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Island Diary May 2024
Wed., May 1st – Aaron Schroeder is watching cars at the new stop sign by Joe’s Bar. He sees 14 cars, 3 stop at the new sign and 11 do the opposite. The Sonny-S stops briefly at PIB while on the way to MBI after being on the mainland all winter. At the crack of sundown Cantankerus, Put-in-Bay’s fuel barge makes a trip to the mainland to get a load of gasoline.
Thu., May 2nd – The temporary sidewalk along Bayview Ave. by the Monument is closed. This is for its removal and the removal of the temporary realignment of Bayview Ave. as the Monument seawall project winds down. PIB School’s retiring music teacher Gay Pippert directs her last spring concert at Put-in-Bay School. Several of the students on stage have parents in the audience who were in some of Miss Pippert’s concerts years ago.
Fri., May 3rd – The BayShore Resort, the Boardwalk’s Upper Deck and Hooligans open for the season. Jim French and Bill Boag are always the first to enjoy a Guinness. The Spring Fling party is taking place at the Island Club. The first Road Scholar program of the season ends. Participants saw 107 species of birds while exploring South Bass, Middle Bass and Kelleys Islands! At a ceremony at CiC on Catawba, Lyla Steidl receives a Nine-to-Five Award for her scholastic improvement this past year. Lyla’s honored teacher is Mrs. Carol Cerny. That Allie Girl is performing at the Beer Barrel Saloon in the evening.
Sat., May 4th – In the morning there’s a Garlic Mustard Weed pull going on in Cooper’s Woods, Duff’s Woods and the State Park. Volunteers and staff at the State Park pull 382 pounds of invasive garlic mustard. Members of the PIBHS National Honor Society, Emil Michael, Ava Heineman and Elias Wright, are sponsoring a blood drive at the Senior Center. Members of the Put-in-Bay Panther Twirling Club are in Dayton competing. Entertainer Bob Gatewood returns for his first show of 2024 at the Reel Bar. Margarita on the Rocks opens. Dick and Betty Bliss draw the winning ticket in this week’s Rolling Raffle at Put-in-Bay Yacht Club. The Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Center opens, and Toady, who looks like Baby Yoda, is one of the animals there to greet the first visitors of the season.
Sun., May 5th – Today is the first sponsored Put-in-Bay Antique Car Parade of the 2024 season! The Pre-Parade Sponsor is the Skip Duggan Put-in-Bay Antique Car Club, and the Post-Parade Sponsor is Heineman Winery. The wild hyacinths are in bloom at the Ladd Carr Wildlife Woods.
Mon., May 6th – Josh and Kaitlin Niese and kids from Chapman Rd. spend the day at Cedar Point riding the amusement rides before the season starts at PIB. Realtor Jeff Brower from the KW Shores and Islands Realty Group takes a 360 panoramic over Squaw Harbor that shows the surrounding islands. On this date in 1999, three PIBHS students, Charlie Thwaite, Erika Suttmann and Robby Lucas, were honored for their overall improvement in school performance at the 5th Annual Nine-to-Five Breakfast held at the Elks Lodge in Port Clinton.
Tue., May 7th – The PIB Village Council meets for its first session of the month.
Wed., May 8th – Put-in-Bay School students travel to Toledo on the Jet Express to watch a Toledo Mud Hens’ game. Back to the Wild, an animal rehabilitation facility in Castalia, Ohio, is at the Town Hall in the afternoon with a bird and reptile program. The visit is sponsored by the Put-in-Bay Recreation Committee, the Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Center, the Miller Boat Line and the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy. Put-in-Bay’s state highway, SR 357, gets new striping.
Thu., May 9th – Graveside services with military honors are held for Howard Martens from High Shores. The library has a duct tape bookmark making program. Put-in-Bay Cameo Pizza opens seven days a week. At St. Paul’s there’s a festive potluck following The Ascension of the Lord service.
Fri., May 10th – More trips are added to the Miller ferry schedule. The second week of Road Scholar wraps up. This session’s participants came from all over the U.S. and explored South Bass and Middle Bass Islands, plus spotted 100 species of birds. Crew’s Nest members enjoy gorgeous weather for the club’s opening party. Kudos to Chef Mike Catey and Chef Dallas Mohn and his kitchen staff for the wonderful buffet. The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, appear over Lake Erie after dark and are visible from many good viewing locations on the Bass Islands.
