Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 31, 2020
Sunny skies for the last day of May. It's 47°, feels like 40°, wind is from the SW at 10 mph with gusts to 13 mph, humidity is 80%, dew point is 42°, pressure is steady at 30.30 inches, UV index is Moderate at 3, 0% cloud cover, and visibility is 10 miles.Today expect a high around 57°. Sunshine and clouds will be mixed. Winds from the WSW to 10 to 20 mph. Tonight it should be clear to partly cloudy. Low about 49°. Winds from the SW at 10 to 15 mph. Interested is seeing a sunset on a nice day, it will be at 9:24 pm.
MARINE FORECAST
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM EDT THIS MORNING THROUGH THIS EVENING...
Today Southwest wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Mostly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less building to 2 to 4 feet in the morning.
Tonight Southwest wind 5 to 10 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Monday Southwest wind 10 to 15 knots. Rain showers likely. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Monday Night Southwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Rain showers likely. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
ON THIS DAY The famous tower clock known as Big Ben, located at the top of the 320-foot-high Elizabeth Tower, rings out over the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, for the first time on May 31, 1859.
After a fire destroyed much of the Palace of Westminster—the headquarters of the British Parliament—in October 1834, a standout feature of the design for the new palace was a large clock atop a tower. The royal astronomer, Sir George Airy, wanted the clock to have pinpoint accuracy, including twice-a-day checks with the Royal Greenwich Observatory. While many clockmakers dismissed this goal as impossible, Airy counted on the help of Edmund Beckett Denison, a formidable barrister known for his expertise in horology, or the science of measuring time.
The name “Big Ben” originally just applied to the bell but later came to refer to the clock itself. Two main stories exist about how Big Ben got its name. Many claim it was named after the famously long-winded Sir Benjamin Hall, the London commissioner of works at the time it was built. Another famous story argues that the bell was named for the popular heavyweight boxer Benjamin Caunt, because it was the largest of its kind.
Even after an incendiary bomb destroyed the chamber of the House of Commons during the Second World War, Elizabeth Tower survived, and Big Ben continued to function. Its famously accurate timekeeping is regulated by a stack of coins placed on the clock’s huge pendulum, ensuring a steady movement of the clock hands at all times. At night, all four of the clock’s faces, each one 23 feet across, are illuminated. A light above Big Ben is also lit to let the public know when Parliament is in session. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW The shortest commercial flight in the world lasts just 57 seconds. The Loganair flight between the two Scottish islands of Westray and Papa Westray lasts just 57 seconds. At a distance of 1.7 miles, it's the shortest commercial flight in the world. However, because the trip is made via one of two eight-seater planes, the exact time of the journey could take a bit longer if there are strong winds. Loganair claims it takes less than a minute "in a favourable wind" (bestlifeonline.com)
WORD OF THE DAY palmy (PAH-mee) which means:
1 : marked by prosperity : flourishing
2 : abounding in or bearing palms
The palm branch has traditionally been used as a symbol of victory. It is no wonder then that the word palm came to mean "victory" or "triumph" in the late 14th century, thanks to the likes of Geoffrey Chaucer. Centuries later, William Shakespeare would employ palmy as a synonym for triumphant or flourishing in the tragedy Hamlet when the character Horatio speaks of the "palmy state of Rome / A little ere the mightiest Julius fell." (merriam-webster.com)
From the Circle M
May 30, 2020
Hello everyone! We are proud to announce that the The Circle M will finally be reopening this Saturday, May 30th at 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. However we will only be available for takeout at this time. We will have online ordering available sometime early next week. Until then please feel free to call 231-448-2513 to place your order.
Here is the menu:
Menu page 1..........Menu page 2
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 30, 2020
Mostly cloudy skies this morning, 45°, feels like 41°, wind is from the WNW at 8 mph, humidity is at 91%, dew point is 42°, pressure is rising from 30.08 inches, UV index is Low at 0, cloud cover is 90%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today look for cloudy skies early,, followed by partial clearing. High of about 52°. Winds from the NW at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight expect clear skies. Low around 42°. Winds from the WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM EDT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING...
Today Northwest wind 10 to 20 knots. Gusts up to 20 knots early in the morning then 25 knots in the afternoon. Slight chance of showers, mainly in the morning. Waves 2 feet or less building to 2 to 3 feet in the afternoon.
Tonight Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Clear. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Sunday Southwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Sunny. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Sunday Night Southwest wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
ON THIS DAY At Rouen in English-controlled Normandy, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the savior of France, is burned at the stake for heresy.
Joan was born in 1412, the daughter of a tenant farmer at Domremy, on the borders of the duchies of Bar and Lorraine. In 1415, the Hundred Years War between England and France entered a crucial phase when the young King Henry V of England invaded France and won a series of decisive victories against the forces of King Charles VI. By the time of Henry’s death in August 1422, the English and their French-Burgundian allies controlled Aquitaine and most of northern France, including Paris. Charles VI, long incapacitated, died one month later, and his son, Charles, regent from 1418, prepared to take the throne. However, Reims, the traditional city of French coronation, was held by the Anglo-Burgundians, and the Dauphin (heir apparent to the French throne) remained uncrowned. Meanwhile, King Henry VI of England, the infant son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois, the daughter of Charles VI, was proclaimed king of France by the English.
Joan’s village of Domremy lay on the frontier between the France of the Dauphin and that of the Anglo-Burgundians. In the midst of this unstable environment, Joan began hearing “voices” of three Christian saints—St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret. When she was about 16, these voices exhorted her to aid the Dauphin in capturing Reims and therefore the French throne. In May 1428, she traveled to Vaucouleurs, a stronghold of the Dauphin, and told the captain of the garrison of her visions. Disbelieving the young peasant girl, he sent her home. In January 1429, she returned, and the captain, impressed by her piety and determination, agreed to allow her passage to the Dauphin at Chinon.
Dressed in men’s clothes and accompanied by six soldiers, she reached the Dauphin’s castle at Chinon in February 1429 and was granted an audience. Charles hid himself among his courtiers, but Joan immediately picked him out and informed him of her divine mission. For several weeks, Charles had Joan questioned by theologians at Poitiers, who concluded that, given his desperate straits, the Dauphin would be well-advised to make use of this strange and charismatic girl.
Charles furnished her with a small army, and on April 27, 1429, she set out for Orleans, besieged by the English since October 1428. On April 29, as a French sortie distracted the English troops on the west side of Orleans, Joan entered unopposed by its eastern gate. She brought greatly needed supplies and reinforcements and inspired the French to a passionate resistance. She personally led the charge in several battles and on May 7 was struck by an arrow. After quickly dressing her wound, she returned to the fight, and the French won the day. On May 8, the English retreated from Orleans.
During the next five weeks, Joan and the French commanders led the French into a string of stunning victories over the English. On July 16, the royal army reached Reims, which opened its gates to Joan and the Dauphin. The next day, Charles VII was crowned king of France, with Joan standing nearby holding up her standard: an image of Christ in judgment. After the ceremony, she knelt before Charles, joyously calling him king for the first time.
On September 8, the king and Joan attacked Paris. During the battle, Joan carried her standard up to the earthworks and called on the Parisians to surrender the city to the king of France. She was wounded but continued to rally the king’s troops until Charles ordered an end to the unsuccessful siege. That year, she led several more small campaigns, capturing the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moitier. In December, Charles ennobled Joan, her parents, and her brothers.
In May 1430, the Burgundians laid siege to Compiegne, and Joan stole into the town under the cover of darkness to aid in its defense. On May 23, while leading a sortie against the Burgundians, she was captured. The Burgundians sold her to the English, and in March 1431 she went on trial before ecclesiastical authorities in Rouen on charges of heresy. Her most serious crime, according to the tribunal, was her rejection of church authority in favor of direct inspiration from God. After refusing to submit to the church, her sentence was read on May 24: She was to be turned over to secular authorities and executed. Reacting with horror to the pronouncement, Joan agreed to recant and was condemned instead to perpetual imprisonment.
Ordered to put on women’s clothes, she obeyed, but a few days later the judges went to her cell and found her dressed again in male attire. Questioned, she told them that St. Catherine and St. Margaret had reproached her for giving in to the church against their will. She was found to be a relapsed heretic and on May 29 ordered handed over to secular officials. On May 30, Joan, 19 years old, was burned at the stake at the Place du Vieux-Marche in Rouen. Before the pyre was lit, she instructed a priest to hold high a crucifix for her to see and to shout out prayers loud enough to be heard above the roar of the flames.
As a source of military inspiration, Joan of Arc helped turn the Hundred Years' War firmly in France’s favor. By 1453, Charles VII had reconquered all of France except for Calais, which the English relinquished in 1558. In 1920, Joan of Arc, one of the great heroes of French history, was recognized as a Christian saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Her feast day is May 30. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW Nutella was originally invented as a way to stretch chocolate rations. Napoleon’s blockade of Europe in the early 1800s led Turin chocolatiers to mix chopped hazelnuts into their chocolate. This recipe was revived during World War II by Pietro Ferrero, when rationing made chocolate scarce. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY gamut (GAM-ut) which means:
1 : the whole series of recognized musical notes
2 : an entire range or series
To get the lowdown on gamut, we have to dive to the bottom of a musical scale to which the 11th-century musician and monk Guido of Arezzo applied his particular system of solmization—that is, of using syllables to denote the tones of a musical scale. Guido called the first line of his bass staff gamma and the first note in his scale ut, which meant that gamma ut was the term for a note written on the first staff line. In time, gamma ut underwent a shortening to gamut but climbed the scale of meaning. It expanded to cover all the notes of Guido's scale, then to cover all the notes in the range of an instrument, and, eventually, to cover an entire range of any sort. (merriam-webster.com)
St. James Township Virtual Meeting
June 3, 2020, 5:30 p.m.
Dan Johnson's Message for Pentacost
May 31, 2020
Beaver Island Community School Weekly Update
May 29, 2020
BICS Secondary Award Recipients
Thanks to all of you who joined us for the secondary awards presentation on Wednesday night! Other than a few jokes by the Math Department that Mr. Cwikiel didn’t get, it was a great gathering to honor our students and citizens! Here are honors and recipients from Wednesday night—if you see these students, give them a virtual pat on the back!
- Business Education, Science, and Technology CTE Awards: Jessica LaFreniere and Elisha Richards
- Health Occupations CTE Awards: Sharon Schwartzfisher and McKenna Turner
- BICS English Department Key Award—Elsie Burton
- BICS Michigan Math League Award—Gage Anderson
- Exceptional Growth Award—Ash Antkoviak
- Middle School Citizen of the Year Award—Micah Richards
- Middle School Student of the Year Award—Aedan Cole
- High School Citizen of the Year Award—Susi Myers
- High School Student of the Year Award—Elsie Burton
- Volunteer Honor Cords—Elsie Burton, Kevin James, Susi Myers, John Brady Robert, and Sharon Schwartzfisher
- Class of 2020 Valedictorian—Elsie Burton, Summa Cum Laude
- Class of 2020 Salutatorian—John Brady Robert, Cum Laude
Islander Sports Awards Ceremony—Zoom Presentation on June 2, 7:00 pm
Please plan to join us at 7:00 pm on June 2nd to honor our 2019-2020 sports teams. We will gather via Zoom for the presentation of the Coaches’ awards, varsity letters and pins, and the Northern Lights League Honors. All volleyball, soccer, and basketball athletes and their families and friends are invited to join us for this Zoom presentation. If you need any assistance with Zoom, please e-mail Mr. Cwikiel and he can set up a time to get you Zoomable. Here is the link to the Awards Ceremony: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81241774362
BICS School Board Committees Next Week
We encourage you to join us for the school board working committees next week. See the BICS website at www.beaverisland.k12.mi.us for more information.
BICS Class of 2020 Parade—1:00 pm, June 6th
Please join us to honor the accomplishments of our graduating seniors at 1:00 pm next Saturday! We are encouraging all Islanders to drive into town and line the parade route with your car, truck, golf cart, or horse (well, maybe not the horse). To observe appropriate social distancing, please park your cars in succession from the school down the hill to Main Street and then out toward the Point. The students will walk for as long as there are cars! Special thanks to Deputy Olson and Chief McDonough for agreeing to escort our students with the squad car and fire trucks! In the event of inclement weather, stay tuned to your e-mail and social media. If we have to do a short rain delay, we will let you know via e-mail and the BICS Facebook page. Please spread the word and help us celebrate Beaver Islands 2020 Graduates!
Be Smart--Stay Safe!
Go Islanders!
Paradise Bay Coffee Shop
May 29, 2020
The Paradise Bay Coffee Shop was open last weekend for Memorial Day, and it is open this weekend. They will be closed down for three weeks, and will be re-opening with hopefully a Farmer's Market in June.
Working to Save Shoreline Property
May 29, 2020
The crew is working on the shoreline protection down the East Side today. A quick stop and the wonderful help of the property owners was appreciated as the timing was not right while the crew was working. Thank you for your kindness and willingness to have me take some pictures and some video.
The before picture with the wooden shoreline protection
The crane on the barge used to place the steel into the sand.
The start of the steel wall to protect the shoreline.
The equipment to move the steel......the steel being placed......Getting the "hammer in place"...The steel at the right level.
Waste Management Minutes
May 29, 2020
This was the first meeting that was done using a virtual call-in conference call instead of meeting at the Peaine Township Hall. This pandemic has made it much more difficult to get the information out to the public in a timely manner.
The topics for the meeting were mainly related to the car crusher possibly coming and the system being installed at the transfer station to allow credit card payment. There has been a delay in the equipment set-up, due to the pandemic and lack of support available other than videos.
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 29, 2020
Yes, we slept in. It happens sometimes. Mostly cloudy skies this morning, 54°, winds are calm, humidity is at 93%, dew point is 53°, pressure is rising from 29.66 inches, UV index is Moderate at 3, cloud cover is 76% and visibility is 10 miles. Today: sunshine and clouds mixed. Slight chance of a rain shower. High about 58°, Winds from the west at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy skies. Low around 44°. Winds from the NW at 10 to 20 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
..SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...
Today West wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Chance of showers early in the morning. Patchy fog early in the morning. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Saturday Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Saturday Night West wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY At 11:30 a.m. on May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal, become the first explorers to reach the summit of Mount Everest, which at 29,035 feet above sea level is the highest point on earth. The two, part of a British expedition, made their final assault on the summit after spending a fitful night at 27,900 feet. News of their achievement broke around the world on June 2, the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, and Britons hailed it as a good omen for their country’s future.
Mount Everest sits on the crest of the Great Himalayas in Asia, lying on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Called Chomo-Lungma, or “Mother Goddess of the Land,” by the Tibetans, the English named the mountain after Sir George Everest, a 19th-century British surveyor of South Asia. The summit of Everest reaches two-thirds of the way through the air of the earth’s atmosphere–at about the cruising altitude of jet airliners–and oxygen levels there are very low, temperatures are extremely cold, and weather is unpredictable and dangerous.
The first recorded attempt to climb Everest was made in 1921 by a British expedition that trekked 400 difficult miles across the Tibetan plateau to the foot of the great mountain. A raging storm forced them to abort their ascent, but the mountaineers, among them George Leigh Mallory, had seen what appeared to be a feasible route up the peak. It was Mallory who quipped when later asked by a journalist why he wanted to climb Everest, “Because it’s there.”
A second British expedition, featuring Mallory, returned in 1922, and climbers George Finch and Geoffrey Bruce reached an impressive height of more than 27,000 feet. In another attempt made by Mallory that year, seven Sherpa porters were killed in an avalanche. (The Sherpas, native to the Khumbu region, have long played an essential support role in Himalayan climbs and treks because of their strength and ability to endure the high altitudes.) In 1924, a third Everest expedition was launched by the British, and climber Edward Norton reached an elevation of 28,128 feet, 900 vertical feet short of the summit, without using artificial oxygen. Four days later, Mallory and Andrew Irvine launched a summit assault and were never seen alive again. In 1999, Mallory’s largely preserved body was found high on Everest–he had suffered numerous broken bones in a fall. Whether or not he or Irvine reached the summit remains a mystery.
Several more unsuccessful summit attempts were made via Tibet’s Northeast Ridge route, and after World War II Tibet was closed to foreigners. In 1949, Nepal opened its door to the outside world, and in 1950 and 1951 British expeditions made exploratory climbs up the Southeast Ridge route. In 1952, a Swiss expedition navigated the treacherous Khumbu Icefall in the first real summit attempt. Two climbers, Raymond Lambert and Tenzing Norgay, reached 28,210 feet, just below the South Summit, but had to turn back for want of supplies.
Shocked by the near-success of the Swiss expedition, a large British expedition was organized for 1953 under the command of Colonel John Hunt. In addition to the best British climbers and such highly experienced Sherpas as Tenzing Norgay, the expedition enlisted talent from the British Commonwealth, such as New Zealanders George Lowe and Edmund Hillary, the latter of whom worked as a beekeeper when not climbing mountains. Members of the expedition were equipped with specially insulated boots and clothing, portable radio equipment, and open- and closed-circuit oxygen systems.
Setting up a series of camps, the expedition pushed its way up the mountain in April and May 1953. A new passage was forged through the Khumbu Icefall, and the climbers made their way up the Western Cwm, across the Lhotse Face, and to the South Col, at about 26,000 feet. On May 26, Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon launched the first assault on the summit and came within 300 feet of the top of Everest before having to turn back because one of their oxygen sets was malfunctioning.
On May 28, Tenzing and Hillary set out, setting up high camp at 27,900 feet. After a freezing, sleepless night, the pair plodded on, reaching the South Summit by 9 a.m. and a steep rocky step, some 40 feet high, about an hour later. Wedging himself in a crack in the face, Hillary inched himself up what was thereafter known as the Hillary Step. Hillary threw down a rope, and Norgay followed. At about 11:30 a.m., the climbers arrived at the top of the world.
News of the success was rushed by runner from the expedition’s base camp to the radio post at Namche Bazar, and then sent by coded message to London, where Queen Elizabeth II learned of the achievement on June 1, the eve of her coronation. The next day, the news broke around the world. Later that year, Hillary and Hunt were knighted by the queen. Norgay, because he was not a citizen of a Commonwealth nation, received the lesser British Empire Medal.
Since Hillary and Norgay’s historic climb, numerous expeditions have made their way up to Everest’s summit. In 1960, a Chinese expedition was the first to conquer the mountain from the Tibetan side, and in 1963 James Whittaker became the first American to top Everest. In 1975, Tabei Junko of Japan became the first woman to reach the summit. Three years later, Reinhold Messner of Italy and Peter Habeler of Austria achieved what had been previously thought impossible: climbing to the Everest summit without oxygen. More than 300 climbers have died attempting to summit the mountain.
Everest’s deadliest day occurred on April 25, 2015, when 19 people were killed in an avalanche at base camp following a 7.8 earthquake, which killed more than 9,000 people and injured more than 23,000 in Nepal.
A major tragedy occurred in 1996 when eight climbers died after being caught in a blizzard high on the slopes in an incident made famous by Jon Krakauer’s book Into Thin Air. Krakauer's book did nothing to stem the tide of people willing to shell out tens of thousands of dollars for a chance to summit Earth’s highest mountain. Traffic jams have been reported near the top, and a fistfight broke out in 2013 between three European climbers and more than 100 Sherpas, over what the guides deemed to be rude and dangerous behavior during an attempted ascent. Meanwhile, the deaths keep coming, including over 10 in 2019. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW The name for the fear of long words is 36 letters long. Those afraid of long words have to face their fear to even get a diagnosis. The technical term for this phobia is “hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia”. It’s not the longest word in the dictionary, though. That’s the 45-letter word “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis”, a lung disease contracted by inhaling volcano particles. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY assail (uh-SAIL) which means:
1 : to attack violently : assault
2 : to encounter, undertake, or confront energetically
3 : to oppose, challenge, or criticize harshly and forcefully
4 a : to trouble or afflict in a manner that threatens to overwhelm
b : to be perceived by (a person, a person's senses, etc.) in a strongly noticeable and usually unpleasant way
Assail comes from an Anglo-French verb, assaillir, which itself traces back to the Latin verb assilire ("to leap upon"). Assilire combines the prefix ad- ("to, toward") with the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap." (Salire is the root of a number of English words related to jumping or leaping, such as somersault and sally, as well as assault, a synonym of assail.) When assail was first used in the 13th century, it meant "to make a violent physical attack upon." By the early 15th century, English speakers were using the term to mean "to attack with words or arguments." Now the verb can refer to any kind of aggressive encounter, even if it is not necessarily violent or quarrelsome, as in "Upon entering the room, we were assailed by a horrible odor." (merriam-webster.com)
From Island Treasures Resale Shop
Island Treasures Resale Shop will be open on June 12 and June 13 from noon until 4:00.
The shop will be cleaned and sanitized to prepare for the opening. Our plexiglass shield will be in place. Shoppers will be asked to sanitize their hands and wear masks. We will ask that you maintain safe distances and be patient.
The summer schedule will likely offer only a few days a week. We will need our volunteers to adapt to the new situation. Please let me know if and when you can help. You can call me at 448-2797 or send me an email.
All donations will be accepted in Carol’s Barn. PLEASE bring clean, useful items only. Use this as a guide- if it is nice enough to give to a friend, it is nice enough to donate.
After we evaluate the success of these two days, we will try to develop a schedule for the rest of the summer. Thank you for your interest, suggestions , and support.
We look forward to seeing you soon !
Donna
St. James Township Summer Jobs Available
May 28, 2020
Cleaning assistant and dock assistant
Barney's Lake Nature Preserve
May 27, 2020
This is one of the most beautiful and the least visited areas on the entire island. Having taken approximately two trips out to the area since the beginning of the road opening this spring, the editor has very seldom seen more than one vehicle parked, and that one vehicle might be seen every third or fourth day.
This spring the last few days that has changed. There have been a few more people becoming interested in the lake and the area around the lake. The water level is up quite a bit, which showed that some people enjoyed fishing from the shoreline near the public acces spot. Turtles can be seen sunning themselves on the lake when the sun is shining.
It is rumored that a huge fish was seen while some were boating and fishing on the lake. There are loons nesting on the south end of the lake.
Nature can be quite interesting only if you take the time to slow down and take a look around you. While listening to the quiet of the lake, and watching a young couple fishing from the shoreline, the editor heard the loon call. It was not a welcome call. It was a call of distress. Taking some time to search around, the reason for the call of distress was seen across the lake in the top of a tree.
