Best Stories of 2013 in Southwest Michigan's Second Wave

Photo for #1 story, Kids in Tune, by Erik Holladay at eholladay.com 

One of my favorite publications to write for is Southwest Michigan's Second Wave, and their annual list of best stories of the year is out. Six of the top ten are mine, and I had great fun working on them and meeting the great people behind them: #1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10. Thank you, Kathy Jennings, for the terrific assignments and Erik Holladay-McCann for the eye-catching photography that illustrates the stories.

Before we get too far into the new year it's fun to take a look back and see what feature stories Southwest Michigan's Second Wave readers liked best in the preceding year.


Of those written in 2013, stories about places to eat and drink were favorites. So were stories about good ideas that people are putting into practice, one of our favorite topics to feature in Second Wave. 

2013 was a great year for this little online magazine. Our readership continues to climb as more and more people find us and share our stories. (We encourage sharing!) As we get ready to go into our fourth year of publication here is our list of the top 10 stories for 2013:

http://swmichigan.secondwavemedia.com/features/best_stories_of_2013_for_Second_Wave_0109.aspx


10. Deerings get help to lighten the load of festival refuse that's landfill bound 

9. Kalamazoo's bakeries are the frosting on the cake 

8. One-of-a-kind jams, foraged foods keep elder fires burning

7. Keeping kids out of trouble by making truffles

2. Latitude 42 hops forward with Portage's first microbrewery

1. Music changes young lives, one note at a time, with Kids in Tune