Ivan Walton News Today

A conversation with Jake Blount, Laurel Premo, and Nic Gareiss

How lockdowns helped Californians discover local treasures of the past and present

Extended interview with Joe Grimm. “They sang songs about bitter cold winters, they sang songs about lost friends, they sang songs about the perils of working on the lakes,” said Grimm. “There were myths in there. One of the myths or stories was that every seagull carried the soul of a drowned sailor.” Walton found most of the songs in port towns talking to what he called his informants. One of his go-to’s was Beaver Island in northern Lake Michigan. “Men who had worked on vessels ...