Washington Island Observer

Washington Island Observer Locally-owned newspaper committed to providing local news, community information, and advertising.

Washington Island is a year-round island community located approximately five miles off the northeast tip of the Door Peninsula in Door County, Wisconsin. It has its own town government and supports its own school district. The island, which can be reached by boat and by air, has a landmass of approximately 35 square miles and a year-round population of slightly more than 700.

Photography by Monica NovakHoperfully these photos will bring joy as we head towards the depth of winter. For residents ...
12/05/2025

Photography by Monica Novak

Hoperfully these photos will bring joy as we head towards the depth of winter. For residents of Washington Island and visitors alike, these days will be here agian before we know it!

If you don't view these photos and think of paradise I would love to know what your version of paradise is! Beautiful doess not do these photos justice. Thank you for your contributions Monica :)

Monica Novak, a long time all star contributor of The Observer, primarily known for her stunning photography, but also h...
12/05/2025

Monica Novak, a long time all star contributor of The Observer, primarily known for her stunning photography, but also her written contributions to the paper, recently submitted an article to The Observer honoring the life and story of Island Veteran, Bruce Atkins. This article may be found in the November 27th Edition!

Bruces’s parents owned Len’s Garage on Main St, which longtime residents will surely remember, and skills acquired working at the garage would later aid him and his fellow soldiers throughout his time in Vietnam, undoubtedly saving lives. How many families exist today that owe their lives to Bruce's early apprentice at the garage!? It is hard not to be humbled in such moments.

Monica Novak created the ideal atmosphere for Bruce to feel comfortable sharing his story of his experience in Vietnam, which after all these years was still not an easy task. Bruce Atkins recently received a quilt honoring his service through the Quilts of Valor Program and had the tremendous courage to honor every reader with his story,

Words fail in moments like these, but THANK YOU Bruce Atkins for allowing us to look through the lens of your experience and hopefully take away some insight that helps this world become a better one.

And THANK YOU Monica Novak for lending your voice to this endeavor to help us look through that lens.



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The Observer wishes everyone a joyous and happy Thanksgiving :) We couldn't do what we do without all of you!
11/26/2025

The Observer wishes everyone a joyous and happy Thanksgiving :) We couldn't do what we do without all of you!

Who doesn't relish the nature Washington Island lovingly provides. With Thanksgiving knocking at our door, what better t...
11/26/2025

Who doesn't relish the nature Washington Island lovingly provides. With Thanksgiving knocking at our door, what better time of year to ponder on giving, community, and connection!

Christopher Nelson embodied these sentiments and donated 20 acres of land to the Door County Land Trust that will be available for public accesss. The stunning piece of land includes trails, lush woods, and if you're lucky you may just stumble across the limestone amphitheater :)

Would you like to know where on the Island this land is located!!? Read the upcoming article in the Washington Island Observer.

If you are not a subscriber you may go on our website washingtonisalndobserver.com and sign up for a subscription or call the Observer office at 920-847-2661




Meet the members of the W.I.A.A.( Washington Island Art Association!) As well as featuring spring and fall workshops, th...
11/25/2025

Meet the members of the W.I.A.A.( Washington Island Art Association!) As well as featuring spring and fall workshops, the Art Association has artwork displayed by members of the asscociaton at the Art & Nature Center, Red Cup, and Nicolet Bank.

If you have a desire to learn from talented artists, share your particular skills, or become immersed in the thriving art scence of Washington Island, check out this week's Observer to find out more about this excellent association!

Go to our website washingtonislandobserver.com or call our friendly office staff at 920-847-2661 for information on a subscription!


This growing season, Gathering Ground hosted five lucky interns in their Ground School!At the end of the season, each in...
10/06/2025

This growing season, Gathering Ground hosted five lucky interns in their Ground School!

At the end of the season, each intern reflected on their experience & shared their thoughts with the Observer.

We will be featuring one reflection in each of the next five issues. The first featured was Muriel Reese, a junior at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI!

To subscribe to our paper & to read about each of these intern’s unique experiences, go to washingtonislandobserver.com.

Photographed here are all of the interns at a bonfire on their last night of the internship. Front: Muriel Reese, Allie Card. Back: Cole De Bruin, Xander Beneda, & Soren Sandburg.

Wanna hear an interesting tidbit? Forty years ago, the Island had another store—& many squirrels! Jennifer Gates discove...
10/04/2025

Wanna hear an interesting tidbit? Forty years ago, the Island had another store—& many squirrels!

Jennifer Gates discovered evidence of a grocery store competing with Mann's, plus everything about squirrels in Laurel Gordon's "Island Exchange" from 1985. What a time to be alive!

To subscribe to our paper & learn more fun Island tidbits (big & small) on the regular, go to washingtonislandobserver.com!

