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Island Diary September 2023
Fri., Sept. 1st – Island Artist Sara Cochran is having an art sale in her front yard on Langram Rd.
Sat., Sept. 2nd – Islanders awaken to the news that Ed Heineman, the fourth generation owner of Heineman Winery, passed away overnight. Madeline Pugh performs a marriage ceremony at the Islander Inn. PIB School kindergartner Cal Jackson catches his first big bass off his grandparent’s dock. Laura Schanz is having a yard sale on Middle Bass.
Sun., Sept. 3rd – The Ohio State Marching Band arrives at Miller’s downtown dock and parades up Bayview Ave. and around the Village Park as the island celebrates the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie. At the Monument later in the day, the band does its famous script Ohio on the park’s lawn. As they depart the island on the Jet Express there’s a fireworks send off. Members of the U.S. Fleet Forces Navy Band are also on the island performing. On this date in 1907, an arsonist torches the Put-in-Bay House hotel where Mr. Ed’s Commodore Resort is now located.
Mon., Sept. 4th – A large crowd heads to the Lime Kiln for the traditional “white spider” send off of the last ferry at the Lime Kiln Dock.
Tue., Sept. 5th – Public participation at the Village Council meeting touches on multiple issues. It’s a hot day for the men working on the outside of water tower getting it ready for painting. The ferry schedule for Middle Bass changes.
Wed., Sept. 6th – A thunder and lightning storm leaves parts of the island without power. At the Reel Bar, there is a Fine Wine Tasting Dinner. Sommelier Robby Lucas (PIBHS Class of 1999) presents five wines from Northern Italy! Guest Chef Galvin prepares gourmet pairings for the event. Evening prayer at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is in memory of Ed Heineman and Judy Burgess.
Thu., Sept. 7th – David Marshall from the West Shore celebrates his 80th birthday. Only a couple of people show up for some free kayaking with ODNR naturalists Emily Rugg and Kara Tarallo at the State Park. With strong winds out of the west they decide to kayak off Oak Point in the Bay. Later, there’s a party at the Put-in-Bay sign at the South Bass Island State Park for those who bought a brick or donated in any way to get the sign put up. The party is cut short when the wind really picks up and a storm starts to come through.·The PIB School Panther Volleyball players end a two-game-losing streak with three wins against Horizon Science Academy. Junior Ava Heineman and Freshman Emma Michael shine!
Fri., Sept. 8th – PIB Village Council members meet with residents of Shore Villas and Ibis Street to discuss the grant which will substantially reduce their cost for public sewer lines in their neighborhoods. The rehearsal dinner for the Kreutzberg wedding takes place at the Goat. Afterwards there’s a sunset get together for guests at the home of Jim and Susan Hildebrant on the West Shore. On this date in 1963, 3000 people attended the sesquicentennial program at Put-in-Bay, commemorating 150 years since the great Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. The Panther Volleyball Team takes three sets in a row against the Jones Leadership Academy Mustangs. Three seniors, Elora Hubner, El Kostura and Lyla Steidl are in great form for the game. The Pelee Islander ferry hits the Jackson Street Pier in Sandusky.
Sat., Sept. 9th – Mayor Judy Berry, Pam Stevens from the Village Council and PIB Twp. Trustee Chris Cooper are the “meet the candidate” guest speakers at the PIB Property Owners Association meeting at the Senior Center. There are more than 40 vendors at Art in the Park. There are 55 Ford Broncos, marching bands from Clyde and Anthony Wayne, plus the island’s baton twirling youngster in the “grand parade” through the downtown after lunch. In the evening the Fox’s Den residents have a big street party. Nick Kreutzberg and Marnie Malise’s wedding on the West Shore is followed by a reception at the Crew’s Nest’s pavilion.
Sun., Sept. 10th – It is the last day of the season for the artillery demonstrations at Perry’s Monument. Young Erin Stapleton opens a ceremony at Perry’s Monument marking the 210th anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie with the Pledge of Allegiance. The Ohio Village Muffins play the Mossbacks in a recreation of a baseball game played by the rules of the game from the 1860s. The Muffins win the game, 12 to 7.
Mon., Sept. 11th – There is standing room only at Mother of Sorrows Catholic Church during the funeral mass for Ed Heineman. After the services and interment, the reception at the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club brings many old friends together for the first time in years. At the Town Hall in the afternoon, Back to the Wild presents a program with critters from their Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Located in Castalia, Ohio. This program is sponsored by the PIB Recreation Committee, Lake Erie Islands Nature and Wildlife Center, Lake Erie Islands Conservancy, and the Miller Boat Line.
