TC I Love Thee
Essays, radio talks, newspaper columns and letters to the Editor
Henry has published a collection of the best of his articles for the Traverse City Record Eagle
and some of his letters to the editor, his radio talks and some unpublished essays. These are interspersed
with photos that Jacqui has taken around Traverse City to show what a wonderful place this is.
In the introduction to the book, Henry
explains that "This book began as a piece of praise,
but praise, and only praise becomes boring. I soon realized
I did not always praise Traverse City, but I often wrote about its Master Plan,
schools, the downtown, roads, public transportation - so I decided that this would be a
book about Traverse City - for all those who live here or who have lived here, and for all those
who have visited this beautiful place.
This is, for the most part, a book about one city, Traverse City, though much of what I say
applies to all small towns and many big cities"
Google was kind enough to give us permission to use
some screen shots from its wonderful program GoogleEarth. Jacqui has managed to get two consecutive arial views for the cover of the book.
They really give a sense of the amount of water around here - and the amazing number of trees in the town.
You can buy "TC I Love Thee" from
Horizon or
Brilliant Books
on Front Street in Traverse City.
Publisher:
Between The Bays
ISBN 978-09834061-0-5
9"x7" 134pp
$16.99
If you would like a copy and cannot get to those stores
I will send it to you for $15.00 including shipping
within the USA. (Ask me for prices for other countries.)
Elizabeth Buzzelli
wrote this review of TC I Love Thee in the
Northern Express Weekly
on 15th August 2011:
THE RETURN OF HENRY MORGENSTEIN
The Traverse City Chamber
of Commerce should be handing
out Henry Morgenstein's new
book, "TC, I Love Thee," to
every tourist and prospective
resident. Real Estate agents
should buy cases of the books to
give as gifts at closings. If you
would like to join in a song to our
beautiful area, this is that song.
Henry Morgenstein came to
the United States in 1948 when
he was brought to New York
City from first Belgium, and then
Havana, Cuba. In 1971 he moved
to Traverse City, teaching English
at Northwestern Michigan College
for the next 30 years until his
retirement in 2001.
This man loves Traverse City: unequivocally,
unapologetically, wholeheartedly. He loves
the area, the people, the houses, downtown,
the lake. For years he's fought for a sensible
future, argued for sustainable growth, for
using our resources to the best advantage, for
preservation of our buildings, and for holding
on to the unique character of the town.
COLUMN COLLECTION
After he came to TC, he was soon writing
letters to the editor of the Record-Eagle,
then eventually writing a column for the
paper. After that came talks on various radio
stations, including WNMC, Northwestern
Michigan College's radio station. It is these
letters, essays, radio talks, and columns that
are collected here, in this book. All with a
common theme: the city that he loves. In
"Traverse City is as close as I can come
to paradise on Earth" (written in 1990) he
recalls the dark tunnels of New York City.
"I lived in apartment 6C in New York
City," he writes. "A nice building at the very
uppermost tip of the island of Manhattan.
When I left my apartment to go anywhere
I stepped outside my apartment, made sure
the door was locked, walked through a
dreary tunnel (long hallway) to a dank cave
(elevator)..."
But here, in the city he's come to love,
"I bicycle down Washington Street, State
Street, Eighth Street. I bicycle all over
town... What unbelievable peace and quiet
reigns in this small town... Traverse City,
you are close to my ideal city. How did I
get so lucky?"
PUBLIC PITCH
Never a man to steer away from
controversy, one of the most telling
exchanges in the book comes when the then-editor of the Record Eagle, Jim Herman,
left it up to the readership, whether Henry
should be given a regular column or not.
Morgenstein, in his own defense, wrote "I
think I am good at writing. I think I am
good at clarifying an issue, at raising the
various points that need to be raised. I write
to make all of us aware of certain human
issues--pollution, overpopulation--local
issues--school buses--city streets..." He
included a coupon to vote yes or no for
him. Over 300 people voted and he got his
column, until 1991, when he was fired for
opposing the first invasion of Iraq.