As much as the loon nesting was glad to be observed, it was sad to see the loon get off the nest and dive and swim away to safety after the eagle swooped down toward the nest location. Hopefully, everything is okay with the loon nest. It will be checked today.
It didn't seem to bother the rabbit that was seen in the same area. Standing in the middle of the road, it finally moved off to the side as the car came closer.
B. I. Airport Committee Virtual Meeting
June 1, 2020 at Noon
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 28, 2020
Mostly sunny skies this morning, 64°, wind is calm, humidity is at 92%, dew point is 62°, pressure is steady at 29.87 inches, UV index is Low at 2, cloud cover is 11%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today there is a 90% chance of rain, heavy at times in the morning. High of 66°. Winds light and variable. Rainfall possibly over one inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible. Tonight: Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly this evening. Low of 47°. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
MARINE FORECAST
Today Light winds becoming west 5 to 10 knots in the afternoon. Patchy fog through the day. Scattered showers in the morning. Slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning. Periods of showers in the afternoon. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight West wind 5 to 10 knots. Patchy fog. Numerous showers. Waves 2 feet or less.
Friday West wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly sunny. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Friday Night Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 2 to 3 feet. winds and waves higher in the vicinity of thunderstorms.
ON THIS DAY On May 28, 1937, the government of Germany–then under the control of Adolf Hitler of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party–forms a new state-owned automobile company, then known as Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH. Later that year, it was renamed simply Volkswagenwerk, or “The People’s Car Company.”
Originally operated by the German Labor Front, a Nazi organization, Volkswagen was headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. In addition to his ambitious campaign to build a network of autobahns and limited access highways across Germany, Hitler’s pet project was the development and mass production of an affordable yet still speedy vehicle that could sell for less than 1,000 Reich marks (about $140 at the time). To provide the design for this “people’s car,” Hitler called in the Austrian automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche. In 1938, at a Nazi rally, the Fuhrer declared: “It is for the broad masses that this car has been built. Its purpose is to answer their transportation needs, and it is intended to give them joy.” However, soon after the KdF (Kraft-durch-Freude)-Wagen (“Strength-Through-Joy” car) was displayed for the first time at the Berlin Motor Show in 1939, World War II began, and Volkswagen halted production. After the war ended, with the factory in ruins, the Allies would make Volkswagen the focus of their attempts to resuscitate the German auto industry.
Volkswagen sales in the United States were initially slower than in other parts of the world, due to the car’s historic Nazi connections as well as its small size and unusual rounded shape. In 1959, the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach launched a landmark campaign, dubbing the car the “Beetle” and spinning its diminutive size as a distinct advantage to consumers. Over the next several years, VW became the top-selling auto import in the United States. In 1960, the German government sold 60 percent of Volkswagen’s stock to the public, effectively denationalizing it. Twelve years later, the Beetle surpassed the longstanding worldwide production record of 15 million vehicles, set by Ford Motor Company’s legendary Model T between 1908 and 1927.
With the Beetle’s design relatively unchanged since 1935, sales grew sluggish in the early 1970s. VW bounced back with the introduction of sportier models such as the Rabbit and later, the Golf. In 1998, the company began selling the highly touted “New Beetle” while still continuing production of its predecessor. After nearly 70 years and more than 21 million units produced, the last original Beetle rolled off the line in Puebla, Mexico, on July 30, 2003. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW Dolly Parton once lost to a man in a Dolly Parton look-alike contest. The country music star once secretly entered a drag queen look-alike contest—and lost. Hilariously, she not only didn’t win, but got the least applause of all the contestants. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY empirical (im-PEER-uh-kul) which means:
1 : originating in or based on observation or experience
2 : relying on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory
3 : capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment
4 : of or relating to empiricism
When empirical first appeared as an adjective in English, it meant simply "in the manner of an empiric." An empiric was a member of an ancient sect of doctors who practiced medicine based exclusively on observation or experience as contrasted with those who relied on theory or philosophy. The name empiric derives from Latin empīricus, itself from Greek empeirikós, meaning "based on observation (of medical treatment), experienced." The root of the Greek word (-peiros) is a derivative of peîra, meaning "attempt, trial, test." (merriam-webster.com)
Welcome to the June Edition of the Beaver Island Christian Church Newsletter
Through the end of June, we will have videos for our services.
As soon as we have the links to the sermons, we will post them on the web site.
We are all looking forward to the time when we can gather as a church family in worship!!
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 27, 2020
I can't figure out why a trip to the mainland completely wears me out. All I did was fly to the mainland, ride in a car, lay on a table for 4 hours, ride in the car, and fly home. I was exhausted! and slept 9 1/2 hours! On well, have a five days before I have to go back so guess I'll be resting up. As for the weather:
It's 73°, feels like 71°, mostly sunny, wind is from the SSW at 9 mph, humidity is at 73%, dew point is 64°, pressure is steady at 29.95 inches, UV index is Low at 2, cloud cover is 11%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today will be partly to mostly cloudy. There's a 20% chance for a stray shower or thunderstorm. High around 75°. Winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of showers after midnight. Low of 52°. Winds light and variable.
MARINE FORECAST
Today Southwest wind 5 to 10 knots early in the morning becoming variable 10 knots or less. Patchy fog in the morning. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight Light winds. Patchy fog. Chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms. Waves 2 feet or less.
Thursday Light winds. Patchy fog. Rain. Waves 2 feet or less.
Thursday Night Northwest wind 5 to 10 knots. Rain showers likely. Waves 2 feet or less. winds and waves higher in the vicinity of thunderstorms.
ON THIS DAY in 1937, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, a stunning technological and artistic achievement, opens to the public after five years of construction. On opening day–“Pedestrian Day”–some 200,000 bridge walkers marveled at the 4,200-foot-long suspension bridge, which spans the Golden Gate Strait at the entrance to San Francisco Bay and connects San Francisco and Marin County. The next day, on May 28, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to vehicular traffic.
The concept of bridging the nearly mile-wide Golden Gate Strait was proposed as early as 1872, but it was not until the early 1920s that public opinion in San Francisco began to favor such an undertaking. In 1921, Cincinnati-born bridge engineer Joseph Strauss submitted a preliminary proposal: a combination suspension-cantilever that could be built for $27 million. Although unsightly compared with the final result, his design was affordable, and Strauss became the recognized leader of the effort to bridge the Golden Gate Strait.
During the next few years, Strauss’ design evolved rapidly, thanks to the contributions of consulting engineer Leon S. Moisseiff, architect Irving F. Morrow, and others. Moisseiff’s concept of a simple suspension bridge was accepted by Strauss, and Morrow, along with his wife, Gertrude, developed the Golden Gate Bridge’s elegant Art Deco design. Morrow would later help choose the bridge’s trademark color: “international orange,” a brilliant vermilion color that resists rust and fading and suits the natural beauty of San Francisco and its picturesque sunsets. In 1929, Strauss was selected as chief engineer.
To finance the bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District was formed in 1928, consisting of San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Del Norte, and parts of Mendocino and Napa counties. These counties agreed to collectively take out a large bond, which would then be paid back through bridge tolls. In November 1930, residents of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District voted 3-1 to put their homes, farms, and businesses up as collateral to support a $35 million bond to build Strauss’ Golden Gate Bridge.
Construction began on January 5, 1933, at the depths of the Great Depression. Strauss and his workers overcame many difficulties: strong tides, frequent storms and fogs, and the problem of blasting rock 65 feet below the water to plant earthquake-proof foundations. Eleven men died during construction. On May 27, 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was opened to great acclaim, a symbol of progress in the Bay Area during a time of economic crisis. At 4,200 feet, it was the longest bridge in the world until the completion of New York City’s Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964. Today, the Golden Gate Bridge remains one of the world’s most recognizable architectural structures. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW Penguin urine makes up about 3% of Antarctica’s glaciers. The low temperature in Antarctica means urine freezes almost instantly, before it can be washed off or evaporate. This means penguin pee just becomes part of the ice, leaving visible yellow and orange streaks in many glaciers. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY longueur (lawn-GUR) which means: a dull and tedious passage or section (as of a book, play, or musical composition) — usually used in plural. You've probably come across long, tedious sections of books, plays, or musical works before, but perhaps you didn't know there was a word for them. English speakers began using the French borrowing longueur in the late 18th century. As in English, French longueurs are tedious passages, with longueur itself literally meaning "length." An early example of longueur used in an English text is from 18th-century writer Horace Walpole, who wrote in a letter, "Boswell's book is gossiping; . . . but there are woful longueurs, both about his hero and himself." (merriam-webster.com)
Memorial Day Adventure
May 25, 2020
Red line approximates the trip in and out, but this was much more difficult than this short distance might suggest,.
After getting permission from the property owners, this Memorial Day afternoon was spent walking on an adventure. This was nothing like wading along the east side of the island. That was a piece of cake compared to this adventure.
This adventure was to walk in on Steve's Road south of Barney's Lake with purpose to get on the west side of the lake and attempt to check on what appears to be a beaver hut across from the public landing on the lake. At least that was the plan.
So, with wading boots on, covered from head to toe with bug dope to chase away the mosquitos, a light colored hat on my head, the car was parked at the intersection of Steve's Road and Barney's Lake Road just north from the Drost residence. Between the beginning of the walk and the end of the walk, the temperature had to increase about fifteen degrees, and the humidy increased to almost 100%.
So, before any further description or any pictures are provided, it must be truthfully stated that the goal of the trip was NOT completed. This editor, on exhausted old man, did make it to just before the western point in the middle of the lake, managed to get lost as far as returning to the Steve's Road location, AND was literally chased away from the shoreline by a pair of sand hill cranes.
The adventure started at approximately 3 p.m., and it took a little over two hours, but one mosquito-bitten, sweaty old man did make it back to his car eventually.
What was not found was the beaver hut, no beaver were seen or heard! If the beaver were around, the sand hills chased them and me away making a great deal of noise. They may have been protecting a nesting location, and this editor was not going to get to any place that they were protecting.
What was discovered were quite a few piles of junk, two abandoned trailers, and hoards of mosquitos and knats, the biting mosquitos were on top of the hills, the gnats were down nearer the water. The Benadryl gel has been put to use since after the adventure was over.
One of the abandoned trailers with the roof falling in.
A pair of very upset sand hill cranes
The second trailer back in the woods has a well and water tank and an upside down picnic table.
It was surprising that there didn't seem to be any trail coming to this trailer above. If there was one, it is now overgrown. From here to back to the car, an attempt was made to stay away from the sand hill cranes.
On of the seats used on the way out. It was quite wet and that is moss growing on the rock. Lots and lots of mosquitos.
A couple of springs? drain into the lake?
Another bird that wasn't happy with human presence
Weather by Joe
May 26, 2020
The trip for the editor and his wife off the island today makes for a somewhat rushed weather report this morning. Nevertheless, the temperature right now at 7:30 a.m. on Carlisle Road is 65 degrees, with the winds calm. It is partly cloudy, but the sunshine is creeping through. The pressure is an even 30. The dewpoint is 60 degrees with 87% relative humidity. Visibility is ten miles. Beaver Island had just a trace of rain in the last 24 hours.
TODAY, it is expected to remain partly cloudy to cloudy with a chance of rain or a thunderstorm of 20%. The high temperature is to be 77 degrees and winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph.
TONIGHT, it is forecast for partly cloudy skies with a 20% chance of rain. The winds are to be light and variable with a low in the mid-50s.
TOMORROW, it is forecast for partly cloudy skies with a 20% chance of rain or thunderstorm. The highs will be mid-70s with winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph.
WORD OF THE DAY; homonymous; adjective; (hoh-MAH-nuh-mus); 1 : ambiguous 2 : having the same designation 3 : of, relating to, or being homonyms
The "ambiguous" sense of homonymous refers mainly to words that have two or more meanings. Logicians and scientists who wanted to refer to (or complain about) such equivocal words chose a name for them based on Latin and Greek, from Greek hom- ("same") and onyma ("name"). In time, English speakers came up with another sense of homonymous referring to two things having the same name (Hawaii, the state, and Hawaii, the island, for example). Next came the use of homonymous to refer to homonyms, such as see and sea. There's also a zoological sense. Sheep and goats whose right horn spirals to the right and left horn spirals to the left are said to be homonymous.
ON THIS DAY
At the end of a historic two-month trial, the U.S. Senate narrowly fails to convict President Andrew Johnson of the impeachment charges levied against him by the House of Representatives three months earlier. The senators voted 35 guilty and 19 not guilty on the second article of impeachment, a charge related to his violation of the Tenure of Office Act in the previous year. Ten days earlier, the Senate had likewise failed to convict Johnson on another article of impeachment, the 11th, voting an identical 35 for conviction and 19 for acquittal. Because both votes fell short–by one vote–of the two-thirds majority needed to convict Johnson, he was judged not guilty and remained in office.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Johnson, a U.S. senator from Tennessee, was the only senator from a seceding state who remained loyal to the Union. Johnson’s political career was built on his defense of the interests of poor white Southerners against the landed classes; of his decision to oppose secession, he said, “Damn the negroes; I am fighting those traitorous aristocrats, their masters.” For his loyalty, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him military governor of Tennessee in 1862, and in 1864 Johnson was elected vice president of the United States.
Sworn in as president after Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, President Johnson enacted a lenient Reconstruction policy for the defeated South, including almost total amnesty to ex-Confederates, a program of rapid restoration of U.S.-state status for the seceded states, and the approval of new, local Southern governments, which were able to legislate “black codes” that preserved the system of slavery in all but name. The Republican-dominated Congress greatly opposed Johnson’s Reconstruction program and passed the “Radical Reconstruction” by repeatedly overriding the president’s vetoes. Under the Radical Reconstruction, local Southern governments gave way to federal military rule, and African American men in the South were granted the constitutional right to vote.
In March 1867, in order to weaken further Johnson’s authority, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act over his veto. The act prohibited the president from removing federal office holders, including cabinet members, who had been confirmed by the Senate, without the consent of the Senate. It was designed to shield members of Johnson’s cabinet, like Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who was appointed during the Lincoln administration and was a leading ally of the so-called Radical Republicans in Congress. In the fall of 1867, Johnson attempted to test the constitutionality of the act by replacing Stanton with General Ulysses S. Grant. However, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to rule on the case, and Grant turned the office back to Stanton after the Senate passed a measure in protest of the dismissal.
On February 21, 1868, Johnson decided to rid himself of Stanton once and for all and appointed General Lorenzo Thomas, an individual far less favorable to the Congress than Grant, as secretary of war. Stanton refused to yield, barricading himself in his office, and the House of Representatives, which had already discussed impeachment after Johnson’s first dismissal of Stanton, initiated formal impeachment proceedings against the president. On February 24, the House voted 11 impeachment articles against President Johnson. Nine of the articles cited his violations of the Tenure of Office Act; one cited his opposition to the Army Appropriations Act of 1867 (designed to deprive the president of his constitutional position as commander in chief of the U.S. Army); and one accused Johnson of bringing “into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the Congress of the United States” through certain controversial speeches.
On March 13, according to the rules set out in Section 3 of Article I of the U.S. Constitution, the impeachment trial of President Johnson began in the Senate. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presided over the proceedings, which were described as theatrical. On May 16 and again on May 26, the Senate voted on the charges brought against President Johnson. Both times the vote was 35 for conviction and 19 for acquittal, with seven moderate Republicans joining 12 Democrats in voting against what was a weak case for impeachment. The vote fell just short of a two-thirds majority, and Johnson remained in office. Nevertheless, he chose not to seek reelection on the Democratic ticket. In November, Ulysses S. Grant, who supported the Republicans’ Radical Reconstruction policies, was elected president of the United States.
In 1875, after two failed bids, Johnson won reelection to Congress as a U.S. senator from Tennessee. He died less than four months after taking office, at the age of 66. Fifty-one years later, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Tenure of Office Act unconstitutional in its ruling in Myers v. United States.
(From Merriam Webster and history dot com)
From St. James Supervisor
May 25, 2020
Good afternoon. You have probably heard there has been a positive Covid-19 test on Beaver island. The health department of Northwest Michigan is currently doing contact tracing. After conferring with Bill Kohls, I posted the following on the BI Forum in response to a question posted. (you can see a snapshot of the forum post below).
Here is what I posted:
The links that KateL posted provide good accurate information.
Because of patient confidentiality, no one can speak about the case of a specifically named person.
In the case of a positive test, the Health Department of Northwest Michigan has public health jurisdiction over Beaver Island and they began contact tracing for the positive case on Beaver Island as soon as they were contacted by the BI Rural Health Center. The process for Beaver Island is the same as in the rest of northwest Michigan. The health department has/will contact persons who have reason for direct concern in this case.
This case brings home the fact that Beaver Island is not immune to this virus. It reinforces the need for people on the Island and those returning to the Island to follow strict health procedures:
· Wear a Mask.
· Respect Social Distancing.
· Wash your Hands.
· Monitor your Health. Pay attention for COVID-19 symptoms: Fever, Cough, Shortness of Breath. If you are concerned about your health, contact your health care provider. If you are ill, do not go out of your home and do not travel to the Island.
The Health Department of NW Michigan has much good information on its website http://www.nwhealth.org/covid19.html including, in their words: resources designed to provide all types of businesses with ideas, guidance, and information on creating a reopening plan that aligns with the Governor's latest executive order(s). Ultimately, employers must determine their own Response and Preparedness Plan that works with their business procedures and locations to keep their employees and clients safe. The site also includes good information to assist individuals and families to plan and make decisions that will protect them and their family during a COVID-19 outbreak.
Memorial Day Live
May 25, 2020
Approximately 13 veterans gathered in two separate groups, one by the flag poles, and another over with the rifles, to celebrate this day to thank those who lost their lives in the service of their country, as well as Islander-related individuals that lost their lives in the last year for any reason. The event was live streamed on Beaver Island TV, and it was recorded by both WVBI and by BINN, with video recordings by both.
As tradition dictates, Island Airways began the ceremony flying over to start the program. Thank you!
Bob Tidmore provided the introduction.
Alvin LaFreniere recited the information about the Islanders who gave their lives for our country.
Dickie McEvoy read the names and service of each veteran who had passed away this past year.
Bob Tidmore read the prayer written by Bob Anderson
The rifles fired in tribute.
Taps was performed to end the ceremony.
The editor missed the "God Bless American" sung by the beautiful voice of Sheri Timsak, so a recording was added to the other video to make this below:
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 25, 2020
On this special day, I hope you're having a meaningful Memorial Day.
There will be no weather posting tomorrow as we are headed again to Petoskey for more tests: MRI and a PET scan. Hopefully the weather and appointments will cooperate and we'll be back in the afternoon.
Right now I'm showing cloudy skies, 58°, wind is from the SE at 5 mph, humidity is at 100%, dew point is 58°, pressure is steady at 29.98 inches, UV index is Low at 1, cloud cover is 100%, and visibility is 5 miles. Today there is a 50% chance of rain. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High of 65° Winds from the ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Low of 51°. Winds from the south at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
MARINE FORECAST
...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EDT TODAY...
Today Southeast wind 5 to 10 knots becoming northeast in the afternoon, then becoming east early in the evening. Widespread dense fog early in the morning. Isolated showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight Southeast wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tuesday South wind 5 to 10 knots. Partly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tuesday Night South wind 5 to 10 knots. Rain showers likely. Waves 2 feet or less. winds and waves higher in the vicinity of thunderstorms.
ON THIS DAY May 25, 1977, Memorial Day weekend opens with an intergalactic bang as the first of George Lucas’ blockbuster Star Wars movies hits American theaters.
The incredible success of Star Wars–it received seven Oscars, and earned $461 million in U.S. ticket sales and a gross of close to $800 million worldwide–began with an extensive, coordinated marketing push by Lucas and his studio, 20th Century Fox, months before the movie’s release date. “It wasn’t like a movie opening,” actress Carrie Fisher, who played rebel leader Princess Leia, later told Time magazine. “It was like an earthquake.” Beginning with–in Fisher’s words–“a new order of geeks, enthusiastic young people with sleeping bags,” the anticipation of a revolutionary movie-watching experience spread like wildfire, causing long lines in front of movie theaters across the country and around the world.
With its groundbreaking special effects, Star Wars leaped off screens and immersed audiences in “a galaxy far, far away.” By now everyone knows the story, which followed the baby-faced Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) as he enlisted a team of allies–including hunky Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and the robots C3PO and R2D2–on his mission to rescue the kidnapped Princess Leia from an Evil Empire governed by Darth Vader. The film made all three of its lead actors overnight stars, turning Fisher into an object of adoration for millions of young male fans and launching Ford’s now-legendary career as an action-hero heartthrob.
Star Wars was soon a bona-fide pop culture phenomenon. Over the years it has spawned several more feature films, TV series and an entire industry’s worth of comic books, toys, video games and other products. Two big-screen sequels, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Return of the Jedi (1983), featured much of the original cast and enjoyed the same success–both critical and commercial–as the first film. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW You can tell if someone really likes you by looking at their feet while you talk. In a pleasant conversation, both parties’ feet will face each other. If the feet are turned away or moving outward, the person wants to escape. If you’re sitting next to each other, check how the person crosses their legs. When the top leg points away from you, the person is uncomfortable. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY instigate (IN-stuh-gayt) which means to goad or urge forward: provoke. Instigate is often used as a synonym of incite (as in "hoodlums instigating violence"), but the two words differ slightly in their overall usage. Incite usually stresses an act of stirring something up that one did not necessarily initiate ("the court's decision incited riots"). Instigate implies responsibility for initiating or encouraging someone else's action and usually suggests dubious or underhanded intent ("he was charged with instigating a conspiracy"). Another similar word, foment, implies causing something by means of persistent goading ("the leader's speeches fomented a rebellion"). Deriving from the past participle of the Latin verb instigare, instigate stepped into English in the 16th century, after incite and ahead of foment. (merriam-webster.com)
Notice from BINN Editor
by Joe Moore
Beaver Island is part of the area of the State of Michigan that has been opened by the Governor of the State of Michigan for this Memorial Day weekend. It is obvious by the increased traffic on the roads, the restaurants opening, the stores allowing customers back inside, even if limited by a certain number.
