December 2025 Gazette: Put-in-Bay Island Diary November ’25

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Island Diary November 2025

Sat., Nov. 1st – Scott Jackson hosts football fans at the Goat who help empty the last kegs of beer. Half price days start at the Island General Store as Chad Hughes reduces inventory for his winter closedown. Kendra Koehler has lots of new household item donations for sale at the Resale Shop. It’s the last day of season for Cameo Pizza. Over on Bass Island immediately to our north, the Middle Bass General Store hosts 121 members of its island family for a wonderful thank-you dinner. The Ohio Fire Academy comes to Middle Bass for the weekend to put on both a live fire and driving simulator training. Members of Middle Bass Volunteer Fire Department and Catawba Island Fire Department joined together for two days of the hands-on training.

Sun., Nov. 2nd – Laura Fogg from Airline Dr. successfully runs the New York City Marathon. Residents on the upper islands are dealing with on-and-off and rescheduled power outages as Ohio Edison works on replacing an underwater backup line between Put-in-Bay’s East Point and Middle Bass. Andy and Angela Christensen and their son Andrew watch the afternoon’s football game with Brian and Justine Cultice at closed Reel Bar. There are only three tables, a dozen chairs and a couple of stools populating the barroom floor’s usually crowded space.

Mon., Nov. 3rd – The Put-in-Bay ferry schedule changes. The last ferry leaving Put-in-Bay daily is 4:30 p.m. and leaves Catawba at 5 p.m. Weather conditions cancel the scheduled power outage for the upper islands.

Tue., Nov. 4th – Elections for island officials and issues take place at the Senior Center – Lisa Brohl, Patricia Fisher, Diane Nemec and Chantell Shaffer are the poll workers. The biggest line at the polling place was when quite a few came on the Miller ferry from Middle Bass to vote.

Wed., Nov. 5th – Residents wake to find the results of the election. Jon Scarpelli will be the new PIB Twp. Trustee, and new Village Councilmembers will be Phil Hahn from Banyan Cove and Dave Schafer from Ashley’s Island House. All of the islands’ renewal tax levies pass. There’s an early birthday party for Evie Cultice who will be turning seven. The Class of 2027 is holding a pizza fundraiser.

Thu., Nov. 6th – Although in the 40s, it’s sunny and pleasant. After school the island kids go out to the State Park to ride bikes and rollerblade.

Fri., Nov. 7th – Hot topic for the Village Council is whether or not to paint a double yellow stripe, a simple white stripe or no stripe at all on newly-paved Langram between Concord and Toledo Avenues. Among the winners at the Legion’s annual Feather Party at the Town Hall are Joan Rhoad from Lakeview Allotment on East Point (a turkey) and her granddaughter Isla Koch who takes home $10 cash.

Sat., Nov. 8th – Erie Pavement is busy on a Saturday, laying down new asphalt on Airport Rd. There’s a nice turn out at the yacht club for the Gustav Heineman Scholarship fundraiser dinner.

Sun., Nov. 9th – The Browns Backers are at Topsy’s in the afternoon. Both the Island General Store on Put-in-Bay and the Middle Bass General Store close for the season.

Mon., Nov. 10th – Many islanders awake to a bit of wet snow on roofs and ground. A bunch of school kids head to Zach Kowalski’s for a Dungeons & Dragons session.

Put-in-Bay Quick Links

• Things To Do At Put-in-Bay
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• Our Favorite Places To Eat At PIB
• Put-in-Bay Ferry Service

Tue., Nov. 11th – Quality Sprinkly, the sprinkling system company used by the DeRivera Park Trustees, blow out all the waterlines for the winter. The PIB Twp. Trustees vote unanimously to approve a new 5-year sheriff contract without any public discussion. There is no last ferry due to weather coming in. Legion members meet at the Town Hall for their annual Veterans Day dinner. There’s a great view of the Northern Lights from the islands.

Wed., Nov. 12th – A wind advisory warns High winds may cause trip delays/cancellations. The last ferry is cancelled. The Words & Wine Book Club meets at the Duff Homestead in the evening. The group shares wine while enjoying a book of their own choosing. New adult members are always welcome at the Words & Wine Book Club’s meetings. PIBYC opens for the winter season.

Thu., Nov. 13th – Those traveling on Langram Rd. need to reroute themselves due to the repaving project going on.

Fri., Nov. 14th – The 2025 Diocesan Convention takes place in Wooster, Ohio, and St. Paul’s delegates are Bob White, Ed Hubner and Amy Huston. That last little bit of B-Dock is removed. Council meets before its normally scheduled meeting to discuss the Village budget for the coming year. Dustin Heineman is at the former Bianchi home on Mitchell Rd. and cuts off decades of growth and shaped the front bushes into a bonsai design.

Sat., Nov. 15th – Put-in-Bay Yacht Club welcomes Buckeye fans to view the game in its Bayview room in the afternoon. In the evening, the club hosts its Friendsgiving potluck.

Sun., Nov. 16th – In the morning there are white caps in harbor. The Browns Backers are at Topsy’s for the game. The M/V William Market is dry docked at The Great Lakes Shipyard for scheduled maintenance including new Carboline hull paint, Tier 3 Emissions Northern 50KW generators, Bosch Rexroth ultra-quiet steering system pumps, and U.S. Coast Guard hull inspections.

