Dedication of Duff’s Woods
The Lake Erie Islands Conservancy and the Put-in-Bay Township Park District dedicated the Duff Woods Preserve on Mitchell Rd. on South Bass Island on Sunday afternoon, September 18th. It was a proud moment for the Duff Family whose legacy will be preserved for many future generations to come.
The 13.7 acre woods with its new trail should be extremely popular for those who enjoy the nature of South Bass Island. The addition of the Duff Woods Preserve puts the total number of preserved acres on South Bass and Middle Bass Islands at 150 acres.
On hand were about 50 people, plus members of the late Thomas and Kathryn Duff Family who watched as their three sons, Walter (PIBHS Class of 1964), Allen (PIBHS Class of 1965) and Marvin (PIBHS Class of 1966), told about working and playing in the woods before cutting the ribbon at the preserve’s entrance.
The Duff Woods are a beautiful mix of sugar maple, common hackberry, blue ash, American basswood, chinquapin oak, and shag and shellbark Hickory with wonderful spring ephemerals like Appendaged Waterleaf, Wild Leeks, Large-flowered Trillium, cut-leaf toothwort, and many more. Summer brings nesting Baltimore orioles, great-crested flycatchers, red-eyed vireos and great horned owls to the woods.
A looped trail begins at the small parking lot on Mitchell Rd. and the trail leads to two observation areas. There may be more trails in the future. Thanks Allen Duff, neighbor Mark Nemec, Mark Lekanka for assistance in laying out the trail, and Mark Lekanka and Richard Gump for installing the trail. A big thank you goes out to Angie Ohlemacher, Meggin Weimerskirch, Melissa Banning and Ursula Marshalek for purchasing a bench at the entrance of the Duff Woods in honor of their dogs.
A reception/cookout was held immediately afterwards with a short annual meeting for the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy at the Heineman Winery. The Conservancy provided food for the grill. Patty Lo Presti provided cake and Gelato.
The previous piece is published in this month’s Put-in-Bay Gazette. The Gazette has been producing incredible independent Put-in-Bay island news for over 40 years. If you have any interest at all in what is happening on South Bass Island, we urge you strongly to subscribe to the Put-in-Bay Gazette. One-year online subscriptions are only $15, and print subscriptions are available as well. To subscribe please click here.