Today, the Holy Cross Catholic Church began providing Sunday morning Mass outside, and Saturday afternoon Mass inside. The openings and the public services are now in the beginning stages. During this entire lockdown period, Beaver Island News on the 'Net has provided news on Beaver Island to anyone interested in viewing the website news since the third week in March. In addition, all the church services have been made available to anyone, anywhere by live streaming video or a video link provided on the Forum and on Facebook.
After more than sixty days of free access to this website, there have been quite a few visitors, and we welcomed them with open arms. It is now time for us to begin looking closely at the business aspects of these two websites, so the free access to video on demand will be ended today, May 24, 2020. The live streamed video will continue at no charge for church services and public meetings when they resume in normal meeting locations.
Today, there were a few people that did not know that these Holy Cross Church services have been available LIVE for almost four years. That was a serious investment of time and equipment. This will continue throughout the future for as long as possible.
Now, I have been informed that there is ONE person on Beaver Island who has tested positive for this COVID-19 virus. There we are. The virus is finally on the island, so we hope that anyone that needs to attend the service by viewing them live or watch the recording will take the time to watch them on Beaver Island TV or at the links that are provide on the Forum and on Facebook.
For business reasons, we will have to start closing accounts for those that have not renewed their subscriptions to http://beaverislandnews.com, so, if you try to access the website and are unable to view it, you have probably expired and will need to renew. Expired subscriptions will be denied access beginning the first week of June 2020.
From BIRHC
Last Updated: May 24, 2020, Covid test results
| Total Patients Tested |
Patients Tested Positive |
Patients Tested Negative |
Patients Test Results Pending |
Patients Test Positive & Hospitalized |
Patients Deceased |
42 |
1 |
41 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Bumping Along
May 24, 2020
Outdoor Mass from Holy Cross
May 24, 2020
Holy Cross Catholic Church had two Masses this morning in the backyard of the rectory below the big cross, looking out over Paradise Bay. The reader today was Jacque LaFreniere. The celebrant was Father Jim Siler. There were five attendees to the early morning Mass at 8 a.m., and approximately thirty plus attendees at the 10 a.m. service. Both the Saturday 4 p.m., and the Sunday 10 a.m. Masses were live streamed on Beaver Island TV.
The steeple of Holy Cross......The garden cross
Father Jim Siler.............Jacque LaFreniere, reader
There are several people who did not know the following. BINN has been live streaming services from Holy Cross from before Father Jim Siler was ordained, along with that adoration.
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 24, 2020
It's 56° this morning, feels like 50°, wind is from the east at 6 mph, humidity is at 100%, dew point is 56°, pressure is steady at 29.91 inches, UV index is low at 1, cloud cover is 10%, and visibility is 5 miles. Today we'll have cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High of 64°, Winds from the SE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight will be cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low of 47°. Winds light and variable.
MARINE FORECAST
Today East wind 5 to 10 knots becoming southeast in the late morning, then becoming variable 10 knots or less in the afternoon. Scattered showers in the morning. Patchy fog through the day. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight Light winds. Patchy fog. Isolated showers. Waves 2 feet or less.
Monday South wind 5 to 10 knots. Chance of showers. Waves 2 feet or less.
Monday Night South wind 5 to 10 knots. Chance of showers. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY May 24, 1797, future President Thomas Jefferson writes to his friend Angelica Church, inquiring casually about their mutual friend, Maria Cosway, a woman who had once captured his heart and inspired a romantically-themed essay.
In 1786, a widowed Thomas Jefferson met Maria (pronounced Mariah) Cosway in Paris while he was serving as the U.S. minister to France. Cosway was born to English parents in Italy and, by the time she met Jefferson, had become an accomplished painter and musician. She was also married. The two developed a deep friendship and possibly more, although a sexual relationship has never been proven. The usually self-contained Jefferson acted like a giddy schoolboy with Cosway, at one point leaping over a stone fountain while the two were out walking and falling and breaking his right wrist. After the wrist healed, a chagrined Jefferson wrote his famous Head and Heart Letter to Cosway in October 1786, just after she left for London with her husband for an undetermined period of time. The letter reveals him to have been a lovesick man whose intellect battled with a heart aching for a woman he could not have.
In the Head and Heart letter, Jefferson pines for a woman who has made him the most wretched of all earthly beings and at the same time chides himself for giving in to emotional attachments. The dialogue reveals Jefferson’s struggle between his desire for Cosway and his wish to maintain his integrity (she was, after all, married). In the end the head wins over the desires of the heart and Jefferson declares that the only effective security against such pain of unrequited love, is to retire within ourselves and to suffice for our own happiness. Two years later, though, his letters to her still expressed an unrequited longing.
In 1787, Jefferson wrote to Cosway while traveling in Italy, painting an idyllic picture of the two of them together one day in the future: we will breakfast every day [go] away to the Desert, dine under the bowers of Marly, and forget that we are ever to part again. He wrote to her again in 1788 from Paris and expressed his tenderness of affection and wished for her presence though he knew he had no right to ask.
Eventually Jefferson’s physical separation from Maria and the hopelessness of a relationship with her cooled his ardor. After returning to America in 1789, his letters to her grew less frequent, partly due to the fact he was increasingly preoccupied by his position as President George Washington’s secretary of state. She, however, continued to write to him and vented her frustration at his growing aloofness. In his last letters, he spoke more of his scientific studies than of his love and desire for her, finally admitting that his love for her had been relegated to fond memories of when their relationship had been pure.
Cosway left England in 1789 after her husband died and moved to a village in Italy to open a convent school for girls. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW The scientific name for a stomach grumble is “borborygmi”. The noise your tummy makes when you’re hungry is actually caused by fluid and gasses moving forward through the intestines. Your stomach always makes these noises, but the food absorbs the sound when it’s full so you don’t hear it as loudly. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY xeriscape (ZEER-uh-skayp) which means: a landscaping method developed especially for arid and semiarid climates that utilizes water-conserving techniques (such as the use of drought-tolerant plants, mulch, and efficient irrigation) Xēros is the Greek word for "dry" that is the base for a handful of English words related to mainly dry printing (xerography) and dry, or xerophilous, habitats and their plants. In the early 1980s, the Greek adjective was used to name a type of landscaping practiced primarily in the arid western regions of the United States. (The Water Department of Denver, Colorado, is credited with the coinage.) Xeriscape, as it is called, uses plants that require little water as well as techniques that efficiently use water and reduce evaporation. (merriam-webster.com)
Mass from Holy Cross
May 23, 2020
Today was the first public mass since the beginnings of the shutdown. The church has every other pew blocked. There are six foot markings down the center aisle. There was not much in the way of music at all, other than the great voice this afternoon of Denise Hoffman. The Mass was live streamed at http://beaverisland.tv as usual, but there was no organ music.
Denise Hoffman sang three beautiful songs.
Our celebrant Father Jim Siler
Governor Whitmer's Executive Order
May 23, 2020
Rather than post opinion about the Governor Whitmer's executive order, BINN would prefer to post the entire executive order that allows everyone to make up their own mind about. There are many interpretations of certain information, but here is the direct access liuk to Executive Order 2020-100.
What Has Caused the Lake Levels to Rise?
Presenters: Drew Gronewold, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School for Environmental and Sustainability at the University of Michigan & Howard Learner, President, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center & Bernd Gigas, New York Professional Engineer & Consultant Engineer, Lake Ontario South Shore Engineering. Sponsored by: Great Lakes Coalition + Coalition to Fight Plan 2014 (Save our Sodus, Lake Ontario St. Lawrence River Alliance, United Shoreline Ontario)
This was quite an interesting presentation, so the link is presented below for those interested in this issue.
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 23, 2020
Another morning of sunny skies - we're on a roll. It's 50°, winds are calm, humidity is at 100%, dew point is 50°, pressure is steady at 30.04 inches, UV index is Low at 2, cloud cover is 0%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today will become cloudy during the afternoon. There is a 20% chance of a rain shower. High around 61°. Winds from the east at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight expect rain (70% chance) that will evolve into a more steady rain. Low around 50°. Winds from the ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
Today Light winds becoming northeast 5 to 10 knots in the afternoon. Patchy fog through the day. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight East wind 5 to 10 knots. Chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms. Waves 2 feet or less.
Sunday Southeast wind 5 to 10 knots. Chance of showers. Waves 2 feet or less.
Sunday Night Light winds. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 feet or less. winds and waves higher in the vicinity of thunderstorms.
ON THIS DAY May 23, 1934, notorious criminals Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are shot to death by Texas and Louisiana state police while driving a stolen car near Sailes, Louisiana.
Bonnie Parker met the charismatic Clyde Barrow in Texas when she was 19 years old and her husband (she married when she was 16) was serving time in jail for murder. Shortly after they met, Barrow was imprisoned for robbery. Parker visited him every day, and smuggled a gun into prison to help him escape, but he was soon caught in Ohio and sent back to jail. When Barrow was paroled in 1932, he immediately hooked up with Parker, and the couple began a life of crime together.
After they stole a car and committed several robberies, Parker was caught by police and sent to jail for two months. Released in mid-1932, she rejoined Barrow. Over the next two years, the couple teamed with various accomplices to rob a string of banks and stores across five states–Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico and Louisiana. To law enforcement agents, the Barrow Gang–including Barrow’s childhood friend, Raymond Hamilton, W.D. Jones, Henry Methvin, Barrow’s brother Buck and his wife Blanche, among others–were cold-blooded criminals who didn’t hesitate to kill anyone who got in their way, especially police or sheriff’s deputies. Among the public, however, Parker and Barrow’s reputation as dangerous outlaws was mixed with a romantic view of the couple as “Robin Hood”-like folk heroes.
Their fame was increased by the fact that Bonnie was a woman–an unlikely criminal–and by the fact that the couple posed for playful photographs together, which were later found by police and released to the media. Police almost captured the famous duo twice in the spring of 1933, with surprise raids on their hideouts in Joplin and Platte City, Missouri. Buck Barrow was killed in the second raid, and Blanche was arrested, but Bonnie and Clyde escaped once again. In January 1934, they attacked the Eastham Prison Farm in Texas to help Hamilton break out of jail, shooting several guards with machine guns and killing one.
Texan prison officials hired a retired Texas Ranger, Captain Frank Hamer, as a special investigator to track down Parker and Barrow. After a three-month search, Hamer traced the couple to Louisiana, where Henry Methvin’s family lived. Before dawn on May 23, Hamer and a group of Louisiana and Texas lawmen hid in the bushes along a country road outside Sailes. When Parker and Barrow appeared, the officers opened fire, killing the couple in a hail of bullets.
All told, the Barrow Gang was believed responsible for the deaths of 13 people, including nine police officers. Parker and Barrow are still seen by many as romantic figures, however, especially after the success of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW 80% of taste is determined by aroma. You can test this fact if you have a mind to! Just plug your nose and take a bite of an apple, then a bite of a potato. Most people can’t tell the difference. This is the reason food tastes different when you’re sick or congested. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY shaggy-dog (shag-ee-DAWG) which means of, relating to, or being a long-drawn-out circumstantial story concerning an inconsequential happening that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless; also : of, relating to, or being a similar humorous story whose humor lies in the pointlessness or irrelevance of the plot or punch line. The origin of the adjective shaggy-dog isn't truly known, but lexicographer Eric Partridge rather believably tells us that it originated with a shaggy-dog story of the amusing sort that involves—of course!—a shaggy dog. Today, the word sometimes refers to a rambling story that impresses the teller as humorous or interesting but the hearer as boring and pointless, but it can also refer to a similar story (or movie or TV show) that is actually humorous and whose humor lies in its very pointlessness or irrelevance. (merriam-webster.com)
From the Station
To our valued customers:
After many weeks of operating via curbside service only, we are at last ready to open our doors and allow in-person shopping once again. We welcome you back to our store and look forward to taking this step toward some degree of normalcy. That being said, we are required to implement many new policies and procedures not only to comply with all state mandated guidelines but also to protect the health and safety of our customers and our staff. Please be patient and work with us as we navigate even more uncharted territory.
Beginning Saturday, May 23, 2020, our hours of operation will be 9:00am-5:00pm Monday through Saturday and 10:00am-2:00pm on Sunday.
Our retail occupancy is limited to only four customers in the store at one time. Please plan ahead and have a list with you if needed. Only one person per household/group is to enter the store at one time. Please refrain from sending children in to shop if at all possible. Please limit your trips to no more than once per day in order to allow ample time for other customers to get the items they need. The cashier on duty will direct you to wait in the designated area outside if you attempt to enter the store when we are already at full capacity. There will be signage outside to direct customers waiting in line. If there is already a line outside when you arrive, you may choose to wait in the line, or in your vehicle. Customers will be allowed in on a first come, first serve basis. At the times when a line is present, when one customer leaves, the next may enter. Please follow all directions as provided by this notice, by all signage, and by the cashier on duty. Proper social distancing and safe practices are necessary both inside and outside the store. Please be patient with the process and with the other customers as this is all new and unusual.
All customers are asked to follow the state mandates dictating the use of masks and face covers in enclosed public spaces. We will continue to provide gloves for use at the fuel pumps. Sanitizer will be provided upon entrance to the store, in the coffee room, and at checkout. Customers may not bring their own coffee cups into the store. Avoid touching items you do not intend to purchase. Bags will be provided for customers to bag their own groceries in order to minimize contact. Can and bottle returns cannot be accepted at this time. We have implemented stringent cleaning and disinfecting practices and will continue to do so for everyone’s safety.
We will continue to offer curbside service to customers who wish to utilize that service. However, curbside orders will not be fulfilled during the hours when the store is open. If you’d like a curbside order you must call or email your order no later than noon for same day pick-up between 5:15pm and 5:45pm. For pick-up between 8:30am and 9:00am your order must be placed no later than 5:00pm the day before. We ask that you utilize our email ordering at islandenergies@gmail.com for curbside orders if possible, but orders may still be placed by phone. Gas and diesel can still be purchased via credit card over the phone for customers who prefer not to enter the store.
If you are feeling ill please DO NOT SHOP IN PERSON. Please send someone to shop for you or arrange for curbside pick-up.
Thank you for your patience and your patronage!
From Daddy Franks
We are open! Our hours this weekend 7:30 am - 8 pm. We still have online ordering & have our tables set up outside!
From the Shamrock
We are open! Serving food 11-8 pm all weekend. We have implemented procedures following the governor's order. We also have our patio available for seating outside. Online ordering available as well! Have a great weekend everybody!
From Stoney Acre
We are open! We have put in place procedures in accordance with the governor's order. Have a great weekend!
Dan Johnson's Sermon for May 24, 2020
Here's my greeting and devotional for Great Lakes Christian Homes and Beaver Island Christian Church, Sunday May 24, 2020. This is the introduction for the series "Ancient Principles for Successful Living." The message is from Leviticus 18:1-5 and is titled, "The Reason for the Rules."
Turtles in the Sun
May 21, 2020
There are lots of things to see if you slow down and take some time on your drive to look around and enjoy nature. These turtles are out laying in the sun, and enjoying their surroundings, perhaps even looking for their partners. These turtles are at the Barney's Lake island areas.
From the BI Community Center
May 22, 2020
We are thrilled to let you know that the BIC Center is once again open. Hot dogs, drinks and snacks will be available at our concession stand, and the Welcome Center and Hangout will be available for use (including our PCs and printers, games, pool tables and comfortable reading chairs with great harbor views).
We will abide by the limits in the Governor’s orders and, accordingly, will limit the number of people in the building, ask that people following “family pod” based social distancing, and require masks while inside. We’ll also be asking that everyone check in at the front desk so we can keep track of the number of people here and have info for contact tracing should that become necessary. We are working with those who have taken advantage of our special activities on plans to restart those, including Pickleball, the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program, Games Galore and, beginning in June, our summer Yoga classes. If you’re interested in any of these programs, or in the use of our facility for these programs, please call ahead.
Our hours will be 9 to 5 Monday through Saturday. We expect to reopen on Sundays in mid-June. For now, our movie program will remain suspended in compliance with the Governor’s orders, but we are working on plans to resume that as well when it us allowed.
We wish returning islanders a warm “Welcome Home” and look forward to seeing you at your Beaver Island Community Center when you are comfortable returning to see us.
In the meantime, you can keep up to date by visiting our website at bicenter.org an by listening to WVBI, our community radio station, at 100.1 FM on the island, on your smart device with “Play WVBI,” and on the net worldlwide at wvbi.net.
Waste Management Committee Meeting
May 19, 2020, 1 p.m.
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 22, 2020
Sunny skies again this morning. It's 56°, wind is calm, humidity is 74%, dew point is 48°, pressure is steady at 30.07 inches, UV index is Low at 2, cloud cover is 0%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today will be a mixture of sun and clouds. High of 62°. Winds light and variable. Tonight we can expect partly cloudy skies. Low of 44°. Winds light and variable.
MARINE FORECAST
Today Southwest wind 5 to 10 knots becoming northwest in the afternoon. Mostly sunny early in the morning then becoming partly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight East wind 5 to 10 knots. Patchy fog. Waves 2 feet or less.
Saturday Northeast wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Partly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Saturday Night Southeast wind 5 to 10 knots. Chance of showers. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY in 1958, Jerry Lee Lewis drops a bombshell in London.
The arrival in the United Kingdom of one of the biggest figures in rock and roll was looked forward to with great anticipation in May of 1958. Nowhere in the world were the teenage fans of the raucous music coming out of America more enthusiastic than they were in England, and the coming tour of the great Jerry Lee Lewis promised to be a rousing success. “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On” and “Great Balls Of Fire” had both been massive hits in the UK, and early demand for tickets was great enough that 27 appearances were booked in what promised to be the biggest tour yet by an American rock-and-roll star. There was just one problem: Unbeknownst to the British public and the organizers of the coming tour, Jerry Lee Lewis would be traveling to England as a newly married man, with his pretty young wife in tow. Just how young that wife really was would be revealed on this day in 1958, when Jerry Lee “The Killer” Lewis arrived at Heathrow Airport with his new “child bride.”
It was an inquisitive reporter for the Daily Mail named Paul Tanfield who unwittingly broke the scandal when he inquired as to the identity of an especially young woman he’d spotted in the Killer’s entourage. “I’m Myra, Jerry’s wife,” said Myra Gail Lewis. Tanfield followed up with a question for the Killer himself: “And how old is Myra?” It was at this point that Jerry Lee must have cottoned to the fact that the rest of the world might take a somewhat skeptical view of his third marriage, because the answer he gave was a lie: “Fifteen.”
Myra Gail Lewis was actually only 13 years old, a fact that would soon come out along with certain other details, such as the fact that she was Jerry Lee’s first cousin (once removed) and that the pair had married five months before his divorce from his second wife was made official. Jerry Lee tried to set minds at ease on this last point—the second marriage was null and void, he explained, because it had taken place before his divorce from his first wife—but even the most skilled public-relations expert would have had a hard time spinning the unfolding story in Jerry Lee’s favor.
As the press hounded Jerry Lee and Myra Gail Lewis over the coming week, the Killer tried to go on with business as usual, but his first three shows drew meager audiences, and those that did buy tickets showered him with boos and catcalls. When the Rank chain of theaters cancelled the rest of his dates and his fashionable Mayfair hotel encouraged him to seek lodgings elsewhere, Jerry Lee Lewis left the UK, less than a week after his dramatic arrival on this day in 1958. Back home, he would face a blacklisting from which his career would never fully recover. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW Oreos are vegan? There are no animal byproducts in the ingredient list for Oreos. While they may come into cross-contact with milk products at the factory, the “cream” in the center is made of corn starch, soy lecithin, vanillin, and chocolate—no dairy to be found. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY preen (PREEN) which means:
1 of a bird : to groom with the bill especially by rearranging the barbs and barbules of the feathers and by distributing oil from the uropygial gland
2 : to dress or smooth (oneself) up : primp
3 : to pride or congratulate (oneself) on an achievement
4 : to make oneself sleek
5 : to behave or speak with obvious pride or self-satisfaction
Preen hatched in 14th-century Middle English, and early on it displayed various spelling forms, including prenen, prayne, prene, and preyne. The word traces to Anglo-French puroindre, or proindre, linking pur-, meaning "thoroughly," with uindre, oindre, meaning "to anoint or rub." One of the first writers known to apply preen to the human act of primping was Geoffrey Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales. Centuries later (sometime during the late 19th century), the prideful meaning of preen hatched, joining another bird-related word, plume, which was being used with the meaning "to pride or congratulate (oneself)" from the first half of the 17th century. (merriam-webster.com)
Ring-Necked Pheasant
May 21, 2020
This beautiful bird was running away from the photographer, but the car was fast enough in reverse with careful backing up to capture the picture as the pheasant headed into the shadows of the woods.
B.I. COVID-19 Information
May 22, 2020
Beaver Island Community School Weekly Update
May 21, 2020
Happy Memorial Day!
Reminder No School Tomorrow, May 22 and Monday, May 25, 2020
Please join us in remembering all who have served the United States and made the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our country. Happy Memorial Day!
Beaver Island Cleanup—May 22nd (or whenever you can do it!)
During this time of uncertainty, it’s important to hold onto traditions. One of the longstanding school traditions is the Beaver Island Cleanup. Each year on the day before Memorial Day weekend, our students take time to “give back” and show appreciation for the support that Islanders provide the school by picking up trash along Beaver Island’s highways and byways. We’d like to continue this tradition this year, but have to do it differently due to COVID-19. Please take a look at the BICS Facebook page and see how the map of the Island has been divided into several cleanup segments. If you are interested in having your students and family participate in this year’s Island Cleanup, please sign up for a segment that you would like to clean up by putting a comment on the Facebook page or contacting Jamie directly at 448-2744. If you need trash bags or latex gloves, please let Jamie know and she can put them in your student’s bin. When you are finished with cleaning up your section, please take your Beaver Island Cleanup trash directly to the Transfer Station (not to the school). Thank you everyone for doing this important service…and thank you Bob Marsh for coordinating the proper disposal of the trash that is picked up!
BICS Secondary Zoom Awards Presentation on Wednesday, May 27th at 5:00 pm
In lieu of a face-to-face presentation of the Citizen and Student of the Year Awards at the secondary level, we are planning on a Zoom awards presentation scheduled for May 27th at 5:00 pm. All BICS MS and HS students and their families are invited to attend. There will be awards ceremony snacks students placed in every secondary student’s bin on Tuesday by 11:00! The Zoom invite will be sent directly to secondary parents and students on Tuesday as well!
