The Journey
Welcome to The Journey, a space where Mary McKSchmidt shares her transition from business executive to advocate, photographer, poet, and storyteller. Here, she invites you to walk alongside her as she explores life in the Great Lakes region, its beauty and fragility, and the bonds that connect us all.
The McKSchmidt Questions
A Grassroots Effort to Prioritize Clean Water You don’t think it can happen to you until it does. Or to someone living right around the corner. On Friday, July 27th, we received an urgent message from our Congressman warning residents of Parchment, a...
Walking the Streets of San Francisco Some Twenty Years Ago
He plays bongos on a street corner,ragged, but focused. “I used to bea great artist,” he beams, buthis eyes are blank.I place a dollar bill in his jarthen see the sign, No begging.“You still are,” I reply,and slide him a ten from my wallet. But that is not all I...
“The Box”
“Did you know there are over fifty-five thousand shipwrecks recorded on the Great Lakes?” Rubin asks, looking up from his book.We are sitting in the cockpit of our sailboat, docked in its slip as the sun begins painting the evening skies with brush strokes of pink,...
Even Ben Franklin . . .
. . . needs a good summer read! Uncharted Waters: Romance, Adventure, and Advocacy on the Great Lakes is now available from your favorite bookstore or on Amazon or other online retailers. I know you’ll enjoy!Readers World (at 194 River in Holland, MI)...
What They Are Saying . . .
Uncharted Waters is available July 3rd from your favorite local bookstoreor online retailer. I wrote the book, Uncharted Waters, so that others might experience the Great Lakes, join me in celebrating and protecting them. This is...
I Needed Math and English
I was raised to believe I could make a difference, that I could use my talents to help create a better world. According to my parents, the key was a strong, balanced education. Math and English. Science and Art. History and Physical...
Reflecting on the Woman Who Wore Purple
The year was 2015. Patty Birkholz was no longer my state senator but, as always, I was learning from this woman who championed the Great Lakes, who worked tirelessly to protect our watersheds, who advocated for Michigan's state parks.“When you look at an issue that...
After the Hurricane
It is the last, lone leaf on the oak tree that calls to me, that pulls my thoughts away from the all-consuming conundrum that has shadowed me for monthsI was born with “Responsibility” tattooed across my shoulders. First—and always, with family. Then with career. And...
Mentors Matter
I have not thought about my first mentor in decades, not until I saw a young woman standing on the edge of a dune, photographing a Lake Michigan sunset. Evening after breathtakingly beautiful evening. “Can you do it?” asked Nick Sharkey, the managing editor for the...
Almost 100 Votes and It’s a Tie!
The votes for the Uncharted Waters book cover are in! Ninety-four people weighed in—47 selecting the porthole, 47 choosing the chart. Over 58% percent of women voted for the porthole, 70% of men preferred the chart. The art/the science. The right...
Porthole or Chart?
Which of these book covers peaks your interest? Would prompt you to pull it off a retailer’s shelf for a “good summer read?” Or grab your attention on Amazon? The porthole or the chart? Would you vote? Please? As many of you know, this summer I am...
Why Am I Marching Tomorrow?
Near the gathering site for tomorrow's march We are a country of immigrants and descendants of immigrants. Me, included. In the mid 1800’s, people of my ethnic origin faced NINA signs, “No Irish Need Apply,” when they immigrated to the United States, hoping to build a...