Les Cheneaux
By Helen Shoberg 484-2626 mink1@cedarville.net

Sixth grade students at Les Cheneaux Community Schools, including (in no order) Max Madigan, Caleb Schalk, Eric Schebel, Dustin Bullman, Nathan Smith, Sam Eberts, Hilan Lysinger, and Cole Diehl, were joined by teacher Ryan Wilson (standing behind the group) dressed up for the Halloween costume parade and classroom parties Wednesday, October 31.

Deer season is upon us once again and it's always nice to welcome the hunters this time of the year. It's interesting each year to see the grocery, restaurants, and other places filled with hunters. They are quite a different group of visitors than the summer tourists. We wish them all a successful hunt.

Although Halloween has passed, the accompanying photographs show some of the fun that took place at Les Cheneaux Schools for that holiday. Staff and student costumes showed great creativity.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. In our family, we have alternated having that annual feast among three of us, and this year it is my turn. What a special time Thanksgiving Day always is, with families getting together for a happy time, but with all of the festivities, we should not forget that it is a day for giving thanks. This year, again, we remember our troops overseas and hope that another year will see many of them home.

Dressed in frightening and fantastic costumes, a group of sixth grade girls at Les Cheneaux Community Schools (in no order) Kelley Wright, Tessa Reppenhagan, Maddy Cardwell, Rebekah Miller, Heather Lindberg, Holly Lysinger, Grace Dunn, Cara Hakola, Alexis Barr, Kelly Plank, Taylor Perkins, Maddy Kruger, Hope Nightlinger, Sarah Landreville, and Kayla Merchberger are ready to participate in the annual costume parade and Halloween festivities Wednesday, October 31.

The Les Cheneaux Community Library is sponsoring another interesting reading program for the community. A book club called Winter Reads is being launched for adults, teens, and children. Participants will have from November to April to read 15 books, including a thriller, a Michigan book, a classic, and many others of their choice, receiving a prize for completing the program. Along with the above choices, included also is one book that all must read and discuss. For the adults, the book is entitled, "The Life of Pi" by Yang Martel. Young adults, or teens, must read "The Silenced" by James DeVita, and the book for children to read is "Big Chickens." One may sign up for this program by going to the library.

Another program at the library, this one for teens only, will be held every second week on Saturday nights during the winter, the next one being on November 24. The library doors will be open for students in grades 7, 8, and 9 to spend time at the library. There will be games, new card games and old favorites, and movies. There will even be video games in which you can actually participate, such as bowling.

Evening activities for our local young people are badly needed, and how nice it is that our library personnel are doing something to fill that need.

Les Cheneaux Community Foundation has launched its second annual unified fundraising campaign. The foundation is offering a list of organizations and projects to which the community can donate. They include the library, Clark Township Bike Path, Clark Township Recreation Park, Great Lakes Boat Building School, Les Cheneaux Ambulance Auxiliary, Les Cheneaux Arts Council, Les Cheneaux Community Foundation, Les Cheneaux Historical Association, and Les Cheneaux Watershed Council. Donations can be sent to the community foundation at P.O. Box 249, Cedarville, Michigan 49719.

Bruce Patrick's story this week is very appropriate with the beginning of deer season so close at hand:

"This is a story about deer hunting on the little point just inside of the Yacht Club point. This point always had deer on it, but to get them, out where hunters could get a shot at them, seemed impossible.

"On this deer drive, Archie Dunn said, 'Why not drive (or try to drive) the deer backwards.' You see, we always put the hunters on the back of the point and the deer would always elude us, so we put the hunters on the shoreline. This was 'backwards' to the way we had always drove it.

"So we put five hunters on the end of the point, or on the shoreline. When we made the drive, the buck deer all made toward the shore. Five bucks ran to the shoreline and our hunters got three bucks. They should have had five, but two got away.

"Do you see how changing our way of driving fooled the deer? This shows one how deer are used to going their way and a change fooled them."

Kim and Dave Thousand won the Lions Club $100 lottery November 8.