of Farmer Q’s has kept her sufficiently busy.
“Last year was definitely overwhelming; when you open your own business you never imagine how much work it will be,” she said. “The key things are just to have a quality staff, stick to your business plan and don’t get sidetracked from your goals.”
Susan said her husband’s late best friend named Quinton, who was killed in an accident five years ago, inspired the name of the business.
“It flowed, so we stuck with it,” she said.
Her father, Cliff Frenn, also was a Downtown Marquette business owner. Frenn owned and operated Marquette Wallpaper and Paint for several years before selling it to Darryl and Mark Hamari in 2002.
“They were also our neighbors,” Susan said, laughing.
Although it seems Farmer Q’s has found a steady customer base, Susan said she plans to continue expanding the store’s variety.
“We’re much busier this year,” she said. “People are becoming more aware of our mission and supporting that. But we will try to get bigger and better as time goes on.”
Also relatively new to Marquette’s downtown area is Moonstone Gallery, which specializes in stone and silvery jewelry. Owner Ann Kuhnle said the gallery also offers gifts from the Earth that are made of natural material.
“There’s no plastic; we don’t carry lines of things that are mass-produced,” she said.
Local artists have consigned homemade gifts for Kuhnle’s store, but she said jewelry is her main theme.
“I’ve been doing my stone bead jewelry for many years,” she said. “I was also out of the area for a long time and had a lot of venues, but it needed a home and Downtown Marquette was the perfect place.”
She added that being a business owner was never part of her life’s goals, but the year and a half of having her own gallery has been worth it.
“I am doing what I love to do—making jewelry and selling it,” she said. “We are a happy little clam here.”
Born and raised in Marquette, Kuhnle said much of her childhood was spent on the beach picking up rocks, which contributed to her later love for stone jewelry.
“I wanted to work with them and polish them,” she said.
Kuhnle said she learned a lot about business at a young age from her father Jack Veiht, who owned Public Service Garage at the time.
“A lot of people think ‘I would love to have my own business, work my own hours and be my own boss’ but I knew as a young girl that the business owns you and you work a lot more for yourself than you would for someone else,” she said. “That helped, because I had the realism there, not a fantasy.”
Meeting customers and sharing her knowledge of natural materials with them have been her favorite parts of the job so far, she said.
“Seeing the enthusiasm that people have to the items I am offering and being able to talk to people; just in general communicating with the public has been great,” she said.
Fifteen miles away in downtown Ishpeming, Francis Valela also is experiencing being a new business owner. Valela’s coffee shop, Elixir, opened last July and offers a little bit of everything.
“We have chai tea, bubble tea, antiques, health-oriented offerings…I have yet to find just one word to describe all that we do,” he said.
Valela cooks and sells soups, chili and other foods at the shop. Elixir plays host to drawing classes on Thursdays and will soon incorporate belly-dancing classes.
“This is a place for people to come and exchange thoughts like the coffeehouses of the ’20s and ’30s,” Valela said. “You feed off of one another.”
Although Elixir is not even a year old, Valela said he already has a set of regulars.
“We’ve got everyone from kids to people in their eighties down here,” he said. “I don’t care if you have a horn growing out of your nose, everybody’s welcome.”
Valela said he opened Elixir to offer downtown Ishpeming a relaxing environment to hang out.
“I’m not in this for the money; that’s not what this is about,” he said. “It’s the people. I don’t call them ‘customers’ because they’re part of this place. I enjoy the people more than anything.”
Just up the block from Elixir stands another recent addition to downtown Ishpeming, a faux-finish and mural business named Una Dulce. Only seven months old, Una Dulce also offers wall glazing and countertop resurfacing.
Owner Alanna Luttenton, a transplant from Texas, has been finishing and doing murals alongside her father since the age of sixteen.
“I always loved art; I never really thought of it as a career at first, it was just something I enjoyed,” she said.
Luttenton’s work can be described by the French phrase “trompe l’oeil”—to trick the eye. The realistic imagery of her embossings and paintings have brought in a good number of curious customers, she said.
The store’s unique name is derived from the Italian language and a husband who loves to give her nicknames, Luttenton said.
“I lived in Italy for a short while, so my husband was always asking me how to say things in Italian,” she said. “He calls me ‘sweet one’ and wanted to know how to say that in Italian, which is ‘una dulce.’ When we were talking about what to name the business, he brought that up and I didn’t want to at first, but my work has an Italian form to it so it stuck.”
Getting to know the community has been a fulfilling experience for her in her five short years in the U.P., she said.
“It’s been very positive so far; Marquette and Ishpeming have been very welcoming and everyone feels like family,” she said. “It’s been great.”
—Becky Korpi

Little businesses that could (and still are), Part 3
Like hundreds of immigrants to the Upper Peninsula in the early 1900s, A. Louis Bonetti came in search of new opportunities. Arriving in 1915 from Bergamo (Italy), Bonetti found work in the underground mines around Gwinn and decided to raise his family in the area.
