Put-in-Bay Diary– Thurs., Feb. 1st – Karen Wilhelm is substituting for her husband Mark processing freight at the Put-in-Bay Airport terminal. Shawn Dages hauls in a huge walleye worthy of a spot over any mantel.
Put-in-Bay Diary -Fri., Feb. 2nd – St Paul’s youth join the youth from across the Diocese at the annual Winter Convocation at Kalahari.
Put-in-Bay Diary -Sat., Feb. 3rd – The Put-in-Bay High School Panthers enjoyed a scrimmage against Put-in-Bay Alumni in the afternoon! Doug Wilhelm checks in with the Catawba Island Volunteer Fire Department for some ice training with different departments
from Ottawa County. The U.S. Coast Guard is demonstrating the use of their ice rescue equipment.
Put-in-Bay Diary-Sun., Feb. 4th – Conor and Ally Urge Blumensaadt (Put-in-Bay High School Class of 2011) are on their honeymoon at Serengeti National Park in Africa.
Put-in-Bay Diary Mon., Feb. 5th – Cold temperature, blue sky, and fresh snow make for a great day for some folks to ride ATVs over from Middle Bass to Put-in-Bay. There’s lots of open water between the Lime Kiln and Catawba Island.
Tues., Feb. 6th – It’s the second morning with fresh snow. The Lake Erie Islands Conservancy has a program about birds in the evening at the Town Hall called “Who’s At Your Feeder? Those who attended learned a bit about how to identify common birds that visit or stay on the island in winter and grace their bird feeders.
Wed., Feb. 7th – Islanders wake to more snow in the morning. Ray Fogg is at Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West doing a special jam session show with Pat Shepard, Bob Gatewood, and Pete Jarvis.
Thurs., Feb. 8th – Patty Bauer catches a fish while sharing a shanty with Robin Glauser off Middle Bass. Bob Gatewood is on stage at Sloppy Joe’s in Key West in the afternoon as part of the 14th Annual Put-in-Bay Music Fest
Fri., Feb. 9th – It’s a great day for snow shovels, riding snow removers and snow plows. There is about 4 inches of new snow. Put-in-Bay School is closed for the day.
Sat., Feb. 10th – The selection of chocolate goodies at the Chocolate Fest at the Erie Islands Library at the school is awesome. There are chocolate-covered popcorn, pop-in your mouth chocolate balls, butterfinger cookie bars, peanutty chocolate bars, salted caramel & chocolate hazelnut popcorn, peanut butter cookie dough brownies with M&Ms on top, nutty chocomallow bites, bite-sized Reese’s pieces, chocolate pizza and more. J.F. Walleyes is open for business on Middle Bass. Ice travelers are glad for a place to stop and take a break.
Sun., Feb. 11th – Icy rain pelts the island. A car slides off the Catawba Ave. hill in front of the Goat and hits a phone pole. Mon., Feb. 12th –
Billy Market is busy with his drone taking a video of downtown Put-in-Bay. Eli Heineman enjoys his first snowmobile ride. Linda and Rudy Rence host the Wine Club at their home on the lower West Shore.
Tues., Feb. 13th – The season-ending basketball game for the Put-in-Bay Basketball Panthers is against the Rockets of Oak Harbor. It’s the
last game for seniors Justin Wilhelm, Erin Urge and Taty Kowalski.
Wed., Feb. 14th – At the Put-in-Bay Village Council meeting Police Chief Steve Riddle discussed issues involving getting a K-9 for the police department. Jake and Emily Dunfee airboat over from the mainland to enjoy Valentine’s dinner at Tipper’s. Over on Kelleys Island, there’s a party on the ice off the State Park. The Put-in-Bay School French Class is entertaining at the Put-in-Bay Senior Center. A Valentine’s crafts program takes place at the Put-in-Bay library. It includes planting bulbs for some late winter blooms
Thurs., Feb. 15th – The foggy morning and rising temperatures with the possibility of rain are on the minds of ice fishermen who are moving their shanties closer to the island. Christie Ontko who flew back to Ohio from Hawaii for a couple of weeks is substituting at Put-in-Bay School. Paula and Kira Hubner take a nature walk at the tip of East Point. Luckily, they didn’t get lost in the fog.
