Meet the Milligans
Angel Milligan is a textile artist who felts, crochets and creates a variety of unique pieces through her self-taught ability with fiber arts. Photos and information about her craft can be found at www.instagram.com/angeldominiq13.
LOREN BENOIT/Press Al Milligan has a wide background of experience as an attorney, a policeman, a health coach and a chef. Here, Al prepares a quinoa dish made with spinach, cranberries and sweet potatoes for family dinner.
Ryan Milligan who writes under the name of Christian Ryan, has an innate writing ability and love of the natural world and wildlife that he likes to share with readers of all ages. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)
By DEVIN WEEKS
Staff Writer
COEUR d’ALENE — From Florida to the Carolinas to Vermont to Utah, the Milligans have finally found their home in Coeur d’Alene.
"The Lord has called us here," said Al Milligan, who came to North Idaho with wife Angel and son Ryan, 20, just more than three months ago. "The Lord moves us. When he speaks, we move. And not audibly, but we know when it’s time to move. That’s what we do. There’s always a purpose for our move."
The Milligans had never been to the Northwest before they moved to Utah to be with Angel's elderly mother before she passed away, but once they discovered the West, they felt a calling to stay. They have especially enjoyed the area since finding a home in a quiet northern Coeur d'Alene neighborhood.
"It’s wonderful. It’s been refreshing," Angel said. "And the people, the people have been welcoming, which was quite the opposite in Utah. People let you get in the lane, they let you cross the street. If anything, in Utah, they speed up."
The Milligan family brings with them a treasure trove of talent and faithful hearts ready to serve others.
Al served in the Air Force for seven years before working as an attorney, 10 years as a policeman and is now a chef and a health coach who writes educational pieces on his blog, www.instagram.com/herbofthefield. He conducts vegan meal demonstrations to guide people toward healthier lifestyles.
Angel is a textile artist who felts, crochets and otherwise creates a variety of unique pieces through her self-taught ability with fiber arts. Her creations include colorful decorative bowls made of dryer lint, much like papier-mache. Photos and information about her craft can be found at www.instagram.com/angeldominiq13.
"There’s something about fiber," she said. "If you talk to any fiber artist or crafters, like knitters, felters, they love the yarn because most of them work with yarn.
"Working with all the colors, the softness of it, it's soothing. It’s relaxing."
Continuing with the tradition of talent and dedication, Ryan — who writes under the name of Christian Ryan — has an innate writing ability and love of the natural world, which has earned him a spot as a Coeur d'Alene Press correspondent. He writes engaging pieces about wildlife ("Critters of North Idaho") and state parks. His work includes fun scavenger hunts, recipes and do-it-yourself projects for readers of all ages to enjoy.
“This place wasn’t exactly on my radar for most of my life, so it’s been a really exciting and new experience for me," he said.
One critter he enjoyed researching was the rubber boa, a small cousin of the boa constrictor and anaconda.
"I’m sure you’re aware, a lot of people don’t like snakes. What I explained in the article is these snakes are important to Idaho’s ecology,” Ryan said. "They help to keep down the rodent population, so if you took the rubber boas out of the ecosystem, we’d have a surplus of mice and rats and other undesirables.”
Ryan was homeschooled after attending private school until second grade. He always got his work done early to focus on his passion: writing, research and nature.
When he was only 11, Ryan wrote "The King on a Cross: Three Time Travelers Visit Jesus’ Death, Burial and Resurrection," which published when he was 12. He's currently writing an adventure novel dealing with characters finding an uncharted island where dinosaurs still roam. And he’s looking for an illustrator.
"I just love to learn about all of God’s creations, all the interesting things that they do in nature, all their little jobs," he said. "I like that other people are able to learn something from what I write and view the topic I'm discussing in a different light than what they envisioned about it before."
The Milligans are strong in their faith. They practice Messianic Judaism, a belief that combines elements of Judaism with Christianity, and have worked in the ministry in their previous communities preparing meals and helping others in need.
The family is looking forward to keeping on the path of serving others and fulfilling their purpose in their new home town.
"I like the overall beauty of the landscape and all the nature we have around us," Ryan said.
"I thought that it was beautiful in Vermont, but to me it’s more beautiful here," Angel said. "God created all of it, but we really like it here."