Islander Sports Awards Ceremony—Zoom Presentation on June 2, 7:00 pm
Please plan to join us at 7:00 pm on June 2nd to honor our 2019-2020 sports teams. We will gather via Zoom for the presentation of the Coaches’ awards, varsity letters and pins, and the Northern Lights League Honors. All volleyball, soccer, and basketball athletes and their families and friends are invited to join us for this hour-long Zoom presentation. We will send out and post the Zoom link when we get closer to the event. But for now, please mark your calendars and plan on joining us to honor our athletes!
BICS Graduation Plans—Mark Your Calendars!
BICS Class of 2020 Parade—1:00 pm, June 6th
BICS Class of 2020 Graduation Ceremony—1:00 pm, June 20th (or the next available Saturday)
Graduation is an important milestone for our seniors and their families and all BICS students, staff, faculty, and the extended Beaver Island community. Our first priority is to ensure health and safety while complying with state guidelines and orders. We want to have a meaningful graduation ceremony that honors our students in the best way possible given these unprecedented times. Feedback from seniors and their families indicates a preference for conducting an in-person ceremony over a virtual ceremony (even if we are required to practice social distancing in an outside venue).
In considering our options and order to make sure we honor our seniors to the greatest extent possible, we are planning two events: 1) a Class of 2020 Parade at 1:00 pm on June 6th and 2) a face-to-face graduation Ceremony on June 20th or the next available Saturday thereafter in June or July. If we are not able to have a face-to-face ceremony after that time, we will have a virtual ceremony. For now, spread the word and plan to line the parade route on Main Street in your cars (with appropriate social distancing) on June 6th for the BICS Seniors on Parade! More details to follow!
Happy Memorial Day! Stay Safe! Go Islanders!
Congratulations, Kellie Gillespie Sopczynski!
Kellie Sopczynski, Manager of Donor Services for Versiti Blood Center of Michigan, was awarded Versiti’s CEO Circle Award for her dedication to our life-saving mission on May 7th during Versiti’s Annual Gala. Under Kellie’s leadership, the Saginaw Region reduced hemoglobin deferrals by 2.5%, increased Red Cell gain by 4% and exceeded annual collection goals by 3,000 products. She championed multiple initiatives which include the PPM Collaboration Team, Hemasphere Upgrade Team, Versiti Mobile Rebranding Team, Donor Center Rebooking Team and leads the Staff Advisory Council for Michigan. She was instrumental in planning and hosting the Rita Gillespie Memorial blood drive which is held in her hometown of Beaver Island, MI. Most recently, she was awarded a $9,000 grant from SC Johnson for the purchase of new donor chairs for the Bay City donor center.
Notice of Special Meeting
St James Township
Finance Committee
Date: Friday, May 22, 2020 @ 1:00PM
Place: Virtual Meeting via Telephonic Conference Call
Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, Members of the Public are invited and encouraged to attend the meeting by telephone as follows:
CALL IN NUMBER: 866-866-2244 CONFERENCE CODE: 8394169#
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 21, 2020
It's looking like another spectacular day on the Beavers. Right now we have sunny skies, 40°, wind from the ESE at 4 mph, humidity is at 88%, dew point is 37°, pressure is rising from 30.23 inches, UV index is low at 2, cloud cover is 0%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today is expected to be sunny with a high around 60°. Winds light and variable. Tonight should be a clear sky. Low of 44°. Winds from the ESE at 5 to 10 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
Today Southeast wind 5 to 10 knots becoming north in the afternoon. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight East wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
Friday North wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Friday Night East wind 5 to 10 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY in 1758, 10-year-old Mary Campbell is abducted from her home in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, by Lenape Indians; she becomes an icon of the French and Indian War.
After her abduction, Campbell lived among the family of Chief Netawatwees in the Ohio Valley. In October 1758, the British and the Indians living in the Ohio Valley, including the Lenape, signed the Treaty of Easton, which temporarily brought peace to the Pennsylvania frontier, in exchange for British departure from the region. In an attempt to maintain their promise, the British created the Proclamation Line of 1763 prohibiting settlement beyond the Appalachian watershed. However, the creation of the infamous line failed to satisfy anyone. Euro-American settlers wanted to maintain their western claims, and after eliminating the threat of French military assistance for the Indians, the British treated Indian requests for assistance with disdain. By 1763, western Indians decided to unite their efforts and drive the British empire back to the Atlantic in what would come to be known as Pontiac’s War.
Mary Campbell was returned to a European settlement at age 16 in the famous release of captives orchestrated by Colonel Henry Bouquet at the conclusion of Pontiac’s War in November 1764. At the end of a year of dispersed fighting between western Indians, the colonist Bouquet and a force of over 1,000 men managed to convince the allied Indian forces, who faced a winter low on supplies, to surrender without an exchange of fire.
Mary Campbell lived through the major turning points of late 18th-century America. She was a child taken captive during the imperial competition between Britain and France, an adolescent among the Indians as they attempted to reassert their rights to the American landscape and a woman among colonists as they fought to free themselves of the British empire. Mary wed in 1770 as colonial protests became violent and gave birth to seven children as her home, Pennsylvania, was reborn first as a state independent of Britain and then as part of a new nation. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW the active ingredient in dynamite is used to treat heart attacks? Nitroglycerine, which is the explosive compound in dynamite, is also kept in tablet form in hospitals for use in heart attacks and other cardiac emergencies. When taken orally, it relaxes the muscles and blood vessels, increasing blood flow and oxygen in the heart. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY cowcatcher (KOW-ketch-er) which means an inclined frame on the front of a railroad locomotive for throwing obstacles off the track. New Jersey's Camden and Amboy Railroad was the first in the U.S. to adopt the cowcatcher, adding it to its John Bull locomotive in the early 1830s. But, as the Model Railroader Cyclopedia warned, "don't ever let a railroad man hear you use 'cowcatcher.'" In its heyday, railroad workers preferred the name pilot for that v-shaped frame. In the 1940s and '50s, cowcatcher jumped the tracks and took on a new life in TV and radio advertising jargon. The term was used for a commercial that was aired immediately before a program and that advertised a secondary product of the program's sponsor. Such ads apparently got the name because they "went in front." (merriam-webster.com)
From McDonough's Market
May 20, 2020
Dear Valued Customers:
It is a busy week on our end of town! McDonough’s Market is re-opening tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. AND . . . .
DALWHINNIE WILL OPEN FOR EAT IN SERVICE ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
8 A.M. UNTIL 2 P.M.
SUNDAY AND MONDAY (MEMORIAL DAY) 8 A.M. TO 12 NOON (BREAKFAST ONLY)
We will be closed on Tuesday May 26, 2020, and will re-open for 7 day a week service on Wednesday May 27, 2020.
We are very excited to begin service again and we want our guests to know that we are doing everything we can to keep you and our employees safe. The guidelines are as follows:
Customers must wear a mask to place their order and at ANY time they are away from their table.
Customers are also required to use hand sanitizer upon arrival. This will be provided inside the door.
Customers must maintain social distancing – 6 feet between you and the next person.
Customers must limit their time in restaurant to ½ hour after you receive your meal.
Your meal will be delivered to the counter nearest to the soda fountain. Customers will be called and will pick up their meals at the counter.
On our part, we have installed plexi glass which I am sure you are all familiar with by now. We will be maintaining social distancing, so please help us out with that. We will also sanitize the door handles, toilet flush handle, sinks, etc. frequently. We will wear masks while preparing and delivering your food.
Our take out service will be available during the above times. You can either call (231 448 2736) or go to our facebook page and click on our new order link to place your order for takeout. When we see you in the service drive, we will place your order on the table outside the back door.
Please be patient as we navigate these times. We remind you to social distance and be respectful of others. We are anxious to open and to serve our guests, but we also want to do it in as safe a manner as possible.
THANK YOU AND WELCOME BACK!
McDonough's Market
231-448-2733
Congratulations to BICS Students!
May 20, 2020
Congratulations Elsie, Quintan, and Zander for being our first ever BICS Advanced Placement English Language & Composition students in the history of the school! You diligently learned and prepared for months and sat for the College Level Exam today!
The BICS community is very proud of you for your tenacity and ability to persevere during these difficult times. If you see these amazing young students, give them a shout out for their hard work and taking on this challenge with honor and grace!
Thank you to their parents for their continued support especially during our remote learning! You all have represented us well!
Memorial Day at Veteran's Memorial
On Monday May 25th , weather permitting, AMVETS Post 46 will conduct a brief Memorial Day observance at the Veterans Memorial Park at 11 a.m.. In order to comply with the latest directive the attendance will be limited to ten members of Post 46 including Joe Moore who will broadcast the event live on http://beaverisland.tv. It will also be taped by WVBI and rebroadcast later. Joe Moore will also make the ceremony available on the web.
As is our tradition we will pay our respects to those veterans from the island or who had ties here. Here are the names we have on file and if we have missed anyone please email us at amvetspost46@yahoo.com
Matt Kinzinger-US Navy
Kirk Felix-Coast Guard
Chuck Carpenter-US Marine Corps
Richard Kohls US Army
Anthony Greene US Army
William Berry US Army (spent summers here)
Rick Elms US Air Force
Chuck McDonald US Army
Jack Gallagher-US Army
Ron Stith US Army
St. James Township Public Works Committee
May 20. 2020
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 20, 2020
It's 49°, feels like 47°, sunny skies, wind is from the east at 6 mph, humidity is at 65%, dew point is 38°, pressure is steady at 30.25 inches, UV index is Low at 2, cloud cover is 0%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today will be mainly sunny. High around 58°. Winds from the ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight we should see clear skies, a low around 43°, and winds from the SE at 5 to 10 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
Today East wind 10 to 15 knots. Gusts up to 20 knots in the afternoon. Clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight East wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
Thursday Northeast wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Thursday Night Southeast wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less
ON THIS DAY in 1873, San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss and Reno, Nevada, tailor Jacob Davis are given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world’s most famous garments: blue jeans.
In San Francisco, Strauss established a wholesale dry goods business under his own name and worked as the West Coast representative of his family’s firm. His new business imported clothing, fabric and other dry goods to sell in the small stores opening all over California and other Western states to supply the rapidly expanding communities of gold miners and other settlers. By 1866, Strauss had moved his company to expanded headquarters and was a well-known businessman and supporter of the Jewish community in San Francisco.
Jacob Davis, a tailor in Reno, Nevada, was one of Levi Strauss’ regular customers. In 1872, he wrote a letter to Strauss about his method of making work pants with metal rivets on the stress points–at the corners of the pockets and the base of the button fly–to make them stronger. As Davis didn’t have the money for the necessary paperwork, he suggested that Strauss provide the funds and that the two men get the patent together. Strauss agreed enthusiastically, and the patent for “Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings”–the innovation that would produce blue jeans as we know them–was granted to both men on May 20, 1873.
Strauss brought Davis to San Francisco to oversee the first manufacturing facility for “waist overalls,” as the original jeans were known. At first they employed seamstresses working out of their homes, but by the 1880s, Strauss had opened his own factory. The famous 501 brand jean—known until 1890 as “XX”—was soon a bestseller, and the company grew quickly. By the 1920s, Levi’s denim waist overalls were the top-selling men’s work pant in the United States. As decades passed, the craze only grew, and now blue jeans are worn and beloved by men and women, young and old, around the world. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW the inventor of the Frisbee was turned into one after his death? Walter Morrison invented the Pluto Platter in 1955 (the toy Wham-O eventually sold under the new name Frisbee). When he died in 2010, his cremated remains were incorporated into one of the iconic toys. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY neoteric (nee-uh-TAIR-ik) which means recent in origin: modern. An odd thing about neoteric is that this word for things that are modern and new is itself rather old. It's been part of English since at least 1596, and its roots go back even further—to ancient Greek. We adapted the word from Late Latin neōtericus, which also means "recent." Neōtericus in turn comes from Late Greek neōterikós and ultimately from Greek néos, meaning "new" or "young." As old as its roots are, however, neoteric itself entered English later than its synonyms modern (which appeared earlier in the 16th century) and newfangled (which has been with us since the 15th century). (merriam-webster.com)
Pictures for Tuesday
May 19, 2020
Possibly a Northern Flicker
Hiding deer
Cormorants at Barney's Lake
At Barney's Lake also
Geese and goslings in the harbor
Seagulls on the shore
St James Township Public Works Committee
May 20, 2020, at 11 a.m.
BICS Class of 2020
May 21, 2020
While doing the Barney's Lake Sloptown to the point loop, there were several cars at the school at a really unusual time. A quick look and a quick realization, and Editor Joe Moore stopped, rushed out of the car, and snapped a few pictures of the BICS Class of 2020. Thank you to you all for being patient with this old man.
Posing in front of the school.
Ray Matela Passes Away
May 19, 2020
More information will be posted when available. Ray passed away this morning.
May 19, 2020
Hello Friends! We can open Friday for limited dine in operations. We will abide by all the guidelines set by the Governor's Executive Order. We understand that some guests may not feel comfortable entering the building so we will continue our curbside service for those that request it. Our foodservice hours will be 11:30 am - 8 pm.
Waste Management Committee Virtual Meeting Today
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 19, 2020
I'm back.Thank you all for the thoughts and prayers. It seems I have a new growth in my upper chest and some problems with my left arm/hand. Sooo, I have to go over again next week for another CAT scan (different kind) and for a MRI. Other than that we really don't know anything. Guess we wait at least another week to find out what's going on and how to deal with it. In the meantime, I feel just fine.
Ok, on to the weather. It's rainy, 48°, feels like 36°, wind is from the east at 17 mph with gusts to 24 mph, humidity is at 57%, dew point is 34°, pressure is rising from 30.17 inches, UV index is low at 1, cloud cover is 100%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today: Rain early. A mix of sun and clouds by afternoon. High around 55°. Winds from the east at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Tonight: Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low around 44°. Winds from the east at 10 to 20 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS EVENING...
Today East wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Chance of rain in the morning. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Tonight East wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
Wednesday East wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Wednesday Night Southeast wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY in 1935, T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, dies as a retired Royal Air Force mechanic living under an assumed name. The legendary war hero, author and archaeological scholar succumbed to injuries suffered in a motorcycle accident six days before.
Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in Tremadog, Wales, in 1888. In 1896, his family moved to Oxford. Lawrence studied architecture and archaeology, for which he made a trip to Ottoman (Turkish)-controlled Syria and Palestine in 1909. In 1911, he won a fellowship to join an expedition excavating an ancient Hittite settlement on the Euphrates River. He worked there for three years and in his free time traveled and learned Arabic. In 1914, he explored the Sinai, near the frontier of Ottoman-controlled Arabia and British-controlled Egypt. The maps Lawrence and his associates made had immediate strategic value upon the outbreak of war between Britain and the Ottoman Empire in October 1914.
Lawrence enlisted in the war and because of his expertise in Arab affairs was assigned to Cairo as an intelligence officer. He spent more than a year in Egypt, processing intelligence information and in 1916 accompanied a British diplomat to Arabia, where Hussein ibn Ali, the emir of Mecca, had proclaimed a revolt against Turkish rule. Lawrence convinced his superiors to aid Hussein’s rebellion, and he was sent to join the Arabian army of Hussein’s son Faisal as a liaison officer.
Under Lawrence’s guidance, the Arabians launched an effective guerrilla war against the Turkish lines. He proved a gifted military strategist and was greatly admired by the Bedouin people of Arabia. In July 1917, Arabian forces captured Aqaba near the Sinai and joined the British march on Jerusalem. Lawrence was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. In November, he was captured by the Turks while reconnoitering behind enemy lines in Arab dress and was tortured and sexually abused before escaping. He rejoined his army, which slowly worked its way north to Damascus, which fell in October 1918.
Arabia was liberated, but Lawrence’s hope that the peninsula would be united as a single nation was dashed when Arabian factionalism came to the fore after Damascus. Lawrence, exhausted and disillusioned, left for England. Feeling that Britain had exacerbated the rivalries between the Arabian groups, he appeared before King George V and politely refused the medals offered to him.
After the war, he lobbied hard for independence for Arab countries and appeared at the Paris peace conference in Arab robes. He became something of a legendary figure in his own lifetime, and in 1922 he gave up higher-paying appointments to enlist in the Royal Air Force (RAF) under an assumed name, John Hume Ross. He had just completed writing his monumental war memoir, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and he hoped to escape his fame and acquire material for a new book. Found out by the press, he was discharged, but in 1923 he managed to enlist as a private in the Royal Tanks Corps under another assumed name, T.E. Shaw, a reference to his friend, Irish writer George Bernard Shaw. In 1925, Lawrence rejoined the RAF and two years later legally changed his last name to Shaw.
In 1927, an abridged version of his memoir was published and generated tremendous publicity, but the press was unable to locate Lawrence (he was posted to a base in India). In 1929, he returned to England and spent the next six years writing and working as an RAF mechanic. In 1932, his English translation of Homer’s Odyssey was published under the name of T.E. Shaw. The Mint, a fictionalized account of Royal Air Force recruit training, was not published until 1955 because of its explicitness.
In February 1935, Lawrence was discharged from the RAF and returned to his simple cottage at Clouds Hill, Dorset. On May 13, he was critically injured while driving his motorcycle through the Dorset countryside. He had swerved to avoid two boys on bicycles. On May 19, he died at the hospital of his former RAF camp. Britain mourned his passing. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW carrots weren’t always orange? Wild carrots can range in color from white to yellow to purple. The orange variety popular today was developed by the Dutch, and was originally a slender, white root, more similar to the parsnip than the modern carrot. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY disabuse (diss-uh-BYOOZ) which means to free from error, misconception, or fallacy. We know the verb abuse as a word meaning "to misuse," "to mistreat," or "to revile." But when disabuse first appeared in the early 17th century, there was a sense of abuse, now obsolete, that meant "to deceive." Sir Francis Bacon used that sense, for example, when he wrote in 1605, "You are much abused if you think your virtue can withstand the King's power." The prefix dis- has the sense of undoing the effect of a verb, so it's not surprising that disabuse means "to undeceive." English speakers didn't come up with the idea of joining dis- to abuse all on their own, however. It was the French who first appended their prefix dés- to their verb abuser. English disabuse is modeled after French désabuser. (merriam-webster.com)
BEAVER ISLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL POSTING OF SOCCER COACHING POSITION
Soccer Coach for 2020 Season
CERTIFICATION: High School Diploma or higher
QUALIFICATIONS:
- Demonstrate an interest in working with children ages 13-18 years.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the role of interscholastic athletics and communicate it to athletes, parents and the public.
- Knowledgeable about rules, regulations, skills related to soccer and be able to communicate them to the athletes in a positive manner;
- Preferably played or coached soccer previously or have a soccer coaching license.
- Demonstrate ability to conduct productive practice schedules daily.
- Willingness to attend off-island training as required.
- Willingness to travel with and supervise students on away trips.
- Background check and fingerprinting (at school’s expense)
- Complete all paperwork and online training required by new employees
- Must be CPR Certified
SALARY: $2400 for the season
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: Posted Until Filled
STARTING DATE: August 12, 2020- October 18, 2020
TO APPLY:
If you are interested in applying, send a cover letter expressing your interest to Kerry Smith by email kerrys@beaverisland.k12.mi.us or mail a copy to school office P.O. Box 256 by 3:30 pm on Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Weather by Joe
May 18, 2020
Heading to the mainland this morning amidst a sky that seems unhappy with the dripping rain coming down. On Carlisle Road, the sky is cloudy with light drizzle coming down. The temperature is 47 degrees with viibility of five miles, a pressure of 30.07, a dewpoint of 45, and humidity of 97%. The rain adds up to just less than a tenth of an inch of rain.
TODAY, it is expected to continue to rain with 100% chance of rain adding up to about half and inch. Winds will be from the ENE at 15 to 25 mph with occasional gusts to 40 mph. High temperature will be near 50.
TONIGHT, it is forecast for cloudy skies with a low near the mid-40's. There is a 20% chance of rain. Winds will be from the E at 10 to 20 mph.
TOMMOROW, it is forecast for a shower or two in the morning, with it becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon. Chance of rain is 30%. High will be in the mid-50s. The wind will continue from the E at 10 to 20 mph.
ON THIS DAY in 1980:
At 8:32 a.m. PDT, Mount St. Helens, a volcanic peak in southwestern Washington, suffers a massive eruption, killing 57 people and devastating some 210 square miles of wilderness.
Called Louwala-Clough, or “the Smoking Mountain,” by Native Americans, Mount St. Helens is located in the Cascade Range and stood 9,680 feet before its eruption. The volcano has erupted periodically during the last 4,500 years, and the last active period was between 1831 and 1857. On March 20, 1980, noticeable volcanic activity began again with a series of earth tremors centered on the ground just beneath the north flank of the mountain. These earthquakes escalated, and on March 27 a minor eruption occurred, and Mount St. Helens began emitting steam and ash through its crater and vents.
Small eruptions continued daily, and in April people familiar with the mountain noticed changes to the structure of its north face. A scientific study confirmed that a bulge more than a mile in diameter was moving upward and outward over the high north slope by as much as six feet per day. The bulge was caused by an intrusion of magma below the surface, and authorities began evacuating hundreds of people from the sparsely settled area near the mountain. A few people refused to leave.
On the morning of May 18, Mount St. Helens was shaken by an earthquake of about 5.0 magnitude, and the entire north side of the summit began to slide down the mountain. The giant landslide of rock and ice, one of the largest recorded in history, was followed and overtaken by an enormous explosion of steam and volcanic gases, which surged northward along the ground at high speed. The lateral blast stripped trees from most hill slopes within six miles of the volcano and leveled nearly all vegetation for as far as 12 miles away. Approximately 10 million trees were felled by the blast.
The landslide debris, liquefied by the violent explosion, surged down the mountain at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour. The avalanche flooded Spirit Lake and roared down the valley of the Toutle River for a distance of 13 miles, burying the river to an average depth of 150 feet. Mudflows, pyroclastic flows, and floods added to the destruction, destroying roads, bridges, parks, and thousands more acres of forest. Simultaneous with the avalanche, a vertical eruption of gas and ash formed a mushrooming column over the volcano more than 12 miles high. Ash from the eruption fell on Northwest cities and towns like snow and drifted around the globe within two weeks. Fifty-seven people, thousands of animals, and millions of fish were killed by the eruption of Mount St. Helens.
