Providence Bay
Alexia Hannigan
Alexia here with your friendly mid-September fly! And here I thought only the weeks leading up to fair was truck season. This past week, I have seen a few dozen trucks and trailers rumbling by daily. All busy with harvests to haul, cords of wood and loads of cargo to deliver. This time of year is when everyone gets organized ahead of the weather and wind in preparation for the colder months and the hunt. Based on the number of deer I have already seen on the roads and trails, I think this year’s hunt will be a good one! I am still reeling from how fast this year has gone so far and I imagine by the time you finish reading this column it will be Christmas. Providence Bay gets mighty colourful and fun this time of year with the Harvest Glory Days Contest back in full swing! Check out the Expositor ad in this newspaper or visit Manitoulin.com for more details.
Here’s what happening: The Providence Bay Fall Vendor Market is on October 18 and a few more fun fall events to look forward to before the rec night skating and hockey season goes full tilt, so stay tuned!
Providence Bay Community of Christ Church: Joys and community updates is Sundays at 10:30 am; service is Sundays at 11 am. Check the Providence Bay Community of Christ Facebook page for announcements and updates!
Fall Clean-up/Reuse/Recycle: The Municipality of Central Manitoulin is supporting fire prevention and fall clean up with waived tipping fees on clean brush brought to the Providence Bay Transfer Station on the following dates:
September 11, 13, 18 and 20. Loads must be sorted and contain clean brush only and other transfer station fees and rules still apply. The Providence Bay Transfer station is located at 1077 Government Road in Providence Bay and is open fall, winter and spring on Thursdays and Saturdays from 1 to 5 pm. Looking for a practical way to reduce food waste and help the environment? Join us for a compost workshop September 20 from 10 am to 12 noon at the Mindemoya Hall with Colen McKeever to learn about composting and dehydration technology as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution. The workshop is free to attend and great for anyone interested in learning hands-on solutions to keep food waste out of landfills! For more information or to register, please email Alison at asloss@centralmanitoulin.ca.
The Lions Club Bottle drive continues next to the arena. This program is open to the public and we encourage everyone to drop off their used bottles and cans, your empties help fund great local initiatives. Are you interested in becoming a Lions Club Member? Contact the Providence Bay/Spring Bay Lions club Facebook page for details on how you too can give back to your community!
The Providence Bay & Spring Bay Lions progressive “Catch the Ace” lottery continues to benefit the Mindemoya Hospital Auxiliary Inc.
Food Drive: Lions and I are organizing our pick-a-pumpkin for a non-perishable food drive again this year for Manitoulin Family Resources. Stay tuned for updates and details! We will be inside the Providence Bay Arena this year, so look for posters and announcements coming soon!
The Friends: Happy birthday to all of you mid-September babies! Early happy birthday to Wally and to Morgen!
Go easy out there on the roads as there are more kids and critters crossing and commuting at this time of year so eyes up! If you are visiting Manitoulin Island, welcome! Check out your favourite local businesses, art gallery and restaurant social pages for updates. You can also visit the Central Manitoulin Township webpage or visit exploremanitoulin.com for updates on all the events happening near you.
Reminders: September 24th, Alison McAllister is back with a fun fall decoration and turkey pumpkins! To register for either session, please email Alison at asloss@centralmanitoulin.ca.
Oh, my brother Christian is coming to visit the Island for a couple of weeks at the beginning of October, so if you see him be sure to say hello! Congratulations on your Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blackbelt, brother; super proud of you!
Kagawong
Team Fergmeijer
Team Fergmeijer loves animals! People are often surprised to learn that one of us has a cat named after their father. Which is weird, because how would the cat be named before him? Those closest to us know we love to hear about their stories of animal encounters. For example, a neighbour told us that she saw a fox on the way to work. We have no idea how she knew it was on its way to work, but we appreciated her sharing.
After an incredible summer, the village is settling into the quieter fall season. The Old Mill Heritage Centre is now open Wednesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm; and the library is back to their winter hours (Tuesday and Thursday from 4 to 7 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm.) The landfill remains on its current schedule (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 6 pm; and Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm) until October 31st.
The Kagawong Seniors Active Living Program presents Fitness with Kelly! This program runs Thursdays from 9 to 10 am at the Park Centre and is free to anyone over 55 years old. Contact Mary for more information at 705-348-2285 or seniors@billingstwp.ca. Coming soon, free yoga classes for seniors will start in October. Stay tuned!
