School is out and students are either working at summer jobs, or looking for one. It is nice to see their smiling faces behind a local counter, waiting tables, working with a construction crew, or mowing lawns. Everybody seems busy, and that's a good thing.

We have learned of another new gift shop opening in Cedarville. This little shop is tucked in behind the drug store and Safe Harbor Books, where the bookstore was formerly housed. It has a new and attractive face and is being managed by one of our graduates, Katie Bowlby. The shop features a variety of gifts and antiques, including many nautical items, highlighting the nautical theme of the Les Cheneaux Islands.

The parking lot is being enlarged at Cedarville Library. Trees have been removed, gravel has been laid, and an opening on Pine Street, behind the museum, will make for more and better parking for everyone using the facility.

As I was driving out of the parking lot at Cedar Cove, Cedarville's retirement village, Kim Gay was plowing a part of the yard where they plan to have a vegetable garden. What a nice project that will be. Kim has a great plan to grow a "weed-less" garden.

A letter from Bob Berry came this week, and I quote, "Every summer the Rudd clan comes up to Mackinac Bay from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas. It is a time when many memories are shared, so when our grandson, Todd Berry, who is an honor student at Round Rock High School in Texas, sent us a recipe he had written for an assignment in school, we decided to share it for the enjoyment of many in Les Cheneaux: Recipe for a Perfect Night: 1 Outdoor fireplace with hot coals sizzling in it; 2 Packs of puffy marshmallows; 3 Hershey milk chocolate bars; 10 Chairs (some stumps included) with loving people in them; 1 bushel of hearty laughs; 10 warm smiles full of joy; 1 barrel of fresh air ; 1 pinch of the smell of pine; 10 trips to fetch firewood and place it in the fireplace; 22 s'mores inside our bellies; 1 game of Balderdash back at the cabin; 1 happy family. Preheat the fireplace to 1500 degrees F. Stir in the happy family as well as the pinch of the smell of pine. After two minutes of continuous stirring, add the packs of marshmallows as well as the chocolate bars and graham crackers. Mix in the storytellers, chairs, hearty laughs, and warm smiles and stir until relaxed. Almost done, add in a hilarious game of Balderdash back at the cabin. Then finally, add a happy family to your already delicious night. Blend slowly, and in few minutes it will rise to a beautiful memory."

Todd, that's a perfect recipe. Many in the Les Cheneaux have those same, happy memories.

The Les Cheneaux Rouge Chapeau (Red Hats) of the Cedarville area will be having dinner at the Village Inn in St. Ignace Thursday, June 19. Those who plan to go should meet at the Cedarville Foods parking lot at 4:30 p.m.