In 1933, when the twenty-first amendment—the repeal of prohibition—was passed by the U.S. Congress, Bonetti seized opportunity by applying for one of Ishpeming’s first liquor licenses and opening the Congress Café, dedicated to the U.S. Congress’ decision. The café offered a full menu, including bacon and eggs for forty cents and a bowl of Chili con Carne for fifteen cents.
In the late ’50s when Bonetti was killed unexpectedly in a hunting accident, his sons Guido and Geno assumed leadership of the family business and had an idea that would have a lasting impact on the citizens of Ishpeming—changing the struggling café into a pizza business.
“It was done out of necessity; it was a tough time,” said Paul Bonetti, third generation owner of the business.
Specializing in homemade thin-crust pizza and spicy cudighis, Congress Pizza was born and continues to succeed in the same location today.
Manager Mike Koski, who grew up across the street from the Bonetti family, said a fulfilling part of his job is watching generations of families grow up.
“I’ve been here for seven years, and in that time I’ve seen kids coming in for birthday parties as toddlers, then coming back as teens,” he said. “Many have their first legal drink in here as well.”
He added that a large part of Congress Pizza’s success has to do with its consistency. The arcade games—Excite Bike, Ms. Pac-Man and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to name a few—have been there since they were released in the ’80s, but still are enjoyed by patrons of all ages. The jukebox, which contains an eclectic mix of oldies and mainstream music, has played the same version of “Happy Birthday” for more than fifty years, usually followed by the delivery of a candle-lit pizza to a blushing customer.
Other pizza businesses have sprung up in Ishpeming over the years, but Koski said he and Bonetti do not feel pressured to change their products, with the exception of a new pesto pizza that was added to the menu six months ago.
“We’re just offering something different; we’ve got such a unique pizza that we don’t need new items or specials to compete,” Koski said. “I see the Congress growing in tradition, and I think we’re here to stay.”
Another business unique to the area is Thill’s Fish House in Marquette’s lower harbor. Moved from downstate Fairport fifty years ago, Thill’s sells fresh fish and sea foods and remains the only commercial fishing operation in Marquette.
Ted Thill, second-generation owner of the fishery, has been involved with the business for thirty-five years and said it has drawn his family closer together.
“I got all family working; my brother and I are partners and my sons run the boats; my daughter-in-law comes in sometimes, too,” he said. “Hopefully my boys will take it over and keep it going.”
Faithful customers have contributed largely to the fishery’s success, Thill said, but Mother Nature is not always as supportive.
“We catch the fish ourselves and it’s always a challenge being outside,” he said. “We depend on the fish to come to us; it’s the most difficult part of the job.”
The fishing season for Thill’s runs from April through October. Fishing also is allowed in December, but because of the weather, the family uses that time to maintain their equipment and run their retail store. They have two boats used to catch whitefish—the Linda Lee, a forty-foot trap net boat, and the Kathy, a forty-six-foot gill-net boat that is now retired.
After catching fish, the Thill family fillets, freezes and smokes them for a wide range of customers, including grocers and restaurants.
Some of their more famous offerings are smoked whitefish sausage, smoked fish spread and pickled varieties of fish.
Thill said the store gets more customers whenever new people move into the area, and added that small businesses like his are what keep Marquette thriving.
“They’re the roots of the city,” he said. “They keep things moving.”
Other businesses, such as Public Service Garage in Marquette, have felt tremendous pressure to evolve as the community does.
“From cars to minivans to crossover vehicles to all-wheel drive, wherever the industry has gone, we’ve gone with it,” said John Veiht, Public Service Garage’s current owner.
The dealership has been in the Veiht family since its conception in 1927. Veiht’s grandfather, Ted A. Veiht, first opened it on North Front Street as an Oldsmobile franchise named Marquette Auto Sales. Two years later, it became Public Service Garage.
According to their Web site, www.publicservicegarage.com, “garage” was added to the dealership’s name because it added a bit of old-fashioned charm.
In 1952, Public Service Garage moved from Front Street to the corner of Washington and Fourth streets, continuing to expand their services and inventory. A third move in 1977 brought the business to its current location.
Veiht said his and other family-owned businesses remain successful to the Marquette area because they understand the community they’re working in.
“Being independently owned, we know this community a lot more than businesses from the outside do,” he said. “In an individual community we’re able to adapt faster to local needs, so you won’t see the ‘big box’ businesses here as much. As long as we stay relevant and stay as big as we can, it’s fine.”
Another local business that has seen several years of change is The Elder Agency on Main Street in Marquette. Started as a one-office insurance and real estate company in 1936 by Stanley Elder, the business now has branches in Ishpeming and Negaunee.
Sam Elder, Stanley’s son, currently runs the business with his brother Jim and said he always wanted to carry on the family tradition.
“After I graduated from college, I joined the Air Force and was gone for five years,” he said. “I used to fly over the Upper Peninsula during refueling and get homesick, so I came back,” he said.
