Cruelest Month

Winter is starting to loosen its grip on Cedar County along the shores of northern Lake Michigan. The first hints of green are becoming visible on the edges of the receding snowpack. On the inland lakes, the layers of ice that started forming in late November and December are slowly subsiding.

The search for morel mushrooms is still three or four weeks off, but this year there is other treasure to hunt. Vincent Fox, an octogenarian, has self-published a book, Al Capone's Michigan: The Secret...