Put-in-Bay Island Diary October 2024

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Island Diary October 2024

Tue., Oct. 1st – After the regular Village Council meeting, there’s an hour meeting to discuss issues concerning paid parking downtown and how it could be changed and improved. There’s some much needed rain in the evening.
Wed., Oct. 2nd – It’s a bit chilly in the a.m. as overnight temperatures dip into the high 50s. Neidecker Crosser & Priesman Funeral Home & Cremation Service hold a funeral planning workshop at the PIB Yacht Club in the afternoon. Diane Nemec posts that her antique parade car, a 1964 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 with 36,859 original miles, is for sale for $7,500. Ellen Ballas from Chapman Rd. is offering free vegetables from her garden. Richard Gump, John Galvin and crew are working on the DeRivera Park welcome sign across from the Jet Dock entrance. At the school, there’s a Senior Fall Sports Recognition presentation at PIB tonight for the Cross Country and Volleyball teams. Jacob Seaman, Ava Heineman and Lilly Schweitzer are recognized.
Thu., Oct. 3rd – Workers are busy switching out old Verizon equipment for new in the Town Hall tower. All tips made in the Biergarten at Boathouse are donated to help purchase a Memorial Bench for Mark Wilhelm.
Fri., Oct. 4th – There’s a volunteers appreciation party at the museum that includes a tour train ride around the island with driver Chip Duggan. Happy hour with free appetizers at the Put-in-Bay Winery starts at 4 p.m. The Fall Ball, a customer appreciation party for Island Club customers, begins.
Sat., Oct. 5th – Woody’s Harvest Fest takes place at Das Lokal, the Biergarten at the Goat. Proceeds from the turkey dinner, 50/50 raffle, silent auction, etc. go to the Duff Vineyard Capital Campaign-Save the Vines! Patrick Bova and Jessica Krueger are married on the lakefront on East Point. At the PIBYC’s Change of Watch Change of Watch, Commodore Connie Miller turns over the reins to Commodore Doug Seib. The Perry Group has a tour of the undercroft of the Monument. Participants in the Fall Bay Regatta dock at Put-in-Bay’s C Dock. It is reported NASA believes a big meteor first appeared 60 miles above Lake Erie near Kelleys Island and traveled 72 miles through the upper atmosphere before disintegrating 24 miles above the town of Mohicanville, Ohio.
Sun., Oct. 6th – At St. Paul’s Episcopal Church the annual Blessing of the Pets takes place. Members of the PIB Vol. Fire Dept. are called to a house fire at Saunders Resort.
Mon., Oct. 7th – Life Flight is seen first thing in the morning at the airport. Temps in the 50s bring a chill to the islands. With the schedule change without half hour trips, the 10 a.m. ferry off the island is packed. Lorie Busold and Joan Rhoad are spotted together sitting at the bar at the Brewery in the evening. Was Joan corrupting Lorie or was Lorie corrupting Joan? Or both equally?
Tue., Oct. 8th – The Village Council votes for either Phil Hahn from Banyan Cove or Bill Sulesky from East Point to fill the seat Craig Cox held before his untimely death. The vote is 2 to 2, so Mayor Judy Berry breaks the tie with her vote. Bill Sulesky is her deciding vote. Phil will take a seat on the Village’s Planning Commission. At the Senior Center there’s a potluck lunch. It’s a beautiful day on top of the Boardwalk as the www.putinbay.com’s Paul Jeris and Harol Perez from the Island Club clean up the Boardwalk Cam. There’s pumpkin carving at Hooligans.
Wed., Oct. 9th – Chick Linker’s grandson, Danial, donates a letter signed by Abraham Lincoln to the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society. There’s an island story to be investigated and told. Ed and Ricki Herdendorf drop off a supply of Ed’s new island book, Lake Erie Islands, Reefs, & Shoals: Geology, Natural History, & Cultural Development United States and Canada, off at the museum.
Thu., Oct. 10th – Several islanders are up in the bronze urn above Perry’s Monument’s observation deck as Bob Gatewood videos a post for Facebook. The Northern Lights show in the night sky about the islands is spectacular.
Fri., Oct. 11th – The International Order of the Blue Gavel holds an event at the Reel Bar in the evening. The prestigious organization recognizes Past Commodores of the international yachting community and unites them in order to promote the highest ideals of yachting and preserve its customs and traditions through social, educational and humanitarian programs!
Sun., Oct.13th – The Butterfly House is closed for the season. At the Town Hall, island youngsters are taking Taekwondo, tumbling and dance lessons. It’s cool and drizzly for the second day of Oktoberfest. The Patrick Myers scholarship fundraiser takes place at the Boardwalk’s Upper Deck. The Upper Deck closes for the season.
Mon., Oct. 14th – The eclectic collection of the late island “Cigar Ambassador” Richard Warren goes up for auction online. There are more than 800 lots. The Middle Bass Island ferry schedule changes and there are no trips on Wednesdays.
Tue., Oct. 15th – The Middle Bass State Park closes its docks for the season. Rose Kahler, Anne Dailey, Jody Frimel, Joan French, Julene Market and Sally Duffy enjoy lunch together in Vermilion. It’s a cool night for the Chamber of Commerce’s Reverse Raffle. Emcees Ray Fogg and Duff Spatafore are dressed as mimes and speak with French accents.
Wed., Oct. 16th – The Words & Wine Book Club meets at Heineman Winery. The South Bass Island State Park is officially closed for the season.
Thu., Oct. 17th – The Ottawa County Board of Health holds a vaccination clinic at the PIB Fire Station. Flu and Covid boosters are available. PIB’s kindergarten and first grade students visit the Island museum. Maria Fernando Chanatasig Quimbita from Ecuador who worked at the Park Hotel this summer plays the museum’s old piano during their visit.
