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Island Diary April 2022
Fri., Apr. 1st – Today is officially Rodney Karr’s last day at Perry’s Monument. He is “graduating” (retiring) after 22 years and 2 months with the National Park Service here. He is leaving behind some big shoes to fill and will be missed dearly. At the PIBYC dockage opens for requests. There’s a big garage sale at the old Gemelch house at the north end of Fox Rd. on Middle Bass.
Sat., Apr. 2nd – A group of the island ladies head to the Reel Bar to celebrate the birthday of Susan Byrnes from the Arbor Inn.
Sun., Apr. 3rd – What are the odds. All the vehicles on the afternoon ferry from Middle Bass to the mainland are black except for one white pickup truck.
Mon., Apr. 4th – There’s light rain in the morning.
Tue., Apr. 5th – The PIB Village Council meets in a workshop session. This is one of the foggiest days ever seen in the island area.
Wed., Apr. 6th – There’s a repeat of the fog in the morning, but by the afternoon it’s just plain rainy. Chris Ladd is busy helping workers from Franklin Sanitation clean sewers in the Village.
Thu., Apr. 7th – For those inclined to play, there is Mah Jongg scheduled at 1 p.m. at the Senior Center. Diane Nemec test drives her golf cart after going on Youtube and making her own repairs (with a little help from Rich Hahn). Registration for the Put-in-Bay Community Swim Sail program opens for all classes.
Fri., Apr. 8th – The floor in Crew’s Nest is being stained. Russ and Lisa Brohl and Mike and Susan Byrnes head to Middle Bass where they enjoy pizza at the General Store, tour a bit of the island and stop at the content sale at the old Gemelch homestead at the north end of Fox Rd. The first pizza of the 2022 season goes in the oven at Put-in-Bay Cameo Pizza. Mr. Ed’s Bar opens. Members of the PIBHS Class of 2025 are going door to door taking pizza orders for a fundraiser event on April 26th. There’s a fundraiser at Mr. Ed’s in Port Clinton for the Kurt Rohrbacher Memorial Scholarship Fund. Allie Market is one of the entertainers at the event.
Sat., Apr. 9th – Morning temperature on the island is 35 degrees. The entire length of Delaware Ave. is filled with fishermen’s parked trucks and boat trailers. Miyo Hristovski is doing some bathroom remodeling at the old Drushel house on Put-in-Bay Rd.
Sun., Apr. 10th – What’s with these morning temperatures in the 30s? If you take a ride through the campgrounds at the SBI State Park, you can help but notice several downed trees that will make for some great campfire wood this season. On this date in 1862, the first Confederate soldiers arrived at the Union’s prisoner of war camp on Johnson’s Island in Sandusky Bay.
Mon., Apr. 11th – A squall goes through islands just before 7 a.m. The Village Council’s Rules/Ordinance Committee meets at the Town Hall to discuss vehicle licensing protocol and parking issues. The Blue Marlin crew has the covers off the hot tub and pool for the 2022 Season!
Tue., Apr. 12th – The Put-in-Bay Fire Department takes its ladder truck over to the mainland to be inspected so it’s ready for this season. A huge portable concrete batch plant that will be used for the ongoing work on the Monument seawall comes over on the ferry. The flag is raised at the Put-in-Bay Winery at the Doller Estate as they open for the season.
Wed,. Apr. 13th – The Stone Lab buoy is back in the water and transmitting water quality data to the website at https://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/research/live/water. The water temperature off Gibraltar Island is just shy of 44 degrees. A group of island ladies head to Cole’s Public House in Amherst to celebrate Jen Yaw’s 40th birthday. Cole’s Public House is owned by Chef Robby Lucas, who graduated from PIB High School in 1999. Also celebrating birthdays were Annemarie Erikson who had dinner with friends at the Reel Bar, Erin Stapleton who had a 7th birthday party at the home of her father Steve who works at the Monument, and Rosi Stephens who lives in the Crew’s Nest Subdivision.
Thu., Apr. 14th – The webcam at the Benson Ford Ship House on the West Shore shows an angry Lake Erie with strong westerly winds. Rick Harlan makes his first boat trip of the season from the mainland to North Bass. PIBHS seniors Jacob King and Kate Byrnes and chaperone Patrick Green leave the island to catch a plane from Detroit to San Francisco for their class trip.
Fri., Apr. 15th – Spring break begins for Put-in-Bay School students. Dave Shaffer from the Arlington House is in Cleveland attending his 45th Cleveland Indians (Oops! Guardians) home opener in a row. The Township of Pelee Municipal Office is closed for Good Friday (and also for Easter Monday, April 18th). Happy Easter!
Sat., Apr. 16th – The Easter Bunny visits DeRivera Park. The island’s youngsters spread out in the Village portion of the park to scoff up hundreds of colorful plastic eggs filled with candy treats. There are several dozen trucks with boat trailers parked around the park, so those attending the Easter Egg Hunt have to find parking wherever they can. Mark and Karen Wilhelm post on Facebook’s PIB Locals Garage Sale that they have coolers, plastic tubs and lids out on their lawn on Trenton Ave. for free. The iconic Benson Ford Shiphouse is lit up in pink for Easter.
Sun., Apr. 17th – It’s 32.5 degrees with a 13 knot north wind and Mother Mary from St. Paul’s conducts Easter sunrise services on the lakefront. The windchill is about 22.5 degrees.
