Life + Culture

Roots of Royal Oak

Inside an old fire station, volunteers preserve our city's history Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie The elevator groans to life. And as docent Tom Toggweiler and I descend, a stunning mural of the old Saginaw Trail slides past on the wall. It’s a painted reminder that long before this was a Detroit suburb with trendy restaurants and bustling nightlife, Native Americans walked this path between Detroit and Saginaw. The moment encapsulates our tour of the Royal Oak...

Arts + Culture

The Craftsman Who Listens

For 36 years, Brendan Sherwood has turned conversations into custom creations at Elements Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie For 36 years, Brendan Sherwood has turned conversations into custom creations at Elements There's a story Brendan Sherwood tells about glass vessels he made in college. During a critique, his instructor posed a hypothetical: What if someone puts something inside that ruins the aesthetic, that destroys what you've created? Brendan's answer? "I...

Arts + Culture

The Library, Reimagined

At the Royal Oak Public Library, borrowing goes far beyond books Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie The first time I heard about them, I assumed I mis heard. A ghost-hunting kit. A karaoke machine. A robotic cat that purrs when you pet it. These are not the offerings of a startup, or a tech incubator. Nope. They’re all available to borrow at the Royal Oak Public Library — which, under the thoughtful leadership of director Sandy Irwin, is redefining what a library can...

Health + Wellness

The Science of Care

A former biologist brings precision and heart to helping people stay healthy Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Christina DeGregory spent years peering through a microscope, even going to Kenya to study wildlife. But when a PhD felt like a cage she didn’t want to live in, she followed the same instinct that led her to wildlife research in the first place: the urge to help. Now Christina helps people protect their health in the always-unpredictable experiment of being...

Life + Culture

The Rhythm of Healing

In this faith-guided healer’s sanctuary in Oak Park, peace settles the body and spirit Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie “I’ve always been into natural healing,” Versala Parish Anderson says. Her voice is warm, the kind of tone that immediately sets the nervous system at ease. She calls herself a researcher by instinct, a woman who follows the quiet nudges, inner knowings, and signs she believes God places along her path.  Versala set up Rhythm Wellness Center to be a...

Health + Wellness

The Courage to Begin Again

Nanette Murphy shows how self-care and purpose can rewrite life’s story Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie When Nanette Murphy starts her day, there’s no rushing to inboxes or appointments. She pads softly to the coffee maker, curls back into bed, and for the next hour, she lets the world arrive at her pace. With the news turned low, and gratitude as her focus, she warms up her mind with word games and quiet reflection. “I’m a slow starter,” she says with a smile. “I wake...

Arts + Culture

Sweat. Plunge. Rest. Repeat.

The Schvitz, Detroit's most unique wellness ritual, has found new life Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie When Paddy Lynch first walked into the Schvitz with a friend, more than a decade before he ever dreamed of owning it, the place was… well, rough. Dingy carpets. Drop ceilings holding decades of smoke. A stench that hovered somewhere between chlorine and cigarettes. But down the long hallway, in the belly of the venerable building, he found something that stopped him...

Life + Culture

Curated Royal Oak Shopping Guide

Shop local for the holidays with these unique finds Article and Photography by Amy Gillespie If you are like me, it gets harder and harder to shop for people every year. Local unique finds are what seem to win over everyone - even the hardest family member or friend to shop for. Explore these local boutique shops for some of the very best finds around town. Modern amenities, quirky local staples and priceless heirloom pieces for the kids, mid-century modern and antique whimsy – these three...

Life + Culture

Bananas Aglow

Mirepoix Cooking School shares a holiday dessert recipe that’s “fire”—really Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie Growing up, my mother Barbara had two showstoppers in her holiday repertoire: Cherries Jubilee and Bananas Flambé. She didn’t make them often…just on those special nights when the good china came out and she wanted guests to be dazzled. It worked: the flash of flame felt like magic, a brief, bright light of homemade joy. That same sense of hands-on creativity...

Life + Culture

A Bridge Called Hope

This banker turned tragedy into Michigan’s boldest bet on youth aging out of foster care Article by Marshall Zweig | Photography by Amy Gillespie The first thing I notice about Citizens State Bank owner Chris Yatooma isn’t his title or his success. It’s his conviction: earnest, straightforward, seeing beyond what is, to what will be. It’s the kind of conviction you hear in someone who turned the worst day of their life into a blueprint to help others. Chris was eleven when his father, Manuel...