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Everyone is invited to attend the First Annual Provemont Holiday Arts & Crafts Show on Sat. December 8, 2012 at the VFW Hall on M-204 in Lake Leelanau from 10 AM - 4 PM.
Santa will be there along with 40 sellers of gifts & food and a raffle with some great prizes. All funds raised will benefit the VFW of Lake Leelanau.
On August 15th or 16th, 1908, the passenger steamer Leelanau that serviced North & South Lake Leelanau exploded. It merited a brief article in the New York Times that you can see right here (also see this account from the Aug 17 Eaton Free Press with a different take). You can click the pic for a larger view and read the transcription via GenDisasters below:
AUGUST 17, 1908 - Mrs. Isabel La Bonte (New York City) of this city was killed and a score of passengers were injured to-day by the explosion of the boiler of the passenger steamer Leelanau, bound from Leland to Fouch, on Carp Lake, in the Northern Michigan resort district. Among the passengers were a number of visitors from other States, but the list of casualties contains only the names of Michigan people.
The little steamer was plowing down the narrow lake with a steam pressure of eighty pounds, trying to make up the time that had been lost on the earlier stages of the trip. As she was passing Bingh (Bingham) the engineer discovered a loose bolt in the engine, and shut off the steam to remedy the defect.
It was while he was working at the loose bolt that the explosion occurred, tearing off the top of the engine and demolishing the pilot house and the forward upper works of the steamer, but leaving Engineer Edward Hardy unscathed by the havoc that swept before him.
John Hartung, who was at the wheel, was probably fatally injured. Many were thrown into the water and clung to wreckage until rescued by farmers living along the shore, although some were able to swim to shore.
The St. Marys/Leland golf team will celebrate their state championship this Sunday (Jun 24) with a parade and award ceremony. The parade will start at 6PM at the Leland Country Club and roll by the school, down the hill by the post office, through town, past Whaleback, down 204 to Lake Leelanau St. Marys.
The awards ceremony will take place in the St. Mary School cafeteria at 6:30 PM.
mLive has a report on the first-ever state title for St Mary:
"We set a goal to be a little better bit better than the first day," St. Mary coach Jim Varley said. "But I did not expect to be quite better. Everybody improved."
St Mary's school has a graduating class of 14 students. The team is a co-op with Leland, which isn't much bigger. Paul Bardenhagen, a Leland student, shot a team-best 73 in Round 2 and finished seventh overall at 154.
"It's more about the group of guys than the school," Bardenhagen said.
Varley noticed that the conditions were easier than Day 1, but he knows that Day 2 is always the hardest. Joel Sneed (149) finished fourth overall, and teammates Joe Pendergast (160) and Ian Duvall (161) rounded out the top-four scorers for St. Mary.
This weekend (Feb 18 & 9) is a Michigan free fishing weekend - the perfect time to take to the ice (or open water) and try to land a local lunch! Michigan holds two of these weekends every year, one in February and the other in June.
Ken Scott shot this photo and also this cool video of ice fishing on North Lake Leelanau - check it out.
The Leelanau Enterprise reports that the village of Lake Leelanau is experiencing a new business boom:
The Lake Leelanau Renaissance, which began a couple years ago, is thriving today with two ventures open for business in the former Thunderbird store and another one planned to open in June.
And two more businesses — a wine tasting room and an Italian restaurant — are also preparing to open this spring.
...Trish’s Dish opened on the east side of the New Thunderbird building last October. And Northern Latitudes Distillery, in the middle of the building, is expected to open this summer.
Another example of the renaissance is the purchase of the former LeNaro Pub building by Jane Fortune and her partner Bob Hesse. Powell “Smitty” Smith of Venture Properties of Leland is guiding the remodeling of the former Powerhouse Tavern next to NJs Grocer.
Smith said the couple, based out of Indiana, have a residence near Leland. They have always wanted to own an Italian restaurant.
They plan on a soft opening of their new restaurant, Bella Fortuna North, in early June, with a grand opening at the end of the month.
In addition, David and Jane Albert of Leland will open the wine tasting room for their Boathouse Vineyards winery sometime this spring. The couple planted vineyards and have been producing wine from their Amore Road property for the last three years.