Mon., Apr. 18th – A wet snow blankets the island as Joe’s Bar officially opens for the season. The late Tom Duff once told us that he remembered snow in May on Put-in-Bay.Teri Pierce said she saw snow on Memorial Day in 1978 when was working as a bartender at the Roundhouse. Josie Lesler from Squaw Harbor said she remembered snow one year on her birthday on June 2nd before she was married. Josie is at the age where she has an excess of great Put-in-Bay memories.
Tue., Apr. 19th – A stiff cold wind out of the west northwest is enough to cancel the last ferry trip off the island. It’s the last spring break vacation day for PIB students.
Wed., Apr. 20th – A barge being pushed by tug comes into the harbor to unload stone at Fox’s Dock for the Monument project. A crew is building new concrete steps at the shops at the Grand Islander. There’s a little rain at dinner time.
Thu., Apr. 21st – At the Erie Islands Library, they are celebrating Jane Eyre’s birthday. PIB students from the Environmental Club and the National Honor Society are at the Scheeff East Point Preserve and the end of State Route 357 collecting litter and trash.
Fri., Apr. 22nd – It’s a ferry schedule change day for the Miller ferries. More trips make it more convenient for everyone. And just like that more island businesses start to open. Among them are the Boathouse, Lester’s Tacos, Frosty’s (Islander Appreciation Night), the Country House and the Beer Barrel Saloon. In the afternoon, there’s an opportunity to volunteer picking invasive garlic mustard in Cooper’s Woods. Chef Mike Catey from the Crew’s Nest celebrates the “Big 5-O!” He’s the same age as the club. Over at the Middle Bass General Store, Brandy Alexanders and pudding shots are in order.
Sat., Apr. 23rd – The weather is super and the number of visitors mushrooms!!! Frosty’s is officially open for breakfast and morning cocktails. The Blue Marlin Bar and Grille is officially the first pool bar to open for the 2022 season. Full racks of clothing are on the sidewalk in front of Lovella. It’s pajama party weekend at Mr. Ed’s Bar. At the Roundhouse, the opening party has a luau theme. The Put-in- Bay Vol. Fire dept. is hosting the Northwest Ohio Volunteer Firefighter Association’s Preconvention at the fire station. Ohio State Senator Theresa Gavarone speaks to the group. Members of the Friends of Stone Laboratory are on Gibraltar Island for the 2022 Spring Work Weekend. Members of the Middle Bass Yacht Club are getting things up and running at their clubhouse at the Middle Bass Island State Park Marina.
Sun., Apr. 24th – Tom and Paula Bartlett are banding birds at the Middle Bass Island East Point Preserve. Ray Fogg has the honor for hosting the Whiskey Light Celebration at the Roundhouse. The bar is crowded just like in the summertime. John and Patricia Fisher have the Skyway’s old “ Budweiser At The Lake” light at their island home, Fish’s Home. Their tradition is to turn the light on to officially begin the new season.
Mon., Apr. 25th – It’s a rainy day. The large old house on the east side of the monument (formerly Chan Stevens’ house) is getting new windows and the owners are giving away the century-old ones away for free. All four of the Jet Express boats are in the water in Port Clinton and being readied to start service to the islands. The Put-in-Bay Panther Twirling Club performs at the school gym to the delight of parents and grandparents as they see the young twirlers go through their routines.
Tue., Apr. 26th – PIBHS freshman students are delivering Cameo pizzas around the island. The kids raise $2,000 for a future class trip. Bill Booker is spotted sprucing up the front step handrail at Hooligans. Kelleys Island’s new ferry boat is in St. Lewis coming up the Mississippi on its way to Lake Erie.
Wed., Apr. 27th – Susan Market is busy at Dockside, the gift shop at the Lime Kiln where she has some great new items. Carl Krueger is busy getting things finished up at the new bar area at Mojito Bay. The National Weather Service issues a freeze warning for Put-in -Bay from about 10 p.m. to 9 a.m. the next morning.
Thu. Apr. 28th – The morning low temperature is 33 degrees. It’s hard to believe we had near 80 degree temperatures just four days earlier on Sunday. Put-in-Bay’s Subway opens for the season in the lobby of Mr. Ed’s Commodore Resort. The Brewery also opens for the season. There are a few 4-wheel ATVs out, but in a couple of days comes the end of the 6-month winter period they are allowed to operate on island roads. Six deer are spotted in the bushy lot at the corner of Meechen and Airport Rd.
Fri., Apr. 29th – Workers in DeRivera Park are mulching around the trees. Put-in-Bay’s Arbor Day Celebration takes place at the Tree City Site near the post office in the late afternoon. A hop tree and a spicebush are planted by a small group of PIB School students. Mojito Bay opens, but closes a bit later when the cold north wind keeps most people inside.
Sat. Apr. 30th – At the Township’s building there is a meeting regarding the 1.25 mill police services levy that will be on the May 3rd Primary. The meeting is hosted by the committee for the levy and the purpose is to discuss and answer any questions that residents have regarding this levy. The meeting is available via zoom. This year’s PIB High School prom takes place at The Crew’s Nest. Up on Pelee Island the last lunch of the season is held at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 403. You can get fish and chips with coleslaw for the equivalent of $6.25.
Putinbay.com is proud to present the Put-in-Bay Gazette’s Island Diary for April, in the May 2022 issue of the Gazette.
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