Elder said his father had been in the insurance business in Utah, but was offered the Upper Peninsula as a territory by Mutual and United of Omaha insurance.
“He had never been here before,” Elder said.
The Elder Agency started business in the Savings Bank building and underwent a few moves before finally settling on its current location. It serves as an independent insurance agent, offering customers a variety of quotes from different companies to choose from, Elder said.
“Some choose because of the price, but others choose because of a recommendation or a long-standing relationship with a certain company,” he said.
Although Elder’s youngest son, Steve, thirty-three, joined the family business five years ago selling real estate, Elder said he has no immediate plans to retire.
“I love doing what I am doing,” he said. “My goal is to be a realtor with fifty years of experience.”
The list of “mom and pop” businesses that have seen continued success in the Marquette area goes on; but for some, time has run its course.
The Shamrock Bar on Marquette’s South Front Street provided the city with a place to meet friends and have a few drinks for seventy-five years, but was purchased by local restaurateurs Elizabeth and Thomas Wahlstrom last month to be converted into a steakhouse.
“We’ve made so many great friends and have so many wonderful memories of our time at the Shamrock,” said Shamrock owner Nancy Berglund in a press release. “I’d like to thank everyone who has been a part of the Shamrock crowd and also to the many dedicated members we’ve had on our staff over the years. I’ll certainly miss all of our great regulars and my crew. It’s definitely the end of an era.”
—Becky Korpi

The palette of life
A few weeks ago, I took a walk along the Lake Superior shore on a late afternoon, in an attempt to clear my head and refill my lungs with oxygen. Jim Kelsey, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan, had died a few days previously, and aftershocks were being felt by many in my circle of friends and acquaintances.
I can’t claim to have known Jim very well, but he was one of those people for whom I would have given my eyeteeth to sit down and have a long, insightful, magnificent conversation. I felt that way the first time I heard him speak, and on every single occasion I saw him afterward.
As I walked along into the summer dusk, enshrouded by sadness, the sweet unmistakable scent of lilacs slid up around me, prompting me to halt my step and inhale deeply.
I stood for a full minute, savoring the beautiful fragrance of the clustered purple and white petals that hung over a fence by the sidewalk.
Their perfume was so clear and clean, so alive that it amazed me. I felt as though, in my state of heightened sensitivity brought on by sorrow, I truly had been open to the full experience of those lilacs as I never had before. Had it been a normal day, I probably would have strolled right past them, given a sniff or two and thought, “nice flowers.”
Which, of course, reminded me of Bob Ross, the painter of “happy little trees” on the Joy of Painting series on PBS. Bob, who made painting so easy to those of us not born with a brush in our hand, taught me how to make something light-colored show up clearly on the canvas: it needed a dark background.
“You can’t have light without the dark,” he’d say. It’s impossible to see white on white, like a candle held to the sun. You have to apply bold Phthalo Blue or Alizarin Crimson before brighter colors can pop into relief.
So it is with life. Sometimes it is only when we are surrounded by darkness that we truly perceive the intensity of light. I’ve spent numerous nights crying into my cats’ fur over broken relationships, only to look back when the tears had passed to see what good rode my coattails out of the anguish. Most often it was strength of self, the ability to discern what was beneficial for my growth and what was not.
Sometimes it was learning to have compassion for my all-too-human self. I found there always was something valuable to learn from each man, and it shone like a lighthouse beam when things ended badly. The light against the dark.
A few years ago my car broke down, right on NMU’s campus. I had to summon a tow truck, much to my chagrin, but even worse was the prospect of not being able to drive to work. Now, it was brittle October when the car bit the dust, and I have to be at the radio station around 5:30 each morning. I didn’t relish the prospect of leaving the house at 5:00 a.m. and walking half an hour to campus.
Enter my dad. In a supreme act of chivalry, he decided (without my asking—honest) to travel from outside of Marquette each and every weekday morning, pick me up and drive me to work.
As it was probably going to be a while before I could afford to fix my vehicle, I gratefully accepted his help.
So, for about a month and a half, the poor man dragged himself out of bed at oh-dark-thirty and took me to the station. Never once was I late.
Was I inconvenienced by my lack of transportation? Yes. Did it annoy me to no end that I’d have to shell out big money to fix my car? Definitely. But during this period, I realized my dad and I were spending quality time together, we were learning more about each other and we had grown closer because of it. I now feel blessed we had that time, illumination in an otherwise dreary circumstance.
More than 500 people packed into St. Michael’s Church to attend Jim Kelsey’s funeral. During my lakeside walk afterward, I thought: if the worth of a person’s life can be gauged by how he or she was regarded by others, then Jim led an exemplary existence.
It’s sad that an accident was the impetus for such an outpouring of love, but just imagine how much light was generated in that backdrop of darkness. I’m sure Jim would have been stunned to see the small, blazing sun he engendered.
—Nicole Walton

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