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The community is making our gym a reality! From a large (& very generous) donation from the Door County Community Founda...
10/01/2025

The community is making our gym a reality!

From a large (& very generous) donation from the Door County Community Foundation, to the humble yet honorable donations from kids like those who wrote these letters, & everything in between, every donation counts!

With a final goal set at $4.2 million, just $865,771.16 remains to make this dream a reality for the Island students & community.

You can help get this project across the finish line by donating in one of these ways:

Facebook https://www.facebook. com/.../Bradley.../61567620403358/..
The Foundation Website https://
www.bradleyjordanfoundation.org/
Nicolet Bank account

To subscribe to our paper & read the full article, go to washingtonislandobserver.com.

Your eyes do not deceive you; Christmas did occur on Friday, September 4th! 🎅🏼🎄😀 Let us explain…It was discovered that s...
09/27/2025

Your eyes do not deceive you; Christmas did occur on Friday, September 4th! 🎅🏼🎄😀

Let us explain…It was discovered that some of the young women who worked on the Island as J-1 visa students had never experienced Christmas, which turned into a full-blown Christmas-in-September extravaganza! 🤩

A feast was served featuring chicken, salmon, roast ham, corn flake potatoes, homemade rolls, green beans, roasted carrots, Mexican pin-wheels, & cherry coke Jello—a family specialty of Emily Ellis, plus savory Chinese dumplings made by Jade Zha (Feicui Zha) & Elowen Zhang, both from China, both never having experienced Christmas! 😋

We are so lucky here in Door County to get the opportunity to learn about so many different cultures from our amazing J-1 students. 🥰

To subscribe to our paper & read the full article, go to washingtonislandobserver.com.

Can you believe this beautiful specimen hasn’t sold yet?? You still have a chance! 😀 (Using our same pitch from our firs...
09/23/2025

Can you believe this beautiful specimen hasn’t sold yet?? You still have a chance! 😀

(Using our same pitch from our first try):

Did your kid ask for a copier for Christmas? It may be early, but it’s gonna be the hot toy this year! Just wait!

If you said yes, then 1) you’ve got a weird kid and 2) we’ve got you covered!

If you said no, it’s less likely, but maybe YOU want one for yourself! Or maybe someone you know does! Or someone else’s kid!

I think we’ve pretty much covered all the bases here…so if you said yes to ANY of the above questions, please email The Observer at [email protected] or call 920-847-2661 with your best offer! 😀

Have you ever seen a 40-foot Hot Wheels Track?? Well now you have!This glorious structure was a big hit with the childre...
09/19/2025

Have you ever seen a 40-foot Hot Wheels Track?? Well now you have!

This glorious structure was a big hit with the children at the Washington Island Classic Car Show which took place on September 6th as part of an annual fundraiser for Island Radio & the Jordan Foundation.

Hosted by Andy Johnson & taking place at the Door Golf Resort, a variety of vehicles from Washington Island & other Wisconsin communities were proudly displayed by their owners at this event which was a hit for both adults & children.

To subscribe to our paper & read more about this Washington Island-tastic event, go to washingtonislandobserver.com.

Thank you to all who attended. We hope to see you again next year!

Photo Credit: Andy Johnson

FALL into what’s next at the Trueblood Performing Arts Center this year! (See what we did there? 😀) Here you go:Thursday...
09/15/2025

FALL into what’s next at the Trueblood Performing Arts Center this year! (See what we did there? 😀) Here you go:

Thursday-Saturday, Sept 18-20 - Washington Island Literary Festival (Times Vary)
Sunday, Sept 21 - Eric Lewis & Griffon Quartet 2:30-4:30 pm
Saturday, Sept 27 - Blind Old Dogs, 7-9 pm
Saturday, Oct 4– Kevin Jones, Paul
Heaton, & Dan Hansen 7-9 pm
Friday, Oct 10 - Behind the Curtain
Coffeehouse 7-9 pm
Saturday, Oct 18 - Behind the Curtain Coffeehouse 7-9 pm
Friday, Oct 24 - Island Band Concert 6:30-8 pm
Tuesday, Nov 11 - Veterans Day Program 10:30 am-12 pm
Saturday, Dec 6 - A Small Town Christmas Show 7-9 pm
Saturday, Dec 20 - Island Band Concert 6:30-8 pm

To subscribe to our paper & to learn more about some of these sure-to-be amazing performers, go to washingtonislandobserver.com!

Photographed here are Jodie DeSalvo & Colin Welford who played Peter Nehlsen's double piano on September 12th & ROCKED IT!!! 🤩

Address

1253 Main Road
Washington Island, WI
54246

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 12pm
Tuesday 9am - 12pm
Wednesday 9am - 12pm
Thursday 9am - 12pm

Telephone

+19208472661

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