The bright, beautiful days of autumn brought many visitors to our wonderful Island, making business brisk. The brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures did much to promote daily traffic, as tourists from many states enjoyed visiting Mackinac in its days of autumn splendor. Today, Tuesday, October 16, high winds are sending the leaves gracefully to the ground.

Monday, October 8, the Musser family and Grand Hotel hosted the annual Appreciation Night. It was an absolutely beautiful evening, the first time in the history of the event that the cocktail hour was held on the west end of Grand Hotel porch. The view was magnificent, with the sunset and the lights of the Mackinac Bridge. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful dinner, visiting with friends and dancing in the Terrace Room. The Mussers provided a terrific evening.

Students home over the past weekend from various colleges were Lake Sweet from Albion College, Roxanne Pettit from Grand Valley State University, Emma Chambers from Ferris State University, and Josh Carley from Saginaw Valley State University.

We said goodbye Sunday, October 7, to Ann and Bill Taylor of Delta, Ohio, who are avid fans of Mackinac. They spent 10 days at the Windermere enjoying the fall weather. Ann likes to visit the many beautiful shops, where she does all of her Christmas shopping. She plans to attend the Christmas Bazaar in December.

Happy birthday to Alex Gillespie and Mackenzie Bean October 13. Hope you both had a great day.

Hotels closing Sunday, October 14, are the Murray, Windermere, and Lake View.

Happy anniversary to Ken and Vanessa Hardy October 14. Hope you enjoyed your day.

We miss seeing Dick Ruilson of Mackinac Island Carriage Tours each day, as he would ride by on his bicycle. Dick is back at his home in Pelkie, in the Upper Peninsula. Enjoy a good winter, Dick.

Happy birthday to Paul Fisher and Mike Bradley October 14. Hope you both had a wonderful day.

Becky, Pat, and Heather Ronan of Gaylord paid Island friends a visit last weekend. Pat installed many sprinkler systems on Mackinac, and Becky worked for many summers at Jessie's Chuckwagon. Great to see you again.

Charlie Lilliquist of St. Ignace celebrated his birthday October 15. Happy birthday from Island friends.

Nancy and Jean LaBorde of Crivitz, Wisconsin, enjoyed a visit with family members, the John Chambers family of St. Ignace, and the Mark Chambers family and Margaret and Jeannette Doud of Mackinac. Both Nancy and Jean are retired, Nancy as a special education teacher in Appleton, Wisconsin, and Jean is in the computer business.

Donnie and Gracie Francis returned last week from a wonderful trip out west. They were joined by Kay Barnes and Cindy Gough, who enjoyed a seven-day train trip on the Grandluxe (formerly known as the American Orient Express), a restored train. They visited San Francisco, Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Salt Lake City, and Colorado. They planned to play golf at Copper Mountain in the Rocky Mountains, but Mother Nature played a trick on them and gave them snow. Donnie and Gracie will spend the winter in Florida, but will not leave Mackinac until Donnie is finished with hunting season, and Gracie returns from a visit to her family in Texas.

Happy anniversary to Bob and Susie Raisch October 16. Hope you enjoyed your day.

More and more lights in homes in and around the neighborhood are going out as residents leave the Island for the winter. Barbara and Brian Hellis have returned to their home in Northville, Bob and Bev Benjamin to Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Ann and Tim Timmons to Florida. Have a great winter.

The spirit of Halloween is springing up all over the Island.Cloghaun Cottage is festive with bright orange lights and smiling pumpkins scattered around the historic lovely bed and breakfast. There is a spooky witch flying high above the entrance to the Yankee Rebel, and a witch riding a bicycle in the front yard of Mel and Gene Hagenbaugh's house on Lakeshore Drive.

Happy birthday to Megan Winkel October 19. Have a great day.

Frank and Agnes Wood of De Pere, Wisconsin, visited Mackinac last weekend. Frank attended the annual Star Line meeting.