Fri., Feb. 16th – The Science Fair and Pinewood Derby take place at the school gym. Some of the kids who had projects are out sick. Both events are open to the public. Jake Dunfee hauls an ATV from Catawba to Put-in-Bay in the morning on his airboat. Sign in for the Jer-Bear and Kurt Ice Fishing Tournament takes place at Topsy Turvey’s.
Sat., Feb. 17th – Bill Boag and Danny Drake are at the Getaway Inn for a little winter fun. Cathy van Liere spots a small boat out by Starve Island. With the ice still good enough to fish on, the Jer-Bear and Kurt Fishing Tournament is a great success.
Sun., Feb. 18th – For those who attend the Pancake Breakfast at the fire station, you can get house numbers for your island home that will help police and EMS personnel find your home in an emergency. There is lots of Put-in-Bay Ice Fishing off the West Shore! ATVs, several dozen ice shanties, lots of bucket fishermen and an airboat make the last big day of ice fishing. There’s a Taekwondo class at the Town Hall. Did you catch the HGTV show with island Realtor Rudy Cooks showing island properties?
Mon., Feb. 19th – The Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce holds its monthly meeting at the Town Hall. The temperature is in the 40s and high 50s, a signal the end of ice fishing is nearing.
Tues., Feb. 20th – The ice is snow free and wet on top. On Feb. 20th in 2015, Bob Bahney recorded a minus 8 low temperature on Put-in-Bay. Today the high hits 64 degrees. It’s Stone Lab Night at the Land-Grant Brewing Taproom in Columbus where those in attendance learn about the summer classes and research being done on Gibraltar Island this year. There’s a sports award ceremony at Put-in-Bay School.
Wed., Feb. 21st – The Put-in-Bay Arts council holds auditions at the Town Hall theater for its next play. Tatey Kowalski will be directing with assistance from Katherine Woischke. Michael McCann, Terry Jenkins, and Patrick Green are out fishing from an airboat. They also help to bring in a shanty that was stranded on the ice.
Thurs., Feb. 22nd – Put-in-Bay Police Chief Steve Riddle is on the mainland giving testimony in the Keith Blumensaadt trial. Keith was arrested early last summer after a standoff with the Put-in-Bay police. There’s a lot of open water between Middle Bass and Put-in-Bay and on the east side of South Bass.
Fri., Feb. 23rd – Put-in-Bay School was supposed to let out at noon, but school was canceled for the day. Winter Break begins with classes scheduled to resume on Monday, March 5th. Islanders attempting to get off the island are stranded due to fog. Jake Dunfee from Marblehead offers boat transportation off the island so people can get their flights to their vacation destinations. There is still floating ice in the lake. The fog lifts in the afternoon and flights resume.
Sat., Feb. 24th – The ice is disappearing quickly now, but is not quite all gone. The Put-in-Bay Entertainment Schedule is released on Visit Put-in-Bay
Sun., Feb. 25th – Those islanders who aren’t away on Winter Break wake to open water in the Bay!
Put-in-Bay Diary Mon., Feb. 26th – Lisa Brohl is in the vineyard next to her house on Mitchell Rd. trimming grapes. Bob Glauser is first to put his boat in for the season.
Put-in-Bay Diary Tues., Feb. 27th – Clear sky and mild temperatures make for a beautiful winter day on the Bay. After a busy winter ice fishing, Shawn and Loren Dages are in Ft. Myers, Florida, where Shawn catches his first snook.
Put-in-Bay Diary Wed., Feb. 28th – Miller Boat Line posts it will be running its first Put-in-Bay ferry of the season on Saturday, March 3rd
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