Providence Bay
Alexia Hannigan
Providence Bay Friendly Fly.
Having read The Expositor for many years it occurred to me that there wasn’t any local Providence Bay coverage as in past issues (Dan and I used to make the paper every time we would visit). I had my first of many memorable trips to the Island back in 1991; was married in Providence Bay in 2003 and recently relocated my family here last October. Wink and a nod to Linda Gilchrist, Wendy Friesen, Judy and Glenn Black, Krista Payette, Dawn Dawson, Chris and Jess Bryan, Jan, Brooklyn, Jackie Patterson, Pam, Lance Baptiste, M.J. and Alex, Hawberry Quilters Guild and the wonderful community of Providence Bay. I enjoyed reading the Friends and Neighbours Columns and decided to reach out to the powers that be to make it happen down by the Bay.
As of this issue, I am proudly appointed your Town Cryer and Sewing Circle Source of local and other crucial Providence Bay community events and news.
Spring is in the air! Can you feel it? We set our clocks back an hour last weekend surviving seasonal colds and Daylight Savings sleep schedule mayhem.
March Break was a busy one for most. Epic Brier and bonspiels, St. Paddy’s Day celebrations, family trips and time spent together. After a good “reset” everyone is in good spirits again and excited at the prospect of good syrup and warmer weather. Word is the sap is flowing slow and the season may be short.
With warmer weather comes more chickens crossing the road, literally. The Cranston Road hens are out and about these days, enjoying the sun. Much to our delight, Katie Gilchrist from Mindemoya and Clayton Kuepfer from Spring Bay came for a ride-by on horses Bailey, Fritz and Ceilidh got to have a horse ride through downtown Providence Bay.
Lance Baptiste gave Danny and I a recent tour of his wonderful garden and mentioned he is excited about his strawberry yield this year.
Judy and Glenn Black announced they are on the watch for a new calf. We will keep you posted on any new arrivals!
Karine Young continues her Island Puzzle Exchange Program and encourages new ideas and suggestions.
MJ and Alex had a fun farewell party. We wish them well in their future endeavors and adventures.
Everyone is getting geared-up and ready for Easter weekend at month’s end which marks a new season of sowing seeds, gardening, outdoor activities and live musical performances. We had a chat with local singer/songwriter Chris Walker who showed us his impressive bevy of amazing guitars and invited us to his month-end Jam and Song Writing Workshop on Saturday, March 30 at Huron Sands.
Spring’s song brings with it longer days, bulbs pushing through the brush and the tangible excitement and promise of a whole lot of busy, beautiful days ahead of us.
Here’s what’s happening: The Providence Bay arena is closed for the skating season, spring family friendly events to be announced Fair flair, Dawn Dawson and delegates made us proud and returned from another successful 2024 OAAS convention boasting ribbons and rosettes, our ambassadors had a wonderful showing. Way to go Rodney Dryden, Natalie French and Maddy Niven, the prize recipients! The good word is that we are in for another epic Providence Bay Fair this August!
The men had a successful bonspiel March 8 to 10. Congratulations teams! Providence Bay Curling arena had a successful fundraiser and Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, March 9 in support of the Junior Bay Curling Club. The pancakes were delicious, well done everyone! See you all next season!
Hall Happenings: Providence Bay and Spring Bay Lions Coffee Club continues at the Providence Bay Hall Thursdays. Next coffee club is March 21 and April 4. Enjoy games, treats, coffee and good company!
Wishing Everyone a happy start to Spring.
Happy Birthday to my brother, Christian Hannigan.
Kagawong
Team Fergmeijer
You know Team Fergmeijer loves a good holiday, and we have been especially pi-ning for March 14 – Pi Day! It’s a day that celebrates both nerds and dessert. What’s not to love? We could quite easily eat pi 22/7, but only a la mode. Anything less is mean. As much as we love pie, we do have an issue with the equation ‘pi r squared.’ Mostly because pi are round and cake are square.
Cooo-ngratulations to this year’s Sandhill Crane spotting challenge winner, Peter G! Peter both spotted the migratory birds and heard their melodious coo on Wednesday, March 13. No stranger to the fame that comes with winning this prestigious award, this is Peter’s second time taking the title. Next up: the annual April 1 Sandhill crane coo-ing competition.
