Old Mission News & Photos: Township Job, Boathouse News, Library Fundraiser & More

Here’s a roundup of recent news and photos around the Old Mission Peninsula…

Township Job Opportunity. Peninsula Township is accepting letters of interest/resumes for a part-time Code Enforcement Officer. This position is for 15 hours maximum per week, and appointee must be available nights and weekends. Click here to view a job description.

To apply, please submit a letter of interest and/or resume to Township Clerk Becky Chown, [email protected], or mail/drop off to the Township offices at 13235 Center Road, Traverse City, MI 49686, by 4 p.m on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. For more info, contact Township Supervisor Maura Sanders, [email protected], or call (231) 223-7323.

Website Help Needed. Brit Eaton, President of the Mission Point Lighthous​e Keepers Association, is looking for a volunteer to help with maintaining and improving the group’s website. He greatly appreciates anyone willing to step up and help out! If interested, contact Brit, [email protected], or call (231) 499-4438. The group keeps supporters of the lighthouse updated as to news and fundraising projects throughout the year. I’m happy to help with Lighthouse photos! Here’s one from this week…

Celebrating Doug Kosch. Northern Express recently published a story about Doug Kosch and his brother Gary, both of whom are in the restaurant business (as well as their brother Gordie, who passed away in 2022). Of course, Doug owns The Boathouse, one of our favorite restaurants here on the OMP. From the story by Ellen Miller:

“Over the years, Doug says The Boathouse has weathered the industry’s many changes well and seen its strong summer business stretch throughout the year as Traverse City became more of a year-round destination and place to live.

“Back in the day in the middle of winter, there were times you’d maybe have zero or two customers. We were just talking about this, and we haven’t had a goose egg in years,” he says.

And summer has only gotten busier. “Summer has more tourism, more people on vacation, more celebrations, and more people wanting to go out for a nice meal on the water and enjoy as much of the day as they can on vacation. There’s so many people I see once a year and I have been seeing them for years. They tell me they rent the same place, they go to a winery, see the lighthouse, go take a family pic, and then come to The Boathouse,” Doug says. Read the story here.

And speaking of the Boathouse…

Books at the Boathouse. The 19th annual fundraiser for Peninsula Community Library is coming up on Monday, March 31, at 6 p.m. The event includes a four-course dinner, including wine or beer. Background music will be provided by OMP musician Johnny Keyes, with a live auction by UpNorth Live news guy Marc Schollett (whose mom lives on the OMP!) as auctioneer. And the food, as always, is amazing! Tickets are $150 per person, and available at the front desk at the library.

Here’s a photo from Marc at last year’s events…

Scott Turow at National Writers Series. The next featured author for the NWS, a new Gazette sponsor, is Scott Turow, coming up this Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. This is a virtual livestreaming-only event.

The writer and former practicing lawyer is the author of 13 bestselling works of fiction, including Presumed Innocent and most recently, Suspect. The guest host for this event is David Baldacci, and Turow will discuss his new book, Presumed Guilty. For more info and to purchase tickets, click here.

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