Are you missing the Kagawong Summer Markets? Fear not! The market fun continues into the fall with a special Fall Market on Saturday, October 4 from 1:30 to 6:30 pm at the Kagawong River Complex. Save the date and be sure to stop by and check out the variety of local and handmade goods!
From the market, mosey on over to the church of St. John’s the Evangelist for an evening of music with Cia and Bill Savage! They’ll be presenting “Come as you are – 2,” an evening of contemporary inspirational music and sing-along at 7 pm on October 4. Admission is by donation, with funds going right back to the church. Refreshments will be provided.
Join Manitoulin Streams for their annual guided salmon tours! From October 1 to 31 (excluding Thanksgiving Monday), join a Manitoulin Streams guide along the Kagawong River to learn more about the science and stories behind the salmon run. Contact getinvolved.manitoulinstreams@gmail.com for more information.
Kim B celebrated her 29th birthday this past week. We hope you had a wonderful day filled with love, cake and many presents. Team Fergmeijer has often thought that at a certain age, a really good gift would be one of those candy necklaces, but with Tums and ibuprofen.
The library board is busy gathering a fantastic collection of items for their annual silent auction. This year’s online auction is November 13 to 16. Mark your calendars! And if you or your company would be willing to donate goods or services to the auction, the library would love to hear from you (billingsreads@gmail.com).
Hear that? Ever so faintly in the distance we can hear those sleigh bells jinglin’. Santa must be on his way! Pencil November 14 and 15 in your calendars for Christmas in Kagawong!
Did you know? You can catch up on all past Team Fergmeijer columns at http://teamfergmeijer.blogspot.com/. That’s right – all the punfoolery in one spot.
Our words of wisdom for this week: An old fox understands the trap. Have a great week!
Meldrum Bay
Elaine Bradley
Friday morning Rose and I hopped into the car and drove off to Gore Bay to have coffee at Almaz’s. It was nice to visit with a variety of community members, drink coffee and eat cake. One of the young men from the pharmacy has gotten married and his wife joined us. She is very nice and I am sure everyone will enjoy getting to know her.
I do like the new sidewalks and lights in Gore Bay. The blue is very attractive.
Friday night, September 5 was cards in Meldrum. We had good attendance and lots of fun. High lady was Janice Cada with 77 points; high man was Harold Rogers with 68; ladies’ lone hands went to Myra Duncanson with four; men’s lone hands went to Natasha McVey with four; Anne Giffin Steele won most euchres. It’s nice to have Anne back with us. Over the summer she had lots of family visiting and no time was left to join up with us for cards. She had a great summer, but we’re glad to have her back. Diane Jones won the door prize; Brenda Carter took home the juice; the money jar is still safe; and Rose Van Every won the 50/50 draw.
On Saturday morning we went with Pat McDougall to Karen’s yard sale in Silver Water. As usual we sat around, drank coffee, ate muffins and talked with everybody.
Sunday morning was a major event as Rose and Linette were baptized. It was quite beautiful and several of us got teary. At the end they were given candles to remember the day with. Pat transferred her membership to Meldrum Bay and we were all happy to welcome her. Diane assisted Reverend Janice Frame throughout. Afterwards we had cake and goodies.
Jamie and Norma Nelder have their daughter Amy staying with them. To celebrate we went out to eat at Stop 540. The roast chicken dinner was delicious.
At the DCIA meeting two weeks ago we were told that they were starting the renovations to the hall in two weeks. They were starting to set up Wednesday and were doing more work Thursday. Thanks to Quantum for doing this job for us.
We are enjoying the fall weather. The maples are turning red, the geese are flying overhead in formation and the fawns are losing their spots, winter is on its way. Have a great week everyone.
Barrie Island
Enid Runnalis
The moon is waning in the northeast, and the September sun is rising just after 7 am these days, tell-tale signs that autumn is just around the corner. Haven’t the days been beautiful, though!
Another sign of the end of summer: cottagers are bringing in their docks. Never a fun job, especially as it must be done when the water is cold.
Manure spreading season surrounds us and so you might want to keep your windows tightly shut during this time.