By late in the afternoon of May 18, the eruption subsided, and by early the next day it had essentially ceased. Mount St. Helens’ volcanic cone was completely blasted away and replaced by a horseshoe-shaped crater–the mountain lost 1,700 feet from the eruption. The volcano produced five smaller explosive eruptions during the summer and fall of 1980 and remains active today. In 1982, Congress made Mount St. Helens a protected research area.
Mount St. Helens became active again in 2004. On March 8, 2005, a 36,000-foot plume of steam and ash was expelled from the mountain, accompanied by a minor earthquake. Though a new dome has been growing steadily near the top of the peak and small earthquakes are frequent, scientists do not expect a repeat of the 1980 catastrophe anytime soon.
WORD OF THE DAY: exiguous; adjective; (ig-ZIG-yuh-wus);excessively scanty : inadequate
Exiguous is so expansive sounding that you might expect it to mean "extensive" instead of "meager." Even a scanty glimpse at the word's etymology will disabuse you of that notion, however. Exiguous derives from the Latin exiguus, which has the same basic meaning as the modern English term. Exiguus, in turn, derives from the Latin verb exigere, which is variously translated as "to demand," "to drive out," or "to weigh or measure." The idea of weighing or measuring so precisely as to be parsimonious or petty gave exiguous its present sense of inadequacy. Just so we aren't accused of being skimpy with the details, we should also mention that exigere is the parent term underlying other English words including exact and exigent.
Beaver Island Waste Management Meeting
Date: May 19, 2020 , 1:00 p.m.
Place: Virtual Meeting via Conference Call due to Corona virus Pandemic, Members of the Public are invited to and can call in to attend the meeting by Telephone as follows:
Call in number:866-866-2244 Conference code:8394169#
Agenda
1. Update on new credit system at transfer station
2. Discussion on Car Crusher and metals at station
3. Managers report
Nonagenarian Paul Niehaus
Paul Junior Niehaus was born on May 18, 1930. So May 18th is his ninetieth birthday. Happy Birthday, Paul! Happy 90th!
Paul is a retired biology professor who taught and/or worked for Lawrence Technological University as well as University of Michigan. He is also an accomplished trumpeter. Paul played with the Washtenaw Community College Jazz Band, and had the opportunity to play in Carnegie Hall.
Along with Paul, there are others on the island in the age group that need the rest of us to protect them from this coronavirus. Please keep the proper social distancing and/or wear a mask to protect our older population!
Pair of Loons on Barney's Lake
May 17, 2020
Muskrats Abound
May 17, 2020
Muskrats have been seen on Barney's Lake and in Paradise Bay. There seems to be more of them around this year, but perhaps they are not more populated, but instead less worried about being seen.
They kind of look like beavers, but they don't have the right kind of tail.
From Holy Cross Parish
May 17, 2020
The following document lists the current plan for Holy Cross Catholic Church and its Masses for the near future.
Mass from Holy Cross
May 17, 2020
Mass from Holy Cross was celebrated by Father Jim Siler at Holy Cross Catholic Church. The service took place at 9:30 a.m. The service was live streamed on Beaver Island TV at http://beaverisland.tv. The service was recorded as well and the link to that recording is below.
St. Michael the Archangel
The sunlight on the cross.
Father Jim Siler
Dogs Can’t Tell Time
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 17, 2020
Tomorrow I won't be posting the weather as Joe and I are on an 8:00 flight to the mainland. Time to get the results of my CAT scan from my oncologist. I do have today's weather:
It's 46°, feels like 41°. wind is from the ENE at 8 mph with gusts to 10 mph, humidity is at 81%, dew point si 40°, pressure is steady at 30.19 inches, UV index is Low at 2, cloud cover is 11%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today will be a mix of clouds followed by increasing clouds and showers developing by this afternoon. High around 51°. Winds from the east at 15 to 25 mph with occasional gusts over 40 mph. Chance of rain is 60%.Tonight rain is likely. Winds from the east at 15 to 25 mph with occasional gusts over 40 mph. Chance of rain is 60%.
MARINE REPORT
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM EDT THIS MORNING THROUGH MONDAY EVENING...
Today East wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Slight chance of rain in the morning. Chance of rain in the afternoon. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Tonight East wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Rain. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Monday East wind 15 to 25 knots with gusts to around 30 knots. Chance of showers. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
Monday Night East wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 30 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
ON THIS DAY in 1965, the FBI laboratory weighs in on the "dirty" lyrics of "Louie Louie".
Based on outcry from parents who bought into what may have started as an idle rumor, the FBI launched a formal investigation in 1964 into the supposedly pornographic lyrics of the song “Louie, Louie.” That investigation finally neared its conclusion on this day in 1965, when the FBI Laboratory declared the lyrics of “Louie Louie” to be officially unintelligible.
No one will ever know who started the rumor that “Louie Louie” was dirty. As written by Richard Berry in 1955, the lyrics revolve around a sailor from the Caribbean lamenting to a bartender named Louie about missing his far-away love. As recorded in crummy conditions and in a single take by the Kingsmen in 1963, lyrics like “A fine little girl, she wait for me…” came out sounding like “A phlg mlmrl hlurl, duh vvvr me” Perhaps it was some clever middle-schooler who started the rumor by trying to convince a classmate that those lyrics contained some words that are as unprintable today as they were back in 1963. Whatever the case, the story spread like wildfire, until the United States Department of Justice began receiving letters like the one addressed to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and dated January 30, 1964. “Who do you turn to when your teen age daughter buys and brings home pornographic or obscene materials being sold…in every City, Village and Record shop in this Nation?” that letter began, before going on to make the specific assertion that the lyrics of “Louie Louie” were “so filthy that I can-not enclose them in this letter.”
Over the course of the next two years, the FBI gathered many versions of the putative lyrics to Louie Louie. They interviewed the man who wrote the song and officials of the record label that released the Kingsmen’s smash-hit single. They turned the record over to the audio experts in the FBI laboratory, who played and re-played “Louie Louie” at 78 rpm, 45 rpm, 33 1/3 rpm and even slower speeds in an effort to determine whether it was pornographic and, therefore, whether its sale was a violation of the federal Interstate Transportation of Obscene Material law. “Unintelligible at any speed” was the conclusion the FBI Laboratory relayed to the investigators in charge on this day in 1965, not quite exonerating “Louie Louie,” but also not damning the tune that would go on to become one of the most-covered songs in rock-and-roll history. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW Workers are most productive on Mondays. You might hate Mondays, but it’s probably your boss’ favorite day. About 29% of workers report being at their most productive the first day of the week, and only 11% are at their most productive on Fridays. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY malapropism (MAL-uh-prah-piz-um) which means: the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase; especially : the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context. Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Sheridan's 1775 play The Rivals, was known for her verbal blunders. "He is the very pine-apple of politeness," she exclaimed, complimenting a courteous young man. Thinking of the geography of contiguous countries, she spoke of the "geometry" of "contagious countries," and she hoped that her daughter might "reprehend" the true meaning of what she was saying. She regretted that her "affluence" over her niece was small. The word malapropism derives from this blundering character's name, which Sheridan took from the French term mal à propos, meaning "inappropriate." (merriam-webster.com)
Lee Bracey's Sermon for BIC Church
May 17, 2020
Looking Forward to Summer
May 15, 2020
After the sun came out and the fog began to fade away, there was a definite hope for everyone as the sun warmed your back. Even the turtles at Barney's Lake decided that it was time to get out in the sunshine and enjoy the warmth.
Obvious Info
May 16, 2020
It's pretty obvious that this cormorant isn't afraid of the owl meant to chase away other birds from this dock area.
Here's a loon taking a nap in the harbor surrounded by many ducks and several cormorants.
Foggy Here, Foggy There
May 15, 2020
There was fog throughout the daytime yesterday, Friday, and only later in the afternoon did the fog decide to dissipate enough for the planes to fly. There are still chills down the back when the Island Airways plane lands. Not sure why, but they happen every single time one particular airplane "JA" lands.
Anyway, it was foggy over the harbor and foggy at Barney's Lake, and there wasn't one thing that anyone could do about it.
View from Whiskey Point back to town.
View from post office of Whiskey Point
Foggy view of a Baltimore Oriole in the top of the pine tree near the yacht dock.
Barney's Lake fog
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 16, 2020
It's a beautiful, Beaver Island, sunny morning! It's 42°, feels like 41°. wind is from the ENE at 5 mph, humidity is at 90%, dew point is 39°, pressure is rising from 30.20 inches, UV index is Low at 2, cloud cover is 0%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today should be mostly sunny with a high around 53°. Winds from the ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight will be mostly cloudy skies. Low around 44°. Winds from the east at 10 to 15 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
Today Northeast wind 10 to 15 knots. Gusts up to 20 knots in the afternoon. Partly cloudy. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight East wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 feet or less.
Sunday East wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 30 knots. Chance of showers. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
Sunday Night Northeast wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 30 knots. Chance of showers. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
ON THIS DAY in 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hands out its first awards, at a dinner party for around 250 people held in the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California.
The brainchild of Louis B. Mayer, head of the powerful MGM film studio, the Academy was organized in May 1927 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and improvement of the film industry. Its first president and the host of the May 1929 ceremony was the actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Unlike today, the winners of the first Oscars–as the coveted gold-plated statuettes later became known–were announced before the awards ceremony itself.
At the time of the first Oscar ceremony, sound had just been introduced into film. The Warner Bros. movie The Jazz Singer–one of the first “talkies”–was not allowed to compete for Best Picture because the Academy decided it was unfair to let movies with sound compete with silent films. The first official Best Picture winner (and the only silent film to win Best Picture) was Wings, directed by William Wellman. The most expensive movie of its time, with a budget of $2 million, the movie told the story of two World War I pilots who fall for the same woman. Another film, F.W. Murnau’s epic Sunrise, was considered a dual winner for the best film of the year. German actor Emil Jannings won the Best Actor honor for his roles in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh, while 22-year-old Janet Gaynor was the only female winner. After receiving three out of the five Best Actress nods, she won for all three roles, in Seventh Heaven, Street Angel and Sunrise.
A special honorary award was presented to Charlie Chaplin. Originally a nominee for Best Actor, Best Writer and Best Comedy Director for The Circus, Chaplin was removed from these categories so he could receive the special award, a change that some attributed to his unpopularity in Hollywood. It was the last Oscar the Hollywood maverick would receive until another honorary award in 1971.
The Academy officially began using the nickname Oscar for its awards in 1939; a popular but unconfirmed story about the source of the name holds that Academy executive director Margaret Herrick remarked that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar. Since 1942, the results of the secret ballot voting have been announced during the live-broadcast Academy Awards ceremony using the sealed-envelope system. The suspense–not to mention the red-carpet arrival of nominees and other stars wearing their most beautiful or outrageous evening wear–continues to draw international attention to the film industry’s biggest night of the year. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW There are 2,000 thunderstorms in progress at any given moment. About 16 million thunderstorms happen around the world every year, though only about 10% of those are considered severe. While they’re most common in the evening in spring and summer, thunderstorms can happen anywhere and anytime. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY bodacious (boh-DAY-shuss) which means:
1 Southern & Midland : outright, unmistakable
2 : remarkable, noteworthy
3 : sexy, voluptuous
Some of our readers may know bodacious as a word that figured prominently in the lingo of the 1989 film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Others may recall the term's frequent use in the long-running "Snuffy Smith" comic strip. Neither the creators of the comic strip nor the movie can claim to have coined bodacious, which began appearing in print during the 1800s, but both likely contributed to its popularity. The exact origin of the word is uncertain, but it was most likely influenced by bold and audacious, and it may be linked to boldacious, a term from British dialect meaning "brazen" or "impudent." (merriam-webster.com)
BIRHC Coronavirus Stats
May 15, 2020
BEAVER ISLAND RURAL HEALTH CENTER
COVID-19 TRACKING
These numbers are updated and posted to www.biruralhealth.org weekly, and distributed to the BIESA, BIEMS, BIFD, and the Township Supervisors. We hope this information will be helpful to you in understanding the impact of this pandemic on our Island community.
COVID-19 is currently in all US territories and states and spreading in northern Michigan. This is the time of year when many people are typically returning from winter residences. We encourage you to stay in place, if possible, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 to Beaver Island.
Last Updated: May 15, 2020
| Total Patients Tested |
Patients Tested Positive |
Patients Tested Negative |
Patients Test Results Pending |
Patients Test Positive & Hospitalized |
Patients Deceased |
38 |
0 |
33 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
DNR Wants Hunter Input
on proposed 2020 deer hunting regulations
May 15, 2020
A new package of deer hunting regulations designed to simplify rules and remove barriers to participation was introduced to the Michigan Natural Resources Commission Thursday at the commission’s regular monthly meeting, which was conducted in an online and conference call format due to COVID-19 public health and safety concerns. The regulations, proposed for the 2020 deer hunting season, are scheduled for an NRC vote in June.
Michigan Department of Natural Resources deer program experts say the regulations, if approved, will provide additional opportunities and cost savings for hunters and offer flexibility in how hunters pursue deer. The DNR uses existing and projected data to gauge the impact of proposed regulations. The data shows that the projected changes will not have a significant negative effect on the deer herd or the quality of deer hunting.
“These recommendations are aimed at making it easier for hunters of all ages and experience levels to enjoy a Michigan outdoor tradition, while at the same time facing the present and future challenges of managing the state’s deer population,” said Chad Stewart, the DNR’s deer, elk and moose program leader. “We hope that hunters across the state will take the opportunity to review the regulations and share their opinions, because their feedback is critical in shaping the future of deer hunting.”
Proposed regulation changes include: |
Statewide
- Change Liberty and Independence hunt qualifications to include deaf people.
- Allow mentored youths (age 9 and younger), junior license holders (age 10-16) and apprentice license holders to be exempt from antler point restrictions in all seasons, in all deer management units (DMUs) and under all licenses.
- Require a 60% support threshold from a survey to prompt the DNR to recommend antler point restrictions (APRs) to the NRC, as decided by the 2019 APR work group. This replaces the 66% support threshold recommended by previous APR work groups. Additionally, failed APR initiatives would face a 10-year moratorium before another initiative would be considered.
- Change the statewide limit for antlerless license purchase to 10 per hunter. This limit offers maximum opportunity for those who wish to manage abundant deer on their property.
- Require hunter orange to be visible on occupied ground blinds.
- Standardize baiting practices (eliminate the requirement to use single-bite baits in select counties) during the Liberty and Independence hunts for hunters with disabilities.
Upper Peninsula
- Allow Upper Peninsula archers to resume pursuing antlerless deer in all DMUs with their deer/deer combination license.
- Remove remnant APRs on the deer license in parts of DMU 122.
Lower Peninsula
- In addition to the archery season, allow antlerless deer to be taken on the deer/deer combination license during the firearm and muzzleloader seasons in all Lower Peninsula DMUs.
- Open early and late antlerless seasons in all Lower Peninsula mainland DMUs.
- Allow antlerless deer to be taken on a deer/deer combination license during both the early and late antlerless seasons in the Lower Peninsula.
- Change antlerless quotas in select DMUs.
- Shorten muzzleloader season in the southern Lower Peninsula to 10 days and extend the late antlerless season to provide consistency between all regions of the state.
- Allow legal firearms to be used during the muzzleloader season in the southern Lower Peninsula.
- Scale carcass movement restrictions to areas most affected by chronic wasting disease. This eases some of the movement restrictions in parts of the state with a lower risk of harvesting a CWD-positive animal while still applying those restrictions to areas with the highest risk.
- Resume four-point restriction on combination license in select DMUs in the Lower Peninsula.
- Continue the expanded archery season through Jan. 31 for one more year in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties.
Read the full NRC proposal memo or the justifications behind the 2020 proposed regulation changes at Michigan.gov/Deer.
Hunters are encouraged to review the proposed regulations and share their feedback either through an anonymous survey or by email to NRC@Michigan.gov. All comments must be received by June 5 and will be shared with members of the Michigan Natural Resources Commission.
Brain Fade
by Joe Moore
Sitting here this morning with a location and a home’s previous owner on my mind, and I don’t know what to do to get this off my mind. Have you ever had one of those things that just won’t leave your mind? I’m hoping that it is not the dementia kicking in.
During this pandemic in 2020, I’ve been trying to move from the negative to the positive in as many thoughts as possible. A couple of examples may help you understand what is meant by this statement. Instead of thinking about how bad the old house is leaking through the roof, I try to think about what I can do to protect those things and those memories that are in that physical location. Instead of worrying about when and how I’ll get the garden tilled, I began planting those things that I could plant like tomato, pepper, and melon seeds in the house as well as planting the peas in containers outside.
Well, as part of this exercise, I have posted pictures, usually panoramas, of locations as a challenge for those interested in doing something other than a pandemic. There were two pictures that were taken from the top of a sand dune, one from the front of the house and one looking past the house to the rear. My brain would not provide me the name of the person that owned the house prior to the present owner.
Birds at the Feeders
May 15, 2020
We can only hope that the return of these beautiful birds is and indication that Spring has arrived or will arrive very soon. Through the moisture in the air, fog and dew, these birds were visiting the bird feeders this morning, just before 9 a.m.
Rose breasted Grossbeak and Gold finches
Baltimore Orioles
A very colorful morning here on Carlisle Road.
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 15, 2020
It's a wee bit foggy this morning. Right now it's 45°, wind is from the ESE at 4 mph, humidity is 100%, dew point is 45°, pressure is steady at 29.81 inches, UV index is low at 0, visibility is 0.2 miles.Today expect areas of patchy fog (yup, got that in spades), showers developing this afternoon. 40% chance of rain. High around 53°, and winds from the WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight expect a few passing clouds. Low near 40° and winds from the north at 5 to 10 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM EDT THIS MORNING...
Today Light winds becoming southwest 5 to 10 knots in the late morning, then becoming northwest in the afternoon. Areas of dense fog early in the morning. Patchy fog in the afternoon. Slight chance of showers in the morning. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight North wind 5 to 10 knots. Patchy fog. Waves 2 feet or less.
Saturday Northeast wind 10 to 15 knots. Mostly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Saturday Night East wind 10 to 15 knots. Chance of showers. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY in 1937, Madeleine Albright, America’s first female secretary of state, is born Maria Jana Korbelova in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic).
The daughter of Czech diplomat Josef Korbel, Albright fled to England with her family after the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939. Though Albright long believed they had fled for political reasons, she learned as an adult that her family was Jewish and that three of her grandparents had died in Nazi concentration camps. The family returned home after World War II ended but immigrated to the United States in 1948 after a Soviet-sponsored Communist coup seized power in Prague. Josef Korbel became dean of the school of international relations at the University of Denver (where he would later train another female secretary of state, Condoleeza Rice).
After graduating from Wellesley College in 1959, Albright married Joseph Medill Patterson Albright of the prominent Medill newspaper-publishing family. With an MA and PhD from Columbia University under her belt, Albright headed to Washington, D.C., where she worked for Maine’s Senator Edmund S. Muskie and served on the National Security Council in the administration of President Jimmy Carter. She and Joseph Albright divorced in 1982. During the Republican presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Albright worked for several nonprofit organizations and taught at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
With a Democrat—Bill Clinton—in the White House again in 1992, Albright found herself at the center of Washington’s most powerful circle. In 1993, Clinton appointed her ambassador to the United Nations. In that post, Albright earned a reputation as a straight-talking defender of American interests and an advocate for an increased role for the U.S. in U.N. operations. In late 1996, Clinton nominated Albright to succeed Warren Christopher as U.S. secretary of state. After her nomination was unanimously confirmed by the Senate, she was sworn in on January 23, 1997.
As secretary of state, Albright pursued an active foreign policy, including the use of military force to pressure autocratic regimes in Yugoslavia and Iraq, among other troubled regions. Her trip to North Korea in October 2000 to meet with leader Kim Jong Il made her the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit that country. She drew some criticism for her tough position on U.S. sanctions against Iraq, which led to many civilian deaths in that country.
Albright’s term ended with the election of President George W. Bush in 2000. Though there was talk of her entering Czech politics, she returned to her teaching post at Georgetown, accepted several board positions and became chair of a nonprofit organization, the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW All blue-eyed people have a common ancestor. Blue eye pigmentation is the result of a mutation on the OCA2 gene, which controls melanin production. Scientists have recently tracked the mutation to a single human who lived somewhere around 6,000-10,000 years ago. Before that, brown was the only eye color. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY stymie (STYE-mee) which means to present as obstacle: to stand in the way of. Golf was being played in Scotland as early as the 15th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century that the sport really caught on in England and North America. It was also in the 19th century that the word stymie entered English as a noun referring to a golfing situation in which one player's ball lies between another ball and the hole on the putting green, thereby blocking the line of play. Later, stymie came to be used as a verb meaning "to bring into the position of, or impede by, a stymie." By the early 20th century, the verb was being applied in similarly vexing non-golf contexts. (merriam-webster.com)
What Is That?
Looking from Whiskey Point a day or so ago....
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 14, 2020
Lightly raining, 43°, feels like 38°, wind from the east at 7 mph with gusts to 9 mph, humidity is at 89%, dew point is 40°, pressure is rising from 29.95 inches, UV index is low at 0, cloud cover is 100%, and visibility is 8 miles. Today it will be rainy all day and cloudy. High around 46°. Winds from the SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain is 90%. Tonight expect cloudy skies. Low around 40°. Winds light and variable.
MARINE FORECAST
Today Southeast wind 10 to 15 knots. Gusts up to 20 knots early in the morning. Rain showers early in the morning, then scattered showers in the afternoon. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight Southeast wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 feet or less.
Friday West wind 10 to 15 knots. Partly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Friday Night North wind 5 to 10 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY in 1804, one year after the United States doubled its territory with the Louisiana Purchase, the Lewis and Clark expedition leaves St. Louis, Missouri, on a mission to explore the Northwest from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean.
Even before the U.S. government concluded purchase negotiations with France, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned his private secretary Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an army captain, to lead an expedition into what is now the U.S. Northwest. On May 14, the “Corps of Discovery”–featuring approximately 45 men (although only an approximate 33 men would make the full journey)–left St. Louis for the American interior.
