Talented Artists Work in St. Ignace
To the Editor:

There is an old saying about hiding your light under a bushel basket. First, we are in a town in dire need of a light, and believe it or not, that light can be found on South State Street, with a second light on Paro Street. We have in our town two of the finest artists plying their trade under that proverbial bushel basket.

First, let's look at the front cover of the St. Ignace Visitors Guide that is in every tourist center in the state. It showcases a boat built by Bob Schafer in his backyard, right here in St. Ignace. It is the Mackinaw boat that we saw sailing in the bay last summer. This artist is in the process of building a tall ship in a neighborhood in St. Ignace. Can you imagine the amount of people that it would draw to downtown St. Ignace, if only a space were created for this construction? Can you imagine the Detroit Free Press and other newspapers writing articles about this construction and the amount of tourists it would draw? Can you imagine the 17 magazines that write about ship building in this country describing this ship being built right here in our town of St. Ignace? That would fill the stores downtown.

The second artist is a fine totem carver on Paro Street.

We need these folks plying their art in a public place downtown, with total support of the community.

Joseph Durm

St. Ignace