Our wonderful summer car shows are over for the year. Lots of effort goes into hosting and planning these shows, and the hard work produces a great turnout of visitors to our town. Hundreds of beautiful cars were displayed at St. Ignace June 21 for Antiques on the Bay and June 26 through June 28 for the St. Ignace Car Show, and everyone welcomed thousands of visitors to our town. The Nostalgia Productions crew has now to look forward to the Truck Show in September.

The next big event for everyone to enjoy is our Fourth of July parade Friday. Again, it takes a lot of planning. The St. Ignace Fire Department clown crew is always cheered on by spectators as they do their usual skits. Crew members are Teeny Fraser, Bill Fraser, Chad Belonga, Steve Paquin, Jason Soblaskey, Robert St. Louis, and Willie LaLonde.

They also appear in the Memorial Day parade at Mackinaw City, and are planning to attend Pioneer Days at Pellston, and the Boyne Falls Polish Festival.

The Ruby Goudreau Memorial July 4 parade will be Friday at 1 p.m., beginning at the corner of Stockbridge and North State streets, and continuing down State Street to McCann Street. The St. Ignace Kiwanis Club children's races and the Fire Department Open House will follow at Dock 3, a longstanding tradition in St. Ignace.

Residents and staff watch as antique cars cruise past the Long Term Care unit of Mackinac Straits Hospital Friday, June 20. The drive was associated with the Antiques on the Bay car show in St. Ignace. Donna Pope of St. Ignace will travel to the Olympic Games in Beijing, China, in August, to see her granddaughter's husband compete in freestyle wrestling. She will leave St. Ignace August 1 with her daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Bill Huntsman of Golden, Colorado, and a group of family members will fly from there to China August 8. Adam Wheeler, 27, will participate in Olympics competition in the Greco Roman division, 211.5 pound weight class. He is married to Donna's granddaughter, Marley Wheeler, one of the twin daughters of Mamie (nee Pope) Garceo of Denver. Her twin sister, Emily, is married to Neil Rodak, who is also knowledgeable in wrestling and who helped coach Mr. Wheeler in his preparations. Mr. Rodak will accompany the family group to Beijing, but Emily Rodak will stay home with the couple's two-month-old daughter, Austyn Rose. Mr. Wheeler completed his wrestling training at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.

"We're all so excited," Donna said of the upcoming Olympics competition. The matches will take place August 14, and will be televised.

Sarah Cunningham Boyle and Thomas Beaudoin Jr. were married Saturday, June 21, in Williamsburg, Virginia. The groom, a 1999 graduate of Carlston High School in Gibraltar, is the son of Cynthia and Thomas Beaudoin. His grandparents are Louis and Angeline Bunker of St. Ignace, and Anna Mae and the late Wilford Beaudoin of Moran. The couple will reside in Virginia, where Sarah teaches grade school, and Thomas is an instructor for the United States Coast Guard.

The St. Ignace Public Library has started the children's summer reading program. The first session was Thursday, June 26, and the last session will be Thursday, August 14. For more information, call 643-8318.

Teeny and Bev Fraser spent last weekend in Paw Paw, with their son, Mike, and his wife, Jamie Fox. The couple are enjoying their new home, since unfortunately fire destroyed all of their belongings a few months ago.

Belated happy birthday wishes to Gage Christiansen June 30.

Happy birthday to Darren LaVake July 4, Destiny Stenberg July 9, and Melvin Paquin and Jimmy Kosek July 10.

Carol (nee Belonga) Kruithoff and her brother, Ken Belonga, were recent guests for a week at the home of Paula McCrory in St. Ignace. They make an annual visit to St. Ignace to visit friends. The children of Iona Belonga, they grew up on Pte. LaBarbe Road. Their grandparents were Rowena and Lloyd Obeshaw.

Recent out-of-state visitors to the St. Ignace home of Bill and Marian King were: Stephanie Horal and her friends from Madera, California; Roch King and his daughter, Sydney, from Noblesville, Indiana; Barry King and his sons, Creighton and Aidan, from Bloomington, Indiana, and Dr. George and Sharon Bloch from Madera, California.

Four-year-old Aidan's favorite activity in St. Ignace was eating blueberry pie at Bentley's B-n-L Cafe. It was so good, family members said, he asked the waitress for the recipe.

Future guests at the Kings' "Train House" will be Gary Adams from Madera, California, and Earlene Adams Carlisle from Madison Heights, who are coming for the all-class reunion in July.

I received a phone call from Lynn LaDuke of Big Rapids, saying she is feeling much better than in past months. Lynn and her husband, Joe, have enjoyed camping in this area, and are expected to visit this summer.

Enjoy the fireworks, picnics, and nice weather.