Check out the Webmaster's Log and the 2nd islander's log,  Lisa's Middle Bass Blog.

New East Point Historical Poster - We added a historical poster to the web store a few days ago. Click here for a more detailed image (540kb), 25% of actual size. The actual poster is much sharper than the low-res web image. This is the 4th poster created this year by special request for someone who wanted something off the web site. The poster contains some letters and images not elsewhere on the web site. - December 31, 2005

New Middle Bass Island Map - We built this using some new Google map capabilities. It's still experimental, but shows how future maps will work. Click on the J.F. Walleyes marker to see how most map markers will look in the future. - December 14, 2005

North Bass Wedding in 1919 - Pictures of the North Bass Island wedding of Chester Allen and Helen Cullen on September 6, 1919. The wedding party leaving the island. - December 12, 2005

Tribe's land claim centers on treaties from early 1800s - "Arcane language in two treaties between a young United States of America and Native American tribes is being used by the Ottawa Tribe to lay claim to North Bass Island in Lake Erie" The new claim asserts that the border went between North and Middle Bass islands. Toledo Blade - November 27, 2005
 

Bills lower the island speed limit to 35 mph - Separate bills lowering the speed limit to 35 mph on roads in unincorporated parts of South Bass, Middle Bass, and North Bass islands passed each other yesterday in the Statehouse rotunda after receiving unanimous votes in the Ohio House and Senate. November 17, 2005

Middle Bass Picture Gallery 1950-73 - over twenty new pictures added to the gallery that we created last month. November 11, 2005

Environmentalists object to state plan for Middle Bass Island park, marina - Two environmental groups oppose the state's proposed state park and 360-slip marina, arguing that the project will destroy high-quality wetlands and disrupt the threatened Lake Erie water snake. Cleveland Plain Dealer - October 19, 2005

MBI Yacht Club Marina gets "Clean Marina" Designation" - Ohio's first ''Clean Marinas'' will be honored in a dedication ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday Oct. 19 at Spitzer Lakeside Marina in Lorain County- October 18, 2005

Marina expansion debated at hearing - "Boaters, environmentalists, and residents of Middle Bass Island debated yesterday during a hearing on water quality impacts conducted by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency whether the state should expand a public marina on the island." Also see the earlier hearing announcement: Island marina expansion subject of public hearing on Tuesday October 11 - October 12, 2005
 

Island Superlatives - Even those of you that think you are experts about islands will learn something from this site. - October 7, 2005

Middle Bass Picture Gallery 1950-73 - 73 pictures just scanned and posted. October 5, 2005

Bill aims to slow down island traffic - Toledo Blade, September 24, 2005
 

Young Peacocks on Middle Bass - Labor Day - September 5, 2005

Islanders Give to Katrina Victims -

The Church of Middle Bass and the Middle Bass Island Yacht Club received over $6000 this Labor Day weekend from the people of Middle Bass and boaters for the Katrina disaster relief.  The Church of Middle Bass is receiving all the combined funds, and sending all the funds to help the people in the disaster area.  As additional new monies come to the church all money marked for Katrina relief will be sent each week as well.  If requested with the donation, The Church of Middle Bass will send a receipt to be used for tax purposes. Donations can be sent to The Church of Middle Bass, PO Box 2, Middle Bass, OH 43446.- September 5, 2005 

Boats You'll Never See on Lake Erie - For a slide show (PPS, 2MB) of boats from the best carpenter in Venice, click here. It requires Microsoft's free Powerpoint viewer. - August 25, 2005

Rattlesnake Island Local Post to Start Again

Legislators Tour Middle Bass and North Bass - At least 46 state legislators attended a two-day junket this month at Put-in-Bay. Every other year, the Lake Erie community invites lawmakers and spouses. Department of Natural Resources officials provided a tour of Middle Bass and North Bass islands. August 21, 2005

Middle Bass Islanders Met with ODNR on Aug. 12 - Island representatives from Burgundy Bay, the MB Yacht Club, and the rest of the island attended a meeting at PIB with ODNR's Dan West and several other ODNR officials to review the state park plans. Also see today's article "Tours taken of state-funded projects" in The People's Defender. - August 17, 2005

Mixed creel is the way to go in the heart of summer - Local fishing report: "Yellow perch action has been good along the Toledo Ship Channel ... the wildlife division also recommends northwest of Kelleys Island, between Ballast and Middle Bass islands..." Toledo Blade - August 12, 2005