Mon., Nov. 17th – A medium size buck is seen scurrying through the Island General Store parking lot about 9:45 p.m.

Tue., Nov. 18th – Work continues prepping the lake bottom for the new B dock, and the big lighted Christmas star top of the park fountain is in place.

Wed., Nov. 19th – Paul Ladd and Ted McCann check out the old “Historical Museum” sign made by the late Jerry Hubschman years ago for the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society. Paul says he can fix and paint it and get it back on the building where it belongs. The island community loves shopping at the Holiday Bazaar at the Town Hall. You can find everything from Perry Group memberships to decorated canning jars used by Ma Duff, and handmade crafts to holiday treats. Across the island at the museum, there are cookies made by June Stoiber and Gluhwein made by Caroline Jackson for those shopping in museum and Resale shops. The Aquatic Visitor Center hosts an open house.

Thu., Nov. 20th – The younger island school kids are on stage at their “Holly Jolly Holiday Concert.” Proud parents, family members and friends enjoy watching the Kindergarten through 8th grade plus select 11th-grade music students perform festive holiday music favorites on the stage at the school gym. Put-in-Bay firefighters have vehicle extrication training at night and utilize the jaws of life equipment. Under Lt. Pettenski’s direction, the team practices hands-on techniques for door, hood and roof removal and stabilization of a vehicle, as well as extraction from beneath steering wheel called the dash roll.

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Fri., Nov. 21st – The Put-in-Bay Township Office closes and will resume normal hours on December 1st. According to Ohio Edison, they do not need to do any more outages to complete the new underwater power line to the upper islands from East Point on South Bass Island. Little Sage Scarpelli has her first sleep over at her little friend Dylan Riley’s house.

Sat., Nov. 22nd – It’s 39 degrees out, and Mack McCann is seen on his riding mower cutting grass at McCann Field, and Darin Elry, the bartender at PIBYC, is seen riding his electric bike on his way to the club.. The Panthers basketball teams have a 3-game home opener against Harvest Temple and Tiffin Calvert in the morning. The island’s Panther Twirling Club marches in Bowling Green’s 90-unit Holiday Parade. Renee Market wearing a vintage dress is the first ever “model” in a marketing promotion for the Resale Shop.

Sun., Nov. 23rd – Jim Wilson from Port Clinton brings Harold Hauck’s restored Model A back to the island so it can be displayed in the antique car museum at Perry’s Cave. The car hasn’t been on PIB since it was taken off in 1976. For those who don’t remember Harold, he flew for the old Island Airlines and held the world record for the number of hours flying a Ford Trimotor. The Brown’s Backers are in the Bayview Room at the PIB Yacht Club to watch the game against the Las Vega Raiders.

Mon., Nov. 24th – Ohio Sea Grant and Stonelab host a webinar on critical issues and emerging threats facing Lake Erie.Miller Boat Line passes on a weather advisory with strong southwest winds that will more than likely delay and/or cancel trips on Wednesday and Thanksgiving. If you’re leaving the island for Thanksgiving, you are seriously considering leaving for the mainland on the morrow.

Tue., Nov. 25th – There’s a light rain in the morning. The Ecumenical Community Thanksgiving Service is held at Mother of Sorrows. The service is followed by desserts and snacks in the Cornerstone Room.

Wed., Nov. 26th – By 7 a.m., the weather station at the lighthouse is recording a steady 30-knot windspeed from the west southwest. There is only one ferry off the island at 8 a.m. and no other trips, including Middle Bass, the rest of the day. PIB School is closed for the beginning of the long Thanksgiving break. By 3 p.m. most of Alligator Reef is out of water, enough so that a few adults and kids have crossed to Gibraltar. Among the treasures found on the lake bottom are two cell phones and a man’s wedding band. With the temperature 36 degrees and the wind blowing at 48 knots, the windchill is just under 20 degrees. Less than seven weeks earlier, some of the island kids were swimming in the lake.

Thu., Nov. 27th – There is just a tiny bit of snow on the ground when islanders awake in the morning. There are no ferries running due to continued high winds. At St. Paul’s, there’s a Thanksgiving dinner for those who don’t want to cook or don’t have other plans for the holiday. About 25 guests bring a dish to share with others in the Undercroft.

Fri., Nov. 28th – Miller Ferry’s “Extended Schedule” begins and boats from Catawba are filled with cars heading back to the island after the two day shutdown.

Sat., Nov. 29th – Santa and Mrs. Claus visit Put-in-Bay Yacht. The kids have breakfast with them in the morning, and then the adults have Christmas cheer cocktails with the couple in the afternoon. It snows after dinner.

Sun., Nov. 30th – That wind is blowing again and there are no ferry trips. The Browns Backers are a Topsy’s for the game against San Francisco 49ers. Brian Cultice checks the final layout of the Gazette and sends it from Florida to the printer in Sandusky.

Putinbay.com is proud to present the Put-in-Bay Gazette’s Island Diary for November 2025, in the Dcember 2025 issue of the Gazette.

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