Mackinac Island
By Jeannette Doud 847-3301

May the beauty of spring
And the promise of Easter
Refresh your spirit
And fill your heart with joy.

A wee bit of spring is seeing the cement carrier Alpena passing through Round Island Passage. The Straits to the east are wide open, and most of the heavy ice is west of the Island by St. Ignace. With the big Canadian freighters carrying salt to Chicago, along with the U.S. Coast Guard cutters keeping the shipping channel open, it will not be long before the Straits will be free of ice. The Soo Locks open for the season Tuesday, March 25.

Happy birthday March 24 to Matt Bazinaw, James Chambers Jr., and Annamarie Horn. Enjoy your day.

The Community Hall was filled with the Irish spirit Saturday evening, March 15. The hall was very festive, and a delicious dinner of prime rib or whitefish with a wonderful salad and dessert bar was prepared by Chef Tim Leeper. Folks enjoyed chatting with their neighbors and friends as they waited for the big raffle.

We were thrilled to have Mary Rogers and her daughter, Anna, join us for this event. Mary worked for Ste. Anne's for many years, and always had a wonderful time at the St. Patrick's Day party.

Prizes were won as follows: Handmade Easter basket made by Gwen Bagbey, Elaine Bunker; lunch for two at The Gate House, Kay Hoppenrath; dinner for two at Mary's Bistro, Jennifer Putman; breakfast for four at the Pancake House, Sylvia Perault; 50/50, Dr. Weidner; $5,000, Mr. and Mrs. Gary Cousino; $2,000, Sara Chambers; $2,000, the Leathermans from Houghton Lake; $1,000, Pollyanna Smith and Desiree Nordstrand.

Many people volunteered in the kitchen and on decorating crews and donated salads, desserts, prizes, and just supported this great event. Trish and Brenda Bunker, Kay Hoppenrath, and to everyone at Ste. Anne's sold all 300 tickets. It was a great evening. Dr. Weidner generously donated her 50/50 winnings back to Ste. Anne's.

Happy birthday March 25 to Sylvia Perault and Ben Horn. Have a great day.

Following a 21-day cruise on the Mexican Riviera, Patty, Brian, and Lily Schoenborn are back at their home in St. Ignace. They attended the St. Patrick's Day party at the Community Hall Saturday evening, where they joined Patty's family, Judy, Robbie, and Jamie Bynoe.

Monday evening at midnight, the tones went off on the scanner for another accident on the ice bridge. Rodney Myers was thrown off his snowmobile and seriously injured his back. He was transported to St. Ignace and later to Northern Michigan Regional Hospital in Petoskey. Responding were the Mackinac Island Fire Department, Mackinac Island Police Department, EMT'S, and the Mackinac Island Medical Center.

John St. Onge, who was injured on the ice last week, remains a patient at Blodgett Hospital in Grand Rapids. He is making a good steady recovery.

Greetings to my good friends, Buck and Alice Sharrow of Charlevoix. We look forward to your return to Mackinac.

We send special Easter greetings to all our friends at the Mackinac Straits Hospital Long Term Care facility in St. Ignace, Gary and Larry LaPine, Marian Welcher, and Bette Emmons.

The change in time does give us more daylight. You can feel spring in the air, but we still have a lot of winter left. We will be riding our snowmobiles with Easter bonnets on.

Jamie Bynoe organized a broom hockey game Saturday, March 15, in front of the Irish Pub. It was a beautiful afternoon, so they all enjoyed a spirited game.

Dennis and Peggy O'Keefe of LaSalle, Illinois, came to Mackinac for the St. Patrick's Day party. Summer guests at the Windermere, they enjoyed seeing Mackinac on a beautiful March day. They were guests of Trish and Alice Martin at Bogan Lane Inn.

Anna Mary Cusack of Petoskey joined her mother, Helga Doud, for the St. Patrick's Day festivities on Mackinac.

We send special greetings to Patty LaPine, who is recuperating at her home in Harrisonville following major surgery Thursday, March 13. Patty and Bruce were always great helpers at the St. Patrick's party. We missed Patty this year, but it was so nice to see Bruce there. They've just returned from a Caribbean cruise.

Jimmy Gillespie, Gary Horn, and Kirk Smith will all celebrate their birthdays March 26. Have a great day.

Ed and Nancy Pfeiffelman departed the Island Monday for a twoweek vacation to Colorado to visit their son, Edson. Ed will celebrate his birthday March 29, and Ed and Nancy will celebrate their wedding anniversary the same day. Have a wonderful trip.

It was nice to see Bob Andress and Becki Calcaterra, both of St. Ignace, enjoying the St. Patrick's Day party.

Ray and Nancy Kriss of Trillium Heights will enjoy Easter with their family in the Detroit area.

Chief Jim and Nancy Marks will travel to Roscommon to enjoy the holiday with family members.

Very sad news reached us Monday, March 17, with a call from Debra Orr, telling us that her beloved Aunt Lou Riley passed that morning at her home in Hendersonville, North Carolina, surrounded by her two daughters. She was 95 years old and very active to the end. The day before she suffered her stroke, she was repairing chairs. She was a wonderful lady, and a great friend. Deepest sympathy to the family from Island friends.

Friends can write her daughters, Carolyn Haffner and Marilyn Riley, at 1604 Sherman Drive, Hendersonville, NC 28739.

An obituary will appear next week.

Robert Chambers, Jim Fisher, and Mike Gamble enjoyed watching the Cedarville Trojans boys basketball game Thursday, March 13, in East Lansing. We congratulate them on an outstanding season.

Enjoy your Easter celebration!