Diary November 2019 – What Happened & What You Missed At Put-in-Bay!

Fri., Nov. 1st – The temperature dips into the 30s for the first time since last spring. It’s the beginning of the PIB High School’s Panther basketball season. They begin with morning drills called Morning Madness. There’s a gathering of ATVers at the Bird’s Nest to celebrate that
they can ride their vehicles legally on the island for the next six months. Due to the cold and windy weather on Halloween, island kids are
trick or treating.

Sat., Nov. 2nd – The Heineman Winery Close Down takes place at the winery. You’ve got to love those deep-fried turkeys and all the great homemade dishes.

Sun., Nov. 3rd – The lights are on at Pasquale’s as the Put-in-Bay High School senior class prepares pizza for a fundraiser for
their class trip.

Diary November 2019- Mon., Nov. 4th – Linda Parker, Sue Latham, and Linda Mahony take a walk through Cooper’s Woods. All six members of the Village Council and Mayor Dress meet with Fiscal Officer Courtney Blumensaadt to discuss the 2020 Village budget. Police Chief Steve Riddle is on hand to address a police officer resignation, a new full-time officer hiring, and promotions in the department.

Tues., Nov. 5th – If you voted at the Senior Center, you had your choice of either using the traditional paper ballot or a touchscreen ballot. Before 11 p.m., the Ottawa County Board of Elections releases the unofficial vote count which shows former mayor Judy Berry with 19 votes and
incumbent mayor Jessica Dress with 14 votes.

Wed., Nov. 6th – In the morning, the mayoral unofficial vote count reads Dress 56 and Berry 50. The USCGC Bristol Bay, WTGB-102, with a buoy barge attached to the bow, spent the night between Kelleys and Put-in-Bay. They head east in the morning. A group of island seniors is on the mainland at a Toledo Walleye hockey game.

Thurs., Nov. 7th – Members of the Words & Wine Book Club meet at Karen Wilhelm’s house. Participants bring their beverage and an appetizer. The crew of the M/V Put-in-Bay takes the ferry to Cleveland for its 5-year hull inspection and bottom painting.

Diary November 2019 Fri., Nov. 8th – Marty Harayda brings a group of Middle Bass islanders over to Put-in-Bay for the Harvest Dinner at Tippers. The South Bass has its first below the freezing temperature of the season.

Sat., Nov. 9th – All the Put-in-Bay golf cart rental places are finally closed. It’s cold and gray. There are no big events to attract visitors. This is the quietest weekend on the island since early last spring. But over at the Middle Bass General Store, 105 people are celebrating with an island Thanksgiving. Put-in-Bay Hotels are buttoned uptight and all closed for the season.

Sun., Nov. 10th – The Fire Department hosts a fundraiser breakfast at the fire station. The menu includes pancakes, French toast, eggs, sausage, ham, orange juice, and coffee. The Annual Meeting of the Browns Backers takes place at Topsy Turvey’s. A crew from Heineman Winery is
over on North Bass getting things tightened up for winter. At the EMS station, representatives from Mercy Health Life Flight system are taking island volunteers Joey Wolf, Greg and Anne Auger, Jessica Dress, Tina Rogers, and Bill Burger, go through competencies to make sure they can give the best of care.

Mon., Nov. 11th – The USCG Bristol Bay passes between South and Middle Bass Islands in the morning heading east. There’s a groundbreaking ceremony for the new addition at Nature & Wildlife Center just before the cold rain starts. The students at Put-in-Bay School present a musical tribute to the veterans on the islands. There’s preschool storytime at the library, which includes making a turkey craft to take home. The PIB Chamber of Commerce holds its meeting at Topsy Turvey’s. There’s the annual Veterans Day dinner at the fire station and Senior Center. Hank Bayles, a bartender from the Crew’s Nest, cooks a great prime rib for the event.

Tues., Nov. 12th – There are a couple of inches of snow on the ground with a temperature of 24 degrees at noon! The wind is gusting to 25 knots! All ferry trips are canceled for the day! Space Night at the library is fun for the kids who are painting space suncatchers and assembling
rotation/revolution models. The highlight of the evening of fun was playing in the space shuttle. Everyone went home with bags of “space food”: moon pies, goo yogurt, juice packs, and more!

Wed., Nov. 13th – It’s the first time this fall that the temperature dips into the teens. The Village Council meets in a rare mid-day meeting. Council votes to hire a new full-time police officer to complete the five-person department. John and Peggy Leopold from Victory Woods and Larry Cundiff and Luella Kacirek from Duff Woods leave the island and head south for the winter.

