The Maescher Clan family reunion was celebrated by (from left) Joan Hesser, Grant Hesser, Stella Hassan, John Hassan, and Jane Earls. (Photograph by the Maescher family) The weather is beautiful. There are lots of people around, fishing is good, kayaks and canoes are paddling throughout the islands, and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves. What more could one ask of a summer in the Les Cheneaux Islands?

Keith Kester won the $100 Lions Club raffle July 24.

The historical museum is featuring a display of small quilts throughout August from a private quilting organization. This is an invitational juried exhibition, and the colors are beautiful. Also throughout the month of August, the Arts Council of Les Cheneaux will have a free exhibition of artists' work in the Cedarville Inn.

As Merle Sackman and his wife, who reside on Parmerlee Road on Beavertail Point, were turning toward DeTour on M-134 one day last week, they were surprised and thrilled to see a large wolf only about 15 feet from their car. It was a dark color. Merle said that the sight of the wolf has made them a little hesitant to take a walk in the evening.

This photograph of a seagull perched on a post was taken by Janey Montgomery of Big LaSalle Island at Les Cheneaux. Merle went to school in Cedarville many years ago, when his parents owned a piece of property called "Sackman's Lodge." The property now belongs to the Nature Conservancy. I recall that it was at a point of a bay at the very end of the school bus line, almost at the boundary of Mackinac County. Merle said he was so happy as a youngster, that he could attend the Cedarville School because of the friends he had here.

An anniversary of note occurred this summer on Big LaSalle Island, when the John Maescher family celebrated 100 years of coming to the Les Cheneaux Islands. The late John Maescher came as a guest of the Robert Heucks in 1907 when he was just 15 years of age. Later, John and his wife, Lucy, loved the area so much that they bought property and built their family cottage on Big LaSalle in the early 1920s, one of the cottages in the group now known locally as "Cincinnati Row."

Mr. Maescher was also one of the founders of the Les Cheneaux Yacht Club, and he wrote the first constitution for the club in 1938. John and Lucy had two children, Jane Hassan Earls and the late Betty Hesser, plus 24 family members. This includes five generations of Maescher descendants who all continue to enjoy their summers in the Snows. It certainly says a lot for the area, when generations keep returning year after year.

Last Saturday evening, we were able to go out Middle Entrance by boat and watch the fireworks from Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, and St. Ignace commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge. It was a wonderfully warm evening with the water as smooth as glass, and what fun it was to sit out there and watch the fireworks display across the water so far away.

Everyone is happy to see that the Hessel Marketplace is once more open for business. It has been a favorite stopping place and landmark for so many years.