Middle Bass marina is worth a second look - "A parking lot large enough to accommodate both cars and boat trailers is located near the marina and wheelbarrows are now available to transport boat gear and other supplies. Another welcome addition is a couple of bicycle racks with bikes that are available for rent." Toledo Blade - August 11, 2005

East Point Villas Open House - at the new condos this weekend Aug. 13-14. - August 9, 2005

Middle Bass and Put-in-Bay Images, 1952-60 - August 8, 2005

Fine Arts Festival 2005 - Pictures from July 9-17, 2005 - posted August 5, 2005

Cinnamon Wolf's Graduation Party on June 12 - August 3, 2005

Nature Photos - July/August 2005 - August 2, 2005

Mac Richardson's Funeral on July 18 - August 2, 2005

Marina work may leave islanders high and dry - Toledo Blade follow-up to our editorial of July 18. According to the new article, "The plans do call for some seasonal docks...The number has not actually been nailed down yet, but we expect to work with those property owners to reach a resolution that will be satisfactory to them and to us." The article also quotes ODNR as stating that the entire state park marina, including Roesch's marina and MBIYC, will be "closed from fall, 2007, to spring, 2009"- August 1, 2005

When Did Put-in-Bay Harbor Move From Middle Bass to South Bass? No, this is not a joke. We just figured out that Burgundy Bay was the original Put-in-Bay. Click on the link to read the article before it appears in the Put-in-Bay Gazette. Article was first posted on July 29 and updated on August 5 and again on August 7. - July 29, 2005

State has big ideas for Middle Bass Island - More PR for the state park while ignoring its effect on islanders, in the Toledo Blade. They apparently didn't see fit to mention the issues in our editorial of July 18. July 25, 2005

Awash in Challenges: Building on an island a 'different type of world' - Toledo Blade and State has big ideas for Middle Bass Island article about construction of Eastpoint Villas on Middle Bass. July 24, 2005

Artists on the Porch Weekend July 30-31 - The 2nd annual artist's weekend at My Aunt Irma's is coming up. I'll be there selling island books again. And just as last year, I'll be giving out a 1930s era authentic Lonz postcard with each book. Other artists will be offering photos, paintings, jewelry and many other great items. - July 20, 2005

State Park Plans Threaten Island Way of Life, Defy Common Sense - On July 7, the Cleveland Plain Dealer contained an article with the title “Middle Bass Island state park already popular”. Unfortunately, the article did not state that it is only popular with visitors. Islanders are unhappy and and more than a little upset with ODNR’s plans for the state park. On July 5, the same day that Dan West, Chief, State Parks, ODNR met with reporters on Middle Bass to say what a great place it is and how islanders have no objections to the park plans, he had earlier met with a few islanders who expressed their concern and dismay. Read the full article. July 18, 2005

Hope's Cove - Put-in-Bay harbor used to be called Hope’s Cove in the later part of the 18th century. While researching some historical papers of John Simcoe, the first lieutenant governor of Canada, Mike Gora of Middle Bass Island (your webmaster and editor of several local history books) made this surprising find. It is documented by a map and several text references. After first finding this reference in Simcoe’s papers, Mike was able to find it in other papers also, covering the period from 1784-1796. On the same map, today’s Gibraltar Island was named George’s Island, and was referred to in the text as St. George’s Island. Hope's Cove was likely named after Hope Cove in Devon, in the U.K. Interestingly, the real St. George's Island in Cornwall, U.K. looks very much like Gibraltar Island. - July 14, 2005

Obituary - Maclin (Mac) Earl Richardson. After a short illness, Maclin (Mac) Earl Richardson 75, resident of Middle Bass Island, OH and Boca Grande FL, passed from this life on July 12, 2005 at St. Vincent Charity Hospital, Toledo OH. Mac was widely known and well liked on Middle Bass, and I and many others will miss him. Click for a full obituary. - July 13, 2005

My Sweetest Libbie is Now Available. A lot of you have been waiting for this true 19th century story of island life. It's now available for web ordering and at LEIHS, and will be available at My Aunt Irma's around the end of next week. - June 21, 2005

East Point Historical Documents - We obtained some great documents from the Webster family, and here are a few of them. - June 19, 2005

How Not to Tow a Boat - June 14, 2005

Most of the Contents of This Site Has Been Moved - Most of the contents of middlebass.org has been moved to middlebass2.org, but the home page and some other pages will stay on middlebass.org. This was necessary for technical reasons because of the size of the site. Most users won't notice the difference, but it may be a week or so before the search engines have indexed the pages at their new locations. - June 13, 2005.

