Washington Island, WI

"North of the tension line"

Nominated by Charles Stults

A father and his daughters proudly show off their catch for the day. (Credit: Charles Stults)

Seven hundred people live on this small island in Lake Michigan. Our community embodies a large family that watches out for each other.

When our son was young he was riding his bike to get home for dinner.  He desperately needed to use the bathroom so he walked up to a house on the way and knocked on the door. He said, “I need to use the bathroom.”  The owner said, “Sure, Mike! The bathroom is down the hall on the right.”

There’s one grocery store on the island that closes at  6 p.m.  The clock said 5:55 p.m. I called the store and asked the owner if he could put a gallon of milk on the bench on the store front porch for me. I told him I’d pay for the milk in the morning. The owner happily left the milk out for me. The next morning I paid him immediately and thanked him.

This is a place where you can leave your keys in your car and not worry about the car being stolen.    Â