Sat., May 11th – Mad Dog Adams is entertaining at the Round House in the afternoon. Jim Wehrheim from Fox’s Den is there for the Perch Church Revival Meeting and then heads to Joe’s Bar for an added touch of communion juice.
Sun., May 12th – Mother’s Day Brunch at Crew’s Nest is the place to be for moms. This is the last day to get your location on the Island Wide Garage Sale map put out by the Chamber of Commerce for the big sale on May 18th. Bobby Bahney wins this week’s Rolling Raffle at the yacht club.
Mon., May 13th – A group of about 60 people are participating in a beach clean-up around the island. Erie Blacktop is paving the road in front of Monument. The board of the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society Museum Board meets in the morning. Sara Booker is touching up the paint on the mileage post at the foot of the foot of the Boardwalk Dock.
Tue., May 14th – Roger Rhoad spots a couple of horses running free early in the morning on East Point. Work is being done on the dock posts on the DeRivera Park’s dock.· The 38th Annual Blessing of the Fleet takes place before lunch. Lyla Steidl, PIBHS Class of 2024, graduates from Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Center in Fremont.
Wed., May 15th – PIB’s baton and pom pom fun class students head to Oak Harbor where they perform for seniors at a nursing home. At the end of the performance they served chocolate chip and sugar cookies and Snickerdoodles.
Thu., May 16th – There are award ceremonies for the students at PIB School in the morning and afternoon. Safety forces hold an active shooter drill at the Grand Islander on Catawba Ave. that closes down traffic for a couple hours. Lunch is served in the Cornerstone Room at Mother of Sorrows for all those who participate including those who volunteered to be shooting victims. Author Bob Adamov and his wife Cathy are on the island delivering his latest mystery novel. The first Dick’s Burger Night of the season takes place at the yacht club. The Island Wide Garage Sale map is posted online.
Fri., May 17th – There’s no longer a traffic lane shift going by the seawall construction at the Monument. Das Lokal, the Biergarten at the Goat opens for the season. The interment of Lynne Zura takes place at Maple Leaf Cemetery. The Keys opens for the season.
Sat., May 18th – It’s really foggy in the morning. The Diary Isle and Perry Monument open for the season. The interment of Allan Ashley takes place at Maple Leaf Cemetery. It is followed by a reception at the yacht club. Mark Kirsch fails to show up at his very own surprise birthday party at the Goat Biergarten. He misses out on enjoying the wonderful and extraordinary magic tricks magician Derek Ostovani from San Diego entertains patrons with. When Mark was asked about his not showing up, he said the magician made him disappear. Savoure Kitchen from Stowe, Ohio, is at the Hardware Store grilling up some samples of their delicious sauces and dressings! You can now find their products for sale at Island Hardware. The Sonny-S makes some runs between PIB and Middle Bass.
Sun., May 19th – St. Paul’s begins its summer schedule by adding a service of Summer Holy Communion on Sundays at 8 a.m. Power goes out on Mitchell Rd. The Sunday afternoon car parade is getting bigger.
Mon., May 20th – Happy birthday wishes go out to Annie Parker who is celebrating her 95th birthday. The Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce’s Spring Member Meeting takes place at the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club in the afternoon. The Put-in-Bay Panther Twirling Club puts on a public performance at the school gym in the early evening. It’s Mexican Madness Monday at Tipper’s. Not only is there happy hour, but they are serving tacos, burritos, quesadillas and more.
Tue., May 21st – The water temperature around the islands is about 58 degrees. A company from Michigan is testing the PIBVFD’s 12,000 feet of fire hose.
Wed., May 22nd – Shawn Dages spots the first mayfly of the season. Bayview Ave is reduced to one lane as the contractor pours the new curb around the monument seawall. Next week they will be pouring the sidewalk along the south side of Bayview. Plan for possible delays. Village Council meeting to discuss parking and police compensation. It’s Burger Night at the PIB Yacht Club.