The expedition traveled up the Missouri River in a 55-foot long keelboat and two smaller boats. In November, Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trader accompanied by his young Native American wife Sacagawea, joined the expedition as an interpreter. The group wintered in present-day North Dakota before crossing into present-day Montana, where they first saw the Rocky Mountains. On the other side of the Continental Divide, they were met by Sacagawea’s tribe, the Shoshone Indians, who sold them horses for their journey down through the Bitterroot Mountains. After passing through the dangerous rapids of the Clearwater and Snake rivers in canoes, the explorers reached the calm of the Columbia River, which led them to the sea. On November 8, 1805, the expedition arrived at the Pacific Ocean, the first European explorers to do so by an overland route from the east. After pausing there for the winter, the explorers began their long journey back to St. Louis.
On September 23, 1806, after almost two and a half years, the expedition returned to the city, bringing back a wealth of information about the largely unexplored region, as well as valuable U.S. claims to Oregon Territory. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW a researcher from the UK developed a chili pepper so hot it could kill you. Called the Dragon’s Breath pepper, this new pepper strain measures up to 2.48 million Scoville units, which is higher than most military pepper sprays. Consuming a whole pepper could lead to anaphylactic shock, closing and burning the airways, which could potentially be fatal. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY refulgence (rih-FULL-junss) which means a radiant or resplendent quality or state: brilliance. "The full bow of the crescent moon peeps above the plain and shoots its gleaming arrows far and wide, filling the earth with a faint refulgence, as the glow of a good man's deeds shines for a while upon his little world after his sun has set, lighting the fainthearted travellers who follow on towards a fuller dawn." So British author Sir Henry Rider Haggard described the light of the moon in King Solomon's Mines, published in 1885. Haggard's example reflects both the modern meaning and the history of refulgence. That word derives from Latin refulgēre, which means "to shine brightly" and which is itself a descendant of the verb fulgēre, meaning "to shine." Fulgēre also underlies effulgence, a shining synonym of refulgence. (merriam-webster.com)
Nature Pictures First Part of the Week
May 13, 2020
Field full of deer across from Ricksgers
Beautiful flowers in the yard on Barney's Lake Road along with a dust cloud.
Two loons on Barney's Lake
Sneaking muskrat
Beaver hut??..............Beautiful reflections..
Geese and Goslings in the harbor
Cormorants at Barney's Lake.
Solitary Sandpiper at Barney's Lake
Caspian Tern at Barney's Lake
Cormorants in the harbor
Loon in the harbor
Robin searching for dinner
Geese swimming by in the harbor.
From Island Airways
May 13, 2020
Thinking about your summer trip to Beaver Island? We are having a ticket sale, so you are all set when you head North! See the details in the attached picture.
A recent update from Beaver Island township leaders stated, “We welcome our summer residents back to their homes.”
Safety has been and always will be our number one priority at Island Airways. During these new, challenging times we have implemented many new policies and procedures. The following list is a sampling of things we have implemented based on latest guidance received over the past weeks:
>Health monitoring of staff
>PPE / masks for all members of the crew
>Passengers required to wear masks
>We provide masks if passengers do not have one
>Sanitizing aircraft between each leg
>Ask that passengers who are ill (currently or have been recently) refrain from travel
>Respect social distancing practices
>Encourage frequent hand washing
>Provide ample hand sanitizer at both locations for staff and passengers
>Installed a barrier between the pilot and passenger cabin
If you have any questions about any of these procedures or
about flights to and from the Island, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.
• 231 547 2141 main office number
• 231 448 2374 Paul & Angel Welke home number
• angel@islandairways Angel Welke’s direct e-mail
We will see you when we see you and we will leave the lighthouse on for you!
From McDonough's Market
May 13, 2020
Thank you for your support and encouragement during this uncertain time. We miss seeing all of you. McDonough’s Market has been a place of social interaction for generations; a place to visit, reconnect and catch up with friends. However, things have dramatically changed as you are aware. Our store has been closed to foot traffic since March 15, 2020. Because more and more people are coming back to the Island, we are getting busier and busier and find it necessary to re-open our doors. We have carefully and thoughtfully created a plan to help you, our valued customers, our staff and families stay safe. We need your help in this endeavor. The following are some guidelines and procedures we hope you can help us implement.
Date of re-opening MAY 21, 2020
Customer Hours: Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
First and foremost, if you are a high risk person, or you feel uncomfortable shopping, please continue to take advantage of our on line and telephone ordering. We want you to be safe and we want to limit your exposure to other people as well as ours. mcdonoughsmarket@gmail.com
If you are returning to the island, we ask that you self quarantine for two weeks. You can order your groceries and pick them up when no one is at the pick up station.
If you are ordering on line or on the phone, please give us ample time to fill your order. It would be very helpful to place your order the day before it is needed if possible.
If you feel ill, are coughing, have a fever, shortness of breath, sore throat, or diarrhea, stay home and email us an order. If you need something immediately, we will work with you to get you what you need as soon as we can.
You must wear a mask when you come in and for the duration of your visit. They will be available for sale, but you will not be able to enter the store without one.
There will be a hand sanitizing station in the entrance and you must use it before shopping.
Only one shopper per family (16 years and older). We have a capacity of 10 people in the store at one time. Please stand in line outside – 6 feet apart until someone comes out of the store. Then the next person can enter.
Please come with your list ready so you can get in and get out as quickly as possible and try to limit your visits to one time per day.
If you know what you want from the meat department, it would help if you could email that to us the day before.
We will be utilizing the outside two registers so customers can maintain distance. The center check-out will be closed. There are plexi glass shields in place to minimize your contact with our employees. You will be asked to bag your own groceries. You may use your own bags.
Follow the one-way layout we have placed in the store.
Avoid touching items you do not intend to purchase.
AT ALL TIMES MAINTAIN A 6 FT DISTANCE BETWEEN YOURSELF AND THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU. THIS INCLUDES THE PARKING LOT, ENTRANCE, AND CHECKOUT.
We reserve the right to limit the amount of a certain product being purchased. We will continue to do our best to supply you with what you need.
Again, your support and encouragement are so valued and appreciated. Lets all do our best to get through this as safely as possible so McDonough’s Market can again be that place where we greet friends and return to normal. Thank you.
P.S. If you wish to place a grocery order, please send it in a new email as it is easier for us to read and print.
Technology Issues
by Joe Moore
May 13, 2020
Computer issues are not uncommon for anyone nowadays. The editor of Beaver Island News on the 'Net has had more than his share. In the last three months, three computers have been given a final devotion, and the costs of purchasing a new computer for the purposes of News on the 'Net and Beaver Island TV have increased almost like a behind the scenes drug deal.
To top that off, there have been almost no computer repair businesses that are answering the phone, and those that are, are not wanting to continue working with this isolated location on Beaver Island. The "bring it in and wait" comments certainly don't make sense. The "ship it to us and we'll get to it in a couple of weeks" also doesn't get much approval from someone needing to do the job of posting on websites daily.
The step forward had to be made, and that step had to take place on Beaver Island by this editor because delivery and waiting were not quite acceptable. During my years at the school doing technology work, most of that work involved software with very little work involving hardware unless that hardware needed to be connected to the computer or the network via software. The hardware work was almost always done by someone else.
Another aspect of this situation was the inability to accomplish some things on the Internet. Ebay wouldn't do a check-out. B and H Photo couldn't confirm my credit card. Adorama wasn't doing the shipments in a timely manner. Who did the editor have to contact to get anything done right now?
A small business was found on the Internet with a Google search. A phone call was made, and there was a person on the other end of the phone. That in itself was quite refreshing. The person talked to was the owner of a small computer parts store out in California. His suggestions to me made the most sense. He said, "Anyone can swap out a harddrive as long as you have the patience to do so step by step. Anyone can install Windows 10 on that computer after the new drive is installed. Someone with your experience should have it done in a couple of hours. That's what you need to do. I can ship those things to you by overnight delivery, and you'll have them tomorrow."
"Sold," I said on the phone. And sure enought the hard drive arrived on the island within two days. The simple installation directions were followed by going to the link provided on the Internet. The computer operating system took just a little longer, but the computer is up and running. Hallelujah!
Now, the next step is to reinstall the programs that are needed to operate the video on Beaver Island TV. I actually called this small business back and told them of my success. I thanked the owner and stated that he would be getting my business from now on. I told him how refreshing it was to actually talk to a person instead of going through the "Press 1, Press 3, and then "We are too busy to take care of you right now" computerized communication.
The next step is to try to get the computer and the external hard drives, that contain all the video, to communicate with one another. It is amazing the amount of time that it takes to make devices accept each other as they are instead of making sure that they are compatible. This almost takes the same amount of effort of trying to get one person to talk to another person, especially if they don't like each other.
This social distancing situation is not so bad, but the requirement to talk to a computer instead of a person is getting quite old. The personal contact is missed more than anything else. This editor will be looking for those that will be willing to actually talk person to person, even if by Zoom or phone.
Now that the computer is fixed, the shutdown of the Beaver Island TV website will be required for just a bit, perhaps a few hours, to get the entire system of computers working properly. then a new playlist will be generated, and it will be back up in operation. Thank you to those small businesses that still provide service!
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 13, 2020
Sunny skies this morning, 22°, winds are calm, humidity is at 96%, dew point is 21°, pressure is rising from 30.33 inches, UV index is low at 2, cloud cover is 0%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today it will be sunny to partly cloudy. High around 50°. Winds will be from the SE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight will be cloudy with light rain developing after midnight. Low of 41°. Winds from the SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain is 80%.
MARINE FORECAST
Today Light winds becoming northeast 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots in the afternoon. Sunny early in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tonight Southeast wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Rain showers likely. Waves 2 feet or less.
Thursday South wind 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Rain showers. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Thursday Night West wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY in 1607, some 100 English colonists arrive along the west bank of the James River in Virginia to found Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. Dispatched from England by the London Company, the colonists had sailed across the Atlantic aboard the Susan Constant, Godspeed and Discovery.
Upon landing at Jamestown, the first colonial council was held by seven settlers whose names had been chosen and placed in a sealed box by King James I. The council, which included Captain John Smith, an English adventurer, chose Edward Wingfield as its first president. After only two weeks, Jamestown came under attack from warriors from the local Algonquian confederacy, but the Native Americans were repulsed by the armed settlers. In December of the same year, John Smith and two other colonists were captured by Algonquians while searching for provisions in the Virginia wilderness. His companions were killed, but he was spared, according to a later account by Smith, because of the intercession of Pocahontas, Chief Powhatan’s daughter.
During the next two years, disease, starvation, and more Native American attacks wiped out most of the colony, but the London Company continually sent more settlers and supplies. The severe winter of 1609 to 1610, which the colonists referred to as the “starving time,” killed most of the Jamestown colonists, leading the survivors to plan a return to England in the spring. However, on June 10, Thomas West De La Warr, the newly appointed governor of Virginia, arrived with supplies and convinced the settlers to remain at Jamestown. In 1612, John Rolfe cultivated the first tobacco at Jamestown, introducing a successful source of livelihood. On April 5, 1614, Rolfe married Pocahontas, thus assuring a temporary peace with Chief Powhatan.
The death of Powhatan in 1618 brought about a resumption of conflict with the Algonquians, including an attack led by Chief Opechancanough in 1622 that nearly wiped out the settlement. The English engaged in violent reprisals against the Algonquians, but there was no further large-scale fighting until 1644, when Opechancanough led his last uprising and was captured and executed at Jamestown. In 1646, the Algonquian Confederacy agreed to give up much of its territory to the rapidly expanding colony, and, beginning in 1665, its chiefs were appointed by the governor of Virginia. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW that there are more than 200 dead bodies on Mount Everest. In total, 295 people have died climbing Mount Everest. Most of their bodies are still on the mountain, since bringing them down is too dangerous and demanding. Some bodies have been there for decades. Many have been given nicknames and are used as trail markers by other climbers. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY pelagic (puh-LAJ-ik) which means of, relating to, or living or occurring in the open sea: oceanic. Pelagic comes to us from Greek, via Latin. The Greek word pelagikos became pelagicus in Latin and then pelagic in English. (Pelagikos is derived from pelagos, the Greek word for the sea—it is also a source of archipelago—plus the adjectival suffix -ikos.) Pelagic first showed up in dictionaries in 1656; a definition from that time says that Pelagick (as it was then spelled) meant "of the Sea, or that liveth in the Sea." Centuries later, writers are still using pelagic with the same meaning, albeit less frequently than its more familiar synonym oceanic. (merriam-webster.com)
Peaine Township Meeting
Tuesday, May 12, 2020, at 7 p.m.
BINN apologizes for no video available for this meeting. The video camera would not operate.
St. James Planning Commission
May 12, 2020, 7 p.m.
Beaver Island Municipal Marina
Seasonal Slips Information
May 12, 2020
Clicking on the links above allows you to read and/or download the documents.
Beaver Island Community School Board Meeting
May 11, 2020, at 7 pm, by Zoom
Weather by Joe
May 12, 2020
Right now at 7:30 a.m. on Carlisle Road, Beaver Island, it is 35 degrees. The pressure is 30.13 with visibility of ten miles. It's partly cloudy with a humidity of 69%. The dewpoint is at 27 degrees. There has been no rain in the last 24 hours. The wind is gusting to 2 mph from the north.
TODAY, it is expected to have abundant sunshine with 0% chance of rain today. The high temperature will be close to 45 degrees with the wind coming from the NW at 10 to 15 mph.
TONIGHT, it is forecast for clear skies with a low just below freezing with winds light and variable; calm and cool.
TOMORROW, it is forecast for a sunny day with a few clouds in the afternoon. The high will be in the low fifties with winds from the SE at 5 to 10 mph.
WORD OF THE DAY; flotsam; noun; ( FLAHT-sum ); floating debris; floating wreckage or cargo of a ship; a floating population of emigrants or castaways; debris; remains; miscellaneous or unimportant material
English speakers started using flotsam, jetsam, and lagan as legal terms in the 16th and 17th centuries (the earliest evidence of flotsam dates from around the early 1600s). The three words were used to establish claims of ownership to the three types of seaborne, vessel-originated goods they named. Flotsam was anything from a shipwreck (the word comes from Old French floter, meaning "to float"). Jetsam and lagan were items thrown overboard to lighten a ship. Lagan was distinguished from jetsam by having a buoy attached so the goods could be found if they sank. In the 19th century, when flotsam and jetsam took on extended meanings, they became synonyms, but they are still very often paired.
ON THIS DAY in 1963, Bob Dylan walks out on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
By the end of the summer of 1963, Bob Dylan would be known to millions who watched or witnessed his performances at the March on Washington, and millions more who did not know Dylan himself would know and love his music thanks to Peter, Paul and Mary’s smash-hit cover version of “Blowin’ In The Wind.” But back in May, Dylan was still just another aspiring musician with a passionate niche following but no national profile whatsoever. His second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, had not yet been released, but he had secured what would surely be his big break with an invitation to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. That appearance never happened. On May 12, 1963, the young and unknown Bob Dylan walked off the set of the country’s highest-rated variety show after network censors rejected the song he planned on performing.
The song that caused the flap was “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues,” a satirical talking-blues number skewering the ultra-conservative John Birch Society and its tendency to see covert members of an international Communist conspiracy behind every tree. Dylan had auditioned “John Birch” days earlier and had run through it for Ed Sullivan himself without any concern being raised. But during dress rehearsal on the day of the show, an executive from the CBS Standards and Practices department informed the show’s producers that they could not allow Dylan to go forward singing “John Birch.” While many of the song’s lyrics about hunting down “reds” were merely humorous—”Looked up my chimney hole/Looked down deep inside my toilet bowl/They got away!“—others that equated the John Birch Society’s views with those of Adolf Hitler raised the fear of a defamation lawsuit in the minds of CBS’s lawyers. Rather than choose a new number to perform or change his song’s lyrics—as the Rolling Stones and the Doors would famously do in the years to come—Dylan stormed off the set in angry protest.
Or so goes the legend that helped establish Dylan’s public reputation as an artist of uncompromising integrity. In reality, Bob Dylan was polite and respectful in declining to accede to the network’s wishes. “I explained the situation to Bob and asked him if he wanted to do something else,” recalls Ed Sullivan Show producer Bob Precht, “and Bob, quite appropriately, said ‘No, this is what I want to do. If I can’t play my song, I’d rather not appear on the show.'” It hardly mattered whether Dylan’s alleged tantrum was fact or reality. The story got widespread media attention in the days that followed, causing Ed Sullivan himself to denounce the network’s decision in published interviews. In the end, however, the free publicity Bob Dylan received may have done more for his career than his abortive national-television appearance scheduled for this day in 1963 ever could have.
(from history dot com and merriam webster)
From the Resale Shop
We are not yet able to announce a reopening date for the Resale Shop. We will follow all of the guidelines, order sanitation supplies, install a plexiglass shield and hope for the best. We will keep you informed. There may soon be some hours available for drop offs. Please remember that all donations must be clean and functioning.
As you pack your donation bags and boxes try to apply this rule of thumb. “If it is good enough to give to a friend or family member, it is good enough to donate. “ Thank you for your cooperation. If you have questions call me at 448-2797.
Paradise Bay Coffee Shop to Open
We plan to be open May 22-25 and May 29-June 1 from 8:30 to 2:30 with curbside service. For the summer, our current plan is to be open with curbside service starting on June 25th on Thursdays through Mondays from 8:30 to 2:30. Of course, these plans are subject to change based on government requirements as well as safety for our staff and customers.
We look forward to seeing our friends soon, even if it must be outdoors in the shade of the trees around the shop. In addition to breakfast and lunch items, creations from the coffee bar and deserts, we'll have island roasted coffee (full beans or ground) available for sale. Can't wait until then?
Get our coffee at McDonough's.
Be well and stay safe!
Dale and Terry Keyes and the staff of PBC
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 11, 2020
First of all thank you for the literally hundreds of messages, cards, calls, Facebook posts, etc. I'm so very blessed to have you all in my life.Thank you so much! Tomorrow Joe will have to do the weather as I'm off on an 8:00 flight for my annual CAT scan to see what the cancer has been up to, but won't know the results for a week or so. I'll be back in the afternoon.
Cloudy skies and the ground is covered in white! It's 31°, feels like 26°, wind is from the north at 8 mph with gusts to 17 mph, humidity is at 62%, dew point is 20°, pressure is steady at 30.10 inches, UV index is low at 0, cloud cover is 100%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today will be partly cloudy giving way to mostly sunny skies in the afternoon. High around 41°. Winds from the NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Tonight expect clear skies with a low around 32°. Winds from the west at 10 to 15 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
Today Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots. Gusts up to 20 knots. Slight chance of rain and snow showers early in the morning. Waves 2 to 4 feet subsiding to 2 to 3 feet in the afternoon.
Tonight West wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
Tuesday Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Sunny. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Tuesday Night West wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY in 1947, the B.F. Goodrich Company of Akron, Ohio, announces it has developed a tubeless tire, a technological innovation that would make automobiles safer and more efficient.
The culmination of more than three years of engineering, Goodrich’s tubeless tire effectively eliminated the inner tube, trapping the pressurized air within the tire walls themselves. By reinforcing those walls, the company claimed, they were able to combine the puncture-sealing features of inner tubes with an improved ease of riding, high resistance to bruising and superior retention of air pressure. While Goodrich awaited approval from the U.S. Patent Office, the tubeless tires underwent high-speed road testing, were put in service on a fleet of taxis and were used by Ohio state police cars and a number of privately owned passenger cars.
The testing proved successful, and in 1952, Goodrich won patents for the tire’s various features. Within three years, the tubeless tire came standard on most new automobiles. According to an article published in The New York Times in December 1954, “If the results of tests…prove valid in general use, the owner of a 1955 automobile can count on at least 25 per cent more mileage, easier tire changing if he gets caught on a lonely road with a leaky tire, and almost no blowouts.” The article quoted Howard N. Hawkes, vice president and general manager of the tire division of the United States Rubber Company, as calling the general adoption of the tubeless tire “one of the most far-reaching changes ever to take place in the tire industry.” The radial-ply tire, a tubeless model with walls made of alternating layers–also called plies–of tough rubber cord, was created by Michelin later that decade and is now considered the standard for automobiles in all developed countries. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW a toddler could fit inside a blue whale’s arteries. The sheer size of blue whales is difficult to imagine. With a heart the size of a car, blue whales need equally large arteries. They’re wide enough a child could swim through them. Lends some credence to the story of Jonah and the whale! (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY aggrandize (uh-GRAN-dyze) which means:
1 : to make great or greater : increase, enlarge
2 : to make appear great or greater : praise highly
3 : to enhance the power, wealth, position, or reputation of
Aggrandize has enhanced the English vocabulary since the early 17th century. English speakers adapted agrandiss-, the stem of the French verb agrandir, to form aggrandize, and later used the French form agrandissement as the basis of the noun aggrandizement. (The root of agrandiss- is Latin; it comes from grandis, meaning "large, great.") Nowadays, both noun and verb are regularly paired (somewhat disparagingly) with the prefix self- to refer to individuals bent on glorifying themselves, as sports writer Alan Shipnuck demonstrates in a 2015 Sports Illustrated article, writing "golf is not a sport that smiles upon the self-aggrandizing." (merriam-webster.com)
Trip Around the Island
May 9, 2020
The trip around the island was taken on May 9, 2020, in the early to mid-afternoon. The purpose of the trip was just to check up on a few things, such as sucker run, and loons and ospreys. There were none of these seen on this trip.
Fox Lake panoramic view
Iron Ore Bay panoramic view
Inland side of Iron Ore Creek panorama
Lake Michigan side of Iron Ore Creek panorama
South Head Lighthouse House
Cable's Creek from the Walking Bridge
Mother's Day Mass from Holy Cross
May 10, 2020
The service today was at its normal time, Sunday at 9:30 a.m. Our celebrant was Father Jim Siler.
Put On Pants
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 10, 2020
Happy Mother's Day! to all the mother's we know! Wishing them all a wonderful, safe, Covis-19 free day!
A day to honor mothers has existed for as long as, well, there have been mothers! Festivals honoring mothers in ancient times were often tied to gods and goddesses. The Phrygians held a festival for Cybele, the Great Mother of the Gods. The Greeks and Romans also honored the mother figure of their gods. Even today, an important festival in India, Durga-puja, honors the goddess Durga.
During the Middle Ages, people would return to their home or “mother” church once a year during the middle of Lent. (Back then, children would often leave to work at the tender age of 10!) Historians theorize that it was the return to the “mother” church that led to the tradition of children getting the day off to visit their mother and family.
