Curiosity is the essence of a good interview. That’s why I left the Scott Craig and Carol Bawden home with a feeling of inadequacy.
It was several years ago now, probably about 2017, that Scott and Carol hosted me at their historically significant home with an eagle’s view of the Manitou Passage. Getting there wasn’t easy as I needed to follow directions up the vertical driveway and climb stairs to reach Roundtop. Scott was already relying on a cane at times, which couldn’t keep him off the golf course.
Physical ailments weren’t worth a conversation. He brushed off his limp as an inconvenience, moving toward compelling topics. We had only met previously by happenstance, which at this point of my life seems an omission on my part. I certainly knew of the legend of Scott Craig. His broadcasts of “The Story Next Door,” in which he retold the lives of county residents prominent and obscure, played regularly. How come I didn’t do more to get his thoughts in the Enterprise?
The fact that they aired with his commanding voice on WTCM, the home of the Rush Limbaugh show, was significant. Scott was not a conservative. I wouldn’t label him a liberal, either. He was not a good fit for labels, and he certainly wouldn’t let ugly politics get in the way of a good story.
He found such stories everywhere in Leelanau. Our interview started with Scott interviewing me. Not in the sense of an inquisitive reporter looking for a chink in whatever armor accompanied ownership of the Leelanau Enterprise. No, he held to rare innocence in his curiosity, as though the secret to life would be unveiled from the words of people he came to know. He assumed the best in folks as though the fallacies of everyone else were anomalies in the human spirit.
He was a better interviewer than me. Frankly, I usually don’t like writing about other writers because often they possess better skills and usually they become editors when reading the finished product. Scott’s list of national and Chicago-area awards in the television business makes him a giant among communicators. After retiring and moving to Leelanau, he was a frequent emcee of artisan events that included plays and dialogues. His book, “Laughing at Leelanau,” transformed the experiences of others into tales of the joys of life. He found philosophy in the nuances that go unnoticed until put in context with all the headline-grabbing bullcrap that constitutes a full day of advancement for most of us, me included.
Scott effortlessly walked though the door separating simple from complicated.
He took time to thank me for the story on his house, something that rarely happens in this business. I don’t know if I deserved it or not because that’s just something Scott would do.
I also recall when gospel musicians Buddy Greene and Jeff Taylor needed a place to stay after performing a fund-raising concert for Leelanau Christian Neighbors. They normally expected the hosting group to provide a room for their visit, and were a little apprehensive about private accommodations that might turn into a basement coach.
Scott and Carol hosted them. They still rave about the hospitality they received and the raft of stories they heard about Scott’s path through life. “I have a banjo he and his wife gave me,” wrote Taylor. “What a great memory staying in that beautiful cabin and meeting them.”
Scott Craig was a celebrity and a neighbor. He was a king among town criers. And a friend to Leelanau. The county will miss him.