Read on at the Enterprise for details on these businesses and also how The Fish Hooked is capitalizing on the great fishing that Lake Leelanau offers!
Photo: The Narrows. by John Levanen
Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon.
~Old Farmer’s Almanac
Speaking of wolves and January, last month the US Fish & Wildlife Service removed wolves in the western Great Lakes region from the federal endangered species list. Wolves are now managed by states in the region and the ruling takes effect on Friday, January, 2012. Read the release from the Michigan DNR about wolf de-listing.
Photo credit: Moon over Lake Leelanau by Missy Luick (a February full moon...)
Over on Absolute Michigan, we post a "Weird Wednesday" on the last Wednesday of every month. They often feature something from Linda S. Godfrey, the author the definitive book of Michigan mysteries: Weird Michigan. Today is no exception and has a very cool Leelanau County focus!
The story of an early 20th Century sea monster sighting was sent to The Shadowlands Web site by a reader whose great-grandfather was the witness. The boy was fishing for perch one day in 1910 in the shallows of Lake Leelanau in Leelanau County. The lake had been dammed in the late 1800's to provide water power for the local mill and to enable logging. The dam also flooded much surrounding area, turning it into swamps and bogs punctuated by dead, standing trees.
On that particular day, the young great-grandfather, William Gauthier, rowed out to a new fishing spot near the town of Lake Leelanau. Looking for good perch habitat, he paddled up close to a tree that he estimated to stand about five feet tall above the water, with a six-inch trunk. He was in about seven feet of water, and after deciding this would be a good place to stop and cast a line, began tying the boat to the tree.
That's when young William discovered the tree had eyes. They were staring him dead in the face at about four feet above water level. The boy and serpent exchanged a long gaze, then the creature went, "Bloop" into the water. Gauthier said later that the creature's head passed one end of the boat while the tail was still at the other end, though it was undulating very quickly through the water. The writer noted that Gauthier always admitted to having been thoroughly frightened by his encounter, and that the event caused him to stay off that lake for many years.
The writer added that his great-grandfather came from a prominent area family and was very well-educated, and that he knew others who would admit privately but not publicly that they, too, had seen the creature. No sightings have been reported in recent times, but who knows how many people have believed they were passing by a rotting old cedar when in fact they had just grazed the Leelanau lake monster?
The Lake Leelanau Community Association will host the Lake Leelanau Barbecue & Blues Festival this Sunday (September 4th) from 1 PM - 9 PM. It takes place in the Township Parking Lot on 204 across from NJ's Grocery. 2011 Artists include the Sub Prime Blues Band, Broken Arrow Blues Band, Laith Al-Saadi , Pete Fetters and others.
Click the poster and visit lakeleelanaumi.com for all the details. Here's a video from Pete Fetters to take it home...
The Leelanau Farmers Markets Association will hold their Annual Kick-Off Meeting and Potluck next Wednesday, May 11 from 6-8 pm at the Leelanau County Government Center, 8527 E Government Center Drive, Suttons Bay. Join Board members, market vendors and community supporters for information, networking and camaraderie. Guests are asked to bring a dish to pass and their own table service; beverages are provided.
There will be a presentation by Local Orbit to learn about buying and selling local products for delivery at the new local “hub” - the Suttons Bay Market on Saturday mornings. Also on the agenda will be information on the acceptance of EBT Bridge Cards at the Suttons Bay Market, and a Q & A Session to answer any questions about any of the six Leelanau Farmers Markets.
The 2011 season begins at the Suttons Bay Market on May 14. Check out www.eatleelanau.org for dates and times of all the Leelanau Farmers Markets in Empire, Glen Arbor, Lake Leelanau, Leland, Northport and Suttons Bay. For more information contact Debby Disch, LFMA Board Chair, at 231-386-5686 or Leelanau MSU Extension at 231-256-9888.
More photos and information on the Leelanau Farmers Markets Facebook!
"Snow ... and a lot of it!" says John.
The Weather Underground says that Traverse City tied the record precipitation for an April 19th and agrees:
April indeed.
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