In 16th-century England, this celebration became “Mothering Sunday.” Children—mainly daughters who had gone to work as domestic servants—would be given the day off on the fourth Sunday of Lent to return to their mothers and home parish. The eldest son or daughter would bring a “mothering cake,” which would be cut and shared by the entire family. Family reunions were the order of the day, with sons and daughters assuming all household duties and preparing a special dinner in honor of their mother. Sometime during the day, the mother would attend special church services with her family.
Mothering Sunday was also known as Refreshment Sunday; the fasting rules were relaxed for that day. (Often, the gospel for the day was about Jesus feeding the crowd with loaves of bread.) The traditional cake, called a Simnel cake, is a fruit cake with two layers of almond paste. The cake was made with 11 balls of marzipan icing on top, representing the 11 disciples. (Judas is not included.) Traditionally, sugar violets would also be added.
In the United States, three women were most instrumental in establishing the tradition of Mother’s Day: Ann Reeves Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe, and Ann’s daughter, Anna M. Jarvis. (almanac.com)
On to the weather.Cloudy skies this morning, 36°, wind is from the north at 4 to 5 mph, humidity is at 68%, dew point is 26°, pressure is steady at 30.00 inches, UV index is low at 1, cloud cover is 100%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today will be mostly cloudy skies with a high around 42°. Winds from the north at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight will be partly cloudy early with increasing clouds overnight. Near record low temperatures. Winds from the north at 10 to 20 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON EDT TODAY THROUGH LATE TONIGHT...
Today Northwest wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 feet or less building to 3 to 5 feet in the afternoon.
Tonight North wind 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 3 to 5 feet.
Monday Northwest wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Sunny. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Monday Night West wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.
ON THIS DAY, May 10, 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S. history. No longer would western-bound travelers need to take the long and dangerous journey by wagon train, and the West would surely lose some of its wild charm with the new connection to the civilized East.
Since at least 1832, both Eastern and frontier statesmen realized a need to connect the two coasts. It was not until 1853, though, that Congress appropriated funds to survey several routes for the transcontinental railroad. The actual building of the railroad would have to wait even longer, as North-South tensions prevented Congress from reaching an agreement on where the line would begin.
One year into the Civil War, a Republican-controlled Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act (1862), guaranteeing public land grants and loans to the two railroads it chose to build the transcontinental line, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. With these in hand, the railroads began work in 1866 from Omaha and Sacramento, forging a northern route across the country. In their eagerness for land, the two lines built right past each other, and the final meeting place had to be renegotiated.
Harsh winters, staggering summer heat, Indian raids and the lawless, rough-and-tumble conditions of newly settled western towns made conditions for the Union Pacific laborers–mainly Civil War veterans of Irish descent–miserable. The overwhelmingly immigrant Chinese work force of the Central Pacific also had its fair share of problems, including brutal 12-hour work days laying tracks over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. On more than one occasion, whole crews would be lost to avalanches, or mishaps with explosives would leave several dead.
For all the adversity they suffered, the Union Pacific and Central Pacific workers were able to finish the railroad–laying nearly 2,000 miles of track–by 1869, ahead of schedule and under budget. Journeys that had taken months by wagon train or weeks by boat now took only days. Their work had an immediate impact: The years following the construction of the railway were years of rapid growth and expansion for the United States, due in large part to the speed and ease of travel that the railroad provided. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW A Superman coin is legal tender in Canada. In 2011, the Candian Royal Mint made a series of 4.2 million silver $20 coins adorned with figures like Bugs Bunny, the starship Enterprise, and Superman. Though designed as collector’s items, these coins are legal tender, worth their $20 face value. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY indomitable (in-DAH_muh-tuh-bul) which means incapable of being subdued : unconquerable. The prefix in- means "not" in numerous English words (think of indecent, indecisive, inconvenient, and infallible). When in- teamed up with the Latin domitare ("to tame"), the result was a word meaning "unable to be tamed." Indomitable was first used in English in the 1600s as a synonym of wild, but over time the wildness associated with indomitable developed into a specific kind of strength. By the 1800s, indomitable was being used for people whose courage and persistence helped them to succeed in difficult situations. (merriam-webster.com)
Dan Johnson's Mother's Day Sermon
May 10, 2020
St. James Planning Commission Special Meeting
Municipal Marina Positions Available
May 9, 2020
Dock Assistant(s); Facilities Maintenance Assistant, Cleaning Assistant positions open for both locations, Municipal Marina North and Municipal Marina South.
Happy Birthday, Phyllis!
May 9, 2020
The creator of this news website, Phyllis Moore, has a birthday today. The purpose of creation of this news website was to be able to get information out to the public in a timely manner. Although a monthly newspaper is a blessing, when something serious happens, there may be times when this information needs to get out in a nore timely manner.
It evolved from its beginning to the ability to post important news items in pictures and text in 1999. The coverage extended under the current editor to include links to public documents, forms, and essential information to recorded events in video, and finally now to the live streaming of events on the island with links to recorded adventures and public meetings as well as church services.
Your vision, Phyllis, also evolved to the current News on the 'Net motto; "Today's News as Close to Today as Possible." Happy Birthday, Phyllis! Happy Birthday to the first editor and the creator of Beaver Island News on the 'Net!
(Editor's note: This lady is an amazing woman and my wife.)
From Michigan Township Association
May 9, 2020
Numerous executive orders have been signed and announcements have been made impacting townships, including extensions of the "stay home, stay safe" executive order as well as the order allowing public bodies to hold remote meetings, and details about the state's MI Safe Start Plan to re-engage the Michigan economy. Here's a quick review of orders impacting townships, and their deadlines:
- Executive Order 2020-77 (Rescission of EO 2020-70)-Better known as the "Stay Home, Stay Safe" order, this order is in effect until May 28. Michiganders must continue to remain in their homes except to run critical errands, engage in safe outdoor activities or go to specified jobs. The order also allows manufacturing workers to resume work on Monday, May 11.
- Executive Order 2020-75 (Rescission of EO 2020-48)-The order, which expires on June 30, extends the previous order allowing public bodies to conduct remote public meetings during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
- EO 2020-69 (Rescission of EO 2020-43)-This order, in effect until May 28, temporarily closes certain "places of public accommodation"-including libraries, recreation centers and museums, as well as theaters, bars, casinos, and more. Under the order, restaurants are limited to carry-out and delivery orders.
- EO 2020-68-This order declares a state of emergency and state of disaster across the state under the Emergency Management Act of 1976, and is effective through May 28. Please note the state of emergency declaration, effective to May 28, does NOT change the "stay home, stay safe" order, currently in effect until May 28.
- EO 2020-38-This order, in effect through June 4, relaxes requirements for responding to Freedom of Information Act requests made by mail or fax during the COVID-19 emergency. The order allows townships to defer portions of requests that would require workers to report to work in-person.
From the Health Center
BEAVER ISLAND RURAL HEALTH CENTER
COVID-19 TRACKING
These numbers are updated and posted to www.biruralhealth.org weekly, and distributed to the BIESA, BIEMS, BIFD, and the Township Supervisors. We hope this information will be helpful to you in understanding the impact of this pandemic on our Island community.
COVID-19 is currently in all US territories and states and spreading in northern Michigan. This is the time of year when many people are typically returning from winter residences. We encourage you to stay in place, if possible, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 to Beaver Island.
Last Updated:
May 09, 2020
| Total Patients Tested |
Patients Tested Positive |
Patients Tested Negative |
Patients Test Results Pending |
Patients Test Positive & Hospitalized |
Patients Deceased |
24 |
0 |
19 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 9, 2020
Yes, it's snowing out (albeit lightly) but don't get your panties in a knot. We've had snow as late as the 28th of May (6 inches) so this lightly falling stuff is no big deal. We'll appreciate warm weather all that much more. Right now I'm showing 32°, feels like 28°, wind is from the WNW at 7 mph with gusts to 10 mph, humidity is 82%, dew point is 27°, pressure is steady at 30.03 inches, UV index is low at 0, cloud cover is 100%, and visibility is 3 miles. Today expect snow showers in the morning becoming partly cloudy later and the snow ending by noon. High around 43°. Winds from the WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight: clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low around 32°. Winds from the NW at 5 to 10 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON...
Today West wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Numerous rain and snow showers early in the morning, then isolated rain and snow showers in the morning. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
Tonight Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
Sunday Northwest wind 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Partly sunny. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
Sunday Night North wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Mostly cloudy. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
ON THIS DAY in 1964, an unlikely challenger ends the Beatles' reign atop the U.S. pop charts. Following the ascension of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” to #1 in early February, the Beatles held the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for three and a half solid months—longer than any popular artist before or since. Over the course of those months, the Fab Four earned three consecutive #1 singles (a record); held all five spots in the top five in early April (a record); and had a total of 14 songs in the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-April (yet another record). But just when it seemed that no homegrown act would ever stand up to the British invaders, one of least likely American stars imaginable proved himself equal to the task. On May 9, 1964, the great Louis Armstrong, age 63, broke the Beatles’ stranglehold on the U.S. pop charts with the #1 hit “Hello Dolly.”
In a way, it was entirely appropriate that a titan such as Louis Armstrong would be the artist to end the reign of the first foreign group ever to take over the American pop scene. It can be argued, after all, that Armstrong bears more responsibility for shaping the course of 20th-century American music than Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra combined. Louis Armstrong became one of jazz music’s first individual superstars as a young trumpet player in the 1920s and 30s, but more than that, he revolutionized jazz itself by turning it into an individual improvisational art form. The recordings Armstrong made with his Hot Five and Hot Seven combos between 1925 and 1927 are widely credited with creating much of the foundation for the future of jazz and blues performance and, by extension, of rock and roll. Armstrong’s own statement that “if it hadn’t been for jazz, there wouldn’t be no rock and roll,” was effectively endorsed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted Armstrong as an “early influencer” in 1990.
Of course it wasn’t Louis Armstrong the young revolutionary, but Louis Armstrong the late-career light entertainer who knocked the Beatles from the top of the pops. By the early 1960s, Armstrong’s most important and influential work was already behind him, yet his famous charisma and ebullient personality were still enough to lift a show tune like “Hello Dolly” to the #1 spot on the pop charts—and over the Beatles–on this day in 1964. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW the word “ketchup” comes from the Chinese word “ke-chiap”, which is a spiced, pickled fish sauce. Of course, this early ketchup tasted very different than today’s version. Tomatoes weren’t added until the early 19th. (linin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY decoupage (day-koo-PAHZH) which means:
1 : the art of decorating surfaces by applying cutouts (as of paper) and then coating with usually several layers of finish (such as lacquer or varnish)
2 : work produced by such art
Decoupage originated in France in the 17th century as a means of artistically decorating pieces of furniture with pictures. It took a few centuries, but by the mid-20th century decoupage became a household name in American interior decoration. The word is fashioned from Middle French decouper, meaning "to cut out." Decouper, in turn, pastes together the prefix de- ("from" or "away") and couper ("to cut). Other descendants of couper include coppice (a growth of small trees that are periodically cut), coupé (a horse-drawn carriage for two with a driver outside and whose name is thought to be from French carrosse coupé, literally, "cut-off coach"), and the clear-cut coupon. (merriam-webster.com)
Rising Waters in Northern Michigan:
A Webinar for Shoreline Property Owners
Thursday, May 14, 2020
11:00 am - 12:30 pm EST
In May of 2019, new high water level records were set on Lakes Erie and Superior. In 2020 Lakes Michigan and Huron have exceeded monthly mean water levels. While water level fluctuations are considered vital to the health and function of the Great Lakes ecosystem, they can adversely impact those who live on or use the Great Lakes.
High waters cause erosion, flooding, and can damage structures along the shoreline. Rising waters are also causing inland flooding, resulting in failing septic systems and drainfields, contaminated drinking water wells, and releases of chemicals or fuels from flooded basements and garages into our waters.
Learn about rising water levels from experts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council, and Charlevoix, Cheboygan and Emmet County Office of Emergency Management.
Topics to be covered include the current status and predictions for Great Lakes water levels, permitting, shoreline protection best management practices, inland flooding concerns, and more.
Register today at
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K_GIzBMESoa4FmGGAdlG5A
Barney's Lake Beauty
May 7, 2020
The beauty of the area of Barney's Lake with some deer hiding and sunset beginnig.
More pictures of the mystery bird.
Public Statement About COVID-19
May 8, 2020
Stay Home, Stay Safe … a Little Longer
Florence Neuman, RIP
Florence A. Neumann, of Traverse City and Beaver Island, passed away peacefully Thursday, April 16, 2020. She was five weeks shy of her 98th birthday.
The daughter of Sidney and Alberta Light, Florence was born May 21, 1922 and grew up in Royal Oak.
From a young age she took on leadership roles in a wide range of school clubs and started an all female band in high school.
Florence was the first in her family to attend college. While attending the University of Michigan she joined the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority and in her sophomore year she was in the first class of women to enter University of Michigan's School of Business.
She married her high school sweetheart, Paul Edward Neumann on October 30, 1943, in Sikeson, Missouri.
After Paul's service in World War II ended, they moved to Grand Rapids where Florence completed her Bachelor's of Business Administration degree and balanced rearing three children with continuing community service.
Florence was active in Cub Scouts, Campfire Girls, as District Director, PTO, Altrusa and Butterworth Hospital Guild. She was a 64-plus year member of the Professional Employer Organization, chapter AT in Grand Rapids and also its oldest member.
During her career, she was Director of Volunteers at Kent Community Hospital where she was instrumental in creating volunteerism at the hospital. A service award for volunteers was created in her name when she retired after 10 years of service.
Florence was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Beaver Island and Grace Episcopal Church in Traverse City. She was the Director of Spiritual Gifts at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Cascade.
Florence loved being with her family and friends. She was an optimist and enjoyed playing bridge and golf through her 90's.
Surviving her are three children and their spouses, Paul (Nancy) Neumann, Jr., Janet (Randy) Eshenroder and Marilynn (Jim) Pecott; 10 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Her family and friends celebrate her rich, full life, lived with love and service to others. We will all miss her deeply.
A private burial will take place in Marlette with Reverend Sarah Parks officiating. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. James Episcopal Church, 26055 Pine St., Beaver Island, MI; Grace Episcopal Church, 341 Washington St., Traverse City, MI and Beaver Island Rural Health Center, 37304 Kings Hwy., Beaver Island, MI 49782.
You may share an online condolence with the family at www.marshfuneral.com
Arrangements are being handled by Marsh Funeral Chapel, 2675 Main St., Marlette, MI 48453.
Published on May 3, 2020 in TC Record Eagle
Vet's Memorial Flags
May 7, 2020
On the two loops that included Barney's Lake, Microwave tower, and Whiskey Point taken yesterday. It seemed important to let those who were staying at home and staying safe to have an opportunity to see the respect for our veteran's shown by flying the flags at the Veteran's Memorial on the harbor.
Daytime......................After dark
I See You
May 7, 2020
Lots of deer in the fields just before sunset could be seen and were not too afraid of the human that was trying to capture their picture. One stood in the shadows and was trying to play hide and seek.
You can't see me
The deer looked a little scruffy, but Jaceque LaFreniere stated that they were just losing their winter fur.
Mystery Bird at Barney's Lake
May 7, 2020
The loop taken yesterday to check on the Barney's Lake loon and the osprey near the microwave tower was done just before sundown. The sky was beautiful, and the stop at Barney's Lake revealed a bird that didn't seemed too concerned about a human being present observing said bird. The bird ID app on the cellphone identified this as a rusty blackbird, but the bird didn't appear to be black, but it did seem rusty colored, which could have been the sunlight from the setting sun. Anyway, this bird will be shared, and, if anyone can identify it, the editor would gladly post that identity.
Moonrise of the Flower Moon
May 7, 2020
The moon was scheduled to rise a little before 9:30 p.m. on May 7, 2020, and the sunset was not too much earlier, so it only made sense to head down Lake Drive to get to a position to observe the moonrise at about 118 degrees on the compass. The moon rise was captured in pictures on two cameras as well as video camera. At the end of Lake Drive, another excellent photographer was there, and it was nice to chat with her there as we both took pictures. Then the editor drove to the public beach to get just a few pictures and a quick video clip as well.
This Flower Moon was just gorgeous as it rose and continued across the sky. You will be able to see all three captures of this moonrise and its beauty below.
This was the main camera views of the moonrise.
This was the zoom camera view of the moonrise.
The moon was just less than completely full at 99.4%, but it was still a beautiful sight to see.
Sunset 5/7/2020
The sun prior to the setting was making the sky red. It seemed like a good excuse to head out and get some pictures and some video. There were a few out at Donegal Bay to get this view as well, and surely at other locations.
Even with the clouds blocking the final minutes, the sunset was still very nice.
Birds and a Beaver
May 7, 2020
The editor took two trips around the Barney's Lake-Microwave Tower-Whiskey Point yesterday. These are from the whole week.
From the Transfer Station
May 8, 2020
Household Hazardous Materials Collection Dates
The Beaver Island Transfer Station is having a household hazardous materials collection on May 29+30. The materials that are accumulating under your bathroom and kitchen sink are usually the type of items to be collected on these HAZMAT days. Latex paint can also be turned in, but it will cost a dollar per can to dispose of these cans. If you have any questions, please call the transfer station at 448-2228.
From the Health Center
May 8, 2020
BEAVER ISLAND RURAL HEALTH CENTER
The BIRHC has a part-time seasonal/summer position available for a qualified Radiologic Technologist. For more information on this position go to https://www.biruralhealth.org/career-opportunities/
The BIRHC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 8, 2020
Mostly cloudy skies, 31°, feels like 21° wind is from the north at 10 mph with gusts to 18 mph, humidity is 56%, dew point is 17°, pressure is steady at 30.01 inches, UV index is low at 1, cloud cover is 76%, and visibility is 10 miles. Today there is a 30% chance of snow showers this morning. Temperature will remain nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds from the NNW at 15 to 25 mph gusts could occasionally go over 40 mph. Tonight will be partly cloudy. Low around 30°. Winds from the NW at 15 to 25 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...
Today Northwest wind 15 to 25 knots with gusts to around 30 knots. Scattered snow showers early in the morning, then isolated rain and snow showers. Waves 2 to 4 feet building to 4 to 6 feet in the afternoon.
Tonight Northwest wind 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around 30 knots. Isolated rain and snow showers. Waves 3 to 5 feet.
Saturday West wind 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Chance of rain and snow showers. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
Saturday Night Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 2 to 3 feet.
ON THIS DAY, May 8, 1792, Congress passes the second portion of the Militia Act, requiring that every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years be enrolled in the militia.
Six days before, Congress had established the president’s right to call out the militia. The outbreak of Shay’s Rebellion, a protest against taxation and debt prosecution in western Massachusetts in 1786-87, had first convinced many Americans that the federal government should be given the power to put down rebellions within the states. The inability of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation to respond to the crisis was a major motivation for the peaceful overthrow of the government and the drafting of a new federal Constitution.
The Militia Act was tested shortly after its passage, when farmers in western Pennsylvania, angered by a federal excise tax on whiskey, attacked the home of a tax collector and then, with their ranks swollen to 6,000 camped outside Pittsburgh, threatened to march on the town. In response, President Washington, under the auspices of the Militia Act, assembled 15,000 men from the surrounding states and eastern Pennsylvania as a federal militia commanded by Virginia’s Henry Lee to march upon the Pittsburgh encampment. Upon its arrival, the federal militia found none of the rebels willing to fight. The mere threat of federal force had quelled the rebellion and established the supremacy of the federal government. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW there's a tarantula named after Johnny Cash? I suppose you could call it “the spider in black,” though its official name is Aphonopelma johnnycashi. The species was discovered near California’s Folsom Prison in 2015, which is the reason for the name—and, if you’re curious, they’re harmless to humans. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY verboten (ver-BOH-tun) which means forbidden; especially: prohibited by dictate. Despite its spelling, the adjective verboten has nothing to do with verb, or any of the other words in English related to Latin verbum. Rather, verboten comes from German, and originally from Old High German farboten, the past participle of the verb farbioten, meaning "to forbid." (Forbid itself derives from Old English forbēodan, a relative of farbioten.) Verboten is used to describe things that are forbidden according to a law or a highly regarded authority. There also exists the rarely used noun verboten, meaning "something forbidden by authority," as in "well-established verbotens." (merriam-webster.com)
From Daddy Franks
Opening May 8, 2020
Daddy Franks info :
You will be able to pick up orders at the walk up window on the north side of the building. Phone orders - 231-448-2570
Hours
Breakfast 7:30 am- 10 am
Lunch 11:30 am - 2 pm
Dinner 4:30 pm - 7 pm
Online ordering link:
Meet the New BIC Center CEO
May 7, 2020
I’m writing to introduce myself as PABI’s new CEO for the Community Center and WVBI. I would have written sooner but have experienced frequent change-of-plans in these challenging times. I can’t imagine what an orderly professional transition might have been, though I’ve been treated kindly and warmly by the few people I’ve been able to meet thus far. As some of you may know, I accepted this position in early February and moved to the Island in March, only to have my new-found place-of-work shut-down the first day I started. We’ve kept WVBI on-line for good community communications, however, though we closed the Center in March in concert with the Governor’s executive order.
While I’m sorting through many of PABI’s past donor records and financial information at this time, I decided to write to you to let you know a little about me, my family, and what I tentatively expect for the foreseeable future. Your ongoing support for PABI’s Community Center and WVBI tells me you would likely want to know more about what is happening here with our current plans and operations. Thus, I begin on a personal note, so you can know a little more about who is writing to you, before turning to the Community Center and WVBI.
My name is Marcy Dean, and I am a mid-career professional. I have two children, a 15-year-old son named Aidan and an 11-year old daughter, Livi. My husband, Kevin, is an athletic director at Edwardsburg Public Schools. We love sports, the out-of-doors and all kinds of animals. Aidan and Livi plan to attend the Beaver Island school here in the fall.
My most recent professional experience included 13 years with the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, Indiana, serving the last 5 of those years as the Executive Director. My leadership included oversight of all aspects of Zoo operations including business, finance, animal management, guest services, education, daily operations, conservation, and development. With the Board of Directors, I was responsible for helping develop and execute their strategic vision, mission, financial and operational goals, and capital improvements. It was demanding and interesting work, though my family and I longed for a somewhat slower pace, and a return to Michigan with a place on the water. So here I am now, surrounded by water, and gradually getting acquainted with Beaver Island’s residents, community organizations and traditions, as well as PABI and its Community Center and radio station.
