Northern Michigan Entrepreneur: Becky Tranchell of Rose & Fern
Photo(s) by Rose & Fern
Venture North, a nonprofit based in Traverse City, invests in local businesses in a 10-county region, having provided more than $6 million in funding to entrepreneurs in Northwest Michigan, such as Becky Tranchell, owner of Rose & Fern. Venture North also manages the Regional Resiliency Program, which converts philanthropic donations into grants for small businesses hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“… When care is pressing you down a bit, rest if you must, but don’t you quit,” said Grace Munger, my age-94 great grandmother, at a late ’70s reunion. Wheelchair-bound and failing. She rose from her chair when no one thought she could. Then recited John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem with a punch line she meant; a lesson for family. She had 13 kids; buried two. She trapped and canned muskrat in winter and caught bluegills in summer to feed her family. She had fresh rolls with buttered tops and