Island News February 2013

Put-in-Bay Island News February 2013

With the proliferation of the Internet, Island News, and social media, there is no wonder Put-in-Bay is becoming better known. Still, when we saw our little island as one of 2013’s top travel destinations, along with the likes of Sri Lanka, Istanbul, and Rio de Janeiro, we were pleasantly surprised.

In other Island News, also on the Internet, was Put-in-Bay’s entry in the Coolest Small Town in America contest conducted by Budget Travel magazine. Billy Market and Shawn Chaney attended the Cleveland Indians Fantasy Baseball Camp in Goodyear, Arizona, in January.

Former Perry Monument Superintendent Ralph Moore and his wife, Claudette, who moved to Alaska after leaving Put-in-Bay, are now living in Grand Junction, Colorado. Ralph has retired from the National Park Service, and Claudette now works for the USGS.

Attention, Put-in-Bay High School graduates! To ensure you receive your invitation to the 2013 Put-in-Bay High School Alumni Banquet, please send your current email and mailing address to the Alumni Secretary at pibalumni@yahoo.com. Ken and Katherine, Benjamin of Stonehenge Estate, will celebrate their 58th Wedding Anniversary with family and friends on February 12th, 2013. Many happy returns! Justin Adams, manager at the Crew’s Nest, tells us a couple of old Friendly Inn keys were found under the Crew’s Nest during the winter remodeling. The Friendly Inn was the rooming house in the building before it became the Crew’s Nest in the early 1970s.

In the Island News travel department David and Kathy Holscott from Mitchell Rd. Headed out on an Antarctica Cruise in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in January. They just finished up a cruise which took them nearly around the world. Among those with a booth at the Cleveland Boat Show were the Sunglass Ladies, Laurie Utterberg and Ann Spettel, The Crew’s Nest, The Jet Express, Park Place Boat Club, and The Boardwalk serving their piping hot lobster bisque.

There was also a massive display for the upcoming 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie. It was one of the hits of the show. When Bret Klun realized just a few short days before attending Kim Stoiber and Skip Morrison’s wedding in Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada that he didn’t have a valid passport, he had to travel to Detroit and get one last minute.

Eric Booker had a great laugh until his wife, Jen, found his passport and told him it had expired just a few weeks prior. Eric wasn’t laughing as he drove to Detroit the day before the wedding to get a new passport to allow him to attend the big event.

Robin Burris-Cadez recently received a box of antique NBI goodies from a family who had once lived on North Bass. There was an old 1850s oil lamp, some cool copper pitchers of different sizes for making wine, a stack of pictures from the 20s, and the rarest Lonz wine A rare old Lonz Winery glass. Eva Morris from Perry’s Monument was at the Boat Show in Cleveland. She is seen here with a poster promoting the centennial of the Battle of Lake Erie. Robin writes extensively about the history of the islands, primarily. North Bass.

Island News Reports the Put-in-Bay Tour Train was at the AAA Great Vacations Expo at Veterans Memorial in Columbus in mid-January along with Miller Boat Line, the Jet Express, Goodtime, Put-in-Bay Winery, the Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce and Perry’s Monument.

Beginning in February, The Candy Bar will have a monthly newsletter with coupons and updates on what candy we will bring in for the month. Email us at thecandybar1@hotmail.com with your email to receive your newsletter!

Jer-Bear and Kurt Memorial Ice Fishing Tournament Feb. 23rd Join your friends on Put-in-Bay for an ice fishing tourney in honor of Jeremy Harlan and Kurt Rohrbacher on Feb. 23, 2013 (weather permitting). There will be prizes, a raffle, a banquet dinner at Tippers at 7 p.m., and plenty of winter fellowship. The Heineman Winery and Crystal Cave parking lot will be used for the weigh-in. Prizes will be awarded for the largest walleye and largest limit on walleye.

The tournament entry fee will be $25. All proceeds will go to The Jeremy “Jerbear” Harlan Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will be awarded each year to a worthy Put-in-Bay graduate who plays school sports, maintains good grades, and is an active community member. For details, contact Dan Petro at captdpib@yahoo.com or call 419-341-2274. Island News will have the results in next month’s edition.

Ice, then no ice-It was no surprise to any experienced islander when the ice came in on Tuesday morning, January 22nd, to stay. With single-digit and teen temperatures for a few days, there was no question about the ice fishermen getting their wish. Ice fishermen were on the ice two days after the ice came, and travel between Middle Bass and Put-in-Bay began on Friday. Oh!

And speaking of ice travel, there was one minor mishap early on Saturday morning, the 25th, when three island men, reportedly returning from a late-night poker game, somehow made a wrong turn and dropped a jeep through the ice on Pinky’s Pond.

This is the first-ever recorded incident of this kind on Pinky’s Pond, and one the occupants will certainly not forget despite any future therapy to rid the mind of the memory of that night. Fortunately, with the waterway down and the shallow pond, the vehicle didn’t wholly submerge, and the only injuries sustained were bruised egos.

As island news goes to press, warm temperatures, rain, and wind have played havoc with the ice, and there is plenty of open water around the islands, including off the West Shore, where the hard water is usually peppered with shanties. It looks like just about everyone got their equipment off the ice, but for one unlucky sportsman whose shack started sinking in the ice several hundred yards off the old ramp. It looks like a goner.

Island News wants to remind you that the Put-in-Bay Days, February 9, 10, and 11 in Key West, are coming up. Key West welcomes their friends from the north for Put-in-Bay Days at Sloppy Joe’s! Put-in-Bay’s best entertainers perform alongside Key West’s most popular performers. Mike “Mad Dog” Adams, the infamous Bob Gatewood, Pete and Wayne, Ray Fogg, the Killer Flamingos, and Patrick Houston Dailey are scheduled to achieve this year. This event is a great way to put some Put-in-Bay fun into a long winter season.