Tue., Sept. 12th – Elena Schroeder (PIBHS Class of 2021) celebrates her 21st birthday. The Candy Bar is selling what is left of their 3-gallon tubs of ice cream for $30 each on a first come, first served basis. They have vanilla, chocolate, caveman chocolate, buckeye bites, peanut butter cup, chocolate chip cookie dough and rainbow sherbet. Brian Hovey and Sandy Funtal enjoyed banning birds with Tom Barlett. They watched Tom band the birds, and take measurements, weight, size and amount of body fat all pretty quickly and then took turns releasing the birds.
Wed., Sept. 13th – Karen and Mark Wilhelm and Dave and Kat Holscott are on Kelleys Island and visit the Glacial Grooves. Miller’s Lime Kiln freight office begins fall hours closing at 6 p.m. daily. for the remainder of September. You don’t have to be Greek to enjoy the Tarpon Spring special at the Boardwalk. Mosquitos are out in force and cause movie night at the State Park to be canceled. Garden Club members meet at St. Paul’s and enjoy a demo by Jody Frimel and Kathy Schrader and ‘tasting’ of foods assembled with common herbs.
Thu., Sept. 14th – Over on Middle Bass, JF Walleyes, has a grand reopening since being closed since the historical storm that went through the islands in late August.
Fri., Sept. 15th – It’s grandparents/loved one’s day at the school. There are 30 to 40 visitors who enjoy singing and dancing with their special student. Ms. Pippert does an excellent job of having our visitors interact with the K-6 students. Workers on top of the water tower are mounting a framework for a huge tent that will cover the tower while it is being painted.
Sat., Sept. 16th – Reports that there will be a repeat of Saturday, July 22nd, that resulted in headlines of SWAT teams coming to Put-in-Bay to control the unruly crowds, necessitate a large contingency of law enforcement officers to be on the island. For the most part they are unneeded as the unruly are nowhere to be seen. The Miller Boat Line 5k’s youngest winners (in their age group) are PIB School 2nd Graders and Run Club members Caleb Danes and Liesl Jackson. Hooligans has its half-way to St. Patty’s Day parade with a festive float, decorated golf carts, the Cleveland Irish American Pipe Band, and PIB’s own baton twirling kids dressed in green.
Sun., Sept. 17th – The Lake Erie Islands Conservancy held its annual meeting and potluck at Heineman Winery in the afternoon. Jill Cerny Kirby presents a program and oversees the native plant sale. Carl and Patty Lo Presti are busy at the grill cooking hamburgers to go with the potluck dishes brought by the attendees.. There’s Monarch butterfly tagging at the SBI Lighthouse. On this date in 1986, the Ducks Unlimited Banquet was held at the Crescent and the island ladies had a Chicks Unlimited party at the Round House. Bill Cantillon from East Point celebrates his 80th birthday. It’s the peak day for Monarch migration through the Lake Erie islands.
Mon., Sept. 18th – Former North Bass grape professionals Jim and Sandy Yelensky are picking Concord grapes in Lisa and Russ Brohl’s vineyard. Others helping to pick grapes with Lisa and Russ are Mark Nemec, Sue Ferguson, Diane Nemec, Dr. Carmen Trisler, Dave and Sheri Murphy, Kathy Schrader, Emre Akin and Mark Berens. Many of the sports cars participating in the Road Race Reunion arrive on the island and registration and set-up are underway. Two of the OSU Stone Lab boats from Gibraltar are spotted at Schoolhouse Bay in the afternoon. Today. The framework to hold the huge cover that painters need to paint the water tower is almost ready to use, The Upscale Wine Club holds its meeting at Heineman Winery in the late afternoon. On this date in 1873, Jay Cooke & Company went bankrupt. Jay Cooke made millions of dollars a few years before selling bonds for the government during the Civil War which enabled him to buy Gibraltar Island and build Cooke’s Castle.
Tue., Sept. 19th – The shroud on the water tower goes up and then is lowered back down to the ground.. The sports cars taking part in the Road Race Reunion are on display RRR laps around old race track followed by wine and cheese reception at Heineman Winery The PIB High School volleyball team sends the visiting Jaguars from Horizon Science Academy back to the mainland with three bad memories about playing in the Jim Poulos Gymnasium. The U.S. Geographical Survey’s Research Vessel Muskie arrives at Put-in-Bay in the evening. The 70-ft.-long Muskie, built in 2011 and based in Sandusky, is used to assess annual recruitment of major prey and predator fish in western Lake Erie
Wed., Sept. 20th – There is a nice crowd at the airport to see the race cars go through their paces to see in what positions they’ll qualify for in the morrow’s races. Rob Hard from the Black Squirrel is selling pork sandwiches to anyone watching the races who is hungry. After an exciting day, races head to Das Lokal, the Biergarten at the Goat, to watch the rocker-cover race event.