As you likely know, PABI’s long-standing, volunteer bookkeeper, accountant, and Treasurer (Jack Gallagher) became increasingly ill this past year and died in January. PABI then changed its bylaws, moving from a voluntary CEO position (formerly held by the President of the Board) to that of a full-time paid CEO. This position now incorporates PABI’s former manager position, while extending the needed financial and management responsibilities. So, I have spent my first weeks of work with PABI getting caught-up on the year-end 2019 financials. and planning for the remaining uncertain months of 2020.
While reviewing this past year, by the way, I discovered that a number of our GALA donors from last summer didn’t receive their thank-you and acknowledgement letters to assist with their tax preparation. So I encourage any of you for whom this is the case to please contact me at
marcy.dean@biccenter.org or call me at 231-448-2022 if you need it. I will mail or email you a copy of your letter immediately, with our regrets for the apparent oversight, assuring you we greatly appreciate your support.
Given the current situation with Covid-19 several events on the Island have been cancelled or changed to adapt to the current situation. This includes our Summer Solstice Dinner and the Dave Bennett Concert typically held in June as well as the GALA dinner scheduled for July. We are planning these events for later in the summer/fall if we can, with a wait and see approach for all remaining events. Central Michigan University also cancelled their July theater performances and rescheduled them for 2021, and Baroque on the Beaver is conducting their events virtually. We hope to open the Center as soon as the Governor’s executive orders allow, and we hope to again offer yoga, computer use, visitor information, movies, a place to meet-up with friends or hang-out while waiting for the ferry. We will, of course, follow all recommended health and safety guidelines, for all staff and visitors.
We rely on our fundraising activities to keep the doors open, and in these uncertain times, we feel our operations are more critical than ever to the residents and guests of Beaver Island. Therefore, the board has decided to conduct this year's auctions online on our newly developed auction website. After June 15th the auction will be open at
gala2020.biccenter.org. We hope this will be a fun, exciting alternative to our live and silent auction!
I look forward to meeting all of you sometime this spring, summer, or fall, certainly before the end of this challenging year, and know how much I appreciate the opportunity to serve you and this beautiful and interesting Island community.
Sincerely,
The Preservation Association of Beaver Island
Preservation Association of Beaver Island • P.O Box 494 • Beaver Island, MI 49782 • +1 231-448-2022
BITA Meeting Canceled for May
Phyllis' Daily Weather
May 7, 2020
I'm showing 40° this morning, partly cloudy skies, wind from the north at 4 mph with gusts to 6 mph, humidity is at 57%, dew point is 26°, pressure is steady at 29.91 inches, UV index is low at 0, and visibility is 10 miles. Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 44°. Winds from the NW at 10 to 20 mph. Tonight will be mainly clear with a low around 28°. Winds from the NNW at 10 to 20 mph.
MARINE FORECAST
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM EDT THIS MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING...
Today Northwest wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Mostly cloudy in the morning then clearing. Waves 2 to 3 feet building to 2 to 4 feet in the afternoon.
Tonight Northwest wind 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Slight chance of snow showers. Waves 2 to 4 feet.
Friday North wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Mostly sunny. Waves 3 to 5 feet.
Friday Night Northwest wind 15 to 20 knots. Partly cloudy. Waves 3 to 5 feet.
ON THIS DAY in 1763, Pontiac’s Rebellion begins when a confederacy of Native American warriors under Ottawa chief Pontiac attacks the British force at Detroit. After failing to take the fort in their initial assault, Pontiac’s forces, made up of Ottawas and reinforced by Wyandots, Ojibwas and Potawatamis, initiated a siege that would stretch into months.
As the French and Indian Wars came to an end in the early 1760s, Native Americans living in former French territory found the new British authorities to be far less conciliatory than their predecessors. In 1762, Pontiac enlisted support from practically every Indian tribe from Lake Superior to the lower Mississippi for a joint campaign to expel the British from the formerly French lands. According to Pontiac’s plan, each tribe would seize the nearest fort and then join forces to wipe out the undefended settlements.
In April, Pontiac convened a war council on the banks of the Ecorse River near Detroit. It was decided that Pontiac and his warriors would gain access to the British fort at Detroit under the pretense of negotiating a peace treaty, giving them an opportunity to seize forcibly the arsenal there. However, British Major Henry Gladwin learned of the plot, and the British were ready when Pontiac arrived in early May, and Pontiac was forced to begin a siege. At the same time, his allies in Pennsylvania began a siege of Fort Pitt, while other sympathetic tribes, such as the Delaware, the Shawnees, and the Seneca, prepared to move against various British forts and outposts in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.
On July 31, a British relief expedition attacked Pontiac’s camp but suffered heavy losses and were repelled in the Battle of Bloody Run. Nevertheless, they had succeeded in providing the fort at Detroit with reinforcements and supplies, which allowed it to hold out against the Indians into the fall. The major forts at Pitt and Niagara likewise held on, but the united tribes captured eight other fortified posts. At these forts, the garrisons were wiped out, relief expeditions were repulsed, and nearby frontier settlements were destroyed.
In the spring of 1764, two British armies were sent out, one into Pennsylvania and Ohio under Colonel Bouquet, and the other to the Great Lakes under Colonel John Bradstreet. Bouquet’s campaign met with success, and the Delawares and the Shawnees were forced to sue for peace, breaking Pontiac’s alliance. Failing to persuade tribes in the West to join his rebellion, and lacking the hoped-for support from the French, Pontiac finally signed a treaty with the British in 1766. In 1769, he was murdered by a Peoria Indian while visiting Illinois. His death led to bitter warfare among the tribes, and the Peorias were nearly wiped out. (history.com)
DID YOU KNOW The world’s oldest operational hotel was built in 705AD. Nisiyama Onsen Keiunkan is a hot spring hotel located in Yamanashi Prefecture in Japan. It has been continuously operated by the same family since the 8th century, spanning 52 generations. (livin3.com)
WORD OF THE DAY truckle (TRUK-ul) which means to act in a subservient manner: submit. When truckle was first used in English in the 15th century, it meant "small wheel" or "pulley." Such small wheels were often attached to the underside of low beds to allow them to be easily moved under high beds for storage. These beds came to be known as truckle beds (or trundle beds), and a verb truckle—meaning "to sleep in a truckle bed"—came into being. By the 17th century, the fact that truckle beds were pushed under larger standard beds had inspired a figurative sense of truckle: "to yield to the wishes of another" or "to bend obsequiously." The initial verb sense became obsolete; the newer sense is fairly rare but is still in use. (merriam-webster.com)
St. James Township Meeting Documents
for May 6, 2020
The St. James Township Board had their regular meeting on May 6, 2020, but not really in a regular way. The meeting was done by teleconference. These are the documents that were discussed and actions taken during this meeting.
Additional Documents for this meeting below:
From the BEAVER ISLAND RURAL HEALTH CENTER
With more than 70 executive orders issued since March, there can be some confusion about which order means what—both for township officials and their residents. Here’s a quick review of orders impacting townships, and their deadlines:
After receiving inquiries about their validity, Attorney General Dana Nessel issued guidance to all local law enforcement agencies today that EOs 2020-70 and 2020-69 are valid under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act and asking agencies to continue their enforcement efforts.
The daily trip around by Barney's Lake and the loop to the microwave tower today required a couple of stops to talk to people from a proper social distance. It was refreshing to see and talk to people in person. Then the cell phone rang, and the editor spoke with another newspaper person on the phone. Signal was lost as the car approached Barney's Lake, so a pull over by the lake made the conversation continue with a call back.
While the call was taking place, there were two events recorded by pictures that show the natural beauty of Beaver Island. Here they are:
While the call continued, the editor was amazed at the new small trees chewed off by the beavers, but no beavers were seen. As the call came to a close, an eagle flew over and these pictures were taken.
Given the current situation with so many unknowns, the planning committee for VBS 2020 has reluctantly, but we feel prudently, decided that VBS will be cancelled for this year (sad face here!). See you in 2021!
Things have been busy on the http://beaverisland.tv website over the last month compared to last year, but that's not so unique because of the new viewers added due to the coronavirus closing of church attendance. The Mass from Holy Cross and the Christian Church services for the entire month of April were made available to anyone, anywhere in the world that had an Internet connection. Also, considering the loss of two computers in the last month for this same website seems quite unusual, at least more unusual than the viewer increase. It is amazing that the computers that are working 24/7 doing video work continue to work when that is not the purpose for the computers being used.
So, just how many viewers viewed the website during the month of April? There is just no obvious way to know the exact number of viewers, but there is a way to track the unique IP addresses that access the video.
The total IP addresses accessing the video for the rebroadcast and the current videos on News on the 'Net and the News on the 'Net Archives was an astounding 1000. This included a total of 2240 views and a bandwidth of 82.9 GB. This is an definite increase since there are two video servers functioning to provide videos instead of one. The break down of these numbers are: Rebroadcast videos and Christian Church sermons 603 unique IPs, 1140 views, and 36.4 GB of bandwidth; current videos included 293 unique IPs, 560 views, and 40.7 GB; and lastly, the archived video was viewed by 113 unique IPs, 540 views, and 5.8 GB of bandwidth.
The live streamed video is now on a second server. The views of the live streamed video was an additional 994 views by 387 unique viewers, and 190 hours of video watched.
Interestingly enough, the Beaver Island TV website page had 804 visitors that were unique during the month. There are other pages that video are on, which explains this being lower than the 1000. There were 1445 visit in April. There were 2826 hits on that one webpage.
The Mass was celebrated today, May 3, 2020, by Father Jim Siler. There was an announcement at this service that the bishop has formed a task force to try to figure out how to be able to once again have a public-attended church service in the Gaylord Diocese. Many look forward to the result of this task force. In the meantime, as well as before and after, the Mass from Holy Cross is lived streamed on http://beaverisland.tv as well as recorded and the link to view it posted in a public place.
First of all I have to thank those that put together the trail map. The editor could not find another map of reasonable size and also in digital format to be able to convert it to a picture to show the wade and walk pathway taken on May Day by this editor.
The wade along the north shore of Beaver Island was simply an easy and short walk and wade of two miles compared to this wade and walk along the East Side shoreline. On the north shore the wade was mostly sand and easy walking and wading. On the East Side it was mostly walking on gravel and slippery rocks. The distance was just about the same, but the physical effort was at least a factor of four more than the north shore wade. Wading and walking on the north shore did not cause much in the way of worry about slipping and falling into the cold water, while the East Side wade and walk, the worry was present the entire walk and wade.
This wade ended on the East Side next to some huge bolders and small rocks with piles of pea gravel all leading to the slip and fall into the cold water by this editor. Was it worth it? There is no doubt that the whole trip was worthwhile, but the end was caused by exhaustion and cold water inside the waders and covering the entire top of the editor's clothes. It's too early to tell whether there was any damage to the equipment, but, after it is dried out, the hope is that the equipment will still work.
The walk and wade began near the Jacobson's home on the East Side Road. The waterfalls and the run-off was quite beautiful and the sounds of this are very pleasant.
Looking south on the beach near the Jacobson's cottage.
Never seen the Emerald Isle from here......An old cart buried in sand..
Dr. Brad Grassmick
The editor took a break, made a phone call with cell service on the shoreline, and approached the Grassmick residence. A nice conversation followed about the plans for a steel breakwall and the storms of the last couple of days. Brad provided the editor with a bottle of water, some good conversations, and then off the wade continued.
One less than completely effective attempt to protect against erosion.
How did you spend the afternoon on May Day? The editor spent four plus hours walking and wading the East Side shoreline. The following pictures shows the erosion of a tree on a sand dune. the tree is sliding down the dune.
Sliding tree...
In case you don't get to see the video of this adventure, it is important to let you know the cause of the end. While wading around the big rocks shown in the picture above, there was a large amount of pea gravel that accumulated. While pea gravel is not too difficult to walk on when it is found on the shore, in the water the pea gravel functions like ice being used underneath ice skates by a less than competent skater.
The pea gravel caused a fall into the water by the editor and all equipment. The water in Lake Michigan is COLD right now. Hands and arms became hypothermic within a few minutes, and it took an hour to get warm enough to even feel how wet the clothes were. This was a good adventure up to the very end with a dip into the water.
It was a beautiful sunny afternoon on a Saturday when the call came in.
"Toddler " lethargic and starting to turn blue. Dispatch had the family on the phone and was starting to instruct them on CPR.
We hit the road. Were about 4 or 5 minutes out. As we approach the scene, I see mom coming out the front door clutching the child to her chest.
I run to the porch and take the child from her. All the while shooting questions at her.
Mom states he may have swallowed a "Methadone" pill about an half hour ago. He's been lethargic for about five minutes or so.
I make it back to the rig carrying the child as my partner opens the rear doors. The boy is unconscious and cynotic. I thought I felt a pulse while moving to the rig. I tell my partner to grab an pediatric ambu bag for me. I lay the child supine on the stretcher. I bare his chest with my left hand as I support his neck and head with my right trying to keep and maintain an open airway. I have a pulse, weak but there. I have respirations suppressed, shallow but there.
My partner hands me the ambu bag as he connects it to the oxygen. I tell him to get the cardiac peds pads on the child's chest. While he gets the pads on the child I reposition myself and start rescue breathing for the boy. I have good compliance with chest rise. I'll worry about an advanced airway after I get some oxygen into this tyke. It all starts with basic life support skills.
I tell my partner to grab the pediatric bag, open it and lay it out on the bench seat, then let's "beat feet".
On the way to the hospital we pick up another medic who was en route to the call just in case we needed backup. We have sinus tachycardia on the monitor. The child's oxygen (spo2)level is rising. I had placed an nasal airway in the child's nose. I believe the other medic dropped a line ( started an IV) en route to the hospital.
I gave the E.R. a quick heads up, as we were only about 4 or 5 mintues out. The child was pinking up. The dreaded blue gray color leaving his skin tone as we worked him.
He was starting to whimper as I handed off to the E.R. staff. I gave the staff an oral report and was retreating out of the trauma room as the child started screaming at the top of his lungs.
I grabbed my phone and called dispatch. I wanted the dispatcher to know all was well and the child pulled through because its starts with them.
She was relieved, then started crying tears of joy, as she had a grandchild of the same age.
Me, well I'm sure my eyes moistened at that moment and I knew I had to get off the phone or I would be sobbing along with her. I exited the E.R. with and smile on my face and said a silent prayer of thanks.
Congratulations to our Career Tech Ed students who are being recognized as the top students in their business and health classes at BICS.
Elijah, Jessica, McKenna and Sharon will be receiving awards from CharEm and BICS. Congratulations on your hard work, students! We are Proud of You!
The newsletter was received by email and downloaded by the editor. This will be made into a PDF, so that it can be downloaded by anyone. The link for that is below.
The ad hoc Michigan High Water Action Team has scheduled a second High Water Summit webinar town hall for April 28 that will focus on Great Lakes shoreline erosion and permitting. Registration is open and limited to 1,000 attendees. For more information and to register for the webinar go to: http://beaverislandassociaton.org
The April 27th bird sightings can be found at:
http://facebook.com/BeaverIslandBirdingTrail
Please observe campfires only in designated areas. Last year, a fire site was placed under the Peaine Township sign at Cables Bay. The Peaine sign stated No Campfires, No Glass Containers, ... Now another new campfire site was built within two feet of the sign within the last two weeks. When old campfires are not cleaned-up, it does not mean that more campfires at the site are appropriate. If you want to make a statement, do so at a scheduled Peaine Township meeting.
A campfire was left at the foot of the Little Sand Bay path near Lake Michigan in the past two weeks. No campfires are allowed on Little Traverse Nature Preserves. If the person who placed it there would please clean it up, it would help stop others from thinking a fire on the beach at Little Sand Bay is acceptable.
When one person carves into a tree, it does not give anyone else the right carve additional initials and kill that tree. Please refrain from carving on the island's trees and introducing disease.
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our island's natural areas beautiful.
The Jack Cull Memorial Concerts were held at Holy Cross Parish Hall on Memorial Day for many years. The primary organizer was Barry Pischner. This video was recorded by Rich Gillespie, and BINN thanks him for allowing us to digitize and provide this video to the public. The VJ Day video below is also due to him.
The performers, to mention just a few, included Rich Scripps, Barry Pischner, Danny Gillespie, Cindy Gillespie, LD Ryan, and Jerry Sowa.
On August 14, 1945, it was announced that Japan had surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as “Victory over Japan Day,” or simply “V-J Day.”
In 1995, on the steps of the Beaver Island Historical Society's Print Shop Museum, the island celebrated this particular holiday.
The BITA Board met using the COVID-19 special meeting rules using a teleconference. The meeting took place at noon on April 14, 2020.
The ad hoc Michigan High Water Action Team has scheduled a second High Water Summit webinar town hall for April 28 that will focus on Great Lakes shoreline erosion and permitting. Registration is open and limited to 1,000 attendees.
The webinar is open to the public, community officials, private property owners and businesses affected by Great Lakes shoreline erosion.
Presentations will be made by staff of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE); Dr. Guy Meadows of Michigan Technological University; Charlie Simon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District Regulatory Office; Dan Dietz of Dietz House Moving of Muskegon; and Brian Majka of GEI Consultants in Grand Rapids. Topics will include permitting processes and alternatives for homes or critical structures that are in jeopardy.
The webinar is from 5-6:30 p.m. April 28 and will include ample opportunity after the presentations for questions and comments from the public. Register here.
The first High Water Summit webinar, which was March 26, had more than 750 attendees and covered a broad spectrum of high water impacts around the state. A recording of the webinar can be found at Michigan.gov/EGLEHighWater. Over the past six months, EGLE has participated in more than 30 community meetings around the state to discuss high water issues.
The Michigan High Water Action Team was formed during the Michigan High Water Coordinating Summit in February, which brought together state, federal and local officials, as well as representatives from tribal governments and groups that represent local units of government. A series of town halls is planned to inform Michigan residents of issues related to high water levels around the state with dates and topics to be announced as they are scheduled.
Along with organizing town halls, the multi-agency ad hoc Michigan High Water Action Team will also collaborate to:
Michigan’s water levels are at their highest in more than two decades. From Detroit’s Belle Isle to the U.P.’s Keweenaw Peninsula, these exceptionally high water levels have caused millions of dollars in damage to private property and public infrastructure, including roads and state parks, impacted community water systems and caused public health concerns.
For more information on high water levels and resources such as fact sheets, FAQs, a link to the MiWaters permit portal, safety information and resources for permit holders, go to Michigan.gov/EGLEHighWater.
In accordance with the Governor's orders, the April 25, 2020 regularly scheduled meeting of the Beaver Island Rural Health Center Board of Directors has been rescheduled to May 30, 2020 at 9:30am.
Meetings take place at the Health Center located at 37304 Kings Highway and the public is welcome to attend. Call 231-448-2275 for further info.
Stay safe and healthy!
The eagle was first seen by Andrew Alvesteffer, and then others, and this eagle was captured and sent off to the Wings of Wonder. After treatment and recuperation, the eagle was doing so well that the eagle was returned to Beaver Island and released at Welke Airport. Thank you to Wings of Wonder and Ken Scott Photography for the video and picutres.
BINN presents two versions of the video; the original and the second one modified to adding Beaver Island Goodtime Boys music to it. The two songs added are Green, Green Grass of Home, and Release Me.
The fun part of getting older is not remembering which stories you’ve told, and which you haven’t. For the reader this can range from curious disinterest to fascination. For the storyteller, it’s brand new each time! And away we go!
It was a time when the school playground (it was on the Palmer side of the school then) was the most important place in the world. There was a slide that had a fireman’s pole to slide down. There was a set of monkey bars on one end of a rectangular monster of a jungle gym. There were swings of course. For a good while there was a teeter totter- a device that you’d sit on while a bigger kid sat on the other side. Then, the bigger kid would tell you to close your eyes and he’d run away, leaving you to fall suddenly onto broken ankles. And, there was a weird thing called a “bugaboo.”
The bugaboo, or whatever, was a huge spring in a center that was welded to four poles. Upon these four poles were four seats with handles. You sat and went up, down, left, right, in, out- in all sorts of vomit-inducing movements.
Getting off the thing was more dangerous. You’d get hit by the seat over and over again until the spring settled. There’s still kids that repeat words as a result.
Now, before I get into the story, a couple of quick notes.
Our teacher was Sr. Marie Eugene. She studied education as an understudy to drill sergeants. She quit because the drill sergeants were too subtle in their redirection. She taught K-3 in one room. She had a tattoo of Machiavelli’s “The Prince” on her right bicep that would wink at you when she prayed the rosary. (Ok, maybe a little exaggeration there, prison tattoos are sometimes hard to interpret). I’m sure she was a sweet lady. To us, though, she was the LAW. That woman could stop a riot with an eyebrow. God rest her soul.
Erick Kenwabikise was the greatest daredevil, and a celebrity of sorts to us. I remember the day he went down the fireman’s pole upside down! Scared Sr. half to death. We were amazed. The fireman’s pole went from boring to the coolest thing you could do- if you went upside down. So many double dog dares. So many warnings not to attempt.
Erick could jump from one end of the jungle gym to the monkey bars, swing himself upside down and then upright standing on top.
It was an impressive demonstration of courage and agility.
Until one day when he hit his forehead on the monkey bars. That was super scary.
Erick, if you’re reading this, I wonder if you remember that? You were actually showing the teacher what you could do after we all begged you to. I think something distracted you. You were in the air, you hit your head, and landed flat on your back. We grabbed the nun and told her to fix you. Spooky. Hope you don’t do that anymore. As we age, we need to lessen our demonstrations on jungle gyms for nuns. I only do that once or twice per month anymore. You were a beast on the jungle gym though- hope you’re half as nimble as you were!
Anyhow, our story begins with the first snowstorm of the year. It was a heavy wet snow, perfect for snowballs...
Snowballs, and corporal punishment.
One of the amazing things about Beaver Island is the love and caring people that live here. Corey Adkins captured this video about the musicians joining together to visit those older Islanders that would not be attending any of the activities downtown. This video is on youtube, but Corey Adkins gave permission to BINN to share the video on this website and on Beaver Island TV. \
Today, being a special day for the Emerald Isle, and with all activities canceled in Ireland, it seemed appropriate to share this with all the subscribers to see an example of the love and caring people that do this wonderful work on Beaver Island. Thank you to all the musicians, and thank you to Corey Adkins for allowing us to share this video.