Lake Expectations - Something's doin' on island that's made for doin' nothing - Plain Dealer article about Middle Bass Island - June 12, 2005

Ottawa tribe's claim on North Bass Island rejected - See the Plain Dealer article or the Toledo Blade article. - June 3, 2005

New Middle Bass Island Guest Book - The old guestbook was being hit almost daily by spambots leaving automated entries with lots of links to sites most people don't want to see, so we had to switch to a different technology. All the old guestbook entries from the past 5 years can still be viewed here. - June 2, 2005

2005 Fine Arts Festival Information and Forms - June 2, 2005

2 More May Nature Images - May 24, 2005

Thanks to the Clean-Up Day Helpers. Mary Roesch would like to thank everyone that participated in the clean-up day on Middle Bass last Saturday 5/14, with thanks also to Walleyes'  for providing the lunch. It was a great success and now we ask that everyone pitch in this summer to keep our island looking so clean! - May 19, 2005

Miller Boat Line Centennial - Miller Boat Line will celebrate 100 years of service to the Lake Erie Islands with a public Open House on Saturday, June 11, 2005 from 1 – 4 p.m. The open house will be held at the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club and Miller Ferry office (535 Bayview Ave., Put-in-Bay, Ohio). More information about the open house can be accessed by calling 1-800-500-2421 or visiting www.millerferry.com. - May 15, 2005

Charlene Ramsey is Hospitalized - Roger & Charlene Ramsey, who winter in Florida, were on their way back to Middle Bass on April 19 when they were involved in an auto accident around 4AM near Chattanooga, TN. The accident left Charlene severely paralyzed. She was moved to the Shepherd Spinal Center, Room 313, in Atlanta, GA where Roger and Charlene would appreciate your kind thoughts. - May 11, 2005

Pictures of the eagle, the new dock and the new campground, plus 2 new color space views - May 11, 2005

Families of Pelee Plane Crash Victims Sue Pilot, Airline, Plane Maker and Township for $57 Million - May 10, 2005

New Campground at the State Park.

The Middle Bass State Park has a new campground this year for 20 tents. Complete with picnic tables, rest rooms and parking spots, the campsite is on the west shore just north of the end of the old dirt runway that used to cross the street. That's about 200 feet north of Walleyes' restaurant. There are also new shower facilities for boaters at the state park marina. We also have an aerial view of the entrance to the campground. - May 10, 2005

Book Signing at LEIHS on June 4. Jean Gora, a 3rd-generation summer resident of Middle Bass, will be signing her new island history book My Sweetest Libbie at the opening party of the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society at Put-in-Bay on June 4. Subtitled “Details of Life in Put-in-Bay, Lakeside and Detroit in 1886-87, Seen Through Love Letters”, the book centers around a collection of about 60 letters that have never been published before. It is a wonderful and heart-warming story of life in Put-in-Bay in the 19th century. It will be available in other island stores and on the web in June. May 8, 2005

Obituary - Arlene L. Roesch

Arlene L. (Walter) Roesch, age 88, residing at Otterbein North Shore, Lakeside, Ohio, and formerly of Avon Lake and Middle Bass Island, died early Tuesday, April 21, 2005. She was born on September 9, 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio. She was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Avon Lake, Ohio. She had been employed as a secretary for George F. Lonz and the Lonz Winery early in her career. Arlene is survived by two sons, Jim (Mary) Roesch of Middle Bass Island, and Bob (Kathleen) Roesch of Westlake, OH and five grandchildren, Matt, Erin, Cara, Mickey and Kelly. She was preceded in death by her husband, Carl F. Roesch, on Oct. 23, 1994; and by her parents, Robert and Anna (Maier) Walter. Arlene was laid to rest in the Middle Bass cemetery today, May 7. A picture from the cemetery service is above. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Ursuline Sisters, 4628 Ammon Road, Cleveland, OH 44143; or Stein Hospice Service, Inc., 1200 Sycamore Lane, Sandusky, OH 44870. - May 7, 2005

Middle Bass Nature Camp is June 27-30. For more information, or to enroll your kids, click here (PDF, 48k). May 3, 2005