Feeling saucy? Come on out for the Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser at the Kagawong Park Centre on Saturday, March 23 from 5 to 7 pm. Tickets are $20 at the door (kids under 11 only $12) with all proceeds going to the Jabbawong Storytelling Festival this summer. Take-out is available. For more information contact Diane Larocque at 705-919-1751.
Happy 29th birthday to Shirley F and not-quite 29th to Brett V. Don’t stress about your eyesight failing as you get older. It’s nature’s way of protecting you from shock as you walk past a mirror. Side note: we are hoping you youngsters start letting us know when you actually turn 29. We would hate to get your age wrong, and everyone knows we try very hard to avoid looking foolish in this column.
Mark your calendars! The Easter Bunny is hopping back into Kagawong on Saturday, March 30 for the annual Easter egg hunt! Youth of all ages are welcome to come by the Kagawong Park Centre at 11am that day and fill their baskets with goodies. Who will find the Golden Ticket? You’ll have to come out to see! Thanks to the Billings Parks, Recreation and Wellness Committee for hosting this event.
“Come as You Are” on Saturday April 13, and enjoy an evening of contemporary inspirational music (and sing-along) courtesy of Cia and Bill Savage at St. John’s Anglican Church. The fun starts at 7 pm with refreshments provided. Donations towards repairing the front stained glass window of the church are greatly appreciated.
The Billings Climate Action Committee is planning on hosting an Earth Day event on Saturday, April 20! The event should include community clean-up, a “junk in the trunk” sale, activities for youth, and information on green technologies. The committee is currently looking for vendors interested in presenting green solutions with either a booth or in a discussion panel. Contact Vince Grogan at vgrogan@billingstwp.ca for more information.
Keeping on the green theme, Manitoulin Streams is hosting an outdoor angling trade fair right here in Kagawong on the May long weekend! More details will be shared in the coming weeks. For more information, check out manitoulinstreams.com, or contact anglingtf.manitoulin@gmail.com, or 613-857-9877.
What do you call it when someone gets a huge tattoo of pi on their face? An irrational decision. Have a great week!
Barrie Island
Lillian Greenman
Lorne and Dawn Calback and boys from Sudbury visited George and Carolyn Calback last weekend.
Scott and Enid Runnalls spent a few days in Toronto last week. They visited with their daughter Katie and toured the Ripley’s Aquarium and attended a Toronto Raptor’s basketball game. On their way home they visited with Carolyn Lane-Rock in Sudbury.
Silver Water
Karen Noble
On Friday, March 8, Albert Meijer and I went to Gore Bay to run errands and shop. We stopped at Jewell’s Collision to finalize the ordering of the replacement side mirror for the car. In the evening I went to Meldrum Bay to play euchre. There were three tables of players.
On Saturday, we spent the day getting ready for the roast beef dinner at the Burpee Mills Complex. The Robotics Team from Manitoulin Secondary School earned close to $3,000. Thank you to everyone who came out to support them. Thank you to the team members and parents who helped work at the dinner.
Chad and Jackson Chevrette travelled to Orangeville to visit my sister, Aileen Noble for most of the March Break week.
On Sunday, I took a car load to Tehkummah to play in their euchre tournament. They had 12-and-a-half tables. No one from the west end brought home any of the prizes this time. The next tournament is April 7.
On Monday, there were lots of households out to the recycle bins.
On Tuesday morning I had a visit from Alfreda Wickett. Exercise class was held in the Silver Water Community Hall in the afternoon. Gladys Duncanson and I had a walk after that.
On Wednesday, Murray and Gladys Duncanson had a trip to Sudbury. They had lunch with their son Craig.
Brenda Carter left on Wednesday morning to go to the Hamilton area to visit relatives.
On Wednesday, Albert and I went for a long walk. The weather was perfect for it and we picked up lots of cans from the ditches. Wednesday evening there was line dancing at the hall.
On Thursday, there were six-and-a-half tables for euchre at the Silver Water hall.
There are a number of people making maple syrup this week.
Get well to the people who are sick this week. There is a bad cold passing around.
Condolences to the family of Mary (Rowe) Middleton.