Barrie Island sees two school buses coming punctually around the South Line and East Line block, starting with the high school bus at 7:30 am and the short bus driven by Jack Bould for the C.C. McLean students around 8 am. At his corner, Micah happily jumps on with four others already in their seats. This week Micah’s pet Pickles thought he’d like to go to school too, but he was gently coaxed off by Jack and the kids and Pickles watched them drive off from the roadside. Then he spotted a squirrel and forgot all about it.
Cameron and Reece recently attended the wedding of Troy and Brooklyn Beatty in Stayner, Ontario. Troy was an Aggie classmate of Cameron’s from the University of Guelph.
Just last week, George and Carolyn Calback moved to the LaSalle Retirement Residence in Sudbury where their son Lorne and his wife Dawn live nearby. We will miss them here on Barrie Island. They have been neighbours for years and were well known for their large productive garden and tasty preserves.
The Greenman family celebrated Gary Greenman’s 80th birthday (which falls on October 14) on September 6 in Little Current with a noon boat trip on Chris Blodgett’s cruise liner and then a lovely dinner at the Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre. Attending the party were, Gary Greenman and Dirk Operschall, Lance and Lillian Greenmen, Don and Betty Greenman, Natalie and Roger Hayden, Patrick and Alyssa Greenman, Sharon Nobel and daughter Yvonne, Ikuo Urata, Darren Urata and Brooklyn, Tanya and Chad Carter, Tom and Jackie Cunning and Michelle and her friend. It was a lovely day and Gary enjoyed every minute! Happy Birthday Gary!
Linsey Landry and her mother Edith Beange popped in at Enid’s to pick up a few cans of Cameron’s maple syrup. Sandy was there too, and we had a nice little visit.
Linsey is a great supporter of the Little Free Library at the corner of 5th Side Road and East Line Road and she’s added a few really good books to the box. Meanwhile Head Librarian Sandy Miller has curated the books and shuffled things around so there is always an interesting assortment for local readers.
Sandy Miller attended the Manitoulin UCW Annual Meeting at Mindemoya’s Trinity Manitoulin United Church this week and reports that she thoroughly enjoyed the speakers’ presentations on Social Media Fraud Awareness, Physical Fitness and also Preparing Wills and Power of Attorney. It was wonderful to gather with women from around the Island. All guests were sent home with a lovely teacup full of goodies.
Please get in touch with me if you have any news to share!
Silver Water
Karen Noble
On Friday night we went to euchre in Meldrum Bay.
Murray and Gladys Duncanson travelled to their son Craig’s camp on Friday.
Saturday there was a birthday party for Blake Duncanson. Clarke came from St. Catharine’s with his sons Ethan and Aiden. Aiden pointed out when they arrived that they had forgotten to bring Mommy and the dog Piper.
On Saturday there was a market in our yard. We had several vendors and plan to continue Saturdays through September. The weather will determine the October dates.
On Sunday afternoon there was the euchre tournament in Tehkummah. I took Shawn Noble, DonnaKay McDonald, Janice Cada and Myra Duncanson with me. There were several other players from the west end. Congratulations to Shawn who won the 50/50 draw. We took another dozen boxes of books with us to their library.
On Monday afternoon, the recycle bins were open from 1 to 2 pm. They are open the second Monday and fourth Saturday of every month.
On Monday afternoon, Gladys Duncanson, Heather Wilson and I had a swim in Silver Lake. We all agreed the water was very refreshing. We were not in the rest of the week.
On Monday evening we went to play euchre at the Burpee and Mills Complex.
On Tuesday, there were eight ladies from the Silver Water UCW who travelled to Mindemoya to attend an Island wide gathering at the Trinity United Church. Thank you to Mary Alice Lewis and the other Mindemoya ladies for a well-organized day with several guest speakers. The OPP officer spoke of various fraud scams, the lawyer Laura Hunter talked about wills and powers of attorney and then there was Kelly who had us do some light exercises.
Fire practice was held on Tuesday night.
Colleen and Eric Julseth arrived home from their two-week vacation on Lake Superior.
Sharon Beaton was here for two weeks’ vacation and has now returned home.
Bruce Erkhart is here visiting Murray and Gladys Duncanson for the weekend.
There was euchre at the Silver Water Community Hall on Thursday night.
The fall fashion show will be at the Silver Water Community Hall on Saturday, September 27.
Condolences to the family of Alfred Armstrong.