Thu., May 23rd – The flower baskets are up around DeRivera Park Basket thanks to the PIB Garden Club. The club’s president, Sheri Murphy, hosts a welcome party for the group at her home in the late afternoon. Just before 2:30 p.m. the roar of a low-flying fighter jet flying over the island is heard. The jet dips its wings as it flies over the harbor. It’s the last day of school for island students, plus the six members of the Put-in-Bay High School Class of 2024 graduate at the traditional ceremony at the base of Perry’s Monument. Hope Cooks is the salutatorian of the class, and Emil Michael is the valedictorian. There’s a reception for the grads afterwards at the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club.
Fri., May 24th – It’s a gorgeous day for the beginning of the Memorial Day Weekend. Matt Fuchs is spray painting wicker furniture that originally came off the porch at the little Stoehr family cottage where Miyo and Maria Hristovski from Margaritas on the Rock have their office. The furniture has to be about 100 years old. It was still light at the PIB airport when a 10-passenger private jet landed. This is the first time in many years that a jet has landed there, plus it is the biggest jet plane to ever land there. Later police closed off Langram Rd. at the north end of the airport while responding to a golf cart and car accident. Don Hubschman from the West Shore enjoys being a boat owner. Tom Thanasiu discovers his boat is taking on water at its dock in Squaw Harbor. Luckily for Don, Mark Kirsch appears and comes to his rescue with everything needed to pump out the water and put plugs in where necessary.
Sat., May 25th – Active U.S. Military Personnel and American Veterans receive free passenger fare aboard the being today through Memorial Day as a thank you for their service. It’s a beautiful day with loads of people on the island, boats in the Bay and at the docks, and golf carts on the streets. The Put-in-Bay Floating Tiki begins its season. The jet that landed on Friday night appears to just barely make it over the trees at the north end of the runway as it takes off. The Lettie G. Howard, a schooner built in 1893, passes between Middle Bass Island and Ballast Island about lunch time. A big group of motorcyclists stops at the Beckett, Braylee and Bria and Dobos’ pop stand on Trenton Ave. and has a group picture taken with the kids.
Sun., May 26th – The weatherman is predicting some rain in the afternoon and lots of wind for Memorial Day. There’s a Memorial Service for all the PIBYC members who passed away this past year. It is followed by the Eye Opener Brunch Buffet. Put-in-Bay residents learn of the passing of former Put-in-Bay fire chief Mark Wilhelm. Many boaters head home before a hard rain storm goes through the islands about dinner time leaving some parts of the island and Middle Bass end up without power.
Mon., May 27th – Today is the 36th anniversary of the burning of the Colonial building that was located where the Beer Barrel Saloon is located. With the early morning rain and the afternoon wind and rain, the public docks are nearly deserted. So much for this Memorial Day weekend being a bust thanks to Mother Nature. Put-in-Bay’s American Legion members enjoy a Memorial Day dinner together at the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club. Karl Steuk from the Church of Middle Bass officiates a gathering of veterans at the Middle Bass cemetery complete with a memorial flyover.
Tue., May 28th – Sommelier Chef Robby Lucas (PIBHS Class of 1999) presents five wines from the Paso Robles region of California along with small dish pairings at the Reel Bar.
Wed., May 29th – The Erie Islands Library and the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy are sponsoring volunteers who are at the Duff Homestead Woods at the corner of Victory and Lakeview pulling invasive garlic mustard in the morning. Paula Ziebarth, Peggy Leopold and Isabella Buffalini show up to pull. Thank you, ladies. The new sidewalk is being put in along the south side of Bayview Ave. at the Monument. Andreanna Zaveril is at the island museum working her first day as an intern this summer. She is also an intern for the Lake Erie Islands Nature & Wildlife Center.
Thu., May 30th – The sun is finally shining again, but the temperature during the day is not as warm as we had during the week before the Memorial Day weekend. Spring is going backwards! Billy Market posts a speeded up video of five guys taking 45 minutes to unload and separate the day’s 300 UPS packages that arrive at the Lime Kiln freight barn. We want to see the speeded up video of whoever has to call or text everyone to tell them they’ve got freight.
Fri., May 31st – Funeral services for Mark Wilhelm take place at Mother of Sorrows. On this day in 1914, the state fish hatchery at the west end of Put-in-Bay harbor burned. It was replaced with the brick building that is now the Aquatic Visitors Center.
Putinbay.com is proud to present the Put-in-Bay Gazette’s Island Diary for May 2024, in the June 2024 issue of the Gazette.
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