Ellen Noghes by Kerry Duggan
Six Degrees of Michigan
It seems like no matter how far you travel, or who you meet, you can count on finding a Michigan connection, something I like to call the “Six Degrees of Michigan”. I was in Galway, Ireland last summer and met a woman who went to high school in Detroit with my Mom. When on walks through Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC, you could always count on saying “go blue” to someone in a Michigan t-shirt or hat.
This past summer, I experienced one of my favorite serendipitous moments of Six Degrees. Michigan LCV Executive Director Lisa Wozniak and I had just arrived at Ann Arbor’s Top of the Park festival. Lisa ran into a friend whom she knew through her mother’s workplace and I wondered off to get us refreshments. While they chatted away, I struck up a conversation with the woman’s sister Ellen who had just arrived from Washington DC.
As Ellen and I talked, I discovered that we were practically neighbors when I lived in DC. She is married to the Ambassador of Monaco and, interestingly enough, they spend their summers vacationing at their cottage in northern Michigan.
I told Ellen about Michigan LCV and our work and she was genuinely interested. We exchanged contact information and I hoped our paths would cross again soon.
It was not long before I was planning our event at Black Star Farms on the LeeLanau peninsula and was headed up north. I reconnected with Ellen and the Ambassador and they graciously welcomed me into their cottage, aptly named Clair de Loon given the regular call of the loons, for a night. We enjoyed dinner, great conversation, and were mesmerized by the sunset over Lake Michigan, with Beaver Island and lighthouses in the background.
I wish I could share a sunset like that with everyone who has not seen a Great Lake.
The next morning, Ellen and I went rock hunting on the beach and walked their dog, Maestro. As we strolled along, Ellen told me something that I will never forget. She pointed out to Sturgeon Bay, smiled, and said, “The Ambassador and I have traveled to seven continents and lived in amazing places. We could vacation anywhere in the world, but we chose Michigan and we come back to this place year every year”.
To me, it is very obvious why Ellen and Ambassador Noghes come back to Michigan year after year. It is easy to draw energy, strength, and inner peace from the powerful beauty of the Great Lakes.
It also reminds me of why our work at Michigan LCV is so very important: it is critical that we pass strong laws to protect the very essence of what we treasure, and electing good people to office is one essential way to make this happen.
As Ellen and I said our goodbyes up north, she told me this poem and gave me her blessing to share it with you:
In the stillness of the early morning, loons cry out their gentle warning,
Two eagles soar high overhead, the full moon fades and goes to bed,
The orange sun rises in the east and thus begins the sensory feast
Of another unforgettable day on our beloved Sturgeon Bay.
~Ellen Noghes
Kerry Duggan is Deputy Director and Development Director with Michigan LCV.
