2024Elle Gover
My time in Elberta was spent reacquainting myself with a place I'd known as a child with the hopes of developing a new, deep lifelong relationship with it. In late May, I packed up my entire life and moved out of my Detroit apartment, leaving town with my two cats and whatever fit in my truck. I wanted to feel lighter, to learn about the dunes, the people, the walk from Sawbill's porch to Port City smokehouse for some smoked trout and back again. I landed at Sawbill, and she was the perfect place to hold me in the beginning of this new life. I attended a barter fair and came away with Kay's late husbands sailing books, bean boots, and a handprinted shirt that read "Benzie Style". I wrote while sitting on the back porch looking out at the steep incline of a sand dune that leads directly to Michi gami (Lake Michigan), learning how the roses bloom in June and the prehistoric-looking ferns all summer long. We cooked several times a day and always ate outside on one of the four porches. Olaf and Boo (two cats) raced from one open window to the next, chasing birds always just out of reach. Once, my mother and brother visited, having not been to this area in over 20 years, since we sold my grandpa's old cabin on the Betsie River. I regularly drove the 8 country miles to Another Place, the property I steward nearby, often stopping at Jerry's Resale on the way. Sawbill made it possible to spend many nights at Another Place, cooking and reading by the campfire. Little by little, I walked the dunes through the forest trail to the water and got to know this place, its smells, its seasons and its sounds. Sawbill's a special place within a special place, and I'm so grateful to be part of it.
Elle is queer writer, researcher, community radio host, and nascent natural builder based between Detroit and Benzonia, Michigan focused on personal narratives, rural communal storytelling and archive, accessibility, and curating healthy, welcoming spaces. Since 2022, they steward 10 acres of land near Benzonia (pop: 556). They're currently in the early stages of co-designing and building a small, affordable, natural home on the land out of locally-grown straw panels, timber, and earthen plaster. Eventually, Elle plans to start Another Place Design & Build school and artist residency.
Neighbor, Writer, Land Steward
DETROIT (POP 639,111) and BENZONIA (POP 556)My time in Elberta was spent reacquainting myself with a place I'd known as a child with the hopes of developing a new, deep lifelong relationship with it. In late May, I packed up my entire life and moved out of my Detroit apartment, leaving town with my two cats and whatever fit in my truck. I wanted to feel lighter, to learn about the dunes, the people, the walk from Sawbill's porch to Port City smokehouse for some smoked trout and back again. I landed at Sawbill, and she was the perfect place to hold me in the beginning of this new life. I attended a barter fair and came away with Kay's late husbands sailing books, bean boots, and a handprinted shirt that read "Benzie Style". I wrote while sitting on the back porch looking out at the steep incline of a sand dune that leads directly to Michi gami (Lake Michigan), learning how the roses bloom in June and the prehistoric-looking ferns all summer long. We cooked several times a day and always ate outside on one of the four porches. Olaf and Boo (two cats) raced from one open window to the next, chasing birds always just out of reach. Once, my mother and brother visited, having not been to this area in over 20 years, since we sold my grandpa's old cabin on the Betsie River. I regularly drove the 8 country miles to Another Place, the property I steward nearby, often stopping at Jerry's Resale on the way. Sawbill made it possible to spend many nights at Another Place, cooking and reading by the campfire. Little by little, I walked the dunes through the forest trail to the water and got to know this place, its smells, its seasons and its sounds. Sawbill's a special place within a special place, and I'm so grateful to be part of it.
Elle is queer writer, researcher, community radio host, and nascent natural builder based between Detroit and Benzonia, Michigan focused on personal narratives, rural communal storytelling and archive, accessibility, and curating healthy, welcoming spaces. Since 2022, they steward 10 acres of land near Benzonia (pop: 556). They're currently in the early stages of co-designing and building a small, affordable, natural home on the land out of locally-grown straw panels, timber, and earthen plaster. Eventually, Elle plans to start Another Place Design & Build school and artist residency.