Middle Bass Clean-Up Day is May 14th. Everyone is invited to celebrate Middle Bass Spring clean-up day on Sat. May 14th from 10a.m. - 2p.m. Children and adults may pick up trash bags with location assignments at My Aunt Irma's and then bring back the filled trash bags to Irma's. In exchange you will be given a coupon for hot dogs, chips and dessert at Walleyes at 2p.m.  Let's all get out and make this an island event.  May 1, 2005

New Middle Bass Island Discussion Board is now available, with additional sections for the other islands. After a variety of technical problems and other issues with the old board, we replaced it with a much nicer and more modern board. Anyone can browse messages, but you will need to register before you can post messages. - April 22, 2005

Oklahoma Indian Tribe Files Claim on North Bass Island  - April 6, 2005

Webmaster and wife become grandparents

Ferry rates remain status quo despite increasing fuel costs - March 26, 2005
 

Area state parks to use honor system to collect parking fees - March 10, 2005
 

Budget woes trim workers at Ohio state parks - March 7, 2005
 

Poster of 1886 Lake Erie Islands Map Added to the Web Store. Last week, I received a request for one or more large historic maps of the islands to frame, and created a poster of the 1886 map. I was asked to do one more, and will soon also produce one of a great 1901 map that is not on the site. - February 28, 2005

Belle Cartledge is Recovering from a Heart Attack. Belle Cartledge of Middle Bass (MB) suffered a heart attack on Monday 2/14/2005 or Tuesday 2/15/2005.

According to her husband, Doug, a paramedic from Put-In-Bay came to MB across the ice on an ATV. and John Glauser brought the MB ambulance and equipment to the house. The life flight helicopter couldn't come because of the weather and there was fog in Sandusky, so Dairy Air flew Belle to the Port Clinton airport. EMS transported her to the Firelands hospital where it was determined that arteries were blocked. A stent was placed in one artery.

When released from the hospital (on about Friday, 2/18/2005) she and Doug traveled to their son Charlie's home in Barberton, OH. Their other son, Doug, flew them back to MB on Thursday, 2/24/25.

Belle will return to the hospital on about Monday, 2/28/2005. A stent will be placed in a second artery. - February 28, 2005
 

$26,000 allocated to 'un-threaten' Lake Erie watersnakes - February 25, 2005
 

$7.59 Million in Budget for Middle Bass Island State Park - January 28, 2005

Middle Bass and Lake Erie Pictures on Roman Sapecki's new site. Roman is a Middle Bass resident who is a professional photographer, and has a great new web site showcasing some of his work. Much of his Middle Bass and other work is also on display at a show that starts Friday, January 21 with an opening reception from 5-9PM at Art Metro, 530 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. The show runs through February 25. - January 20, 2005

New Lonz Winery Pictures from the 1940s and 1950s - January 19, 2005

Schedule for the 2005 Fine Arts Festival

     Friday, July 8
          Adult Art Classes begin
     Saturday, July 9
          Upper Island Chamber Recital Benefit
          held at North Bass Church and School
     Sunday, July 10
          Sunday morning  Music in the Town Hall
          Sunday afternoon:  Recital, East Point Stone Manor
     July 11-16
          Children's art/music classes
     Saturday, July 16
          Children's Performance and Art Exhibit
     Sunday, July 17
          Sunday morning:  Music in the Town Hall
          Sunday afternoon:  Concert and Art Exhibits

                                   - January 16, 2005
 

Hard Aground on the Sugar Island Reef -  New Photos from August, 2002 - January 12, 2005

Lawmakers must fix state park system Editorial saying state could not afford Middle Bass and North Bass park land acquisitions. - January 10, 2005

When the Snow Flies... Article in the Port Clinton News Herald about how Ottawa County teachers, including the one from Middle Bass, get to school - January 7, 2005

2004 News

2003 News

The limited edition Middle Bass Postcard Poster that was available at the artist's fair at Aunt Irma's at the beginning of August, 2004 is still available, by special order only.

Four Other Books in the Middle Bass Web Store - When did you last have the opportunity to buy 3 different books with "Middle Bass" in the original historical title (in addition to the Lonz of Middle Bass book mentioned above)? All 3 are reprints and have great pictures, but none of these has ever been reprinted before. The 4th is a Port Clinton reprint, but with a full-page ad for Wehrle's on Middle Bass that we have touched up and put on the back cover. Three of the books have LOTS of Put-in-Bay pictures. The books are also available at the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society on Put-in-Bay.

The Middle Bass Island State Park Newsletters and State Park Master Plan can fill you in on the status of the plans for the new park.