Mac and Brenda Armstrong of Ontario, longtime dedicated employees of Mackinac Island Carriage Tours, departed their favorite Island Friday, October 5. Mac drove hourly carriage and the wedding carriage, and Brenda worked in the Lenox kitchen.

Our good friend, Janie Hart, will celebrate her birthday October 20. Have a wonderful day.

Nice to have Peggy Bynoe home last weekend from her teaching position in Grand Rapids. She played for the Sunday Masses at Ste. Anne's, with her good friend, Carolyn May, singing the hymns.

Patty and Lily Schoenborn are in Chassell with the Randy McKay family, while Randy and Katie are on a cruise.

Happy birthday to Kathleen Rickley October 21. I'm sure that Makayla will help you blow your candles out.

We're happy to see our good friend, Karl Ellis, out and about following his recent surgery. He and Sandi Perlinski were joined in marriage Saturday, October 6, at the Little Stone Church with The Reverend Vincent Carroll officiating. Congratulations from Island friends. Both are employed by Grand Hotel and are planning to spend their first winter on Mackinac.

Happy birthday to Danielle Wightman October 23. Have a great day.

Mark your calendar for the Christmas Bazaar, which will be Saturday, December 1, Sunday, December 2, and Monday, December 3. The new 2006 Polaris snowmobile for raffle will be on display in Doud's Market. Tickets are available from Sylvia Perault, First National Bank, Doud's Market, and the Mackinac Island Medical Center. Any donations for the Bazaar would be greatly appreciated. You may mail or drop off items at the Mackinac Island Medical Center.

Saturday, October 13, Ben Mosley Sr. received injuries from a fall off a ladder. He was treated at the Mackinac Island Medical Center, and later transported to Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey. We learned that Ben is doing much better and has returned to his home on Mackinac.

Dr. Fran and Lorna Straus departed Mackinac Thursday, October 11, for their winter home in Chicago. They hope to return for the Christmas Bazaar.

Little Xavier Mosley had a wonderful birthday party Sunday, October 7. To celebrate his fourth birthday, all he wanted was a hayride, which he received.All of the children and parents had a great time.

A delightful baby shower for Wendy Crowley, hosted by Becky Barnwell and Kelly Bean, was held at the Carriage House Dining Room Sunday, October 7. Guests were treated to a delicious lunch, fun games, and lots of laughs. Wendy received many beautiful gifts.

Mary Alice Wellington of Kalamazoo visited family and friends on Mackinac last week.

Jody Chambers' father, Dick Johnson of Clarklake, is a guest of the family at their Gatehouse at Stonecliffe.

We say goodbye to Keith and Maryann Hahn of Big Rapids. Keith is a cousin of Bob Benjamin, and they come every fall to help in the Benjamin shops. I hope that Keith was still here this week to see the big cruise ship Columbus anchored off Helga Doud's house on Lakeshore Drive. Owing to the wind conditions, that is where the ship let off passengers in tenders to come ashore. It was a beautiful sight, but very sad, because it was the last trip of the Columbus in the Great Lakes, owing to the low water.

Low water is especially noticeable off Windermere Point, by the west breakwater.

Trish Cameron of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, spent the past weekend at the McNally Cottage with relatives. Nice to have you back on Mackinac.

The past week, we've seen many of the big ore carriers passing by, a wonderful sight. In the evening it's even more picturesque, with the lights of the Mackinac Bridge, Mackinaw City, and St. Ignace in the background.

The Reverend Vince and Molly Carroll departed Mackinac Monday, October 15, for their home in Sarasota, Florida. Have a nice winter.

Sharon and Jack Shaffer of Gwinn, along with their son, Jeff, of Mackinac, have been at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Hopefully, they will return home soon.

Congratulations to the Mackinac Island Lakers soccer team, who remain undefeated. The Mackinac Island Lakers boys and girls basketball will start Friday, November 30. We wish them luck for a good year.

Enjoy your week!