One of his essays, about saving the
beautiful buildings of the old state hospital,
reads almost like prophecy. Although his dream of locating the college at
the hospital site never materialized,
many of his other wishes for the
property have come true. At first,
he envisioned the plan of the Palais Royal in
Paris, designed in 1790:
"It included an exquisite theatre, a puppet
show, a waxwork, and a theatre in which
child actors performed. There were auction
rooms, concert rooms, a salon for chess
players, gambling clubs, purely social clubs,
a Turkish bath, apartments to rent, several
small hotels, numerous cafes and eating
places. The upper floors were rented out."
So, maybe some of that is still to come
but he did describe great restaurants locating
there . . . "Some posh apartment buildings. A
building with specialty shops."
Not bad. He suggested that the site
become Traverse City's Central Park; that
the zoo be moved to the grounds; and that
cars be banned in the area.
Some of that could still be in the future
as the property defines itself. It might yet
be Traverse City's Central Park, cars might
still be confined to the outer perimeters, and
maybe the zoo animals we lost will wend
their way back.
BIKES & CARS
A bit of a renegade, Henry Morgenstein
is definitely not a lover of cars. In "TC
should walk into the future," he champions
walking or biking as the sanest means
of transportation. In a not so prophetic
pronouncement, he says in this 1986 essay,
"Cars are not the wave of the future." If
he had his way, he would ban cars from
almost all of the city, compelling residents
to ride a bike as he does. A common sight
in Traverse City was Henry on his bike,
greeting neighbors and visitors. A one-man
welcoming committee for the city he loves.
Perhaps my favorite lines from this
book of elegiac, contentious, and thought
provoking essays comes in "Ban all cars
inside Traverse City" when he writes:
"Ban all cars inside Traverse City. When
you get to our city limit you will please
leave all guns, cars, and other mechanical
noise-making machines at our front door.
Now you may enter our world of peace,
quiet, tranquility and children's games."
Well, maybe not during Cherry Festival,
or the Film Festival, but it is something to
think about.
Copyright ©
2011
Henry Morgenstein
Check out
Henry's Home :
Contra essays &
Quotations
Henry has published a collection of the best of his articles for the Traverse City Record Eagle and some of his letters to the editor, his radio talks and some unpublished essays. These are interspersed with photos that Jacqui has taken around Traverse City to show what a wonderful place this is.
In the introduction to the book, Henry
explains that "This book began as a piece of praise,
but praise, and only praise becomes boring. I soon realized
I did not always praise Traverse City, but I often wrote about its Master Plan,
schools, the downtown, roads, public transportation - so I decided that this would be a
book about Traverse City - for all those who live here or who have lived here, and for all those
who have visited this beautiful place.
This is, for the most part, a book about one city, Traverse City, though much of what I say
applies to all small towns and many big cities"
Google was kind enough to give us permission to use some screen shots from its wonderful program GoogleEarth. Jacqui has managed to get two consecutive arial views for the cover of the book. They really give a sense of the amount of water around here - and the amazing number of trees in the town.
You can buy "TC I Love Thee" from
Horizon or
Brilliant Books
on Front Street in Traverse City.
Publisher:
Between The Bays
ISBN 978-09834061-0-5
9"x7" 134pp
$16.99
If you would like a copy and cannot get to those stores
I will send it to you for $15.00 including shipping
within the USA. (Ask me for prices for other countries.)
Elizabeth Buzzelli wrote this review of TC I Love Thee in the Northern Express Weekly on 15th August 2011:
THE RETURN OF HENRY MORGENSTEIN
The Traverse City Chamber of Commerce should be handing out Henry Morgenstein's new book, "TC, I Love Thee," to every tourist and prospective resident. Real Estate agents should buy cases of the books to give as gifts at closings. If you would like to join in a song to our beautiful area, this is that song.
Henry Morgenstein came to the United States in 1948 when he was brought to New York City from first Belgium, and then Havana, Cuba. In 1971 he moved to Traverse City, teaching English at Northwestern Michigan College for the next 30 years until his retirement in 2001.
