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Moss on the Rock
Lake Erie Islands Conservancy Christmas Potluck 2022
The Lake Erie Islands Conservancy will hold its annual Christmas Potluck at the South Bass Island Lighthouse on Monday. December 12th, starting at 6 p.m. We will provide the ham, salmon, coffee and hot cider. Please bring a dish, salad or dessert to share as well as a beverage of your choice. Please bring your own table service so that we can be eco-friendly this holiday! Please RSVP by calling or texting Lisa Brohl at 419-366-2087 or 419-285-5811 or e-mail leiconservancy@gmail.com. It is always a beautiful spot to celebrate the end to a busy year of land preservation!! Thanks to our partners the Ohio State University Stone Laboratory for the opportunity!
Double Your Giving!
The Lake Erie Islands Conservancy has had a wonderful year-assisting the PIB Township Park District with the purchase of the Morrison and Duff Woods Preserves, providing benches, signs etc for preserves and setting up a program for restoring pollinator habitat. Please keep the Conservancy in mind on Giving Tuesday which started November 29, 2022 and will continue through the end of January. Any donations received by the Conservancy this year will go to our Land Protection Fund. This fund is critical to supporting project goals such as the Duff Homestead Preserve. You can donate by sending a check, using the Donation button/PayPal on our website, or through our Conservancy Facebook Fundraiser. Between now and December 31, 2022, Facebook will match 100% of recurring monthly donations on a first come, first serve basis until they have donated up to $7 million. Thanks for your support over the years and enjoy what we have been able to accomplish with a walk at our island preserves!
Synchronized Lights & Music
Again this year, you can tune into 91.7 FM to listen to the music synchronized with the lights on the Christmas display in DeRivera Park. This starts around 4:30 p.m. daily and is sponsored by the Put-in-Bay Recreation Committee. Mike O’Donnell synchronized the lights and sound with a Raspberry Pie computer.
Save with Goat Soup & Whiskey Gift Certificates
Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Goat! Gift Certificates from the Goat Soup & Whiskey make a great Christmas present. Spend $20 and get a $25 certificate. Call Pinky for any and all gift certificates, (419) 341-1328.
2023 Calendars
Support the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy by purchasing a 2023 calendar. Calendars are $20 and have beautiful scenes from island preserves that were taken by local photographers. Calendars can be mailed for $3 by emailing lakbrohl@gmail.com.
LEIC and PIBTPD Wish List
The Lake Erie Islands Conservancy and the Put-in-Bay Township Park District are always in need of help. Here is their wish list for the holiday season.
Volunteers Always Needed – spread mulch on trails, remove downed trees and pick up litter-garlic mustard pulling, amur honeysuckle removal-all preserves.
Volunteers needed for Tabling Events, Office and Digital File Organizing.
Website and Social Media Assistance.
Adobe, Access, and Arc GIS Programs or volunteers with these skills.
Recycled Copying Paper, Ink for Printers (Brother LC 61, HP 970XL, HP 971Xl – must not be generic).
Golf Cart for Summer Transport of tools, people, etc.
Land Protection Fund Donations.
New Bicycle Rack for the Jane Coates Wildflower Trail-approximately $900 – can have name on rack.
Interpretive Signs ($250 each) for Duff Woods or Morrison Woods Preserves.
AmeriCorps Intern Funding for 2023.
Contact Lisa Brohl at 419-366-2087 if you are interested in donating or sponsoring one or more of these items. Thank you.
Meet Santa, Mrs. Claus and a LIVE Reindeer
Jack and Lorraine Zimmerman from Airline Dr. will be hosting a free event on Dec. 18th from 4-6:30 p.m., at their park, Hopfinger Zimmerman Memorial Park in Port Clinton. Guests will have a chance to meet Santa, Mrs. Claus and a live reindeer! Ottawa Co. Sheriff Steve Levorchik will also be on hand with identification equipment for any kids that would like to get their fingerprints added to the identification database. Hot chocolate will also be provided.
Got Milk?
This year, St. Paul’s is pleased to continue to be able to provide milk for those who might need it through generous donations from several donors. Shelf-stable milk will be available in the St. Paul’s Food Pantry *only* once the first shipment arrives (anticipated for the week of December 4th). If you go to the Island Hardware Store, you will be referred to the Pantry.
Frederick Applauds Honor Flight
West Shore resident, Put-in-Bay mymedic.es American Legion member and Vietnam War veteran Dave Frederick recently participated in a Flag City Honor Flight that took him and 80 fellow veterans to Washington, D. C. for the day. Dave was excited to go and couldn’t say enough good things about the overwhelming experience and how organized everything was. Dave was picked up when he got off the ferry on Catawba, chauffeured to Toledo for the night and then got up for a 5 a.m. flight to Washington, D.C. Each participant, a veteran of the Vietnam War, had their own guardian who accompanied them as they toured the war memorials in our nation’s capital. Dave said everything was extremely well organized which made the day so enjoyable and moving for all the vets. There were souvenirs for everyone. Dave was even interviewed by Dan Cummins for a segment shown on WTOL 11 in Toledo. At the end of the day, the group flew back to Toledo where they had a very patriotic welcome home.
Algal Bloom Higher than Expected
For the second year in a row, the annual forecast announced at Stone Laboratory at Put-in-Bay underestimated the severity of the algal bloom in Lake Erie. The 2022 forecast, issued at the end of June, forecast a bloom that would have a severity of 3.5 on a scale of 1 to 10 with a possible range of 2 to 4. Even a revised forecast in early August was off the mark at 4 to 4.5. This year’s bloom had a moderately severe level of 6.8, a bit higher than last year’s 6.
Lake Erie Islands in the News
Katrina M. Reed and Miller Boat Line has this month’s list of a few of their favorite articles from the Lake Erie Islands. Feel free to share!
• 20 Beaches in Ohio – Travel2Next
• 15 Unique Ohio Road Trips From Columbus – Columbus Navigator
• “Lake Erie ferry company adds new vessel to its fleet” – Spectrum News 1 (Great interview with our own Captain David Bianchi)
Christmas Shopping at the Picnic Basket
Sue Thwaite tells us she will have the Picnic Basket on the Boathouse block open for a Christmas Shopping Party and holiday cheer on Friday, December 9th, from 5 to 9 p.m. and again on Saturday, December 10th from noon until 6 p.m.
Winter Bird Seed Sale Thanks
It is that time of year again to fill your bird feeders and get ready for the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count! Thanks to all who ordered bird seed this year to make our Lake Erie Islands Conservancy sale a success, It takes an island! We especially wish to thank Kip Nickerson at Titgemeier’s Feed and Garden Store in Toledo for working with us, Heineman Winery for the use of their truck, Miller Boat Line for getting the vehicle over and back, Russ Brohl for picking up the seed, Rudy Rence, Mike Byrnes and Pinky Batt for delivery help, Kelly and Marty Faris for taking orders, and to Dustin and Ed at Heineman Winery for allowing us to store the seed in their building while we distributed. We really appreciate everyone’s support-and so will the birds!
Kelleys Life Ceases Publication
The Island Communities bid a sad goodbye to Kelleys Life, the newspaper published about Kelleys Island. Sharon Leidheiser, Publisher wrote this past month, “It has come time to stop the presses! This will be the final issue of the Kelleys Life Newspaper…Farewell,”
You can read the last issue of Kelleys Life and take a trip down memory lane with years of back issues on Leslie Korenko’s website: kelleysislandstory.com/2022/10/kelleys-life/.
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.
