Scott Craig’s Stories Next Door

In the ‘50s, he was a radio DJ. By the early ‘60s, he’d broken into TV. In the mid ‘70s, he’d formed his own television production company in Chicago, which led to him producing hundreds of documentaries for networks from CBS and NBC to Fox and PBS.

These days, he’s retired from TV and lives in Leland. But Scott Craig has embarked on yet another career: that of radio tale-teller and author.

In 2013, after a successful run with an initial audio broadcast version on IPR (Interlochen Public Radio), Craig’s book “The Story Next Door” became a hit.

A collection of regional tales direct from Northern Michigan, Craig tells stories of “achievement, adventure, hilarity, drama, courage, and love,” drawing on almost 50 years of his experiences working with human-interest stories.

With a new audio version of his tales now on CD (called “Scott Craig’s More Stories Next Door”), he’s circled back around to his radio days once again.

The book grew from the radio series, and now the new CD is an outgrowth of the book.

DRIVEWAY MOMENTS

Most often compared to Paul Harvey – and to what many IPR listeners will remember as “driveway moments” in which listeners stayed glued to the radio until each story’s conclusion – the real people in each of Craig’s capsule stories could be neighbors.

And some of them probably are. “It is my belief that everybody has a story worth hearing, and that’s certainly true in Northern Michigan,” Craig said. “The 44 stories contained in it are proof of my theory.”

The book itself was specifically created just for IPR, after meeting with IPR’s General Manager Thom Paulson about volunteering his services.

But Paulson had other ideas for Craig’s talent.

“He said why didn’t I come up with something creative to do for the station,” Craig said. “On the drive home, I came up with the idea and title for ‘The Story Next Door.’ Since I had filled my television documentaries with ‘people stories,’ I had experience with the material.”

ENRICHING DETAILS

Eclectic and home-spun are perhaps the best two words to describe Craig’s stories, whether written or spoken.

In book form, the stories were told via printed word plus photos of the feature people; on IPR, Craig told the tales himself. With careful detail, his sonorous, measured voice spins out each tale in just around five minutes.

In his tales, you’ll meet: The vintner who utilizes solar to give back to the land.

The self-described “chick in charge” at the Little Bohemia tavern in TC.

A 79-year-old man who loves the thrill of fast cars.

The woman who invented the local artisan ice cream Cherries Moobilee.

And the guy who, once a year, thinks he’s Uncle Sam.

The stories and the people he features, Craig says, mean a lot to him.

“These people let me into their lives,” he said. “I feel it’s almost a sacred thing. I spend time with them, and they enrich my life. I cannot think of a more rewarding thing for an old retired guy to do.”

The CD, “Scott Craig’s More Stories Next Door” can be found in bookstores throughout Northern Michigan. Older editions of his “Stories” can be heard online at interlochenpublicradio.org.

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