Fri., Oct. 18th – PIB Chamber of Commerce president Brian Cultice goes around the island getting pictures of all the skellies in their locations for the new Skeleton Scavenger Hunt event on the morrow.
Sat., Oct. 19th – It’s The Wake weekend at the Roundhouse. At the Keys, sports fans enjoy a tailgate party. The first-ever Skelly Scavenger Hunt takes place. Teams travel the island looking for spooky skeletons hidden around homes and businesses. At the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club there’s a member appreciation/light out party. Kenny Kartheiser from Fox’s Den is Lifeflighted off the island. A few days later he reports he’s doing much better thanks to the PIBEMS.
Sun., Oct. 20th – Golf carts and boats need to be removed from PIBYC for the winter. The annual Pumpkin Bowl takes place at the ball diamond.
Mon. Oct. 21st – There’s no school for PIB students. PIB School Coach Craig and Ashley Schuffenecker and their daughter Ruby and son Leo are among the islanders who visit Fleitz Pumpkin Farm on the mainland thanks to no school at Put-in-Bay. It’s a gorgeous day at PIB, but the streets are empty. Not a golf cart to be seen. Joan Rhoad, the natural born leader of finding FUN!, goes on an island bike ride with two of her granddaughters, Isla and Leila Koch.
Tue., Oct. 22nd – The Put-in-Bay’s Fall Membership meeting takes place at Frosty Bar. Larry Fletcher from Shores & Islands, the visitors bureau on the mainland, reports overnight stays in both Erie and Ottawa County are up over last year, but some of PIB’s lodging spots are down for the season as are other businesses. It’s LEGO Night at the library. Sign up sheets show that 86 kids have signed up for trick or treating on Middle Bass Island this coming Saturday.
Wed., Oct. 23rd – A painter is busy painting the Victory Ave. side of Crew’s Nest. The sheet piling is going on at Miller’s downtown dock. Floating docks are being removed at Squaw Harbor. A boom truck is at the Boardwalk where roof repairs are being made.
Thu., Oct. 24th – Temp drops below 50 degrees in the morning and high for the day is in the low 50s. Thankfully, the lack of wind makes for a beautiful sunny day. Jill Koch from the Brewery is celebrating her 40th birthday. It’s the final day of online auctioning off the wide-ranging collection of artifacts and interesting items belonging to the late island Cigar Ambassador Richard Warren. More than 800 items are auctioned off in less than two and a half hours,
Fri., Oct. 25th – A group of seven young professionals from Fukui, Japan visit the island. Maria Fernando Chanatasig Quimbita from Ecuador who worked at the Park Hotel this season plays the piano for them when they stop at the island museum.
Sat., Oct. 26th – The day starts with the Halloween costume parade on Delaware Ave. for the island kids. Winners included the McCann/Schuffenecker/Bolyard/Bodenbender carousel for the Best Homemade Costume, Art Market for the Scariest, Marian Reese as a bride in the Humorous category, Fireman Otto Blumensaadt for Most Creative, and the Lance Saunders family for best group. Treats and games followed for everyone in the park. It’s a cool but sunny day for Bay Day, the fundraiser for the Scott Pugh Scholarship. It’s also Halloween at the Bay and the last day of season for the Reel Bar. Sisters Linda Parker and Jeanette Luecke are volunteering at the Resale Shop. Customer of the Day is Chip Duggan who partially disrobes to get into a blow-up Halloween costume. The Resale Shop needs a changing room. Eric Booker resides over the turning off of the neon “Rita’s Cantina” sign at the Boardwalk to officially end the season on the Doller Dock. Over on Middle Bass the kids are trick or treating, Hazards hosts its inaugural Halloween party and there’s quite the costume party at the General Store.
Sun., Oct. 27th – The ovens at Cameo Pizza are turned off for the season a couple hours after midnight. Did you see Eric Booker from the Boardwalk on his Harley with a big Don’t Give Up the Ship flag flying off the back? It’s the last day the PIB Brewery is open for 2024. The last Jet Express leaves the island for the season. Tom & Scaries for the grown ups and loads of fun at Ryte Spyder Nyte at the Goat’s last event of the season. The kids were roller blading on the patio where a few weeks earlier, diners were enjoying a meal.
Mon., Oct. 28th – Miller Boat Line has a schedule change. Last boat from mainland is at 5:30 p.m.. It’s the last day to pick up anything you bid on at Cigar Ambassador Richard Warren’s barn. The barn, once loaded with Warren’s eclectic collection of memorabilia, is nearly empty. The online auctioneer reports the majority of the items sold stayed on the island.
Tue., Oct. 29th – It’s unseasonably warm as temperatures reach the mid-70s by afternoon. Several island business owners are busy cleaning their properties for their winter hibernation. About 100 Canada geese are feeding on the Monument lawn between the column and the Visitors Center.
Wed., Oct. 30th – The PIB Township Port Authority holds an open house at the new Put-in-Bay Airport terminal in the afternoon. It’s Isla Koch’s 9th birthday. Trick-or-treating takes place a day earlier due to rainy weather in the forecast.
Thu., Oct. 31st – Paid parking in the Village ends for the season. The Put-in-Bay Gazette is printed at DCI in Sandusky. There’s an impromptu Halloween get together at the Town Hall in the evening due to trick-or-treating getting moved up a day.

Putinbay.com is proud to present the Put-in-Bay Gazette’s Island Diary for October 2024, in the November 2024 issue of the Gazette.

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