Thu., Sept. 21st – The Road Race Reunion Races are in full swing at the PIB Airport. You can hear the accelerating cars all the way downtown. The PIB High School girl’s volleyball team is playing a team from Bowling Green Christian. Dick Bliss of Dick’s Burger Night fame is char-grilling burgers at the yacht club for the last time this season as he and his wife Betty are preparing to leave for Florida soon. Over on Middle Bass, the General Store has a full-house dinner crowd. Ralph Davore, who grew up on North Bass and now resides in Marblehead, celebrates his 90th birthday.
Fri., Sept. 22nd – Although the exhaust sound from the road racers has ceased, there’s still quite a loud sound coming from inside the shroud that hangs off the water tower. The elevator at the Perry’s Monument is not fixed. Over on Middle Bass there are dinner specials at Walleye’s and St. Hazards – stuffed peppers or cabbage at Walleye’s and meatball subs or meatballs and pasta at Hazard’s.
Sat., Sept. 23rd – Talk about a busy day! The “Sale Away Weekend” yard sales are happening all over the island. Delaware is closed for the PIB Volunteer Fire Dept.’s 47th annual clambake in front of the Park Hotel and the new “Big Day at the Bay” event with games of chance on the street. Bob Gatewood is doing a music video filming for his new CD album “Island in the Sun” at the Town Hall and on Doller Ave. At Das Lokal, the Goat’s Biergarten, the German Music Society is providing live polka music for the Okgoaterfest. At Heineman Winery, “Island Concord” is being pressed after the pulp fermentation stage is complete. The shroud on the water tower comes down and exposes a primer-covered tower. Over on Middle Bass, Realtor Rudy Cooks is having an open house for one of his listings there. Carl and Jessie Johnson open their pumpkin patch in Burgundy Bay for the afternoon. Tom and Paula Bartlett are setting up the stuff they’ll need for a week of bird banding on at the MBI East Point Preserve.
Sun., Sept. 24th – Tom and Paula Bartlett are bird-banding at the Bass Island East Point Preserve on Middle Bass. At the Round House they’re celebrating their 150th Anniversary in style. Sage Scarpelli, the daughter of Joe and Roberta Scarpelli is baptized
Mon., Sept. 25th – Jet Express trips to the island during the week have ended for the season and Miller Boat Line starts its revised fall schedule. Put-in-Bay School’s volleyball team hosts the Clyde High School team.
Tue., Sept. 26th – It is another overcast day with temperatures in the 60s, but the sun does come out for a bit after lunch. Miller Boat Line employees have a blast their “Rock n’ Roll” themed company party at the Boardwalk Upper Deck in the evening. Afterwards a late ferry is run to take their mainland employees home.
Wed., Sept. 27th – You can tell Fall is in the air. Out at Joe’s Bar the Sloppy Scotty eating contest takes place. Members of Put-in-Bay’s American Legion Post 542 enjoy dinner at the Goat compliments of Scott and Caroline Jackson.
Thu., Sept. 28th – Dick Bliss headed south for the winter, but in his place, Larry Schrader takes over the grill for Dick’s Burger Night at the PIB Yacht Club. Deb Parker hosts a condo warming so people can see her digs at Banyan Cove.
Fri., Sept. 29th – Members of the Put-in-Bay Garden Club are at Oak Point in the morning to officially unveil the new bench they donated for people to sit on and enjoy the great view of the harbor.
Sat., Sept. 30th – The Perry Group holds its annual meeting at the Perry Monument Visitors Center in the morning. There’s also a PIBYC board meeting at the yacht club in the morning. The new “Island Hops & Vine Fest” takes place in the Village Park. PIBYC members gather for cocktails and dinner as their “Change of Watch” ceremony ushers in the 2024 Commodore. Ray Fogg is celebrating 35 years entertaining at Put-in-Bay with a show at the Reel Bar in the evening.
Putinbay.com is proud to present the Put-in-Bay Gazette’s Island Diary for September 2023, in the October 2023 issue of the Gazette.
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