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Moss on the Rock
Need an Internship?
The Put-in-Bay Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce its search for a summer intern for the 2025 tourist season. This is an excellent opportunity for students and young professionals looking to gain hands-on experience in tourism, hospitality and business management. Interns will assist with various tasks including event planning, marketing initiatives, and community engagement efforts, all while enjoying the vibrant atmosphere of Put-in-Bay. Interested candidates are encouraged to apply to Wendy Chambers – director@visitputinbay.com. Don’t miss your chance to become part of a dynamic team that helps showcase the beauty and charm of our popular summer destination.
Attention: If You Rent Out Your Property
If you rent out your cottage or rooms in a home in Put-in-Bay Village, you will want to watch closely how rental regulations are being proposed by the Village Council. Some of the ideas for regulation include a fee to be able to rent, annual electrical and fire inspections of the rental, plus insurance requirements.
Kurt Rohrbacher
Memorial Ice Fishing Tournament
The Kurt Rohrbacher Memorial Ice Fishing Tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, February 7th and 8th, and it looks like the ice will still be around. The tournament is open to the public and costs $25. Registration will be held at Topsy Turvey’s on Friday evening from 7 to 9 p.m. Fishing begins at day break on Saturday and weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. sharp at Topsy’s. There will be prizes for the three biggest limits of walleye. There will be no banquet this year. Please let Dan Petro know if you have any questions, (419) 341-2274.
Waterkeeper Virtual Meeting
The Lake Erie Waterkeeper virtual meeting on Friday, February 13th, will have the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy Advancement Coordinator Susan Byrnes joining Leslie Korenko from Kelleys Island to talk about islands in winter. The Lake Erie Waterkeepers do important work to keep the Lake Clean.
Travelling In All Directions
Islanders have been traveling far and wide this winner. The Ohlemachers, Brad and Angie from the Bird’s Nest, were in Antarctica. They also visited Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. Dave Schafer from Ashley’s was on a cruise that took him to Cabo San Lucas. Sue Thwaite from the Picnic Basket and Viktoriya Zakharova from the Boardwalk were in the middle of the Pacific on a cruise headed for Australia. A group of island ladies took a cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate Leah Market’s bachelorette party and Gwenna Market-Smith’s 25th birthday. Joining them on the trip were Jane Market, Caiti Bolyard, Erin Urge and Sophia Pressler. Also cruising were Brian, Justine and Evie Cultice and Brian’s mother, Karen Moffett, from Port Clinton. Dave and Kathy Holscott were in India. Former Island resident Joe Suttmann and Ute Wiesmayr from Austria visited Ray and Laura Fogg in Key West. Adam and Acka Riley (from the Goat) and their son Dylan were spotted in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Joan and Roger Rhoad from East Point spent the month in Grenada. Jack and Lorraine Zimmerman entertained friends on St. John, USVI. Rudy and Linda Rence visited their daughters Anna and Marisa who are working on St. Croix, USVI. Bob and Andrea Gatewood were on a cruise that took them from California through the Panama Canal into the Caribbean. Among their stops were Cabo San Lucas, Guatemala, Panama and Columbia.
Enviroscience at Massie Cliffside Preserve!
EnviroScience visited the Massie Cliffside Preserve on East Point this fall to remove invasive amur honeysuckle. As soon as it is cut, the stump is painted with herbicide which dries quickly but draws the poison down into the roots and kills the tree. This opens up space for native trees to flourish instead. The Lake Erie Islands Conservancy paid for this restoration with their Stewardship Fund. Drs. Amy and Brian Alford used the cut invasive amur honeysuckle trunks to build a deer exclusion area at the Massie Cliffside Preserve. Dr. Amy will monitor if there is better growth of native trees within the deer exclusion area next year.
33rd Annual Life on Lake Erie Photo Contest
This is an opportunity for island folk to capture and showcase the unique beauty, wildlife, communities and vibrant life surrounding all the wonder that Lake Erie Islands have to offer. The Life on Lake Erie Photo Contest invites photographers to submit up to five images that represent the essence of life on Lake Erie Prizes will be awarded to the top entries and photographs will be featured on the Ohio Lake Erie website, social channels and at partner venues. Submissions for the photo contest are due by July 31st, 2025. Participants can submit up to five photographs for consideration. Each photo should be submitted as a high-resolution digital file along with a completed entry form and submitted to lakeeriecommission@lakeerie.ohio.gov. For more information, visit lakeerie.ohio.gov.
Old Shanty
This past month, the Market family shipshaped three ice shanties. The oldest shanty was originally built in 1954 by “Boss Bill” Market and Bill (Mucker) Miller, the son of Lee Miller who owned Miller Ferry. It was demolished in the Blizzard of ‘78. Bill and his son Scott salvaged the floorboard and rebuilt the shanty. Does anyone know of an older ice shanty being used this winter?
Shortest Flight In the World
We always thought Port Clinton to Put-in-Bay was the world’s shortest commercial flight. There is even a plaque at the PC airport that says it is the shortest commercial flight in the world. How disappointed islanders we were to learn the shortest scheduled passenger flight in the world is from Westray to Papa Westray in Scotland. It lasts 53 seconds.
An Electric Vehicle Charging Station at the Ferry Docks?
Ottawa County is included in a new $14 million grant to create a network of electric vehicle charging stations in Northwest Ohio. The Transportation Improvement District will use the award to install up to 360 EV charging ports across Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties. According to one report, among the spots being considered are at the ferry terminals to Put-in-Bay.
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 visit the Put-in-Bay Gazette subscription form. This piece of Put-in-Bay journalism has been provided to putinbayohio.com courtesy of the Put-in-Bay Gazette, Put-in-Bay’s only local newspaper. Visit their website putinbay.news for more information and to subscribe!