This man loves Traverse City: unequivocally, unapologetically, wholeheartedly. He loves the area, the people, the houses, downtown, the lake. For years he's fought for a sensible future, argued for sustainable growth, for using our resources to the best advantage, for preservation of our buildings, and for holding on to the unique character of the town.
COLUMN COLLECTION
After he came to TC, he was soon writing
letters to the editor of the Record-Eagle,
then eventually writing a column for the
paper. After that came talks on various radio
stations, including WNMC, Northwestern
Michigan College's radio station. It is these
letters, essays, radio talks, and columns that
are collected here, in this book. All with a
common theme: the city that he loves. In
"Traverse City is as close as I can come
to paradise on Earth" (written in 1990) he
recalls the dark tunnels of New York City.
"I lived in apartment 6C in New York City," he writes. "A nice building at the very uppermost tip of the island of Manhattan. When I left my apartment to go anywhere I stepped outside my apartment, made sure the door was locked, walked through a dreary tunnel (long hallway) to a dank cave (elevator)..."
But here, in the city he's come to love, "I bicycle down Washington Street, State Street, Eighth Street. I bicycle all over town... What unbelievable peace and quiet reigns in this small town... Traverse City, you are close to my ideal city. How did I get so lucky?"
PUBLIC PITCH
Never a man to steer away from
controversy, one of the most telling
exchanges in the book comes when the then-editor of the Record Eagle, Jim Herman,
left it up to the readership, whether Henry
should be given a regular column or not.
Morgenstein, in his own defense, wrote "I
think I am good at writing. I think I am
good at clarifying an issue, at raising the
various points that need to be raised. I write
to make all of us aware of certain human
issues--pollution, overpopulation--local
issues--school buses--city streets..." He
included a coupon to vote yes or no for
him. Over 300 people voted and he got his
column, until 1991, when he was fired for
opposing the first invasion of Iraq.
One of his essays, about saving the beautiful buildings of the old state hospital, reads almost like prophecy. Although his dream of locating the college at the hospital site never materialized, many of his other wishes for the property have come true. At first, he envisioned the plan of the Palais Royal in Paris, designed in 1790:
"It included an exquisite theatre, a puppet show, a waxwork, and a theatre in which child actors performed. There were auction rooms, concert rooms, a salon for chess players, gambling clubs, purely social clubs, a Turkish bath, apartments to rent, several small hotels, numerous cafes and eating places. The upper floors were rented out."
So, maybe some of that is still to come but he did describe great restaurants locating there . . . "Some posh apartment buildings. A building with specialty shops."
Not bad. He suggested that the site become Traverse City's Central Park; that the zoo be moved to the grounds; and that cars be banned in the area.
Some of that could still be in the future as the property defines itself. It might yet be Traverse City's Central Park, cars might still be confined to the outer perimeters, and maybe the zoo animals we lost will wend their way back.
BIKES & CARS
A bit of a renegade, Henry Morgenstein
is definitely not a lover of cars. In "TC
should walk into the future," he champions
walking or biking as the sanest means
of transportation. In a not so prophetic
pronouncement, he says in this 1986 essay,
"Cars are not the wave of the future." If
he had his way, he would ban cars from
almost all of the city, compelling residents
to ride a bike as he does. A common sight
in Traverse City was Henry on his bike,
greeting neighbors and visitors. A one-man
welcoming committee for the city he loves.
Perhaps my favorite lines from this book of elegiac, contentious, and thought provoking essays comes in "Ban all cars inside Traverse City" when he writes:
"Ban all cars inside Traverse City. When you get to our city limit you will please leave all guns, cars, and other mechanical noise-making machines at our front door. Now you may enter our world of peace, quiet, tranquility and children's games."
Well, maybe not during Cherry Festival, or the Film Festival, but it is something to think about.
|
Copyright ©
2011 |
Check out
Contra essays & |