A Pear Tree Grows in Dixboro

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Dixboro's leafy village green is dominated by the nineteenth-century white clapboard Methodist Church. Picturesque as it is, even most Midwesterners probably see it as more New England than England proper, but McCormick's crisp, musical diction might have you looking around for the tea and scones (which you can find next door at Moonwinks Cafe).

McCormick and her accent are actually Scottish, not English, but after growing up in Scotland, in Dundee, she moved to Oxford in the 1970s to be near her sister, and it was there she met her husband, John McCormick. They came to the Detroit area twenty-eight years ago, when he was brought over to work for Crain's Auto Week. He's now a well-known freelance automotive journalist and travels the world, but they've sunk deep roots into the tight-knit community of Dixboro. "I was a member of the church for a while," she says. "We brought over my parents when they were in their seventies. They're both passed away now, but we had the last five years with them. They became a big part of the church."