Thurs., Nov. 14th – The temperature goes above freezing for the first time in several days. Bobbi and Greg Dobos return to the island to their kids, dogs, and chickens after a vacation on the Mexican coast.

Fri., Nov. 15th – The annual American Legion Feather Party takes place at the Town Hall in the evening. It’s the first Feather Party for the young Cooper sisters, Rachel and Meredith. Rachel wins a turkey. Among the other winners are Lisi Faris Puffenberger (Put-in-Bay High School Class of 1986) and her daughter Halle.

Diary November 2019 Sat., Nov. 16th – There’s a first birthday party for Evie Cultice at the Jeris Lane home of her parents, Brian and Justine Cultice. Evie’s beautiful cake ends up on the floor. It’s Ladies Night at Island Hardware.

Sun., Nov. 17th – There’s a closedown fish fry party potluck at the Island General Store on Middle Bass.

Mon., Nov. 18th – Heidi Ladd is looking to update the list of islanders who receive the senior fruit baskets each holiday season. You have to be 60 to get one!

Tues., Nov. 19th – Put-in-Bay Garden Club president Barb Hunter comes to the island to check out the beginning of work on the new garden at the corner of Hartford and Delaware in the Village portion of DeRivera Park. The new garden is sponsored by PIB Garden Club and Village
of Put-in-Bay.

Wed., Nov. 20th – The Village Council meets to discuss the 2020 budget. Susan Byrnes and Lisa Brohl kayak around the island. It takes them about four hours.

Thurs., Nov. 21st – Islanders head to the Town Hall for the annual Christmas Bazaar. There are plenty of gift items and stocking stuffers to choose from. Also, open for the event are the Butterfly House, the bar and gift shop at Heineman Winery, and The Forge.

Fri., Nov. 22nd – Workers are busy putting in the waterslide at the new Crew’s Nest pool. Other workers are busy laying the foundation block for the new addition at the Nature & Wildlife Center. There’s a birthday party for Patricia Thwaite at the Forge. Pat is celebrating one of those
“special” birthdays.

Sat., Nov. 23rd – Mike Goebel puts the finishing touches on the “shanty bar” at the Forge. Their outside bar will be open all winter in true island fashion. The island kids at Meredith Cooper’s 8th birthday party in the Beer Barrel Saloon enjoy skating on the concrete floor now devoid
of chairs and tables for the winter. We hear she requested homemade Norwegian Krumkake for her birthday breakfast.

Sun., Nov. 24th – Marisa Rence from the Yellow Tree B&B on Put-in-Bay Rd. is on St. Croix celebrating her 30th birthday with other SBI (PIB) friends and co-workers. Workers are raising the finger dock at the DeRivera Dock about 16 inches so it won’t be underwater and unusable
this coming season.

Mon., Nov. 25th – The Crew’s Nest crew is getting the dock bubblers installed so the docks won’t heave this winter in the ice. Jim Glauser is busy raking leaves along the lakefront in the downtown park. Workers are sealing cracks in asphalt at the airport.

Tues., Nov. 26th – Workers are pouring concrete at the seawall in front of the Crews Nest. Mother Mary is seen hanging around the steeple at St. Paul’s, attempting to put the rooster wind vane back on top. Unfortunately, there was a problem, and the wind vane could not be put back up on top. Lots of islanders are getting off the island due to the windy weather forecast. Some island ladies attend White Christmas at Playhouse Square in Cleveland to start the Christmas season.

Wed., Nov. 27th – Heavy winds with wind gusts topping over 60 miles per hour hit the island after lunch. Miller Boat Line runs only one boat to the mainland from the downtown dock at 9 a.m. and returns to the island at 10 a.m. before the wind got heavy. Because of the way the ferry was loaded, it is backed into the dock for unloading.

Thurs., Nov. 28th – Happy Thanksgiving! The wind has died enough for ferry service to resume. Caroline Conrad was the last vehicle on the morning ferry.

Fri., Nov. 29th – Miller Ferry Boat Line starts its extended-season ferry schedule. It’s time to start religiously watching the weather forecast, so you don’t get your vehicle stuck on the island for the winter. There’s a Thanksgiving Potluck at the Village Pump on Kelleys Island. Pat Finney and his son Patrick put minnow cars in the lake off Miller Boat Line’s dock in Squaw Harbor.

Sat., Nov. 30th – It’s Tipper’s last day open for 2019. Those watching the Buckeye game enjoy $3 beers, $1 tacos, and 60-cent wings. Time for a well-deserved winter rest. That’s it for the Diary November 2019 !