Overview

As I moved to Door County somewhat recently, I have tried to learn more about the ever-changing area and its residents. I met Doug Van Vorous at a meeting to write articles for the local newspaper about problems at local schools. Doug was born and spent most of his younger years in Door County. After serving time in the Marines, Doug returned home to find that much had changed–and is still changing even today. I was interested in Doug’s unique view of Door County, and he was interested in writing his life story, so this project was born.

I spent several evenings with Doug, doing rough interviews where I’d ask him a few prompting questions and then listen and take notes as he talked about his childhood, his time in the marines, and his experiences coming home. After a few weeks of weekly recording sessions, I accumulated about five hours’ worth of audio recording. Much of this included his family history, the history of other families who are related to his, and how their businesses came and went. Doug also talked a lot about his political and religious views, and how they have shifted over the years, as well as how he believes the world is shifting. While I was initially interested in Door County, I ended up learning about a lot more than I expected, and not all of it could be included here.

After I realized just how much content I had and that it could not all be included, I realized I had to pick a “lens” through which to present the content. After some deliberation, I decided to focus primarily on Doug’s experience with the shifting political and religious atmospheres, and how these experiences have shaped his view of the world. When Doug first approached me about writing a biography, these were the points he most wanted to get across, and it was also a very interesting topic.

While politics and religion can often be polarizing topics, it is usually because people disagree. However, many people never stop to think about why another person might hold differing views than them. Even if I, and readers of Doug’s story, do not agree with his views, we can at least be open to learning why he believes what he does, and perhaps can gain a more open mind when it comes to the dissenting views of others.