The Antique Wooden Boat Show is over for another year, and after that great event, it always seems that summer is winding down. This year, however, the weather has stayed warm, with more of the same predicted. Many families are leaving because of school starting, along with football practice, but those of us who are fortunate enough to stay will enjoy the fine weather.

Martin and Chris Tuckett of St. Ledger's Island in Hessel are happy to have Chris's daughter, Sarah Pizzedaz, and her friend, Jason Thomas, visiting from Columbus, Ohio. Sarah and Jason are planning a September wedding in Columbus, and we wish them well.

A bit of Les Cheneaux history came to me from Bruce Patrick that many may find interesting. As Bruce tells it:

"Mr. Buttolph was a bachelor who came to the Les Cheneaux area through Richards. Richards bought a piece of land on Rief's Point near the southeast end of Rief's Point. He was between the tip of this point and Jack Andrews. Jack was the captain on Rief's cruiser. He had a house just inside of Rief's big cottage on the end of the point.

"Just northwest of Jack Andrews' house was the Richards' cottage. Richards' was built 'inside out,' that is, it was all framed up and all the tongue and grove siding was put on the inside, so it was called the 'inside out house,' a very strange way to build.

"Mr. Buttolph was invited to stay with the Richards the first summer that he came to Les Cheneaux. Mr. Buttolph fell in love with the shoreline on the south side of Middle Entrance. So he was able to buy all the point from the meridian line to the end of the point. This point had Peck's Bay on the south side and Middle Entrance on the northwest side. It was about a mile long and quite a chunk of land with water on both sides. Peck's Bay had very poor water, but he wanted to build on the north end of what is now Muskalunge Channel.

"First, he had Dad build a triple boathouse. Dad built a three-slip boat house with the possibility of making living quarters over the boat slips, which they never did. In a couple of years, they had Pat Mertaugh come and deepen the water in the entrance to the boat wells, so this helped when a southeast wind came into Middle Entrance.

"Mr. Buttolph had three motor boats. The main one was a 26-foot runabout that Mr. Buttolph called Tired of Indianapolis; he was from Indianapolis. The next was a Dodge 26-footer with a six-cycle Chrysler, and a third boat was a Dodge 18- footer. This smaller boat was for the cook to use. The cook would go in the boat to visit the help at the Les Cheneaux Club in the evening.

One of these trips during the night, he ran on a rock that was in the Club Cut. He tore the whole propeller shaft right out of the boat. He did not know how much damage he had done to the hull, but he knew it was leaking. He drifted over to the shore where the water was four feet deep, and sank to the bottom there. He put a wicker chair on deck and just sat until daylight, when the first boat came by and rescued him. Mr. Buttolph came up here for years."

There is more to this story, and I shall continue it next week.

In the meantime, enjoy the beautiful weather.

Ensign B Fleet Series Continues

Sheelagh Knapp reports that after a disappointing cancellation of the first race in the post-season B Fleet Series due to a complete lack of wind, the second day of racing was a rousing success. Eight boats participated in almost perfect conditions, and although the wind was light, everyone agreed that it was a delightful break from the strong blows that we've had most of this summer.

In third place was Sunrunner with Fred Moore at the helm, after taking a third in the first race and a fifth in the second. In second place, LilM, skippered by LeRoy Pieri, tied with Katogi, skippered by Chuck Letts; each came in second and fourth in the two races of the day.

The father and daughter team of Andy and Heather Bohn, who took turns at the helm of Chether, won both races.

"The victory was just in time for Heather's 11th birthday, and she gave herself a nice present by crossing the finish line far ahead of the other boats. The Birkmeiers and the LaBelles had better watch out in the future, because Heather has quite a talent for racing," said Ms. Knapp.

The final race of this series will be in Government Bay Wednesday, August 20.