West End News - March 1, 2018

West End News 3/1/18

Rumor has it that the sap has started running in the West End. The syrup producers, commercial and individual, have been hard at work setting their taps in the sugar maples. For the big commercial operations, this means two full weeks of tromping through the woods, tapping thousands of trees and checking miles of lines. With so much snow this year, it’s quite the aerobic task.  Of course, that’s just the beginning of the hard work. Boiling the gallons and gallons of sap down into syrup is not for the faint of heart. After you see how much hard work goes into making that delicious liquid gold, you’ll come to judge people by how much they leave behind on their plate.

Mark your calendars for March 16 through the 19^th for this years annual DuLutsen music and ski festival in Lusten. Sponsored by The Current and Bent Paddle Brewing this years North of North celebration will feature the likes of the Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank, Two Many Banjos, and Charlie Parr, among others. DuLutsen celebrates the convergence of the vibrant North Shore music scene with the talented artists from Duluth. It’s a great way to shake off that cabin fever!

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of our beloved WTIP radio station. To kick off the membership drives we have Still the One this week. I grew up with WTIP everywhere in my life. It was in our house, in our business, in the car. I took it for granted that having local voices delivering everything from music to news to sports broadcasting was something that everyone must have. When I moved away from home, I soon learned, this is in fact NOT something you can find just anywhere.

When I moved back to Cook County I was happy to hear even more local programming making its way onto WTIP’s airwaves. Even more personally, WTIP has given me the opportunity to carry on my grandpa Frank’s West End News. It’s a weekly reminder for me of all the good he did for his community.

I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. One of my favorite parts of WTIP is the archived West End News’s on their website. There, I can find a treasure trove of my grandpa’s voice talking about news, history, and, of course, telling stories. Not only is WTIP enriching our daily lives, they are creating a living record of our county’s voices.
Of course, they can only do this because of those same voices who also show their support for the station by becoming members. This station is truly by the people for the people. If you’d like to join the community, it’s easy, just give them a call or drop by the station this week, everyone is welcome.

For WTIP, I’m Clare Shirley, with the West End News.