By John Schaffner

Monday night is the big night of the annual Walleye Drop in downtown Port Clinton. I remember when we first started it from an idea hatched by Dan Sedlak and a few others. Tom Brown and Joan Bryden made it a HUGE event, and it has just gotten bigger and bigger every year. We have a special 2-page promotion (Pages 3 & 4B) we are doing in conjunction with the Walleye Drop committee. They have involved all of eastern Ottawa County.

Sorry to report the passing of Kate Smith, the matriarch of Ottawa County’s fabulous Smith family. Her late husband and sons, Quinten and Kelly, have done incredible things for Ottawa County (Northern Manufacturing and Twin Oast Brewery and Pub). She was a very nice and faithful lady. Her obituary can be found on Page 2A.

Susan Mincheff of Martin is our winner this week in our “Find Wylie” contest. She was chosen from among 78 contestants who found our friendly fish hiding in the ad for Nemecek Insurance on Page 4A in last week’s Beacon. Susan is the winner of a $25 gas card graciously donated by Friendship Stores. Each week we hide Wylie Walleye in an ad and our readers, when one of them finds him, can either bring in a contest entry cut out of the paper or log onto our website … www.thebeacon.net … and let us know where he is, thus entering, and possibly winning the contest.

Don’t forget the annual Walleye Drop festivities will be taking place in downtown Port Clinton on Monday, Dec. 31. The overall festivities will be taking in our entire area this year. Check out “Wylie Walleye Foundation” on Facebook for the most current information.

One thing good about the warmer weather we have been experiencing . . . the Miller Ferry is still making trips to and from South Bass Island. No doubt the Islanders are enjoying their trips to the mainland. Our good friends Jeff and Kendra Koehler came over for Christmas Eve dinner at 1812 with their son Barry and his wife. It was so great to see them in December.

We also ran into Bev and Gerry Cullenen and their son Tim at 1812. Tim graduated from Port Clinton High School in the late 1970s and crewed for me for many years. We also ran into Allison Falls having dinner with Chuck and Pat Postma, who will be moving soon to Holland, Michigan to be closer to their son Scott, who was an outstanding basketball player at PCHS.

There is a Bloodmobile visit next Thursday, Jan. 3 to the Oak Harbor VFW from Noon to 6 p.m. They will also be at Magruder Hospital on Friday, Jan. 4 from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturday, Jan. 5 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Catawba Community Hall.

The First Annual Blessing of Lake Erie will take place on Saturday, Jan. 12 at noon at Clemons Park across from Holy Assumption Orthodox Church in Marblehead. They are planning a 30 minute service, so dress warmly. They will serve hot soup and sandwiches, as well as hot chocolate, coffee and tea following the service. Questions? Call Father Andrew at 570-2128747.

Next week, I will have a special substitute for this column…The Great Swami!!! Yes, once again, Swami will peer into his crystal ball and predict what life will be like in Ottawa County in 2029. Always very insightful!!!

This time of year, The Beacon starts getting a little “skinny” thanks to our seasonal marketplace. However, we want to encourage all of our readers to please regularly check out our website, www.thebeacon.net. What we can’t fit on the pages of the newspaper, we will always try to fit on the pages of our website. Thanks.